Apple Picking

Yesterday we went to County Line Orchard in Hobart for some apple picking, and other fall fun. Christy had sent the recommendation, and I have to say I pass it along with high praises. The place is pretty big, and run fairly efficiently. It was crowded, but not when you got to the orchards - there you could pretty much have sections to yourself.

The End is Near

Well... the end of the year, that is. At this time of the year, time seems to go by pretty quickly. You wait for Thanksgiving, and when that comes, Christmas is but a few weeks away.

It's always hard for me to go back to work after spending a weekend with Priya - especially when it's just the two of us. During the week, I get maybe an hour of time with her (by the time I have put my day behind me, it's time for dinner, and so on).

I had a little bit of a poignant moment last night. Priya was fussing around on the changing table, and didn't take too kindly to a couple of "No"s. So, as a measure of discipline, she got her hand slapped. That ticked her off even more, and she grabbed a hold of the blinds, and started pulling on them. Oh boy. Just as I took her hand to give it one more flick, I saw her flinch. Well.. a natural reaction... But it's the first time I saw her do it. And the first time I could see her realize that discipline can be painful.

A couple of nights ago as I was feeding Priya right before bed time, I was praying out loud with her for the families in Pennsylvania. We had a good time praying "together." Every time I do anything with my own daughter, I have a fleeting sense of despair for the dads that lost their daughters. I've had to turn off the radio more than once when they started describing how the girls were shot. It doesn't make sense at all.

Ok. Now for the star attraction...

Flailing around because the world, for a moment, doesn't revolve around her

Have friends - will have tea party

Friends with Cameron

Our vegetarian girl loves "grape" tomatoes...

...And Coldstone ice-cream

AWOL camera and other tales

The camera had gone missing for a few days, and so Tish couldn't take any pictures. So there's not a lot to post. It's been found again, so more pictures will come. I think the time to retire it has finally come, though. The shutter speed on the thing is abysmal, and if you don't use the flash, then there is guaranteed motion blur. But using the flash constantly drains the batteries... So I'm going to ask for suggestions for replacement models. Probably the only one who can't make a suggestion is Michelle! Hehe. She's a camera-phile, and I doubt I will ever be able to afford the monster she has! But you can still make recommendations, Michelle!

I started having problems with my SDA - the problem being that the vibrate feature stopped working. I almost constantly leave my phone on vibrate, and without it, the phone would be pretty much useless. It's still under warranty, but in order to go through the "troubleshooting" steps, T-Mobile tech support had me do a factory reset. That meant that I lost all my text messages and picture messages from the last year. In this phone all these stay on the phone, and there's no way to move them to the SIM card. Oh well.

Priya enjoying her time in the air!

She loves to put on shoes and walk around.

Enjoying grilled cheese and bananas for breakfast

In one of my other posts I mentioned how much Priya loves The Backyardigans. Here's her face every time the show comes on.

Whatever you do...

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

The desire for a secret blog hits me again. Recently I had the opportunity of being again reminded how bitter hurt is, and how we can't expect "earthly rewards," but need to look to the Father in heaven who sees all things, and knows all things. I can't go into details, but I had the experience of my 'idea' of sacrificing time and effort not necessarily reflecting in the other person's actions. I genuinly believe that most people don't intentionally mean to hurt (that would be malice). Most of our hurts come from people not giving thought to their actions, or inactions, and how that affects others. I have found comfort in the verses that I quoted above, and for all of you out there: misunderstood, under-appreciated, taken advantage of, or devalued - I hope you do the same.

Now for happier things. This past weekend Tish was in Michigan on a quick overnight water-park birthday party. That meant Priya and I got to spend a couple of days by ourselves. It was a low-key weekend. Priya's getting her second molar coming in, and had a slight fever and runny nose both days. So instead of a sick girl, I'll leave you with a happier picture of Priya enjoying a can of yogurt.

Movie Star in the Making

Tish and Priya just got back from Priya's 18 month pictures. Wow. It's amazing when you see the pictures. She's definitely not a baby any more. She's looking more and more like a little girl. I'm not looking forward to the day when I have to say that she's not a little girl any more!

