a big move...

Well, we've made our decision. Lord willing, we'll be moving to the Philippines this summer! If you've been reading my blog at all in the past months, you know that we've been struggling over whether or not to make the move and we just can't ignore God's calling any longer! We've been counting the costs and weighing our options. We've prayed and prayed, we've talked and talked, and we've thought and thought till our brains have hurt! Everywhere we look, everything we read, every thought we have leads us to the fact that God wants us to pursue moving to the Philippines and so we have said, "Ok, we'll go!"

2009 holds many new adventures and challenges for sure, but we are hopeful and filled with faith in our God who always provides where He leads! We've seen miracles in the past and eagerly await new miracles in 2009! I'll be posting more about the process of making the move in the next few weeks and we're in the process of finishing a website that will explain it all. I'll post the link to that in the coming days!

Happy New Year!!!!

Rain drops on roses...

Whiskers on kittens. Something and something and warm woolen mittens. These are a few of my favorite things. As we hit the New Year tonight, I thought I'd wrap up the old year with a look at a few of my favorite things from 2008. It's been a wild ride, but I'll see if I can fit it into one readable blog post!

In no particular order, here are my favorite things from 2008:

1. Next Level Church - We started going to our new church this summer and have loved every minute! They are such a warm, real, and open group of people who are willing to do all they can to help. The church is also dedicated to serving and helping the poor which is something we value very highly.

2. Avery's condition - Our youngest daughter has had a horrible bout with eczema which has created a nightmare for us over the last 1.5 years since we moved to Charlotte. The good news is that ever since we started a treatment called NAET with an acupuncturist, her eczema has been improving and her demeanor has improved drastically and I realized a few months ago that I was finally able to truly enjoy getting to know my daughter. We still have our rough days, but they are fewer than last year!

3. A FREE Car!!! - Some friends gave us an awesome Volvo station wagon last spring and it has been a lifesaver! We made it through last school year (barely) with one car, but we are so blessed to have two cars now so that Sarah can take Kyla to preschool this year and she is able to take Avery to the park and run errands during the day.
4. My wife - Sarah has embarked on some new roles this year and I am super proud of her! She taught her first two series of Bradley Childbirth classes this year and did a superb job. Her students loved the classes and she got some rave reviews! She also became a doula and has been picking up business over the past few weeks. She's started a "Babies and Coffee" get-together for the new moms she works with and she's making a real difference in families' lives. She does this all while handling the stay-at-home-mom duties! Way to go Sarah!
5. Photography business - I've been so blessed this year to have been able to shoot 4 weddings and a boat load of portraits. It's been so much fun to do what I love and get paid for it. I've learned and grown so much and I look forward to what the new year holds!
6. Woodworking - I've had a chance to get out in our garage and build quite a few things this year. I've built a double bed for Kyla, some floating shelves for the living room, night stands for our bedroom, and various other projects like putting up a storm door and crown molding with my dad.
7. The kids - Sarah spent 2.5 weeks in the Philippines this summer and I had the chance to hang with the kiddos on my own for that time! It was challenging and tiring, but I feel like it just exploded my relationship with them! They continue to amaze me with their imaginations and how much they love being with each other. They are best friends and it is a blast watching them grow up although I can't believe I'll have a 5 year old soon and our youngest is now 2 1/2!
8. My Job - Teachers are complainers by nature, and I can join in with the best of them on my weaker days. The pay stinks, the kids stink after activity time, and the responsibilities get piled on higher and higher with little to no opportunity for promotion. But having said that, I love my job. I love teaching middle school. My coworkers are outstanding and my kids are well behaved (for the most part). My school has nearly every bit of technology I could think of using. And when it comes down to it, I don't have to fear losing my job in this difficult economy.

I'm sure there are many other things that I have missed here, but my coffee cup is empty and I need a refill. Plus, if I keep writing, you'll probably quit reading! Happy New Year!!!!

movie buff...

So it's midnight and I'm not too tired...I guess that's what afternoon naps are supposed to accomplish. I'm off to bed soon, but I wanted to post this crazy story from my day at school. I've got this great kid named J in one of my sixth grade classes. He has the best personality and a hilarious sense of humor. I've realized before that he knows quite a bit about movies, but today he shocked me beyond words.

It all started when the 6'2" sixth grader (you read that correctly) put on my jacket because he was cold. Well, the jacket that is quite large on me barely fits this kid so J starts singing "fat guy in a little coat" from Tommy Boy...one of my favorite movies. Of course, being the fair teacher that I am, I cautioned him that it probably wasn't the nicest thing to say. But I did have to chuckle and congratulate him on referencing a movie not many kids his age had seen.

So I decided to quiz him a little more in his movie knowledge. I asked him what movie "FRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEDDDDOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM" comes from. He quickly replied, "Braveheart!" So I asked him a follow up question. "When was Braveheart made? "1995" he replied. A quick google search confirmed his answer!

So I quoted the famous line from "Cool Hand Luke." He didn't get it! I had him! So I told him what movie it was from and he said, "Oh yeah, that was made in 1967!" Google confirmed. You have to be kidding me!

"When was Ferris Beuller's Day Off made?" 1986. Correct.

The bell rang and I dragged him in my disbelief to his next class and grabbed two other teachers. I said, "Name a movie." One teacher replied, "Pretty in Pink." I hadn't seen that and I don't know anything about it. He said, "I'm not sure when it was made, but I know Molly Ringwold is in it." Correct.

The other teacher smiled and said, "Risky Business." He said, "Tom Cruise." Correct.

So throughout the rest of the day, I kept on finding J and quizzing him. "There's a boy on a tricycle saying I want my two dollars (a suggestion from another teacher)." "Better Off Dead with John Cusack." Correct. "Who played the woman in Top Gun?" "Kelly McGillis." Correct. "Who played in The Breakfast Club?" "Emelio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson." Correct. "Who were the women in Thelma and Louise?" "Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon." Correct.

Sheesh! It was unreal. Some of these movies were even before my time! I was able to stump him on Short Circuit and Princess Bride, though. I'm gonna have to pull out my A Game tomorrow. But I guess more importantly, I'm going to have to somehow leave it alone for 90 minutes so that I can try to teach him some math. Maybe I should show "Stand and Deliver" and he could learn some calculus.

retiring a giant...

I read the other day that Polaroid was no longer manufacturing film for its line of instant-film cameras. My first reaction was "Wow, they still make Polaroid film?" I remember having lots of fun with Polaroids many years ago. They've been around for 60 years and were really an amazing breakthrough in photography. I was also shocked to read that 8 years ago, the same amount of instant film cameras were sold as digital cameras! We've come a LONG way in just 8 years!

Anyway, here is a great 1981 commercial for a Polaroid camera. I found it quite funny to go back and watch. I wonder what we'll be saying in 25 years about the commercials for our super-awesome digital cameras we have now! Oh, and be sure to watch through to the teaser for the upcoming "Father Murphy" episode where there is a wild horse that "only a young retarded girl can race." We certainly have come a long way!



Here's another video of a recent news story about the end of Polaroid film. Some people are very upset (savepolaroid.com)!

a little mid-week encouragement...

I read a passage from Galations 5 this morning out of the Message translation that I thought I'd share. I sometimes find all of the bickering, back-biting, pain, and suffering around me kind of depressing at times. It's also easy for me to fall into the same kind of behavior that I see around me. This passage reminds me of the change that can and shout take place in me when I allow the Spirit to change me.

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time; repetetive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional baggage, frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper;an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addicitons; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inheret God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in lfe, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. The passage goes on to tell us that we need to not just hold onto a Spirit-filled life as an idea, but work out it's implication in every aspect of our lives.

What a great summation of the Gospel of Christ. Is believing in Jesus about getting into Heaven? Well, yes that's part of it. But it's so much more. It's so much about change in your life and making the brief time we have here on Earth count.

funny kid sayings...

