I have been in Houston at an energy conference for the last few days, and am just about to pack it up and head home, which kinda makes me very happy. I love my little family and miss them so when I'm gone.

Posted by Jonathan on 6 June, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)

A small miracle is happening at the moment at my house, and that would be that my desk is mostly clean. So what is currently on my mostly clean desk?

From left to right:

1. MacBook Pro
2. Domo Ninja 2GB thumbdrive (more on that later)
3. Light reading for work: The Future of Geothermal Energy - Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st Century
4. My acursed BlackBerry POS Curve
5. My blessed iPhone, in its Incase cover

The desk is normally not this clean, much to the frustration of my wife, I am sad to say. I am trying to get better at keeping it tidy, though. And while my desk gets tidier, my brain is going to get less tidy, as I continue to fill it up with all sorts of alternative energy information.

Posted by Jonathan on 23 May, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)

We've had a lot going on lately, and one of the biggest life items was helping Mary Beth pack up her house, her bags, and her life to move to Uganda. She will be working there with established missionaries from her church, assisting them with various items, but especially the establishment of a new post-secondary school.

It doesn't begin to communicate how much we support her to say we fully support her going. We love her dearly and already miss her so much, but are so excited for her to get to see this lifetime heart's desire of hers be met.

While she is in a fairly remote part of the world, she will have access to the internet (on the days she has electricity!). So go visit her blog: mbsadventures.blogspot.com. She already has a post up, that she did in Heathrow! Leave her a comment and let her know you're reading and looking at the wonderful pictures...she's going to post. (At the moment, she's got it set to having to use a Google, Blogger, or OpenID login to post a comment, but that will probably change in a few days once she gets back online--she wants everyone to be able to comment).

We love you, Mom! Our thoughts and prayers are with you...

Posted by Jonathan on 7 May, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple weeks back, I tricked my friend Brad into taking a job with the energy company I work for. I say trick because I promised him half-days of work for a full day's pay.

Well, as W says, "Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, uh--er--uh...you cain't fool me twice...!"

Yeah, 4 weeks of 12-hour work days and a couple Saturdays later, don't think I'm going to be able to fool Brad again. I think if he were to go back in time to when I offered him the job, he would quicky find the nearest blunt object and jam it into my eye.

And I don't know that I would blame him. As it is, though, I don't think he would be able to leave if he tried, having so quickly become an invaluable part of our organization and so quickly endearing himself to the dozens and dozens of people who daily benefit from his patient help and kind spirit--a sharp contrast to my standard knee-jerk reaction: "Get out of my office."

So welcome, Brad. We definitely need you, and I really do myself. I have been so blessed already in the short time you've been here. And the respite's coming, friend.

(P.S. Interoffice fun fact: Brad's new cards actually read:

Brad Stanford - Putting the 'Mr. T' back in I.T.)

Posted by Jonathan on 16 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Nuthin' to see here but:

• Mac Book Pro


• Stretchy Climber Guy


• Moo Cards


• InCase iPhone cover


• Mini Cooper brochure


• Soon to be introduced 'Robot'


• Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons basketball game ticket stub


• Junk and unknown

I bet I'm not the only one doing some cleaning this fine Saturday afternoon...

Posted by Jonathan on 23 February, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

A while back, I got my loverly wife a sewing machine, because, some time before that, I had bought her the fabulous Lotta Jansdotter's *pause for oohing and ahhing at her fabulousness* Simple Sewing, not really thinking about how every project required a machine (I mean, you can sew by hand, right?)

Well, not too longer after that, I got her a few crafting books, one of them being Sew What! Skirts, so that, if Jenni ever got tired of making placemats and aprons, she would have some other projects to do. Sunday after noon, I see she has out her machine, and some of that pattern paper, and I figure she's out to make one of these 'simple' skirts, which would be her first try at it.

Moments later, I see her newest skirt, cut to pieces all over the floor and kitchen table--WHAT?!!!

...turns out, she was adjusting an existing skirt to make the length more flattering and comfortable. And it wasn't an easy project, with the skirt being double-layers, and the bottom layer being a satin (satin-esque?) material which was not easy to handle.

She did a fantastic job, don't you think?! I myself would have been petrified to cut to shreds a new piece of 'store-bought' clothing, for fear of ruining it or in some other way altering it beyond wearability.

...and that is why my wife is my hero, cos she isn't afraid to do stuff like that. Well, I think she may be afraid, but she doesn't let it paralyze her into inaction.

Way to go, baby! I'm so proud of you!

Posted by Jonathan on 29 January, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sunday afternoons are for football, and lazy family fun. Like building the commercial jet airliner from Bubby's LEGO Airport, from the City Collection.

