Iced Tea Forever

This morning at 8:16, Mandy and Alli got their new baby brother!   Joshua Duane was 10 lbs 4 oz and a little over 21 inches long.

The girls were very excited about their new baby brother.

Quote of the Day #1

Me:   “I deserve a medal.”
(Spoken while changing yet another poopy diaper.)

Quote of the Day #2
Mandy:   (with an impish grin) “No!”
(Spoken after I asked “Do you think Daddy’s a good singer?”)

Quote of the Day #3
Jewel:   “Of course you are.”
(After I went to her for reassurance.)

Here’s something my Dad wrote back in the 80’s:

“The Lord has been very good to me. Through all the difficult times, He has been very close. It takes situations in life that are hard to make us realize how much we need to trust the Lord. He will never fail. I give him the glory and thanks for the joy I have in my life today.

It is not how successful we have been financially that counts with the Lord but how faithful we have been to Him. As I look back, I realize how short life here on earth is–as the Word says, “As a vapor it soon vanisheth away”. My prayer and desire is that all our families may prepare for that day when we meet our Saviour, that it may be a day of joy, not sorrow.”

Tonight he met his Savior.   And even though the hurt and loss we as a family feel is very deep, in the end it is a day of joy.  We know that he is experiencing that ultimate joy because he was faithful to the Lord.

He wasn’t a man of a lot of deep words, but he was a man who backed up what he believed with the way he lived.   He taught us more by his example than he ever would have with words.

I couldn’t begin to count the times I’ve sung about heaven, but in one day it has become real to me like never before.

Thank you for the legacy you left us, Dad.  I am so proud that you are my Dad.  I love you and I will miss you.

So will Allison.

Mandy has moved on from cheap and inane fiction like “Are You My Mother?” and “Green Eggs and Ham” to classic Americana literature like “An American Journey” by the Oak Ridge Boys.

It’s a great book, just ask Mandy!

Awhile ago I posted about my buddy Daryl Petersheim’s song The Empty Tomb Says it All.

Now it’s the Kingdom Heirs latest single, available for free download at Crossroads Music.

Or listen to it here:

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This is what I found when I walked into the kitchen the other day.

Thursday night I finished watching The Sing-Off on Hulu.   Being the a cappella freak I am, I need to offer some brief comments.

Maybe I should have titled this “America gives the Voices of Lee the shaft.”  I like the Voices of Lee, they should have won.  Although I may be biased because the great 4 Voices quartet were former Voices of Lee members.    Speaking of which, I saw them win the International Barbershop Championship in Portland in ‘02.  Awesome quartet.

Anyway, Voices of Lee was pretty smokin’ in the Sing-Off.  And the two judges that had issues with their “Man in the Mirror” performance were full of it.  Way to go Ben Folds for disagreeing with them.

Eventual winners Nota did gradually grow on me, they actually are pretty good.   I came to kind of like them.  Their lead singer is a big boy, so we have that in common.   The SoCals?  Yawn.   Noteworthy was interesting, I thought.  I was surprised they were eliminated when they were, I thought they would last a little longer than that.   The ‘Bubs?  Nyeeah.  Not my style.

I agree with this dude:

One problem with the show, frankly, is that even though the groups are all a cappella, they’re so varied—small group vs. large group, barbershop, etc.—that any comparison is a bit apples-and-oranges.

And with the show geared towards the contemporary-vocal percussion-large ensemble sound (not my favorite type of a cappella for sure), you knew Maxx Factor was going to be sent packing at some point.   I thought they did pretty good overall though, I liked them.

The judges:  the two boys were fine, but the chick in the middle.  Was it just me, or did she say the same thing every time?  ”I felt the groove, You sang from your hearts and we felt that, Thank you for being here, I appreciate it,” and so on in touchy-feely generalities.

I knew nothing about Ben Folds going in to the show (isn’t he a piano player?!), but came away pretty impressed with him.  His critiques were knowledgeable and pertinent, he was pretty good.  Especially when he stood up for Voices of Lee.

All in all, good show.