On Saturday we went with the Baslers to a local church for a Walk Through Bethlehem where they had set up a replica of Bethlehem complete with animals, guards, and a live nativity scene. It was a pretty cool time (quite literally...I think it was about 40 degrees).

Two of the Roman guards approached Kyla and her best bud Ella and demanded, "Pay your taxes to Cesar." My daughter responded with, "We're both four. We go to preschool." The ensuing conversation was complete with references to Old Lady (the way she says Old Navy).

Earlier in the day, Avery made me proud by walking around saying, "Touchdown Hokies" over and over.

This morning, Avery was very quiet in the kitchen for a few minutes while I checked my email. When I asked her what she was doing, she walked over to me and said, "I got a boogie" and had her finger up in the air with a prize on the end. I walked her over to the bathroom so she could wipe it on some toilet paper. When we got close to the bathroom, she said, "Oops. I dropped it." I said, "Oh, no. We need to find it!" She replied very calmly, "It's okay, I can get another one." Too funny!


As I type, Avery is walking around singing "Diarrhea" over and over. I'm tempted to teach her to sing "Cha cha cha" after she says diarrhea like we used to do in elementary school, but I think I'll leave that one alone for now...a rare moment of parenting dicernment.

Advent Conspiracy...

I just finished watching this quick video about the Christmas season. Please take the 2 minutes to watch it if you haven't seen it! It reminds me of some great Christmas experiences we had in Los Angeles helping with the toy drive our church sponsored and one Christmas Eve that Sarah, Kyla and I wandered around the city giving out some gifts we had bought to homeless people. Those are honestly some of my favorite Christmas memories! Anyway, check it out!

a little Monday morning encouragement...

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promises is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35,36


I don't really have any commentary for now. I could tell you what those verses speak to me in my life at this moment, but I'll just let them speak to you instead. Have a great week!

the cobbler's son has no shoes...

The landscaper's yard is in shambles. The computer engineer has no working computers at home. And at our house, the photographer's family has no family portrait...except for the few awesome shots we have from our great friend Veronique. The only problem is that she lives in California. So we set out Sunday afternoon in search of a few good family shots...of course none would include all of us. I always seem to be able to capture great shots of other people's families, but always have the toughest time with my own. I guess the kids get sick of me sticking a camera in their faces or something. Anyway, below are a few of the shots we captured. It was a freezing cold day so we didn't brave the elements too long. We did manage to capture one shot of us all too which turned out pretty good. SPOILER ALERT!!!! If you're one of the lucky few on our Christmas card list, you might see these pictures again. Enjoy!

crazy shots...

I've been experimenting with some different lighting and flash techniques over the past few days and I thought I'd share a few from last night. They turned out pretty crazy and I promise that I didn't do anything to them after I took them!

what about the kids?

One of the biggest mountains to climb in regards to possibly moving to the Philippines is the thought of raising the kids in a developing country. For those of you who may not know, our youngest daughter Avery suffers incredibly from eczema. For some, that may not sound too bad, but let me just tell you it has been Hell at times dealing with this. There are times when about 60-70% of her body is covered in horribly irritated, dry skin and all she knows to do as a 2 year old is scratch and cry. She's allergic to a ton of things including milk, eggs, nuts, pine trees, grass, formaldehyde (found in carpet and a ton of other things), petrol chemicals (found in gasoline and just about every lotion), and we recently found out she is allergic to the two vaccines she was given (DTAP and HIBB I think). Ironically enough her eczema didn't start until after she had those two vaccines...hmmmmm...but that's a controversy for another day.

Through this decision process, I feel like I have just been waiting on a miracle with Avery. I've found myself saying that I would be able to make this decision a lot easier if we didn't have so much trouble with her condition. I've always viewed her as frail because for a long time she even had trouble gaining weight. She's moved on from that and is very healthy, but I still have it in my mind. She is improving so much as she gets older. This time last year, we were ready to fall apart at times because of the stress with her health. Now those days are a little fewer and we find ourselves being able to actually get to know our daughter for the first time. She's developing her own little personality and I'm realizing she's probably one of the most interesting people I know! We're also taking her to an acupuncturist who is doing an amazing acupressure technique that has been proven to eliminate allergies...and we feel like we're actually starting to see results...I'll post more about that later.

So what about the kids? Why would we move them overseas? Well, let me turn that around. Why would we not? When we think about our kids as adults, how do we want them to turn out? We desire for them to have a broad world-knowledge, to understand how the world works, not just their own little community, but the world as a whole. We want them to have compassion for those in need. We long for them not to be caught up in the consumerism and materialism that so easily engulfs us. We want our kids to tangibly see how God can provide in tough situations. We want our kids to know that life isn't always easy and life isn't always fair, but God always works things out for the good of those who love Him and are called to His purpose. We want our kids to be grateful for all they have been given.

Can those desires be fulfilled for our kids here in the Sates? Of course they can, but in my little mind it seems much easier to instill those values while walking in faith in a developing country. Sure they will be young while they are there and may not catch everything that happens, but I can't help but think that Sarah and I will be so radically transformed while we are there that it will have a lasting impact on how we live as a family forever.

I have a coworker who lived in Japan as a missionary for 19 years. I talked with her last year about our possible move and our concerns with the kids. She and her husband had their two boys while living overseas and they were teenagers when they moved back. Now, as adults, she says her sons continually talk about their days in Japan as some of the best times of their lives. She says she'd go back in a heartbeat if she could.

So in my mind, the kids shouldn't really be a reason not to go. Do I worry about their health and safety? I try not to, but sure I do. We love our kids more than anything and want nothing but the best for them. And that is honestly one of the main reasons why we want to go overseas. We can trust God for their safety and do all we can to show them a life of faith, love, adventure, and service. That seems like the best thing we can do for our kids.

One big thing that might have a big impact on our decision, though, is whether or not Avery will be able to get the vaccines she needs to go. We're looking into that and watching, waiting, and praying that she'll be healed of all these allergies. Keep praying for us and I'll do my best to keep you updated. Thanks!

continued thought process...

Nearly two weeks ago, I started writing about our decision about whether or not we should move to the Philippines. My plan was to keep up the inner-discussion regularly, but I got slammed with a ton of photography work. But it's a rainy Saturday morning and my photo shoot isn't happening. Avery woke me up early but went back to sleep so I'm up in a nice quiet house. So here goes...

I wrote earlier about Plan B which is basically moving back to the West Coast for a myriad of reasons (see the post if you're curious). I feel like Sarah and I had kind of reserved ourselves for that plan and I was beginning to feel quite comfortable with that plan. I mean, it sounds great to be back in Cali again for all the reasons I listed on that post. We were beginning to lean that way and I was getting rather excited about it. I mean, there was this little nagging inside me from time to time saying that God still wants us to move to the Philippines, but it was just a small voice and I could easily drown it out.

That is until our church started a new teaching series on Jonah. As soon as I heard that was to be the next series, I honestly thought, "Crap. I'm feeling alright about not going to the Philippines and it's about to get difficult again." If you don't know much about Jonah, here it is in a nutshell. God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah says no and tries running the opposite direction to Tarshish. Jonah gets tossed overboard and swallowed by a large fish.

The first teaching two weeks ago was like a severe blow to the gut. There was no guilt or bullying. Just an honest plea to follow God even if it doesn't make sense, or even if you don't want to do it, or even if you have no clue how to do it. I can honestly say that in our decision about the Philippines, I've felt all three of those feelings. There are times when it doesn't make sense. There are times when I don't want to do it. There are times (and this is where I've spent most of the time) when I don't know how it will happen. But at the end of the day, I still feel that still, small voice urging us to go.

stay away,,,

I try not to pay attention to market reports and economic news...it's depressing and it's something I have no control over. I just need to keep on trying to make more than I spend right now. Thankfully, I don't have to worry about losing my job.

