Reesie and Miles

What a great picture.

Being a Rich Oppressor

So this verse knocked the wind out of me when I read it last week:

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

Matthew 5:1-4 (emphasis mine)

We have some help with our yard, and we're looking at getting some additional help with things when the baby arrives. I also manage several large vendors at work in my operations function who do a lot of basic labor like landscaping and cleaning. The personal and professional goal is to hire folks to do work as inexpensively as possible and still get the job done well. I don't know what the hourly wages are of some of the folks hired by the people we hire, but I bet it's less than $10/hour or so in many cases.

The HHS Poverty Guidelines state that a family of four making $20,650 a year lives in poverty. That is $9.93/hour for a single parent working a full-time job raising a family of three kids. Also powerful, almost 17% of children in Mecklenburg County live in poverty (over 23,000). I couldn't find a statistic quickly online because the BLS web site is down, but Emily remembers that there are local community reports with statistics that show the problem of poverty in Charlotte is not unemployment. Back-of-the-envelope evidence is that approximately 12.8% of Mecklenburg's population lives in poverty, and our unemployment rate is approximately 4.3%.

The relevance: (1) Over 23,000 children live in poverty within 20 minutes of my house (2) Children are poor because their parents are poor, (3) Parents are poor because they don't make enough money, (4) One reason that many parents don't make enough money is because they work but aren't paid enough, (5) I am part of the system that drives decisions to not pay parents enough.

Bottom line, I am part of the system that has yielded 23,000 children living in poverty within 20 minutes of my house (17% of all children in my County).

So, the challenge becomes what to do about it? I'm thinking God is pointing me to start with the things I have direct control over, building concentric circles of influence outward from my own house.

The Blue Fairy

We spent today at Pappy and Nanna's house swimming and playing before Kathryn's 4th Birthday party. Tasty chocolate cake and ice cream, and then presents, including a blue fairy costume.

Big Fat Baby

We had another ultrasound yesterday, mostly because folks with high blood pressure need to do some extra checking to make sure that the baby isn't too small. Mimi (Elizabeth) joined me and Randy which was fun.

It was a real shock to learn that Zipper is 5 pounds 6 ounces already! That's about 3 weeks ahead of schedule. People often comment that I don't look very big for being this far along in the pregnancy, so to learn that the baby is this much bigger than normal was a real surprise.

Marci (who does the ultrasounds) was full of optimism and encouragement as usual - she has been a real treat to get to know. Thanks for posing for the camera, Marci.

Naughty Millie

I am a little embarrassed to report an anonymous source sent us this picture of Millie surveying the flock of flamingos she installed in Heidi's yard Monday afternoon. Naughty Millie.

A Post Only David & Erin Could Enjoy

Numerous photos and many minutes of mind-numbing video that only a great son and daughter-in-law could enjoy.

Elizabeth's 60th Birthday Party Photo Album

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

Elizabeth had a special, very large, very round numbered birthday this week, and Emily planned a surprise party for her in Atlanta to coincide with Ginger's wedding shower. There is nothing better than seeing the look on Elizabeth's face when her college roommate, best friend, and Southeast-based family popped out from behind the restaurant's curtains.

Hat's off and a heartfelt thanks to Blue Ridge Grille on West Paced Ferry Road for hosting us. They were wonderful to work with and a key ingredient to this very fun and memorable party. We're particularly grateful for Andrea and Ericka who were our servers that night - so fun, and so patient with us!

Raging Like Old Farts

Had a great time Friday evening when we went out to dinner to celebrate Tim's birthday, then on to see Alison Krause play at Bobcat's arena. Marty captured the mood and the moment well on her blog.

Birthing Class Part 2

Fortunately, the further I get from our first birthing class experience, the better I feel about it. Did you know, for instance, that at the beginning of labor it is recommended that you go to dinner or go see a movie? That sounds fabulous! However, right now I would not want to go to a movie in the theatre because periodically I am suffering from Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), and I don't like the idea of not being able to get up easily for a few hours at a time (unless I am sleeping). We also did a second tour of Presbyterian's maternity ward, and it is definitely nicer than my house. So most of the information I learned in birthing class is actually quite positive.

I'd like to note at this point that my positive attitude toward the birthing class may have to do with my new found happiness that I posted about last time. I realize that I have made some profound mental shifts in how I think about my surroundings, and one of my new happiness mantras is "Accentuate the Positive." I can't quit singing the Johnny Mercer tune by the same name in my head! If you are unfamiliar with the song, you can watch both Perry Como's performance from 1958 or a clip from some 1980's BBC show called The Singing Detective on You Tube, both complete with dance numbers.

Tricked!

