Case of the Mondays?

If you had a bad Monday, look on the bright side, at least you weren't this guy.



Now I know how NOT to fix a sprinkler.

—b

Your Pregnacy: 12 Weeks

Yep, Erin is pregnant! For most of you, this comes as old(er) news.

For those of you not in the loop, this pregnancy came as a surprise. Because it took us almost two years of trying and thousands of dollars to have Brevin, we figured the same would be for our second child. We were wrong. We have friends who also had trouble conceiving the first time and their second time was no different, so figured we'd have the same difficulty. We were wrong, again. Erin's "body" didn't seem to correct itself after having Brevin, so we figured we'd be in for another long and expensive haul. For a third time, we were wrong.

See a pattern?

We found out she was pregnant the middle of May (she's due January 8th) but wanted to wait to tell people until the second trimester. We unfortunately couldn't wait to tell some people because we already have had to go in for a second ultrasound as some red flags have been appearing. Thankfully, after several friends and family have lifted up the little one in prayer, God has answered in the positive and after a follow up appointment a couple of days ago, the baby is doing great!

It's been a little different this time around in notifying people of Erin's pregnancy. A relatively unknown website called "Facebook" (please note the heavy sarcasm) helped leaked the news. On second thought, the word "leaked" isn't appropriate, try Jack and Rose trying to escape the quickly sinking Titanic definition of the word "leaked". In wanting to be as sensitive to those who have been trying to conceive without success, we have tried to let the news out relatively low key but task seems about as likely as...well...the Titanic not sinking. It's not going to happen.

So now what?

Great question. God has and always will provide for our needs. (Notice I said needs and not wants.) Right now finances are a secondary concern, albeight a close second. We'll keep praying for the little one and take life one day at a time. The Lord has granted us two healthy children and we'll continue to praise Him for that. Right now our family's verse seems to be Matthew 6:34:

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

So in the meantime, if you wouldn't mind lifting up our family in prayer when you think about it, we'd greatly appreciate it. We'll keep you updated whether you want us to or not. ;)

Enjoy your weekend!

—b

Nap Time Disobedience

The second best part of vacations, is reminiscing. The first would actually be the vacation itself, but reminiscing isn't far behind. The big advantage being you can look back and laugh at a particular situation, even though at that time, it may have been far from laughable.

As Erin's folks were passing through last Friday on their way to a mini-vacation, reminiscing was the cause of several outbursts of laughter. One such story started out as Erin's brother (several years ago) only wanted souvenirs from Yellowstone Park. Even though the Johnson family had gone to several other places on that particular vacation, Josh refused to get anything but Yellowstone paraphernalia.

This story led up Josh recounting his nap time disobedience.

When Josh was made to go to his room for a nap, he'd refuse. But instead of showing his rebellion to his parents, he'd get the better of them by not falling asleep. The funny thing was, when he was in his room, he needed something to do which didn't require him getting out of bed or potentially getting caught not sleeping. So he decided to count the letters on the pennants hanging on his wall.

Not only would he merely count the letters, but he'd make it a competition. Which letter would there be the most of, thereby winning. He recollects being excited every time he got a new pennant in hopes it's letters would change the eventual winner.

It's amazing what we'll find to do as long as it's not what we were told to do. We find ways to rebel even though the means we find to rebel, we'd normally have no interest in. ie. Counting letters on a pennant.

Josh had some great quotes recounting his rebellion. The first was the "'T's', 'M's', and 'R's' always had an advantage thanks to the ™ and the ®." The second was our favorite:

The 'E's' always won.

—b

Officially Dorky Parents

Like the title of this post says, we are officially parents. Yes we have been for almost a year but we crossed another line of parenting this past Sunday. We officially crossed over the "dorky parents who don't care what others think" line.

How so?

This past Sunday, it was our turn to help out with children's ministry. For unity/safety/recognition, we sport the official apparel of Hiawatha Children's Ministry with the green t-shirt Erin is wearing in the above picture. No big deal. But the line of dorky parents is crossed when both of us are wearing the same t-shirt and not only visit the local Baker's Square, but then go on a walk with our child and small dog all the while still wearing matching t-shirts.

The line has been crossed and there's no going back.

We can get away with it now, but the older we get, the more Brevin will relize his parents have not only crossed that line, but that line had been crossed so long ago, it is no longer in sight. So Brevin, this post is for your future self. Yes, we know we are dorky. Yes, we don't care. Yes, we know we embarrass you. We will do our best not to go above and beyond the inherited dorkiness of parents but it is not our main concern, far from it in fact. Our main concern is to bring you up in a home where Jesus is glorified. Like it or not, that's our responsibility.

