Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Once again, it is Joshua's birthday. And this time he officially turned old. He got a walker, some new spectacles and some Rolaids.

This is Joshua enjoying his third birthday cake of the season.

#1 = cupcakes with friends on Saturday during a rousing game of Cranium

#2 = work cake

#3 = "traditional" Chewbacca cakeJoshua's wonderful sister Emily came all the way from Seattle to celebrate his birthday and visit with us for the weekend. We could not be more pleased. She also gave him this awesome hat. You will be seeing plenty of photos with this hat in the future. Um, like now.

Joshua would like to thank all of those who sent birthday wishings and presents. He would also like to thank those who put up with him calling to remind them that it was his birthday ... very early in the morning.

Public Speaking Advice from J. Chisholm

Today I had to give a 2.5 hour class presentation ... yeah, really. Luckily I have a helpful husband who sent me a bunch of pointers before I gave the presentation. Here they are:

1. If you don't know the answer to a question, like our commander and chief, make a joke about something completely unrelated and hope the questioner forgets what he or she asked.

2. You own the room, feel free to throw anyone out ... even the teacher!

3. If you are unsure how to pronounce something, either say it quickly and mumbled or just skip the word entirely.

4. Beat your fists against the table and shake them in the air

5. Hide behind the podium

6. Avoid eye contact with the audience

7. If someone is asking a hard question, act like you do not understand what they are saying and have them rephrase the questions over and over, then answer a question you want and just skip over theirs

8. Bribery is a helpful tool

9. Follow Jesus' lead and conduct some miracles, or at least some neat magic tricks

10. If all else fails, just be yourself, and trust that you are awesome, your work is brilliant and you are more then prepared for this beeeaatch!

Needless to say, the presentation went very well. When I allowed the professor to come back into the room, I did the rabbit out of the hat trick again for him. He was obviously impressed. This school business is easier than I was expecting.

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On a completely different note, here's a photo from one of Joshua's recent matches.

(Note: Joshua is on the bottom left of the photo)

Bugs (not the Bunny)

Yup, we've got some bugs these days:

• Shanti has been feeling especially itchy recently and yesterday I spotted a flea on her chin. Lucky for us, she is a cat who doesn't mind baths. Last night when Joshua came home with all of the products, we bathed the cat in anti-flea shampoo, then doused her with anti-flea formula, sprinkled white power-of-death-to-fleas over the entire house (two stories and the basement) and then got up this morning to vacuum and clean off every surface of the house. We are still suspicious, so we are going to use a few more products tonight. The battle has been fierce, but hopefully the war will be short.
• A full week of being sick with a horrible cough is wearing thin on my nerves.
• After using my flash drive on someone else's computer, they inform me that their computer has a horrible virus. Um, they could have warned me a little sooner!
• Our basement is leaking a little bit. Not really a bug, but annoying nonetheless.

This will conclude my gripping for the day. (See we aren't always just sunshine and rainbows over here gochisgo world!)

Contact your representative regarding the SCHIP Program TODAY! (please.)

As many of you know, our president recently vetoed the SCHIP bill, which was written to ensure that low-income families receive the insurance coverage they need for their children. He did it in a closed meeting in the middle of the night ... you know, because he is a classy fellow.

In 2007, researchers from Brigham Young University and Arizona State found that children who drop out of SCHIP cost states more money because they shift away from routine care to more frequent emergency care situations. The conclusion of the study is that an attempt to cut the costs of a state program could create a false savings because other government organizations pick up the tab for the children who leave SCHIP and later need care.

Democratic leaders have delayed a vote to override the veto until October 18, in hopes that grassroots, television, and radio publicity will persuade fifteen Republicans to cross party lines to override the veto. This is where you come in, dear family and friends. We would like you to take a moment to call your representative to give voice to concerns regarding this legislation. The PICO national network, with whom Joshua's work (CCOP) is a affiliated with, a leader in fighting this veto.

We realize we all have different political views and feelings, so all we ask is that you read the available information on the bill and decide for yourself if you would like to support. Obviously our love for you will not change depending on how you act, but maybe the amount we spend on you at Christmas will. Really, our intention is not to offend anyone, but to simply share something that we feel is important.

Please click any of the below links for more information such as how your representative voted, who the staff person is, their contact information, and some facts about the SCHIP bill.

PICO is targeting this Sunday, October 14th as Compassion Sunday II and asking that people call representatives on Monday, October 15th (or before the 18th). Let us know if you are interested and want any more information. If you have any questions and or concerns about this, Joshua would be happy to chat with you.

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• A factsheet


• Who voted NO or failed to vote on SCHIP but who PICO and others believe are open to pressure to reconsider their position.


• For more information visit http://www.coverallchildren.org/compassion.html.


• Use http://ga3.org/campaign/coverallchildren and (866) 633-6432 to contact wavering Members of Congress. The U.S. House votes to override the President's veto on October 18.

These Doctors ROCK!!!

We had an awesome time visiting Pittsburgh this past weekend.

While Joshua played almost two full rugby matches, we sat around in the sunshine eating, drinking and gabbing. Joshua's team ended up dominating the other team ... not sure of the score, but it was awesome.

Then, since we had only been outside for 5 hours that day, we decided to go to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game. The stadium is right along the water and across from the city = neat location!

Then back at their house, Kate and Neal introduced us to Guitar Hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is always so fun to hang out with Kate and Neal. They are the bestest!!!

(If you are ever having issues seeing the details of these photos, just click up them and they will become HUGE.)

Camden/Joshua's work

I think that we have mentioned the abandoned house in Camden that Joshua and his team of community leaders have been trying to clean up. The house is located next to a church and school . The group is working to either demolish or actually clean up the lot so that there will be fewer drug dealers, users and random people around the house.

It looks something like this:

Yeah, it's gross. (This is the place that "boasted" of all the drug baggies, which were in a picture a few months ago on this blog.)

Two weeks ago, along with a bunch of other volunteers, Joshua and I spent our Saturday morning helping to clear out the fallen trees and other debris in the back yard. By the end of the morning, the yard was much less of a hiding place for individuals. It was fun!

While I don't have any real before and after photos of the house and the progress that was made, below are some photos of Joshua organizing the heck out of the Cramer Hill area of Camden.

Because Joshua is a properly-trained PICO organizer who strives to be behind the scenes, he rarely gets any credit for the work. But really, he is the most amazingly dedicated guy I've ever met.

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Francis House among services city parish provides from Camden's Courier-Post

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In cooperation with Camden Churches Organized for People, or CCOP, St. Anthony officials hope to demolish a nearby vacant house and build a multipurpose center for children, Weiksnar said. About 15 volunteers worked Sept. 15 to clean up the site.
Brother Jerry Hudson, a friar at St. Anthony, noted that the house has been a spot for drug dealing. The property is just 28 feet away from the St. Anthony parish school, which is at 2824 River Ave., so Hudson says the project is high on the school's priority list.
"The safety of the kids is more important than the building that's standing there," he said.
Church officials hope the project will make the adjacent property safer for children such as 8-year-old Vianca Salcedo, one of about 174 students at St. Anthony school.
"I like to learn about religion (and) how we learn about what God did and what he created and the scripture," Vianca said.

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