Brian and the Blurb

Today's post title sounds like it could be a book ... or a TV show. Like "Pinky and the Brain" (which I never saw). But really, its all about a visit from Brian.

Who's Brian? Well, my cousin, of course. Brian was in Phoenix this week for some training and Liz, Christian and I met him for dinner.

Unfortunately, dinner was preceded by Christian having a bit of a rough day. He hadn't eaten much (he's going through some kind of phase) and he was tired. A hungry and tired baby is a bad combo.

We walked into the restaurant and one of my worst fears came true: a quiet restaurant and a fussy baby. I hoped for the best, but wouldn't get it. Christian refused to be put into his chair, so that forced me to hold him standing up. We were right in front of the restaurant focal point: a huge plasma TV, so I felt that all eyes were on me. Thankfully Brian, who has two young children of his own, suggested we get dinner to go. Doing so and eating at his hotel room bought us some more time with Christian.

Side note: If you double-click on the second picture down to make it bigger, you can see Christian's oh-so-cute two front teeth!

We had a very nice visit, and in Jonathan's absence for the week, it was wonderful to interact with adults who didn't cry and need their diapers changed. :)

Brian and his lovely bride Cheri embarked on a six week African Safari earlier this year, and Brian had some great stories to share. Which brings us to the second part of "Brian and the Blurb."

Brian and Cheri put together a wonderful picture book of their adventures on http://www.blurb.com/.

Here is their book, Africa 2008 Glimpses of God's Glory: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/264260. If you click on "Book Preview," you can see the first few pages ... wow!!

I was impressed ... and inspired! What a great idea for putting together Christian's first year of life! So that is my new project in my "free time." (Free time? What is that?) And so I wanted to share http://www.blurb.com/ with all of you. Many of you have children, and some of you have taken fabulous trips around the world and might like to chronicle your adventures this way.

Brian, we thank you for visiting with us this week and for a tasty dinner. And thank you, especially, for being a dad and understanding about Christian's fussy mood. Safe travels back to Cheri, Natalie and Kendra!

Jennifer