First Trip Diary

So, we went on our first overnight trip with Josh this past weekend. OK, it was only for 2 nights to San Diego, but it was still quite the endeavor for us rookie parents.

We could barely fit everything we needed into our Highlander. I don't know how some of you managed to fly with infants.

We had a great suite at a hotel right on Mission Bay. Having a full kitchen and a separate bedroom was definitely a huge plus. And the fact that Josh is happy in his new booster seat and loves to watch Baby Einstein videos was also key. The hotel provided us with a crib, which Josh didn't seem to mind. He pretty much napped, ate, slept, etc. on his usual schedule. We even managed to time the travel with his naps, and he slept pretty much the whole time in the car.

By the way, I was actually supposed to be attending a medical conference, but I probably ended up attending 25% of it. Sounds like college, huh? :) All in all, it was a great trip, a much-needed break for me and Joyce. I was worried that it would be more draining than refreshing, but it turned out to be just what we needed. I'm still a bit hesitant to fly with Josh at this age, but we're definitely planning more road trips. Anyone want to go to Yosemite this summer?

Thoughts on March Madness

So, yesterday was a pretty good day for Duke Nation. Our men continued their recent run of success, our women finished off a perfect season, and both Carolina teams lost, the Lady Heels to our Lady Devils.
Since the end of this men's season may not be so memorable, we should revel in the good days, right?

Despite our obvious weaknesses, ie. inconsistent offense, inability to close out games, turnovers, etc., March Madness can bring about unexpected results. If George Mason can make it to the Final Four, who's to say that we can't make a run? Of course, a favorable draw in the brackets and some timely upsets would definitely help the cause.

Looking ahead, it looks like we'll end up anywhere from a 3-6 seed. Of course, a 3 seed would be incredible considering we looked like we might miss the tourney altogether at one point in the season. But if we can't rise to a 3, I think I'd rather be a 6 than a 4 or 5, and here's why. Even though our 2nd round game might be a bit easier, the 4/5 seed potentially faces a 1 seed in the sweet 16. A 3/6 seed would face a 2 seed, who might even get a tough game in the 2nd round.

Anyways, this is all pointless conjecture until the brackets come out and we start playing the games. But I, for one, will hold out the hope that somehow, someway, our young team can make a deep run through the madness. And I actually think it's more fun being an underdog than a favorite. Less pressure, less expectation, and more elation if we actually pull off the upset.

What do y'all think? And what about the Carolina fans? The Heels aren't looking as dominant as I thought they would be. I would love to steal one at Carolina and send UNC down to a 2 seed, maybe to face Florida in a regional final. Who knows what might happen? :)

Introducing...

You may be wondering why there is a photo of a middle aged man on our NC connection blog. Allow me to introduce to you NT Wright (a.k.a. Tom) Wright. NT Wright is Bishop of Durham, in the Church of England who is also one of the most respected biblical scholars and theologians across denominational lines. He has an impressive resume (I’ll spare you the details) and he meditates daily on the Old Testament/New Testament in the original language of Hebrew & Greek. And though his writings and speech reflect his deep understanding and knowledge of history and theology, it also resonates with a humility and respect for those who may think differently from him. I give you all this background information to recommend some of his books.

The man has a long list of publications, so the following may not be the “best of the best”, but the first one is entitled Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense and may be good for those of you who want an introduction or reintroduction to the significance of the Christian message. The 2nd entitled The Challenge of Jesus has been personally profound for me. It’s lucid and brings together the Old & New Testament in a way that may alter your vision of the “good” in the good news. The last recommendation is a series known as the “For Everyone” bible commentary. (There is a Luke for Everyone, Mark for Everyone, Romans, etc. under his less formal name, Tom Wright). It is one of the more accessible bible commentaries out there for well, everyone. I know that some of you are leaders, teachers in your church and this series may be a good resource for you. His tone and language is very down to earth and he tries to avoid heavy theological jargon, but adds a glossary in the back just in case. Even if you aren’t leading a bible study, it may help you to go deeper in your personal reading time. He’s a N. Testament scholar so the series is limited to the NT, but on that note, I have to mention a reference for Genesis by Walter Brueggemann in the Interpretation Commentary series. It is a RICH and fascinating commentary that is very readable.

