Yes, Stuart aka Dad, is now in Dallas safely with Matthias. We are spending the better part of a week here at Shady Grove Church, speaking at a missions conference and basically relaxing and having a great time. I’ll post photos as I feel inspired. Already several funny/interesting stories to share. Tomorrow, golf, and a bit of shopping… (babe, get me your list soon!)
Thanks H for letting me purchase my new HP mininote before I left, from which I am now typing this post! A bientot.
While Stuart was busy at the leaders’ day retreat (Ok, this is on 4th October… I have been slightly busy lately), I thought I would take Jude to do something cultural for once. The Chateau de Prangins was the location of what was called a ’social sculpture’ by Catalan artist Muma, more info at (http://www.lejardindeslumieres.ch/EN/abstract.html).
The artist and 500 volunteers lit up the castle of Prangins with 60,000 candles, and it was really an amazing sight. It certainly made me want to go and actually visit the castle itself, which is a museum portraying the life of people who lived in the mid-18th century, with gardens and a ‘kitchen garden’ (vegetable patch I suppose, only massive), also kept as it would have been in 1730s. Fascinating stuff, and lovely shots. 
Pretty fairytale-ish and so impressive there were thousands of people visiting.
I propped Jude up so that he could see! So many LIGHTS!
My other favourite photo
Vue d’ensemble of the kitchen garden lit up
Candles in the kitchen garden
There were candles along the outsides of the walls of the castle
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Jude got his first taste of solids this past Saturday afternoon while we were up at the chalet. Along with his friend Gabriel, they both tasted pureed carrots… and the DADS got the honor of feeding the babies!
Jude gagged a bit but overall, I think it was a positive experience. This video is take two (dad filming) as mom (attempts to) feed Jude.
Thought I would post some pics that summarize some of the events of the last few weeks of September.
Even moms can have fun - Harriet and Fabi on the swings!
Amber came to visit; it was great to see her again.
Don and Evey at their pennsylvania-style barn-raising extravaganza!
H and I had a great date night: Jeopardy on the good ol’ 8-bit Nintendo.
Jude learned to sit up.
Al, Fa and Gabe return from 1 month in Brazil.
Glen and his crew from SITA warmly welcomed me as I filled in for one of their team for the entire month.
Our boy Jude!!! Play time in the morning is just simply, the best.
Today, for the first time in his life, Jude sat up and played!
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Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 1 Cor 4:2
Tomorrow is my final day with SITA, so far the biggest client of my budding IT company. It’s been a great experience, and it has allowed me to think about time and how I can best use the twenty-four hours that I have each day.
Effective living requires you to be very clear about what you are trying to accomplish, personally and corporately. If you are a Christian, your priorities are clear: Jesus, wife, children, then work. This is helpful in a big-picture sort of way, but still the question remains for many: What are you living for? What you are living for is a clear indicator of where your time goes, and therefore, if we look at how we spend our time, we can quickly see if what we think we are living for/want to live for is in fact that which we are living for.
If you are like most people, you are struggling/striving to fulfill your desires and dreams. If you are a Christian, you will be looking to Jesus for your direction, inspiration and ultimate fulfillment. Here are some questions you can ask yourself: How has Jesus made me? What have I experienced and what have I learned for it? What has Jesus given me? What burns inside of me? What am I passionate about? What am I really good at? What am I doing now? (where I am) What is happening around me? Who is in my path?
Let your understanding of and love for Jesus set your direction, and from there, let the above questions be the starting points for the strategy you develop to live your life mission. I wasted probably months a year in endeavors not related to my personal development, passions and mission - which I greatly regret. Don’t flunk time management like I did.
At the end of the days God gives you, you will appear before the Father to give account for all that you did with your time. Were you trustworthy? Will you be able to say that you made the most of the person, talents, passions and positions He gave you? Most importantly, will you be able to say that you loved Jesus and give Him your life with its desires and impulses? Most probably you will have many excuses for your lavish spending and indifference.
What if you invested wisely? What if you considered Jesus seriously? What if you really took hold of (even just perceived) what was in your hands? What if you humbly put it all together under Jesus’ leadership?
You might actually shake the earth.
