A Random Pattern

If you’ve been following MacHeist at all, you know there has been a fair amount of controversy surrounding the bundle sale at the end and subsequently, the whole event.  Most commenters appear to have dug in their heels at this point, on both sides of the issue.  Thus I see little room or purpose in further discourse on the subject.

There is a heart-warming end to the tale though.  A few of the developers / blogs involved decided on a friendly duel to settle the situation.  CocoaDuel was thus born.  Here’s the idea: each developer had something like a day and a half to write a holiday-inspired application and pick a favorite charity.  Then the unwashed masses (us) would get to vote on our favorite in the most meaningful way – with our wallets.  Yes, you get to give money to a charity, and in doing so help a developer win a case of beer (or appropriate substitution, of course).

I also should mention that all the apps are free, and some of them could be fairly useful.  They are also all supposed to be open-source, which means that you can play with or improve any of them you want to your heart’s content.

So yet again, I urge you to go vote.  This time, you’re getting an excuse to give a little extra money to a charity.  And really, who needs an excuse for that?!  

So some of you (well, one of you) accused me of leaving my better half out of the first part of the letter. Ha! You think I just forgot? That special lady gets a whole post to herself – more or less.

So, what’s up with Sara? I’m not going to provide pictures for the moment, but let’s just say she apparently was inspired by my recent hair-coloring efforts.   Now I won’t tell the colors, but I can affirm that there is more than one.  Any guesses?

I’ve got to be quick, ‘cuz I’m supposed to be in bed.  So here’s the rest of the update in speed form, lest I never put it up: Sara has been working her butt off, taking Tessa to all manner of appointments and trying to keep up with both the girls (who are quite a handful right now).  She organized Tessa’s class party since she is the “class Mom” (and indeed, she is one classy Mom).  She baked a ton of cookies for the MOPS group Christmas cookie trade (some of you will reap the benefits from that shortly).  She’s been buying and painting and cleaning and shopping and – did I mention buying? 

In short, she’s been taking care of her family, and sacrificing herself.  There aren’t words for how much I appreciate her, but I’ll try anyways.  Depending on how the lyrics end up, they may or may not get posted here. 

More to come soon – there’s still part three. 

So, first order of business: some fun tidbits from recent family life.

Selah, for a few months now, has been a mimic. When we lock our car, the horn honks if we hit the button twice. Whenever we do this, Selah tries to make the same sound as the car horn. If we hear a dog barking, Selah will try to mimic the dog. It’s been quite amusing.

Apparently this sound-mimicry was a precursor to a language explosion, as she’s been shocking us the last few days with the words she attempts to say right after we say them. This has led to a few close calls, such as Selah learning the word “sheesh” tonight.

Tessa, has become quite a pray-er. The other night at dinner she wanted to pray. Here is a partial list of things she told God she was thankful for:

• standing on the floor
• not spilling my drink
• the very very very pretty sky (incidentally a lot of things have been “very very” lately)
• Jesus
• Christmastime
• CI (her Cochlear Implant)
• People making my CI
• Being very very careful

Today, we couldn’t quite make out most of what she thanked God for, but we think she said “our silly silly family” and “mommy and daddy yelling” (guess we’ve got something to work on . . . ).

Stephen: well, check the picture for updates on me.

You can’t really tell from the picture, but I’ve got highlights in my hair now. It was a (late) anniversary present for Sara, but I don’t think she really cares for it.

Last for best: check out the new web album I just put up. The pictures didn’t come out the greatest ever, but that’s mainly because the girls can’t stay still. Sara’s also posted an update on Tessa’s site.

Peace and Love,

Step