Melissa forwarded a link to me with an awesome video that everyone should watch. I think it speaks to the hope and positive feeling around the Obama candidacy.
http://www.dipdive.com/dip-politics/wato/
Friday, September 26, 2008
Nicolas Scores the First Playdate!!
Following up on my previous post Melissa and Nicolas were able to visit with Darren, Carol and Ryan at the hospital on Thursday afternoon garnering the prize for first visitors.
They had a great visit and Melissa was giddy after the visit and raving about Darren and Carol as new doting parents.
Nicolas also scored the first ever playdate with Ryan. Now arguably Nicolas did more of the playing, and was not able to give a piggy back ride, basket ball, a bike ride or any of the other things I know he wants to do. He will have to wait just a bit until Ryan comes home from the hospital to have that playdate!!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Welcome Ryan! Congratulations Darren and Carol!
Today our very good friends Darren and Carol Cunningham celebrated the arrival of their first-born child Ryan Li Cunningham! Ryan arrived at around 9am this morning about two weeks early and mom and baby (and Darren) are doing great!
So from the Kreisa clan to the growing Cunningham clan a hearty and heartfelt congratulations!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Julia doubles down as a band geek!
Well we have to add (at least temporarily) to Julia's list of interests as she starts two musical endeavors this week.
First she starts violin lessons at work, which are offered free at her school. It will be interesting to see how she does with that instrument and hopefully she really digs in and practices a ton (I've encourage that activity to take place during the day).
Secondly she starts chimes at church this week. I am not sure what the performance schedule is but between the two instruments she will certainly be getting her fair share of music!
This is all really good news and was instigated by Julia which shows her initiative and drive.
I guess the grand plan is that when she becomes a tree sitter she can entertain herself with music!
First she starts violin lessons at work, which are offered free at her school. It will be interesting to see how she does with that instrument and hopefully she really digs in and practices a ton (I've encourage that activity to take place during the day).
Secondly she starts chimes at church this week. I am not sure what the performance schedule is but between the two instruments she will certainly be getting her fair share of music!
This is all really good news and was instigated by Julia which shows her initiative and drive.
I guess the grand plan is that when she becomes a tree sitter she can entertain herself with music!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Wow What's Happening with Julia!!
We have always supported Julia in her earthy crunchy initiatives including her vegetarian eating habits. Recently Julia has become more strict in following a vegetarian diet which is OK.
She raised the bar when she said she only wanted eggs from free range chickens and organic milk (at $8/gallon). She took it into the outer atmosphere when she said to me recently that she thinks she wanted to become a vegan!
Of course Julia is the total package. I went into her room to say goodnight and I saw she was reading a book I asked her what she was reading and the book was of course --
"An Inconvenient Truth"
Oh my!!
She raised the bar when she said she only wanted eggs from free range chickens and organic milk (at $8/gallon). She took it into the outer atmosphere when she said to me recently that she thinks she wanted to become a vegan!
Of course Julia is the total package. I went into her room to say goodnight and I saw she was reading a book I asked her what she was reading and the book was of course --
"An Inconvenient Truth"
Oh my!!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Walking Beside Her: 1st edition
I have occasionally blogged about the journey Melissa has been on regarding the refugees. I wish at this point that I had blogged about more of the amazing experiences she has had and I hope to catch up on some of them.
This past weekend there was yet another milestone for Melissa along the way and I wanted to get it out there. There was a big missional fair in Monterey where Melissa had a chance to expose the leadership of all of the churches in our presbytery to the work that she and Elsa have been doing. Interestingly this was somewhat similar to a traditional trade show I do at work so I was able to lend some advice.
The idea was to let the leadership know how their organization the Refugee Outreach Partnership can help link them up with refugees, provide resources and guidance to help them with their outreach ministry. As part of the fair they also gave a 30 minute presentation which included talks from Melissa, Elsa, a video Melissa had made and several refugees. It was a heartfelt presentation and I am told a highlight of the entire day (i was watching the kids at the hotel).
Refugees were in fact the theme of the ministry fair and I think highlights just how far they have come in the last year. It was just over a year ago that we took a chance and hosted 3 refugees at our house and started accelerating all of their efforts. Now they are reaching out to the entire bay area and working to help many many people through a network of organizations.
Needless to say I am very proud to walk beside Melissa during this journey she is on.
