Apps and Freedom

On Wednesday, I read “Daniel and the Roaring Lions” to Abigail. It is a little Arch book of the story usually referred to as “Daniel and the Lion’s Den.”

I had read the book several times to her, with its nice rhymes and all, but she has began to ask questions about why things happen. So I took the opportunity to explain to her more details about the story. My explanation to our three year old went something like this:

Daniel knew that God wanted him to talk to God every day. So Daniel always did just that. One day, some bad people got the king to say that no one could talk to God anymore. If they did, those people would be put in a cage of hungry lions that would try to hurt them.

At this point, she seemed very concerned. I asked her what she would do. Would she still talk to God every day? Or, would she listen to the king and stop talking to God? She thought about it for a long time and eventually said that she did not know what she would do.

I had the opportunity to explain to her that we always need to do what is right. If anyone, even a king, tells you to do something that God would not want you to do, you should not do it.

We then talked about how God protected Daniel because he did what God had told him. But even if God did not protect Daniel, he still would have done the right thing.

She pondered this for a while. I could tell she was deep in thought.

It is tough lesson for a three year old to comprehend, but an important one. I want my daughter to understand throughout her being that God gives you rights as an individual. He also gives you responsibilities.

While we should obey our “kings” whenever possible, they are not the final word on right and wrong. If God has given a right or a duty to a person, no man or government has the right to take it away.  Our founders knew this and chose to acknowledge these rights to be derived from our Creator and not from a state.

I heard a song by Kutless today called “What Faith Can Do.” I think it is a message people need to hear. I have known people from drug adicts, to murderers (yes, you read that right, I knew a guy who was in prison for a while and turned his life around when he got out), to depressed and down people.

In any case, the constant has been that they believed that it was all over and there was no hope. In all these cases, God restored their lives.

Be encouraged…

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes
And make a new beginning

Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you’re stronger
Stronger than you know

Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason
For someone not to try

Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright

Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You don’t have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That’s what faith can do

Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

This has been a couple of weeks in coming, but I finally have a moment to post about Jessica‘s and my new little daughter.

Elsie Neriah Pearson was born on September 13th at 2:03 am. Amazingly enough, this was 35 minutes after I got the car into the parking ramp. Yes it was a close one for sure!

Our other daughter, Abigail, loves her little sister. It seems like she has grown up so much since she became a big sister! But, she’ll always be daddy’s little girl too.

Jessica is doing great and she could be a mirror image of a TV mom; You know the ones that have their baby in one tv show and are up and at em by the next episode. She recovers well!

I am just loving the gift of two wonderful daughters! I absolutely would not trade being a dad of these two wonderful daughters for anything!

I would like to wish my dad (and every other dad) a happy father’s day.

To be honored with a special day, for something I enjoy being so much, is a special treat. For me, the joy of being Abigail‘s dad is worth far more than any single day could define.

Almost everybody has special memories of there dad’s. I would like to share one such memory today.

When I was in elementary school, I could not run fast at all. No matter how hard I tried, I was almost always one of the slowest sprinting boys in gym class.

This was very frustrating for me. I’d always gave it my all, but could not improve my time numbers.

My dad could tell I was very sad about this and he offered to help me practice my running. We went to the sidewalk across the street and ran and ran.

With his technique tips, I greatly improved my times. The next time we sprinted in gym, my scores were on the faster side of average.

So now I know to sprint on my toes! The help my dad gave me not only improved my sprint times, but helped me feel good about myself and helped me to learn that situations that seem hopeless from the start are usually something that can be succeeded at with the right technique and implementation.

If you are reading this on my blog, you will notice that there is a new domain name in the address bar! I’ll explain how you got here in a second, but first I’ll explain the reason why.

As you may know, Jessica has her own domain name, I have my own domain name, and Abigail has her own domain name. Jessica and I both have blogs that have traditionally focused on very different issues. Mine focused on technology and politics, with some references to family and mountain biking as well. Jessica‘s blog focused on Knitting, Cooking, and Family. Then Abigail‘s blog was a spattering of posts about her. They were usually crossposted from Jessica‘s or my sites.

I wanted to build a more integrated solution where we could have one main domain with subdomains for each blog. Then I don’t have to keep buying new domains for each child that we have. I also wanted to have one cms/platform for all blogs. Finally, I wanted the main site to aggregate all posts from each of the subdomains.

