Savoring the Moment

The other day I resisted the urge to put the kabash on Jayden’s television watching. He was watching sesame street. I’m so glad that’s still on. Well, I was at the dining table working on my sermon. The credits were rolling and I was about to get up and grab the control and let him know that his time is up. But I didn’t right away this time. When the credits roll he puts on this little dance. He’s so in the moment – so happy. so free. it’s his time and it’s my time.

He’s engaged in his own reality in front of this light box and from the dining table I was watching mine. It was a precious moment taking a breath, watching him dance along with the rolling credits.
I need to breathe more.
Gosh I love this kid so much.

Here are some more moments to savor

That’ll give you a rash. . . I hear child services ringing. [link]

This is why our son doesn’t gain much more weight. He falls asleep eating! [link]

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exposed

on a recent trip to chicago, my boy dan of chennergy took this amazing image of my wife and son.
he submitted it to jpg.mag with the following blurb:

Mommy’s pretty tall, but today Jayden’s the tallest one in the family. Mom doesn’t mind handing over the title of the tallest, in fact she could get used to the idea of looking up at her son. She believes as Jayden gets bigger the sky will be the limit, but for now.. seven feet will do.

• more images here and samples of chennergy’s work
• official chennergy site

bruce reyes-chow had some words for jpg.mag. grrrrr. right on. but it would be nice to get this jpg published….no?

i heart jayden not original sin

ok…onward with the jayden videos.
here’s a fresh one of us playing the N-O game.
the terrible twos actually start much earlier than 24mos. i read that it’s around 15mos. no was just one of those words that seemed so natural for him to say. i really wish he wouldn’t use the word so liberally most times but how could you resist when he says it so…cutely.
we seriously have to take parenting to another level since we give jayden choices. he’s learning that daddy and mommy do respect his N-Os but not always. he still has no concept of consequences. just a sucker for pain. like father like son. o original sin. sigh.

snow day

jayden had his first snow day!
unfortunately we don’t think he liked it very much because he couldn’t really stand firm.

FORGET SNOW DAYS
we’re going on vacation!!! this is our first family vacation! heading out to phoenix, az to visit jayden’s little cousin theo. btw it’s in the 70s out there. sunshine and blue skies here we come.

christmas wishes from our family2u

lauren, jayden and i would like to wish everyone a merry merry christmas from philly

surely you’ve got what you wanted for christmas.
as for me, the holidays are just one long marathon. i’ve hit the wall.
can’t wait to just sit still and rub my belly or maybe jayden’s.

i shared a message with some of the kids in our community through an SAT program this past week and expressed my dislike for christmastime. i really don’t like it, even the gift giving. minus the value of the gift, often we’re merely just exchanging material or we give out of obligation. we “exchange” gifts.
by definition, a gift cannot be exchanged. it’s freely given with no strings attached. how often do you experience the generosity? the good will? the sacrifice of the christmas spirit?
when it comes to gift-giving we’ve tried to give generously and graciously and it’s oh so very difficult. there’s so much involved for me. many times it takes knowing what someone really needs, or what they really want. i want to give in order to make their life better. i truly wish to just give and for the receivers to simply know that i love them. this takes a lot of work and effort. end jabber.
anyways, we hope that this has been a great time of generosity and good will for you.

jayden turns one!

our little boy turned one today. it’s mindblowing to me how he wasn’t there a year ago and now we can’t imagine how life ever’d be without him. i’m still learning every moment of the day how to love this boy. there are things that he does that are quite destructive to himself, others, things, etc. and he doesn’t realize it. and it’s so hard at these times but it is then that i must remind myself how much i love this kid, how wonderful he is… afterall, he has no clue what he’s really doing. i guess this is a small glimpse into the heart of our father in heaven. as jesus hung on the cross, he prayed, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. I say, Amen.

look at this tough boy. we decided for his birthday he’d rock a new do.

re-enacting life one year ago. . .kinda. . .

we’ve moved ! ! !

you might have heard rumors.
you might have wondered if we’ve dropped off the face of the earth. afterall, i haven’t posted for months! or talked to anyone for that matter. i admit, i’ve been a hermit.

well…here’s the facts ::
1. we’ve moved. we are no longer in the state of new jersey.
we are officially residents in philadelphia, pa.
(insert background music here…)
motown philly back again..doin a little eastcoast swang…
it’s been almost a month since we’ve moved into our new home here.
2. yes…we’ve also purchased a home. pictures to arrive soon. see the pre-move pictures here
3. yes…i’m part of the pastoral staff at the chinese christian church and center, my new church home and fam.

pastoral ministry is not for the faint of heart. it’s big. soooo big.
PRAY FOR ME!
there’ll be a dedication/installation service for me on Nov 5. So if you’re around…

i’ll share more later in another post about why cccnc and why philly. that deserves a separate posting of its own. i look forward to posting more about our journey here as it unfolds.

so yeah, it’s an exciting time. several months more or less in the making. we kinda just packed up and went. discover this new chapter in our lives with us. God only knows what will happen next. it’s time to dream the impossible, think of what has not been thought about. and MOVE!
stay tuned.

things that don’t change – postings of jayden. you’ll always have that.
i entered this picture of jayden in the babyGap casting call of the next gap baby model.

and check out this hilarious video of jayden – like a caged monster.

jayden video of the week

here’s the jayden video of the week.

Jayden and Apple

I received my Apple mug today straight from 1 Infinite Loop –
but someone loves my mug more than me…

new jayden videos on youtube

more jayden

making noises

eating toes