family | Ain't Complicated

72-Hour Kit

So I followed a Google Alert for Anabaptist to someone’s blog. And I noticed in the blog’s sidebar a link to a 72-hour kit. That got me curious. So I did a little further (re)searching.

How to Make a 72-Hour Survival Kit, Whatcom County Washington

When a disaster strikes, your community emergency services and government agencies may not be able to respond to your needs immediately. Their buildings, equipment, personnel, communications, and mobility may be severely hampered by the event. They will be overwhelmed.

Experts warn that you should be prepared to be on your own for a minimum of three days after a disaster. One of the most important elements of this preparedness is the 72-hour kit for your home or office. The contents of this kit will vary, but in every case it should contain the things you need to survive for three days on your own.

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Fatherhood

I’ve been Dad (or variations thereof) for 26 years.

Twenty-six!

That frightening day/night in Guaymas (Sonora, Mexico) seems a long time ago (Happy birthday to LaVay).

Now our middle child is twenty (Happy birthday to Dora a week ago today) and our next-to-youngest is almost seventeen (Happy birthday to Michayla in two weeks).

Twenty-six — my, oh my.

I’d wish for another opportunity to do it over…if it did any good. (Lacking that opportunity, I may post a “Tips for Parents” piece one of these days. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of weeks already.)

May my children and their spouses do better. I made it easy.

That melancholy thought aside, I’m grateful for each of my children (including Shari and Luke).

I’m grateful they want to follow God’s ways.

I’m grateful that (generally speaking) the young do the child rearing.

I’m grateful for Ruby, my wife and partner in this “enterprise.”

I’m grateful for God’s grace. My successes I attribute to Him alone.

His Name Is Trenton

Here he is:

That’s from a cellphone picture I took 20-25 minutes after he was born late, late, late on 12/21/07.

Here he is the evening of 1/14/08:

The top picture I emailed to a few people . . . and forgot to put it here right away. 🙁

Trenton is Luke and LaVay Mullet’s child.

And our third grandchild!

Obama’s Conception

Seven words from his Selma speech:

Don’t think that fatherhood ends at conception.

If Senator Obama’s father’s fatherhood began at Obama’s conception, when did Obama become a human being?

And if Senator Obama had been aborted at conception, would that have been a pro-choice action or a murder or both?

Or did the senator’s tongue merely slip?

given by Presidential candidate Senator Barak Obama on March 4, 2007 — commemorating the Selma Voting Rights March at Brown Chapel A.M.E Church