But one thing I read yesterday made me pretty upset. If you know me at all, you know I strongly dislike Walmart. There are many reasons - economic impact on local small businesses, poor pay and benefits for employees, extremely high distribution of goods made in sweatshops in oppressive areas...not to mention how crowded and crazy-huge all the stores are. I've only shopped there about 4 times in the past 5 years I think.

Anyway, I read an article yesterday saying that in these difficult times, Walmart is making more and more money. "It is our time. We are well prepared at Wal-Mart," Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said. It's Walmart's time? That sounds scary. I understand that as money gets tighter, it sounds great to save money at a store with cheap prices. But in my economically-uneducated mind, doesn't it seem that more people shopping at Walmart will only put more small companies out of business which will lead to more unemployment which will lead to worse economic times which will lead to us all working at Walmart because they are the only ones hiring?

So here's why I care about this story. There is something I can control here, unlike most economic troubles. I can keep away from that store especially during this Christmas season where they make something like 50% of their annual sales. I can buy from small businesses in my area and online. I can look for toys for my kids that aren't made in China of cheap, led-painted plastic. I can be creative in what I give to others, maybe even making some of it myself. Sure, my kids may not have a plethora of gifts under the tree. We may pay more for fewer gifts. But at least I'll feel good about what I give.

nothing to fear, but....Barak Obama?

I love this clip from the Daily Show last night. He talks about two of my greatest dislikes: guns and Fox News. He also does a great job pointing out how crazy it is that some people are so afraid of Obama right now. It's great! Oh, and he also did a pretty hilarious interview with Bill O'Reilly later in the show if you want to go to his website and watch that too.

swamped...

I know I've kind of left you hanging after my previous posts about decision making and the future of the Davis family. I promise it's not on purpose! I've been completely swamped in photography! I'm certainly not complaining here because this is exactly what I've been wanting to happen for quite some time. Sarah and I shot two weddings last month and in the last week, I've had 5 portrait sessions and I've got 6 or 7 in the next week! I'm hoping that this keeps rolling, but it is quite tiring! It seems like every waking moment that I'm not teaching or taking care of the kids, I'm working on photos. Ok, I'll even admit I've worked on pictures even while I'm taking care of the kids...

Anyway, I'm sure it'll slow down sometime soon as we get closer to Christmas. I'll try to get some more writing done as I can, but in the meantime, check out my photography site to see what I've been up to! But seeing that I'm up to midnight yet another night, I should go to bed.

wow...

What a night. If you've read anything on my blog in the past few months, you know that I am a happy man tonight. Do I think all is suddenly right in the world? No. Are all of our problems solved? Absolutely not. But you cannot argue with these election returns! No recounts. No lawsuits. No questions about shady voting practices. No wondering "what if." This is a landslide by definition.

I think the pastor of our church, Todd Hahn, said it best on his blog tonight:

Whether you voted for President-elect Obama or Senator McCain, know this - the world has not ended on the one hand, and the new era of perfection has not begun on the other. God is still in charge of mankind and nations and He is working all things to his eternal purpose. Focus on what is eternal, not what is temporal.

I appreciated McCain's concession speech and I hope his supporters will be able to appreciate the historical significance of the night. I also hope that we'll be able to come back together.

should I stay or should I go now...an intro to a new beginning

I've spent a lot of time here on politics over the last few months...probably too much time. I started out trying to nail down my views and I've engaged in some good discussion along the way. Now, as the election is upon us, and as my endurance is running out, I'm off to other things. Sarah and I are in the midst of many huge decisions. And rather than work them out behind closed doors and hope for the best, we thought it might be good to bring some of them out and see what insight come out from others. So if you're interested...keep reading! I'll be posting more thoughts as we seek to figure things out.

When we were in college at Virginia Tech, our church began talking about some people moving to Los Angeles to plant a church. The big question on everyone's mind was, "should I stay or should I go?" I sat down and wrote a spoof song based on the Clash's famous song by that title. My friends Scott, Patrick, and I performed the song at our church's Christmas banquet (I felt like it was an encore performance to Patrick's and my hit "We 4 Kings of Orientar: It's Me, Vince!" from the previous year's banquet). Our fans were yearning for more, so we gave it to them!

Anyway, back to the point. There is a point, you say?

So as many of you know, about this time last year, Sarah and I began sensing a huge burden on our hearts to move to Davao City, Philippines so that Sarah could work in a Christian, charity-based maternity clinic serving the poor women from the city and surrounding villages. The desire grew so great that we could think of little else. We even went as far as beginning to raise support to possibly move this past summer. But after lots of prayer, thinking, reading, and talking to others, we decided to postpone moving.

Sarah had the chance to visit this summer for 2.5 weeks and fell in love with the program at New Life School of Midwifery and all of the wonderful people there. She noted the challenges and hardships of life there, but still felt a strong draw.

As we prayed and talked more and more, we began to feel that maybe this just isn't the right time for us as a family. We could think of a million reasons why not to go. But we could think of just as many reasons why we should go. In the end, we found ourselves settling on Plan B - which isn't a bad option, but we're still not settled with it. Next post: starting with Plan B

Starting with Plan B...

Some people blog to express their thoughts and opinions. I've certainly done that here, but now it's becoming, once again, a place to get my thoughts straight. A place to unwind of the mental knots tied in my head.

So here's Plan B for our future in a nutshell. I'll explain Plan A as we go along, but I feel B is easier to explain:

It should come as no surprise that teachers don't get paid very much...especially in Union County, NC. I took a $15,000 pay cut when we moved from LA and I had to start paying for health care - health care for the entire family provided by the district was something I took for granted! So needless to say, finances have been a nightmare since moving here. We've been trying to find ways to make more money. My photography business is starting to pick up. I tutor once or twice a week. Sarah became a childbirth educator and now she is a doula (labor assistant). We basically have about 3 small businesses in start-up mode which makes for little free time! And Sarah wants to become a midwife in the near future which would obviously be a huge help financially!

So basically, plan B would be for us to move to an area where 1) they pay teachers more, 2) there would be a good market for photography (Charlotte is pretty good, though I think), 3) there is a good market for childbirth classes and doulas (not the best in Charlotte), 4) Sarah could study midwifery (NC does not license midwives so NC is out), and 5) Avery's allergies would not so drastically affect our family (pretty much the entire Southeast is out there).

The clear choice for us that fits the majority of those criterion would be California. I don't think we'd want to move back to LA, but we've been looking at some places like San Luis Obispo, Carpinteria, and Ventura. Of course we wouldn't be able to afford a house there, but in all honesty, we can't really afford a house here either on $34,000 a year. Also, in CA, one of the midwives who helped deliver Avery is willing to help Sarah with her midwifery studies! There might be other places besides California that would fit a lot of our criteria, but we know we like Cali and we can see ourselves happy there.

Wherever we land if we stay in the States, however, we have decided that we will be a family devoted to missions. My dream is that we take advantage of my free summers as a teacher and take family mission trips every year. We could plan for the entire year where we would go and work to raise the money to get there. We could even go for a month at a time. Then the next year we could go somewhere else or go back to the same place. After several trips, and once Sarah has her midwifery license, we would maybe have a clearer sense of what God wants us to do.

So that's Plan B. Like I said, it's not too bad. And I'm honestly pretty excited about that option. But then came Jonah...more later.

3 more days...

I wrote this on Friday and debated about whether or not I should post it...but I decided I would. So here goes!

