The Baptism of Jesus S. G.

 

I had the priveledge of performing my first baptism since my mission. I was quite honored when the missionaries showed up at my doorstep a few days before the baptism. I have offered my services to give a talk for Jesus' baptism and the Elders were delighted. The Elders asked me rather than give the talk if I would be willing to perform the baptism. You see, Elders are encouraged to get members of the church to perform the baptisms. This helps in the transition of the new member of the church to full fellowship and knowing members of his ward. The Elders continue visiting Jesus, but their role lessens as they continuing finding others to teach and the members embrace the new converts. I was doubly thrilled to discover I was to perform the baptism in Spanish. Most of the evenings program was in Spanish and was a pleasure to attend. 

Why Pinewood Derby Rocks My World

 

I remember my Pinewood Derby car in the days of yore ... (yore = dinosaurs) It was called "The Black Widow". All black, sleek looking ride with a deadly red hourglass on the top. Ironically, I'm terrified of spiders now ... thanks in whole to the "watched it when I was too young" (18 years old!) movie Arachnophobia but I digress. One more quick thing ... Here are two more movies that fall under the same category of too young ... The Dark Crystal and It .

I filmed a pinewood derby in Columbus Georgia and this has to be the best shot of the night! This car is entirely airborne and the black spot is a free rolling wheel! I must have watched the video of this 40 times now. At the Pinewood Derby, I brought a video camera, a TV, and a ReplayTV. I could do instant replays and photo finish shots of the races. The crowd really loved it! 

The Stem is on the Apple ... Repeat: The Stem is on the Apple!!!

It's a boy!!!! Apparently, the finger is just to the left of the "stem" on the apple as one co-worker (who will remain anonymous) stated. The other large white spots are the tummy and two legs. More to come later ...

Will the baby be Budd Uglee Loden or Imma Down Loden

Today's the day. We find out if we are having a boy or a girl! Now, many of you might recall that I wanted to keep the gender of the baby a surprise until the delivery room. You will also recall that Raquelle wanted to find out what it was. Well, just about everyone else wanted us to find out and those are incredible odds to fight. Well, I lost but not without some concessions. Our next baby's name will be Budd Uglee Loden (if you don't get it, I'll do a post on red neck humor soon) if its a boy and Imma Downe Loden if its a girl. And the real big kicker is that I get an Auburn themed nursery to counter the Holt's nursery for Jordan.

Blue and Gold Banquet

 

Yesterday was the annual Blue and Gold Banquet for the Cub Scouts. It was a great success! The scouts and their families had a great time and the boys got their awards. Cory is getting his awards in the picture with his mother nearby. We had a contest to see could throw a foam airplane into the basketball goal. Dimick won that one. The tail of the airplane finally broke after hours of enjoyment. My only regret was eating the oven-baked, tortilla-wrapped, banana-marshmallow, chocolate peanut butter monstrosity. The boys loved it. My stomache did not. 

Give me your tired, your poor ...

 
I don't care that I missed out on being a part of the Xbox / PS console generation. Somewhere deep inside my celebral cortex a few console neurons are failing to fire. Quite possibly they aren't even there. I just can't seem to grasp the fundamentals of holding the controller in my hands and having 27 buttons to press. Four fingers ... 27 buttons ... doesn't add up. In fact, its not that fun to do. I get more stressed. Give me your Combat, your Super Mario Bros, your Digg Duggs. 

Insert Funny Title Here

 

Nothing funny about a car accident. Way too soon for me to even think this was funny. I was involved the cause of a car accident today. I am grateful to the Lord that neither I nor the occupants of the other vehicle were injured (1!). Their car was thrown into the oncoming lanes of traffic ( because they had their steering wheel turned before they were ready to execute the turn which my dad also warned me about doing). Fortunately, even at rush hour times, there was a lull in the traffic (2) and the oncoming cars were able to see the accident from afar and respond accordingly. Their car suffered pratically no damage from the rear end (3), while mine looks analogous to a crushed aluminum can. When the police officer arrived, he held up traffic so I could move my vehicle out of the way. I called Raquelle and asked her to print me off an insurance card. She came promptly and safely. The couple in the car were Mexican and spoke virtually no English. I was able to translate the police officer's questions and instructions for them and tell the officer what they were saying (4). The police officer thanked me for the assistance translating, saying I really helped him out. The lights are all busted except for one of the high beam bulbs, meaning that I could still legally drive it home. (5) The numbers are the blessings in disguise of this whole ordeal. Oh, and please leave a comment about what the title of this post should be. Funniest or most fitting one wins! 

Avoid like Grim Death: 4 Player Chess

 


With little to no humility I announce my proclivity for traditional chess. Very beautiful game. However, 4 player chess is a gross mutant offspring that should be put down any time it rears it's ugly head. My animosity towards this seemingly harmless 4 player game stems from the quaint observation that everyone (Robert, Brian, and Lance) playing me in this game was out to get me! 

Site Under Construction Part 2: Got Brick?

 


The brick has arrived. The end. Just kidding, the water lines have been run, the fireplace is in, and the builder forgot the master bedroom trey ceiling. Progress as usual! 

And in the Morning ... I'm Making Waffles!

I know I've been a good husband to my beautiful wife and our unborn child. This picture proves it! I made from scratch Belgium Waffles for the first time for my wife's craving. This picture would have never happened if Sis. Brown didn't call me in the middle of making these crispy on the outside, warm and yummy on the inside, golden brown, made with stiff peaked egg whites folded in, good lovin. She said I needed to document this creation for posterity. Well said, sister!