Even though I did not cast my ballot for him, President Obama has my respect.
I always got sick of people saying that President Bush was not their president just because they disagreed with him or didn’t vote for him. I have seen such despicable behavior and heard such disrespectful language coming from the mouths of bitter dissenters over the last eight years, and I have long-since vowed never to be so vile toward someone in leadership over me (whether I put them there or not). I will definitely feel free to disagree, but I will never publicly disrespect my freely-elected president.
Many of Obama’s social and political views bother me. So does the fact that almost every celebrity in America endorses him (definitely not a group I put much stock in). It also rubs me wrong when I hear Obama’s name mentioned in some churches with more frequency and excitement than the name of Christ himself. But most of that is pure, unadulterated hype, and when it comes right down to it, President Obama now holds the reins of the greatest nation in history, and no amount of celebrity endorsement or child-sung anthems of allegiance or media anointing will take away the importance of the task before him now.
My prayer is that President Obama seeks Godly wisdom, leads with just and resolute determination, walks in quiet humility, and wakes each day with a deep passion for preserving this country and defending its Judeo-Christian values.
Though our hearts have known him as our son since the moment he was born, on December 19, 2008, Harrison Michael Gray became our legally adopted child. As I look back on 2008 — a year that will be forever seared into my memory — I can’t help being floored by the vast debt of gratitude I owe to so many who were involved in this process.
God – Thank you for your grace. Despite our uncertainty, fear, anger, and impetuous desire to be in control of conceiving a child, you showed us unfathomable grace by giving us a better gift than we could ever have imagined or achieved on our own.
Heidi – Thank you for being faithful. No matter how hopeless things seemed, you never gave in to bitterness. Your ability to give things over to God both astonishes and encourages me. I am honored to call such an amazing and beautiful woman my wife, and I’m excited to see you now as the mother of my son. I love you.
Birth Mom – Thank you for your selflessness. I cannot comprehend the physical, emotional, and spiritual struggle you endured to make the decision to entrust your firstborn child to a couple you barely knew. Please know that we recognize the enormity of your gift and that we will strive each day to raise him to be a man who earnestly seeks the heart of God. We will never forget you, and we will constantly remind Harrison that you gave him to us not because you didn’t love him, but because you loved him so much.
Barbara & Frank – Thank you for your dedication. Without the two of you, this could never have happened. Barbara, your persistence, clear-headed guidance, and endless patience amazed me. Your ability to give so freely of yourself and ask nothing in return is a shining testament to the love of Christ that I know lives in you. Frank, your office made the call that started this whole thing — thanks for picking up the phone. Also, your expertise made it possible for us to focus on what was most important and avoid the hassle of all the legal mumbo-jumbo.
Family – Thank you for your support. You guys were the shoulders we cried on and the ones we called when everything felt like it was falling apart. Thanks for encouraging us and for fasting and praying for us day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute. We definitely could not have made it through this without you.
Friends – Thank you for your prayers. Whether you are close friends and co-workers we see on a regular basis, a friend of a friend of a friend who heard about our situation, or a guy who lit a prayer candle for us in Jerusalem, your prayers meant the world to us. Thank you for lifting our struggles and desires up to God. Thanks especially to those at Christ’s Church of the Valley, Palm Valley Church, Southeast Baptist Church, and Christ Presbyterian Church who gave so much of themselves through prayer, encouragement, gifts, baby showers, financial support, airline tickets, and about a hundred other generous things.
We are overwhelmed by the number of people who were involved in this process and will never forget the amazing out-pouring of support we received. We didn’t deserve what you did for us, but we will be forever grateful.
Thank you.
My youngest brother’s girlfriend Adrienne bought him the entire Guitar Hero: World Tour game for Xbox this Christmas. Needless to say, we rocked out to many-a-song in the days after Philip opened up that wondrous box of musical fusion.
Even though Harrison is still too young to play the game, he got into the fun in his own little way. Check out this video of our biggest fan:
I admittedly have a deep fascination with Mormonism. Growing up in Salt Lake City, I have been around the religion for most of my life. I’m definitely not someone who agrees with their theology or their claim that they are a Christian denomination, but this American-grown religion’s short, volatile history and their modern-day people and practices are definitely interesting.
