History Buffs: Help me ID this unknown object...

Can you identify this object? It was found in York, PA while digging new garden space in my backyard. It looks like some sort of ammunition, but I could be totally wrong. The neighborhood was built on farm land, developed in the 1910's.

Jericho Grows Up Fast

The past few months have been pretty momentous for Jericho. In January, she turned two. In February, she became a big sister. In April she learned to use the potty. And in May, she gave away her pacifiers. While there have been tears, she's proud of her accomplishments.

And so are we.

 

 

 

To celebrate, we went to Sweet Frog Premium Yogurt to get an appetizer before dinner!

 

 

In other news... both boys are pushing ten pounds, rolling over, and smiling. Here's Shadrach, who loves the bears that hang on the baby swing.

 

NRA Comments Channel John Calhoun

After leading discussion with my 8th graders of John Calhoun's address
to the Senate in 1837 opposing the rise of abolitionism, I am struck by
parallels between his comments and the comments of incoming NRA President
James Porter.

Porter recently argued that, "This is not about gun rights." He argued that instead the NRA was fighting a "cultural war". See a ABC News article on the speech here. It seems fairly evident, even without invoking the most extreme stereotypes, that the NRA gains much of its support from a significant minority group genuinely concerned with what they perceive as a threat to their way of life.






Similarly, Calhoun argued that abolition was pursued by some "with a systematic design" and a "general crusade against us and our institutions." In 1837, Calhoun called it a "deadly war" but could hardly have imagined a civil war so deadly as that which broke out 23 years later. The death he so feared, was a way of life. His speech can be found here.


Understanding the link between the 'refuse to give an inch' attitude of the NRA and the perception of a cultural war, is essential in explaining how gun rights advocates are gloating after defeating the recent mild and middle of the road gun-control legislation in the Senate. The NRA's message of cultural resistance has been highly effective. Rather than get caught up in fruitless quibbling about the specifics of "common sense" gun control, the NRA has deftly allowed the 2nd Amendment to speak for itself, while invoking a powerful argument of cultural crisis that translates into whatever it is their base is feeling anxious about at the moment. Its "not about guns" (or slavery), but a "crusade against us and our institutions."

Perhaps it is more accurate to say that Porter and the NRA are not just channeling Calhoun, they are taking a play out of his playbook.

Birth Announcement: The Story Behind the Names

View our Prezi created to tell the story of Shadrach and Moses...

Get the Story Here!

Jericho's Room Finished! (almost)

...and just in time for the homecoming of Shadrach and Moses (projected sometime between Friday and Sunday!)

The final phase of renovation in Jericho's room was focused on the floors. The excessive amounts of adhesive, water damage, delay in ordered wood and the complications of custom planing and "routing" the red oak all caused this to be a mammoth project. As with most projects I post on this blog, I owe their completion to a half dozen people who gave their time and talents.





The room as a kitchen...



Adhesive!



Water damage!





Removing damaged wood

 Construction Zone
Thanks to: Steve for the assistance in fabricating the custom plank flooring
(5/16 thick and 1 1/2 wide!)

 

Patched in and sanded!

(Thanks to: Ben for carpentry, Father and Simeon for stripping, Susan and Brian for sanding)

Two coats of Cabot stain (pecan) and three coats of Varathane Oil-Based Semi-gloss

Thanks to: Warren and Pop Pop

 

We bought this bed along with two dressers more than a year ago in anticipation of this day!

 

What's left? Moulding. The original shoe molding has been sanded and awaits staining and sealing. We couldn't wait any longer to move furniture!

 

Update: Why We Love\Hate the NICU

After a great prognosis Thursday night, Moses started having breathing incidents and low blood sugar levels. He went from nursing, to supplemental bottle feedings, to a feeding tube. Friday morning we were still hopeful that Shadrach could join us over on the "the good side" but he too began to struggle to control his sugars. The reality is, they are still premature. Premature babies just aren't ready to monitor every little thing on their own, including breathing and saving energy between feedings!

So we are back into that familiar routine (established with Jericho) of visits to the NICU. It is a place full of the most wonderful nurses but also very sick babies, much sicker than our own. Even as we gripe about the inconvenience, we're reminded how blessed we are.

 

Last night, after dashing home to put coat #2 of poly on Jericho's yet unfinished room, I found Laura in the NICU holding both the boys. A super sweet thing about twins is that there is one cute baby for each parent. Kangaroo care!

Introducing...

THEY'RE HERE!

 

 

Moses Phillip and Shadrach Thomas
5 lbs. 6 oz. and 5 lbs. 2 oz.
10:18 and 10:26 PM
February 28, 2013
 



Babies on the way! Round of 16 announced!

Due to the imminent arrival of the twins, we are announcing the round of 16 winners!

Stay tuned for birth pictures and the final announcements.

We are beginning Petosin as I am typing!

Round of 16 (Left Side)

Elijah
Abraham
Abiathar
Bartholomew
Ezekial
Jeremiah
Abijah
Shadrach

Round of 16 (Right Side)

Isaiah
Francis
Moses
Phillip
Otto
Apollo
Levi
Thomas

And the winners are...

Round of 32 (left side)

Mordechai

Elijah

Xavier

Abraham

Abiathar

Jonah

Bartholomew

Sebastian

Jethro

Ezekial

Jeremiah

Oliver

Abijah

Ethan

Shadrach

Simon

 

Round of 32 (right side)

Isaiah

Elliot

Jeremiah

Francis

Moses

Eli

Phillip

Aaron

Lucas

Otto

Jefferson

Apollo

Levi

Hezekiah

Obadiah

Thomas

A Double Trouble Baby Name Bracket!

34 weeks!
 Photography by Sarah Mock

In anticipation of the birth of our baby boys, we've created a name bracket for you to test how well you know Laura and I. Fill it out and then check back for updates on each round of this friendly competition. Kudos to those special few who manage to guess even one of the two chosen names. On each side of the bracket, one of the names is for real!

Fill out your baby name bracket here!

Extremely tentative schedule:
Round of 32- Wednesday, Feb. 27
Round of 16- Friday, March 1