There are Few Sounds Hungrier Than a Vacuum

In case any of you are still doubting my literacy from reading my last post, I'd like to share a poem from a couple nights ago. After vacuuming in preparation for a baby shower that Jessica was hosting, listening to a grating excerpt of Schnittke viola music on public radio, and trying to feed an uncooperative baby, I wrote:

There are few sounds hungrier than a vacuum,
Its gaping maw muffled just slightly by carpet,
Except maybe a baby, who also sucks but is very soon satiated,
Subsiding to sleep in arms
Lulled softly from anxious to tranquil.
But some voids will never be plugged
Or vacated, except perhaps by a flip of the switch or power outage.
Funny how in space
You can’t even hear a vacuum scream.

Ever A Helpful Boy

So this morning I, Jared, am here tending the young 'uns. Sorry if I lapsed into Hick for a second there. Sometimes that can happen, living as I do, in semi-backwoods Missouri.

Anyway, I was feeding Noah, who was ravenous. Luke, ever a helpful boy, brings me Jessica's milk pumper. He was even holding it up to his own chest like he has seen Mommy doing.

I tried to explain to him that only moms can produce milk. Daddy doesn't have that capacity and neither will he when he's older.

A little later, he tried to feed the baby trail mix. Next, he had found some glucose tablets that I keep by the bed in case of low blood sugars, dumped them all out, and was eating those.

That'll teach me to take my eyes off him, even if my attentions had been focused on getting an agitated Noah to sleep.

I really do think that Luke means to be helpful. Jessica and I will just have to train him to channel his eagerness towards activities that everyone agrees are helpful.

Speaking of helpful things, I just got the baby to sleep. What a relief! Before that, I was one-handing-it trying to type. Of course, Luke has now joined me at the keyboard . . . asdfj35533

No, I haven't regressed from Missouri Hick into illiteracy. Luke was just helping me with my blog post!

Jared's Parent's Mission and Other News

This is Jared writing. My parents have left on their mission to Winnipeg, Canada. They've been called not only as missionaries, but as mission mental health advisers. They're in the MTC now, but in another week they will leave for the mission field. En route, they're going to stop by and visit us. While this isn't exactly their most direct or scenic route, we're sure glad that they can come to visit. Luke and Noah especially are going to miss Grandpa and Grandma during the year and a half that they're away. Still, we know that, as missionaries, they'll bless the people greatly in Winnipeg. Love you, Mom and Dad!

Anyway, the other day, I was sitting in our La-Z-Boy rocking chair burping Noah after feeding him. Luke comes up, babbling away in his own language, and starts hitting me on the leg. At first, I told him, "No, Luke, don't hit. Do you remember that book we read called Hands Are Not for Hitting?"

Luke says some words, but he understands quite a bit more than he can verbalize. He certainly knows what it means not to hit. However, when I started rubbing the baby's back instead of patting, Luke stopped hitting and imitated my motions. I realized that this wasn't naughtiness. Luke was burping my leg!

In other momentous news from life's fleeting moments, this past week I turned 33. Hard to believe, I know. Unfortunately, in spite of Jessica's loving efforts, my birthday itself was rather awful. My insulin pump had stopped delivering insulin due to some faulty supplies. Minimed, the manufacturer, agreed, after a long night battling with alarms, conversations with technicians over the phone, and out-of-whack blood sugars, to send me a new loaner pump. That didn't fix the problem, but a different set of supplies that they have sent me since did fix things. What an ordeal!

Thankfully, I'm in better shape now, and we were able to celebrate my birthday in a more festive, healthy manner this weekend. Ok, so cheesecake isn't exactly healthy, but at least I was feeling better. Most of all, I feel blessed and grateful to have my beautiful, sweet wife and bright, energetic boys.

Sister Oberholtzer, who has been tending the children as Jessica has started working a few days a week as a dental hygienist, explains our boys' energy well. She likes to say that "Luke has been very busy." He moves chairs to enable him to climb on things and is able to reach many items, things that I was just sure he couldn't possibly get his hands on. Luke never ceases to surprise and amaze me!

Noah is quite possibly the smileyest baby ever. Whenever you look at him, he's so happy to see you. Unlike Luke, he loves to have his diaper changed as he lays there, kicks with delight, makes little cooing noises, and smiles and smiles.

Well, thanks for enduring to the end of my lengthy post. Hope that I've left you smiling because I'm feeling happy now.

Hello world, I'm alive.

By now the readers of this blog have ZZz. Oh, I guess YOU didn't notice. Everyone else has stopped checking this blog only to find well, nothing. Sorry about that. Yes I know there is a lot to catch up on. That's why I've been in such a major blogging funk. Then I go..WHOA...There's Noah growing, Luke talking, CHRISTMAS!!
For now, however, just know that we are alive and well. Thanks for checking.

Anyway, I just ran across this on as a friend calls it "the good site." Check it out...

If you are looking for a simple way to watch and share brief, gospel-centered videos, visit Mormon Messages, a Church-sponsored YouTube channel that is updated each week with teachings of our basic beliefs, stories of hope and inspiration, and more. The website is www.youtube.com/MormonMessages.