my take...

I just finished watching the VP debate and I'm sure you won't be surprised that I would like to offer my opinion for whatever it's worth. I didn't comment on the presidential debate because I didn't catch most of it and what I did catch was pretty boring. This debate, however, was extremely interesting!

Overall, I think we'll hear both sides claiming victory as usual. Republicans will be glad Palin held her own and had a few shining moments. Democrats will appreciate Biden's presidential-ness and the fact that he didn't say anything gaffe-like.

I must say that I am now a huge fan of Biden. I didn't know much about him before, but man, is that guy impressive. He has such an amazing background and experience. He speaks with such passion and he has the ability to connect with real . I was certainly impressed with his desire to work towards an end to the genocide in Darfur. He effectively cut the "Maverick legs" out from under Palin which I was glad to see because that whole Maverick stance rubs me the wrong way anyway. I now firmly believe he would be an amazing legislative connection for the administration as well as a solid negotiator in foreign affairs. I think he would command respect from foreign powers and effectively and comfortably communicate with our allies and enemies.

I also think Palin pulled through just fine and won't make any major headlines, which had to be a major goal. She was obviously out of her league and steered away from some foreign policy questions. At times, she appeared to me to be rehearsing lines and trying to cram as much as possible into 90 seconds. By the end of the night, I was quite tired of hearing about the connection between raising taxes and job losses. I don't feel like that point really connected with much of anything, but she was determined to drive it home.

In my opinion, I'd certainly chalk the victory up to Biden, but I think Palin did well enough to keep her relevant and in the game.

faster than a 12-year-old girl...

Getting old is getting old. Three examples:

1 - I found myself having to join the young men's small group at our church simply because this is the last year I can be considered a twenty-something.

The other two examples are from my day at school today...

2 - I was having a difficult time today having my kids understand that line graphs show how data changes over time. So I was put on the spot to come up with an example that was less-boring than the ones in the book. What did I come up with? The number of gray hairs on Mr. Davis' head from 2002 - 2008. They walked away understanding the concept. I walked away depressed.

3 - During activity time with my sixth graders today, I made an exciting discovery. One girl wanted to race me and I kindly obliged. I smoked her! I mean, it wasn't even close. So I still have a little speed - at least enough to beat a 12-year-old girl. So why is this an example of getting old sucking? Well, I pulled my left quad while I was running and spent the rest of the day hobbling around.

eulogies...

I just got finished delivering my first eulogy at a funeral. We traveled to Richmond last night to attend the funeral of a young man who was in the youth group Sarah and I led about 9 years ago. He died in a wreck last weekend.

I wrote a eulogy for my mom's memorial service two years ago but was unable to attend the service becuase I got food poisoning the night before. So, in a way, I guess this was my second eulogy, but first time delivering it.

I'd say it went well and I feel that God gave me good words of comfort, but I hope I don't have to do that again for a long time, or ever again...whichever comes first.

One funny note from the day though, was that I received a promotion to Reverend! Evidently, whoever wrote the bulletin thought I was ordained and it read like this:

Officiating:
Rev. Brian Hughes
Rev. Pete Davis

After the ceremony, one guy shook my hand and said, "Nice job, Reverend." I was caught off guard and somehow squeaked out a thanks.

Obama on reform...

Are you sitting on the fence in this presidential election? Or are you thinking that I'm crazy for supporting Obama? Or do you support Obama and simply want a few more reasons to feel good about your decision? Either way, take some time and watch this video. It outlines the types of reforms (political, governmental, and regulatory) he plans from Day 1 in office. I think you'll have a hard time arguing any of these points.

I'm still here...

I haven't disappeared. I've been sick. The last week and a half I had a pretty rough cold, sore throat thing going on. Then the girls got colds, and now Sarah's sick. Sarah also spent last weekend in Asheville, NC getting trained to be a doula (labor assistant). I've been tutoring twice a week and Sarah just wrapped up a Bradley class. My dad was here this weekend helping me with a few projects around the house (I'll post pictures later). So anyway, I hate excuses, but I just needed to share why I haven't written much as of late. To quote one of my favorite movies, "I'm not dead yet." And to shamelessly quote another, "I'll be back."

learning the art of kissing up...

So either Kyla is the absolutely sweetest little girl in the world, or she is perfecting her flattery techniques. Case in point:

The two times of the day when I typically get the most frustrated with the kids are meal time and bedtime (I'm sure every parent can identify). For some reason, Kyla enjoys getting down from her chair and moving to different chairs throughout the meal. That's no big deal except she has spilled her food on the floor several times while scooting around. Well it happened a few nights ago while I was outside watering the flowers. Kyla came out and told me she spilled her yogurt. I had originally gone outside for a little break from the craziness inside, so I didn't really react. I just said, "Sorry about that." She came back in and actually cleaned most of it up. When I came back in, I asked her, "How did you spill your yogurt?" I was totally expecting to hear a story about moving her bowl and I was preparing lecture 153 entitled, "How many times have I told you not to move your food around the table?" She looked up at me with her baby blues and replied in a sweet voice, "I bumped it with my elbow because I was getting down to come give you a hug and tell you I love you." Desire to give lecture: dead.

Then tonight, I had put the kids down (Sarah wasn't home) and had settled down to watch a little TV and enjoy a nice snack of chips and salsa. About a half hour later, Kyla came walking in the room (she totally slid under the Daddy Radar which can usually detect the slightest movement upstairs). Thankfully, I wasn't too frustrated at that point, so I calmly told her she needed to get in bed. She said, "Here are some flowers that were in my kids' Bible." She handed me some pressed petals that we found in an old Children's Bible that she keeps in her room. I said, "thanks, but you need to get in bed now and don't get out again." She replied as she left the room, "Ok, but I was just trying to learn about Jesus dying on the cross." How can I get upset at that???

She's totally undermining every possible moment for me to lecture her. Where is the fun in that?

quote of the week..,

From Karl Rove on Sunday:

"McCain has gone in some of his ads -- similarly gone one step too far," he told Fox News, "and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the '100 percent truth' test."

This from the King of Politcal Spin!