I still can't believe how many false rumors (lies if you will) about Obama are truly believed around here. We were talking to my neighbor last weekend who is about 20 years old and is in the marines. Sarah asked him what his impression of the election was from a military mindset - how were people in the military voting? He responded that he thought most people in the military were voting for McCain because Obama would be the first Black Muslim president and would probably get taken out which would not be good. I'm not sure who was more surprised. We were shocked that people were still buying into that lie. He was shocked the hear that Obama is actually a Christian.

Then yesterday our middle school held a school-wide mock election. I wasn't surprised when I heard all the kids voicing their support for McCain given the area where my school is located and I certainly didn't engage in any debates. I just held my tongue and when the kids asked, I told them I would tell them who I voted for after the mock election was over. As the day progressed, it got harder and harder to hold my tongue - not because I wanted to change minds, but because I couldn't believe the lies these kids had been fed. Had I heard the same about McCain, I would have gladly corrected it.

I made it through the day, but this morning I finally had to hit it head on. Obama is not a terrorist. Obama is not a Muslim. Obama is not related to Sadam Hussein. Obama was not connected with the 9/11 plot. Obama will not make kids go to school on Saturdays and Sundays (I thought that one was pretty funny, actually). And when I ask where the kids hear these things, what do they say? Well the one about weekend school came from a kid in band. But most of them said they got their information from their parents. I asked one kid what his parents watch on TV and he responded, "Fox News." Well, I guess it's a good thing they don't watch that evil "Mainstream Media!"

great link...

A Christian author by the name of Brian McLaren who I have come to respect over the past 5 or 6 years has been posting some good reasons why he supports Obama over the past few weeks. I found this post about abortion very well written. It voices a lot of the thoughts I've had that I can't quite articulate as well as he can.

correction...

I need to amend my previous post. After further thought, I really think I should change my title from Peter the Teacher to Pete the Teacher. It has more of a down-to-earth feel to it. Sounds a little more like Ed the Electrician or Tito the Builder (which I actually heard Palin say). Thanks for considering my correction.

Peter the Teacher for Obama...

I kind of find this "Joe the Plumber" bit rather silly. Some guy asks a presidential candidate a few questions about a tax plan and suddenly he's the backbone of the opponent's campaign. The poor guy got hounded by the media and now the word is out he hasn't paid up on his taxes. That'll teach you to ask questions! :)

At any rate, I'll be the first one to tell you that I don't understand much about taxes, but I know taxes have been on the forefront of the election. I found this tax calculator online and found it interesting. It tells me that I'll get $1200 more in tax breaks under Obama than McCAin. You can take it for what it's worth. I don't even begin to understand how it's being calculated. I got the feeling, though, way before this calculator, that I'd be in much better shape with taxes under Obama. I also feel like I might be able to afford health care for my wife and kids under Obama. Who knows, maybe I'll even get a little more as a teacher. These are just a few of the reason Peter the Teacher supports Obama. I understand, however, that Preston the Executive, Earl the Oil Mogul, and maybe even Joe the Plumber may not agree.

Anyway, here's the calculator.

not quite 100%...

In the last debate, Obama said that 100% of McCain's ads had been negative. I have a hard time believing that it is 100%, and I'm not quite sure why he was so sure of that, but I must say it has to be close to that. In my own little survey completed in my house, I have calculated a 100% negative advertising rate by McCain. I have received 3 mailings from the RNC or McCain in recent days and all 3 have been attack ads against Obama. Not a single one mentioned why I should vote for McCain.

Anytime I hear a radio ad for McCain, it tells me why not to vote for Obama. I rarely watch TV, so I've missed most of the TV ads. And I've heard the tales of the fear-driven Robo calls making their way around the country. The few people McCain supporters I've talked to have all told me why I shouldn't vote for Obama.

And I've been quite frankly scared of the tone of the rallies for McCain and Palin. They don't seem too concerned about keeping their supporters focused on the positive. Some horrible things have been yelled and nothing has been said during the rallies to address the bitterness and hatred. I just read that a Republican congressman here in NC said at a McCain rally today that "liberals hate real Americans." What is going on here? I have seen Obama several times stop the booing and taunting from the overly-excited and tell his supporters to just go out and vote because we don't need to do that kind of stuff.

I know that attacking your opponent is part of the political game, but even if I wanted to vote for McCain, I'm not sure I would know why other than the apparent fact (according to the ads and stump speeches) that Obama is a palling-around-with-terrorists, real-American hating, elitist, anti-plummer socialist (which, by the way, could have been, but was not intentionally, a direct quote from the Limbaugh show).

I keep telling myself, "two more weeks...two more weeks..."

endorsement...

I guess I was a little surprised when I read about Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama.
I was, however, thinking that he would go towards Obama since it took him so long to make a statement about it. To me, that seems like a huge endorsement. Colin Powell is someone who is incredibly respected all across the board despite his involvement in the debacle that was the lead up to the Iraq War. I know there is a lot swirling around out there, but here is a good explanation of the objections to the endorsement...enjoy!

weddings...

The past two weekends have been full!! Last Saturday, Sarah and I headed down to Asheville, NC for a little getaway. We stayed just a little north in Johnson City, TN and drove to Abingdon, VA the next morning for our friend Molly's wedding. She asked us to photograph her wedding a few months ago and we were so excited to do it! A huge thanks to Sarah's parents and the Creehans who watched our kids so we could go. It was a beautiful day as you can see below.

On Friday, Sarah left at about 6:30 to be with her first Doula client (she became a doula - a labor assistant about two months ago) who was in labor. She did a fantastic job (at least I believe she did since I obviously wasn't there) and helped the mom deliver her first son that night. On Saturday afternoon, we headed Southeast into the far reaches of southern North Carolina. We passed through Monroe, Marshville, Peachland, and Polkton, passed over the bridge and turned right onto Old Prison Camp Dr. to head down into Wadesboro to shoot another wedding. It was a small wedding in an old Baptist Church. We had a good time and got to eat some good food in the end. We tried to leave without eating (it's my own personal view that I shouldn't eat while I'm being paid to work), but the mother of the groom wouldn't hear it! Southern hospitality at its best! Anyway, here are a few shots of the weddings. To see more, head to peterdavisphotography.com. I'll post more up there later, but for now I have about 2200 images to go through from the 2 weddings! If you're looking for some shots of our trip to Asheville, look here. Enjoy!

show your work!

If I've said it once on this blog, I've said it at least twice...getting old is getting old.

I teach 6th grade math to special ed kids. I was going nuts this morning trying to teach them how to put decimals in order (i.e. 3.001, 3.01, 3.1). They kept coming to me with wrong answer after wrong answer. It's not that they couldn't understand it, it was just that they were trying to cram their work into the tiny little space in their workbooks and they were writing so small they couldn't even read it...I've become pretty much able to decipher the most intricate hieroglyphics, but it was getting ridiculous.

So finally, after about the 10th time saying "show your work neatly on another sheet of paper," I flipped my lid. I made everyone clear their desks and I gave them all a giant (and we're talking giant) sheet of paper. I gave them a new problem to work on and told them they had to use rulers and write big enough that the entire paper was covered.

Once we were done and they got my point, and as I was delivering the ever-inspiring "you have to show your work" lecture, I got a flashback to my childhood. I envisioned a younger Peter sitting at the dining room table with his dad. His dad had grown a little irritated with young Peter because he was not writing his work to his math problems legibly. He was taking shortcuts and getting problems wrong. So I ended the lecture with that little story of my childhood and I mentioned how I should probably call my dad and apologize for all I put him through because now I realize he was right...I felt pretty old just saying those words...Dad was right.

One of my favorite kids, J, looked at me and said, "Why don't you call him now?" First, I laughed it off, but quickly reconsidered. Why not now? So I whipped out the cell phone and called my dad in front of the class. As it was ringing, the kids eyes opened wider and wider and J blurted out, "put it on speaker phone!"

