son

An Artistic Journey

One Sunday afternoon, my daughter, Nee, drew this portrait of me. It’s a striking resemblance isn’t it? We often sit at the kitchen table and draw pictures together. Sometimes we draw each other. Here is my drawing of her. Other times, we draw fantastical scenes with fairies, dinosaurs, puppies and superheroes. If we can think [...]

77 comments Read the full article →

Wednesday Wisdom: The Greatest Gift

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me. – Jim Valvano I have always been tenaciously goal-oriented. In grade school, I made the honor roll each quarter, I was the first in my family to graduate from college, and I have achieved relative success in my career. [...]

31 comments Read the full article →

Reading is Fundamental

My 1-year old son, X, has a board book that he loves and I’m beginning to hate. It’s called 123s by Sia Aryai. Here is the entire text: 1 – One Slide 2 – Two Wagons 3 – Three Buckets 4 – Four Carriages 5 – Five Dolls 6 – Six Blocks 7 – Seven [...]

48 comments Read the full article →

Wednesday Wisdom – The Heart of a Father

Here is a quote that really touched my heart. I hope it will do the same to yours. Until you have a son of your own… you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son. You will never know the [...]

16 comments Read the full article →

My Son Meets a Missionary

My wife and I always encourage our children to help others. We model the behavior by serving in our church, volunteering at the homeless shelter, or delivering meals to people who cannot leave their homes. We also like introduce them to other people who make service a priority. One evening, we invited a missionary to [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

The Barbershop

The barbershop is a great place where men (young and old, white collar or blue collar) can be men. When I say barbershop, I mean a place that has actual barbers – not stylists or manicurists. You simply cannot blow off steam and revel in your manhood while getting your nails done. I like the [...]

12 comments Read the full article →

I Heard It From God

I have a bad habit of not fastening my seat belt until I’ve driven a few blocks down the road. This behavior drives my five year old son nuts. Last night, he was fed up and gave me a piece of his mind. “Daddy,” he said. “You didn’t put on your seat belt before you [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Power Rangers, Piñatas, and Birthday Parties

Birthday parties have come a long way since I was a kid. Today, they are elaborate productions complete with themes and catered meals. And when the kids reach their 16th birthday, they expect the soiree of a lifetime. My blood boils each time I watch the spoiled brats on MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16″ con [...]

21 comments Read the full article →

Another Day in Baghdad

The temperature has been surprisingly pleasant in Baghdad. It still gets hot during the day, but the highs are in the low 100s rather than the mid-100s. The mornings are the best time because the weather is cool and breezy. The only problem is that the breeze stirs up the dust and causes it to [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Mr. Yuk

Today my wife and I took our boys for their pediatric check-ups. While we were there, the doctor asked if we had any “Mr. Yuk” stickers. I told her that we didn’t and she brought us a few to place around the house. When I looked at those stickers, memories of my childhood came flooding [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Hi Daddy

Today, as I was cooking, I looked into the living room to see my wife, K holding our one year old, X. I smiled at X and waved. He waved and said, “Hi, Daddy!” K and I were surprised because this was the first time he had spoken so clearly. I was ecstatic. K, on [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

The Cupcake Incident

As I mentioned in the previous post, we celebrated X’s birthday with cupcakes. Well, the next day, we decided to have the rest of the cupcakes for desert. My daughter, Nee, got a cupcake out of the container, but dropped it on the floor on the way to the table. I told her to throw [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Go Shawty, It’s Your Birthday

I just celebrated my son’s first Birthday. We commemorated the occasion with party hats and cupcakes. I watched with fatherly pride as he two-fisted his cupcake into his mouth as icing covered nearly every part of his body. All I could think was “my baby is growing up.” My wife, K, and I never really [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

First Steps

I just witnessed my son’s taking his first steps. He stumbled and fell on the first few attempts. Then suddenly, he stood, balanced himself, and managed to wobble across the floor. As he walked and giggled, my heart filled with joy and trepidation. My son will take many more steps in his life. I will [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Learning to Love

My son, N, is so full of love that he cannot contain it. He is constantly giving kisses and monster hugs (much to the chagrin of his baby brother). His displays of affection make me smile, but they also make me want to protect him from those who would take advantage of his loving nature [...]

40 comments Read the full article →

Next Entries →