For Shane . . .

My baby cousin Brittney had a beautiful baby boy last Wednesday. . . as we were taking these photos, she said he'd had his picture taken so much in the last 4 days, it's like he has his own group of paparazzi. World, meet the very tiny Gage Warren Ray Carter!

Here is his Mom, Brittney and Grandpa Rowe with baby Gage.

Mommy and baby . . . see how tiny!!!

And, finally, me with Gage. He looks like a tiny doll in this one (and in real life!). He's just beautiful. Not that I'm biased or anything. . .

Two posts in two days . . . yes, it is a miracle. I have been playing with some photo software and I want to know if this is cool or not:

What do you think? Awesome or a little freaky???

God is scaring me. Let me explain - I am currently reading my way through the Bible again - I just started the book of Numbers - one of my favorites! Seriously - any book with a talking donkey gets my vote! Anyway, on days when I don't read the next few consecutive chapters, I read a random passage of scripture. For the last couple of weeks, every time I choose random scriptures, I have found myself reading passages about God destroying places, utter desolation, cities in ruins and, last night, a Psalm of David about hiding under God's wing during times of suffering and destruction. Unfortunately, I don't believe in coincidence - only "God-sidense" - therefore, I know that He is speaking to me through these verses and it's making me a tad nervous. Whether the destruction may be internal or external remains to be seen - all I can do is keep praying and always stay under God's wing. If I have learned one thing over the last several years, it is that all things truly do work for the good of those who love and serve Him.

I'm keeping an open mind, though, and hoping that it's simply a sign of the abysmal "American Idol" season to come. The judges (and producers) are playing favorites to an absurd degree this year (Carly anyone?). The number of professionals on this amateur talent search has reached epic proportions and makes a mockery of the entire process. It's like casting Christie Brinkley on "America's Next Top Model" and then telling us she's not a ringer. Of course, these days, everyone who ever appears on Idol leaves with a recording contract, so it doesn't actually matter that much anymore.

Today, I received the course materials for a class that I'm taking through work called "Foundations of Management in the US Courts." I could actually get graduate credit for the class, but I don't want to go through all the trouble to do that - plus pay the extra $$$. On the bright side, it looks like it will be mostly a rehash of all of the management classes I took in college, so it shouldn't (hopefully) be too bad.

Well, back to watching "American Idol" - Simon has obviously been in England for a while - his British accent is stronger than Britney Spears'.