Well, we've arrived at the midway point! 20 weeks into the pregnancy, Hols has gained 3 inches to her belly and is running out of clothes that fit comfortably. Vomiting has tapered off quite a bit, too...maybe once or twice a week now. We have an appointment with Holly's doctor on Monday, and, from there, we'll be scheduling our 4-D ultrasound to check on the kiddo.

This week this baby is about 10 ounces in weight and the length of a banana.

This news has reached all corners of the nation, including a large number of sports news websites and even European news sources.

Closer to home here are some reactions from those who knew Coach Thomas...

“He always preached to be willing to look to one another for support. We will do that. We will move on.” --Jon Thompson, Aplington-Parkersburg Superintendent, gazetteonline.com

"Coach Thomas was very special to me and many other young men from the Aplington-Parkersburg communities. His legacy for many will be associated with his tremendous success as a football coach. However, I believe his greatest legacy comes not in how many football games he won or lost but in the fact that he was a committed follower of Jesus Christ. He lived his life trying to exemplify this faith and convey those values to those under his influence. His faith in Christ pervaded everything he did and that is why in the midst of the heartache we all feel there is comfort in knowing he is with his Savior." --Aaron Kampman, Green Bay Packers DE and former A-P football player, packers.com

I read one account that said Coach would pray with his players before every game. Doing so on public school property would be shunned, but he didn't care.

"In his more than 33 years as a coach and teacher in Parkersburg, Thomas taught teamwork and relying on the support and help of others . . . That ingrained attitude helped Parkersburg residents bounce back from the EF-5 tornado that destroyed about one-third of the town a little more than a year ago, and it will help them work through this latest tragedy." --Bob Haylock, Parkersburg Mayor, gazetteonline.com

"I’d sooner have another tornado than this." --Vinton Christopherson, neighbor to the football field named after Coach Thomas, gazetteonline.com

"Heaven just got a great football coach and an even better man." --Jared DeVries, Detroit Lions DE and former A-P football player, espn.com

Aplington-Parkersburg head football coach Ed Thomas was murdered this morning while overseeing a weight lifting session of 50 high school students. An unknown adult male walked into the session and shot Coach Thomas to death, including once in the head. He died a short time later after arriving at the hospital.

Coach Thomas was the 2005 NFL High School Coach of the Year. His combined record during his 37-year coaching career was 292-84. He coached four students that currently play in the NFL, including Aaron Kampman, a defensive end for the Green Bay Packers.

More prominent than his coaching fame was his impact on the community. A beloved leader who sought more than football titles, Coach Thomas made an even greater impact on his community following the E-F5 tornado that wiped out half of Parkersburg, including the high school, just over one year ago.

The following ESPN e:60 documentary features Coach Thomas and the story of how he inspired the rebuilding of a broken community.

pics I took of the inbound storms this afternoon (except the following radar image)...

...incoming shelf cloud...

...not sure what's happening here with the darker plooms coming off the cloud...

...not looking good...

...definitely not good...but this is still my favorite shot...

...following the storm were these really serene images...a full double rainbow, and a rare, awe-striking Iowa sunset...

A long day spent repairing a spent tile shower wall. Moisture damage ruined the tile work and the drywall behind the tile. So, everything had to be ripped out. Tough project to work on because it was the only working shower in a house of five adults. Still some work yet to do, but it's enough for one day...and enough for showers to happen.

Halfway through the full term! Kiddo's now the size of a large heirloom tomato.

Pretty cool description of what's happening with Baby according to Babycenter.com...

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Holly has my previous laptop...a four-year-old DELL Inspiron 9100 hand-me-down with 2.80 GHz Intel Pentium 4.

Today, she tried downloading an iTunes movie that is 2.42 GB. After three hours at home, she had only acquired 20 MB of the movie (that's .8% of the movie, by the way) on a 7 Mb home hookup.

I took the DELL to work to see if a T1 connection would increase the download speed. Not much improvement...she still would've needed an additional 238 HOURS to finish.

I carried the download over to my two-year-old MacBook Pro. On the same T1 connection, the 2.42 GB movie took only 115 minutes to download.

TWO YEARS of technology was the difference between a 14,280-minute download time and 115 minutes. Definitely a sign of the times.

And I won't even go into the PC vs. Mac debate...

Suh-WEET!

MUTE MATH just released their '09 Tour, and they're making a stop at People's Court in Des Moines on Oct 1st!

They're also playing the House of Blues in Chicago on Oct 18th, and the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, MI on Oct 20th.

A MUST-SEE SHOW!

Kiddo is now the size of a bell pepper and has grown Holly's belly enough to show a bit of a bulge. Pants don't fit well anymore. But the morning sickness is now starting to subside...only a few rough, vomitous mornings per week.

Tthe time has come to find out if Hols is cookin' a boy or girl; the genitals are now in place and noticeable. Our ultrasound appt has yet to be scheduled, though, some time at the end of the month. Since Week 2 Hols' confidence still stands that she's growing a baby boy, but we'll see.

Hols and I camped with our small group at the Coralville reservoir last night. some broke out the camo...

but everyone broke out the foil meals...

...including corn on (soon to be 'off') the cobb...

...and steamed salmon and zucchini and squash. Hols did an amazing work with this food.

Bryan and Betsy with their meals...

then it started raining...Thaddeus checking the radar courtesy of his iPhone...and it didn't look good...

s'more-making...improvised.

but we kept the fire roaring, otherwise the cool rainy night would've stuck us in our tents all night.

after an all-night rain, I went for an early-morning hike and discovered year-old evidence of the Flood of '08.

this pathway staircase was washed out after water overran the reservoir spillway.

the fossil gorge immediately proceeds the spillway...


camp breakfast ROCKS...bacon, eggs, pancakes, fresh coffee, OJ, grapes...

Found this guy paddling down the road shoulder this afternoon...

Really cool interview here with 88-year-old Mayor Hazel McCallion, who has been in office for 31 years and runs a debt-free city. And she still plays HOCKEY! "Not bad, eh?"

This is such a great commercial. Here's to the Wings doing exactly this TONIGHT!

It's now been one year since the '08 Flood devastated our church building...


...but the church itself overcame, and, six months later, we re-garrisoned the building. Really amazing GOD story.

The inspiration? ... it's SUMMERTIME!

Hols and I escaped to Chicago for a quick IKEA trip. Love this girl.


We also made a stop at Red Robin. I wore a Red Wings shirt to Chicago...Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in the Conference Finals a week-and-a-half back. Had to brag a bit...or a lot. Got a handful of "GO WINGS!" chants from people, a couple of boo's. But my favorite was the manager at Red Robin threatened to body check me into the booth.

Hols had see food.

It's the LEGO Store!

Baby's skeleton has now begun to harden from cartilage. The umbilical cord is getting stronger and thicker...good thing 'cause Baby is gonna start packing on more pounds. Joints are movable now and the sweat glands have begun forming...the sweat glands!

Now about five ounces in weight, Baby is the size of a turnip!

Still ripping stuff out of the basement bathroom in preparation to frame in the tub. Almost there...