Time for my semi-regular installment of things I want to remember during this stage of parenting.
Lego Me
Joshua came up to me the other day and said, “Hey, Dad. This is my Lego version of you.” I like it; it’s a very Han Solo-esque interpretation of me. Although I’m not sure about the Christopher Reeves lock of hair falling down in my eyes. Or the ascot. But I’m loving the sword. Very swashbuckling.
Fifteen years ago, I made a promise that changed my life.
And fifteen years ago, I received a promise that continues to make me whole.
___________________
An anniversary is a way of marking time, a way of measuring the depth to which events continue to shape us. There are the anniversaries that haunt us: the date that a loved one passed away, the day you received your diagnosis or lost your job. These are the tough anniversaries, the days we’d just as soon not reflect on. And then there are the anniversaries that remind us of life’s riches: birthdays, holidays, and the celebration of years of marriage to the one you love most. And these are the anniversaries we relish.
This anniversary reminds me that I am a rich man, indeed. And this richness is measured in the fifteen years I’ve enjoyed with Sunny as my wife.
In some respects, I guess fifteen years is a long time. According to the traditional anniversary gift ledger, the fifteenth year is the last year to be counted this way; after this one, the big ones come in increments of five. (Way to make a guy feel old, Hallmark!) And I suppose fifteen years is long enough to be wholly absorbed in a relationship that defines so much of your identity. I really can’t remember what my life was like before Sunny and I were married. Life with her by my side is all I’ve known — and all I’ve wanted to know — for as far back as I can really remember. For that, I’m thankful.
But then again, fifteen years isn’t nearly long enough to say what’s in my heart for her. Fifteen years isn’t nearly long enough for me to enjoy the life she’s blessed me with. Sunny, I told you I loved you when we married and I’m proud to say that those feelings have only continued to grow. I pray for many more years — as much time as the Lord will give me — to be your husband and to grow closer to you.
I love you, Sunny. Happy anniversary.
Fifteen years of blessings (photo taken by Kristen Moore)
We enjoyed a fantastic weekend with family at Boyd Mountain in Waynesville, NC. Here’s one of my favorite pictures from the weekend.
From James Bryan Smith in his book, The Good and Beautiful Community:
Communities become others-centered when they are steeped in the narrative of the kingdom of God. They know that their community is an outpost of the Kingdom of God, a place where grace is spoken and lived for as long as is needed. The value of a church is not in its longevity but in its love. The success of a church is not in its size but in its service to the people and the community.
Tonight at dinner, Jackson looks at me and says, “Dad, I want you to dye your hair black. Lots of old people have to dye their hair.”
Instantly, this came to mind:
I also want to remember this:
Even though the compliments are a total set-up for the question, I’ll take it!
July 6, 2004.
Two little souls entered into the world and simply by their presence, I was transformed. Most families grow through addition; our family multiplied the day our twins were born. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since they arrived in a flurry of motion. Come to think of it, that’s a good descriptor of the last decade!
Abby Kate, you are my firstborn, the first to lay claim to my heart. When I discovered that you were growing inside your mother, I literally jumped for joy. And from that day to this one, you’ve never failed to bring joy to your father. I experienced the year of the Lord’s favor when they placed you in my arms and I called you my own. You grow more beautiful with each passing day. You are a treasure trove of God’s richest blessings to me. You teach me about love and tenderness and friendship. You are a strong young lady who comes from a long line of strong women. It is one of my life’s supreme joys to be your Daddy. “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God,” (Isa. 61:10).
Joshua, you are my oldest son, my pride. You have the fight in you; you have since the day you were born. In those early days, you were so small, but you didn’t know any better. All you knew was the fight to grow. But you are also largehearted, a young man of limitless generosity. Your passion for justice runs deep. You’ve already made me a better man, for you call forth the type of man I want to model for you and your brother. Carry the fire; be the hero you’re meant to become. “Be strong and courageous and never afraid,” (Josh. 1:9).
Here’s what I’ve learned, the essential truth that I reflect on tonight: ten years is long enough to forget the person you used to be. I have no recollection of the person I was before the two of you came into my life. You are a gale force, a seismic event, two God-created boulders sending ripples across the glass surface of my life. But make no mistake: you’re two of the best things that ever happened to me. I love you.
The Bybee family minivan pulled out of Milwaukee this morning bound for Chicago. We decided not to take in a game tonight. For starters, we were thinking we might burn out the kids with too much baseball. Correction: we were thinking we might burn out TWO of the kids with too much baseball. But just as importantly, the Cubs were at home against the Reds. I guess I could’ve rooted for a tie, but come on.
Sunny and the boys outside Renaldi’s
So instead, we opted to see the sights today. We arrived in town and checked in early to our hotel and immediately headed out for lunch at Renaldi’s. Sunny and I ate there about 10 or 12 years ago on our last visit to Chicago and it was our favorite. In a town known for pizza, Renaldi’s stands out. We ordered the Chef Special: Garbage Pizza (sausage, onion, mushroom, and pepperoni). Thankfully, the pizza was just as good as we remembered it. We all loved it!
Following our late lunch, we took the L back to downtown. The kids loved being able to see the city from the windows. After a short ride, we were in the middle of downtown touring Millennium Park. The kids loved seeing all the unique artwork, particularly the famous “bean.” As you can see, we took several silly pics!
