7/6/08

New Alternate Blog

After surveying a few other blogs and realizing that few, if any, insult their readership as this one generally does, I decided to split my blogging between 2 sites. Family- related material will be posted at :
http://stpmasons.blogspot.com/
this will allow Jenny to take part in posting as well, hopefully.
I will continue to post random thhoughts at random times herre... wiith random spellings. What is happening to my keyboaard??
that is all

6/26/08

So much Clearer


I finally checked out my blog on my laptop and was surprised at how clear it was; apparently it is actually readable from a computer monitor that is not flickering on the brink of darkness. So here's a random favourite picture to celebrate that.

5/28/08

Malfunctions

Among other things, I haven't posted to this blog for awhile due to a strange series of malfunctions in my electronics that have resulted in my dumping my laptop's memory, losing all my bookmarks, getting a new digital camera, and... other stuff.
I hate it when technology doesn't do enough to help us out.

4/10/08

Flickr!

Arriving at the realization that not all people are required by law to hold a facebook account (yet), I have also posted pictures on Flickr! and sent just about everyone an e-mail to join Flickr! so I'm not sure why I'm even mentioning this here.
thanks for reading

4/3/08

Arken Pics 2



W/ Steven & Nona




Arken arrives at home

Arken Pics


Idris enjoys a small meal after his overnight w/ Mema and Papa


Idris w/ mommy


Arken himself


Arken w/ Mema & Papa


Our whole family of 4

Arken Arrives

It has been just a few days now since we brought Arken home from the hospital. We brought him home amid the flurries which gathered to 7" the other day, which was rather nice.
The essential information is:
His name is Arken Theodore Mason
at birth, he was 9lb, 2 3/4 oz; 22+" long, almost 2 pounds and 2 inches more than Idris
He has very light, longish but sparse hair
Is fairly mild-mannered, but can certainly make noise
Is, overall, rather healthy and quickly re-approaching birth weight
Arken is a Scandinavian name we came across through our exhaustive research process, selected after weighing together and eliminating about two dozen other finalists for the boys' name.
The name's definition, as given to us by the book, is "Son of Eternal Kind" which I assume to be descended from Scandinavian legend. You could also say that it is a Christian name referencing eternal life; or as my brother pointed out, a statement that Jenny and I are immortal.
Neither of us has heard the name used before as a first name, but we were simpatico with knowing it as the last name of the actor Alan Arken.

If you Google it, you will find:
*A modern art museum by the name just outside Copenhagen, Denmark
*Arken Designs, which seems to manufacture technical designs
*A gentleman named Mort Arken, collector of WW2 planes and a pilot
*Another technological co
*A Swedish music group by that name (electronica, it's okay)
*A Norwegian shopping mall
*A Best Western hotel in Sweden
*A black and white Swedish movie from 1965
*from a web dictionary:

arken

  1. Definite singular form of ark. Swedish
*I guess Allan Arkin is with an "I", upon further searching

So, most of the top hits used Arken as a form of Ark or as a last name, it seems. Its usage is favorably linked with architectural, artistic, and technological accomplishments.
It seemed to Jenny and myself to be a good pairing with the name Idris, suitable for a second son.
Theodore was Jenny's grandfather's name. She was never able to meet him, as he passed away when Jenny's mom was a teenager. He was, to judge him by his offspring and the accounts I've heard, a gregarious, kind, and wonderful person who enjoyed theater among other things (I'm sure I could add a lot more).
Mason is our last name. We passed it on.
Although it would be nice (or will be) to have a daughter, we are extremely pleased to be be blessed with two boys. Idris is especially pleased to have a brother (rather than a sister), but I think he was looking forward to being a big brother either way. Incidentally, boys seem in short supply these days, and we now have more sons than any of our siblings or close friends. There have just been so many girls recently!
Anyway, we've added some pictures to Facebook and have tried e-mailing some out, but that hasn't worked well so far. I'll have to check out Flicker or something soon...