Last week, my family and I took Heidi and her parents (who were in SLC for Harrison’s adoption hearing) downtown to Temple Square for a tour. Here are a few photos of that trip:
Temple construction began within days of the Mormon pioneers settling in the Salt Lake Valley. It took 40 years for this intricate building to be completed. Its walls are nine feet thick and the outside is detailed with numerous astrological symbols (including earthstones, moonstones, sunstones, constellations, and the lunar phases).
One thing I find particularly fascinating is the architecture of the buildings are at Temple Square. The fact that these simple pioneers were able to design and build such detailed and ornate structures is amazing to me. This six-spire, Gothic-style building is the largest of all the temples worldwide (over 100).
The granite used to build the temple was quarried from Little Cottonwood Canyon 20 miles away. It took days for each block to be hauled from the canyon to the temple site. Though construction on the Salt Lake Temple was the first to get underway, it was the fourth one completed.
One particular change I have noticed in the tour since I first took it is the fact that most, if not all, the tour guides are young women. The temple guides have been called to do their two-year mission in Salt Lake City (much like other faithful Mormons are called overseas). Our guides were Sister Meyers from Albuquerque and Sister Arnquist from Dallas.
The Assembly Hall was the first building at Temple Square to be completed (1877). It was built using small scraps of granite from the temple construction. This meeting place was where Mormon pioneers met for church in the early years. The building is now used for regular community concerts.
Inside the North Visitors Center, tourists will find huge, detailed murals of popular Old and New Testament stories and a large, interactive model of ancient Jerusalem. The centerpiece of the building, however, is the 11-foot marble Christus statue which stands in the middle of a gigantic mural of the universe. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t creep me out a little.
Directly north of Temple Square is the new 21,000 seat Conference Center where large meetings are held (you’ve seen their painfully boring bi-annual television conferences, right?). This is also the building where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs. Mormon financial records are not made public, but the estimated cost for this building is over $240 million.
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building is east of Temple Square and was formerly the five-star Hotel Utah. This statue of Joseph Smith sits in the lobby. Mormonism’s founding father is a very interesting figure. Descriptions of this man range from prophet of God to storyteller to philanderer. Despite his murky reputation, he definitely was a man of great influence and charm.
This final photo was taken from the top floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I think with a little work, this could easily be used as a postcard. If you are ever in Salt Lake City, I recommend that you spend a few hours to take the tour. I can guarantee you’ll discover some things you never knew about Mormonism.
I was sick last week and couldn’t do any of my half-marathon training, but this week I have been feeling much better. In celebration of the end of my bad cold, I ran 3 days for a grand total of 1 hour, 54 minutes, and 7 seconds over 9 miles of this earth (3 x 3 miles). Don’t bother trying to figure out my average time per mile — it’s still pretty crummy.
In the past I never did much running for running’s sake, but I think this may become a permanent routine in my life — and I think I may be starting to enjoy it. Today, I ran to the point of bleeding through my shoe. Please, no jokes about me bleeding pink.
D-Lo ran with me again and this time he brought a beanie for me too. Here we are making pre-run poses that far exceed our actual badness level:
Both times we have run together, Derrick has come to my side of the tracks, but next time, we’re going to hit the streets of Dreaming Summit and see what sort of damage we can do there. I’m looking forward to a change of scenery.
I spent the month of November training for a 5K race that took place on Thanksgiving Day. This picture of me flexing has nothing to do with that training, I just think it’s a cool photo. Plus it’s sure to be intimidating to all my foes (you know who you are).
These are the shoes and the new pedometer I bought prior to training. The shoes help me grip the pavement, and the pedometer shows me just how much time it takes me to run such a short distance. I’m pretty sure it makes fun of me when I’m not around.
This is my one-time training partner D-Lo. He was kind enough to join me one Friday for a run. I’m not sure why he wears that beanie — he’s already got a full head of hair to keep his dome warm. Maybe I should get one.
The 5K race took place in Fountain Hills, AZ at 7:30 on Thanksgiving morning. The whole night before, it poured down rain and only let up an hour before the race. It was a beautiful day for a trot.
Heidi and her sister Heather did the 2K fitness walk on the same day. This is us posing with the turkey mascot before the race began. That smile on my face is real.
