Let wonder replace worry

Dear Julianne, (A Letter To My New Daughter)

Dear Julianne,

We are waiting on you. At your moms first Dr. appointment after we found out you were on the way, we were told you would be born on February 28. While we really thought you would be born right on your due date, the clock has struck midnight and you are going to be here one day after. That's ok though. Come when you are ready. March 1st of every year will be a great day to celebrate you.

Your mom and I have been talking about you for months now. What color your hair will be. (I say brown, mom thinks blond.) Your beautiful eyes. (I like green, mom thinks blue.) Your mom is convinced you are going to have her nose. This is very important to her. No complaints from me. She is a very pretty lady, so you looking like her is a very good thing.

While we can't be for sure about any of those things just yet, one thing we are sure of - before we even see you - is that you are beautiful. Perfectly beautiful.

Your mom and I have been thinking about you for years. As a matter of fact, we had your name chosen before we even knew we were having your brother. Something funny though....I don't think we are 100% settled on your middle name. Granted, we have narrowed it down to 2, one I really like and one your mom is quite fond of. While they are both great names, your mom and I agree that when we hold you in just a little while, we'll just know which one fits you.

If I could tell you anything in these last few minutes before you are born, it would be that you are one very lucky and extremely blessed little girl. Not because I get to be your daddy (though that's not the worst thing in the world - we are going to share a lifetime of adventures!) but because of your mommy. She loves your brother so much and has been the best mom to him these past 3 years. And something really amazing, way back before we even got married she would talk to me about the little girl she hoped to have one day. You have been a dream in your mommy's heart since she was a little girl. When your brother and I talk about going camping or watching car races, your mom always talks about her little girl who will shop with her while we camp and see the romantic comedies while we watch football. (Though I really hope you'll want to come camping with us. It will be a blast, no matter what you mom tells you!)

You mom is a beautiful woman who loves Jesus. You are very lucky - very blessed - that you will be able to take after and learn from her.

Mom and I are so excited meet you. We are waiting patiently, knowing you will get here when you are ready. You might as well get used to being hugged and kissed because we do a lot of that in this family. Oh - your brother - he talks about you all the time and he is very excited to meet you. It is possible that it will take him a little while to get use to you being with us. Be patient with him. He'll come around. He's gonna be a great big brother.

Will be waiting right here when you are ready.

We love you sweet Julianne.

Dad

January 15, 2010 - New Tires

So, we have already had a nail in a tire on the new car. The car may be new to us, but the tires have been well used. Today, I used my iPhone to snap a picture of the tire size and will start comparing prices soon. First places to check - Wal-Mart and Costco.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 14, 2011 - Old Navy

Old Navy with Jaxson was not always an easy trip:

http://www.justincom.com/nicoleross/2010/02/the-doggie-at-old-navy.html

Now he understands the dog lives at Old Navy. Yet he must get his picture with him on every trip out the door. It's actually become a pretty fun tradition.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 13, 2011 - Accounting

After being in Oak Harbor for more than 9 years, I have the opportunity to serve on a couple of different boards and associations that do some great things. Today, I met with one of these groups at our accounting office. Oddly, I get pretty excited for these meetings. With a bit of a financial background, crunching numbers like this is so much fun for me. Not as much fun as being a Youth Pastor, but fun nonetheless.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 12, 2011 - Sunset

Sometimes it is easy to forget what a beautiful place we live in. Running around getting ready for youth group tonight, I was struck at how the sun made an appearance at the end of a dark and cloudy day. Another gorgeous day on Whidbey Island. 

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 11, 2011 - The Best Snack

I spent the afternoon writing and was very happy to find a bag of Flamin Hot Lime Cheetos at the church. All I missed was a Slurpee.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 10, 2011 - New Car

I was able to take 3 weeks of vacation in December. We drove my truck to Arkansas, sold it, and bought a car. We wanted something a little more suited for 2 kids - though Nicole was adamantly against any type of minivan.

Here is what we got:

2003 Lincoln LS

We are very happy with it. Not a bad way to drive across the country. Or around town for that matter.

Nicole is literally in love with heated seats and the fact we can both set the temp for our side of the car is something we probably won't be able to do without the next time we are looking to buy. It's fast too. I'm looking forward to our next trip across Montana.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 9, 2010 - Snow

What a weird winter. Woke up for church this morning and it was snowing like crazy. Luckily, the temp has stayed above freezing and the snow does not seem like it is going to stick around for long.

The funny thing is the first time it snowed, we went out and took tons of pictures, thinking that would be our only chance this winter. Now, each other time we have had snow, Jax runs outside, starts posing and saying "cheese!"

