Growing Up Fast

Our little baby is growing up so fast!
Walking like a pro!
Payton loves to brush his 8 teeth all by himself!
Helping mommy decide which wrapping paper to use..
Being brave during his first dentist appointment. Thanks Dr. Sandy!
Celebrating his first birthday with family and friends in Dallas. Thanks to all who came to share in our joy. We feel very loved!

Milestone

A few weeks ago, Payton started to take a few steps at a time. We were hesitant to say he was walking, because sometimes, it looked like he just stumbled a few steps... :). Well, this past Sunday, he just started toddling off! About 10 steps at a time during our small group! (picture to come)...Something else, he learned how to do (to our dismay) was to "turn on" the TV...

Christmas Photo - first attempt

Payton's first Christmas photos...(mostly our attempts)

Thanksgiving

We went to Houston for about a week to see family and friends. It's always fun to see everyone and as always Payton was the center of attention. Here are some pix from the week...Gong Gong and Po Po and Payton's new favorite toy (Roberta's old toddler taxi)
Obogi and Harmoni at Uncle Chris and Auntie Fay's house.
Uncle Chuck and Auntie Harriet all the way from Madison, Wisconsin!
Thanks cousin Lukas for letting Payton play with all your toys!

Hanging out with Auntie Jenny and Auntie Emily.
Playing with Ethan (3.5 months).

Playing with Ethan and Lydia (Happy 6-month Bday Lydia!)

Caught...Red Handed

Payton has found a new favorite hobby: pulling books off bookshelves... Here's a pic of him, where I caught him in the act! I think from his facial expression, that he knows he's doing something he shouldn't be doing...

After Baths

Here are some pictures of Payton after he takes a bath...

First Halloween

For Payton's first halloween costume, as a family, we decided to all dress up as baseball players... We also went over to Uncle Tim and Auntie Janice's house to help pass out candy. Payton had alot of fun playing with everyone there, especially with Tucker, Tim and Janice's cute dog (dressed as a policeman).

The State Fair

After having lived in Dallas for more than 4 years, I finally made it out to the State Fair! I've been during the college days during the TX-OU game, but never since then. This was of course Payton's first fair. I didn't realize how many fun things they have at the fair, especially for kids. Our highlight was the petting zoo, which had tons of animals including a baby giraffe. Overall, it was great weather and we had alot of fun with Auntie Angela!

Parents

The last 2 weeks, my parents have come to help watch Payton because I've been just swamped at work. We really appreciate all their help! and it's always fun to hang out with them. Several of my friends have also told me that Payton looks more like my mom than me or Mike. What do you think?

Rediscovered passion

It took me four years to discover that there were many places to fish in and near Dallas. In fact, we live about 10 minutes from White Rock Lake. I guess I was too preoccupied studying and playing basketball.

Roberta and I grew up in Houston and one of the few recreational activities that we both enjoyed was fishing and crabbing in Galveston (well, just crabbing for Roberta). My love for fishing grew out of my dad taking my brother and I fishing in Galveston. I can't wait until I am able to teach Payton to fish. Hopefully, he won't be as squeamish as his mother (Roberta cried once because she felt bad about putting a live shrimp on a hook).

In the last few months, John Valenzuela and I have been fishing regularly on his speedy boat on Ray Hubbard Lake (I think his boat has a faster 0-50 mph time than my car). Thanks to John, Roberta and I (as well as several in our church) have enjoyed consuming fresh sand bass and hybrids.

Below are pictures of a recent outing. We hooked into some big sand bass.

Visiting Uncle Chuck and Auntie Harriet

This past weekend, Payton and I visited Uncle Chuck and Auntie Harriet in Madison, Wisconsin. The weather was perfect and we did many fun outdoorsy things and ate lots of good food. This was Payton's first trip outside of Texas!

Here's Payton smiling at the lions at the zoo.
In Auntie Harriet and Uncle Chuck's apartment getting ready to eat breakfast. (Thanks Auntie Fay and Uncle Chris for the UT outfit!)
Payton falling alseep on the bus ride to University of Wisconsin's Union, which is located right by a lake.
Enjoying some sun with Uncle Chuck as we wait for brunch.

Thanks for a great time Auntie Harriet and Uncle Chuck! We miss you!!

AABC Retreat Pics

From Sept 14-16, Payton was at his first retreat. Our speakers for the retreat were Joni Powers and Bob Pyne. Bob, who until recently was a professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, was one of my favorite instructors at the seminary.

As expected, Payton had a difficult time sleeping in an unfamiliar room on the first night. Nonetheless, we had a good time.

Payton enjoying puffs in the dining hall.

Payton with his buddy uncle Mark Okada
(Mark by the way was the first ever to make Payton laugh out loud)

Speedy

One month after Payton learned how to crawl, and he is so much faster!

No toys please

Payton just loves to play with anything that's not a toy. When we go out, many times I don't bring any toys, because he can be preoccupied for a really long time just looking at all the things in my purse. Here he is at home playing with an open bag of diapers. Look how happy he is... I need to stop buying him toys...

One Sociologist's Perspective on Why "Christianity Works"

I found Christian Smith's explanation of his theories in the CT interview to be interesting and helpful (CT article). Contrary to the errant prognostications of the likes of Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud of Christianity's imminent doom, what makes Christianity work and what explains its survival? Smith's succinct answer:

Smith: According to my argument in this article, Christianity "works" from a sociological perspective because it is able to successfully address a whole set of basic human needs and desires, particularly offering an emotionally as well as cognitively satisfying experience for ordinary believers. Whether or not various philosophers and scientists raise objections to Christianity, the fact seems to be that in believers' phenomenological experience, there is tremendous power in living in a theistic universe, having a way to deal with moral failure, believing one is loved and cared for by God, having communities of worship and belonging to be a part of, and so on. For many millions of people, that is much more compelling than arguments Freud or Darwin might have made.

