1776, 1978 & 2008

For his entire life Amos has gotten to celebrate his birthday alongside the United of States. This weekend was a bit more special as Amos ushered in a third decade in his life.

Went on over to the Hudsons on Friday night for a playful evening with friends.

And, Ella, Jakey and Landon even got to play with one of these...



Landon took Papa's boat for a spin on Eagle Creek

"Oh, I wish they had video of that," you're thinking. Well, you're in luck...

Thanks to Crystal's surprise date plans...jammed out to the brilliant rock sounds of Will Hoge at the Rathskellar with Josh and Jami.

And, played in the sprinkler.

Summertime fun

fun video from A Friday Morning Dip post a couple weeks ago...

Mr. Blonde's Top Ten Favorite Things

I'm not certain why I feel so compelled to actually respond to this tag, Jordon, but I do. I have NEVER responded to one of these things. Maybe it's the nostalgia of that splendid Sr Prom evening in Platonicland (actual geographic location here) that has called me to respond. Or, maybe it's that I still feel like I owe you for even going with me after looking like I did (SO, wish I had a pic here to share...sorry). Whatever...here goes...in no particular order...

Jesus - I know I said "no particular order," but the man sort of has to rank numero uno. I mean He did save me from my own wicked nature. And, the more I get know Him, the more I can't get enough of his challenging and perfect ways.

My smokin' hot wife - Seriously! You know what she looks like. She's way hot. Inside and out. I married like 18.7 steps up when God unified us.

Peanut butter - Could not live without it. Smoothe. Crunchy. Doesn't matter. Spread the goodness over a red delicious, a slice of whole wheat, a celery stick, old rubber compound, and on and on and on. Yum.

My sons - Little LA and our new little Boatboy are awesome awesome little men. I don't deserve the way the love me. It's brilliant, divine and outstanding! Love you guys big time!

Beer - How is it that grain can be translated into liquid form in so many different ways to produce such a varied palette. It's truly amazing. And, delicious!

The Well - My local church body. Love it. A group of God-lovin' folk who aren't too proud to admit they haven't got it all figured out and we're all cool with that. Completely messy way to live it out and give it away. But, the closer I get to the Heart of it all, the more it's just so right.

Music - Can't play a lick of it (unless you count Hit Stix or the opening tab to Enter Sandman...I don't even like Metallica all that much) but it's quite easily one of my biggest joys in life. For some summer pitch I can't get enough of right now, check out Eric Hutchinson's album Sounds Like This. Look over there...upper right hand side of this blog. See it? Our playlist.com player. Scroll on down to Eric's ditty "Rock 'N' Roll" and giv'r a go. Great stuff. The whole album. Additionally, Coldplay's just released Viva La Vida is pretty awesome. Not 10% the level of awesome that Chris Martin thinks it is. But, it's a solid project. And, no kidding here, Mrs Manis...when typing this portion on this post right here...Van Morrison was playing over my PC. You might not have had it any other way.

Design - In a face. In a sentence. In a shirt. In a logo. In a landscape. It's everywhere. It's so diverse. I get to play a role in it. And, it's wonderful.

Humor - Because...it's funny. We've known it for years. Whether it's quality physical humor, something stupid that catches you in a lighter moment, underground, inside, sarcastic or classic, life would be so blah without it. Take a second and make someone laugh. Or, just laugh.

Relationship - Here's the beauty of this one...this entire list is completely moot without it. We were built for relationship because of relationship. Everything hinges on how we relate to one another. What we say. What we do. And, trust me, relationship works best when the relationship you're concerned least about is yourself. So, if it's humor, if it's beer, if it's peanut butter, if it's Jesus...share them all in relationship. Life is life only when it's shared.

Additionally, if you have yourself some adorable little princesses like you see here, here or here, etc...head on over to Jordon's Georgia Grace Designs and pick something up. I'm pretty sure if you don't, her girls might starve. How could you live with that over your head?

an LA appreciation

Prior to every meal, we make it a habit to exemplify for our children a giving of thanks to God for not only the food He's blessed us with, but anything else that comes to mind. Typically that is friends, family, redemptive Grace, a heart for those less fortunate, etc. We always ask LA if he would like to pray as well. Ninety percent of the time he just jumps right in..."Jesus: Mama, Dada, Nana, Papa, Grandpa, Grandma..." and down the line. Every so often, he'll slip a "Froggy" in there. But, this morning, we had to laugh out loud when our precious toddler thanked the Almighty for "belly buttons." Indeed, son. Not sure how we would live without them. His prayer was then swiftly followed up with another bite of muffin and singing his ABC's.

still smilin'

As we near the alleged terrible two's, let's hope the young lad's spirits still abound. After all, he must be a good example to his little bro now.

cost containment concept

the good ol' Onion...

McCain Vows To Replace Secret Service With His Own Bare Fists

a Friday morning dip

As the Haffners wind down Amos's week of Noah Break from the office, the elder Haffner boys ventured outdoors for a dip in the morning (before temps hit 90 again, geesh Mother Nature...it's June...cut us some slack...and these Tstorms could settle down a bit too while we're on topic) while Momma and baby Noah caught some ZZzz.



First things first...fill it up. (Not that Landon really cared, but Amos did heat up the 54 degree water with some piping hot water from the laundry room. But, as mentioned, he could have cared less...blue lips and all.)



