Aly TV: Classic Literature

Aly's favorite book these days is the Dr. Suess classic The Foot Book.  She's loves to turn the pages and is even learning the "story".  You just might be able to tell what her favorite part is if you watch carefully.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

One of the songs I sing to Aly when I put her to sleep says the following:

I'm trying to be like Jesus;

I'm following in His ways.

I'm trying to love as He did

In all that I do and say.

At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,

But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers:

"Love one another as Jesus loves you.

Try to show kindness in all that you do.

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,

For these are the things Jesus taught."

Typically this song is sung by children. In fact, I sang this song many times as a child, which is why the words still resonate with me. It wasn't until I was a teenager that these words really sunk in. For the first time I realized this is how I hope I live my life, all summed up in one little song. 

And so I sing it to my daughter, because this is how I hope she lives her life. 

There are many other things I really want my daughter to know. Of course a knowledge of Jesus Christ is the center of that, but I hope she learns many other wonderful things as well. I was just watching a commencement speech given by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Inc., to Stanford graduates in 2005. He concluded his comments with the phrase

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish." 

Sidenote: Aly is hungry almost every 3 hours to a T, so I hope if she stays that hungry she learns to feed herself.

I imagine he means to stay ambitious, hungry for life and opportunities. Alexa is hungry for formula, but she is also so eager to search and absorb new things. She loves being outside, despite the bright sun. That girl is hungry, and I hope she never loses that.

Alexa is also very naive. She has no idea about the foreign oil crisis or that the Missouri tornado death count reached 116, making it tied for the deadliest tornado in America on record [source]. And to be honest, she doesn't care. All she cares about is that when she cries someone is there to meet her needs, and if we're really good, we meet her needs before she cries. Of course I want her to have compassion for others, but I don't want her to lose focus of what is really important in life, and for the moment she has that down! She knows her mommy and daddy will be there to help her no matter what, and that she has to nap even when she thinks she doesn't want to nap. That's it. Steve Jobs called it foolishness to believe the world is as small as your 900 sq ft condo. I call it focus.

As she grows older and learns new things, she will grow more hungry/passionate for specific things, first bubbles then horses then boys then who knows. As that hunger grows, I hope her foolishness/focus grows with it. I hope she believes that she can go and do anything her passionate heart leads her to do. And it's my job, as her mother, to nurture her with all the tools she needs to get her there, and I think the least of those tools is money, and the greatest of those tools is love.

That's what I wish and hope for my baby girl. To stay hungry, stay foolish, and stay with God. And I'll love her every moment, especially as that hunger and foolishness leads to heartbreak and frustration, and as that devotion to God leads to service, compassion, and unavoidable sorrow for the pains of others. And her daddy will do the same...probably trying to help with money because he's a pushover!

What do you hope for your children?

Hello Friends!

Wanna know something that a physicist and data analyst love? Numbers and graphs. Wanna know what does that and is related to blogging? Google Analytics. It's a lot of fun for us, especially the map feature where we can see where everyone who looks at our blog is looking from. So, here's a couple shout outs to our friends (people we actually know, people we've talked to online, and people we'd love to get to know) in the following places of the world:

United Arab Emirates
Thailand
India
Sri Lanka
United Kingdom
Germany
Australia
Pelotas, Brazil
Vancouver/Calgary/Edmonton, Canada
Every state in the U.S. (with special shout outs to Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and North Carolina--that last one was a surprise to us, too)

If I missed you on the list, leave a comment or send an email and say hello! We'd love to get to know you better!

Here is our niece, Kaitlyn, waving hello to you (she's a pretty friendly gal):

The Disney Adoption Complex

We are Disney fans, generally. We really like Emperor's New Groove, Aladdin, Robin Hood, and dozens of other classics, including the new Pixar additions to the renowned Disney collection. However, Disney has typically, with a few exceptions, had a difficult time putting a positive spin on one area: adoption/non-biological families. I would like to submit the following pieces of evidence for your consideration:

 

#7: Visit Colorado's Capital Building

I unintentionally lived from my list on Tuesday as this wasn't so much a visit as it was a job interview, but I still went inside and walked around. It was very regal, very different than Oregon's capital. And there's no dude on the top, which is always disappointing.

This is Oregon's State Capital, which is literally blocks from my high school. The dude on top is a pilgrim coming to Oregon. You can go up and stand right under him and see the entire city!  

Here's Colorado's capital. There is currently construction happening in the left side of the picture.

I was still completely thrilled to be at the capital building, especially since I've been studying politics, I appreciate what goes on there even more!

Anyway, the job is with the Lt. Governor's office, and would be an AWESOME opportunity for me. I'll let you know if there is good news to share!

Thursday Thirteen #12: Phrases I Use That Others May Not

1. Don’t be a hater. (Used when I'm feeling picked on for some reason or another.)

2. Eat your face! (This is used for intimidation purposes or as an exclamation of achievement. Example: After winning a game of Scrabble you may say “EAT YOUR FACE!!”)

3. That’s super great!

4. Poco eficiente. (Portuguese for “less efficient” taken from the old missionary guidebook, used to describe something as less effective than another something.)

5. Desculpe (It’s how you say the equivalent of “excuse me” in Portuguese.)

6. Your mom/your mom/your face/your mom's face is  __________.

7. Your thoughts? (Used to express interest in another’s views or opinions.)

8. I’m gonna beat your face in. (It sounds mean, but I only tell that to Nick to keep him in line. He always responds “I know you will.”)

9. ...all up in my grill. (Example: the other day I had seen a spider and I told Nick "That spider was all up in my grill" to which he responded "I'm sorry the spider was all up in your grill, Rach.")

10. Do you understand my concern? (Taken from the old missionary guidebook.)

11. Nich (It’s my only nickname for my husband, and I am pretty darn sure no one else calls him this.)

12. Are you listo? (In Spanish, listo means ready, so as when I am ready to go somewhere I ask Nick this question and his response is “Oh, I’m listo.”)

13. Don’t be all “Negative Nancy” up in here! (I do say this to Nick, so someone once told me I could just say “Negative Nick,” but I prefer ragging on him as Nancy rather than Nick.)