We have been enjoying the freestyle walk in short stints for better than a week now. It was time to share. And some day I will think about turning the video 90 degrees (before posting it) so that you won't hurt your neck watching it over and over.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Cousins
Well, second cousins anyway. These are old pictures (from July), but I've been meaning to post a few pictures from our time in Tennessee hanging out with my cousin Erin and her family. They were there for her husband's youth conference, and we couldn't pass up going to see them while they were so close. I'm still hoping all of our kids will end up being as close as we were growing up, but it will be a tougher task for sure. Wesley and Libby enjoyed each other.
This first picture shows the crazy entourage of bright orange BOB strollers we took everywhere. 
Libby took good care of "Wessey."
Libby took good care of "Wessey." 
For the next picture, Wesley decided to roll over and grab Gus' face. I decided to leave that one out. :)
Sweet l'il Gus
Wesley the Builder
This is one of my favorite things to watch Wesley do lately. He can do this for half an hour at a time if he gets into it. Just yesterday he started cocking his head to the side and trying to get eye-level with his constructions to inspect his work a little closer. It's hilarious. I think his record height is 8 blocks so far.
The Punkin' Patch
Last Monday we visited our first pumpkin patch. We all enjoyed it, even though we didn't get a pumpkin. It was a free outing, which is always fun! They had a hay pit that Wesley got to crawl around in as well as a petting zoo. Wesley and the llama seemed to hit it off pretty well.
This was the pumpkin everyone got to try to guess the weight of for a prize:
This was the pumpkin everyone got to try to guess the weight of for a prize:
The llama, Oreo
Thursday, October 16, 2008
More, Final thoughts on Mao
My first post on Mao was too much, I realize. I cannot finish the detailed summary of Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. Some summary thoughts will let me put the whole idea to rest:
a. Mao was not heroic at all. His behavior in the Long March, his terrorizing tactics at the Red Base (with self-criticisms and public denunciations), his incessant practice of falsely accusing and disposing of any who resisted his will - all have been "touched up," re-worked, or even totally rewritten in official Chinese history (and what the government tells the West) to make Mao seem heroic.
b. Mao wanted to dominate the world by himself. He deprived his own people of basic necessities for years through a system of taxation that involved fraudulent and thuggish tactics in most all Chinese provinces. His basic goal was to get his people to live on slimmer resources so that more and more resources could be used to purchase and develop the trappings of a superpower nation - atomic bombs, an air force, a space program, etc.
c. When Mao's health took a sudden downturn, he insisted that his nation's nuclear developments reach their goals much quicker than projected. He wanted to see it with his eyes and have that power at his disposal. He did not care in the least about the state of the nation after his death (or about the tens of millions of Chinese citizens who died in privation as part of Mao's ambitious pursuits). A couple of months ago a news report about Kim Jong-Il's health scare and his country's redoubled efforts to perfect their nuclear capabilities - these reminded me of Mao's intense drive to obtain full nuclear capability before his own death. Of course, recent reports claim that North Korea has halted its nuclear program (good news for the whole world).
d. Mao supplied tens of thousands of troops to North Korea and covertly managed the Korean war through his top officials. The books quotes Mao expressing his hope to grind the US military out of superpower status by sheer strength of numbers. I'm not looking at the book now, but I seem to remember that the authors claim Mao was responsible for starting and drawing out the Korean War. I think the authors did not claim nearly as much about Mao's role in the Vietnam War.
If you've read all this and find it interesting, I'd recommend you read the book, but read it with a high view of human dignity and justice firmly established in your own mind. The authors relay the inhumane tactics Mao used to get to the zenith and remain there. What I was taught about the history of the 20th century seems far from complete without this book's contribution. It opened my eyes.
a. Mao was not heroic at all. His behavior in the Long March, his terrorizing tactics at the Red Base (with self-criticisms and public denunciations), his incessant practice of falsely accusing and disposing of any who resisted his will - all have been "touched up," re-worked, or even totally rewritten in official Chinese history (and what the government tells the West) to make Mao seem heroic.
b. Mao wanted to dominate the world by himself. He deprived his own people of basic necessities for years through a system of taxation that involved fraudulent and thuggish tactics in most all Chinese provinces. His basic goal was to get his people to live on slimmer resources so that more and more resources could be used to purchase and develop the trappings of a superpower nation - atomic bombs, an air force, a space program, etc.
c. When Mao's health took a sudden downturn, he insisted that his nation's nuclear developments reach their goals much quicker than projected. He wanted to see it with his eyes and have that power at his disposal. He did not care in the least about the state of the nation after his death (or about the tens of millions of Chinese citizens who died in privation as part of Mao's ambitious pursuits). A couple of months ago a news report about Kim Jong-Il's health scare and his country's redoubled efforts to perfect their nuclear capabilities - these reminded me of Mao's intense drive to obtain full nuclear capability before his own death. Of course, recent reports claim that North Korea has halted its nuclear program (good news for the whole world).
d. Mao supplied tens of thousands of troops to North Korea and covertly managed the Korean war through his top officials. The books quotes Mao expressing his hope to grind the US military out of superpower status by sheer strength of numbers. I'm not looking at the book now, but I seem to remember that the authors claim Mao was responsible for starting and drawing out the Korean War. I think the authors did not claim nearly as much about Mao's role in the Vietnam War.
If you've read all this and find it interesting, I'd recommend you read the book, but read it with a high view of human dignity and justice firmly established in your own mind. The authors relay the inhumane tactics Mao used to get to the zenith and remain there. What I was taught about the history of the 20th century seems far from complete without this book's contribution. It opened my eyes.
Wesley in September
Our church's annual Fall Festival included a team of oxen that had been raised and trained by a great man who died suddenly earlier this year. Wesley seemed not so certain he could trust those horns.
Who knew Wesley's hair would have curls? He likes to walk behind his wagon and push - as long as there is a straight, clear path ahead of him.
Since the boycott of Disney has been lifted, I thought I might show you some of what Wesley has been reading lately.
Who does that guy look like? Folks around here aren't so sure whether he favors one of us or the other.
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