Just another day in paradise!

Well, I just got those two oldest sisters down to bed a little bit ago. Sarah is out with some of her girlfriends and she has the baby. Ashtyn, Emersyn, and I went to Westwinds to help some friends paint the nursery there. The girls played with Jessica, Nicki, Danielle, and Gracie while the dad's rolled paint until our arms gave out. It was a good time. I can't think of a better group of guys to be painting with either...Brian D, Brian D, Tom S...and there was a SAU student there helping too. Her name was Jordan, like the river, she let us know. Anyways, I'm about to cash out with a good book. Sarah could be late. She hasn't been together with a group of girls in a month or two, so who knows when they will call it quits. Amazon.com shipped me 3 new titles today, and one of them is a new Ted Dekker...I'm pumped!

Fun Insanity

Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity. (Thanks to my wife for forwarding this!)

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It 'In.'

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Smuggling Diamonds'

7. Finish All Your sentences with 'In Accordance With The Prophecy.'

8. Don't use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go.'

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won!, I Won!'

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!'

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......READ THIS AGAIN AND LET YOURSELF LAUGH A BIT!

Going Bald

I had a dream last night that I was going bald. And in the dream I was quite concerned about this revelation. Then in the middle of this nightmare I come to the realization that I'm not really waiting on tables in my underwear at the Cracker Barrel (with my only concern not the underwear part, but the balding part) Man, I hope dreams don't reflect on mental stability, because I haven't had a wild one like that in a while. I must be sleep deprived or something!

Well, it was a funny dream anyway. It made me think about being 12 years old and remembering the thoughts and fears that I had then. I clearly remember thinking that if I ever started going bald...or wearing glasses...etc; how embarrassing that would be.

Well, now that I am 4-eyed and balding (before the age of 30) it's neat to reflect on the dreams and worries of my youth. All my dreams have come true, and most of my worries too. It all seems to be orchestrated though to make a pretty amazing life. And you won't catch me in the Rogaine section of the supermarket. (I haven't ruled out a sweet Bon Jovi hair piece though!)

Baby Teagan "Irish for Little Poet"

Finally I've found the time to get these few shots posted. The first two days at home I was getting up with Sarah and Teagan about every two hours. Sarah has settled into a routine now and that means that daddy gets to sleep more. Yesterday and this morning though I woke up at 5:00 AM to see Sarah and baby soundly asleep in the "nursing chair" next to our bed. I'm encouraging Sarah to try to sleep throughout the day, whenever baby is...but that is hard with the other two girls still crazy excited about having a new sister. They want to be around and involved with Mom and baby as much as possible. Thank God for Dora and BOZ movies though, as the girls are getting quite a bit more TV that they normally do. A necessary evil in my opinion...mom needs sleep, and dad has quite a bit of work to accomplish each day.

We've been to doctor with Teagan 3 times since last Sunday. They have been checking her bilirubin levels very closely. I'm thankful to report that her levels started to go down yesterday, so we don't have to travel into see her doctor any more (until her 1 week check-up) Teagan is also gaining weight quite rapidly, which is great.

Ashtyn and Emersyn are enjoying the new baby. Ashtyn wants to be involved in everything, while Emer is still interested but cautious. True to their personalities for sure!

Teagan Gabrielle Ansel

I'm so excited to web log the birth of our beautiful baby girl, Teagan Gabrielle Ansel. Teagan arrived yesterday morning at 8:51 a.m. weighing 6#14 oz. We got to the hospital Sunday morning at about 6:30 AM and just over two hours later Sarah was nursing a strong, healthy baby. This picture is from my phone, but I'll post more as soon as I get them off her camera.

Thanks for all the supportive phone calls, texts, e-mails, visits, and gifts. We want to thank everyone who has taken such good care of us for the past couple of days!

Attack the Watermelon!

Ashtyn attacked this watermelon at my parents cottage this weekend. These pictures crack me up. I wish that I would have had a video camera because it would be on YouTube right now.