So as Erin and I get further and further away from "that line", we will enjoy every opportunity we have with Brevin. Even if that includes embarrassing him by wearing matching t-shirts.

—b

BEing 500!

BEing this is my 500th post, I thought it would be fun to see what else is 500. (And yes I realize hitting 500 posts isn't a huge deal in the blogosphere, but still it's pretty cooling BEing this blog has been active since 2005 and I grow tired of things very easily.)

Doing a relatively quick Google search of "What has 500", here is what I found:

•  NBC Anchor Brian Williams has 500 MySpace "Friends" (Probably thousands now. Why that is news worthy is beyond me.)
•  Kimora Lee Simmons has 500 pairs of jeans
•  Sudbury (Ontario) man's home has 500 guns
  
•  (Video game) Fallout 3 will have 500 different endings
•  New Toyota fuell cell hybrid has over 500 mile range
•  2008 English Derby winners sire has 500 Austrailian foals (I'm not quite sure what that even means.)
•  Nagaland (India) has 500 doctors for 2 million people
•  Firefox (web browser) surpassed 500 million downloads in February. (Over 8 million downloaded version 3 in 24 hours a few days ago setting a Guiness Book World Record)
•  The Death and Return of Superman story line was within Superman #500
•  In 2003 and 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine published their "500 Greatest Albums" and then "500 Greatest Songs" of all time

And my favorite result when looking for "What has 500?"

•  Question: What has 500 legs and 12 teeth?
  Answer: The front row of a Willie Nelson concert.
  

So while I'm not doing anything besides posting a bunch of random links about the number 500, I hope you've enjoyed what you've read whether it's been all 500 or have just caught the last few. God willing, I'll be able to keep posting and, in a small way, praising Him through them.

—b

Science Museum: Star Wars

This past Wednesday, the Eidsmoe's and the Swenson's got in touch with our inner-nerds. (Ok, so only Doug and I did that, but Erin and Dena still had to take us back.)

Back in April, I posted a picture about the Science Museum hosting the Star Wars exhibit and at the end of that post I asked "Who's with me?". My fellow designer, Dena (bigD) Swenson said she and her husband (Doug) would go. Wednesday, was the day.

Three of the 5 of us grew up loving Star Wars (my wife and son being the two exceptions). And even though bigD is a Star Wars fan, she's not quite as nerdy about it as her husband is. bigD became Erin's saviour. The three of them hung out and browsed the displays while Doug and I embarassed them and ourselves quoting lines and charachter's noises (see above photo for that one).

It was great getting to know Doug better. I had only spoke with him a few times before never having the time to get to know him better. He also has the design bug being a designer at another organization.

Before finishing up with the exhibit, I had to get at least one photo with Brevin and I. I love his expression. It's usually impossible to get him to look at the camera when you actually take the picture, so not only did I get him looking at me in the previous picture, but here Erin gets him with a freaked look on his face. Classic.

Immediately following the exhibit, we got in line take a five minute ride in Han Solo's Millenium Falcon. While Erin and Brevin waited outside, Doug, bigD, and I traveled through hyperspace in the authentic looking YT-1300 freighter. I was hoping to experience being chased by TIE-Fighters or dodging asterteroids but I forgot this was a Science Musuem. So instead we learned about...science. It was still cool but not what I was expecting. But hey, we did each get a piece of flair!

Being it was way past Brevin's bedtime, it was time to head home. It would have been nice to stay out with the Swenson's but it wouldn't happen...at least not that night. Both Erin and I would love to hang out with them again, this time it can be in a gender/non-nerd neutral location. ;)

You can check out 60 pics from the night here.

—b

BTW, you can always check out bigD and Doug's blog using the links on the side and I'd also encourage you to check out bigD's and her twin sister Maren's ETSY store. They have some really cool handmade jewlery.

"The Asian Sensation"

(click to enlarge)

Last night I got to experience one of the perks of freelancing...eating. And not just eating mind you, but eating some awesome Asian cuisine!

In the past I have written about Chef Tri Dey Mayer and her Lemon Grass Kitchen. I have been doing her work for a couple years now and it's the best smelling work I've been apart of. :) Anyway, a couple of weeks from now, Tri Dey will be catering local large business (I can't remember which one) during their lunch break. So instead of running to Taco Bell or Burger King, the employees will have a healthy alternative delivered.

In order to help promote her catering business, we created the 24" x 36" poster above. It will be displayed on an easile tempting the hungry worker bees. It was a fun piece to do. Tri Dey had prepared the pieces before I arrived, ready to be photographed. Thankfully it was a beautiful day out yesterday allowing us to take advantage of some perfect natural lighting. After taking several shots of each dish, we got to bring in the food and devour it. Needless to say, I had a full and happy tummy when it was all said and done. I even got to relive some of last nights glory by having leftovers for lunch today.