This set has about 700 pieces and is for ages 5-12, so we're taking it slowly. We've already built some of the 'boring' stuff, so today was the actually plane, like DaDa flies.

Bubby is 4, actually, so sometimes, we had to take a paying attention break.

We keep making progress, and soon, the whole shebang will be ready. This little guy is about to earn some wings.

Posted by Jonathan on 6 January, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Jonathan on 1 January, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Notice the Mike Wazowski mug in the foreground.

Posted by Jonathan on 29 December, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

...and 'My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Super Slueth Christmas' is on in the background!

Posted by Jonathan on 22 December, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

...cooties, and lots of them...

Cough-cough!

Posted by Jonathan on 16 December, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jonathan on 14 December, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Retro, true, but it's all the rage these days.

Posted by Jonathan on 30 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jonathan on 27 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

...with the new tv, and the new component hook-up for the Wii.

(...although I must admit, we totally suck at shooting Olympic skeet
with Mario and Sonic in Beijing, China!)

Posted by Jonathan on 25 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

...and time to unload.

Posted by Jonathan on 23 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

...on Black Friday, a Target team member isn't going to help you get this in the basket, so come early, and come with your back brace...

Posted by Jonathan on 23 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jonathan on 17 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

...out having an early Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma at Meadowlakes.

Posted by Jonathan on 15 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

...so I'm walking the ONE block back home for it...

Posted by Jonathan on 15 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jonathan on 13 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Jonathan on 3 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Jonathan on 3 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday to a super-swell guy! My older brother Matthew turns [a prime number] today, and we are happy to celebrate with him. He is and has been such a blessing to our little family, since before it even existed. We have had the privilege of watching him grow and stretch and be real and struggle and overcome and succeed wildly in the last several years and also in this very last year, and we could not have more desires for his happiness and success than we do.

We love you a bunch, Matty. You are an awesome brother to me and Jenni, and a super uncle to Noah.

Posted by Jonathan on 2 November, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

...and now it's time to

Let's see, in the last 11 days we have had:

1. Last day of work at the longest job I've ever worked at
2. Trip to OKC to visit friends from far and near and get no sleep at all
3. First day (and first week!) of new job, in a totally different field and work atmosphere
4. My birthday
4a. I got an iPhone
5. Our joint birthday
6. Jenni's birthday

I would say that we would stop now and catch our collective breath, but Matty's birthday is coming up, followed by Grandma's, then Sarah's in town, Turkey Day, 2 Cowboys games on Thursday in a row, and then it's Christmas.

Yowza.

Thanks so much to Victoria (our most favorite blogger in the world) for the Keep Calm poster. We know you're not retiring off of the 20ish bucks for printing, shipping and handling these goodies, so the next time we're in SF, your latte's on us!

Posted by Jonathan on 31 October, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Okay, so long time, no posting...Well, it's not like a lot hasn't been going on...like a major career change, birthdays, the purchase of an iPhone...you know, little stuff.

At the Carroll highrise, we're busy celebrating Jenni's birthday, among other things. And as soon as I can figure out how to mobile-post from my iPhone, there are going to be a ton of updates on this blog.

In the meantime, please visit alwaysalmost.vox.com, my other blog, to which posting from my iPhone is incredibly easy. In fact, I've posted a couple dozen times there in the last week since I bought my iPhone. So you may want to check the archives. Tons of groovy pics of the last few, fun-filled days.

Posted by Jonathan on 29 October, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday seems a bit of a blur now, but a few things are known:

1. There were balloons

2. These eyeballs are supposed to come out.

3. There were clever t-shirts, especially the one Brittany brought for the Bubby that said, 'I Still Live with My Parents'

4. There was an aftermath.

5. LJ is a great helper (really), showing the patience/self-control of a saint, and 6. I have a wonderful wife, without whom I would be utterly helpless.

7. Kailey is such a groovy, happy little trooper: I never saw her without a big smile, and her gleeful shrieks just made me laugh, which reminds me of 8. how, without a doubt, we undeservedly have such a wonderful collection of superb family and friends.

9. There were balloons.

Posted by Jonathan on 24 September, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

This WWII mantra might just as well be our personal motto for the next 24 hours. Noah's 4th birthday party is tomorrow afternoon, and while we totally are not planning any huge soirée or sorta-super Sweet Sixteen, our natural state of ultra-laid-backness makes our house a hectic beehive anytime we have to plan just about anything. We are really REALLY looking forward to having friends over, and Noah is stoked about playing his new 'treasure ball' game with Nate and John. We just tend to overreact to anything that's so set in stone and requires, by a particular deadline, things like baking and couch-moving and seat-counting and praying to God the elevators are still working tomorrow, and figuring out once and for all if doing an Elmo pináta in our apartment will work or not.