This was to be fulfilled through WordPress 3. The latest version of WordPress merges the features of WordPress MU (the multiuser version that powers WordPress.com) and the standard WordPress package.

So I talked it over with Jessica and we bought the domain name ‘iPearson.net’. I would have loved to have Pearson.com, but it seems a small book company took that first .

After purchasing the domain, I had to setup the server. I’ll talk about that some more in future posts. But please know that right now, we are redirecting anyone that goes to a post on blog.terrypearson.com, blog.jessicadpearson.com, and abigailpearson.com over to their new blog locations:

• http://terry.iPearson.net
• http://jessica.iPearson.net
• http://abigail.iPearson.net

One of the best parts is that you can go to http://iPearson.net and see all our latest blog posts in one central spot.

I’ll post a little more technical details about how I got there in a future posting.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. Jessica and Tracey went up on the Flying Dutchman Ghostly Gangplank at the Mall of America.

While they were climbing the ropes course, Abigail, my dad, and I hung out in Nickelodeon Universe below.

This is by far the best deal at the Mall of America. For $5.95, you get as much time as you want to spend in the Ghostly Gangplank. During that time, you can traverse the different levels, challenge yourself to a tightrope walk, and get a pretty good workout in the process.

Jessica and Tracey got lucky. While I waited in line for almost an hour, they were in the Flying Dutchman almost immediately.

But the main reason we went to the Mall, was just to hang out with family. We had a lot of fun!

The Mall of America always looks so festive over Christmas!

Here is Abigail and Grandpa (Mike Pearson)!

Abigail really enjoyed the Rainforest Cafe Store and the Toys R Us Express.

This Tree is as old as the Mall of America. It used to be in FAO Schwarz, but was transferred to the Rainforest Cafe after FAO closed their Mall of America location. My sister, Tracey, loved this tree because they both share a common name.

jessicapearson/archives/date-taken/2009/12/06/”>And here are some more pictures of our Mall of America Adventure…

Well, it finally happened, our little baby has turned one year old! It seems like just the other day that Jessica and I were creating videos for her a few hours before her birth.

During the past year, Abigail has grown and changed so much. I cannot begin to describe just how proud I am of her each and every day.

At first, we were thrilled when she gave us a smile, or stuck out her tongue, or even scooted up toward our faces.

It seems so recent and yet so long ago that she first held her bottle, or said her first words. Now she talks, gives hugs and kisses, and waves to everyone (and everything) in sight. She even takes a few steps.

Even more amazing is that in the next 17 years she will learn to walk without any help, learn read, learn to ride a bike, learn to drive, and even graduate from High School (In 2026).

Jessica and I look forward to every moment of it. Although, we hope it does not go too fast.

It’s one of the great paradoxes of life. You always want your child to learn something new, to gain strength, knowledge, and wisdom, and to take that next step. But, taking the next step means they leave behind the previous steps.

For the child, this is growth, but for the parent it is the last time something happens. There will be the last time you help your child roll over, or the last time your child needs a hand walking. There will be a last bottle, a last diaper change, and eventually a last day of school. Someday, you will even go to their wedding.

All these are wonderful things, and great steps, but there is something wonderful about helping your child through each one of these changes.

As you and your child work on the process of growing up, it builds a deep love and bond between the two of you. As they mature, this love grows into a fellowship, a friendship, and a strong bond.

I think that being a dad helps me truly understand what it means in 1 John 3:1 where it says “See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are!” Now that I understand the deep love that a parent has for their child, I can better appreciate the awesomeness of this statement!

Happy Birthday Abigail. You are, and always will be, loved!

Jessica and I had a great time this weekend in Two Harbors, MN. This town of about 3,500 people is located just a little North of Duluth along the shore of Lake Superior.

Day 1

We left on Friday evening, and drove straight through until just before 11pm.

We had reserved a “normal” hotel room with two queen beds. Upon arriving at the AmericInn in Two Harbors, we asked the attendent at the desk if they had any of the King Suites with whirlpools remaining. She said that they did, and that it would cost $15 per night more. I just said “oh that much?” and did not say anything else. After a moment of silence, she said that we could have the King Suite at no additional charge! (Thanks Dave Ramsey for your tips on negotiating a sale).

Day 2

We got up at about 8:30 the next morning at ate a delicious breakfast compliments of the hotel! They had a waffle making station, along with bagels, doughnuts, fruit and more (all free). This sure beats the Embassy Suites I stayed at last June where it was $13 for a small breakfast!

