Left Lane Drivers of America

I saw a news story about this site, and just had to check it out for myself: Left Lane Drivers of America is a group that is advocating using the left lane of the highway only as a passing and high speed lane, and asks those who are going slower than the traffic behind them to move over to the right so that the cars moving faster than them can safely pass. I believe this is actually the law here in Ohio, but in a lot of places people tend to just get into this lane and hold up traffic by going whatever speed they want and forcing faster drivers to pass them on the right or stay behind them and block traffic.

In order to combat this problem, Left Lane Drivers have created this car windshield decal:

As you can see, the decal is not unlike the kind on the windshield of an ambulance, with the word written backwards so that when a person looks in their rear view mirror the word appears in the right direction. I sent this to my Dad, and anyone that knows him knows that he would appreciate this. Let me know what you think.

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Our New Edition, Anca

Well, It's been almost 2 months and I haven't recounted on here the birth of our beautiful new baby, Anca Joy. I've been thinking about doing this for sometime but have just let myself get busy and been doing other things.

Anywho, Jamie had been experiencing contractions for several weeks but they were all pre-labor, as they had obviously not produced a baby and Jamie was able to lay down for a nap or sleep and they would go away. She told me that you know the contractions are real when they wake you up and you can't sleep through them.

At about 4:00 AM on May first things started to change. Jamie was awakened by much stronger contractions than she had before. She woke me around 5:30 so I could call my boss and call off for the day. We had already set up the birthing pool in the kitchen but still had some things to get ready. At some point during the morning I think I took a nap, and when I awoke our friends Berta and Dana were there to help Jamie with whatever she needed. Dana brought a ton of food for us, so we wouldn't have t really have to cook over the next few days. She and Berta also did some house cleaning while they waited for things to "progress."

Our Midwife came in the late morning to check on Jamie. After examining her she said she was progressing slightly but was not yet ready. So she left, promising to come back later and check on her.

Fast forward to about 4:00 PM. Jamie was walking around the backyard with her friends, trying to deal with the contractions. I new they were getting serious when one of her friends called and Jamie waved me off when I brought her the phone! I couldn't believe it! Jamie, not taking a friend's call? This could only mean one thing: she was going through TRANSITION!!!!

Jamie finally got in the birthing tub about 7:00 PM. We had been filling it up the last couple of hours using the hot water line from the washer (Jamie's idea, and a pretty good one). The funny thing is when our midwives walked in a few minutes later they looked at my expression and privately thought to themselves that Jamie wasn't far enough along to deliver, because I was to calm. The reality is that I was calm because I had such great help from our friends. Berta and Dana had been putting cold compresses on Jamie's forehead and hot ones on her lower back and we were all singing praise and worship songs to comfort her and invite the Holy Spirit to be with us and help us all out (which He did, in spades).

Anyway, our midwives kind of took over and helped Jamie deliver Anca, which went very smoothly, her little body slipping right out into the water (wow, I almost made the mistake of saying it went pretty easy, which could be detrimental to my health if any women read this blog!). I cut the cord which was a little bit scary but no turned out to be no big deal. After she delivered the Placenta, Jamie got out of the tub and went to the bed, where she held and nursed Anca for the first time. The midwifes cleaned her up and examined Anca and Jamie, who were both doing fine. Anca weighed in at 8lbs. 5oz. and 21 inches. The only concern the midwives ever had was that it was really hard to get her to cry! She just kept making little noises like she was perturbed but she never really seems to get angry! Here are some of the pictures from that first night:

Father's Day, 2007

I know Father's Day, just like Mother's Day, was invented by the card companies to sell cards and candy. but even something that was invented in the natural, secular world can be used for the Glory of God.

For starters, when I came home on Friday we had a nice time as a family with dinner and relaxation. Nothing fancy, but nobody (especially me) got angry or gave anybody any problems. After dinner Jamie and Berta went out to do a little shopping, while I sat on the porch with a drink and relaxed and called a friend. Peaceful, nice.

Saturday was about as mellow as you could get. The kids left Jamie and I alone to sleep in, watching cartoons and a movie. We finally got up and ate, then relaxed around the house. I even took a nap on the couch while Jamie was nursing the baby.

About 3:30 PM we got up and got dressed to go to church for a barbecue and movie night. There weren't a lot of people there, but the ones that were had a nice time of fellowship, good food, and a very cute movie (Night at the Museum). We had a great time with hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn and pop. It was a beautiful and relaxing night, just fun, and really nothing else.

Sunday was the perfect ending to this great weekend. We got up early so we could go to church for Doughnuts with Dad, which were Krispy Kremes!

We then went into church for a great time of praise and worship of the Lord, the Most Hight God. This is one of my favorite times of the week, as I get the privelage of gathering together with my brothers and sisters in Christ to lift up our praises and thanksgiving to He who paid the ultimate ransom for my soul! Pastor Ron then delivered a great teaching on being a Dad after the heart of God, quoting the many scriptures that teach this. I won't go into them here but I have them available if anyone is interested.

After church we went to the store and left the kids in the drop off center so Jamie and I could shop in peace. We shopped and had a nice talk, and I got to spend some time holding the baby and doting over her, then stopped for a snack before we picked up the kids and came home.

Once home we put the groceries away and watched the new Pink Panther, which was alright (I'm just glad I got it on Netflix rather than paying for it).

Now Jamie is making stuffed shells and bread, which should be a fabulous Dad's Day dinner with the family. It's times like these when you let the rest of the world fall away, and just concentrate on the serving of God and fellowship with your friends and family that you find out just how truly blessed you are. Praise God for this wonderful weekend and time with those I truly love.