I was just reminded by a friend that yesterday was Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. I sheepishly confess that I totally forgot b/c I was so focused on watching American Idol last night. (Lakisha’s rendition of “And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going” gave me goose bumps--that girl is so fly). In any case, all the books mentioned above are available though Amazon for a great price and if you are interested in finding out more about NT Wright, there are quite a few websites dedicated to him through Google’s search engine. If you have any questions or want more recommendations for resource, feel free to send me an email(enkeris@gmail.com). It's been good to hear how you are all doing and to reconnect this way. Wishes for peace, joy and good reflection in the Lenten season; looking forward to Easter. Happy reading!

IMPORTANT READ - Irene Cho update

Hey guys, I have some important news regarding our dear friend, Irene Cho. I've recently gotten back in touch with her and found out that she had a stroke last July. She had clot in her MCA(one of the primary arteries feeding the brain), presumably from some sort of autoimmune vasculitis.

She has been undergoing chemotherapy at the University of Utah Stroke Center and has been doing very well. She has been going to physical therapy and has recovered almost all of her function. Initially, she took a 6 month leave of absence from work because part of the out patient treatment was 6 sessions of chemothreapy once a month. The chemo was for her auto-immune system which was attacking the vessels in her brain and to make sure the vasculitis doesn't act up again and cause another stroke. Unfortunately, the most recent angiogram 2 weeks ago revealed that the clot has returned, and she needs to seek further opinions regarding the next course of action.

Of course, I've discussed posting this with Irene, and she was all for it. The reasons for spreading the word are 2-fold. First, we need everyone to encourage and pray for Irene. It's for situations like these that we have community. Let's rally around her!

Secondly, if any of you in the health profession personally know of any good neurologists, stroke specialists or stroke centers, please pass along that information to Irene. She's already planning on going to the Cleveland Clinic and NIH in Baltimore and is looking for contacts at UCLA, Cedars Sinai and the Mayo Clinic. If you want to contact Irene directly, her email is cho_on_this@hotmail.com, her telephone number is 310-710-4421.

Thanks.

You can't make this sh*t up

Thought I'd post this for y'all, since I didn't see this on CNN or ESPN or MSNBC or Headline News or the Big Three Networks . . .

White Duke college student accuses black male at party hosted by black fraternity with rape.

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/02/13/News/OffEast.Rape.Investigation.Continues-2716034.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

Somehow, I doubt we're going to see the Group of 88 banging pots in front of this house and taking out full page ads in the Chronicle. Is Paula Zahn going to come back to Durham and make an ass out of herself again about racism? When is Jesse Jackson coming back to offer to pay for this girl's tuition? If she changes her story 10 times or has DNA from 5 other males on her person, will the NC NAACP still support her right to accuse her assailant in court?

If Duke rolls over to the left again, I'm officially done with my alma mater.

giving "K" his props

hey you got to give "props" when "props" are due... i personally commend K for sticking with his team during this hard "time"... at least his back didn't start to "hurt" this year...

now... if his "rear end" started to hurt... i could understand... going through the ACC tourney has been sorta like that spanking machine that we made kids go through in kindergarten...

"thank you sir, may i have another!!!"

ed

Desperation...

uh.......... congrats on maryland...... oh shoot... never mind... :)

ed

Greetings from VA

Thanks to Brian for setting this up. Glad to see everyone's doing well!

I guess it's my turn to post an update. Quick recap from Duke: I went to Michigan for grad school and spent 8 long winters in Ann Arbor (great town) and finally got my doctorate in Biomedical Engineering in 2003. My original plan was to become a professor but after 8 years in grad school, I was ready for a change. So I went from developing intravascular ultrasound to find vulnerable plaques to finding torpedoes for the U.S. Navy as a defense contractor. Logical transition, right? :-)

I moved back to VA after grad school, and I'm attending Open Door Presbyterean Church (formerly KOPC). Found a good community here and co-leading a small group this year which has been great.

As for my personal life, I'm still single and hoping that changes in 2007. :-) Meanwhile, here's 2 photos to share. The first is a photo of me in front of the Sydney Opera House from a business trip last August and the 2nd is with my brother, John (Duke '97) from our recent family vacation in December. We won the stuffed animals at one of the basketball shooting games at Sea World.

Other than that I'm still a huge Duke fan but it's been a tough few weeks and I dare say we may be on the "bubble" for the NCAAs at 5-5 in the ACC. Gotta beat the Terps tomorrow night. At least the women's team looks great. GO DUKE!