This past weekend there was yet another milestone for Melissa along the way and I wanted to get it out there. There was a big missional fair in Monterey where Melissa had a chance to expose the leadership of all of the churches in our presbytery to the work that she and Elsa have been doing. Interestingly this was somewhat similar to a traditional trade show I do at work so I was able to lend some advice.
The idea was to let the leadership know how their organization the Refugee Outreach Partnership can help link them up with refugees, provide resources and guidance to help them with their outreach ministry. As part of the fair they also gave a 30 minute presentation which included talks from Melissa, Elsa, a video Melissa had made and several refugees. It was a heartfelt presentation and I am told a highlight of the entire day (i was watching the kids at the hotel).
Refugees were in fact the theme of the ministry fair and I think highlights just how far they have come in the last year. It was just over a year ago that we took a chance and hosted 3 refugees at our house and started accelerating all of their efforts. Now they are reaching out to the entire bay area and working to help many many people through a network of organizations.
Needless to say I am very proud to walk beside Melissa during this journey she is on.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
I guess you can...
A friend sent me this article clarifying whether or not you can see Russia from Alaska (but not Sarah's house"
explainer: Answers to your questions about the news.
Can You Really See Russia From Alaska?
Yes, but only the boring parts.
By Nina Shen RastogiPosted Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, at 5:25 PM ET
Neighbors Russia and Alaska
In her Sept. 11 interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson, Sarah Palin had this to say about Russia: "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." Is that true?
Yes. Russia and Alaska are divided by the Bering Strait, which is about 55 miles at its narrowest point. In the middle of the Bering Strait are two small, sparsely populated islands: Big Diomede, which sits in Russian territory, and Little Diomede, which is part of the United States. At their closest, these two islands are a little less than two and a half miles apart, which means that, on a clear day, you can definitely see one from the other. (To see the view of Big Diomede from Little Diomede, check out this webcam.) The Diomede Islands are often blanketed by persistent fog, which makes visibility difficult. On a clear day, though, a person standing at sea level can see a little less than three miles across the ocean. You can see farther if you go higher—at the highest altitude on Little Diomede (919 feet), you can see for about 37 miles. (Between mid-December and mid-June, when the water between the two islands freezes, an intrepid explorer can just walk from one to the other.)
The tactical importance of this proximity is debatable, however: Big Diomede has no permanent population though it does house an important weather station. Alaskans can, however, see into the future from Little Diomede since Big Diomede (or Ratmanov Island, as it's known to the Russians) is on the other side of the International Date Line.
You can also see Russia from other points in Alaska. According to a New York Times article written in the waning years of the Cold War (when the Alaska-Siberia border was known as the "Ice Curtain"), if you stand on high ground on the tip of St. Lawrence Island—a larger Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, southwest of the Diomedes—you can see the Russian mainland, about 37 miles away. The same article claims that you can see Russia from the Tin City Air Force facility at Cape Prince of Wales, which is the westernmost point of the mainland Americas. The station chief at Tin City confirms that, for roughly half the year, you can see Siberian mountain ranges from the highest part of the facility.
It's not as if Alaskans can see into the heart of the Kremlin, though. The region you'd be seeing from these vantage points is the Chukotka autonomous district, a massive, desolate expanse of about 285,000 square miles with a population of about 55,000. (That's an area roughly the size of Texas with a population the size of Pine Bluff, Ark.) Chukotka has fewer than 400 miles of road and no railroad infrastructure; the population is mostly employed in mining and subsistence hunting. The more strategic areas of the Russian coastline, militarily speaking—the Kamchatka Peninsula, home to a nuclear submarine base, or Vladivostok, headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet—are not visible from Gov. Palin's home state.
Palin does have Obama beat, though: The closest foreign territory to Hawaii is the Micronesian Republic of Kiribati, but at more than 1,000 miles away, it's not remotely visible with the naked eye.
Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer .
Explainer thanks Stephen Blank of the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Greg Durocher of the Alaska Science Center, Clifford Gaddy of the Brookings Institute, and Vance Spaulding of the Tin City Long Range Radar Site.
explainer: Answers to your questions about the news.
Can You Really See Russia From Alaska?
Yes, but only the boring parts.
By Nina Shen RastogiPosted Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, at 5:25 PM ET
Neighbors Russia and Alaska
In her Sept. 11 interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson, Sarah Palin had this to say about Russia: "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska." Is that true?
Yes. Russia and Alaska are divided by the Bering Strait, which is about 55 miles at its narrowest point. In the middle of the Bering Strait are two small, sparsely populated islands: Big Diomede, which sits in Russian territory, and Little Diomede, which is part of the United States. At their closest, these two islands are a little less than two and a half miles apart, which means that, on a clear day, you can definitely see one from the other. (To see the view of Big Diomede from Little Diomede, check out this webcam.) The Diomede Islands are often blanketed by persistent fog, which makes visibility difficult. On a clear day, though, a person standing at sea level can see a little less than three miles across the ocean. You can see farther if you go higher—at the highest altitude on Little Diomede (919 feet), you can see for about 37 miles. (Between mid-December and mid-June, when the water between the two islands freezes, an intrepid explorer can just walk from one to the other.)
The tactical importance of this proximity is debatable, however: Big Diomede has no permanent population though it does house an important weather station. Alaskans can, however, see into the future from Little Diomede since Big Diomede (or Ratmanov Island, as it's known to the Russians) is on the other side of the International Date Line.
You can also see Russia from other points in Alaska. According to a New York Times article written in the waning years of the Cold War (when the Alaska-Siberia border was known as the "Ice Curtain"), if you stand on high ground on the tip of St. Lawrence Island—a larger Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, southwest of the Diomedes—you can see the Russian mainland, about 37 miles away. The same article claims that you can see Russia from the Tin City Air Force facility at Cape Prince of Wales, which is the westernmost point of the mainland Americas. The station chief at Tin City confirms that, for roughly half the year, you can see Siberian mountain ranges from the highest part of the facility.
It's not as if Alaskans can see into the heart of the Kremlin, though. The region you'd be seeing from these vantage points is the Chukotka autonomous district, a massive, desolate expanse of about 285,000 square miles with a population of about 55,000. (That's an area roughly the size of Texas with a population the size of Pine Bluff, Ark.) Chukotka has fewer than 400 miles of road and no railroad infrastructure; the population is mostly employed in mining and subsistence hunting. The more strategic areas of the Russian coastline, militarily speaking—the Kamchatka Peninsula, home to a nuclear submarine base, or Vladivostok, headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet—are not visible from Gov. Palin's home state.
Palin does have Obama beat, though: The closest foreign territory to Hawaii is the Micronesian Republic of Kiribati, but at more than 1,000 miles away, it's not remotely visible with the naked eye.
Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer .
Explainer thanks Stephen Blank of the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, Greg Durocher of the Alaska Science Center, Clifford Gaddy of the Brookings Institute, and Vance Spaulding of the Tin City Long Range Radar Site.
"I can see Russia from my house!"
My favorite line from the Saturday Night Live opener which spoofed Palin and which pretty much sums up my feelings on her "readiness" and "experience" to lead the country.
I mean really, she may be a nice person but she appears to be fundamentally against woman's rights (control over their own body), wants religion taught in schools (creationism), at least thought about censorship (library incident) and revising history by saying she didn't support the bridge to no where when she did until it became unpopular and denies that human's are having or could have an impact on global warming. She also used lobbyist to get money for her small town. Finally she also appears to be a war monger like the current administration. She actually said war with Russia might be necessary. Are you frigging kidding me?
So how exactly is she an outsider? She and McCain are now no different then Bush. And I honestly liked McCain 4 years ago when he ran until he started pandering to ultra-conservatives.
Our economy is a mess, we are not respected globally, we have lost the moral high ground and so our country cannot take 4 more years of a republican lead administration.
I suppose my views on this are clear.
I mean really, she may be a nice person but she appears to be fundamentally against woman's rights (control over their own body), wants religion taught in schools (creationism), at least thought about censorship (library incident) and revising history by saying she didn't support the bridge to no where when she did until it became unpopular and denies that human's are having or could have an impact on global warming. She also used lobbyist to get money for her small town. Finally she also appears to be a war monger like the current administration. She actually said war with Russia might be necessary. Are you frigging kidding me?
So how exactly is she an outsider? She and McCain are now no different then Bush. And I honestly liked McCain 4 years ago when he ran until he started pandering to ultra-conservatives.
Our economy is a mess, we are not respected globally, we have lost the moral high ground and so our country cannot take 4 more years of a republican lead administration.
I suppose my views on this are clear.
