Hilton Head, South Carolina

We are headed to the beach tomorrow.
We are so excited.
We have not been on a long family vacation since Silas was born last May.
Silas is getting bigger and bigger. He is also eating things like crown molding, eggs by the dozen, and gourmet breads. He is a much pickier eater than Josie, our 3 and a half year old. His top six favorite foods are banana's, scones, cupcakes, Focaccia bread from the Hot Point Cafe, watermelon, and strawberries.
He is something else. I have never known a little boy so happy, smiley, and alert.
Our trip tomorrow will be hard on little Silas because he will be cramped up for 6 hours in a car. Whenever he cries is gets under our skin. It stresses us out. But we will get there.
We are staying in Sea Pines Plantation, one of the most gorgeous places on the east coast. The draped live oak trees, the water, the big boats, the music, the families with kids, the live music, the great food, and the relaxing pace all make for an amazing time. We just love going to Hilton Head.

Anna is working for Microsoft. I work at home raising the kids.
Anna is a project manager for what is called Microsoft Advertising.
She makes sure clients are served in a timely manner, especially when they have an add outage, a question, or major malfunction in their add managing software.
Anna's company ( which was purchased by Microsoft) makes software that helps clients to manage their add campaigns on the internet. www.cars.com is one of their clients, for instance. If their add goes down, on the net, Anna and her client support team come to the rescue.

Anna and I are praying for God to continue to reveal His plan for us.
We never expected to be in the situation that we find ourselves, and we like it.
It is a nice change.
I have always wanted to try to be an at home dad. And now, I am doing it.
It is fun. It gives me a chance to write a little bit, and mostly, it gives me a chance to bond with my two children.

It has changed my entire perspective on life. It has changed my perspective on women. A friend once said to another guy friend,"You are not man enough to be a woman."
I am finding this very true.
Staying at home with kids is the most taxing work I have ever done.
It taxes you physcially, and emotionally, but most importantly, it taxes the spirit.
It wears you out. It places you in proximity to your self deception, and your own need to ignore your own problems. It is like having a mirror thrust into your face on a daily basis.
When I was a youth minister, I could hide in my office.
At home, I cannot even hide on the toilet in my bathroom.