What's in a name?

Well, birthing class numero cuatro is in the books.  We are 34 weeks along with our sweet daughter and are we ever thrilled!  

I was thinking the other day that I have never explained the meaning behind what we are naming her.  It is actually a funny story.  So since before we were engaged we had, you know in passing, talked about kids.  We decided that we wanted to use biblical names as the names of our children.  So for the longest time I would joke with Abby and tell her when we had a girl I was going to name her Gomer.  Needless to say that didn't fly, so I assured her I would find another obscure (or just strange) name.  Abby on the other hand had always loved the name Julia.  Though we weren't aware of any Julia's in the Bible.  However, one day Abby was reading the last chapter of the letter to the Romans where Paul is giving thanks go people and sending greetings to his friends.  One of those friends was a person named Julia.  Around the same time, I was looking up names on a website that lists the names of biblical women and again found the name Julia there.  We do not know much of anything about this woman except that she was a supporter of Paul's church starting missionary journeys and a meaningful part of the church in Rome.   We thought back on our life experience of Julie's/Julia's we knew and they were all sweet, wonderful women of faith.  Something that is doubly wonderful about the name Julia is that it was also Abby's great-grandmother's first name.  Though Abby never knew her, we are proud to carry on that legacy as well.

In very recent days we have finally decided on Julia's middle name.  The name Julia like we said before mentions a great woman of faith, we decided to continue that by using a middle name that also has double meaning.  Ruth will be Julia's middle name.  Ruth is a (more well known) great woman of faith in the Scriptures and also is my mother's middle name.  

We are praying that our daughter will grow up to love the Lord and leave a legacy of following Christ as these women before her have.  We are so so excited about what the Lord is doing in bringing us this daughter.  It is fun to say that we are already parents and have consider ourselves such for over 8 months.  

To Julia Ruth Fisher (who will probably never read this) we love you very much and can't wait to meet you for the first time.  Love you, Mommy and Daddy.

4:30 well no its really 3:45

Well this weekend is a different one. Judy is in town, we are very blessed and excited to have her (Abby's mom) here to help us set stuff up for Julia's room. Painting and assembling etc etc etc is the docket for this weekend.

It is also neat to be able to take her around to the places we go to do the things we do weekly with us. Tonight dinner with Susan was so fun and then home depot yayyayyay.

Bar night was pretty un eventful really and truly since Halloween it has been pretty lame when it come to bar nights. Sadly it got really cold today (-somethin) as opposed to the upper 20's we've had all week.

Thursday was a rare treat I got to go to a 21'st birthday party at Old Chicago, oh so fun I got to meet tons of people and we really got to have fun conversations. Rachel and neeva josh beth, jess, alex and Josh and then Abby and I. I think this might have been the first 21'st party I have ever been to, I didn't even have one myself, ha.

So then tonight the specks for the evening.

1. 3 amigos talking to loud and in my face that I was covered in drunk man spit (gross)

2. 3 high fives

3. 4 "do you like working with drunk people:

4. 2 people try to convince me they paid for something they didn' t

5. 5 "give me whatever is the best"

6. working with three fab people, rick, suz, katrina (new to the bar shift)

Over all a good night, not to terrible exciting but it was fun and I got home at 3:30. (This was after sending one home at 2:15 and one at 3).

Come on down and enjoy a pita with us. (and no joke just now I straight up fell asleep and the dreams started, whoa time to go to bed.

PS 0pardon the typos-

what do you do before you go back to work at 1am

I wanna open this up to readers, every Friday (if you haven't bee reading) I work the opening shift and then go back to work at 1AM till 4AM. Now Abby and I do some stuff in the community every Friday from 6-10 or so but sometimes we get done early and I come home and ask myself what should I do. Now I will eliminate a couple of things (nap) when I have napped in the past i am groggy the rest of the night. I do some work a lot of times but please chime in give me some suggestions on things for me to do between 9PM-1AM to stay awake before I go back to work.

hahahaha

Brrrr it is cold but my friends we are surviving, below is the hour by hour of the day yesterday. I am very proud to tell everyone that I was out at the coldest points of the day. But I have t remind everyone far off who reads this, LIFE GOES ON, it really does. Schools still in session everyone is still open for business (except for DQ of course).

