How long, O God, how long?
How long will we see but not perceive?
How long will we hear but not understand?
Do our souls not long for You enough?
Are our cries not loud enough?
Cast us not away from Your presence, O Lord;
for we are lost
and hungry.
Yet You remain silent
and we long for Your Spirit
as the seasons lengthen into darkness
and our bodies wither with age
as pleasant lakes grow dry and bitter with salt
so is the taste of our longing.
We cling to your promise of faithfulness
as the dying cling to their breath
as children cling to their mother's breasts,
we yearn for the coming of our Redeemer.
Stay with us Lord,
for it is evening
and the day is almost over.

Some more pictures of the Boy for your enjoyment. they're taken by the wonderful person who looks after him while I'm in class tuesday and thursday afternoons when Ana's at work. I'm not sure why he's holding a hockey stick, but he was very serious about it.

This past weekend we had our annual Alberta Synod retreat for all the students from Alberta at the Seminary. I had some really good conversations with my relator, and some fantastic news from the Bishop. Apparently, there's quite a good chance of being able to return to south Alberta when (God willing) I'm ordained. I'm pretty excited about that.

I have my first clinical shift at the hospital tomorrow -- it should be good.

Happy Sunday to everybody!

the story so far

I've been up with the Boy since about 3.30 this morning, which is not my favorite way to begin a day, especially two days in a row. With all the transitions going on right now -- Ana starting work, me going back to class, and Himself going to daycare it's no wonder that he's regressing. Apparently it's pretty common and the only thing we can do about it is wait until he adjusts. Yay. Pinch me, I'm so excited. The down side to this is that the Boy is so whiny -- we can't figure out what he wants, he can't figure it out, so somewhere in the middle we sit and stare at each other. Ana's 600 hours is somewhere in the middle or so of December, so we're counting the days.
speaking of the middle of December, even though we haven't had any snow yet like some of you farther west, I came home from the Sem on monday to Christmas music. Christmas music! Ana's crazy about Christmas, so as soon as the weather turns colder she starts humming the carols, but not usually playing them. I didn't mind. It's very incarnational -- and nicely removed from all the commercial imagery that springs up in December. I could get used to this.
Anyways, at the beginning of a very long day, wish me luck.

sunday morning

So, we're all feeling a little bit better around the Macintyre household. The worst of the cold seems over for myself and the co-director, and the Boy is sleeping a little longer through the night.
Ana finished her training at the telecom company on friday, so she's got a three day weekend until she starts her first work schedule. She only needs about 530 hours to go.
I had my first class at the hospital on friday as well. I think I'm really going to enjoy this CPE course. 8 hours of class every friday and two four-hour clinical shifts each week until next March. Like I've said before I feel a little sad about not being around the Sem for classes, but I'll make up for that in the amount of homework I do there.
But at least it didn't snow the other day, and the weather has turned quite a bit warmer.

why am I here?

According to the Weather Network, here in Saskatoon tonight there's chance of snow. Snow! It's the freakin' middle of September! Last year, it snowed in mid-October and didn't melt until April. We bundled the Boy under so many layers of clothes that I once put his snowsuit into the carseat, sans baby and didn't notice...
It should be interesting this year, watching his reaction to snow and having his head and hands covered (something he hates) -- while trying to get a squirmy toddler into yet another snowsuit.
I'm trying heavy sedation this year. That way, I won't feel a thing.

a trip to the park

We just got back from a trip to the park, and I finally remembered the camera. Enjoy!

typhoid mary and other relations

It's official -- the co-director is sick as well. A bad cold right now, although she's also having pretty bad morning sickness. At least, that's what she's calling it. If it morning sickness, then this pregnancy is pretty drastically different that her first. We were talking this morning about the possibility that we may have a little girl this time.
This, however, would be exciting. Particularly that we would have to think of a name, since hitherto we've been working on the assumption that the pollywog is a little boy. (for the feminists in the audience, please don't kill me for that. It's just a feeling). We've been watching a spot of Veggie Tales recently -- what do you think of 'Madame Blueberry' for a name? the Boy seems quite fond of the character.
On the other hand, it could be a baby boy. Just small, sickly and whiny, like my brother. Ah well, I just hope that the co-director is feeling better soon.
Class officially starts this week. I've got three classes -- an exegetical credit class on Isaiah, Introduction to Pastoral Care, and Christian Education. In addition to these, I've got that Clinical Pastoral Education course I've mentioned earlier. Should be good -- I'm disappointed about not being at the Sem more often, but happy that I can get CPE out of the way before this summer.
I'll keep ya posted.

at home....