Apparently the best things come in small packages. That’s why I have a beautiful small wife and a beautiful small son! I found this photo that H took of Jude and I a few weeks ago. I love how midgety he is! I am kind of bothered that I will be travelling in October for so long… 
I dont think I’ve been awake more hours in my life than I have this month. Unfortunately, most of it has been spent working, and not playing with Jude and dating my wife. Why? Because I’d like to build my business to the point where, in a decade or so, I can spend most of my time doing just that — dating my wife and investing in my son. But for the moment, hard work.
I promise October will be different! I leave you with two photos. (Proudly taken with my BlackBerry Bold)
This is a friggin AWESOME video… coupled with an amazing depiction of triathlon. (plus the girl in it is Swiss!)
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This is Jude with a friend of his, Aaron about a week ago. I don’t know why (well.. maybe I do) but each time I watch this, I laugh!
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We bought the Mercedes in Jan 2007 because we really needed to use our time more effectively. Public transport was and is awesome but many of the clients I visit live quite a ways off from a train station and consequently, this can triple if not more, the travel time compared with a car. We have been so grateful for our A Class. She has done more than we could have dreamed and we expect to keep her for quite a few more years! With Harry going back to work, (and now having a drivers license) we realised that her having access to a car would be a very good thing, especially having to ferry Jude around everywhere. Thus the search commenced. Would it be a “family” car for H or a “work” car for Stu? Cash flow not being where we’d like it, we chose the least expensive option, grabbing a 2008 Smart Pulse For-Two. This costs us 290 swissies for the lease and about 60 swissies in insurance a month — GREAT!
This little thing packs a punch. At 850kg, and with 84hp, it can really do all the maneuvering acceleration and parking tricks you could possibly want around where we live. It gets 4.1l/100km on the highway (wonderful) and averages out at about 4.7l/100km when mixing the two. Compared with the Brabus, the Pulse’s 7000.- more expensive brother, the Pulse’s acceleration is right up there, getting to the 62mph mark in 10.6 seconds as opposed to the Brabus’ making it in 9.9 seconds. The Pulse is the “sport model” of the For-Two family, with sexy fog lights and finger-tiptronic shifting, which, I must admit, I love. Its 15″ 6 spoke alloy wheels are the same size as my Mercs (at least in the back they are) at 195×50xR15 and in the front are just a little more slim at 175×50xR15.
It handles very well, even in windy conditions and wet weather, although you do feel a slight stability difference (benefit) when driving in the Mercedes in wet weather. Acceleration is smooth and holds it all the way up and past 140km/hr. I went over 150km/h (from what the speedometer said) and it didnt feel studdery or labored at all. Our Smart has a few extra options: A/C, a smart audio pack (Smarts, except the Brabus, do not come with radios as standard) and the option for automatic shifting, as opposed to the tiptronic which comes standard.
The car is also suprisingly quiet, which makes listening for the engine to shift more difficult than in the A-Class. This is when the quick flip to automatic really comes in handy! It holds 250kg of total load and about 240l of storage, enough for you to throw your week’s recycling in the back, a couple of two-day suitcases or a few servers depending on your flavor.
Check out this photo gallery with pics of the new roadster and let me know what you think!
I forgot to post about the biggest event in Jude’s life so far!! I can’t believe I forgot! He FINALLY lost his umbilical cord on 21st August! I don’t think I have blogged about this but this tiny bit of dead skin has been plaguing him since birth and baffling parents and doctors alike… So we were pleased to see it go Here is a picture of his beautiful belly button, followed by other lovely pics:
Jude laughing … as usual
Dad and Jude chilling
At a friend’s house helping them move in.
Stuart’s favourite …
He’s taken to sucking his lower lip
“Really?”
Mom and Jude - how cute!
Last month, I posted some of the BlackBerry apps I use most frequently. Here is an update.
Wall Street Journal for BB - definitely the coolest news app ever. sexy, free, and fast.
Facebook - Yes, I tried it and liked it.
Google Updater - One place to access all of Google’s free BlackBerry apps - and tells you when they’ve been updated.
Autolock - Saves me $$ a month: Automatically locks your phone after use, perfect as my phone is always banging around in my pocket!
Zelda - YES!!! (the original) — for BlackBerry.
Got a great BlackBerry app? Leave a comment!
Jude had a lot of fun bouncing on dad’s leg this afternoon. It was really funny when he realised the sounds he could make by speaking into my hand. This video is probably for ppl in love with Jude. For others, just keep moving…
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