Josh & Shana

Shana and I saw two deer (does) cross the road in our apartment complex tonight. They didn't cross Grinstead which is the main road in front of us, they crossed Seminary Court which is the road that goes down the middle of our complex. It was really strange because they were kind of small and very out of place.

Those were the words yelled by then Falcons announcer Jeff Hullinger as Michael Vick ran 60 something yards for a touchdown in overtime to beat the Vikings. That was a great sports moment for me. Another good moment for me was at a Falcons v. Cardinals game when I saw Vick make his longest run from scrimmage live. Pretty cool.

A bad sports moment for me was two years ago when Vick was on trial for running a dog fighting ring. It was the first time in my life I was embarrassed to be from Atlanta. The people from Atlanta were embarrassing in their support for a man who committed a felony and admitted to it. The Vick-supporters who called in to sports radio shows were some of the most ignorant people I'd ever witnessed speak in my life. They were saying stuff like, "Jesus would forgive him." "Stop holdin' back the black man." Stuff like that ALL THE TIME. I knew Jesus would forgive him and I certainly didn't care that he was black. He was my team's QB and he broke the law. Badly. He should be tried in court and be put in jail. I was glad he didn't get off because of his celebrity. It was also the first time in my life I didn't watch the Falcons or much of the NFL for a whole season.

Anyway, Michael Vick was released from Leavenworth prison today to his new jail. His home. He will work for $10/hour at a construction job for a few months and attempt to get reinstated by the NFL. I wasn't a Vick-worshipper like so many in Atlanta. He did change the culture in the city. Really. It was remarkable. Kind of like Calipari has done at UK to use a Kentucky comparison. He was the highest paid football player in NFL history and for good reason. He made the city and the team more money than any player ever had. Its just economics. Then he flushed the money and the city down the toilet.

Now the Falcons have Matt Ryan and have moved on. So what happens to Vick now? I think he should be given a chance to play again if he's physically able. Who knows, he may have bulked up so much in prision that he can't play as well anymore. He may have gotten even more crazy in there. Who knows? But, he's "paid his debt to society" in our legal system. Just like the law says. When anyone gets out of prison they are free. He won't be able to vote because he's a felon, and there are other restrictions. But not being allowed to work isn't one of them. He's a football player and that's about all he knows how to do I guess. So, as long as the commissioner deems him repentant and able to play, I imagine that some team will sign him to a contract and give him a chance to play. He's only 29. He should be given a chance to play. PETA will protest and fans will boo him. That's the consequences of what he's done. But, he's done what he needs to do and whether we agree with any thing that has happened or not, he's a free man. He can work a job. That means he can play. If he can play. I kinda hope he can. It'd be a great story.

So, we are in the big count down now. Today is my second day of my 7th month. Lot of changes have taken place with my body and I am fast understanding all little things that are said about being pregnant, for example, "your body will never be the same." My skin texture is all funky now, all over. It is getting hot (not to bad yet) but my skin is so dry, weird. I keep getting this weird rash like on my upper thighs. Not sure what is up with that. My calves feel huge, but they aren't swollen, weird again. I should take a picture of those later and put it on here. I weighted myself yesterday, and I have gained exactly 20 pounds. I think I am doing good on the weight gain. I could gain a pound every week until the baby got here and still be in the range my doctor gave me. I feel huge otherwise. My hips definitely feel different. I think they might have widened a little bit, but not a ton I can still wear my bella band with my pre-pregnancy clothes. I wore my jean skirt yesterday. I am getting a lot more tired now all of a sudden, it started last week. By lunch time I go downhill. I think a nap might become a regular occurrence on my lunch break here soon or I am worthless when I get home after taking a walk with the dogs. It is totally different and way stronger than the first trimester.

Josh and I are on our third week of labor classes. We are attending a Bradley Method course. It is a husband-based coaching system. So far we really like it. Josh is really enjoying it as well. I think the best experiences I have had during this pregnancy have been watching Josh get excited and enjoy it. For example, my favorite part of our first ultrasound was watching Josh watch the screen. Partly for years we weren't ready, and we can honestly say now we are.

I did some more nesting this weekend. I cleaned Josh's closet out this time. I think he likes it. He likes it when I organize his stuff, but he just doesn't like doing it. I got all my baby clothes washed and finally put away from the showers. I am going to need to buy some plastic bins to store some of the older stuff till he grows into it because I just don't have a lot of room to keep everything out. I need to use my organizer brain to think up some better ways to keep baby's stuff in.

Update on Bogie. I think his days are about to be numbered. Josh and I have decided any indefinite plans yet, but it is clear the medicine the vet gave us doesn't do anything. He has been on it about a month now. We even think we might be seeing some bad side effects not noted in the drug work because he has accumulated another bad habit since taking the medication. It is pretty frustrating, I have been searching for someone to help us in this area for weeks and there is nobody. Now you might be saying, 0 dog trainers no way. Well, just like you would pick any old baby sitter to watch your kids, the same goes with the dog trainers. All have good intentions, but not all are good. So far we haven't found anyone with any credentials worth anything for dominance aggressive dogs. I am going to go to the Library this weekend and see if they have any of Leersburgs videos there. Although I might be able to look online now that Libraries put all their inventory on their websites too. So, I feel like Josh and I are fast approaching tough decisions. Pray for us, if we end up having to get rid of Bogie or put him down it is going to be hard on me. Makes me feel like such a failure. That just isn't me, I can't fail at anything. Although, I kind of feel like the Lord is working in my heart to let go. We'll see. That could just be my pregnancy hormones all over the place too and I could change my mind tomorrow or in 10 minutes.

