The Joy of Fatherhood

On Monday I was asked to make a Robin Hood/Peter Pan hat with some specific instructions. It was to be green and it needed a red feather. I don't know that I have ever made or seen a paper Robin Hood hat, but I think I made it successfully, or at least good enough for a 3 year old. He has been wearing it most of the time for a week now.

The results

Wearing it opening a Valentine

Wearing it eating Valentine M&Ms

Posing for a photo wearing it

Who knows what he's trying to do here

I think the hat has a couple days left before it's torn apart from all the use it has seen, but it's easy enough to make another.

Out with the old...

...and onto a new year that's hopefully happier and all together better than the old.

The hopes and fears of all the years a met in thee tonight.

At this hour of the morning when I usually prefer to be sleeping soundly I came across a blog post that was comforting to me as my first Christmas with a significant loss is about to begin. The other day I was very sad at the thought of having lost Nolan and that Christmas just wasn't going to be all that good this year. I started thinking of Christmas a the celebration of Christ's birth and what Christ did for us. It was relieving. I can't say that this christmas will be what I thought it would be 3 months ago, but I have a new view of what it will hold for me this year.

Merry Christmas

Take a moment to think of the significant role Christ has had in your life.

Oh Christmas Tree

Our trees through the years

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Doing those things we don't love to do

I just got around to the annual cousin letter. I've always been a procrastinator when it came to the letter, but this year I really didn't want to write anything. I think everyone around me knows that Nolan passed away the day he was born and that it was the most challenging experience of my life. I have written a few things about it, mostly for myself, so I'll remember and so others will know how I feel. I didn't want to revisit those feelings to share with the family too much, but I got something out and it's been a challenge even in its brevity. That's that, so I'm just gonna say it now. If I have another year like this one was I'm not writing anything.

Is there something wrong with my tastes?

Nabisco, what’s going on with you guys? Why can’t you make a proper Mint Oreo cookie to meet my needs?

I got hooked on the idea of a Mint Oreo when those stupid Keebler Elves quit making their old Grasshopper cookies that were essentially a Mint Oreo, not the Girl Scout cookie knockoff that they market as a grasshopper now.
I really liked the Mystic Mints, which evolved into Fudge Covered Mint Oreos. From what I could tell this was an Oreo with a minty filling covered in fudge. But that was discontinued and they introduced a Milk Chocolate Covered Mint Oreo, it wasn’t nearly as good as the Fudge Covered Mint Oreo. As best I know that, eventually, disappeared too.

A while back there was an Oreo Double Delight, the filling was green and white. I was supposed to be minty and creamy, it was tasty, but the consistency of the filling was off. Now there are Cool Mint Oreos, they taste the same to me as the Double Delight Oreos and the filling is off on these too.

Much to my pleasure, the other day I was at the grocery store and I say a limited edition Mint Fudge Covered Oreos. They aren’t quite as good as I remember the original, but still a nice find that I will savor for the time they are available to me.

Just know, I'm really not sure

If you ask me how I'm doing, I'll probably tell you I'm OK all things considered. The truth is I'm not sure how I'm doing, I've never been through anything like this before. I'm getting by, I go to work, I'm trying to do other things that I've always done. Just know that it is alright to talk to me, I am still me and I still like to being social. I may not want to talk about everything that has happened though.