In honor of Halloween, here is a photograph of the Milky Way galaxy. What's cool about this photo is that it is a panorama of more than 3,000 individual photos composed by Dr. Axel Mellinger of Central Michigan University. He traveled more than 26,000 miles to places like South Africa to collect all of the digital photos. He claims this panorama is 1,000 times brighter than what we would see with the naked eye and boasts that no stargazer could see this complete image from any one point on earth.

Whew! We've made it another week. Two more to go until the due date.

The kiddo has really be plumping up since most organ development is finished, the rest of the time is spent giving him some additional insulation to prep for the colder fall weather to which he'll be introduced before long. He should be nearly 7 pounds and 19.5 inches long.

Holly has been spending her days at home trying to relax and rest. She wants to be as prepared as possible physically, emotionally and spiritually for the time when he comes. I'm trying my best to accommodate on a level higher than an "as needed" basis. Being the first time for both us, the latter months of pregnancy are proving to be anxious and longing for his coming. We are trusting GOD that He has put together this beautiful person and that He'll usher him to his new life in due time.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed. --Psalm 139.13-16 NLT

We've reached the baby's full term of development! Our goal was to get to this point, so his lungs would be fully developed and very capable of adaptation to breathing. We're preparing for him to come at any time, but, if he wants to cook a bit longer, that's okay by us...it'll help him chunk up a bit more. And he'll need the extra insulation because it's gonna be a cold winter.

He weighs 6-1/3 pounds and is around 19 inches in length. I'm beginning to wonder which facial features he's inherited from which parent...and if he has a big head of hair or peach fuzz.

Holly continues to experience Braxton Hicks contractions...some more intense than others depending on if she's been on her feet for a while or not. She's not working anymore, so rest and preparation are popular (in-)activities. Doctor's appointments continue to show good health for both mom and baby! PTL!

The downstairs bathroom renovation has moved outside. Tonight, I cut a hole through the side of the house and into the bathroom to accommodate an four-inch hose for the exhaust fan I'm installing.

I'm a few months behind (again) getting projects posted, and this post is from late August '09. Transitioning from the Fruit of the Spirit series, I removed the colored tiles and reused the backlit shelves to light the main display for the next series, "Dear Timothy...". The 17-week series is an expositional look at Paul's letters to Timothy, specifically, the first letter. So, the stage display was supposed to show a parchment-like surface with the "hand-written" beginning to the letter.

Since I wasn't about to look nor pay for two 10x7.5-foot sheets of parchment, I sought the alternative, which led me to good ole muslin. Found a bolt of muslin at the fabric store for $20. DEAL! $$$ The muslin looked rather clean and I wanted to add some texture to it to make it more paper-like. So, it was soaked in tea for a few hours and bunched up to add more wrinkles.

After drying it was time to transport the series branding to the muslin, which was done by creating a transparency, displayed by an old overhead, traced with pencil, then painted by the loverly Holly Faye.

While she was busy tracing and painting, I was prepping the stage with all of the lights I wanted to use. In all, 110 lights were used.



And the finished product...

All right...so the temps have been near 70 the past few days. The window for completing outdoor projects was open, so I jumped on the opportunity. The label of "finished" is now getting clearer on this landscaping wall project. But now, I'm losing daylight, so it's time to call it a day.

Warm weather today has spawned a brood of ladybugs outside. Hundreds and hundreds of them, and they're finding their way inside. Hopefully the gallon of bug spray I bought will keep them at bay.

...is still breakfast.

Well, we had our first false alarm yesterday. Holly had her weekly checkup with the doctor, and the doctor must've pushed a button because Baby wanted out. Holly started having some contractions after the appointment and, later that afternoon, had some subtle hints that her water had broken. Thankfully, the doctor was still at her office that evening, so I got Holly back to see her (and save us a trip to the hospital). Turns out her water was still intact, and the contractions have lessened. So, this was a good rehearsal for us--the car is loaded with the essentials, we have extra batteries for our cameras, etc.

Meanwhile, the kid is 36 weeks along, and he's now set a LOT lower in the womb. He's not trying to kick Holly's ribs out now. The doctor believes he'll be arriving before the end of the month...not mid-November. Holly is full-term in a week, so we're pushing to get to 37 weeks. Any time thereafter is great for us. My mom is ready to pack up once we go home after the birth and help us with her first grandkid. :) We're pretty much ready to go!

Busy sorting through the bounty of gifts for Baby...

Just won this auction on eBay. My little man is gonna be a Wing!

SWEET photos of MUTEMATH recently at Club Nokia in SoCal. By Max Roper.

Continued work on the downstairs bathroom...

Oct 10...first day of snowfall...

Oh my...it's been 35 weeks already! The lil' stinker's growing a lot, and he's beginning to tell us that he wants out. Holly is constantly being afflicted by his kicking her ribs and squishing into her hip. It may be comfy in there, but it sure ain't cozy! He's up to 18 inches long (from my elbow to my palm!) and weighs just over 5 pounds (nearly a ripe honeydew).


Holly is still doing really well despite the beating she takes from our little Olympian. Her stamina continues to dwindle less and less, so she's cutting back on a lot of activities. But her nesting keeps her active...even though the baby's room is pretty close to prepped. We (ahem...I) still have several house projects that we need to knock off the list before he comes, though (and before the cold weather settles here).

This from a recent e-mail I received...

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like [Hurricane Katrina] happen?' Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

Preach it sister...preach.

Paul with keytar atop his keyboard.
Typical
Stare At The Sun with Roy on upright.
Paul and Darren during Pins and Needles.
Darren during Reset standing on his kick drum being held up by the crowd. :)
Bye, guys...thanks for checking out Iowa.

Waiting for the MUTEMATH show in downtown Des Moines, so we hit up Java Joe's. Scenery very reminiscent of Yesterdog back in Grand Rapids. This place decorates with used stage props and backdrops from the adjacent 4th Street Theater. They serve common coffee shop munchies, but also ice cream, a wide assortment of beer, and they also roast their own beans. Odd muzak too...anything from the Hairspray soundtrack to Reba Mcentire and classical opera. I need to introduce them to MUTEMATH...