The most surprising thing about having two sons is the way that my older son, Parker is reacting to having a new baby in the house. If you’ve attended The Park I’m sure you’ve met Parker. He is the two-year-old with crazy hair running around with a Starbucks cup, drinking packets of Equal (we don’t let him actually drink any coffee).

Before Nate arrived, we had tried all we could to prepare Parker for having someone else in our house. As a toddler, he is pretty sure that the world revolves around him, especially at our house. Every time that we mentioned the fact that he was going to get a baby brother, he would promptly tell us that he wasn’t, then ignore any more statements regarding the subject. We were worried that once Nate arrived, Parker was going to go completely crazy with jealousy and act out by being destructive and disobedient.

While we were in the hospital delivering Nate, Parker stayed with his grandparents. He was gone from us for three nights, only coming to see us for a few short periods of time each day. The day Parker came home, he came home a more mature little boy. He was all of the sudden talking more, helping around the house more, and being even more obedient. Now that he is a big brother, he has decided he better act like one. Best of all, Parker is absolutely in love with “Baby Nate.” He loves to give Nate hugs, bring him his pacifier, and he tries to hold him whenever possible–with our help of course. Parker is doing everything he can to take care of our newest family member (even though he is only two years old).

As followers of Christ, we are called not only to be disciples, but to make disciples. I think that most of us have heard it preached before and we don’t disagree. We just think that it is something that will happen further down the road in our walk with Christ. Maybe after we’ve done enough Bible studies, attended enough small groups, and gone on enough mission trips, we will be ready to teach someone else what God has done in our lives. The call to make disciples extends to all believers, no matter where they are in their journey of faith. I believe that maturity of faith comes through sharing your stories of life change with other Christians around you. Forget waiting until you are “mature” enough. Start making disciples right now.

Parker isn’t going to wait until he has a son of his own to invest what he knows in his little brother. I’m sure he is going to teach him everything (which may not always be a good thing for us).

(This is a copy of the newsletter I wrote for The Park Loop.)

I would also like to note that this is one of my first opportunities to show off the macro capabilities of my newest lens, the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro HSM.  I purchased this lens in February because I needed something wide, and I really wanted something that had 2.8 throughout.  I have been very impressed with it’s build quality and the quality of the images I have taken with it.  It was an added bonus that it is a macro lens.

View the original Flickr photo

So for some strange reason this year I decided I wanted to grow a vegetable garden.  Last year I started growing my own herbs and loved it.  I also attempted half-heartedly to grow a bell pepper plant that I bought for transplanting.  It lasted all of a week before some critter (probably a possum) dug up the poor little plant and ate it.  This year, around February or so, I decide I wanted to grow more.  As is usual with me, it started off with a small idea, and the more I read and learned, the more I decided to do.

If I were to do it over today, I would have decided to use a different border material, probably cedar or some other wood that is more aesthetically pleasing.  As it is, I used concrete blocks to create my first Square Foot Garden bed.  I’m not sure what I read that made me decide to use the SFG method, but I first checked the book out from the library and eventually purchased it.  The method is simple.  You create raised beds and fill them with your own special soil: a combination of vermiculite, peat moss, and compost.  The bed is raised so it is easier to get to, the soil is never compacted by being walked on, and should have relatively few weeds to deal with.  I don’t do many things small, so my first bed is a 4′ x 8′ (twice the recommended size that “Mel”, the author of the book, suggested).

I decided to plant many number of things, including some from transplant and some from seed.  I am keeping track of the progress of every plant using Evernote.  You can check it our or I can just tell you what I’ve planted so far:

Transplant

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carnival Tomatoes
• Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes
• Sweet Basil
• Mild Jalapeno
• Queen Siam Thai Basil
• Red Sails Lettuce
• Chives
• Italian Parsley
• Thyme
• Asparagus

Seed

• Bush Beans
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Paris Island Romaine Lettuce
• Baby Spinach
• Bell Pepper
• Sweet Banana Pepper
• Green Bunching Onions
• Dill
• Cilantro

[flickr album=72157616419110271 num=10 size=Thumbnail]

I’m going to do my best to revive one of my favorite parts of blogging… Flickr Friday.  The reasons are many: adds frequency to blogging, gives me a steady topic, I love taking pictures and showing them off, I need something to motivate me to continue to blog and to take more pictures.

So I’ve begun a new personal quest to research and try out other avenues to good coffee in San Antonio.  My most recent passion has been making espresso at home with my Ascaso Dream. (The pictures up top are from making coffee at home. That is my best attempt so far at making latte art. Christina’s homemade chocolate anise biscotti was the perfect compliment.) The natural progression, then, is the find the best espresso roast beans to make my coffee at home.  Right now, my absolute favorite espresso comes from Wildfire Coffee Roasters here in San Antonio.  They roast their own coffee in small batches at their single San Antonio and date every package so you know how fresh it is.  I am absolutely addicted to their espresso (and the rest of their roasts are great too).

That said, from a little research I have also learned of two other roasters in San Antonio that I have yet to try, but that are certainly on my list:

- San Antonio Coffee Roasters

From what I gather they are a supplier only, and don’t have their own shop.

- Kiva Coffee Roasters

They are technically located in Fair Oaks Ranch, but close enough to be considered a local roaster. They are small volume and I don’t think they have a shop either.

As far as actual coffee houses go, I’m compling a list to try and review. First, the places I have been to:

• Wildfire Coffee Roasters- I’ve already talked about their fresh roasted beans, which is what makes them a great place to go get a great cup of coffee.  The atmosphere is nice, but a little cramped.  They offer free wi-fi (a must) and attempt to foster community.  They even have their own facebook group.  Because of the small space, it is hard to concentrate away from the door traffic.  Still, it is worth a visit.
• Ruta Maya – I actually went to RM 1 time and did my own half-hearted mini review, but alas they have since closed their doors. RIP.  I know they were a favorite of many locals.
• La Taza – My favorite place to go and hang out right now.  They serve coffee from the aformentioned Kiva Coffee Roasters, and it is pretty good.  The atmosphere is what makes me want to keep coming back, though.  It just feels like home, and has lots of places to sit down and work, read, or talk.  They also offer free wi-fi. The owner was nice and let us shoot a part of a video for the past Christmas there.  Extra points.
• Sip Coffee & Espresso Bar – Sip is located downtown and is a nice place to drop by.  The coffee is ok, and the food isn’t bad either.  I don’t really ever feel the need to go out of my way to go to Sip, but if I’m nearby I’ll go.  They were really nice and let me shoot an Eastgate All-Access promo there with Chris, so they get points for that.
• Caffegio – This is one of my favorite meetings spots.  It is pretty wide open and has free wi-fi.  The coffee isn’t really that good.  Christina and I bought some espresso from them… don’t do it.  Not even close to fresh.  If that is what they make their espresso with, count me out.  I’ve never tried any of the food, so I can’t comment on that.

Next, the places I have yet to visit.  Feel free to comment and let me know if you know of someplace else I should check out.

• Olmos Perk
• Guadalupe Street Coffee
• It’s a Grind

That’s it for now, I’ll add as I figure out.  Coffee snobs unite!

Or Watch the Quicktime file “Christmas Card” (You need Quicktime to watch it. Download it if you have problems watching it)

Beard Shave from Kyle Isenhower on Vimeo.