I particularly appreciate Smith's departure from either/or thinking as it relates to the relationship between faith and science (in this case social science). Here's another except:

CT: There's one thing I can't leave behind after our interview and reading the article. You explain why Christianity works, but I keep thinking the explanation would simply satisfy the person who says, "See, religion is a mental crutch!" I want to respond that I'm not a Christian because it accomplishes x, y, and z in my life. I'm a Christian because I believe Christ really did rise from the dead. You leave that point unaddressed. Isn't it the case that many Christians embrace the faith, not for its effects but for what they believe is its truthfulness?

Smith: Sure. But those are not mutually exclusive things. Both can be true. In most cases people really do believe it. But believing it may also have certain often-positive effects for people emotionally. Why can't it be both? To call religion a "crutch" is a negative way of saying people rely on it. But people do rely on it. So what? That's fine. Everyone relies on lots of things. This can be interpreted from a believing perspective or a non-believing perspective, as I say in the article. But nothing in the article per se needs to undermine faith.

Of course from a purely biblical-theological framework, the Church exists because God, in his purposes, decreed that it would exist and the Church will continue to exist because God will sustain it. And of course, as a Christian, I believe Christendom is more than a sociological phenomenon or some chance cultural expression. Nonetheless, I believe that fruit of the sciences or other disciplines are sources of revelation (i.e. general revelation) which along with Scripture (i.e. special revelation) help me construct a closer approximation of reality. In recent years, I found that my anthropological views has been furthered and informed by the time spent dabbling in the social sciences like psychology and sociology. In particular, I appreciate the writings of Paul Hiebert (love this book) and Charles Kraft (his earlier stuff), who skillfully integrate findings from the social sciences in their writings.

Where I find Smith's views helpful is in exploring religion as a sociological phenomenon, without the weariness that the scholar's work is tainted by the reductionistic presumption that that is all it is. I agree that there is a powerful experiential allure to what Christianity has to offer--relieve of forgiveness, assurance of hope, fulfillment of belonging, etc. This helps me to understand not only why "Christianity works" (from a sociological perspective) but also why other faith systems are sustainable. Last year, I made several visit to a large DFW Hindu temple and in certain moments of watching the youth interact (saw one group playing jackpot with a football), the feel and ambiance was alarmingly reminiscent of growing up and playing football and wallball at church. The point is there are sociological attractions (e.g. sense of belonging, purpose) that will bring people into faith communities, and not just Christian communities. But this leads me to a caution.

The interviewer also rightly points out that these "effects" are the benefits of being called to a relationship with Christ and we ought to be motivated by our love for the giver, not the gifts (though it's my observation that many professing believers seem to be more interested in the gifts rather than the giver). We love God not for our own sake but for God's sake.

Play time

Payton just loves other babies. Maybe it's because they are his size and usually he's just around adults. Here's a cute picture of him and his friend Elizabeth.

Crawling

At eight months, Payton has now upgraded his skills from the military, arm crawl to where he is effectively using his legs to propel himself.

But that's not his only mode of mobility. He is now pseudo-bipedal or as some call it, "cruising" (where he pulls himself up with the aid of a stationary object and uses it to balance himself and walk alongside it). Watch out world! Here comes Payton!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Eight months ago...

Born 12/28/06, 3:23 pm

Emerging from the womb

Getting cleaned up in the OR

It's so bright out here...


Wow...to this day, it has already been eight months since Payton's arrival (12/28/06). Glancing at these pictures, it occurred to me how rapidly Payton has developed physically and cognitively--he is acutely aware of his surroundings (whining whenever mommy leaves his line of vision), more assertive in his movements (complaining whenever we redirect his movement from impending harm...there's got to be a spiritual illustration in there some where), greater strength and dexterity (enough to painfully pull on our hair), and so forth.

For us, Payton's development are visible reminders of God's graciousness and occasions for thanksgiving. Through the lens of our faith, we affirm that it is ultimately God who gives, takes, and sustains life. As such, we praise God for his graciousness in sustaining Payton over these past eight months. Still our greatest hope for Payton is that his appetite for the things of God will mirror the rapid development of his mind and body. For those who share in our allegiance to Christ, we hope that you might join us in praying that Payton will grow to embrace God's kingdom.

Payton--Eight months old

Getting an early start

Here's Payton doing his pull-ups at daddy's office. Check out those guns!

Auntie Fay

HAPPY (belated) Birthday Fay!
Hope to see you guys soon!!

Bed Hogger

When Payton was 2-3 months old, he had pretty bad acid reflux, so he woke up alot at night. This is when I discovered, I would get more sleep at night, if he just slept in our bed (so I didn't have to keep getting up to check on him in the crib when he cried). Well, since he's a little older now, he thinks that our bed is his bed. So, anytime we put him in his crib he screams/cries like we are torturing him. About 2 weeks ago, I decided I just needed to be tough, so after he fell asleep on our bed, I put him in the crib. When he woke up screaming at 2 am, I did not respond to him. He sobbed for an hour and 15 minutes. And I have to admit, it was torture for me and I cried too. He eventually cried himself to sleep. The next night, again, same routine but about half the time of crying. And then, he got sick (runny/stuffy nose), so he seemed so miserable that we decided to give him a break (i know, BIG mistake on our part), and let him sleep in our bed. It's been almost 10 days and he still has a runny nose, the doctor thinks it's allergies. So, really we are back to square one regarding the whole bed thing. If anyone has any tips on how to make your baby like sleep in his own crib, please share them with us! :)