...you know, normal stuff.

And with the Bubbster's, God-willing, last appointment related to his kidney issues taking up a good portion of today, it puts us behind the eight ball a bit already.

Only in our minds, I suspect.

Oh, and Jenni really wants one of those posters.

Posted by Jonathan on 21 September, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the fun things we did for Bubby's special day was go play some fun Mountasia! You'll of course notice the matching Threadless tees. Bubby was so thrilled to match his Mommy.

Posted by Jonathan on 20 September, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Four years ago today, at 5:41 a.m., after 3 and 1/2 hours of the strangest birthing experience I've ever heard, just as it was becoming extremely apparent to me how unready I was to be a parent, God decided I was ready enough, and the Bubby was born. And while the last four years have been a wild, emotional spread of joy and scaredness and learning and failing and trying and laughing and crying, like we pray every night, he was and is a blessing from the Lord.

We love you, our special little boy, and we are so glad God gave you to us. May you grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with Him and with men. May your heart delight in Him and may He give you the desires of your heart, today, and every day.

Posted by Jonathan on 19 September, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Lucy! Somebody's been playing with the 5's again!

Posted by Jonathan on 12 September, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Saturday it was time for our little family to go to make a trek to IKEA. This one wasn't for some hard to say Swedish chair or for some other modern furniture or home decor. It was those more necessary, organizational items.

..but first, it was time for some breakfast.

Ah, a healthy way to start an early Saturday morning!

Isn't Jenni so pretty?!

...but I still look a bit tired...

Then, on to chair-testing time! (Okay, so I said no furniture, but we didn't buy any furniture, or even a smallish chair...)

...you know, for kids!

Okay, that cinnamon roll didn't last us so long...it was soon time for lunch. Mine on the right, Jenni's on the left:

View from our table by the window.

Yes, even at IKEA, Noah is a little TV fiend...

Noah really loves those little play stations they have scattered throughout IKEA, and they're a good respite after having to sit in the cart or after hours of trying hard not to touch things.

A busy little checker!

All tired after a long IKEA kind of day!

Posted by Jonathan on 9 September, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)

COMMENTS ON THE PHOTOS COMING SOON.

Click on the photo below to enlarge for detail:

Posted by Jonathan on 30 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

While most of the literate world is collectively hoping that no one on TV or a website or e-mail or in the subway or wearing one of these shirts will tell them how the most anticipated fiction book of modern time ends, my quiet time this morning actually revealed the ending, and it's very good:

'There is surely a future hope for you
And your hope will not be cut off.'

I don't know about you, but lately an injection of hope is a good thing for me. What a promise: Your hope will not be cut off! Isn't that the thing about hope: it's something you're anticipating that's for good, but the second you question whether said good anticipation will ever come to fruition, the moment doubt takes over even just a little, hope fades.

Often, we ourselves are the source of our hope: it is up to us to keep it alive and to do the hope-ing. But not so, the Word reveals: We have One Who Is our Hope Himself. He has no doubt, no capacity to fail. There is 0% likehood that He Will not do as He promises. And He Is not an uncaring Judge, nor Is He even a Father who simply knows how to give good gifts to His children.

Not only Is He pulling for us, not only does He want the best for us, but He also ensures the victory and the success! He Himself is our Hope and the fulfillment of our hope!

Now that is an ending that you can tell me about any day...

Posted by Jonathan on 23 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

...at the Carroll House. We're hip. We're with it.

...and we're gittin' jiggy wid it!

Posted by Jonathan on 20 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

We had a great weekend, and it all started with a fun day off on Friday, having a fun day out with Mary Beth to celebrate her birthday. We headed over to West Village in Dallas, a place Jenni and Noah and I frequent, and where we thought Mary Beth would enjoy going for her first time. I think she did, and I KNOW that the people at Taco Diner, Legacy Trading Company, Ann Taylor Loft, and most importantly, the Paul Frank Store were very happy to see us! Noah and I even got to take a little break at Starbucks to enjoy an Izze, some vanilla milk, and some a few books Daddy had tucked away in his messenger bag for just such a moment of respite.

We had a great time over there, and thank the Lord, the weather stayed great for us.

After that, we headed home to freshen up and then to meet (as a surprise) the rest of the fam at Reata downtown to enjoy some very yummy dinner. Then, back to the elevator house for some mini-cakes and presents!

