Firelance

Yay! I get a passport!

because I'm about to move to Bosnia and become a missionary kid!

posted by Firelance @ 10:38 PM Comments: 5

Coventry Patmore: The Toys

It's midnight. I just got home from my weekly "Fellowship of the Briar." Every Thursday night I get together with my professor Jerry Root and a handful of other guys. We smoke pipes, drink a thumb's width (horizontal) of 12 year single malt Scotch, read poetry, and talk about being men. Each time I leave a better man. Tonight Jerry read this poem (entitled above) and it just about tore me apart:

The Toys

MY little son, who looked from thoughtful eyes

And moved and spoke in quite grown-up wise,

Having my law the seventh time disobeyed,

I struck him and dismissed

With hard words and unkissed,

His Mother, who was patient, being dead.

Then, fearing lest his grief should hinder sleep

I visited his bed,

But found him slumbering deep,

With darkened eyelids, and their lashes yet.

From his late sobbing wet.

And I, with moan,

Kissing away his ters, left others of my own;

For, on a table drawn beside his head,

He had put, within his reach,

A box of counters and a red-veined stone,

A piece of glass abraded by the beach,

And six or seven shells,

A bottle with bluebells,

And two French copper coins, ranged there with careful art,

To comfort his sad heart.

So when that night I prayed

To God, I wept, and said:

Ah, when at last we lie with trancèd breath,

Not vexing Thee in death,

And Thou rememberest of what toys

We made our joys,

How weakly understood

Thy great commanded good,

Then, fatherly not less

Than I whom Thou hast moulded from the clay,

Thou'lt leave Thy wrath, and say,

"I will be sorry for their childishness."

posted by Firelance @ 12:10 AM Comments: 5

Simeon and his new brother

posted by Firelance @ 10:44 AM Comments: 4

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

posted by Firelance @ 9:55 AM Comments: 4

Nathanael Divinagracia Mezger

Several weeks ago, Janet had this idea, and we started praying about it: Lara Davis and Scott Barnett were getting married on New Year's Eve and though we didn't know them too well, we kind of invited ourselves to the wedding. Janet wanted to get a babysitter, get all dressed up, go to the wedding and dance the night away. We would come home and sleep for a few hours and she would go right into labor. Miraculously, we got a babysitter (thanks Nick and Stephanie), and at the reception we were half jokingly telling people that the baby was coming that night...3 weeks early. Riiight.

At 7:30 Janet woke me up saying, "Happy new year honey, let's welcome our son to the new year!" I shot out of bed in utter disbelief. In a matter of minutes she was hovered over the couch moaning in pain yelling at me to get Josh and Jennie here NOW (to watch Simeon). I ran 3 red lights on Roosevelt and drove about 95-100mph on the highway, all the while with her moaning "faster!" They wheeled her from the emergency reception up to a room and at the first exam, Liz Garcia (our midwife) looked at me with a huge smile saying, "she's ready to push!"

Janet pushed for about 2 hours like a total champ, and this little guy came out, all natural! His middle name is Janet's maiden name, a Filipino tradition. We did the same with Simeon. So here he is, named after a great man, Nathan Taylor (see previous posts):

posted by Firelance @ 5:15 PM Comments: 8

New year's eve....NEW YEAR'S DAY!

posted by Firelance @ 10:13 PM Comments: 10