PS - My email is cdchoi2003@yahoo.com and I'd love to hear from you.

Duke-UNC II

OK, who cares about the men's game, anyways? The real battle is tomorrow when #1 Duke takes on #2 UNC, women's that is. :)

I know I sound desperate, but if we lose both the guys and girls games, I'll really have to go into hibernation.

GO DUKE!!

John "the weasel" Edwards is my neighbor

Greetings from Chapel Hell, home of my favorite tort lawyer's ginormous new 28,000 square foot house. He's a true man of the people.

Anyhoo. Haven't spoken to most of you all for a while now. To confirm, Julie is with fetus. It is a boy. We're due last week of June. Clearly, by the lack of chin, he's my boy.

While we are ecstatic, this will most likely make the other baby already in the house extreeemely upset - coco bean yoo.

Radiation oncology is great, although the hours aren't as cushy as some of you may think. Julie works part time now for her various government disaster consulting firms, making ridiculous amounts of money writing up reports for local officials who don't know how to use computers. Now I know why our federal deficit is so high. At least we're seeing some kickback.

On the side, she does her wedding/event photography. She's quite good. I've been tagging along and working as the 2nd shooter/grip boy. Her business website is

http://www.parkerimaging.com.

Here's us with Coach K after we shot the Duke Children's Classic. Look at how cozy Julie is with him. It's like I'm not even there.

It's getting late, so I'll stop here. Much to discuss regarding dear old Duke, the lacrosse case, and how we seem to be infested with knee-jerk liberal weasels. My frickin' UWC teacher was one of the Group of 88 signees. Below is how I felt reading about that damn Nifong everyday. I still get my daily fix of righteous indignation at http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com.

Take care,

Hula dancer

Hey guys,

Some of you may remember Joyce doing a hula dance at our wedding. Here are some fun pics of her at a wedding in Hawaii last year. She was about 7 mos pregnant at the time.

I swear she was Hawaiian in another life. :)

Whew! McClure OK

I have to admit I was pretty worried when Dave McClure went down in the game against BC. Although he's just a role player, he's become one of my favorites on this team. He's one of those guys that doesn't get much attention, but it pivotal to our success, esp. this year with such a young team. He defends multiple positions, rebounds, hustles, and can even hit the open jumper.

McRoberts seems to getting more comfortable as a go-to guy. He's been more aggressive of late, esp. down low.

Paulus has also looked much better. He may not be that quick or big or strong, but he's a competitor, and he's got a good stroke. I actually think that a lot of his skills are further developed than Bobby Hurley's were at this stage. Physically, they're basically the same, aren't they?

kroean videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKzioKL4k_s

thought that you guys might enjoy this you tube video...

many of you guys remember ken... or at least remember sarah, his sister...

anyway... iim sure that many of you have seen ken on BET... i've seen him probably 3-4 times...

number 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81CtnGNCXhk

number 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uzANrO0Wl0


these two movies are from bobby lee (MAD TV)... very funny... its pretty funny for those who dont' understand korean... but especially funny when you listen to his korean and the translation...

enjoy... :)

agape,
ed

Golf Courses in Vegas

Anyone know of a good golf course to play in Las Vegas? I'll be there from February 23-25 for my brother's bachelor's party and wanted to see if any of you guys have played there before. Obviously, if any of you have played with me, I'm not looking for the most challenging course, but one that is nice and not too far from the Strip. Would appreciate any suggestions.

Remember this?

UNC admissions error

Here's a funny take on the UNC admission snafu. For those of you who haven't heard, there was an email mistakenly sent to a bunch of UNC applicants saying there were admitted.
http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=21797

I guess it's not too funny if you're from UNC. Sorry, Tar Heels, I couldn't help myself. :)

By the way, if any of you (inc. Stacey) need some baby clothes, Josh will soon outgrow his Duke outfits. Let me know if you're interested. Or, if any of you have Duke clothes that no longer fit, send them our way. We love anything second-hand!

Did I miss something?

In reviewing some of the prior posts, I've come across 2 phrases "Dave" & "pending parenthood". Am I the last to know? Yoo, is there a Dave, Jr. on the way? Congrats!