We had a blast, and I hope Mary Beth did, too! Happy Birthday! We tried really hard to make it a good one. We love you!

Posted by Jonathan on 16 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Can I just say how proud and super-impressed I am with Jenni?! She continues to blow me away with how she is steaming through learning how to use her sewing machine, as evidenced by the nifty sack above, but more on that later.

When we got the sewing machine, we also bought about 10 yards of clearance fabric for her to start practicing on. And I mean, really: the moment we got home, she dove right in to the very difficult task of reading the poorly illustrated and rarely captioned manual, and she started figuring things out. Not much later, she was making 'coasters,' just to figure out the stitches and start on getting them straight.

Soon, our house was filled with the pleasant hum of Jenni sewing away! Most of the time, I had no idea what she was sewing, I just knew the gentle hum of the Singer in the background meant something was happening that involved fabric and thread. Occasionally, she would pop out a placemat experiment, and then another, better placemat experiment. Those were followed by an apron, and she just went on and on, burning her way through the 10 yards of fabric.

(As a total sidenote, when we took the bolts of fabric to the cutter at Joann's and, when the lady asked how much of the pink fabric Jenni wanted--you should have seen the lady just about swallow her tongue when Jenni happily chirped, '6 yards!' I mean, if you haven't sewn lately or ever--that's a lot of fabric. Like, we're talking the Von Trapp kids could be totally clothed for summer in 6 yards of fabric.)

Anyhoo, at some point we were conjecturing about fun things she could do with her new sewing machine, maybe things she could eventually make to sell on Etsy, or at one of the two downtown stores here that are boutique-ish and whose owners we're good friends with. One of the things we came up with was fabric 'brown bags,' for women who want a fun, fresh way to bring their lunch to work. Make 'em lined, put in a bit of a bottom, use fun fabrics, just an idea...and I'll help you make a pattern, figure out measurements, etc...

So, on Sunday, while I'm sitting at the lappie making the internets (as Keegan says), I heard the occasional whirring of the Singer, and I don't give it no nevermind. And about two hours later, Jenni hands me the bag above, which she had designed, eyeballed, cut and sewn, all as a little experiment, all on her own.

YOWZA!!! WAY TO GO!!!

I was totally blown away. She is doing so great, and I am so proud of her! She's had the machine for just two weeks or so, and with no prior experience or training, is totally destroying it! Who knows what she will do next?!

...anything she puts her mind to! I know she can, and I am so proud of her, and so excited to see what she does next.

I love you, baby!

Posted by Jonathan on 11 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Posted by Jonathan on 10 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Posted by Jonathan on 8 July, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

...not for a while anyway, and believe me, I really, really want one (which differentiates me in no way from the other 292 million Americans who WON'T be getting one). The mobile blogging and 2M camera alone make it worth the price and my while. But still, I'm trying to pass up on this luxury goodie, for the time being, and here's the list I've got going so far:

1. My Treo Jenni gave me last year is barely even a year old
2. I have a video iPod in perfect condition that's just a year and a half old
3. am about to upgrade to Adobe CS3 Design Premium, which is a larger small fortune than the small fortune an iPone costs
4. (I think) We're about to buy a new Beetle or GTI
5. I need a bass more than I actually NEED an iPhone
6. I don't want Clint to feel like he's the only person who doesn't have an iPhone, since he works for a competitor and will most likely be fired once he actually does get one

Posted by Jonathan on 29 June, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

jonathan is right, i've been very deficient in sharing the pictures i take of my very favorite man. get ready to scroll.....

christmas goodies!

he just made a good shot while playing golf with noah.

showing noah proper form

the genius at work.

daddy snuggles are best!

i think frank's brain just fell out.

chillin'

c'mon, daddy, play with me!

genius is burning.

josh and jonjon enjoying fruit roll-ups.

so there you go. a selection of pictures with jonathan in them from the last 6 months. enjoy!

Posted by Jenni on 8 June, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was just about to post how I'm never in any family photos anymore cos no one takes any of me with Jenni and Noah and how my photo album is full of pictures missing me--which is how my life feels at the moment--and I was going to conclude that I need to become rich and famous so I can have a photographer follow us around and take pictures with me in them...

...and then I came across the picture below in iPhoto and decided maybe less pictures of me is a good thing, and maybe it's time I take away Noah's camera...

=^)

Posted by Jonathan on 7 June, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Click on the picture...and give it a sec...

Posted by Jonathan on 6 June, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

You know Matty's going to India, but how's he going to get there?