Why not fill up the watering can too.



... and cool down the slide



Slippery when wet. (Hey, that sounds familiar.)



Take a break...for 1.8 seconds.



Dadda knows awesome water tricks.



Looking for "airplanes" with "glasses" because it's "bright bright bright."



Look who came out to check out the action.



Back in the house, bathed, lunched, chomping down one last grape and headed to the potty and a nap.

more of our first week with Boatboy

Snuggling with Dadda! He is so little! We went to the doc Wednesday and he is up t0 8lbs 1oz....and we started at 8'4 so we are doing great! Boatboy has no problem eating....especially during the night!



A little smirk for you!



Sleeping in his bassinet.



Great Grandma and Grandpa (Amos's Mom's parents) visited the boys Tuesday.



Our sweet LA hammin' it up for the camera!!



Boatboy wide awake.

our famous little racer

Landon's Great Grandpa found a familiar face on the front cover of the bioenergies section of his recent Farm World. Pretty cute cover model and obviously a green thinker.

a likeness

They'll never be able to deny each other, that's for certain.



Fairly obvious point here, but....Boatboy on left and LA on right.



We sure see it. What say you?

More on Boatboy

As Thursday passed into Friday, Amos put the final touches on birth announcement designs. Will it be a Boatboy or will it be a censored?



A couple short hours later, another beautiful healthy baby boy enters the family.



Wide eyed and ready for life.



Boatboy's entrance board in postpartum.



Dadda getting some cuddle time while Momma gets some rest.



Pretty sure he's being forced to listen to emo right here. It can only get better, boy.



Momma loves him to pieces even with a fussy face.



LAcame to see his little bro for the first time. He loved the buttons on Crystal's hospital bed!

Papa and Nana watched LA for the two days we were in the hospital. Not only did he have a blast, but we never had to once worry about his well-being. Well, there was that really bad storm and they did have him in a closet for a couple hours on Friday night. Yeah, that part was a bit unnerving. Anyway, thank you thank you thank you!



LA kisses his new little brother. This is like a 12 on the Cute Meter scale that only measures to 10.



What can a busy toddler do in a hospital room? He can work on his baseline jumper. Ice into the trash can! Two points!



I've got my eye on you.



Proud Father.



Packed up a half a day early and headed home on Sunday morning...



...where big brother LA had a nice surprise for his "Baby Noah" when he woke up from his nap. An elephant. Cleverly named...Noah.



Safe, snuggly and sleepy at home.

We got a Boatboy!

We couldn't be more excited! Momma and baby are happy and healthy. Thank you all for your love, prayers, support, etc. It makes sharing the Joy of Life that much more Joyous. More to come soon...

"4 days to go"

What do you suppose happens to the baby in this counter if a Momma goes past the due date? Hold up a sign that says "Get me out of here!" Grow a full head of hair? Put on a onesie. Crystal's hoping we don't have to find that out.

Pres candidates stand together on Darfur

Call it a campaign platform or an authentic call to action, it's still absolutely outstanding to get this sort of attention called to the ongoing heartwrenching loss that is everyday life in Darfur...



Not into idly standing by and allowing death to happen? -- Click here to get involved.

Visiting Dadda at the track!

Today was Community Day at the Speedway. So we loaded up, picked up Papa and spent the morning getting in and out of race cars (thanks to Papa). LA loves race cars...and loves that Dadda has to wear a logo shirt just about everyday. We only lasted for about 2 hours...the walking and contractions were quite a bit...but who knows, maybe this will speed things up for baby #2 !



LA with his Papa in front of the Borg-Warner trophy. --And, believe it or not, he does actually love having his little sunglasses on. When he doesn't have them, he says, "Bright! Glasses."



The owner(whose bottom is shown) of this old car allowed LA to play for a little while. He was loving it!



We were able to see our first Firestone monster truck tire. He has a monster truck book that he loves. So, it was very excting to see a real one!



Showing us his new race car he received from a vendor and a gold fish in his mouth.



I love this picture!! Just hanging out with Dadda...Amos only got to break away from the office for about 25 minutes, but it was well invested time.



Checking out Danica's ride from last year.

new rules

Amos recently got a forward that is actually worth publishing some highlights. And, since we're talking George Carlin here, this has been fairly severely editted.....

George Carlin's 2008 Rules

New Rule: No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab. Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

New Rule: Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did you expect it to contain? Lobster?

New Rule: Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care about your eyebrows: Do you have two of them? Good, we're done.

New Rule:There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle of this crap at the supermarket, water, but, without that watery taste. Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water? Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

New Rule: I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering My PIN number, pressing 'Enter,' verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don't want Cash back, and pressing 'Enter' again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Mars Bar.

New Rule: Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't make you Spiritual. It's right above your crack. And it translates to 'beef with broccoli.' The last time you did anything spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not spiritual. You're just high.

New Rule: No more bathroom attendants. After I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex with George Michael. I can't even tell If he's supposed to be there, or just some freak with a fetish. I don't want to be on your webcam, Dude. I just want to wash my hands
New Rule: When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to hear '27 months.' 'He's two' will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't really care in the first place.

Life led intentionally. Love over loss. Bella.

If you haven't already, watch this movie!