We wound up staying at home. Really, that works out best -- the Boy's had two nice long naps, and his fever isn't as bad as it was yesterday. He's still a little out of sorts, but I think that may be the result of my being home with him instead of the co-director.
Let me explain that, since some people have asked me about that. The co-director got a job at a telecom company here in Saskatoon, and our childcare plans fell through about the same week. So, we're juggling just a wee bit. I'm now the primary caregiver for most of the week, and we're just trying to get by day by day until the co-director gets her 600 or so hours that then enables her to maternity leave time. So, with three full classes, and a clinical pastoral education class starting for me next week, the Boy may yet wind up at doggie day-care...
But today was really nice. A slow day (the kind that I don't really get that often), we napped, watched a little baby crack (those animated shows like "Max and Ruby" that holds their attention so well), and went for a little walk, so we could both get some fresh air. We looked at the leaves already beginning to change, and babbled back and forth to each other.
When we got back, we had story time. When I was reading, the Boy stood up, sat in my lap, and gave me a big hug and a kiss.
Man, I love being a dad.

Seminary Orientation

so, it's Orientation at the Seminary this week, which is made all the more interesting due to the Boy's presence with me. He's there because our childcare arrangements fell through last Thursday, which is always helpful and challenging.
Today was the orientation at the Saskatoon Theological Union, beginning with worship. The Boy has been funky since last night (up three times or so, just howling) but he seemed to be in better humour during that opening worship. A couple of icebreakers and a little snack later, the Boy was living it up, laughing and being his good self.
But then, during the library presentation, he puked. There's no other word for it. Over himself, over me...luckily it did land on us, because that meant we could quietly make an exit. So we went home, and he's been alseep ever since. Poor kid.
So here's another problem. There's a retreat tomorrow, supposed to be mandatory. If I need to go, so does Duncan -- but do I bring a sick baby to a Seminary retreat? I dunno. I guess we'll see what goes on...

It's our anniversary!

Two years ago today, this wonderful young woman and I were joined in marriage, by three pastors, no less (I think it was to prevent my escape, although one did offer to go for a beer instead. Thanks, Kevin....)

To my darling wife, Happy Anniversary! (I look forward to saying that at least 50 more times)

wedding guests, first birthday, and a big mistake

As promised, here are some pictures from the Boy's first birthday. Pooh bear cakes are delicious when they're in season, and fresh baked by a wonderful 'Ama (see below).
We had a really good visit with D's parents, here sister, and all our nieces and nephews. (so.....many.....babies.....). Had time to stop by and see some cute kitties, and lunch with a really good friend, although we could have used more time.
We actually cut our trip back to sunny Alberta short in the planning, so we wound up missing some people that we really wished we could have seen. Sorry 'bout that, folks -- we'll try really hard next time to see you before the new baby makes an appearance.
The problem with these lightning-fast trips back home is that we're almost always totally exhausted the entire time we're there. Which is what leads me to that dumb mistake that I was mentioning earlier.
We always make a point of seeing the Boy's godparents when
we're back home. They live in High River, which is about 30 minutes from Vulcan, where my mom lives. In fact, they're more like an extra set of parents to us both -- they've known me since I was knee high to a short sheep, and D since we met.
Anyways, their daughter, whom we adore, was getting married in
Okotoks, which is again about 30 minutes north of High River. So we drove out for the wedding, spoke briefly with a few people, and since there was almost three hours before the reception, we then skeedaddled back to Vulcan.
On the way back home the Boy had a substantial poo-related incident, which involved pulling the van over to the side of the road and scrubbing for about twenty minutes. Anyways, add up the time, and by the time we pulled into the driveway at 'Ama's we only had about forty minutes to turn around and go back to High River. The Boy was running a fever, and D was exhausted. 'Ama offered to babysit, but we decided, with reservations, that going to the reception was not feasible.
Now, I know that this sounds totally fine, but those of you who know me also know that I take commitments very seriously -- I've been to events on two hours' sleep out of 48, when the need has arisen, without complaint. D's just as indominable.
So we decided to go back to High River Sunday morning, to drop off our wedding gift and to have a visit with our friends. But they had a tremendous number of relatives coming and going, so we stayed a little while, but had to be back in Vulcan for the Boy's birthday party. The long short of it is, we feel horrible, because we missed seeing people that we love dearly, but worse -- we feel like we hurt them, and treated them badly by not taking the time to visit.
So here, if you're reading this, are my profounded apologies. Our family -- blood or not, you know who you are -- means more to us than anything else in the world, and we hope that you can forgive us. We're ashamed that we did not make the time to visit, to tell you that we love you, and miss you.
May God be with you all.