We just got home from our first birthing class, and wow, did we have a lot to debrief! I'll let Emily post about most of the experience. Two important things need posted immediately:

1. Joanna Mantis was in our class! Joanna graduated with us from East Meck, and neither of us has seen her in years. Apparently she was living in Greece (about 3 miles North of Athens) until almost 3 years ago when she moved back to the US with her husband of 6 years, Nick. Reconnecting with her in the class was a real treat.
2. The instructor/dula/nurse (Trish) tricked us and made us watch the birthing video the last 15 minutes of the class. Man, that was something else! We actually only watched 1/3 of the video, but I saw more of some lady in Chicago than I ever cared to even have a nightmare about. Yikes!
   

I love being pregnant!

Today in the grocery store the woman behind me in line said, "You look like a very happy expectant mom." Could she read it on my face? I told Randy the other day that this is one of the happiest seasons of my life. My hair is the thickest its ever been, I can basically eat whatever I want (minus citric acid which gives me terrible heartburn), and I love my husband more and more every day. Part of me thinks it's all hormones, which is disappointing because I will probably go back to being grumpy after the baby is born! But I think it's more than that. I am just relishing this time of expectation before our baby comes. I have nine months to grow accustomed to the idea that a little one is getting ready to change my life forever, and there is nothing I can do to either speed up or slow down that change. So I can enjoy the anticipation of this new season because it's happening to me-- I'm not making it happen. I just love that! It's unlike anything I've ever done, namely because there is no illusion that I am in control. God is! And that makes me happy.

In Your Face!

To all the naysayers out there...
To all those who want to get you down...
To all the people who think your dreams aren't possible..
To all those who worship Satan and hate everything holy, good, just, and American...

Wiktionary.org, the most authoritative dictionary on the planet, constantly updated and always full of the most current wisdom known to mankind, says that...

The plural of zenith is...

ZENITHS!

Who knew that a simple game of Scrabble would be the final contest proving that Duke is better than Carolina.

Panasonic Camcorder SDR-H200

We took the plunge into the 20th Century this past week and bought a camcorder. I agonized over the best one to buy, and after several weeks of search and research, settled on the Panasonic SDR-H200 Palmcorder. Deciding factors were:

• Hard drive recording format (rather than MiniDV or some other tape format) which makes downloading select clips and working with manageable sections of video possible. Apparently with MiniDV etc., the entire tape has to be downloaded in order to burn or edit the video. With a hard drive, I can just download the clips that are worth keeping and delete the rest without having to download them first.
• Image stabilization was a significant factor. The Panasonics, and especially the H200, have the best image stabilizing features which is important to me as a novice with shaky hands.
• Ease of use. The camera itself is very easy, with clearly marked controls for video recording, still photos, and special features like zooming, external light, manual focus, etc. The software that comes with it for editing is also very easy to use - I was able to figure out the stuff we'll use most frequently just by using it without having to refer to the user manual. One other positive that I didn't think much about in advance is the size - the H200 fits my hand perfectly. All of the controls are within reach of my thumb or index finger, and it only weighs 1 pound.
  
• Rave reviews from Consumer Reports. We were almost going to buy the SDR-H18 which CR ranked as the best value in HDD Camcorders, but decided that the better video quality and built-in light of the H200 was worth a little more money.

Baby Update

We've been so busy for the last few weeks. Thankfully, this weekend we had a little breather and have been able to get caught up on a few things. A few highlights from late July and August:

• Emily's had her first baby shower in late July. She had a lot of fun, and the group decided the name of the baby will be Martha Metzl Fink.
  
• Our baby moon the following weekend was great in spite of some logistical problems at the Charlotte Omni. We agreed the highlight was at Zinc American Kitchen where we had a slow meal (~3 hours) with great service and great food. Thank you Tim & Hannah for teaching us how to really take our time and enjoy dinner.
  
• Last weekend we got a start on the nursery. We were able to get the wallpaper down (I'm a great stripper), the walls painted, Emily's grandmother's rug installed, and most of the furniture moved in. It's 75% finished and looking good - I'll tease you with a few "before" pictures in the nursery album for now.
• This past week we bought our camcorder which was a huge hurdle for us since we're both technophobes.
• This next week, we begin the birthing classes (five weeks) though I'm thrilled to report I don't have to watch the video! I'm also taking an infant CPR class, and will be taking Daddy 411 too (how to change diapers, etc.).

Emily is feeling so good relatively speaking, though she's definitely feeling tired more easily and having trouble sleeping to boot. She has a lot of travel, visitors and showers in the next few weeks. Though she is so grateful and looking forward to everything she's doing, I also know she's looking forward to wrapping up this phase of the pregnancy and being able to slow down.

Josh's Video Debut

We had so much fun visiting with our godson Josh today. Fortunately, we arrived home from lunch shortly after our new camcorder was delivered. Lucky Josh - he gets to be the subject of our first film debut. Of course we had to make sure our own child received equal time, even if she is still 10 weeks from being born.