Jacob Drumming

I took this with my camera at church a while back. We were waiting outside Shannon's office when Mr. Curious decided to investigate the drum set. He got both sticks, began striking the different pads and began to play with decent form. He even figured out the foot pedal for the bass drum. What is really neat is neither Shannon or I told him what to do on the drums nor has he been in worship service much to watch how drummers play their instrument. What you see is from his own intuition. Shannon's daddy was a good drummer, and they always had a drum set in their home. Makes me think the music gene has been passed on.

I have added a new poll to the right regarding musical instrument expertise. Remember, voting is power or something corny like that.

My Life as a Play: Pulza

Setting: The foyer of our home. Daddy comes down the stairs and sees Jacob on his hands and knees.

Daddy: Hi Jacob.
Jacob: Woof, woof.

This is Jacob's way of indicating he is playing as the imaginary dog Pulza (pronounced as Pull-zah) which is a name and entity he derived totally on his own. As Pulza, he generally says only "woof, woof" but will occasionally mix in human words to help indicate to Daddy what he wants done when Daddy is unable to properly translate "woof, woof."

Daddy: Hi Pulza. What are you doing?
Pulza: Woof, woof.
Daddy: ...
Pulza: Woof, woof.
Daddy: ...
Pulza: Woof, woof. Play in river. Woof, woof.
Daddy: Oh, you are playing in the river. [This was a game they played earlier in the day where Pulza gets struck in the river and has to be pulled out.] Ok, I will help you Pulza.
Pulza: Woof, woof.

Pulza goes to a small wooden chair which he uses to get to stuck and thus requiring Daddy to pull him out. Pulza dives under the chair but manages to hit his head on the chair quite hard. Cries and tears soon come.

Daddy: Oh, Pulza, are you OK. You hit your head.
Jacob [Crying]: I am not Pulza anymore. I am Jacob. I hurt my head.

Happy Birthday Shannon!

My beautiful wife has her birthday day. Feel free to drop her a happy birthday email at "shannonmeadors" AT gmail.com.

I am posting below her birthday card I wrote for her. I love you Shannon with all my heart.

Shannon Meadors, a Proverbs 31 Wife

Proverbs 31:10-31 (translated by her husband Kyle)

Who can find a more excellent and perfect wife than mine.

No jewelry can match her worth.

I have trusted her with my whole heart, and nothing will pay off more than that.

For our whole marriage, she treated me with goodness and respect

And never laziness or deceit.

She provides for our household. Whether buying new clothes or sewing on a button, she will cares for her husband and children.

Like FedEx, she always delivers a good meal for the family.

If we need to make a late night run to Wal-mart to get something, she will do it without hesitation.

We always have food for ourselves and others to entertain.

She is careful about staying in budget with what we buy.

She works hard at her job, knowing she does a good job and people are counting on her. She will stay up late working on projects and typing emails.

She is sensitive to those who are in need and buys them good things that she would give to her own family.

This girl is not afraid of a little snow. If we need something, bad weather won’t get in her way.

She is so beautiful and always looks great.

I am definitely a better dresser since I married her. She makes sure my clothes actually have some style to them. I actually get compliments now on the way I dress.

Her character shows in her life and radiates out of her.

She is wise and blesses others with her words.

She keeps our family going, getting us to where we need to go.

I know how lucky I am. I tell people all the time, “There are a lot of good women out there, but none better than my wife.”

Sure, she is hot, but what makes her so special is her love of the Lord.

Her life and her works tell the tale. Everyone can see what kind of woman she is by her incredible deeds.

Great Time in Culebra

Update 1/9: Thumbnails now work.

Update 1/8: I realize the full size pictures do not appear when you click the thumbnail. Am working on getting that fix.

We had a wonderful time in Culebra. I would like to do a more extensive write up of the vacation later, but here is the short and sweet, and it was sweet. We left Christmas afternoon from Nashville Airport and stayed overnight in Ft. Lauderdale. On the 26, we flew to San Juan and then chartered a flight to Culebra. We got over a half a day in Culebra on the 26th, including a little time on the sunny beach. That night I ate a full lobster which had been freshly brought in, and it was great.

The next three days, 27-29, were full days on the beach. Our villa was right on the beach. We usually awoke to "Thomas" the rooster. There are lots of wild roosters and chickens on the island, and this one kept cock-a-doodling us right off our villa porch early in the morning. Even when I chased him off he would come back and unleash his annoying sound. I named him "Thomas" as in Thomas the Train because for one he was "cheeky" like Thomas and two he had two hens who followed him like Annie and Claribel in the Thomas series. This knowledge comes from my having a little boy who loves Thomas the Train.

After we awoke, we ate breakfast in our small villa, headed to the beach around 9:00ish, came in around noonish for lunch, typically grilled on the villa patio, back out on the beach until about 4:00. Then we headed into town for a delicious dinner.