Crazy Finish

As you can tell from the look on Josh's face, he couldn't believe it, either. How do you give up 5 points in 2 seconds and then get a layup at the other end with 4.4 seconds left? For those of you who missed it or don't have cable, you can see the highlights on espn.com

Keep posting, everyone. We've got lots of authors signed up, but only a few regular bloggers. I'm thinking about starting to antagonize Tar Heels, Wolverines, maybe even Blue Devils and Buckeyes to get more traffic on the blog. Don't make me do it!

From the armpit of America........

Hey everyone-
I've really enjoyed reading everyone's updates and photos; all of your kids are so ADORABLE!!!

As for me, you can see from this photo that I went outside of the Asian pool and married a (gasp!) white boy.......his name is Adam (and with his last name of Lisi, my name now RHYMES), and we were married in September of 2005 (I was honored to have Linda Suh stand with me as my matron of honor). I do feel a bit sheepish about posting a "couples" photo rather than a photo of cute kids like many of you have, but I wanted to show you guys my adorable husband (yes, I am still pretty much a newlywed), and we won't have any "baby" photos to post for about another 2 weeks..........we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our son (due date of 2/4).........

We currently live right in the middle of the state of NJ, about half way between Rutgers and Princeton. Adam grew up in south Jersey, rooting for Philadelphia teams his whole life (Phillies, Eagles), and attended Rutgers (who until this past football season hadn’t had much to root for), so he has been through quite a learning curve, watching and cheering for teams that actually WIN, like the Heels and the NY Yankees. It's been fun to watch him convert.........

Life isn’t always easy, but Adam definitely makes things as easy as possible; never sweats the small stuff, and is a lot better than I am about discerning what is “small” stuff versus “big” stuff. Talk about low-maintenance vs high-maintenance: we pretty much define the extremes. We are still pretty much babies when it comes to being a married couple, and now we’re about to raise one……..very freaky.

One major decision we recently made is for me to not work once the baby is born, at least for the first year…….again, very freaky for me, but seemingly not so much for Adam; I worry, he reassures, I still worry, we pray, God reassures, I worry a little less…...that’s pretty much the story of our marriage in a nutshell. :)

For now I’m just concentrating on getting through the next 10 days or so, getting “ready” (although I have NO idea what that means); it’s all kinds of scary and exciting at the same time.

In the meantime, keep the photos and updates coming……..

--Stacey (& Adam)

Poop

I recently visited with a friend and found that her daughter of 15 months has had diarrhea for 9 days! More amazingly, it has been diagnosed as c. diff and she was just started on flagyl. (It's a bacteria in the stool usu. after taking antibiotics but usu. in adults, I think). Have any of you heard of such a thing in kids? I guess with daycare, you can have just about anything happen. If you guys have any advice as to what to feed her child or what to do with the horrible, raw, rash, it would be appreciated.

I will eventually give a more thorough update on all the wonderful things going on in my life, but I need some time to think of a good story. For now, at least you know that I occupy my time by worrying about poop. Kids can break your heart sometimes. ....

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

So I'm sure many have you read this book or at least are familiar with the basic concept. For those who are unfamiliar, the basic premise is that you need to generate sources of passive income, ie through owning real estate, a business, patents, etc, in order to become wealthier faster and more easily. As opposed to what most of us do, work harder, longer in order to pay off more and more debt.

Although I understand what the book is driving at, I find myself even more frustrated b/c I feel powerless to escape the life of the poor dad. I feel like I missed the window with the real estate boom, I don't have any original ideas to patent, and I don't have the slightest idea how to begin my own business, which would seem like more work, anyways. Have any of you actually successfully implemented this rich dad concept?

I guess I bring this up now b/c we're planning on moving and it's stressing me out. I feel like we won't be able to afford the size home we want/need. And in a few years, either I'll be forced to change jobs or Joyce will be forced to return to work. I don't want to whine. I realize we are ridiculously wealthy compared to rest of the world. I'm just curious if any of you have been able to figure out how to work less and still make more. Sounds nice, doesn't it?

this is for the ohio state comments...

brian, i was thinking about your recommendation of placing eric in the pic... but i figured that this pic of ryan would add a bit more seasoning... it always hurts more when your own kids are involved... :)

and yes... i know it isn't very realistic... any offspring of eric would never be able to jump even that high... hehehehe :)

future of all duke children...

just wanted to give a preview of all you duke fans... this will be the sight your kids will have to behold when they are playing on b-ball court with my kids...

i have them screaming, "this is MY house!!!!"... as they are hanging there... jake can stay there for a LONG time... sorta funny... but also sorta scary... know what i mean?... :)

yeah, yeah, yeah... i probably need counseling... :)

ed

Sundance Film Festival!