My dad answered with, "what are you doing calling me at this time of day?" I asked him if I could put him on speaker phone with my class and he gladly obliged...he's a brave soul! I proceeded to remind him of the days around the dining room table and he quickly remembered! I then, to the applause of my students, apologized for all the heartache I had caused him in regards to the math. No wonder my high school students used to call me Dr. Phil. I ended the call and wrapped up class. I jokingly told them their homework for the weekend was to consider apologizing to me on Monday.

It is mornings like today that make me love my job even if it makes me feel old and makes me have to go back and apologize for being a stubborn teenager!

too funny, and too true...

severe weather alert...

If you haven't seen this, you'll love it!

Son, this here is Canon Town...

I'm getting ready to shoot two weddings in the next two weeks and I'm pumped! This weekend, Sarah and I are headed up to Abingdon, VA via an overnight trip to Asheville without the girls! So, as I'm preparing for the weddings, I'm thinking about some gear I'd love to rent...nothing I really need, it would just be fun to have with me and would give me a few more options.

So I search for camera rental stores around, and I find one place...Biggs Camera! Well, it seems that Mr. Biggs must be a Canon man. The only problem with that is that I shoot Nikon. I talked to a friend who has a coworker with the license plate "NIKONFAN" or something like that. She told him that there is nowhere in town to rent Nikon! Craziness! In LA, there were rental places on every corner that rented any piece of equipment one could ever need. Oh, Sammy's Camera, where are you in my time of need???? I guess I was a little spoiled.

My next thought was to look for camera stores that might sell a few little things I need to pick up. So I search for camera stores near me. Biggs is a little too far away. My other options are about 20 Wolf Cameras (the twin brother of over-priced retailer Ritz...bleh), Best Buy, and Circuit City. Not exactly my idea of places I'd like to shop. I guess if I need equipment ever again, I've got to think way ahead and buy it online.

my two interests combined...

I get to write one post about photography and politics. I caught the end of the debate tonight and managed to stay awake. The thing that caught my eye the most was after the debate ended.

The candidates and their wives began working the room and shaking hands. One guy caught my eye because he whipped out a Kodak disposable camera. I thought, "I wonder if he snuck that in or if he's allowed to have it." Then a minute later I noticed another disposable camera being used by someone else. Then another and another. It might just be my nerdy photographer self, but I had to laugh. The whole stinking room was using Kodak disposable cameras. I guess Kodak must have been sponsoring the night. I didn't even know they still made those things any more.

Kung Fu Politics...

I saw this site and had two immediate thoughts:

1. Wow, this is pretty funny.
b. Someone has too much time on his hands.

At any rate, if you're up for a little kung fu politics and want to see some real blood drawn from the candidates...have at it! Click on the picture below to check it out.

changing candidates...

I've been an Obama supporter until this morning. I came across this video and the following ad convinced me to change my mind. I hope you'll do the same!


Just in case you didn't pick up on the sarcasm, I'm not actually changing my mind. I just found this spoof ad to be a hilarious parody of the ridiculous political ads that are out right now. I hope you enjoyed it too!

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!

great commercial...

Normally I would never support anything even closely related to McDonald's, but I saw the following commercial a few times during the VT football game today and I love it! While I certainly don't endorse McDonald's coffee (not just because it's bad quality, but because it probably only costs $1 because the people who grew the beans don't get paid), I do endorse this commercial because it is funny!

what is it good for?

The 7th anniversary of September 11 brought back too many bad memories for me as I know it did for most Americans. I get squeamish every time I see the images from that day. Maybe it's because I spent weeks after that day filling my mind with the endless news coverage. Perhaps it's branded on my heart because Sarah and I traveled to NYC and saw Ground Zero with our own eyes one week after the towers fell. Whatever it is, I'll certainly never forget what I felt that day and the following weeks.

What I wish we could all forget is the warrior mentality that overtook American politics following 9/11. We're good, they're evil. We're right, they're wrong. Those who are not with us are against us. We were suddenly no longer invincible and that stung probably even more than the loss of innocent life. We were suddenly afraid of everything, and with good reason.

However, I wish we could go back and do things differently. There are several questions I would like to ask about our response to 9/11 and in my own feeble way, I'll try to answer them...we'll see how it goes. I'm trying to work these things out in my mind, so bear with me. At the heart of these thoughts is my growing sense of pacifism, my desire for peace, and my belief in God and that Jesus called Christians to love our enemies.

Should we have gone after Bin Laden? Yes, I think we should have focused all of our energy and attention on finding Bin Laden. I certainly don't know all of what went on in the planning of our invasion of Afghanistan, but it seems like we tried to take on too much all at once. I feel like after searching for him for a while, maybe we should have waited for a while instead of sending more and more troops leading to an occupation of the entire country. Would that have seemed cowardly? Maybe to some, but keep reading.

I have read that some estimate the cost of the War on Terror is going to hit upwards of $2 TRILLION, some reports aim closer to $4 trillion! Wow. And that is just government costs. That doesn't take into account the burdens that families have endured from losing loved ones, the lifetime of medical costs of those injured incur, the cost of $4/gallon gas on the nation, and the endless untold expenses. Is war just about money? No, but how would our world be different if we invested that money in peace-loving ideals instead of war?

What if we took $2 billion and invested in building schools, roads, small businesses, and water filtration in Afghanistan and Pakistan instead of dropping bombs? Do you think there would be so many people lining up at Al-Qaeda's door willing to wear a bomb? Probably not? That might sound foolish and I realize it's not as easy as it sounds. There are lots of things to consider here like international relations and corrupt governments. But isn't it always right to try to bless others?

What if we would have taken another few billion dollars to insure uninsured Americans? Or given more help to first-time home buyers, invested in public education, improved health care for veterans, or built more green energy infrastructure to wean ourselves off of foreign oil?

What if we would have avoided war with Iraq? That's a whole other story in and of itself.

I know these things were probably the furthest from our minds on 9/12/01, but maybe they should be on our minds now. How would we respond if something like that happens again? What can we do to help improve our image in the international community so fewer people hate us? What can we do to purge our addiction to oil (not just foreign, but all oil)?

These questions are one more reason I cannot support McCain/Palin. They are both incredibly divisive people when it comes to foreign policy. In today's world, I don't think we can stand up and say we are good and they are evil. If we do that, we are getting into the same game as the Islamic extremists. We need to find ways to bless our enemies (and more specifically the people who are oppressed by our enemies) which the Bible clearly tells us is the best way.

I feel like Obama would be the best at reaching out to our enemies to work things out diplomatically. He has said he will open talks with adversaries. I also saw a poll of about 20 other countries who said they would rather see Obama win the presidency and the Queen of Jordan expressed her desire for the United States to reinstate itself as a leader of inspiration, hope, and ideas in the world. To me, Obama has the best shot at doing that.

I couldn't help but notice...

I must say that I thought McCain did a much better job with his RNC speech than I expected. He kept his speech mostly positive. Palin's speech was more entertaining, but McCain's more dignified. I was disappointed by the demonstrators and at one point I started feeling sorry for McCain that the delegates were more focused on drowning them out than they were on him. I think the theme of the night was a little irrelevant...McCain is a war hero, Obama is not. I certainly don't discount McCain's POW experience, what a nightmare that was and I am sure that it had a lasting impact on his life. However, I feel like that's all I hear him (especially at the Civil Forum with Rick Warren) and his supporters say these days besides "Drill, baby drill!"

At any rate, the main thing I noticed was that McCain's entire speech was delivered in front of a giant blue screen! In case you hadn't heard, he gave a speech months ago in front of a large green background which Stephen Colbert turned into a challenge...make McCain more interesting by using the green screen to insert video. One of the responses is below from that challenge (you can see more on youtube). Didn't the RNC realize they were doing it again? Either this was a major gaffe or perhaps it was done on purpose for some more press time. Either way, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the blue screen. I'm sure Colbert will have a field day with this one Monday night on his show!

quote of the day...

