War and Baptism

Today went quickly. Our friends Camille and Paul baptised their daughter, Morgan, today, so we went out to Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers to get a present. Normally, it's a place where we want to spend a lot of time, but we didn't have much time today. We bought a little rosary bracelet and prayer card at the Abbey Store for Morgan and browsed the bonsai garden but didn't buy one. They are very well known for their bonsai (is that plural?) and have a beautiful collection of trees that aren't for sale but are very inspiring and make one want to learn the art.

We stopped at the apartment to change our clothes, and Jack called. He said that he's been volunteering for missions occasionally, to break the monotony because it gets quite boring, even though he's always busy. He hasn't shot anyone yet, but he's been close when they charge the checkpoint in their cars. They have a routine of procedures to go through when a car is approaching, including signs, hand signals, flashing lights, and shooting out the tires, but sometimes none of that works and they have to shoot the people. There have been attempted suicide bombers at the checkpoints, so there is good reason why they should stop the cars. They also occasionally find IEDs (improvised explosive devices) but have thus far disarmed them before they've exploded.

He said that morale is mostly good and that he's fine. They have everything they need there and have a building where they can go to play darts or get baby wipes or other necessities. They stock that building with things that are sent to “any soldier” or “any Marine,” which, by the way, are not the same thing.

Everything we’ve read says that letters and packages to “any” aren’t allowed, but Jack said that there are two ways that you can actually do it. The first is to send a postcard so that it can be read before delivery. The other is to address it to the attention of a specific person but to address it to “any Marine.” That way, there is a specific name on it, and they can tell that it’s legitimate.

Jack’s gotten a bunch of postcards and had been writing back some middle schoolers from Colorado before he called. He said that a lot of them say to write back, so he does. We think they must be soooo excited to get a response! He said that they are really cute and that one said something like, “I would like a career in music because I have really good skills in hip-hop.” By the way, we asked him if the party stores in Iraq are owned by white guys there. He laughed.

Monsignor Kenny did the baptism, and the mass was very nice despite the fussy baby we had to take outside the sanctuary 3 times. Even though he was very vocal, lots of people told us that he is beautiful. We think so too, and we think that his beauty starts on the inside.

The reception at the Keslers’ was nice. We knew a few people there and met lots of others. It’s very easy to be someplace where we don’t know anyone, because Gabriel always provides a topic for conversation. We ate dinner there and left around 9:00 pm.

Mom and Dad K, Mom A and Nick, Grandpa, and Roy went over to the house to help clean and clean out some boxes so that it will show better. Dad K went back to spend the night and do some painting. We are so grateful for everything everyone is doing. We are also filled with anxiety about putting it on the market and hope that this all works out for the best. We’re certain that things happen for a reason and that we will be happy in our new home, wherever that happens to be.

An Afternoon in the Garden

We decided to meet after work at the Botanical Garden, since it was a nice day. To get a workout, she used the baby carrier instead of the stroller. The new sunshade worked nicely, and Gabriel was in the shade the entire time.

There were lots of bullfrogs outside in a little pond, and we got to watch them "talking," swimming, and watching us. It was a treat, because we've never seen actual bullfrogs before. We've heard them, but they usually hop away before we can see them on our hikes.

After years of trying, we finally found poison dart frogs in the conservatory. There are always some in terraria, but there are also many that roam freely. From the sound of their chirping, there are lots of them, but we've never been able to find one. Today, we found 4 or 5 of them.

We also found a new hallway called the "orangerie," which literally means a greenhouse for orange trees but in this case is a place for all types of foodish trees. There was star anise, coffee, yerba maté, climbing oleander, curaré (a poison/medicine), cinnamon, ginger, vanilla vine, cocoa, curry leaf, bay leaf, annatto (has substance that is used to make cheese orange), and a few others.

By the time we were finished walking around the gardens, the Chipster was fast asleep in his daddy's arms. We had trouble looking at the plants, because we just wanted to watch him sleep. We think he's far more interesting than just about everything, even when he's doing nothing but snoozing.

Later, Gabriel was playing quietly in the living room - a definite clue that he was up to something. We snuck in and found him pulling tissues out of the box one by one and ripping them to shreds.

He's also been picking his nose a lot lately. He seems to really enjoy it. And that's not all - he has been biting, too. He left a nice marking of 4 teeth on his mommy's leg today at the botanical garden while they were playing in the grass and waiting for Daddy. We think that this just the beginning of many bad habits with which is will be torturing us in the coming years.

A Physics Lesson

In case you ever get the urge to put a glass pie pan in a 475° oven and throw a handful of ice cubes in it, don't. Here's what happens:

And to think that Patty took thermodynamics twice...

You may have heard about the "free iPod" e-mail giveaways lately. It's the latest rage online. We've read in Popular Science and heard on NPR that this really is legitimate, at least through one particular company. After learning how it works and how it benefits the company, we decided to go ahead and try. The trick is to sign up for one "free" offer and to cancel it before it stops being free. We are going for the photo iPod from home and Matt's going for the Sony PSP (that's PlayStation Portable) from work. There are loopholes and tricks, but we know what they are and if this works, we'll let you in on the secrets. One of them involves a guy who works for the company and hates his job.

Here are a couple of pictures from our nightly playtime before bed:

Happy Birthday, Part Two

Patty got a surprise from Jack today in the mail. It was part two of her birthday present. In addition to several Syrian and Jordanian candy bars, he included a neatly folded American flag and a certificate that says:

This is to certify that the accompanying flag was flown at Task Force Rhino Headquarters During Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06 in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq on 15 April 2005. This flag was flown for Patricia L. Angle

It's signed by SgtMaj A. Johnson and LtCol R. A. DeForest. It's so cool! That was so thoughtful and even more cool than the message in bullets! He put a note in the package that says, "Happy Birthday again! Love, Jack." A big huge thanks to Jack for the awesome present!!! We think that we might want to put it in a flag frame rather than fly it, so it doesn't get destroyed by the weather.

Gabriel had a very fun day today. At playgroup, he got to swim and play with Jake, Zoe, and Jonah. Later, we all had fun at the softball game. Even though the other team, Security and Fire Services (catchy name, huh?), had to forfeit due to lack of players, they still scrimmaged. Matthew was 2 for 3 with 2 singles and a fly ball to shallow center field. He fielded like a pro, with 4 putouts (no grounders hit right to him).

Here are some pictures from playgroup:

Gabriel and Jake: twins?

Gabriel splashing with a nervous mommy (in a great outfit) watching

Gabriel smooching Zoe

Get Up, Stand Up

Gabriel stood alone today again, but it was the first time he pulled himself up from standing and let go on his own. He stood for at least 5 good, solid seconds. He had pulled himself up on his toy box, reached in for his caboose, and lifted it over his head with both hands. A few minutes later, he stood again and even turned to look at Mommy while he was standing. That's a complex maneuver!

Later, we put him to bed lying down, and the next thing we knew, he was standing up holding on to the edge of his bed and laughing at us. He's getting pretty advanced in his physical ability. He's also losing his chubby little thighs as a result, and that's bittersweet for us. It's fun to watch him grow into a little boy, but we love those thighs!

Tomorrow, Gabriel is going swimming in a kiddie pool at his friend Zoe's house. After that, we're going to Daddy's softball game. It should be a beautiful and fun day.

Today's Tuesday; time for our

AR7 Watch

Warning: spoilers ahead!

This is the last one!

Well, it's finally over. We think that our picks for the top three teams at the beginning were the top three at the end. Uchenna and Joyce were a surprise for the win, but they probably deserved it the most. This seemed to be about a lot more than money for them, so we're happy for them.

We thought Rob and Amber were done for when they got lost going to the bridge outside the sugar refinery. How do you get lost with 4 other people going to the same place? They are going to have a great life together anyway, so they don't need the money. We're glad that Ron and Kelly didn't win, either, because they didn't work well together and so weren't the best team.

Well, the next race is for families of 4, so it looks like we're going to have to wait for the next one after that, unless it's something crazy like people with animals or transvestites only or something like that.

Now what are we going to do on Tuesday nights?!