milky way

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.

38 WEEKS

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

more install

THIRTY-SEVEN WEEKS

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!

further renovation

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.

Dear Timothy...

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...

more landscaping!

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.