Time	Condition	Felt like	Dew Point	Humid.	Visib.	Press.	Wind
12:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -27°F	-27°F	-33°F	68%	10.0 miles	30.71 inches	From WNW 3mph
1:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -28°F	-45°F	-34°F	67%	10.0 miles	30.72 inches	From WNW 6mph
2:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -27°F	-27°F	-33°F	68%	10.0 miles	30.70 inches	From W 3mph
3:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -27°F	-44°F	-33°F	68%	10.0 miles	30.72 inches	From WSW 6mph
4:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -28°F	-47°F	-33°F	72%	10.0 miles	30.71 inches	From WSW 7mph
5:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -28°F	-45°F	-34°F	67%	10.0 miles	30.72 inches	From SW 6mph
6:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -27°F	-47°F	-34°F	64%	10.0 miles	30.72 inches	From WSW 8mph
7:05 AM	Clear -28°F	-48°F	-34°F	67%	10.0 miles	30.73 inches	From WSW 8mph
8:05 AM	Partly Cloudy -29°F	-48°F	-36°F	63%	10.0 miles	30.73 inches	From SW 7mph
Sunrise at 8:08 AM
9:05 AM	Sunny -28°F	-45°F	-34°F	67%	7.0 miles	30.73 inches	From SSW 6mph
10:05 AM	Mostly Cloudy -26°F	-42°F	-32°F	68%	10.0 miles	30.73 inches	From SW 6mph
11:05 AM	Sunny -22°F	-40°F	-29°F	64%	10.0 miles	30.73 inches	From SW 7mph
12:05 PM	Sunny -19°F	-34°F	-26°F	65%	10.0 miles	30.72 inches	From SSW 6mph
1:05 PM	Sunny -17°F	-35°F	-24°F	65%	10.0 miles	30.70 inches	From SSW 8mph
2:05 PM	Sunny -16°F	-35°F	-23°F	65%	10.0 miles	30.69 inches	From SSW 9mph
3:05 PM	Sunny -14°F	-34°F	-22°F	62%	10.0 miles	30.68 inches	From SW 10mph
5:05 PM	Sunny -16°F	-34°F	-24°F	61%	10.0 miles	30.65 inches	From SSW 8mph
Sunset at 5:06 PM
6:05 PM	Partly Cloudy -18°F	-36°F	-25°F	65%	10.0 miles	30.64 inches	From S 8mph
7:05 PM	Partly Cloudy -19°F	-37°F	-26°F	65%	10.0 miles	30.63 inches	From S 8mph
8:05 PM	Partly Cloudy -22°F	-42°F	-28°F	69%	10.0 miles	30.63 inches	From S 9mph
9:05 PM	Clear -22°F	-42°F	-28°F	69%	10.0 miles	30.60 inches	From S 9mph
10:05 PM	Partly Cloudy -21°F	-40°F	-28°F	64%	10.0 miles	30.57 inches	From S 8mph
11:05 PM	Clear -22°F	-42°F	-28°F	69%	10.0 miles	30.55 inches	From S 9mph

We are totally safe bundled up I am calling snow shoveling my new part-time job. We were talking to someone the other day about weather fears and like we feared severe cold they fear 80 degree heat with humidity. So there's something everywhere you go. But I have to assure all we are doing great and not frost bite (but I must say for the weather aspect i envy Abby being pregnant)

Blizzard Warning ??? Really??

Lets get ready for some more. We had a winter storm warning on Thurs PM- Fri AM and we had none so the blizzard warning for today doesnt scare me that much but then again I've said that before.

Off to dinner with Sam and Robbie we are psyched

Invest in Your Valley

Some great clips about the Red River Valley (Fargo and Grand Forks are in this valley) Check out the Fargo Mayor and also the FMCVB director. Check them out 

One of my friends started a really cool website here in Fargo I think you should check out. It is ourfargo.com. YOu'll need to register (takes seconds) but it is a forum for people to talk about Fargo, annoucements, reveiews of local establishments, events, or just general conversation of the things of Fargo. We would love to see it grow so check it outand join!

33.5

Yes everyone we set an all time monthly record for snowfall last month: 33.5 inches of snow fall in a given month. That is a new record for amount of snow to fall in any given month let alone as early as December. We are currently experiencing some major snow fall today, so here's to setting another record. Now, my Fargo friends please chime in on this, but this hasn't just been a normal month but this has been for real tough. So all that to say that we feel like the real deal here. I have seen 2 blizzards and this much snow so I feel like the real deal. When we first got here everyone would say stuff like "you just don't know" or "just wait". Well my friends we have arrived and we have seen the real deal. WOOHOO



Now New Years was awesome! We had a blast at the OB with Drew and Susan. We had a great meal and the company was even better. Thanks so much for the invite and we look forward to doing it again soon!



Many of you have been asking how things are going at the Pita Pit in Fargo. Well things are looking up. The current economic situation coupled with inclement weather has hit us hard (we rely on a lot of foot traffic so sub-zero natually keeps people away). Because of this, they had to make some major changes at work: we are all working less, the three owners are working much more and we have had to downsize the staff. So it has been chaotic lately in our lives. Things are looking better now than they had in the last couple of months. So there is a sense of hope at work, now in my opinion I think this can work and both of these places can be very proftable but it will take all of us stepping out of the box and often times out of the store and spreading the word. I am excited to be apart of making this better, so in my opinion this'll work if we all start not doing business as usual and really working because we want to make this work.



Lastly a shout out to my Fargo peoples, come on by we are open 10-8 and have weekly pita specials. Coupons are also in different places, so it is very affordable. Now I am the type guy who loves to buy home grown, local etc. Some might say (but it is a chain) let me tell you friends it is a chain, that is true, but it is run by people that struggle and toil just like the rest of us. There is no big brother carrying us along. So when I eat at the Pita Pit it is like eating at any other locally owned place. So if you're like me at all and love Fargo than lets support Fargo by supporting those local businesses and business owners who are't getting rich off of cheating or taking advantage of anyone but who are getting by only by putting out a great product because they take pride in what they are doing. I know I am biased because I work there but downtonwn needs the Pita Pit just like the Pita Pit needs downtown. Let's support local commerce in our grocery shooping, coffee choices, furniture, RESTAURANTS (of the Pita persuasion), hardware and whatever else one might need.



We love Fargo and we know many of you do too. Let's all work to make Fargo a better place.

Thoughts on life...

It has been a crazy last several weeks for Pam and I. I have finished my semester in seminary, preached at my church, drove to Jacksonville, FL for Thanksgiving, flew to Ocala, FL for Pam's grandma's funeral, drove a total of 1500 miles during Christmas, and am now gearing up for two January classes. Needless to say, blogging has been put on the back burner for me.

But lots of things have been running through my head the last several months. One of the big things I have been thinking a lot about is making my life count. Several things have made me consider this over the last month or so. One major thing is the recent passing of my wife's grandma Ann.

We got a call from Pam's mom on December 4th that her grandma was being rushed to the hospital. After getting two free round trip tickets to Jacksonville from a man in our church (thanks Gerald) we flew to Orlando the next morning to be with the family. On that Saturday Grandma passed away very peacefully.

The 40 something hours we spent at the hospital and the week we spent with my in laws planning the funeral, though sad and full of mourning, were some of the most revealing and challenging days I have had.

I think death often makes us look back at our own lives and consider if we are living in such a way that we would be pleased if we were to go. Not that we had marked everything off our "bucket list," but that we had lived a life of influence.

I didn't know Pam's grandma as well as I wish I did. They lived in Ocala, FL so we only saw them a handful of times in the last couple years. But in the week we spent with her family I learned several things about her. 1) She loved her husband and he loved her too. It was so challenging for me to see the relationship, how much sacrifice and commitment they showed to one another. 2) She loved her family and they knew it. She never missed a birthday, anniversary, or significant event, even if you were technically no longer a part of the family. 3) She loved her faith. The pastor who did her service talked about how much her and Grandpa Lahey sacrificed in there commitment to the church and to helping people. They were founding members of his church plant there in Ocala and she taught Sunday school for children for years and year. 4) She was a light to a lot of people. Grandpa talked about the different places they went throughout their routine every week. Whether McDonald's, Boston Market, or the bank, everywhere they went they brought a little joy into the lives of the workers there, and each place looked forward to seeing the Laheys. 5) She didn't care about her popularity, wealth, or power. They lived a simple life, didn't have high profile jobs, didn't live in a mansion, or eat at pricey places. Those things weren't important to her. She knew what mattered, her faith and her family.

The reason I say this is that it would be easy for us to say that Grandma Lahey lived a simple, ordinary life, nothing extraordinary or revolutionary. The problem with that conclusion is that there are thousands of people that were dramatically influenced by Ann Lahey, whether directly or indirectly. She has 6 children and lots of grandchildren who are doing amazing things, partly because of the grandmother who showed them how to live a life of influence.

For the last few weeks I have thought a lot about my life and have asked the question, "what am I doing to be influential to those around me?" The very reason we are moving to Fargo is to make an influence and hopefully impact the community by starting churches. But what about my everyday comings and goings, am I making a difference? I guess I will keep asking the question because there is always more, alway opportunities.

Sorry this is so long, but it has been a couple months since I posted last. Next time I will try and make it shorter.