Having said all that, if you ever find yourself looking for a great catering idea, I highly recommend Lemon Grass Kitchen. Just in case you have a picky palette like my wife, Tri Dey also does other international and as American food as well!

—b

Predictions About The Year 2000

The following is taken from a Ladies Home Journal from December of the year 1900. It's title says it all, "What May Happen in the Next 100 Years." You can either click to enlarge the image or read the list here.



I think my favorites are:

• No mosquitoes or flies
• Peas as large as Beets (Dwight Schrute would be proud)
• There will be no letters C, X, or Q
• There will be no wild animals except in menageries (zoo's).

There were some pretty accurate ones though as well. One thing they didn't predict is how much there publication changed in 100 years. :)

It makes me wonder what we think will happen by the year 2100 and what actually does.

—b

When The Holy Spirit Rings Your Doorbell

Ok so the Holy Spirit didn't actually ring our doorbell but it sure felt that way. Let me start from the beginning.

But first let me post this disclaimer. I wasn't sure I was going to write about this because I don't want to come off as self righteous. Please hear my heart in wanting praise to go to the Holy Spirit.

My ideal morning routine would constitute getting up at 4:45 AM to spend some time in prayer then the Word. Admittedly, that doesn't happen as much as I'd like. In fact, it's rare I get up that early. It usually happens in the 5 o'clock hour and that isn't even everyday.

Anyway, having said that, yesterday morning I got up around 5:30 AM to spend some time with the Lord. After going through my prayer list, I usually end the prayer time asking Jesus for help in obeying the Holy Spirit. I usually have my Bible reading in mind as I need Him to give me insights into that morning's readings. But it also includes any leadings the Holy Spirit may give me throughout the day.

Now that I've creeped some of you out, here is where the Holy Spirit rang our doorbell. I had just finished feeding Brevin and was about to get him dressed for church when our doorbell rang. Being it was 8:20 on a Sunday morning, my initial reaction was to not answer the door. But instead I opened the door to a girl who was about 10 holding a puppy and she asked if I could help. Not knowing the "for what" answer, I stepped outside and asked "what's up?" Her answer surprised me:

Our house is flooded, can you help?

Again, my initial reaction was a negative one. I was flooded with valid excuses of why I couldn't help. But what was I going to say? Sorry I can't help, I have to get ready for church? There's a good ministry. Not only would I not help, but I'd be using God as my excuse. (Now there are some very valid reasons why saying "no" for the sake of going to church but none of my excuses met that criteria.) So I reluctantly said:

Sure.

I said I'd need to finish a few things but would be right over. She told me the house number, as I'd never seen her before, then quickly dressed Brevin and brought him up to Erin where I told her the what I'd be doing. With a puzzled "ok" and a quick "be safe" I was off. (I told her I'd have my cell phone just in case.)

When I got to their front door, I saw the little girl wasn't kidding, the house was flooded. The carpet was sopping wet. The kitchen floor was now a pond. The ceiling was now a dark, continuous rain cloud. Upon entering, I was greeted by the girls mother where I was let in on the situation.

Apparently the house was the mother's mother's house. Make sense? Basically the little girls grandma's place. The mother was going to let grandma's puppy out before going to work. But when she opened the garage door and saw it raining in the garage, she knew she wouldn't be going into work that day. The mother traced the origin to the upstairs bathroom...where the puppy was. She said it would have been funny if it hadn't been so sad. The toilet was overflowing and puppy was desperately trying to get out of the bathroom. His kennel was flooded, and so was his litter box. (Yea, a puppy and a litter box. Go figure.) The poor little guy was getting soaked pawing at the door.

This is where the mother wanted help; she didn't know how to shut off the water going into the toilet. She asked her daughter to take the wet puppy and find someone to help.

Ding Dong.

Why the little girl chose our place, I don't know exactly. I had taken Bella out but that was long before they would have got to the house. Our curtains were still closed so she couldn't have seen I was up. We weren't next door neighbor's either, in fact, we are over half a dozen homes away. My only thinking (behind pure chance) is the Holy Spirit answered my prayer in wanting to obey him. It wasn't close to the way I would have thought that prayer would have been answered but nonetheless, the Holy Spirit gave me that opportunity in the form of a panicked girl and her puppy.

