Proud to be an American

Received this in the mail today. I guess we wrote and asked at one time for a blessing, but don't even remember. So it was even neater to receive this today because it was unexpected.

Brain-dead mother's fetus past critical stage

MSNBC.COM -- This is a bitter-sweet story. A pregnant woman collapsed due to a rapidly spreading cancer in her body. She's been pronounced brain-dead and the cancer has spread to all of her vital organs, but not the placenta. The organs continue to function and the baby has now passed the 24-week mark. The doctors now believe the baby would survive if she were delivered, but they're hoping to be able to wait until at least 32 weeks. The dad recently got to feel the baby kicking.

Rebel Yell

Rachel has somewhere picked up the "indian chant" -- you know, where kids quickly clap a hand to their mouth and remove it, repeatedly while making a high humming noise.

And her pronunciation of banana grows clearer by the day. Sometimes it sounds much more like banana than manana.

It is so much fun being Rachel's dad.

Tonight, on 'Rachel is so cute.'

(Reanactment/Actor Portrayal) Earlier this evening, Rachel was walking around with a tiny doll that she got for her birthday (part of a whole plush dollhouse from Adrea and Christi). She wandered into the bathroom and I heard a thud. I walked in to find that Rachel had pulled the scale out from where it usually sits, on its side, between the shower and the vanity and was standing her little doll on it, as if to weigh it. (I've used the scale to weigh Rachel before.)

Hey Dad, Watch This!

MSNBC.COM -- A new system called DriveCam ($1,000) is helping teens to drive better, when properly used. The system contains two small cameras, one pointing outside to capture the view of the road and a second points inside to capture what's happening inside the car. In tests where the kids sat down weekly to review footage with their parents, new drivers drove much more safely, slowly and were far less likely to get into dangerous situations or accidents. I'm sure that in 15 years, it will be standard on all cars, so that the cops can watch us as well. But, if it means more protection and encouragement for Rachel to drive well, I'm all for it. More...