This is about 1/3 through the race. At this point, I am still surrounded by a good handful of people — the little 10-year-old girl running with her dad is not too far ahead of me. The only reason it looks like I’m running perpendicular to the crowd is because I am getting into position for my next photo.
This is the money shot. I love the look of determination on my face, my fists raised victoriously in the air, my gut and man-boobs flapping violently in the breeze. Unfortunately, this slight photo-op detour has put the 10-year-old and her dad out of my reach. The old man behind me, however, is going down!
This is the final straight-away. To my dismay, the old guy blew by me at about the half-way mark and I never really saw him again. At this point, no one is even running with me. The people on the left finished their race long ago, completed a full after-run stretching routine, downed some bagels and juice, took a dozen photos with the turkey mascot, and are now heading back to their cars.
Just a few strides away from the finish line at this point. Heidi is there cheering me on yelling, “You can do it Michael! Give it all you’ve got!”. She told me later that she thought I would have kicked it up a notch on that last leg. What she didn’t know is that I was giving it all I had. The remaining race-watchers were nice enough to shout some encouraging words to me while they waited for their 85-year-old wounded war-vet grandfathers to round the corner in their walkers. I could definitely feel them breathing down my neck that last quarter mile.
I’m now across the line. As I strain to fill my lungs with much-needed oxygen, the lady in blue takes a moment to check me out in my sexy, form-fitting red running shirt. I swear, sometimes a guy just wants to have a workout where no one ogles his rippling abs and rock-hard pecs. Am I nothing more than a piece of meat?
This close-up shot clearly shows the agony that I endured to get to this point. I had finished my first 5K run in 40:07 — certainly not record breaking, but a steady 13.3 minute mile pace (pretty good for a fat guy). As my body began to recover, my eyes scanned the parking lot for the on-site ambulance and EMT team — just in case.
As soon as I was certain that no medical intervention was going to be necessary, I stopped to take an after-race photo with my beautiful wife. I love that she was there with me, but that smile on my face is very forced. It took every last ounce of strength I had left to have my brain tell my facial muscles to make a smile. What a day!
Well, the first hurdle toward my ultimate 2009 resolution has come and gone. While I’m not terribly impressed with my 5K run, I think it marks an important milestone and showed me that I can improve. The idea of running 13.1 miles by next September seems daunting, but then again, so was the idea of running three miles by Thanksgiving.
Disneyland, here I come!
I usually leave the family posts to Heidi’s blog, but I had to share another fatherhood first with you (if you don’t remember the first first, then click here to read it).
Sin-sen and I got to spend two entire days together while Mom was at a women’s conference. In addition to the usual fun we have during father/son time, we got to try a new dish for lunch and dinner – PEAS! Other than baby cereal, the only thing we currently feed him from a spoon is avocado and green beans. Based on past experience, a distaste for peas is part and parcel to being a child, so I wasn’t sure how this new culinary experience would fare.
When lunch rolled around, Harrison must have been extremely hungry because wasn’t even in the mood to play with his pre-meal toys. The initial bad mood made me wonder how this whole thing was going to end. Instead of boring you with words, I think I’ll just show you how it all went down:
I think the kid likes peas.
As part of a recent process of brainstorming various ways that I could earn a bit of extra money this Christmas, I thought up a t-shirt idea, designed it, and then published it on CafePress.com, an online company that specializes in custom-printed clothing. Here’s my final design:
If you or someone you know is a political junkie (or just likes wearing cool, custom-made t-shirts), please pass along this link along to them. I earn a small amount of profit for each item sold, and that money will definitely be helpful in paying Harrison’s final adoption fees (December 19 is the official date!). Any additional traffic you can drive to www.cafepress.com/the2grays will be much-appreciated!
Happy shopping!
I just returned from a Friday morning run (read: lumbering jog) with my good friend D-Lo. Since he has Fridays off, he was gracious enough to drive all the way to my house early this morning to join me in 2 miles of self-inflicted torture through the chilly streets of Avondale.
The photo above was taken just before we started. If I had taken another afterward, I would look like death warmed over and he would look pretty much the same as he does in this picture. Jerk. He makes it look so easy.
Hopefully, we can continue with this Friday tradition, and one day I may be able to keep up with him the entire time. If anyone else wants to join our running group, just give me a call. Maybe we can turn this living hell into a fun and challenging Friday mini-mini-marathon.
