Merry Christmas!

New Species of the Mekong

In the last ten years alone, scientists have discovered more than 1,000 species of plants and animals in the Mekong River Region, which includes southeast China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. 1,000 in just the last 10 years!

I've always loved wildlife, and some of these are crazy cool (and crazy creepy):

Dragon Millipede










It's bright pink, has way too many legs and spines - oh, and it secretes CYANIDE.

Gumprecht's Green Pit Viper

Wouldn't you just hate to be climbing a tree, and lift your head up to see one of these? (When I was about 8, I climbed a tree when and came face-to-face with a praying mantis. I ran screaming back into the house. Those things still creep me out.)



Some kind of spider












It's not enough that this thing is huge and hairy, and could probably eat my parents' Yorkshire Terrier. No, no - it has to hunt it's prey by hanging out on bamboo or trees 5-10 ft. above the ground, and then jumping down and ambushing them from above. I'm glad I don't live in the Cambodian jungle.

Tree Frog (Scientific name Chiromantis samkosensis)












Normal tree frog, right? Except for the fact that it has green blood and turquoise bones! Very cool. (No word yet on whether it secretes something like dynamite or bleach.)

Just thought everyone might enjoy a nice wondering at creation. If you want more, you can probably search for "Mekong new species," or something like that.

My Top 10 Books of 2008

I read lots of books this year - lots. I'm guessing somewhere in the neighborhood of 150. Don't worry, I don't want to talk about all of them, or even most of them. If I only talk about a few, maybe everyone will be interested enough to read my post!

I would LOVE to hear some of your favorite books from this year too. It doesn't have to be 10. In fact, if you would just leave one - maybe your favorite - in the comments, that would be great!

Here are my Top 10 Books of 2008, in no particular order:

So Brave, Young and Handsome - Leif Enger
This guy is EASILY in my top five favorite authors of all time. This book is set in the early 20th century and is a story about a man, an outlaw, lost love, boyhood, and a chase from Minnesota, to Oklahoma, and to California. Some of the most enjoyable reading I have ever done. I can't possibly recommend this author higher (including his first book, Peace Like a River)

The Marketplace of Revolution - T.H. Breen
My favorite explanation for what made the unity of the American Revolution possible. His answer (simply): all classes and races shopped in the same markets, and bought the same tea. Therefore, when British policies started hitting America, they hit everyone. And when it did, everyone rose up in defense of their right to purchase what they wanted, when they wanted. Not your "rise up in defense of freedom" story you heard in high school, right?

East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Steinbeck remains one of my favorite authors, and this book was easily one of his best. With lots of overtones of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, the story is all about family, and how it determines much of who we will be for generations to come.


The Damnation of Theron Ware - Harold Frederic
One of the most underrated novels and novelists in all of American literature. The story of a prideful, ambitious Methodist minister and his experiences in a small New York town with other ethnic groups, science, biblical criticism, Catholicism, a temptress, and the symbol of all things sexually deviant, Frederic Chopin.

Heaven - Randy Alcorn
The most comprehensive stuff I've ever read on the subject. Turns out we won't be disembodied spirits, but instead, we may eat lots of food, practice our jobs and crafts to our utmost potential, and see our old pets. After all, we'll be living not in a disembodied, spiritual heaven, but on a very real, touchable, experiential new earth.

My Antonia - Willa Cather
Ever thought Nebraska was boring? Well, if you read Cather, you shouldn't ever again. Winters, sunsets, grasslands, and old stories about the Russian and Scandinavian homelands. Feels like home.


Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling - Richard Bushman
Newest and best biography of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. This author is a practicing Mormon and a top-notch historian, which allows him to write in a way that both takes religion seriously, and keeps a critical eye out. It's hard to find that sort of thing these days.

Old Times on the Mississippi - Mark Twain
My favorite Twain writing. Before Twain was an author, he was a riverboat captain. This is the story of those days. Moving rivers and sleepwalking boat pilots. (By the way, this is where Samuel Clemens got his pen name. He called out from the pilot position "Mark the twain," to make sure that the waters were deep enough to continue through.)

Evangelizing the South - Monica Najar
A story about how the Baptists grew to become one of the most influential groups in the U.S. in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. And, it's a story about how Christians began letting the culture define their position on racial slavery, rather than defining it for themselves.

Shepherding a Child's Heart - Tedd Tripp
Couldn't have had a better introduction to parenting. Explaining the title alone was worth the price of the book - shepherding our children toward righteousness,
not merely punishing them for wrongdoing. I need to read this again...

Oxen and Children

"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of an ox." ~ Proverbs14:4

Brian's 21st Century application:
"Where there are no children, the house is clean, but abundant joy comes by the laughter of a child."


P.S. - Jonathan seems to be doing much better today. He has actually smiled and played a little today. We haven't been so happy to see him smile since the day we got him.

Treasuring the Bible

I was doing great on my Bible memorization for a while, but have slacked off lately. Here are some convicting words I read today that have spurred me on to begin again with memorizing a verse every week:

"You may doubt that you can do this, especially if you are older. But ask yourself this question, If I offered you $1,000 for every verse you memorized in the next week, how many do you think you could memorize? Yet God says of his word in Psalm 19:10-11, "They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

The real value of the word is far greater than $1,000 a verse. The question is, Do you believe this? Believing this will be the crucial motivation you need."

Jonathan's First Sentence!

Jonathan said his first sentence last night: "I see you."

It was great! We play a little game covering and uncovering him with his towel after his bath, and after saying it myself probably a hundred times over the last few months, he said it back to me.

The next closest thing he has to a sentence is when he puts together a string of words that goes something like this: "Daddy car car daddy go daddy red car daddy car red mommy." Less grammatically correct, but equally cute.

Laundry oops

I opened my dryer yesterday to find that all of the clothes (and it was a large load) were spotted with blue ink. Yep, I left a very inky pen in some pants, and it exploded in the dryer. EVERYTHING was spotted in blue, and the inside of the dryer had a nice blue-streak sheen to it.

Just when I thought I was building up a decent nice-clothes wardrobe, I ruin half of it. Nice. At least it didn't ruin Jonathan's navy blue pajamas, or my black socks.

Anyone else had some big oops moments at home lately? Sharing them would make me feel a lot better.