Wedding 2 of 2

We got back last night from the second wedding of the season. This one was up in Toronto, so Priya got to go for her second international trip. The total driving time was a little over 8 hours, but we didn't do it all at once. We stopped in Michigan at my in-laws house (4 hours) and drove to Toronto the next day (the other 4 hours). Priya did extremely well during the whole trip, though coming back she slept most of the four hours, being completely worn out.

Notice any difference from the last time Priya was at a wedding at this church?

George and Nalini

Priya at the wedding

Priya practicing to be a flower girl. She is going to be one at Rachel's wedding. Rachel also asked Tish to be the matron-of-honor, so mummy and daughter are going to walk down the aisle together. Papa will be taking pictures.

Not sure about the look. But the lehnga looked really pretty!

She kept her bangles on the whole time as long as they were on one arm.

The whole family

Sometimes one popsicle just isn't enough.

Please hold while I finish my dissertation on nuclear disarmament.

Not feeling so well

For the last couple of days Priya has been pretty clingy since she's not feeling too good. She has some molars coming in, and has a cold on top of it. Which now means I have a cold too. So I am kind of worn out too since this was the weekend Tish was working, and I haven't gotten much sleep. In a way I'm glad it's going to be over soon since next Thursday we take a car trip to Toronto.

In other news, we will be taking a trip out to Texas next year as my cousin Rachel just got engaged. Congrats Rachel and Brett!!

10 points for guessing what's so strange about the above pictures and videos!


We still had fun in the evening checking out the brand new park in Munster. There was this steep slide that Priya went down a few times. She wasn't even the least bit fazed by the experience. We finally stopped because it was freaking Tish out more than Priya.

One Book Meme

So I have been tagged by Susanna with the One Book Meme. For all you illiterates out there, here is Wiki's explanation of a meme (hehe... don't worry... I had to look it up too!). Anyway, as I was reading through her list, I was thinking to myself - Gosh, I read soooo many books, but I hardly remember any of them. Guess what? Down at the bottom, I find my name. So here goes:

1. One book that changed your life: What's So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey
   This book has done more than any other to bring into sharp focus what grace is, and how we are mostly ungrateful wretches living under infinite grace.
   
   
   
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Not A Penny More, Not a Penny Less - Jeffrey Archer
   Inspite of being an ex-con, Jeffrey Archer remains one of my favorite authors.
   
   
3. One book you’d want on a desert island: Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
   At 1,168 pages it's a science fiction book I abandoned a few years ago (it's a fairly difficult read). If I had all the time in the world, maybe I'd be able to finish it. By the way, the bible is not an eligible book to have on the island.
   
   
4. One book that made you laugh: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation - Lynne Truss
   Ahhhh... this book is hilarious for all those who try to write well.
   
   
5. One book that made you cry [or feel really sad]: Why a Daughter Needs a Dad: A Hundred Reasons - Gregory E. Lang
   This was the hardest one. I don't really read autobiographies, and non-fiction all that much. So I had to throw in something here. I was reading this book at Borders during one of the weekends when I was out with Priya on one of our "dates." The emotional part was realizing all these effects that I can have on my daughter's life, and wondering how I was gonna do it.
   
   
6. One book that you wish had been written: The seventh Harry Potter
   
   What can I say... I am completely enthralled by the series. Well, the good news is that my wish will come true some day!
   
   
7. One book that you wish had never been written: The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
   Can we say booooooring. Even the title screams bad English. If you want action, check out Angels and Demons.
   
   
8. One book you’re currently reading: The Book of The Dead - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
   Just finished it actually. This is the third and final in the series featuring Aloysius Pendergast. I haven't picked up a new one since.
   
   
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Pursuit of Holiness - Jerry Bridges
   The title says it all.
   
   
10. Now tag five people:
    Ok this is the easy part. I tag TS, David, Christy, Michelle, and Elizabeth (at first I had more than needed, but then I thought I should leave some for other people to tag. So it's back to 5).