I'm headed to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT this weekend for some skiing, movies, and celebrity heckling. It's my first time, so I'm not sure what to expect. I'll post my thoughts after I get back, but was wondering if anyone has gone before and might have some helpful tips for first timers. For skiing/boarding, I have been told that nobody goes during Sundance so the slopes should be empty. We are planning on going to Deer Valley, Snowbird, and Canyons. For movies, I was told that waiting in line works most of the time. Right now we have tix for Nanking, Ghosts, Manda Bala, Never Forever, Broadway 5, Joe Strummer. Any other movies we should try and see? Also, my 3 bdr condo (with outdoor hot tub!) has an extra bedroom if anyone wants to join us last minute (I'm serious). We arrive on 1/20 and leave on 1/24. Hope everyone is well.

So I caught the Orlando Magic-Lakers game last night on TV, and I have to say it was nice to see Grant playing again. And he looked pretty good, too. He scored 20, mostly while being guarded by Kobe. If anyone's interested, I found a good read on Grant's comeback. Here's the link: http://www.granthill.com/news.php#76 Hopefully, he can stay healthy for the whole season.

Did anyone see Duke blow out Maryland today? Maryland was ranked #1. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I actually watched the second half of the Duke WOMEN'S game. They actually look better than the guys. Maybe we should do a women's NCAA pool this year.

At least our men looked better against Virginia Tech than Carolina did today. Maybe there's hope.

Little Miss Sunshine

Hey guys,

I highly recommend this flick as a rental. One of the better movies I've seen this year. The final scene is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. Of course, we haven't been to a theatre in 6 months, but that's besides the point.
One caveat - there's some bad language so put the kids to bed first.

Any other movie recommendations out there? Blockbuster is pretty much our only entertainment these days. Unless you consider bathing your kid at 3AM because his poop went all the way up his back entertainment. :)

By the way, would you guys rather have comments just show on the main page or keep them hidden? I'm trying to change the settings, but I'm having some technical difficulties.

Be sure to check out everyone's new comments. Some funny stuff, guys. And keep posting!

Hello from Virginia!!

Brian, I agree that this blog of yours is a good idea. As you are quickly realizing, life with work and children is quite busy & keeping in touch is not always so easy. How's the surfing, by the way? Heh-heh!

This is little Samuel (18 months) & Rachel (now 5!) - unbelievable how fast time goes! College seems like a distant memory to me.

Dave - golf? I no longer even know what that is. Anyway, as much as I enjoy watching the Dukies lose, traveling to Maui to watch a Duke loss , though tempting, is probably not a go for the Parks.


We're still in Northern Virginia and feel quite blessed with our little family unit - although both my kids are cursed with dad's blocky head! I am hopeful that they can overcome such misfortune. Anyway, it is great to see and hear how wonderful everyone is doing. Keep the updates coming (although, Ed, I hope you will not be adding a fourth to team Suh!)!

Greetings from NYC

Upon the urgings of my former roomate and also new father, Brian, I will try to post my first blog.

First of all, greetings to all, it is amazing to see all those pictures of everybodies kids at various ages.
For those that don't know, Ramee and I had our first child- Kailar Nuri Lee Ahn ( it is prounced like Tyler with a "k", it is "Kai"- meaning "ocean"). He was born two weeks before Joshua- brian and joyce's son. So, our families have been sharing our experiences being new parents.

I am half way through my Cardiology fellowship- and looking to find a private practice nearby. Ramee is doing her first post-doc at Columbia- and hopefully we can finish around the same time- she wants to teach/research, in that order. He are currently living on the Upper West Side, of Manhattan- which is an easy commute for Ramee to Columbia, but a tough commute for me to Long Island- but I guess since she was the one taking the subway pregnant, I really can't complain.

Kailar is doing well, he is finally understanding that we as a family function better if he falls asleep at 8:30pm, and wakes up only once during the night- around 3-4am, and goes back to sleep until 8am. It was tough when he was sick, or when he decided that he needed to be held every 2-3 hours- but alas, hopefully we are in a new chapter. We are very fortunate, with our busy lives, we rely heavily on our our respective families, my mom watches Kailar for two days a week, we have a great nanny for two days, and Ramee's mom for one day. Avoiding Day Care has limited his exposure to colds fortunately, but considering everything he touches goes into his mouth- it won't be long.

