This is a great video about one man’s experience during 9/11. He talks about how the events of 9/11 changed his life.

Santa did all right this year:

Nate: Legos were the theme this year. Nate and I put together his “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Castle” lego set after all the presents were opened. It was quite the intricate, time-consuming, and fun project.

Sami: She got her wish—a Metallic Rose Nintendo DS and a few games. The games were a virtual babysitting and teaching game. Seems like they are both kinda like have a tamagotchi in the form of a DS game. She also enjoyed using the DS “Picto-chat” with Nate (basically IM for DS users—you can also draw pictures).

Jasmine: Dogs, dogs, dogs. She really wants a dog, but, with a baby sister/brother on the way, a wish for a dog is a bit in vain. She did get a few dog-related gifts (a Wii dog game and big dog book), but no real dog. Forecast is months/years of hearing about a Shih Tzu until she finally gets one. Maybe Diana and I will have to reconsider the whole “no dog” thing…

Abbey: Well, hate to say it, but Abbey was introduced to a bit of disappointment with Christmas gifts—she didn’t get want she wanted. She g0t this. Oh, well. She dealt with it okay, all things considered. I told her it was the American Girls’ “Bitty Twins” older sister. She has had fun with her Dora the Explorer TV Adventure Globe.

The Family: We got a bunch of boardgames for Christmas, too—Cash-a-Catch, Dominion, Nefertiti, and Taluva. Of the four, Dominion is destined to be our most-played game of all. It is a fairly quick game and easy-to-learn—a great family game.

I’m laying on my basement couch as I type on my laptop. My two youngest girls, Jasmine and Abbey, are playing with their beloved Fisher Price family toys (I don’t know the exact name of the toys). They’re completely unaware of my observing/studying them. No, I’m not Diane Fossey studying gorillas in the midst of Africa, but watching my kids when they are unaware of my watching them is one of my favorite pastimes.

My wife Diana was commenting the other day that the Fisher Price family toys were the best “investments.”She added, “They play with them more than any other toys.” First of all, the use of the word “investment” by my wife to describe toys. It’s not exactly what I would have used to describe buying toys, but it is a beautiful–and revealing–choice of words. For my wife, toys are not the clutter-the-floors-thus-creating-pick-up-time-messes type of things that they are to me. For her, toys are the things that keep our kids occupied and enjoying life. Diana sees them as investments in our kids. It really is a fundamental difference between my wife and I. (Where would I be without her stabilizing influence?)

I did some volunteer work cleaning toys at a family and child services house a few years ago. As I was wiping every toy down with a Clorox solution, an employee came by and talked about the importance of the toys. She said that if you wanted to learn about a kid, watch them when they play. Our kids play “family” more than anything else. I was just watching Jasmine and Abbey act out spring break with their toys. As a family, we were planning on going to Las Vegas to visit with Diana’s family, but we had to cancel those plans because of some medical complications that arose for Diana (oblique, yes, but I don’t want to elaborate). Anyway, the kids are a bit disappointed with that decision. Their playtime dialogue with their toys underscores that. When I slow down and I take the time to watch my kids play, I learn a lot. More than that, I always have this swell of parental satisfaction and joy for what I have in life. I love my kids and family. God help me to keep my priorities straight when my job pressures me to do other things…

Sometimes I am very envious of my wife and the things she gets to do. Yesterday I worked at home during the AM. This gave me the chance to walk Jasmine to the bus stop at noon. As I turned to leave, Jasmine pulled me down, gave me a kiss and said “Bye Dad.” Then she repeated that again really loud several more times. I think she wanted the other kids at the bus stop to know I was her dad. Tears start to well in my eyes right now when I think of it. What an honor to be a father.

Our family (OK, me especially) likes to play boardgames. Read my list of favorite family games.