Play update
Well both Julia and Lea are in the play but neither got a primary role. They were a little disappointed but still excited to participate.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Julia and Lea Try Out for the Play
Today Julia and Lea both tried out for the play at our Church. The play is called "The Silent Bells". They didn't try out for any particular part although there are a couple of parts for young girls. The try out involved reciting a short paragraph from some of the dialog for the play. It is a musical but neither Julia or Lea sang so probably wouldn't get a main lead part.
Both felt good after they were done so we will keep our fingers crossed for them.
Both felt good after they were done so we will keep our fingers crossed for them.
Nicolas Writes His Name
At the start of the school year this fall Nicolas started in his pre-K pre-school and although he knew his alphabet and is an avid colorer and always interested in books he wasn't really writing letters and such. Well what a difference a few weeks makes because today he wrote his name on a card for our friend Carol's baby shower.
Well we were all pretty shocked because we thought he might just write the same letter over and over or something but instead he methodically wrote out N I C O L A S!
Well done little man and welcome to the world of writing!
Well we were all pretty shocked because we thought he might just write the same letter over and over or something but instead he methodically wrote out N I C O L A S!
Well done little man and welcome to the world of writing!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Old College Friends
Last weekend we had a rare treat of a visit to the bay area from a few of Melissa's college friends Marybeth and Beth. They were in Santa Rosa touring the wine country and we went up for Saturday afternoon wine tasting and a nice dinner out. It was a lot of fun seeing Melissa interact with these friends and she appeared to be in college again! From the first moment they saw each other they were giddy reliving old times and drawing up old memories. They reenacted old 80's style dance moves and even called some other old friends back east late in their evening to reminisce about old times. Wondering where 
other friends were. We had a great time and stayed up late. Fortunately the significant others got along really well so we were able to enjoy the fun and the great food and wine!
other friends were. We had a great time and stayed up late. Fortunately the significant others got along really well so we were able to enjoy the fun and the great food and wine!Oh and yes we are wearing sun glasses at night in the photo above! Too cool for school!
Family Camp 2008!
This year over the Labor Day holiday we again went to our favorite family camp out at Redwood Glen family camp with our church. This is always a great weekend full of fun activities for the kids and adults. We have lots of friends there and really enjoy ourselves. We stayed in our regular cabin which we share with another family. There are marshmallow roasts, water rocket launches, hikes, singing, games, great speakers, all camp ice cream Sunday's and more!
We always have a ton of fun and the weekend crescendos around a "talent show" where anyone can get up on stage and do anything (that is appropriate for all ages) on stage for 3 minutes.
Here are some pictures from the weekend including some from the talent show where Julia and Lea sang a song from High School Musical of course.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Getting my repair mojo back!
For the last couple of months we have had a minor issue with the hot water lever to the faucet in our bathroom. Basically the handle had come loose and would fall off when touched. This was an annoying situation but it was not really clear how to fix because it was not clear how to re-attach the handle.
So we lived with it for while until finally I had a weekend with enough free time that I decided to tackle the handle. After studying it for a while I decided I had better just take it a part. The faucets are the ones that came with the house, Moen, and have a number of moving parts. After some dis-assembly I went to the Moen website and I was able to see a blow up picture of the very faucet we had and this enlightened me on the problem. It turns our there was a small screw inside the faucet itself which had fallen out and needed to be attached. I could not figure out how to get inside and I could not figure out how to get inside or get it off of the sink.
During that session time ran our and we had to live without that sink for a week. Ultimately I did discover how to get top off of the remaining faucet parts and get access to the screw that was deep inside the faucet.
After re-attaching the handle and aligning the faucet we were back in business!!
So after a shaky start I am back. Now if I could just get the grass in my back yard to grow evenly!!
So we lived with it for while until finally I had a weekend with enough free time that I decided to tackle the handle. After studying it for a while I decided I had better just take it a part. The faucets are the ones that came with the house, Moen, and have a number of moving parts. After some dis-assembly I went to the Moen website and I was able to see a blow up picture of the very faucet we had and this enlightened me on the problem. It turns our there was a small screw inside the faucet itself which had fallen out and needed to be attached. I could not figure out how to get inside and I could not figure out how to get inside or get it off of the sink.
During that session time ran our and we had to live without that sink for a week. Ultimately I did discover how to get top off of the remaining faucet parts and get access to the screw that was deep inside the faucet.
After re-attaching the handle and aligning the faucet we were back in business!!
So after a shaky start I am back. Now if I could just get the grass in my back yard to grow evenly!!
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