Shannon bought me snorkel gear as a Christmas present, and I got to snorkel a couple of days in a little cove off our Flamenco beach where we stayed. It has coral and some exotic fish. I really enjoyed snorkeling. After you get use to it, it so peaceful and beautiful.

We came back early on the 30th, and overall the travel was fine. We were not in a hurry to leave because it was so relaxing and enjoyable, but we had a little boy to get back to. A great ending to the vacation was calling my parents who were keeping Jacob after we got to Nashville airport. They said he had been asking a lot about us that day and kept going to the window and looking out for us. Seeing Jacob was a wonderful way to come home.

Here is a brief photo slideshow of our trip. It shows some photos I took from charter plane overlooking Culebra, shots of the villa we stayed at, "Thomas" the rooster, Flamenco beach, some shots of downtown Culebra including the downtown ferry which takes you to the main island of Puerto Rico and me in snorkel gear on Christmas day.

{ gallery [Culebra2007] }

Merry Christmas

Today, Shannon and I are off to Culebra for a wonderful vacation on a beautiful sunny beach. We will be back on New Year's Eve.

We had a great Christmas with our extended family and within our family as well. The video is our time together last night on Christmas Eve and then Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas all and happy New Year!

Reflections on the Verdict

When people ask how we are doing in regards to the trial, my standard answer is "We are still processing it." I like that. It shows hope, or at least not despair, but also a little elusive. It is also true. Because we not just reacting on a strong emotion, but working through a process of our transformation.

Before this experience, I use to think that God used trials and tragedy to teach us. And that is true at a literal level. But teaching is what my college professors would do, throw a bunch of facts at me and leave it up to me to catch them and remember them. Teaching implies you decide if you want to accept the information. Trials, true trials, trials from the hand of the sovereign Triune God, are more than teaching moments. They are transforming moments. Transforming is something you don't really decided to act on or not. It happens from within and you can't stop it. You don't decide to accept certain facts or not. You entire way of thinking it revolutionized as your mind is different than before.

Another challenge with being transformed is that we don't know exactly what we are being transformed into. Frankly, I have no idea how different Shannon and I will find ourselves. Will we be more mature and wiser? Will we have a deeper compassion for others? Will we have a greater joy for each precious moment we have? Will we have a greater peace in life because we know life is short but eternity in heaven is much, much longer?

I don't know, and that is tough. That is the difference between teaching and transformation. With teaching, you have an idea of what you will learn and be able to do before the lesson is complete. With transformation, you don't get a blueprint of your new makeup. So we are left with faith. Faith that God knows what he is doing, that he has not abandoned us, nor is he surprised with our condition and response. Faith that he can indeed cause all of this to work together for good because we believe in him.

So as I finishing typing this post, I know not how Shannon and I will find up. I only know that we must keep the faith and we must keep doing the things we are suppose to do regardless of our circumstance. We must be diligent in our disciplines, especially prayer, Scripture and solitude. We must not forsake the assembly of others and the spiritual gifts they have which we don't but we need. We must not despair in doing good because a bountiful harvest is awaiting us. We must strive to love God and love others with everything we have got. Those are things God has taught us well on.

Verdict in Trial for Person Who Killed Shannon's Parents

On Monday and Tuesday of two weeks ago, the week after Thanksgiving, Shannon and I were in New Hampshire for the start of the trial of Grafton County vs. Joshua Shepherd regarding the death of Shannon’s parents and one other lady. Joshua Shepherd crossed the yellow line and killed Gary and Joyce Varden on their motorcycle as well as Claudia Huffman who was riding on bike with her husband, Rick. Rick lived but was badly injured. Shannon was able to visit the scene of the accident, place roses on the crosses marking the scene of their death and got to spend some time there at the scene.

We had the opportunity to see the scene, listen to some witnesses and get a much better understanding the accident. We talked with Officer Seth Cooper of the New Hampshire state police as he was one of the first on the scene. He met us at the scene of the accident, walked us through it and explained many details of the accident.

We also got a chance to see Joshua Shepherd. Through the trial, during breaks when we were in his vicinity and during his testimony, he never showed any remorse or offered any type of apology or condolences. While 25 at the time of the accident, he had already been responsible for several car accidents involving some type of causality.

After deliberating a day, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on 3 counts of negligent homicide and 1 count of vehicular assault. He will face sentencing next month, likely at least 3 years in jail before possible parole. I would categorize both Shannon’s and my mood as numb, a little surprised but also relief. 12 unbiased members of the jury heard the evidence and were in agreement of his guilt and responsibility for killing her parents and another.

As Christians, we pray for Joshua Shepherd that through this experience and upcoming jail time, he would change the direction of his life and find Someone who can offer both forgiveness and purpose to an individual who desperately needs it.