Trick or Treat

Weekend Pictures

Celebrating Lincoln's 19th birthday




Oliver playing with Jack Henry



Bathtime


Smiling at daddy


Oliver and I did some work at the cemetery this weekend. I love these little feet! 


We finished Jack Henry's Halloween costume. We used a box, five colored poster boards, and black electrical tape -- can you guess what he's going to be? Find out tonight!

How About a College Degree for $10,000?

Happy 19th Birthday, Lincoln

Why Is an Oklahoma City Public School Numbering Children?

My friend Bill Shapard passed this along and gave me permission to post it here. He raises some very good points. What is going on here? Is this happening in other schools that you know of? Please leave a comment below.

I did not know this until yesterday, but I am the father of Wil 16 and Gracie 20.

I was working with my son last night on his homework when I saw him write "Wil 16" on the name line of his vocabulary paper. "What’s the '16' for, Wil?”

I should have never asked. Now, keep in mind that there are only about 20 children in this public school classroom and my wife assures me that the teacher knows the first and last name of every child in the class (I’d be surprised if she didn’t).

But, apparently the teachers are not capable of quickly keeping up with all of the students and their homework papers without the numbers, according to the principal whom I asked this morning. I was going to suggest an alphabetical system by first or last name, but felt that would insult the intelligence of this government school principal with a doctorate degree.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some right-wing nut who thinks the government is trying to embed some sort of tracking device under everybody’s skin. I understand why there is a number on my house, that I live in a ZIP code, or have a social security number. There is an intelligent explanation and need to all three of these. But, just 20 kids in a classroom? Give me a break.

I didn’t have a number when I was in elementary school and the teachers seemed to function just fine. Apparently, they do not do it in middle or high school, so when did this become a real need for just elementary teachers? In fact, I believe that to say elementary teachers need the number system and their counterparts in middle or high school do not is down right insulting to our elementary teachers.

Maybe this is just silly, but what does this subtly say to our children about the names we as parents have given them? Does this eat away at the family identity? Or, affect the perceptions of young children toward a government authority who forces them to identify themselves by a number? What happens when suddenly our children come home with the number written in Sharpie on the inside of their left forearm? Okay, maybe this would definitely cross a line, but many intrusive government actions start with subtleties.

I was only a kid in 1976 when the movie "Logan’s Run" presented us with a future where the main character was Logan 5, his "sandman" partner was Francis 7, and his love interest was Jessica 6. In the movie, every one is treated as a ward of the government with parents having no rights to their children. Nobody complains as the state provides its domed inhabitants with the freedom to pursue "a perfect world of total pleasure" without consequences. Except for one — living beyond the age of 30.

At the beginning of the movie, Logan 5 is proudly looking through the nursery window, trying to locate the newly born Logan 6. “I tell you, Francis, that’s him!”

“Maybe, maybe not. What does it matter?” Francis 7 replies. “Anyways, he’s not yours anymore.”

Our children have now been given numbers by their government schools. Welcome to the 23rd Century.

Resistance Is Futile

Lunch with Big Brother

Oliver loves it when his college-student big brother gets a chance to come meet us for lunch. We all do. It's a good way to start a school week.

Weekend Pics

Time goes by so fast that often the week is over before I get a chance to put up new pictures. Here are some from the past two weekends.


Flowers for Anne Marie's birthday


Birthday balloons for the princess



Birthday cake


Birthday cupcakes from my friend and neighbor


On Anne Marie's birthday I had a package in my mailbox. When I opened it there were these baby moccasins that my dad had made for Anne Marie. Our little Cherokee baby would have looked so cute in these!


The girls before the Taylor Swift concert


Brandon, Jack Henry, and Oliver in Bricktown


The kids before the football game



Oliver

DeMarco Murray

... may hold the Dallas Cowboys record for most rushing yards in a game, but to me he'll always be a noun.

With Apologies to Folgers

The best part of waking up is Ollie in your bed.

Welcome Back, Carter

Don't Read Their Lips, Read Their Budgets

Federal government spending? The most in U.S. history.

State government spending? The most in Oklahoma history.

Scenes from the Sexual Revolution

To support National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the NFL is teaming up with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, which, despite numerous studies linking breast cancer to abortion, continues to give money to the nation's leading abortion business, whose employees likely have snuffed out the progeny of numerous NFL players.

Happy Birthday, Anne Marie

Today you would be two years old. There are times when I think about you I wonder what you would look like as a two-year-old. I wonder what you would be doing and what your personality would be like. But mostly when I think of you I see my baby girl. I suppose that is how I will always see you – 10, 20, 30 years from now I will always picture you in my mind as my baby girl.

I won't ever forget the day you were born and I won't ever forget that first night you were here. Of all the scary nights we had while you were at Children's, I don't think there was one as scary as your first night. The night we thought we would lose you only hours after you came.

I remember I had gone to see you in your little isolated room at the Parkland NICU. You looked perfect and had beautiful soft skin and lots of dark hair. You were so tiny lying on your first little bed. Later I had to go back to my own room and late that night your daddy and I eventually fell asleep. And then at about 3:30 a.m. three doctors (two neonatologists and a cardiologist) came in to wake us up. My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw those three men standing over my bed. I thought you were gone. The doctors told us you weren’t doing well – that your vent wasn't strong enough and that you were going to be moved to Children’s Medical Center in preparation to be put on ECMO.

