dream it, do it.

I am home. Resting in my own bed, sleeping more than six hours a night, and delighting in streets not crammed with tourists or hotels rampaged by high schoolers.

'Twas a great summer. I met some fantastic people, visited the beach a few times, learned a few things about time management . I think I understand middle school students a little better, can pretty much show you the whale trainer signals, and learned to love Chick-Fil-A.

And now I am home, or, another in-between. Stoked to make the move to the District in less than a month.

In the meantime,

I am addicted to coffee. Especially rich coffee served with these.

Still have a weird thing for bird-inspired art. How about this beautiful bird necklace?

Jill Thomas' photography makes me wish I was cool enough to own a Polaroid Camera.

I can't get over a recent pull toward adoption. Christianity Today's article nailed it.

Beautiful Bookshelves. Yes, please.

Cheers.

kick-butt person of the day: Nancy Birdsall

i want to be her.

Check her out @ http://www.cgdev.org/content/expert/detail/483/

family dynamics.

Our family dynamics are most easily studied through the game of baseball.

Jonathan, the fellow I call my little brother, is now playing on a traveling league. The past 12 years of his life have revolved around the game-- from hitting practice with my dad, to fielding with Nathan and lifting specifically for the sake of bulking his hitting muscles.

More than anything else he pursues and studies, he knows the complete intricacies of baseball. He knows more about the timing of the pitches, more about the discipline of sliding correctly, more about the feel of blisters on his hands from too much practice. He gets it.

So, watching him play is kind of a celebration for the family. We celebrate with his successes, and get even more disappointed when he can't play or fails to get the ball over the shortstop.

Last night, the kid went up to bat, facing a left-handed pitcher. Thrown, the ball hit the dirt, hit the catcher's chest pad, and then in the boy's face. Being the cool and collected player that he is, Jonathan turns to the ump and says (I find out later) "Do you mind if I'm bleeding?" The ump's responds, "Not unless you do."

It was awesome, watching my parents react. My mom does her motherly freak-out, hands in the air, "Oh John, was it his eye? Is he ok? Is he bleeding?" I should note here that the family always sits on the third base line, meaning there was no way we can see if he is indeed bleeding. My dad stands up, almost frustrated, then begins to walk slowly over the fence.

Mom freaks out, dad gets frustrated, and here I am, on the edge of my seat, almost praying, but more so impressed again by the boy's ability to maintain the awesome baseball-player manner. He walks over to the dugout, drinks some water, spits, and then walks back. Blood on home plate, he goes to bat again. Awesome.

Mom continues to freaks out, dad proclaims the situation ok, and I watch another conquered road bump.

class flower: cactus.

- Small town celebrations are quite the experience. Way to go, little brother, for (almost) leading the graduating pack of 2010. He's pretty darned cute, too (http://mountvernonnews.com/local/10/05/29/99-graduate-from-east-knox).

- I miss Midtown. Good call, Christianity Today, for running a fantastic article on the importance of an intentional church community.http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/may/29.43.html

- This was one year ago this week. Red Square, attempting to go to a Synagogue. Sigh, I miss exploring Europe.

And, you're right, the Cactus is NOT a flower. But, the graduates argue differently. Way to go.

top 5.

1. Quote of the week: "He found himself understanding the wearisomeness of this life, where every path was an improvisation and a considerable part of one's waking life was spent watching one's feet." --Ralph, Lord of the Flies

2. Current Fear:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/photogalleries/amphibian-pictures/.

3. One of the many reasons birds are so cool: (fast forward to 6:06) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1A3ql9GFYA

4. Maybe the most anticipated part of the summer:

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

5. Pretty cool thoughts from some pretty cool ladies: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/women/

currently...

reading: http://www.themidnightcry.com/s_7.asp?n=13

watching: http://boybrains.com/

listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNfWC4Sgkcs (arcade fire, rebellion)

writing: Abolish the Modesty Panel.

this life is absurd.

procrastination.

Cool things:

Still a passion: http://www.bankerswithoutborders.com/

Thanks, Jordan: http://badassoftheweek.com/

Next year: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1s=VA&1y=US&1l=37.56855&1g=-78.525398&1v=STATE&2c=Waterloo&2s=NY&2y=US&2l=42.904701&2g=-76.863098&2v=CITY#b/maps/m:map:4:40.341759:-79.488278::::::1:1:::::::::/l::::VA::US:37.56855:-78.525398:state::1:::/l:::Philadelphia:PA::US:39.952202:-75.1642:city:Philadelphia+County:1:::/l:::Waterloo:NY::US:42.904701:-76.863098:city::1:::/l:::Cedarville:OH::US:39.744202:-83.808601:city:Greene+County:1:::/io:1:::::f:en_US:M::/bl:/e

Countdown: 12 days.