We just finished watching an episode of the "The Office" online (one of our favorite pastimes) and I have to share this quote.

Andy: "He shouldn't have to be worrying ... how am I going to pay my kid's orphanage bills?"

It's much funnier if you watch the episode "The Chair Model," but I'm still laughing about it!

rather disappointed...

I'm sure that conservatives everywhere are waking up this morning quite satisfied. Palin delivered quite a speech last night. I can't help but feel disappointed, though. I had hopes that she would come out and deliver a positive message, a nice introduction to herself and her family. She did do that, and she appears to be a warm, caring person. However, she came out swinging with some pretty harsh criticisms. I get the feeling that she is a pawn in the huge political game. She was promoted to be an outsider and a ray of light into the campaign. She evidently spent nearly 2 whole days working with McCain's speech writers. One of the speech writers was quoted as saying, “After she delivers these lines, McCain’s decision to choose her will be much more obvious.” Like I wrote last night, politics is a dirty game. I just hope for Palin's sake, because she is such a seemingly warm, genuine person, that she's fully aware of what she's getting into. But I get the impression that she is just falling in line to be like the rest of the politicians.

getting a little tired...

I was just brushing my teeth a few minutes ago and a surprising thought crossed my mind. I'm growing quite tired of the presidential race. I've tried to keep from overloading myself with all of it, but I think I've about reached my limit with the conventions over the last two weeks. I find the whole process to be kind of like driving past a bad traffic accident. I want to drive by without a glance, but I can't help but slow down, crane my kneck and take in as much as I can before moving on.

I'm alternating right now between typing and watching Guliani's speech at the RNC online. His speech perfectly underscores why I am growing tired of the race. Seventy five percent of his speech has been mocking and bashing Obama. Earlier I saw a headline stating "Palin set to slam Obama in convention speech." I also heard Mitt Romney criticizing the Northeast Elites in a speech. Isn't he a bajillionare from Massachusettes? Last week, I watched the Democrats take plenty of cheap shots at McCain as well. Aren't all of these key leaders from both parties professing Christians? Shouldn't we be speaking out of love and not tearing our brothers and sisters down? Why can't it be more about the positives and less about the negatives?

I'm not new to politics. I've been around it my whole life and I understand that insulting is part of the game. I also believe that there is no person who has gotten to the point of being able to run for president without ever having done something a little on the sketchy side. Playing politics at this level is a dirty game, no exceptions. But even with that understanding, I will never understand the lack of humility and the excessive belittling that comes at this level of politics.

I will also never understand the passion at which individuals support candidates. I support Obama. I believe he is the best choice. I even went so far as to put a bumper sticker on my car. But when I watch these conventions, I just have to scratch my head. So many people seem willing to do anything to defend these candidates whom they don't even know personally. This has become so evident in the past few days with the support people are throwing at Palin. All of a sudden, thousands of Republicans talk about her as a fearless, corruption-fighting, maverick who is going to shake up Washington. How can they be so sure when so many of them had never even heard her name until a week ago? I'm sure she's a great person and I'm sure she works hard and does a good job. I look forward to getting to know more about her. But how can one be willing to argue in defense of a person they know nothing about other than a few tidbits we've gotten from the news? It seems like you might want to give it some time before you behind her so much. I'm intruiged.

Anyway, I'm probably just a little exhausted from the conventions, but I just really want the election to hurry up and get here so we can move on. Oh! Gotta go! They just announced Palin and I want to watch her speech!

interesting choices...

I've been watching the political scene pretty closely the past two weeks, and what a big two weeks it was! I've been trying to figure out what effect, if any, the VP choices each candidate has made will have on the election. I'll be honest that I don't know much about Joe Biden other than he has had an impressive career and seems to have some pretty good foreign policy experience. I look forward to hearing from him in the near future.

I was also quite shocked to hear of McCain's choice of Palin for his VP running mate. I think he either made a completely crazy, desperate reach for youth and the female vote, or he made a bold and risky, ingenious move. I guess only time will tell.

I am saddened to read, though, about Palin's seventeen year old daughter. I'm not so sad that she is a pregnant teenager as I am that she will be paraded out in the media over the next few months without much say in the matter. I've already read some pretty spiteful things about her in different places. Palin had to know this would happen to her daughter and I can't imagine doing that to my kids. I hope that Palin's family took that into account when they made the decision to run.

Palin does seem like a wonderful person with strong convictions and a good track record (outside of that ongoing investigation into her alleged firing of a state official who refused to fire her ex brother-in-law...sounds like fodder for a daytime talk show). But she seems like such a risky pick due to that investigation and her daughter's pregnancy and the little fact that she's only been out of the country one time (in the 90s as mayor, I think, and she had to apply for her passport then). Her lack of foreign relations experience will certainly be a huge target. I can't imagine that she's going to be able to handle Biden in a debate either. But I could be wrong.

Like I said, only time will tell. One thing is for sure, this hurricane sure puts a wrench in the works for the RNC! It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the week shapes up. I have a feeling McCain will be able to capitalize on this crisis to underscore his experience even though he won't get all the limelight that Obama got last week.

I certainly cannot wait until the first debate! I'm not sure when it is, but I have a feeling the debates will be a pretty big determining factor.

cell phones are ruining American values...

In order to get from our neighborhood to the freeway (or interstate as it's called in these parts), I cut through a little trailer park neighborhood. Some of the properties are in pretty bad shape, but there are some people there who seem to take pride in how their property looks (mostly doublewides that have been turned into permanent homes with nice landscaping).

Anyway, there is an older couple who rock in large, white rocking chairs on the front porch most days. I see them almost daily either on my way to or from work and without fail, I get a friendly smile and a wave from the kind, old man. I am always sure to wave back so that he might not think I'm one of those Damn Yankees that's moved to the area and is creating a ton of traffic through his neighborhood. And honestly, it makes me feel good when I get a chance to wave to him. It reminds me of how simple life should be compared to how complicated I can make it. How often do I take time to rock and enjoy a nice morning while greeting passersby?

At any rate, the other day on my way to work, I waved to the gentleman, and I got no response! What?!? How could this be? I mean, he was looking straight at me with no smile? Was I driving too fast or something? Then I saw it. He had was talking on his cell phone! Sheesh. I thought we had reached a new low when I overheard a guy talking on the phone while sitting in a public restroom stall, but this is the worst! The heart of American values has been ripped out and thrown on the floor by cell phones!

our little artists...

Megan and Patrick gave us a great gift! They had tickets to Carowinds that they couldn't use (something about roller coasters being bad for babies in utero). So Megan came over this afternoon to watch our kids so Sarah and I could have a fun date at the park! We had a blast running around the park hitting all the roller coasters (we haven't been to an amusement park in about 5 or 6 years)!

I called Megan at some point in the evening to see how things were going and I got the "well, things are going okay..." response meaning not good. Evidently, the girls went upstairs to play (which they play by themselves fantastically upstairs) while Megan was cooking dinner. Well, Kyla has recently discovered that the top of my dresser is easily accessible with the help of a chair or stool. And evidently, Sarah had found some lipstick earlier in the day and placed it on my dresser...and you can guess the rest.

They ran into our bathroom with the lipstick and proceeded to smear it all over their faces and hands and then wipe their hands all over the cabinets, door, towel, and WALLS! Megan said she was in shock when she discovered it and did a great job cleaning the cabinets with our weak, hippie, no-chemical cleaners! It's crazy because they've never come close to doing something like that before, but I guess there's a first time for everything!

Here are some pictures of the door and wall (which I was able to get the door totally clean and the wall at least doesn't look like it's covered with bloody handprints). Good times.

the great "debate"

Sarah and I had a chance to sit down and watch Rick Warren's interview with the candidates Saturday night. We caught all but the first few minutes of Obama's interview. Overall, I must say I was a little disappointed at the overall event.

