i think i've moved...

OK, so I needed a change, I was getting bored. I might be back, but for now check me out at:

labairi.wordpress.com

Same name. Different address. Still life quasi-censored and real. Hope to see you soon.

Liam.

On Thursday, Jenna went to pick up Liam from school. One of the teachers came up to her and Liam and said, "Liam, we need to show Mommy what you did today."

First of all, anytime this happens, usually it's bad. Usually it means that Liam spread Vaseline all over your bedroom, carpets and door frames or decided that today was the day he'd play the roll of paper shredder.

But the teacher goes over to Liam's bag and pulls this out:


Yeah. That's his first real attempt to write our names. It's amazing to see kids go from completely dependant upon us to the winner of an Independent Spirit Award for My Life as a Three Year Old. Crazy and cool, Liam is da' bomb!

Rachel's Weeping....

"Rachel's weeping for the children she thought she could not bare.
And she bares a sorrow that she cannot hide.
She wishes she was with them, but she looks and they're not there.
Seems that love comes for just a moment and it passes on by."

-Rich Mullins - (Jacob and Two Women)

I wish I could bear my heart out on this page. I wish I could spill this whole story. It is freaking 12:30AM. I am still awake partly due to too much caffeine, partly because working at a church is just plain hard sometimes. The situation is unthinkable; the circumstances beyond understanding. If life were truly black and white... well, it's not so why bother with the if, then statement. You can't have black and white on a colorfully fallen planet. The ramifications of sin are beyond you looking at what you shouldn't or me spending too much money. It infects life with disease and miscarriages, pain when life should be full of joy, and genetic anomalies when all should be well.

I am angry at this broken, silent planet again. I literally ache for restoration and feel such a burn to bring some hope to this family who is so completely broken today. My heart is heavy. Life will never be as black and white as we sometimes would like, especially when moral stances need to be checked at the door when the reality of life in a fallen world comes crashing down. It is why I must, why I'm compelled to believe that God's love is deeper than we can ever imagine in these situations when sin is grey and love bleeds RED symbolized by love that took a man to a cross.

Please pray for peace and sleep for this heartbroken family.

Just Add Water.

Thanks, Duderus!

Seriously, Andy Kaufman and Chad Michael Murray?!

Thanks, Duderus for the fun!

middle of nowhere, america

In 15 minutes...

I was going through back issues of Real Simple at Hoffman Manor here in OKC. Yes, I know that it's a girl's magazine, but these are some interesting stats...

In 15 minutes...

117 children are born in the US

Your eyes blink 250 times

An estimated 625 million e-mail messages are sent worldwide. About 419 million of those e-mails or 67% are SPAM!

The US consumes nearly 17 gallons of oil per capita. (Half the rate of Kuwait but twice that of Italy. Good thing I'm selling the Jeep, huh?!)

The US government takes in about $457 million in taxes and other revenues and spends $469 million. (Yes, that is a deficit of $12 million.)

BMW...

and then you drive a BMW with the top down listening to Jeff Buckley, and all of your ideals about simplicity are shot to hell...

i began to have car-lust. how could i get my hands on this beautiful vehicle? i'm such a sinner. my whole persona changed as i settled back into the leather covered bucket. it felt comfortable. it felt right. even my mother-in-law said as i was leaving the driveway, "Dan is a beemer type of guy." And i am. but that doesn't mean it is good for me, right now or ever. wow, i need Jesus.

be content. be content. be content.

pics from the destination...

Hoffman Manor with freshly-washed Odyssey

Liam getting OKiee on us already...

Big blue sky over OK...

The Biker.

Pajamas at 3:00 PM.

Riding the NASH (remember those?!)

Observations from the Road: Volume 1 – in no particular order…

“A highway with no one on it” (10 points) is still my most desired possession.

Nothing bought in a men’s room vending machine will

Make your wildest sex fantasies come true (as promised), or

Have enough “pleasure for her” studded on the outside to make her want to sleep with you

Along with number observation number 2, gas station bathroom are still some of the most disgusting places on the planet (and I’ve seen some pretty bad ones)

I’m not as into driving backed by the Dave Matthews Band as I was five years ago

For the Day Time: Elizabethtown Soundtrack, Passion Worship Live, Coldplay Live

For the Night Time: Sufjan Steven, Andrew Bird, Samples, and Derek Webb

I love night driving arm-in-arm with Jenna by my side.

An inverted sliver of crescent moon is breathtaking

Kids need to be fed dinner sooner than later. Later is bad.

After all these years, I still have to play the license plate game when I get into the car

America is full of confused people. I think we’ve lost our identity as a nation, polarized by the presidency and pop-culture celebrity.

I saw farmers supporting anyone but Bush. (As we entered the red state of Oklahoma, I saw a massive sign on the rotting sideboards of a barn that read: “I Vote with the Democrats.”)

I saw women with lady mullets talking over “high fashion” in Wal-Mart. Seriously, everyone wants to be a celebrity and be special. No one is content to be themselves.

Our landscape is beautiful. Even the flat plains of Indian and Illinois covered in snow where the horizon line is a faint shadow in the distance is pure and farm-touched beauty. Yet, in other places that same farmland is being developed so more people can live their American dream in a four-bedroom middle-class community. (Though from the looks of the surroundings, I’m not sure what these people do to actually afford said houses as there is no appearance of industry or corporations.

I still love America in spite of this schizophrenia. It’s a place full of beauty and people who really are good at their core – even if they aren’t sure who or what to support right now.

We need to do this more often.