Your dad and I went immediately over to the NICU while they prepared you for your very short trip to Children’s. It was only a few hallways away, but it took more than an hour just to move you from your Parkland NICU bed onto a rolling bed with a vent. You had your very own transport team and they handled you with tender care. After you were on your rolling bed it took about 15 minutes to roll you to your new room at Children's – Room C12-253. A room we would get to know very well.

That night was also the first night we met Dr. T. The doctor we fell in love with and trusted with your care. After you got settled in your new room at Children’s, Dr. T said that you had showed just a bit of improvement and that there was a chance you might not need ECMO. She told us we would just have to wait and see how you did through the rest of the night.

Your dad and I went back to my room at about 5:30 a.m. and I cried, begging God not to take you. At around 6:30 the surgeon called and said that you would have to go on ECMO, and they began getting you ready for surgery. You weren’t even a day old and you, my brave girl, were already having your first surgery. You would continue to show everyone how strong and brave you were.

I will always be grateful for God's mercy to us that first night and that he allowed us to have you for 37 days. Because even though it wasn’t nearly long enough I still got to know you.

I got to see your bright eyes twinkle at me and feel your little hand grasp mine. I got to see the tiniest hint of a smile underneath the tape across your mouth. I got to rub your oh-so-soft skin across your forehead and rub your delicate little feet. I got to change your diaper and put lotion on your dry skin and give you just a dropper of milk. We only had you for just a sliver of time, but in that time I got to know my baby girl. As long as I live I will treasure every minute that God gave us with you.

Today is a sad day for me. I know it’s not sad for you, but it’s sad for us because we miss you so much. But even though I am sad I hope that when people think about our family that they don’t see sadness. I hope they see God’s amazing grace to us, not because He has given us Oliver (although we are amazed at His kindness in that) but because He has carried us through the darkest time in our life. There was a time when my nights were so dark I didn’t know if I was ever going to see light again. A time when I thought I would drown in all those tears I couldn’t stop from falling. A time when I would hug my pillow at night because my arms felt so empty. A time when the pain was so deep that I just didn’t know how I was going to make it. The pain of losing you is still there and there are times when I cry and cry and just can’t stop. And there are still times when the darkness creeps back in. But God has pulled me up when I didn’t think it was possible to be pulled up, and He continues to pull me up on those days when things seem so bad. He has caused me to laugh again when I never thought I would. He has helped me to rest in His sovereign plans. And He has shown me how much He loves me. Through your life and death God has shown me the depths of His love in ways I didn’t know before. You are God’s gift to me, a blessing beyond anything I deserve.

Happy birthday, my sweet girl! Today,we will have a cake for you and put pink flowers and balloons at your spot at the cemetery. We will thank God for you and be thankful for the time we had with you. Our hearts will still hurt missing you, but one day we will see you again – that’s a promise!


Anne Marie at 4:00 a.m. on October 16, 2009, just before moving to Children's Medical Center



Anne Marie on October 16, 2009, a few hours after being put on ECMO


This is my favorite picture of Anne Marie. You can't see it in the picture, but her arm is sticking our and her little fingers are fiddling with her tubes. She had been playing with my hand and squeezing my fingers. This photo was taken November 8, 2009.

Our Hearts Long for Home

Anne Marie, when I hear this song I always think of you. And I wonder, "What is it like to be held in the same arms that hold the universe? What is it like to sleep on the chest of the King of heaven and earth?" So many times I think about your last hours with us, what it was like to hold you. I think about how sad we are that you aren't here. And then I try to picture your first second in heaven and imagine you taking your very first deep breath. We know that you already have what we pray for all our children. You are home. We love you, sweet girl!

Gee, If Only Someone Could Have Seen This Coming

"A woman in Canada will serve no jail time for strangling her newborn son and leaving his body in a neighbor's yard," according to National Review.

The court's rationale for giving a mere suspended sentence for infanticide -- which, even in a nation with no restrictions on abortion, is still a crime -- was a simple extension of its justification for abortion, which is that Canadians "generally understand, accept and sympathize with the onerous demands pregnancy and childbirth exact from mothers, especially mothers without support." In the words of one of the judges, "Naturally, Canadians are grieved by an infant's death, especially at the hands of the infant's mother, but Canadians also grieve for the mother." Someone should grieve for Canada.

Does Oklahoma Need More College Graduates?

Yes and no. We need more engineering graduates, for example. We don't need more anthropology or women's studies graduates (as the various Occupiers can attest). Policymakers suggesting we need "more college graduates" owe it to their listeners to be more precise.

Homeschooling at the Bagel Shop

Sometimes we need to jump-start our day with a cinnamon roll!

Write Your Own Caption

Weekend Pictures

Brandon, Lincoln, Lillie, and Mary Margaret went to Dallas this weekend for the OU-Texas game and all had a great time. Jack Henry, Oliver, and I stayed here and had our own great time. We stayed up late Friday night and played numerous games of Yahtzee and blackjack and watched old episodes of The Cosby Show. On Saturday we made an early run to the donut shop and then watched the game together. It was fun just having the little boys here, but it's good to have everyone back home.


Saturday donuts


Oliver and Jack Henry 


Watching OU dismantle Texas 55-17




Lincoln, Lillie, and Mary Margaret at the State Fair of Texas