First of all, I will say that Warren had some very creative questions. I liked several of them like "who are three people you will turn to for advice" (or something like that). I was also excited to hear him bring exposure to adoption and a few other issues. However, because of the "friendly" format, I don't think Warren followed up on some very key opportunities. For example, on the abortion issue, Obama skirted the question of when a baby has human rights. In all fairness, he certainly was on hostile grounds when it comes to that question, and because he represents the Democratic party, he has to walk a very fine line. However, his answer was a little wimpy. Had the format not been so "civil," I think Warren could have really dug into the key issue that keeps so many evangelicals from voting for him.

Another disappointment was Warren's gleeful acceptance of McCain's one word answers! He simply accepted McCain's answer that human rights begin at conception (with which I agree), but he did not ask what McCain's plan was to lower the abortion rate or make abortion illegal. I'm glad he'spro-life, but what is he planning to do about it?

I was also disappointed by McCain's answer about how his faith affects his every day life. Of course, I am not trying to down his military service or the time he spent as a POW. In fact, I was duly impressed by hearing his stories about living in captivity and gained much respect for him. However, he didn't really say anything about faith today. He quickly jumped back (as he did many times in the interview) to stories of life as a POW.

I was also quite surprised to hear that Obama and McCain both gave practically the same answer to the gay marriage questions. They both believe that marriage is for a man and woman, but that they would be ok with civil unions (McCain said something like legal agreements) to provide basic rights. The only difference is that McCain said he might consider a federal law banning it only if the federal government took the power to choose away from the states (which will probably never happen). I'm really interested to hear how the Religious Right is handling that one.

Overall, it seemed that many of the questions were written directly for McCain to be able to answer bluntly so the crowd could cheer. I'm also a little disappointed that Warren assured us that McCain had been in a "cone of silence" when all along, he had been at his hotel when the event started and didn't make it to the church until halfway through Obama's interview. I'm not conspiring that he cheated, but I doubt that Warren was clueless to the fact that McCain wasn't locked away in silence when he announced he had been in the "cone of silence" the entire time.

I found myself really having a hard time listening to McCain's gruff style. Style is about 99th out of 100 on the list of issues that matter to me, but I just find him quite awkward. I'm sure he's a brilliant man, but he comes across so robotic. I'm also unimpressed by the Maverick persona he's trying to sell. To me, we've had a maverick in the White House for 8 years. I think I'm ready for something different. McCain seems to be content bringing up the war, offshore drilling and national security (which is important), but he seems to avoid what seems to matter most to Americans, the economy.

Anyway, it was nice to hear the candidates without the arguing. However, there is no doubt that they are both career politicians seizing every opportunity to hop on the stump and give a passionate plea! These next few weeks should be interesting as we head into the National Conventions and the VPs are announced. Thanks for reading, I know it was a little random. It's been a while since I posted about politics, mostly because I went back to work on Monday. A new school year is upon us!

vacation!

Have I mentioned that I love Craigslist??? Probably only a thousand times. I recently posted my photography services on the bartering section trying to see if I can maybe get some work done on the house or a vacation or free dentist appointment or something.

A few days ago, I got a reply! I spoke with the woman last night and we bartered a portrait shoot/large print and CD for a week long vacation at her beach house in the Outer Banks!!! She said we could go on the website and pick any week available! How awesome is that?

new photos...

I posted a few of these pictures on the blog on my photography website, but I thought I'd post a few here too. I took these shots a few weeks ago and I'm excited about how they turned out!

turning down business...

By the title of this post, you might think that my photography business took off over night and that I am now traveling all over the place for photo shoots and simply don't have time to take all of the requests for my services. I wish that were true, but I'm not quite there yet.

I got a request to meet a client at a nearby downtown area for a portrait shoot. We chatted on the phone and I requested that she email a picture to me so that I could just get a quick idea of style, personality, etc before the shoot. We set up a time and place to meet and all seemed well...until I got her picture. She appeared quite young in the picture and I recalled her saying she mostly wanted to have pictures of herself to send to friends and post on myspace. So I did a quick search on myspace and found out she is only 14!! Yikes!

I quickly wrote her back and let her know that if she was under 18, I needed a parent present for the shoot and to sign the contract! She called me back and said that she actually turned 18 today. How ironic...so I had to write her back and say thanks, but no thanks and I told her I would not do the shoot. That is not a road down which I am willing to travel!

my first employee...

I got a phone call yesterday from a guy interested in working for my photography business! Of course, he had no idea that Sarah and I are all that make up my business, but it was pretty cool talking to him for a while. He wanted to know if I needed someone to help run my studio...hmmmm...studio...yeah, I would love to have one of those!

Anyway, he sent me his info and I told him that if business picked up and I needed some extra help, I'd give him a call. On a side note, I did have a successful day of connecting with some wedding and event planners in the area. I sent out a bunch of emails this morning with my website and a little info and I got several positive responses! I also added a corporate section to my website to see if I can attract any business clients...not my favorite area of work, but you never know what can happen! We'll see. Anyway, I go back to work at school on Monday so I'm trying to get as much together before then because things get pretty crazy once the school year begins!

a great birthday...

I turned 29 yesterday and I have to say it was a fantastic birthday...much better than last year! Last year's birthday was a little rough. We had spent the week at the beach with my family (that part was great), but on my actual birthday, we embarked on a nightmarish 8 hour drive home. Avery screamed about 75% of the way home, Kyla was cranky from listening to her sister, it was about 110 degrees outside, and we were all stressed out. The best part of the trip was a stop at Chili's for dinner and a $3 Margarita.

That is why I had to chuckle yesterday when Sarah told me our fantastic neighbors, Stacie and Matt, were giving us a gift card to Chili's for my birthda! We made the connection about last year and decided to make Chili's a birthday tradition!

So anyway, Sarah let me sleep in yesterday and I awoke to a breakfast of fruit-filled crepes! What a great way to start the day! We enjoyed the beautiful morning with a stroll through the neighborhood and I returned for a cup of coffee.

After spending the late morning and afternoon working on some photography, we hopped in the car and drove just across the state line to a small goat farm. What birthday is complete without goats??? Actually, we sometimes get Avery's goat milk from the farm because it's cheaper and healthier (in case you're wondering, our daughter is allergic to cow dairy). Plus, the owners of the farm love kids and our girls come alive when they see all the goats, chickens, cats, and dogs.

On the way back from the farm, we stopped at Chili's and had a great dinner. We quickly headed home, though, because it was getting close to bedtime and I had plans to go bowling with the guys from our Lifegroup. Upon arriving home, I checked the mail and got a good laugh from my Dad's Obama birthday card. On the cover beside a cartoon picture of Obama, it reads "Can you have a great birthday? Yes you can!" On the inside, "Did I get you a present? No I didn't!" Nice choice Dad!

So I grabbed my socks and my camera and headed with Patrick to the lanes. It had been a while since I bowled, but I was quite proud of my 136 on the first round. I got a little tired on the second round and only bowled a 101. We finished up and it was still quite early, so we headed over to a nearby bar, The Beantown Tavern, for a beer and nachos. Much to our surprise it was Karaoke night!

I had always secretly dreamed of rocking it out on some Karaoke, but I had never had the chance outside of the high school parties at a friend's house where we would use her dad's laser disc karaoke setup to scream "Welcome to the Jungle" in order to impress the ladies. So with a little coercion from the guys, I hit the stage. The only problem? I froze when it came time to pick a song. The only one that popped in my mind was Georgia Satellite's "Keep Your Hands to Yourself!" It's one of my favorites and I must say I did a rather fine job. But then again, I think everyone thinks they sound good while singing karaoke.