...he'll fly, of course...in a helicopter he builds himself:

Posted by Jonathan on 11 May, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (0)

(...that's a reference to a fave movie of ours, the Coen brothers' The Hudsucker Proxy...in fact...)

Posted by Jonathan on 27 April, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

This weekend, we took Noah to see his first-ever, in-the-theater movie (yes, I know: we're horrible parents), Disney's digital 3D spectacular, Meet the Robinsons. He was fabulous, as to be expected, and we all had a great time. His 3D glasses even stayed on with no problems, which was really my biggest concern.

It was like the writers knew this would be Noah's first movie, because they put in all of his favorite things: Robots, trains, spaceships, dinosaurs, exploding stuff. He loved it. And then when he got a Meet the Robinsons coloring/activity book in his easter basket bucket, he shrieked with delight ('LOOK!!! It's that kid from the thing with the spaceship!!!')

MTR is one of the better Disney movies in a while, I think. Aside from excellent visuals and a great soundtrack, the story is excellent. In a nutshell, it's about belonging, and it's about family, not too dissimilar to the themes found in the movie version of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but on the happy ending side of things. A very similar current is also found in Finding Nemo.

In addition to a strong family theme, it also had the best summation of one of Walt Disney's favorite themes, the power of imagination. The late EPCOT ride Horizons summarized Walt's creative ideology with the phrase, 'If you can dream it, you can do it.' MTR breathed life into a different utterance, but built on the same foundations: 'Keep moving forward.' The idea being, whatever the odds, keep moving forward with your dream. If you face adversity, failure, defeat...keep moving forward. This idea not too distant from Thomas Edison's famed statement, 'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.' This movie brought to mind the Disney days of old, when EPCOT was just a vision, and when the actual vision from the man behind the mouse was not for a theme park, but for an Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow, a futuristic utopia of science, wonder and imagination, that would be a standard-bearer for what the world could achieve. MTR inspires those same visions, and also brings to mind the oldest Disney ride in existence, Carousel of Progress, one of Walt's favorites, in which a revolving room rotates around an ever-changing stage which shows the advancements of the last 100 years and imagines those of tomorrow.

But this post is not intended to be a sentimental look back at the theme park of yesteryear. In fact, it is more thinking about life today, and life tomorrow. The biggest thing I came away with from MTR was how grateful I am for Jenni and for our precious son, Noah, and how excited I am about life, life right now and what's to come. MTR ends with the following quote, from which the 'Keep Moving Forward,' mantra was derived:

Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
–Walt Disney

Life changes. There is birth, and there is death. There is joy and there is sadness. Jobs changes, people move away, seasons end. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it's bad, and sometimes, if we're honest with ourselves, it's just change. Sometimes we are the issue, the scared ones, the worried ones, the ones not living today today. Maybe we're looking in the rear-view too much, maybe we're blaming someone for something...perhaps we're holding on to a real hurt, something from long ago. Maybe we're just too scared to do what needs to happen next, for fear of failure.

...and the Father is right there, giving us a big hug, saying:

'...keep moving forward...just keep swimming...I know how this story ends--I wrote it--and you're going to love the end...I love you...'

And that is something we all need to hear.

Posted by Jonathan on 9 April, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (5)

...yup, still here. You haven't heard from us in a while, but we've been plugging working oh-so-hard away. But what we we been up to exactly, other than that thing called life?

Having Matty over, for some fun, and to hear about what's going on in his life....

Being busy at work, including a big Barnett Shale seminar that our firm sponsored, and also going to a memorial at a very groovy church.

Trying to job stuff get things figured out for a move...

Jenni started a blog for her lonesome--and she already has new friends!

Posted by Jonathan on 1 April, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

The government of South Korea is drawing up a code of ethics to prevent human abuse of robots—and vice versa.

Yes, in a move that is sure to assuage futurists, the South Koreans are going to set some rules regarding robots, to try to prevent an I, Robot or Matrix-style end-game of these super-smart and very abused/annoyed robots taking over.

Hopefully, they've thought this through, cos if the Robots don't get a vote, I'm sorry, but they shouldn't be expected to live by the Code ("THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE--BESIDES, THEY'RE MORE LIKE...GUIDELINES")

Oh well, we love robots at our hous---

Noah!!! Get off Sonny!!!!

Posted by Jonathan on 28 March, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

if you're familiar with disney movies, you should totally hear cronk's voice saying that, because that's how i said it.= )

as promised, here are pictures of our fun surprises:

we've already read this book to him at least a dozen times in the last 6 days.

and this is my nifty new book! hopefully it won't be too long before i have something cool to show you that i made from it!

happy monday everybody!

Posted by Jenni on 19 March, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)