The mother was able to shut off the water right before I got there. She was obviously flustered in what to do next. So I cleaned up the bathroom (which was filled with wet kittie litter and puppy poop) while she grabbed a mop, talked with the grandma over the phone, and was looking for a place that had a wet/dry vacuum all at the same time. (Wow, women are great at multi-tasking.)

After finishing the bathroom she had a good handle on the situation and thanked me for coming over. So now what do I say. I wanted to let her know that I was a Christian and not just some stranger trying to do a good deed. I wanted to give God the glory. So, what do I say? Do I give her a presentation of the gospel message while the ceilings are still raining? Do I ask if we can lay hands on the toilet getting rid of it's demons? (I'm kidding, I just thought that was funny.) All I said when leaving was:

May God bless the rest of your day.

Was that enough? I don't know but it seemed appropriate as she had a long day in front of her.

Getting back to our place, I was able to fill Erin in with the details as we rushed to get out the door. Thankfully we were only a little late for the time we were supposed to be at church.

So that was the beginning of my first official Father's Day. I spent more time that morning talking with my heavenly Father than I would have guessed. And next time, instead of asking Jesus to help my obey the Holy Spirit's leading, I think I'll ask for a DVD instead. ;)

—b

Picturing My Father

On Friday I thought I had posted my "Father's Day Post" but stumbling upon these photos from DarkRoastedBlend.com, I thought of my dad. For those of you who don't, he is an avid photographer. He brings it everywhere. We'll occasionally give him a hard time because of it, but he is really good. Even after hiring a "professional" photographer at our wedding, our favorite picture was one my dad took.

Anyway, the following pictures are in honor of him. I love you dad and have a great Father's Day!

And of course one "amateur" photographer.

If you want to see more, DarkRoastedBlend.com has two pages full of more like these.

—b

Happy Father's Day!

Being it's Father's Day on Sunday, I had to post this clip honor of all the dad's. All it is, is a father making his son laugh. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, it still makes me smile. Enjoy.



Happy Father's Day dad's!

—b

6 Movie Theater Eating No-No's

Normally I pass over headline articles dealing with food issues. I know what's bad to eat and what's good. I know I need exercise and to drink plenty of water. Normally...but this time, an articles headline caught my eye that I had to read: 6 Worst Things to Eat at the Movies.

Now you have my attention. I love movies and I love having popcorn and pop even more when at the movies. To be specific, my "usual" is buttered popcorn with a large Cherry Coke and either Junior Mints or Twizzlers. Mmmm... I know that isn't good for me but I usually justify having it when it replaces a meal. (I know that's not good either).

Anyway, according to a recent article from Men's Health, here are the 6 Worst Things to Eat at the Movies:

1. Large Popcorn - 1,283 calories • 78 g fat (49 g saturated) • 1,850 mg sodium
2. Large Nachos with Cheese - 1,101 calories • 59 g fat (18.5 g saturated) • 1,580 mg sodium
3. Snickers Popables - 692 calories • 33 g fat (14.6 g saturated) • 73 g sugars
4. Whoppers - 676 calories • 24 g fat (20.3 g saturated) • 88 g sugars
5. Large Cherry Coke - 572 calories • 0 g fat • 154 g sugars
6. Large Soft Pretzel with Cheese - 643 calories • 14.5 g fat (3 g saturated, 4 g trans) • 3,068 mg sodium

Here are some facts also given in the article:

1. Snub the butter soak on your popcorn and you’ll save yourself from two-and-a-half day’s worth of saturated fat.
2. The nachos and cheese has more fat and calories that two Quarter Pounder's with Cheese from McDonald's.
3. The combined fat-load of the popables is equal to two-and-a-half full-sized Snickers bars.
4. How many malt balls does it take to run up a day’s worth of saturated fat? About 70, the number in a theatre-sized box of Whoppers.
5. A large Cherry Coke has 50 percent more calories than a half-pound of ground beef. Yuk.
6. The pretzel packs more calories than a proper dinner, and well over a day’s worth of sodium.

D'oh! D'oh! D'oh!

The article also has links to: The Unhealthiest Drinks in America, The Saltiest Foods in America, and The 20 Worst Foods in America. Seems kinda depressing doesn't it?

Well, next time I go to the movies, I'll skip out on my "usual". Well...I probably won't skip out on them but I will think twice. That counts right? ;)

—b

Happy Smurf Day!

UPDATE: For a great take on this Smurfy news, check out Peter Carlson's blog post. Excellent.

In the following tradition of making cartoons from the '80s into movies (Transformers, G.I. Joe, He-Man), yesterday Columbia Pictures announced a CG/live-action movie of the Smufs will be hitting the theaters in the near future. (See the recently released Alvin and the Chipmunks movie for an example of CG mixed with live-action). The writers will be the same team from Shrek. No time table has been given as to the release of the movie but a spokesman from Columbia is quoted as saying:

We are committed to it and hope to get moving on it as quickly as we can.

