the unlikely orange

how in the world did this happen? our first born son has turned eleven!?! i don't know how you measure out eleven years in any kind of way that makes sense to me, but i know that it has been given to us in laughter and tears, in blessings too great to count and too profound to fully grasp, and in deep, life-giving joy.  this little boy is all-too-quickly growing up, and while i lament the stages and phases that are gone, i sit on the edge of my seat with anticipation about the days ahead for jackson and for us together.  but on this day, between the past and the future, we celebrate this human being, our precious son.  happy birthday, my dear boy.

while it was handed to them in the most distasteful and disgraceful of ways, the bottom line is still that the steelers won, got to move on in the playoffs, and extend the bengals playoff drought, which started in 1991, when i was in 8th grade, listening to milli vanilli and watching ALF.  if the next eight months of licking their wounds feels terrible for the bengals and their fans, then maybe they should think about who they are employing.  so, in the end, the steelers won the dramatic, back-and-forth game, and will live to play denver this weekend. i had a million more things to say about this game, but it is just too much to even write.  so, without any further ado, here are my designs from the game: