"Why? Talk about it."

So, Sterling has reached the "why" age. He's really not bad about asking most of the time. We'll have a couple of why's a day and we're ok. But some days all I hear all day is "why?". And on those days, no matter what my answer is (ex. "because", "I don't know", "Heavenly Father made it that way", the honest and true answer) his response is "talk about it." On these days there are not enough answers in the universe to appease his curiosity.

There have been many predictions about what he will be when he grows up and so we will add therapist to the list. If someone was constantly saying "why, talk about it" to you I think you could get a lot off your chest!

Oh, I forgot...

Since I'm on the subject of being grateful for my blessings, isn't the birth of a new baby in the family the perfect time to reflect on what an indescribable blessing an eternal marriage and family is? My brother-in-law having his first baby really made me think about the birth of my children and the unbelievable realization that these perfect little spirits are mine forever. Unfathomable.

Some thoughts from Sarah

So, I hate to admit that I didn't even realize our blog was up and running, but what do you know!?! I thought I'd give a little update on us since I'm going to send out a mass email announcing us. Many of you will know all this stuff, but since it is also sort of a way for me to journal, here is a recap.

Hm, where to start. Should start from now and go back or the reverse? I guess I'll start from January.

My husband is truly an amazing baseball announcer. Especially after watching the Olympics and listening to some of the horrendous commentary, I really realized what a talented person he is. that is why it is even more amazing that in March he came home after his first pre-season Saturday and said he quit. We sort of knew it was coming but he has always been a person who had to have a plan before he made a change, and at this point, there was no plan. To me it was a true testament that Heavenly Father truly has a plan for us and sometimes we just have to trust Him.

So, Brandon started looking for a job. Fifty job apps and three interviews later, he got a job and we moved back to Washington. Well, actually, we were invited to stay with our parents while we continued to look and so we packed up and three days before the truck pulled out, he got a job offer.

Now, here's the best part. A couple of really sweet things, actually, from my Sterling. We had come for a visit at Christmas and after we got home, our little tender-hearted boy would be crying somewhere saying he really needed his grandpa. That is what really started the whole thing. And second, Brandon had a job interview that he was the second choice for and the first choice accepted. He was understandably upset and Sterling came up and gave Brandon a hug and said, "It's ok, Daddy, you'll get the next one." Um, talk about from the mouth of babes! Cause that is honestly what happened.

So, now we are here in Washington and for some reason I thought my life would be perfect. Of course it is, but I still like to complain a little. We started house hunting right away in April and found something right away, but it didn't work out. Long story, and depressing, so I won't go there. We have been looking ever since. Don't get me wrong. It's not like there are not a TON of houses out there, but we are also trying to listen to the Spirit as we look. Our poor realtor. I'm sure she can't figure out what is wrong with me. And my great parents have been sooooooo patient, since it is now almost September and we are still living on their second floor!

But I do have to say that the Lord obviously knows what is best for us and that we need to learn a little more faith and patience. If I just step back and take a look I cannot be more grateful for the direction He has led us. Our family life is incredible. We spend so much time together.
Brandon is home every night before 6:00 and every weekend. I get to spend time with the love of my life every day, and the boys run to the door every night yelling "Daddy, Daddy!" when he comes home.

I was worried when he made this decision that there would be regrets, but, according to him, his dream has changed. He now has a dream of being a family and a husband and a Little League Coach. I love how the Spirit leads us if we let it.

Ok, so now that I have sung my husbands praises and you are probably puking, our life is really great right now and we are having a blast playing with Grandma and Grandpa and Auntie everyday and living super close to cousins and aunts and uncles and even more grandparents! How much better can it get?!

Jax is born!!!

Bryan and Kim just had their first little boy! Jax Taylor Chapman was born on Saturday, August 23, 2008. He was seven libs and five ounces and was 19-and-a-half inches long.

I just can't get over how much Jax looks like Sterling did when Sterling was born.

Here's Jax:

And here's Sterling:

I'm not sure if the picture of Sterling here does it justice. I just saw Jax and said "wow!"

Congrats to my brother Mr. Kim Chapman for his first!!!

Movie Review: Cloverfield

Not watching this movie is not about saving money. I got the thing at Red Box. And not even for a lousy dollar but on one of their free Mondays.

Not watching this movie is about saving time.

Unless you are a film student learning about the art of POV (point of view) camera techniques, 84 minutes of this was 84 minutes too long.

I'm not gonna' lie, I was intrigued by the cover, which, since this was Red Box, was only the image of what the cover looked like. The Statue of Liberty, on fire. Reminiscent of 9/11. The title menu was action-packed and had bold, daring music. The opening slates had a confidential, governmental look.

And then it all went downhill after that.

The beginning of the movie has a guy recording video from a home camcorder, which, we gather later, uses mini-DV tapes. He goes to a trendy party where a bunch of twenty-somethings are seeing off a friend who is going to be going oversees for a year. They are sharing gossip about this and that.

We know something is going to happen. We've seen the burning Statue of Liberty. It's easy enough to assume at this point that the camera will just happen to be rolling at an innocous party when the disaster strikes. That in mind, it takes much too long to get to the good stuff. This movie is not a plot of character. It's a plot of action. While some movies can mix and match and add in a little plot of time, this one doesn't. So to spend 25 minutes on the party where these people are at is excessive, at best.

There's some sort of big blob that is eating New York City. What I can't figure out is how it is firing missles at buildings. Is this like Men in Black? If it is, I want to see Tommy Lee Jones!

The special effects aren't bad in this movie. And there are certainly some scary scenes. Most notably when the spawn of the big blob is tossing it's babies all over the place. It must have some serious child-baring hips because this thing has a ton of offspring. They are mixes of rats and spiders... and maybe something else that I can't put my finger on. And when they catch you in a sewer under the city, it's bad news.

Also, I do like the fact that the movie's POV camera, which is chaotic, reflects the nature of the situation, which is also chaotic.

And then...

Well, fill in the blank. The movie ends abruptly. Producer J.J. Adams and director Matt Reeves decide to go with the sudden end. The kind that would usually either keep you thinking or make you upset. And the kind of endings that are now cliche. It seems like so many intelligent movies or "smart" movies try and do the sudden ending that doesn't feel it necessary to explain everything. As if keeping things ambiguous is what makes it smarter since it, in theory, isn't narcotizing an audience like typical Hollywood blockbusters. And yet, by simply cutting it off, this story isn't complete.

Or maybe, just maybe, Adams and Reeves were almost through to the end when they realized it was so bad at 84 minutes, an additional six would only do it more of a disservice.

1-1/2 stars.

Gifted or not?

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interesting blog this morning:

Everyone thinks their kid is gifted
Parenting.com weighs in on the gifted debate: "Gifted" has become one of the most overused -- and misused -- words in the parenting lexicon: According to a Parenting.com poll of over 1,000 moms, nearly 70% believe their child is gifted, when in fact only between 2 and 5 percent of kids actually fit the gifted bill. Parenting debunks several common myths surrounding giftedness and shows moms how to bring out the best in their kids at every age. -- Parenting.com, Is Your Child Gifted?

It makes me think of the Jeff Foxworthy quote: "Every parent thinks their child is the smartest kid in the world. My sister thinks her child is the smartest kid in the world because he can go outside, point up to the sky and say 'air-pane, air-pane.' I said 'Well hell, the kid's 14 years old.'"

Anyway, I take umbrage at this story. And I don’t just say this because of subjectivity. I swear, I have video of Sterling when he was just 15 months old putting away those stacking cups and comprehensively and analytically thinking about the sizes and adapting what he was doing until they were all put away inside themselves. It was amazing. If you don't believe me, I've put the video below. He’s gifted. Doesn't mean he doesn't act like a 4 year old sometimes. But he's gifted.

Also, almost a year ago, we went to the library and got a dinosaur book because he liked stomping around like T-Rex and growling. Like boys do. But most boys know a handful of dinosaurs: T-rex, triceratops, etc. Anyway, I said “Sterling, look at this birdy dinosaur.” He said “That’s not a birdy dinosaur, that’s a parasauralophus.”

OK.

And then there’s Hyrum who eats, sleeps, and likes bonking his head on the ground.

See, I know the difference between gifted and not gifted. Hyrum, if he has a gift, it’s free entertainment for everyone else!!!

I know the difference.

Such an original name...

So, I figured we have our little chaotic family so I named our blog Controlled Chapman Chaos. And then my sister Brittney decided that this was of the alternative lifestyle persuasion. I had to rename the darn thing.

Sarah told me to just call it Chapman Family Blog. Umm... no...

I'm a fan of alliteration. Always have been. And since I grew up as part of the Killer B's, it was easy to say things like "Bryan bugs Brandon" and "Brook bites Bryan's butt" and "Brittney begs for butt boogers."

Anyway, for the life of me I couldn't figure out something witty that would alliterate appropriately. Can't figure out something witty = I'm not witty. And if a=b and b=c, then that means I'm now Brook. And that just can't happen!

The things we do when nobody is watching... I actually Googled "words that contain the letters ch" and ended up with a large list. Like watching paint dry, I paintakingly went through the list and was finding words like "chautauqua." Yes! Chapman Chautauqua sounds great! And then I would have to look up the words in Merriam-Webster because, really, except for Ken Jennings and a couple of those Scripps freaks, who, on a side note have no friends, who knows what words like chautauqua mean? Yes, to write this blog, I had to Google whether Merriam had one "r" or two.

So, it turns out that chautauqua means "any of various traveling shows and local assemblies that flourished in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that provided popular education combined with entertainment in the form of lectures, concerts, and plays, and that were modeled after activities at the Chautauqua Institution of western New York."

Well, I guess we were living in Western NY during grad school. And, on top of that, we've done a lot of moving around so, in essence, we are like a traveling show. And then, I saw that the word chautauque actually starts with an "sh" sound. I saw that and wanted to say something else that begins with "sh."

And then I saw the word "chaulmoogra" and thought, it was a cool word that maybe it wouldn't have an "sh" sound, which, after verifying with M-W.com, was happy to find out it didn't. And then I saw the definition: "any of several East Indian trees (family Flacourtiaceae) that yield an acrid oil used especially formerly in treating leprosy and skin diseases." Hmm... well, it's a stretch, but, there are several Chapmans... and something from an orifice that I have yields something kind of acrid, and while it doesn't treat leprosy and skin diseases, it certainly causes them.

Then I figured Sarah wouldn't be happy with me categorizing her in the same lot as me and the other Chapman men.

Funny, when Sarah originally told me to write Chapman Family Blog, I turned her down because it wasn't very original. So I went on this big long quest to find something original. And in the end, in some moment of discovery, I realized my favorite band, the Dave Matthews Band, has about the least original name in existence and yet, have arguably the most original sound around. Everyday some jerk wad pops up and tries to copy their stuff and fails after one or two hit singles. If it was good enough for them, it was good enough for me.

So, there you have it, it's the Chapman Family Blog.

Hey, what do you think about the Chapman Chelicerae? Look it up!