Monthly Archives: August 2002

Dogs and crate-training

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Well, in spite of our fears about Tristan’s new-found ability to get out of his crib, things have worked out better than expected. He is now regularly sleeping in his “big boy” bed. On the topic of sleep, we’re getting very little restful sleep these days because we are trying to get our dog, Sarah, used to sleeping in her crate in the family room during the night, rather than sleeping in Keegan’s bedroom like she used to do. She hates her crate and barks and whines all night long. It is getting very old, listening to that racket throughout the night. Fortunately, both Keegan and Tristan are sound sleepers and aren’t disturbed by the noise. We made this switch because Sarah tore up the carpet in Keegan’s room one day, and we decided that that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We bought a really nice, comfortable bed for her that fits in the crate, so I don’t know what she has to complain about. Sigh. The following scripture was highlighted in a daily devotional that I received via email this a.m.: If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1-2)

Tristan the escape artist

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When Michele put Tristan down in his crib for a nap yesterday, little did we know how much our lives would change…We heard him cry for a while, then he talked to himself for a while — all normal things. After a period of silence, suddenly we heard him come downstairs! The little stinker had, on his first attempt, learned how to climb out of his crib! When I picked him up, took him back upstairs to his bedroom, put him back in his crib, and asked him to show me how he did it, he promptly hiked his leg over the railing and jumped down. Then he giggled. His action said to me as plain as anything: “See what I can do? You should be proud of me!” Michele and I looked at each other with a look of doom on our faces. How were we gonna control this kid’s sleeping habits any more? Turns out that he now wants to sleep on the “big boy’s” bed which we had already set up in his room in anticipation of training him to sleep on it sometime in the next few months. It’ll take a while but hopefully he’ll get the hang of it so that we can use the crib for the new baby. Today, we decided to go for a swim in our pool and then I went to get the mail. My mother-in-law had sent us a surprise package. I opened it and saw that she had bought us a copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings DVD. I jumped around with excitement and in the process, nearly managed to decapitate myself by means of the ceiling fan in the dining room…

The Lobster Chronicles

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I just finished reading a thoughtful, sometimes droll, book called The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island written by Linda Greenlaw of The Perfect Storm fame. Since I have a special fondness for Maine, where this book is written (and is the home of the author), it was an entertaining read. As I read it while lying in bed, every once in a while I’d laugh or chuckle. Michele would then roll over and, in annoyance, tell me “Go to sleep!” This is one of the many joys of married life ;-) We were there in Maine for our family vacation last year and had a great time. I wish we could go back this year but we simply can’t afford it. My favorite area is the Harpswells. I’d love to own a summer house there! Tristan has once again spiked a bit of a fever and last night was a fairly restless one. Hopefully he’ll feel better today. Sometimes this happens when he is teething, other times we don’t know what causes it. Keegan, I think, is hoping to spend more time on his new skateboard today. His grandma bought it for him when we were at her house this past weekend. Yes, his grandma loves to spoil him rotten! Next door, a new access road is being built to the elementary school. Every morning now for the last few weeks, we’ve been woken up by extremely loud and heavy machinery starting up. It’s so loud that quite often, our entire house shakes. Then there are the gravel trucks rumbling to and fro in front of our house. They are filling in part of the parking lot at our church to enable new classroom space to be built. I’ll be glad when all of this construction work is done.

Ghost in the picture

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The weather today (and yesterday) was terrific: breezy and cool, never above 75 degrees or so. A stark contrast to the hot, humid weather we’ve had for weeks! Today, my mother-in-law sent us the following email that I felt had to be shared, it was so unusual:

“This is pretty neat. Apparently the owners of this house had been seeing images and hearing voices for quite a while. They did some research and found that a lady once lived in the house who lost her husband during the civil war. Legend says that she used to sit at the table and look across the fields in anticipation of her loved one returning home. He never came. So, they say she still waits. They caught this photo of what they claim to be her. This one was wild and a little spooky once you find the ghost in the picture. It took me about 30 seconds to find it, but when you do it just stands out…… Like one of those optical illusions. To save you some time, concentrate around the table . Best not to focus too much on one spot. Look around the table and toward the window. For an added touch, turn the volume way up; it’s faint but you can hear the ghost talking, sometimes in a low murmur. It may take a moment or so before you can actually pick out the ghost, so wait about 30 seconds or so. Good luck finding her. To see her, go to the following website: http://www.pandapower.com/whatswrong.swf.”