You can read the entire article here.


The Smurf franchise is currently celebrating it's 50th birthday party. (Yes I said 50th.) Apparently these little blue guys have been around for a while. You can visit their birthday site here.

So why am I telling you all this? I have no idea. I just thought it was Smurfingly odd. ;)

I do have a question for you though. Was anyone else told the Smurfs were "little blue demons" or they "represent Communism"?

—b

Man-Babies

Kinda creepy. Kinda funny.

Gotta love Photoshop.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

—b

Reflection From A Father

This past weekend I got to spend some father/son time with Brevin. While Erin was gallabanting in Appleton, Wisconsin with some friends, it was up to Bella and I to hold down the fort.

Of course Erin had everything set up for me before she left. His food, clean clothes, and items that needed to be brought to church. After all, this was the first time she'd leave Brevin in the hands of someone else overnight. It didn't matter that the someone was me. Being the mom that she is, she made sure to do all that she could before leaving.

The B3's (Bernt, Brevin, and Bella) enjoyed our time together. When Brevin would become fussy for no apparent reason (something he has just started), I thought I'd take both him and Bella out to the park. For those of you who haven't been to our place yet, there's probably a reason...just kidding. Right outside our door is a park for the townhome community. It was a nice day and Brevin had never been to the park; and without mom there to supervise us, we were left alone to get into trouble.

Brevin dug the swing. He was quite the daredevil. He'd lean forward as much as possible to see the ground moving swiftly beneath his kicking legs. When he'd get tired of that, he'd look up at me with a huge, squinty grin and laugh as he'd come to within inches of us meeting face to face. He loved taking in the scenery and seeing the world around him.

After conquering the swing, I thought we could move up to the slide. As I placed him at the top (I would brace him while still standing the ground) I would hold/slide him down. His reaction? I'm guessing he was scared. He would always tightly close his eyes as he went down and wouldn't open them until he knew he was at a complete stop. Every time he went down the slide, he did the same thing. Oh well, at least we had conquered the swing.

Later on that day we took a nap and I was able to introduce him to some classic guy movies. (Well, he was in the same room at least.) 1987's Dragnet starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, the original Rocky and The Karate Kid. (Haha, the Karate Kid, I know. What can I say? I love that movie.)

Besides keeping the kitchen clean, Brevin and I even ran some errands. We hit up Target for a while getting the Milk and garbage bags but not before checking out all the cool toys and rummaging through the DVD's. He was good as he usually is where there is stuff to look at and he's constantly in motion.

When Sunday afternoon came around, we were happy to have mom home again. She wouldn't put Brevin down and made up for all of the hugs and kisses she couldn't give him while she was away. It was fun to hang out with Brevin for the weekend but that's where I'd want it to stop. Having a spouse to help is huge! Not only for Brevin's sake, but for my own sanity as well. No offense to Bella as she makes for a great companion, but I need someone who won't route through garbage or bark at other dogs and Erin fits that perfectly. :)

I love you Erin and not just for everything you do for Brevin but for who you are for me.

—b

Surprise Thank You

NOTE: An easy way to tell if I'm feeling overwhelmed or uninspired is to glance at this blog. If I post everyday, things are great. If not, well, the blog suffers. An apology goes out to my loyal reader. ;)






First off, a thanks goes to my wife for a great surprise birthday party she threw for me two Saturday's ago. She must have been planning it for a long time since my folks from Moorhead, and my brother and his family made it from Sioux Falls to be there.

What should have tipped me off was her letting go to a movie (*Speed Racer) with a friend while her family was here. I was just figuring she was being nice. That'll teach me. ;) (Just kidding dear.)

After the Friendly Stegosaurus treated me to some Jimmy John's and a movie that a friend described as "having Skittles melted on your eyes" or just plain "glossy", we headed to church to "pick us some music for tomorrow's service". I started getting suspicious when I had to go into church with him, then as he let me take the lead (as if I new where his music was), I got the "SURPRISE!" as I walked through the basement doors.

Thanks to everyone who could make it, and even to those who wanted to but couldn't. It was a great party with fellow believers in Christ. Not only from church, but some from work as well. I felt so blessed because of the friends who took time out of their day just be there.

—b

*btw, I really did enjoy Speed Racer. Very artistic. I don't know the best way to describe it. Every color used looked like it was made by Crayola. I was wondering what was real and what was computer throughout the movie. The laws of physics had no place in the movie. A real life cartoon might be the best way I could describe the movie.