Long Overdue

It's been a long time coming, so here is an update on what's going on in the universe of the Baltic Parallel.

Marriage - Last Thursday, Melissa and I celebrated our fifth anniversary. Sometimes it's hard to believe we've been married that long. Other times, it seems like we've been married far longer. We went out for supper sans Caedon, and were able to eat in peace. As an anniversary present, we ordered a new bed--the first piece of new furniture we've ever had. It is of course a quality crafter piece of Amish furniture and I'm looking forward to getting it in a month or so.

Caedon - He's been crawling for about a month now and gets into anything that isn't nailed down. He walks along the couch and other furniture and will be walking on his own before long. The little monkey puts just about everything he can get his hands on in his mouth. The other night Melissa had some Doritos too close, so he grabbed one and ate it. Luckily, he has plenty of teeth and had no trouble chewing it. He's eating some real food in addition to baby food. He also likes Mt. Dew, although I don't let Melissa see me give it too him. His first birthday is coming up a month from tomorrow and Melissa is already working on the party. If she ever brings the camera home from work, I'll post some new pictures of Caedon. We need to get the whole group, kids and all together soon.

Summer - Barring any rain, we'll have our first softball game tonight. I already have that nervous/excited feeling in the pit of my stomach. If the day ever comes I don't feel that anticipation before a game, I'll call it quits. I'm guardedly optimistic about the rest of the Indians' season. Given that the AL central is the toughest division in baseball, anything can happen, but I'm confident that there will be a post season appearance for the Tribe. The Cavs seem to want to just hand the championship to San Antonio. At this point, I'm just looking for one win.

Cross culture - Despite having grown up in the middle of Amish country and having a plethora of Amish relatives, I have never been to an Amish funeral until last Saturday. Melissa's cousin was killed in a motorcycle accident. Even though he had not joined the Amish church, he had not joined a regular church either. Thus, since his parents are Amish, he was given an Amish burial. We were seated about 8:30, earlier than other attendees since we were family. The funeral took place in the garage/shop of Melissa's uncle. The seats were hard benches with no backs and rows about 12 inches wide. We didn't move off the benches until around 11, when the second bishop was finished with his sermon and my ass was completely numb. The only Dutch I really know are the swear words the Amish kids taught the rest of us in elementary school, so I basically sat there for two and half hours trying to look interested while my mind was a thousand miles away. Between this funeral the semi-Catholic wedding I was in last month, this year has been full of new cultural experiences.

Reading - Facing a seeming drought of good new fantasy, I picked of the first book in the Wheel of Time and started reading the series again. There are eleven books out right now and the final book is due out in early 2009. I've been toying with the idea of starting a small group at church that is focused on reading and discussing what is read. C.S. Lewis and other Christian authors would be the material covered. It would be refreshing to be able to discuss books with other people who enjoy reading.