Boys being silly
That’s one heavy bean!
After milling around the park, we decided to make our way to the American Girl Doll store. Abby Kate had some early birthday money from her grandmother and great-grandmother, so she decided to spend it on a few things at the store. She was tempted to buy something at the American Girl store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, but after hearing that the Chicago store was even bigger, she decided to hold off and do her shopping here instead. She had so much fun shopping and I had fun watching her. She was such a trooper to endure 4 ball games on her family vacation; the least we could do was spare a half hour for her to walk through and see the American Girl stuff.
Meanwhile, Joshua found the Lego store next door…and a surprise guest!
After a rain delay and a Starbucks stop, we were back on the streets for more of the Chicago experience. We debated a few things because we knew our time here was going to be limited, but in the end, we decided to go on an architectural boat tour of the city…and it was AWESOME! We started out by traveling the Chicago River and we learned so much about the city’s architecture and history. Next we went out on Lake Michigan to see the skyline just after dusk; it was gorgeous. Our 90 minute tour ended back at Michigan Avenue and we were thoroughly impressed. A great way to spend the evening.
Downtown Chicago, June 24, 2014
Today we visited Miller Park in Milwaukee. What an awesome venue!
For starters, the building is just massive. On the approach, you can see the stadium from about a mile or two off I-94 and it looks amazing. The retractable roof gives the stadium a unique look that’s really cool. Tonight’s forecast called for a chance of rain, so they closed the roof about a half hour before game time.
There’s a ton of parking around the stadium, providing a tailgating atmosphere that you don’t find at a lot of MLB games. We walked up the smell of meat on the grill and the sounds of kids throwing ball in the parking lot. It was also Little League night at the park, so we saw a lot of little MLB hopefuls in their jerseys tonight.
I’ve never seen a stadium that catered more to the kid experience. In addition to the action on the field, the concourse was full of play areas for the kids. Up on our level, there was a full-on playground like you see at fast food restaurants with lots of little tykes running and climbing while their parents watched the game on the monitors. On the lower concourse, we came up on a host of free activities that kept us enrapt right up till game time: a baserunning drill that times the kids from home to first; a batting cage; a slide; and a pitching radar gun activity. Best of all…they were all FREE. Definitely a great way to enjoy the time before the first pitch.
As for the food, the hot dogs were amazing, maybe the best one I’ve had on our tour. To top it off, we got a free Coke with our parking pass. Pretty cool!
With tonight’s visit, I’m up to 21 current stadiums visited. When we first got married, Sunny and I decided that we wanted to try and visit all 30 major league parks. We hit it hard for the first 5 years or so, but having kids slowed us down considerably. But I’m glad we’re back in the saddle and this vacation has been such fun as we’ve shared this journey now with our children.
Closing the roof at Miller Park in Milwaukee
Today has been another full day. We enjoyed some family worship / devotional time together to begin our day. I love hearing my kids articulate their faith at such a young age. Today as we were talking, it became evident to me that all three of them have been uniquely fashioned with perspective and thoughts and hearts that are so different and yet so complimentary. Sometimes you get the sense that some parents are merely tolerating their kids. I’m glad that I’m able to enjoy the relationships I have with ours. They’re some of my favorite people in the world and this vacation has been such a blast so far.
One of the things we wanted to do here in Minneapolis was visit Minnehaha Falls, a 53 foot waterfall located in Minnehaha Park in the city limits. The falls were pretty impressive; apparently the recent rain / flooding put the water at peak level. In fact, we heard that just a couple of days ago, some guy kayaked over the falls!
After spending a little time at the park, we headed downtown to another park, Target Field. It’ll take me a few days to properly process the day, but Target Field gets major thumbs up from me. Parking was a cinch with a garage located directly across the stadium and easy access from both ground level and skywalk. (In addition, major points for building a parking garage that exits directly onto the Interstate. Somebody engineered that puppy the right way.) The exterior to the stadium is neat and clean with a sleek modern look. As we were walking up, I noticed the banners of some all-time Twins greats. Inside, the concourses were immaculate, a lot like Disney in the sense that every 15-20 foot you’d find a person with a broom and a handled-dustpan sweeping up any trash. The field itself was pretty impressive, too, with some great nostalgic touches meshed with a state-of-the-art scoreboard / jumbotron. We sat in the nosebleeds, but we still had an awesome skyline view of downtown. And the covered canopy for the upper deck has to be the largest one in the majors. I also really loved the OF seating; very creative. All in all, this might be one of my favorite stadiums I’ve visited. Definitely in the top 5.
Today’s promotion was a free kids jersey to the first 5,000 fans age 14 and younger. Our kids were pretty excited to get some free Twins gear. After watching the home team take it on the chin in our previous stops, it was nice to witness a Twins victory today. Afterward, we were able to get down on the field and the kids had the chance to run the bases. It was definitely a cool experience for them. And speaking of cool, today’s temperature was actually a little on the chilly side! I’m loving the weather here!
We finished the day off by stopping again at the Mall of America to look around and ride some rides. Here’s a shot of the guys riding the log ride.
Back in my day, we called it the Flume Zoom