I guess its been a while since we have posted anything. As usual I'll leave the baby stuff up to Shana. Although I will say that I can't wait for the baby to get here. I'm tired of calling him "baby." We use his name around the house, but "baby" just doesn't seem to cut it. I got to practice holding a newborn yesterday. Caroline, our downstairs neighbor's (Jason and Rachel) daughter, is 4 weeks I think. So sweet. Can't wait.

My fantasy baseball team stinks. Too many injuries. I'm in two leagues this year and they're both bad. I didn't get to create my own, so I'm with the leagues that I've been in the longest. Oh well, baseball is a long season.

I went to the gym for the first time in a month yesterday. I had a bike wreck a while back and hurt my wrist pretty badly - cutting meat has been a pain. But I think I'm finally healed up. The one think I found out - I can get super out-of-shape in a month's time.

I started my first of three summer classes yesterday. I'm taking "Intro to Biblical Counseling" with Dr. Scott. He's awesome. The class is awesome. I'll write more on this class and on last semester some other time.

Louisvillians and for that matter most people in this state cannot drive. I'm pretty sure that there's a force field around the state that, as soon as you enter, your blinker is automatically disabled. That's the only reason I can think of as to why no one here bothers to signal a turn or lane change. Even in torrential night rain with less than a car length of room to maneuver. It happens all the time.

*TV SPOILERS ALERT!*
Its season finale time. I haven't watched much TV this season. I kept up with most of it online. 24 - way better than last year, but the ending last night was a little weak except that Olivia got busted!. Smallville - good setup for next year, but there was no final battle with Doomsday. Weak! American Idol - I've watched bits and pieces here and there. I wanted Danny to win but any of the final three guys could have won. They're all clearly the best on the show this year, and the best in a while. That's about it for TV for me.

Did I mention I'm ready for the baby to be here?

I think that's all for now...gotta go to class. Maybe a video soon.

My friend Chris posted this on his website. You need to watch this. Any by "need" I mean must.
Dr. Mohler has been blasting this trumpet for a while. I wonder how long it will be before we actually get it...if we do get it.

Here's the link to Dr. Moore's blog about his final exam he gave us for Ethics. You should read it and just for fun let me know what you would do!

I feel pretty massive. Starting to get more tired, seriously felt like I could collapse at work sitting at my desk. Still getting my exercise. Need to be better about my sugar eating, but it is so hard. Baby is kicking up a storm. I feel him all day long. We are getting ready day by day to welcome him into this world. Crib is officially in our room now. I am still in the process of bringing home all the loot from my weekend of showers that just past.

P.S. It seems to me lately, giving birth and parenting ideas are way more controversial than Theology. I think I am going to stop answering questions honestly or asking other people questions (other than Jennifer Jordan).

If you haven't seen the Auto-tuned News yet you should check out this video. Auto-tune is that music program that makes people into good singers - Britney Spears, most rappers who try to sing, and now Barak Obama. This video is hilarious. Beware: There's a bit of PG+ language at 1:25. Just a heads up.

I haven't really gotten into the whole Kentucky Derby thing. All that means for me is that I have to cut a lot of meat...where's Peyton Manning when you need him right? However, I did catch the race on the tv. I know jack about horse racing and I'm fine to keep it that way. But, how the heck Mine That Bird won that race is beyond me. It looked like Nascar (another "sport" I know nothing about). It was pretty amazing. Apparently its an upset of historical proportions. 50-1 odds. Kind of like Seabiscut...maybe? I don't think the announcer really knew his name. Here's a video from the top view:

And the race itself:

I grew up a huge fan of the NBA. In the hometown we had Dominique. Or as us kids called him - "Nique". I was a huge fan of Jordan. I loved the Hawks and Bulls. Its really great to see the NBA returning to form. The Hawks will probably lose their series to the Heat because two of our best players - Horford and Williams - are out because they were fouled ridiculously hard and are now injured. Although I'm still holding out for hope - Josh Smith and Joe Johnson are still playing.

New Villain from this series: Dewayne Wade. Great player. Fun to dislike. Kind of like how I felt about Kevin McHale and Larry Bird.















Being a fan of the Bulls (who I still follow), I've watched most of their series against the Celtics - a team I've never liked (although I like the Sox, so its not a city thing). There was the Nique vs. Bird battle (Bird won). There was the Jordan vs. Bird battle and the video game. So I'm trained to dislike the Celtics. Now comes this series. I can't stand KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. When I say I can't stand them I mean that I think they're all amazing players, but, well, you know. Now, after this current series you can add another guy to this list.

New Villain from this series: Rajon Rondo. Kentucky player (strike one). Tripped Heinrich (strike two). Smashed Brad Miller in the face and should have been ejected. C'mon, he wasn't going for the ball (strike three). He threw Heinrich into the scorers table last night (strike four...wait a second...) Too many strikes. This guy is dirty. Bill Laimbeer style. Not quite Ron Artest, but definitely Laimbeer-ish.













So, I think the Hawks will probably lose because their players are down. I think the Celtics will probably win because they're playing at home and they are the defending champs...but I'm totally pulling for the Hawks and Bulls.