After breakfast, we explored Two Harbors. What an amazing town.

Our first stop was at “Sweet Peas“. This store was simple on the outside, but great on the inside. I could not believe the great deals on gift items in this place. If you need to decorate a north woods cabin, or just want some souvenirs, stop here first. You will likely find all you need and more.

Next, we went down to Agate Bay. As the name implies, this is one of the two bays in Two Harbors. The other bay is Burlingtin Bay. We walked a long way out onto the ice of the bay while we were there. (As a side note, I learned that Agate Bay is actually deeper than the harbor in Duluth, which makes it all the more scary that we were walking on it.)

I took the opportunity to make fun of Man vs. Wild’s Bear Grylls. I love the show,  and if you have ever seen it, you will understand this video:

After touring Two Harbors, we went up the North Shore, and ate at “The Rustic Inn and Cafe” in Castle Danger. The food was great, but this was certainly not a very quick eat. It took a while to get our food, and we were starting to regret that we wasted precious hours of daylight at a sit-down restaurant. For dessert, we had some of their famous pie. It was a huge piece that was enough for the both of us.

Jessica and I headed up to Gooseberry Falls State Park. On our way to the visitor center, we encountered several deer. They were working on stealing food from the bird feeders and only seemed a little worried that we could practically reach out and touch them.

At the recommendation of a park ranger, we started out on a loop that runs along some of the major waterfalls of the park. We stuck to the snowshow trails as she suggested. There were a couple times that I made a slight deviation from the path, and I quicly learned that the unpacked snow is very, let me repeat… VERY deep.

You get a false sense of security walking along snow packed hard by snow shoes. Sometimes I would step off the path to get a better picture, and end up past my knees in snow. Off the main path, the terrain is rugged, just what you would expect on the edge of the Sawtooth Mountains.

After our hike in Gooseberry, we went a little further Northeast to Split Rock Lighthouse. Sunset was at 5:05 pm that day, giving us about 45 minutes to enjoy the famous lighthouse. Since we were not planning on major hikes, this was an easy thing to do. We took some great pictures, and saw an amazing start of a sunset on Lake Superior.

There are really too many pictures to post here, so if you want some amazing pictures of the entire trip, check out here and here.

We then headed back to Two Harbors for a relaxing time at Culver’s. Then went back to our hotel for a swim in the pool and some time in the Sauna.

Day 3

On Sunday, we had a much more relaxed day. We returned to Sweet Peas and bought some decorations for our house (someday we will put them in a cabin that we would like to own!).

Jessica got some Iced Coffee from McDonald’s to start her day on a caffeinated note, and we set out for Duluth. We traveled partially on the express highway 61, then jumped on the scenic route near the French River. We stopped briefly to admire the awesome scenery at the mouth of the river.

We kept heading Southwest along the shorline until we hit Duluth. Jessica and I had planned on eating at the Burger King near Canal Park (it was the first place we ate after getting married), however, they recently knocked it down to make room for a bigger hotel next door. So we took off toward the famous Grandma’s Saloon and Grill.

After stopping at Grandma’s, we stopped in downtown Duluth to look at the Duluth Pack store and a surplus store. Then we left for home.

Summary

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. We had a lot of fun, and can’t wait to get back up in the area. Fortunately, we will be heading up North of Duluth to stay in a cabin on Pequawyan Lake with our family in a couple weeks.

This summer has gone by so fast. The biggest sign that summer is almost over is the start of the Minnesota State Fair.

Usually, we don’t make plans to go to the fair very far in advance. This year was no exception. We decided last night that we will be going on Sunday.

Some of my favorite activities at the fair include the Minnesota DNR booth, the Political Booths, seeing KTLK’s setup at the fair, and sometimes attending a morning service at Crossroads Chapel.

I will be sure to check out the MN GOP booth this year, if I can find it. It is never on the State Fair maps. I remember that they always have free water, and a shaded area to sit, so it is usually worth the visit.

I will also be looking forward to the Paddlefish, and other large fish that make up the DNR’s pond in front of their building. If you have a chance, stop by the pond and think about what could be swimming right below you next time you are tubing!

I will hopefully have some great pictures of Jessica, Abigail, my dad, and me at the fair sometime next week!

Just a quick note, Jessica is being induced tomorrow morning! So we will be having our new little baby girl sometime tomorrow.

The hospital does not have wireless internet, so no “live” blogging will take place , but you can expect an announcement sometime on Wednesday with all the details!