Soda Can Disparity Injustice!

The Onion is a satirical online magazine which can often be quite hilarious. I found one of today's articles to be especially clever and funny considering the election year headlines you hear about a small minority holding the majority of the wealth. The headline speaks for itself. Read it and have a good laugh. My favorite line: "Members of this exclusive group come from exceedingly poor backgrounds and have access to outrageously low levels of education, which makes them much better prepared to reap the benefits of digging around in garbage."

Nation's Poorest 1% Now Controls Two-Thirds Of U.S. Soda Can Wealth

Don't forget Jacob

I naturally have written more about Ava in these last 2 months than my boy, but Jacob has had some noteworthy accomplishments. The most exciting is he is now potty trained. He was definitely on the late end of the spectrum, accomplishing it 3 months shy of his 4th birthday. But he has done it. We had lots of starts and stops for the last 18 months, but on this past Mother's Day weekend, everything clicked. He physiologically was able for some time, but there was not a willingness to follow through consistently. Now, we hear several times a day "I have to go potty" and off he goes. We are very proud and relived.  It also helps financially. I track everything in Quicken and have a category for Jacob's diapers and wipes. In the last 12 months, we have averaged $68 month on poop clean up. For his life, we have spent about $2500 on diapers related purchases.

Jacob continues to be "all boy" This past week I have had to remove 3 different splinters from him, and 5 ticks have been plucked this month. His little legs are a rainbow of colors from bruises and scrapes. He has remarkable energy, which does wear on you at times, but he is a very cool kid.

In the fall, he will be going to a 4-day/week preschool. Shannon has been talking about his elementary schooling which is approaching soon and what course do we take. Frankly, it took me off guard in considering how soon we have to make these decisions as they are not far off.

He just completed his first year of AWANA. He did very well with his Scripture memory and overall participation. I am proud of his love for the Church. Here are some pictures from the AWANA graduation. These are the Cubbies. Most of the kids are 4 or 5, but there are a couple still 3 like Jacob.

Ava Lauren is growing up

Ava had a check-up on Friday. She measured 12 lbs 4 oz (75% percentile), 22 inches (25-50th percentile) and head circumference of 16 inches (75th percentile) at 10 weeks. Fortunately, 10 weeks old newborn is one of those times in your life when you can be short, squat and big-headed but still considered adorable. I mean, look at these pictures. She is beautiful.

Charles F. Spees 12/12/28-05/08/08

My Uncle Charles died on Friday and was buried on Monday. I had been around my Uncle Charles my whole life, and he has always been the jovial, funny uncle. Making jokes and quick laughs. But as I read his obituary, heard some more stories and saw the Marine color guard present the flag and play "Taps" and observed the local VFW group there to give a 21 gun salute, I realized how much more there was to Uncle Charles. He served 4 campaigns in Korea. He as part of the Inchon landing and did street combat in Seoul. Bluntly, Uncle Charles had buddies killed next to him and he killed some Northern Koreans. Tough stuff. He never spoke much of it to his children or wife, and you can understand why. Watching the Marines present a flag to Aunt Mary and hearing "Taps" was very touching. It was the first funeral I have been to for a war veteran who actually saw combat. Thinking of what he and the others went through for our country was powerful.

Uncle Charles was also a star athlete back in high school and a Golden Gloves boxer. But I never thought of all this when Uncle Charles would visit and joke around with us. It is a good reminder that there is always more to our lives than what people see on the surface. People have depth to them, powerful memories and emotions buried deeper than the casual chit chat brings to surface. I believe this why the Bible strongly encourages hospitality and community. Only by talking to be people for some time do we begin to grasp the wholeness of their life and experiences. This knowledge brings forth appreciation and sympathy and understanding and love which ultimately brings us closer together.

I loved Uncle Charles and will miss him. I am saddened for his bride of 50 years, my Aunt Mary, and his three kids, one of whom, Kathy, is getting married next week. But I know he is at peace in Heaven with our Lord.

In a bittersweet way, funerals provide good opportunities to see extended family that we normally don't see much of. 5 of the 6 Meadors' siblings of my father's generation were there with several cousins and now 2nd cousins as we are having children of our own. Some pictures are below.

My Birthday and stuff

My birthday was yesterday and it was nice. Shannon got me ANOTHER gift, an electronic vocal trainer for your computer that helps you sing better. For those who have heard me sing, you know I need it. I love my wife so much. She rocks!

Yesterday was also Mom Varden's birthday which makes it a bittersweet day for our home, but she gets to celebrate her 58th birthday in Heaven.

At the end of March, Joshua Shepard was sentence for killing of Mom and Dad Varden and Claudia Huffman. The press release with details on his sentencing is below.

Joshua Shepard sentenced to state prison for killing three vacationers

 

Grafton County Attorney Rick St. Hilaire announced today that Joshua Shepard of Thornton, NH was sentenced by Judge James D. O'Neill III of Grafton County Superior Court to state for a period of three to twelve years.  The court also ordered Shepard to pay restitution in the amount of approximately $126,000 and revoked his driver’s license for a period of 21 years.

A jury convicted Shepard in November 2007 of three counts of negligent homicide.  Shepard killed three motorcyclists in Thornton, NH during the 2006 Motorcycle Week when he crossed the solid double yellow line on Route 49 and crashed into two men and two women, killing three of the four.  An eyewitness saw Shepard driving in the wrong lane when he struck the motorcycle riders.  The jury also found Shepard guilty of misdemeanor vehicular assault for causing injury to the motorcyclist who survived the crash.

“We remain especially saddened by the deaths of three visitors to our state because a driver failed to stay in his own lane, “ St. Hilaire remarked.  The sentence handed down by the court shows that there are significant consequences when a motorist commits negligent homicide.  The law makes sure that all of us can drive to pick up our kids, get to work, or take a Sunday drive without the threat of being injured or killed by an oncoming driver.”

Assistant County Attorney James Vara explained that Shepard’s prior history should be considered by the court when sentencing.  Vara told the court that Shepard had been declared an habitual motor vehicle offender in March 2004 by the NH Division of Motor Vehicles.  Approximately six months after Shepard got his license back in December 2005, Shepard crashed into the four motorcyclists on June 11, 2006.  Vara informed the sentencing judge that Shepard’s motor vehicle record included prior accidents and convictions for reckless operation and leaving the scene of an accident.

NH State Police Troop F investigated the case, and Victims Inc. provided additional support.

My 33rd Birthday Party

We celebrated my 33rd birthday this weekend. It was also special as it was the first time the 3 Meadors grandkids were together. Mom and Dad got a big kick out of seeing all of their babies together.

My wife gave me the coolest and most unexpected gift in a Nintendo Wii. Totally caught offguard as they are tough to find. We got some great pictures of Shannon playing Wii Tennis. My parents got me a couple of baseball stat books and a very nice flashlight which I sorely needed. My sister and brother-in-law got me a Wal-mart gift card to download music from my MP3 player which I use when I am jogging.

At church that night, Jacob sang in his little church choir and did a great job. As Aunt Jenn and Uncle Wes had to leave before the performance, Jacob gave them a solo of the songs he would be singing which you can also see below.

Just a great day all round. My actual birthday is Tuesday, but this was a great way to celebrate.