Posted via email from Justin Ross

Driving In the Darkness - A tale of one amazing night.

I am pretty much in the middle of a much needed end of summer vacation. 3 weeks in recovery mode after an incredible, but very busy summer.

Almost 2 weeks ago, I attempted something I've never done before. We were heading down to Salt Lake City to visit some of Nicole's family. Not knowing how Jax would do on the 950 mile (14 hour) trip, we decided I would drive through the night - leaving in the evening and arriving early the next morning.

How was it? Amazing. I would do it again in a second.

Some of my experiences during this night:

3:00pm Car is loaded and everyone is ready to go. We planned to leave at 5 - decide to leave now.

5:00pm Hit the only traffic we would experience. Changing from 405 to I-90 in Seattle. Another big advantage of driving through the night.

7:00pm Stopped for dinner. Nicole moved to the back seat with Jaxson to get some sleep.

8:00pm Alone in the front seat, hearing Elmo playing in the back as Jax was getting ready to fall asleep, I watch as the sun slowly sets in my rear view mirror as we drove southeast. It was an incredible sight.

9:00pm We enter the lonely roads of eastern Oregon. I watch as the first stars begin to appear. One at a time at first, then almost at once, a flood of light as the sky filled with millions and millions of stars.

11:00pm On the dark quiet roads of Oregon, the stars are even more majestic than they were just a couple of hours ago. They shine bright and encompass me as I look to the left and the right horizons, straight ahead, and straight up through the sunroof. I feel small.

12:00am We leave Oregon and enter even darker, more quite roads through Idaho. The moon is exactly straight to my left, out the drivers window. I spend the night keeping a close eye on it.

2:00am The first time I actually yawn. Still feeling strong though. Listening to podcasts, eating beef jerky, drinking coffee, and keeping a close eye on that sky.

3:00am Entering Utah. This hour is the toughest of the night. I soon realize we are no longer in Pacific Daylight Time, but Mountain. It is actually 4:00am. Not sure why, but the realization gives me new energy.

4:00am Those amazing stars I watched appear just a few hours before begin to slowly disappear. One by one, the sky begins to empty and the horizon in front of me begins to lighten. A new day has come. I appreciate it. I am grateful for it. I reflect on how ungrateful I can be every other day as I just roll out of bed. I thank God for it. More than once.

5:00am That amazing sun that gave me such a beautiful show in my rear view mirror at the beginning of the journey slowly peaks over the horizon in front of me. Once again, it puts on an amazing show. I debate with myself the sense of experiencing a sunrise or a sunset verses staring at the billions and billions of stars in the vast, never ending universe. 

6:00am We pull into Nicole's grandparents driveway. After saying hi and very quickly washing my face and brushing my teeth, I sleep.

Summer Plans

Things have been kind of quite around here lately. Blogging has taken on a completely different meaning to me in the past year or so. From the beginning (2004 here and even earlier in a couple of other places) my biggest joy in blogging have been the connections I've made with other youth workers. Now those connections are made through different avenues. Sharing life socially with ministry friends and family all over the world has become an integral part of my life-one I would not want to do without.

However, while the fun links and cool life updates have moved to other platforms, significant value still lies in writing & sharing in more than 140 characters.

So, this summer things will be picking up around here a bit. Some things I'll be writing about-

-For the second summer, I have a summer youth ministry intern working for me. Its been such a great experience and I have some thoughts for other youth pastors looking to hire an intern for the summer.

 -Next Tuesday, I am taking a big group of teenagers all the way across the country to the other Washington for DCLA. Pending a reliable internet connection, I'll be blogging daily about the content, speakers, reflections, and my honest opinions about the event. I am expecting big things and I believe Youth Specialties will deliver. I'll also have plenty of pics & video from my Flip Mino HD and my new iPhone 3GS

-The week after DCLA, I'll be the main speaker at Tall Timber Ranch for the 8th summer in a row. I'm getting so excited for it. I've got one message I wish I could deliver tomorrow. I'll have the Flip & iPhone along as well, so video & pics for sure and maybe even some audio clips of my talks.

-Nicole & I are planning on taking Jaxson on his first road trip later this summer. I'm not taking about a day trip down to Oregon. We're talking Arkansas, with many stops along the way. I'll be taking almost a month off through part of August & September. No doubt, there will be plenty of great stories to tell.

-Besides all of this, I've got a weekend retreat, speaking at several places, (including the National Church Librarian Conference-a little random, but I'm excited for it) and have a stack of books I'm going to get through this summer. This is sure to spark a couple of posts.

If you don't already, you can keep up on our family over at Nicole's blog.

Check in over the summer & see how its all coming along.

Thanks for taking the time-its a honor.

-Justin-