We haven't been back to Duke, in over ten years, crazy thought right, Class of '95 sounds so ancient!! We do have pipe-dreams of leaving the bustling city and Ramee working at Duke, and me finding a practice near Durham- that way I can play at Washington Duke Golf course, and work-out on duke's campus- but alas, the thought of leaving NYC, and our families preclude us from going more than 1 hr from the greater Tri-State area. I would love to trade in my cost of living for a big house and space- raising a child in a one bedroom apartment in the city has it's space limitations.

well, this first blog is dedicated to the class of '95- i am sure Brian and I will continue to post cute pixs of our sons- Kailar has his Yankee's gear, but will soon need his Duke gear.

Hope all is well,

Joe, Ramee, and Kailar

MAUI INVITATIONAL 2007

Hey yall, or ALOHA, from the beautiful island of Maui. Julie and I are scheming our next vacation. We got some helpful advice from a nice lady at the beach with a 2 yr old: if you're going to travel with a baby, do it when they're still less than 6 months old. Before they grow legs and want to roam around the plane. True?

Anyway, DUKE is in the Maui invitational field for 2007. The games are Monday-Wednesday of Thanksgiving week, 11/19-11/21/2007. Golf and beach in the daytime, basketball at night. Maui is very family friendly.

There's a catch that first come-first serve tickets are prepackaged with area hotels, at least until august. then they release what's left to the public online.

Or we can all go to Vegas instead. Let's plan on some kind of reunion this year - non-dukies invited of course.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?

as of last night, i have decided that i may need counseling and therapy. the nice thing is... the apple doesn't fall from the tree and i have succeeded in ensuring that caleb will also be investing personal, emotional, sports related therapy in his adult future as well... and possibly bevvy of options available to all of us from the pharmaceutical companies to ensure our happinness...

much like my last round of golf, this has placed an exclamation mark on the end of the season, and i now focus on NCAA basketball...

stick a fork in me................

FOB

Ok, here is my update before I get even more intimidated by all these posts and photos of your good looking families =) I have just returned to the states having finished serving in a ministry in Korea. It was an interesting experience that deepened my faith and helped me to see that our God is very big and the people He loves so diverse. Yep, that’s right, diverse….there is a good population of international seminarians in Korea and more opportunity to travel and connect with churches from much of the majority (3rd) world. They and the other Korean Nationals I met have definitely enriched my life. All that said, another thing I discovered while there---I LOVE AMERICA. Hahaha, I was totally like those FOBS who come from Korea to the states and only rent Korean videos and speak Korean w/out ever picking up English, only backwards. I watched American news on the web, downloaded American TV shows/movies and spoke English 95% of the time…okay, more like Konglish. The sad thing in all this is that despite the fact that my Korean hasn’t improved so much, my English has definitely suffered, so if I sound fobby to any of you the next time you read something I write or talk to you live, “prease excuse my engrish.” ^.^ So great to read your posts; you all have some cute children and I hope to see them sometime soon. This was the only photo of me that is currently available to post, but if you’d like to see my face or find out more about what my life has been like over the past few years, check out my blog at enkeris.blogspot.com.

TEAM SUH update

nice idea bri... good to see pics of everyone... crazy that we got kids that can play with each other now,eh?... sorta surreal....

anyway... TEAM SUH has once again been on the recruiting trail and has recently acquired Noah Suh, 7 months ago.

time seems to be flying by faster and faster every year. caleb is now 6 and in kindergarten. he's been great... easy to raise, listens well, GREAT big brother... jacob is 2.5 and he's our high-maintenance kid... total manipulator. started when he was about 9 months-1 yr old... all the kids were kept in the crib, and have slept by themselves. jake figured out that if he cried in the crib, mom and dad wouldn't come. but then a REVELATION!!!... if he stuck his fingers down his throat, he would PUKE... and lo and behold... mom and dad would then COME!!... yee haw!!!... we spent the better part of 3 months waking up at 3-4 am, undressing jake, giving him a bath, changing him, changing his sheets, and putting him back to bed... needless to say, he BROKE us... he has slept with one of us since... don't know for sure... but i didn't see this in the "what to expect, when you are expecting" book!!!! crap... talk about euthanasia... eeccchhh... he has gotten much better, but he really knows how to pull on the heart strings... have always stated that if he wasn't so dang "cute" at times, i think i would've drop kicked him...

noah has been a dream child for us (especially after jake)... sleeps well, eats well, plays well... sorta crazy to think that we have 3... but it has been a blast... sounil can probably attest... but it really does keep getting better and better... you always have to wonder if you can love your next kid as much as your first... but when scripture talks about a "cup that overflows", i understand that a bit more...

we have recently moved to just north of raleigh in a city called wake forest. for those of you who remember, we had a few lockins here while simon was attending classes... it used to be cornfields... but now is home to the first "billion dollar" community in wake county... craziness. who would've thought... i have a practice about 10 min from home. and it has been fun. i'll go into all that a little later, though...

God has been good... life hasn't always been too easy for us. but He is good.

sometimes it is nice to get a chance to reflect on what God has been doing in our friend's lives. it helps bring perspective into ours, eh?... great looking kids and families... it is a bit unfortunate that many have been labeled duke fans. and while i almost "flagged" this blog due to the "inappropriate content" about duke b-ball, i do understand where you all come from... and the abundance of grace that is given in your lives despite your affiliation with duke :)

BTW... there will be much anger and frustration in my home tonight if my buckeyes lose to florida... :)

agape,
ed

Update From Chicago

All right folks, this is my first official blog. Thanks, Brian for setting this up. This looks like a great way to keep in touch. Anyway, the past year has been pretty exciting for us. Ryan just turned two, and he's been quite a handful. Ryan is quite the mischievous boy....I don't know where he gets it. He loves to play on the swings, hang out in the swimming pool, and watch football with his daddy. I took Ryan to his first baseball game this summer, and of course he was more interested in the souvenir cup then the game.


Other than hanging out with Ryan, we've been keeping busy spending time with family and friends. The Park's (Andy and Sung) moved back to Chicago this summer, and it's been great having some fellow Dukies around.
My golf game is still poor, but it's nice to get out every once in a while. But the last few years, I've been involved in playing in a softball league with other churches in the area, so that has led to my diminishing skills on the course (among other things).

Well, let's hope our beloved Dukies can make some type of run in the tournament. Ryan is already preparing to enter the class of 2022 to hopefully play for Coach K if he's still coaching. He's working on his dunking here.

My mid-season review

OK, since most of you are from Duke and I'd like to generate some discussion on the blog, here are my thoughts on the team so far.

Coming into the year, it was hard to expect much, having lost most of our offense and only returning one junior and a bunch of kids. So to see the team with only one loss entering ACC play has to be considered a success. Although it's been a struggle to put up points, the defense has been solid and we've beaten some quality opponents.

Demarcus has looked great, although his small stature sometimes limits him near the basket. The freshmen have been great so far. Scheyer seems to have a good outside stroke with more athleticism and all-around game than JJ. I think Henderson may be the best athlete on the team, but he needs more seasoning. And Lance Thomas has been a much-needed banger.

Dave McClure has been a pleasant surprise, too. He seems to do a little bit of everything to help us win.

The real enigma to me is Josh McRoberts. I can't decide if he's a highly-skilled big man who can everything on the floor, or if he's too soft with an inconsistent shot and no go-to moves. While his passing and vision seem excellent, I'm just not convinced he can carry the team or can be counted on in the crunch. What do y'all think?

The ACC should be a good testing ground for our young team. I have to admit that I'm afraid of Carolina, though. They are ridiculously loaded this year. Since we probably have to wait til next year to really be serious contenders, I'll just have to root for the historic 16-1 upset of UNC in the tourney.

Everyone, please comment/post/read regularly!!! Thanks.

Hey Everyone! Thanks, Brian, for setting this up - hopefully it'll be a good way to keep in touch. If you guys will post! So here are our two girls (Elisabeth, 32 months & Emily 3 months). They are actually very happy kids, just tired from the torture that was their mother's Christmas photo shoot. Started off being very good sports and now are just traumatized at the mention of "picture", as the pictures show. Happy New Year, everyone. Oh yeah, I have a xanga site if anyone is interested: xanga.com/cameroncrazy. Basically a text-only online journal of a full-time mom.