A little while later, an older guy who had tried his best to sing a few songs came over to wish me a happy birthday (the DJ made mention of that fact before I sang). This guy cracked me up because he looked extremely similar to Hank on King of the Hill, but with a big cowboy hat! He shook my hand and asked me how old I was. When I replied, "29," he turned away, rolled his eyes as to say, "you good-fer-nuthin whipper snapper," and then he flicked me off with a smile! I lost it and said to Patrick, "now my birthday is complete. Crepes, goats, fajitas, a margarita, bowling, karaoke, and now I've gotten the finger from an old cowboy!" Here are a few pictures from the day:

happy birthday...now back to work (paradoxes of life)

Now that it is past midnight, I guess I am officially 29 years old. Sheesh. Thirty minus 1. In some ways, it feels old. Other ways, young. For instance, when I realize that my sixth grade students this year were born at about the same time I was graduating from high school, I feel old. But when I talk to my neighbor who has sons my age, I feel young. When I realize that I've lived for nearly a third of a century, old. When I talk to the 105-year-old lady and her 80-year-old daughter at the nursing home where we visit with our small group, young. When I get a haircut and see more gray hair than brown, old. Life's pretty cool that way. We get to walk through life with people from all stages of life; those ahead and those behind, sharing our experiences and trying to teach and learn all at the same time.

At any rate, one week from today, I head back to work. I always get bittersweet feelings around this time of year. I enjoy my job, so I look forward to starting a new year. In fact, that's the best part of teaching. I get a fresh start every year to fix mistakes and capitalize on improvements I made in the previous year. I've got some great ideas to make life easier this year and I'm looking forward to giving them a shot. However, I must say that I enjoy not having to handle the drama of sixth-grade life during the summer. But I've been feeling a sense that this year will be different. I've been feeling like I really need to focus on extending extra gobs of grace to my students and coworkers this year. I also hope to get a stronger start since I'm not the new guy at my school this year and I have a pretty good lay of the land.

But having said that, this year I'll be teaching all math. And if you know me well, you know how crazy that is. I majored in journalism and I love writing (thus the blog). Math for me growing up was not too hard, I just didn't like it. I co-taught last year with a great teacher and thankfully got a crash course in teaching math. And doubly thankfully, I'm coteaching with her for two classes again this year so I can copy all of her good ideas. Triply thankfully, we're talking sixth grade, special education math, and not algebra 2 or trig. It should be fun (in some kind of weird, ironic, surreal kind of way).

mixed feelings about the Olympics...

Sarah and I got to watch some of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics last night. What an amazing show! I could hardly believe the scope of the performances and the coordination of the thousands of dancers. I'm always blown away when I watch the parade of nations as well. It's crazy to see representatives from countries across the world, some at war with one another, and some countries whose names I've never heard! There was one country represented (whose name I can't recall) whose population is only about 71,000 people. There were over 91,000 people attending the ceremonies!

However, as I watched, I kept getting mixed feelings and I found myself having a difficult time enjoying the show. The Olympics is supposed to be an inspiring time. It's supposed to be a time of unification of the world. Yet, China has done a lot of things in the recent past and it continues to do things that the NBC commentators are not going to cover during the Olympic broadcasts.

I'm sure many of you know more about this than I do, but I have heard so many unjust things that China has done to make themselves look better for the games. For instance, they went around to several poor areas in Beijing, kicked people out of their homes and tore down unsightly houses. In a news story I saw a few weeks ago, some of these homes housed several generations of families that did not have enough money to find new housing. They did not know where to turn. The government has banned many groups of people including the mentally ill to avoid any disruptions.

Of course, there also are the human rights violations in Tibet. I also just read that China recently revoked a US athlete's visa because he is outspoken on China's involvement in the genocide in Sudan. Evidently, a recent study showed China has been supplying 90 percent of the weapons to the Khartoum in Sudan. I had no idea!

I know the Chinese people have little to do with this and we can enjoy the games and the celebration of the Chinese culture. I mean, the Chinese make up about 1/5 of the world's population! But I feel like I'm finally getting an understanding of the Chinese government and why so many people are upset about the Games being hosted there this year. I also find myself torn on President Bush attending the opening ceremonies. Sure, I think it is noble of him to go in support of our athletes. I think that is extremely important. But I also think his absence would have made a notable impact on foreign relations that might have transcended sports. It's tough to say what the right decision was, but he went and we can't change that.

So I don't really have any conclusions about this whole topic, other than the fact that I have mixed feelings. Hopefully, the Games will provide lots of good drama and inspiration. But, hopefully, they'll also shed some light on some unfortunate circumstances in our world that need to be changed.

funny post...

I came across this posting in the free section of Craigslist this morning and had to share. I love what people post up for free. If any of you out-of-towners are interested in this stuff, let me know and I'll grab it for you and put it in the mail!

boyfriend left these behind...want anything?

He ran off and left these things behind. I saw her picture on his IM identification, and she's not that pretty, so I'm guessing she had nicer furniture and lived closer to where he works.

I threw away the toothbrush and the rest of the Head and Shoulders, but the Axe Bodywash is nearly full, and the Polo cologne is half full. You can also have the shaver, though it is fairly used.I could clean it up a bit for you.

The Wrangler carpenter jeans are in good condition, waist 29/length 30.He tied a string to two belt loops to hold them up, but I can cut that off. The long sleeve maroon stripe shirt is a medium, short sleeve blue Hawaiian shirt a large, both in decent shape. The socks and briefs look fairly new, but could use a run through the washer. Cut off shorts a bit ragged, but wearable around the yard.
I want nothing more to do with his stuff, but it seemed a shame to just throw it all out.
There is also a deck of cards, I think the Jack of Spades is missing.

the f bomb...

Friday night after Sarah had gotten home from the Philippines, I was outside at the grill putting the finishing touches on a good 'ol American cheeseburger dinner when the sliding glass door flew open. I looked up to see a horrified Sarah standing with a guilty Kyla. Sarah said, "Peter! We need to talk about something very serious. Kyla tell your daddy what you just said."

I looked at Kyla and asked her what she said. She looked up at me and replied, "when I get frustrated, I just said the word f*!#." Woah!!! Where in the world did that come from? I haven't said that word in about twelve years and I don't think my wife has ever said it in her entire life! We never watch movies with the kids other than Veggie Tales and the like. Last time I checked, Bob the Tomato has a pretty clean mouth. Talk about being blindsided! We had some serious conversation and tried to impart the seriousness of the offense to a confused four-year-old.

I mean, she used to get close to that word when she would sing "Where is funkin?" because she couldn't pronounce "th." But this is way different! She kind of let is slip again last night as she was saying some gibberish words being silly. Hopefully, she'll forget about the whole thing and we won't have to deal with it again...but who knows? We haven't figured out where she heard it and I'm guessing we probably never will. I guess as she enters preschool this fall, we'll be hitting even more of that kind of stuff.

phunny speld wurds...

Being a special ed teacher and a journalism major in college, I have to say I really enjoy seeing misspellings in funny places. I have to laugh sometimes when students misspell words in their writing. For example, a student last year wrote an entire paper about how he "licked" a girl. It disturbed me at first until I realized he meant "liked." I really enjoyed Los Angeles where so many businesses were run by immigrants and they tried their hardest to advertise their services in their new language. Those provided some of the best entertainment. I have to say, however, that I am not a perfect speller either. Just a month ago when I launched my new photography website, I sent the link out to some friends for their opinions. A good friend who majored in English wrote back and said, "Pete - I like the site, but what is a potrait?" Unfortunately, photoshop doesn't have spell check that I know of and on my main graphic, I had misspelled portrait. It happens. But here's a good rule of thumb: when you're going to a protest, you should get a few people to check out your sign before you start yelling:

And if you're painting on a permanent surface such as a road, you might want to double-check yourself: