I've moved the blog again.

I know, I know... I'm hoping this is the last time, too.

#1 - I've been a terrible blogger for a couple years now - let's see if this time sticks.

#2 - I've moved this whole thing over to the wonderful world of Wordpress, as our family embarks on a serious adventure. Check it out at http://www.adambam.com/blog

Cheers.

Lake Tahoe 2009

We went to Lake Tahoe. It was beautiful, to say the least.

Shea found the water a bit chilly, so she rode on my shoulders...

Another Love... [Part I]

I love being a dad. The end.
-----------------------------

There's been far too little blogging going on around here for a long time (for many, many reasons). Nonetheless, I've been itching to tell the world about our newest baby girl, but I've also wanted to put some thought and effort into it rather than simply post a picture with some stats. Months ago I resolved that I would not blog again unless it was about Maya.

So, without further ado, let me introduce my beautiful Maya Annaliese...

*thanks again, Beth, for an amazing birth announcement!*

| PROLOGUE |

So, if you're interested in my wife's lovely version of the labor and birth process, check out Part 1 & Part 2. My version may be slightly less graphic :-) but that’s because she’s a better writer than I. (Forgive me in advance, as I am rarely very good at telling a concise story)

Allow me to lead into the actual birth story with something seemingly unrelated. I would say that the past 5 years have been an important and unexpected journey for both Tara and myself. It's been interesting as we wrapped-up our undergrad, got married, transitioned to the “real world,” charted our collective path forward as “one,” learned more about the world outside of the American bubble, went back to school, traveled abroad, intensified our wrestling with faith & spirituality, got pregnant, had baby Shea immediately following grad school, experienced raising a daughter, and then pregnant again! ::surrrrrprise:: … needless to say, we could have never foretold all the twists and turns life would take (nor would we want to).

I recount all of that to outline the arch of life events that have permanently (and unpredictably) shaped both of us together and individually. The way we perceive the world around us is now… changed. Realities that were commonplace are now intriguing. Situations within our everyday experience now beg questions and curiosity rather than melding into the unnoticeable background. It’s sometimes an uncomfortable place to be, but more often it’s exciting and vibrant which I think comes with unpredictability and newness. If I could wrap it into one phrase, I guess I feel like we’ve gradually shifted to wearing different “lenses”… now confronted with views that point toward journeys rather than destinations. (This paragraph has been vague, I know. Even Tara’s probably reading and at this point thinking, “Heh?”)

What I’m getting at is that these nebulous concepts ultimately end up presenting us with very practical lifestyle questions: Why do we truly want to buy [insert consumer good of choice]? Why do we eat those ingredients we can’t pronounce? How much trash do we create and energy do we use? Why do we buy products from that company? Why do we hold that political/racial/spiritual/cultural viewpoint? … and so on… A lot of these questions usually stem from books we’re reading, experiences in school, conversations we have with friends, and often movies that we see. Such was the case after we watched the documentary, The Business of Being Born.

With the birth of our first daughter, Shea, we were generally going with the flow of standard birthing protocol simply because it was our first pregnancy, and we were generally preoccupied with getting used to the fact that WE WERE GOING TO BE PARENTS!  Yet during our second go'round with Maya, following various conversations and after viewing that documentary, we again found ourselves asking culturally uncomfortable questions, this time about why the American medical community approaches childbirth the way it does (Tara also wrote about her thoughts on the film here).  After much deliberation, we decided to transfer our care from an OB to a wonderful Certified Nurse Midwife, and honestly, I think that was one of the best decisions that we've made as family.  The resulting birth experience, for me, was phenomenal, and I'll use my next post to describe why that was...

Progress.

I'd like to offer a wide range of thoughts, but for tonight I'll just leave it at this:

...my patriotism for this country is ultimately trumped by my citizenship in a larger story. But, nonetheless, the outcome of this election has left me proud, hopeful, and energized about what may be ahead of our national community as well as our global community. Tonight will be remembered for many, many years.

Now let's all get to work.

*more Callie Shell photos here

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Forbidden City, Beijing, China
January 2007

(For those who've forgotten (or didn't see)... read my explanation of these "+" posts here.)

Political Perspective from Greg Boyd...

I don't know about you, but this election is wearing on me. Don't get me wrong, I'm engaged in the latest happenings, watching as many of the speeches and highlights as my schedule allows. I feel the gravity surrounding this particular election in relation to our country's current state of affairs and history, and I'm definitely going to vote. But as the campaigning roars on, I'm increasingly realizing the inherent brokenness of our political system. It's irreconcilably polarized. Substantive dialogue is consistently drowned out by the "us vs. them" blabber. I realize that this is the "beauty" of democracy and that alternative systems of governance produce a far grimmer outcome... but that doesn't erase my disappointment with my fellow countrymen's failure to acknowledge and respect "the other."

Author Greg Boyd recently wrote a post at his site regarding politics that resonated with me. If you claim to pursue the way of Jesus (and even if you don't), I'd recommend reading Boyd's thoughts. It articulates a refreshing [and greatly needed] element of perspective:

"True Believers" and the Religion of Politics [excerpt]

I call them “true believers” (a phrase coined by Eric Hoffer). You see it in their teary eyes, their wide smiles, their intense frowns, their enthusiastic poster-waving. They’ve heard every canned phrase a thousand times before, yet applaud as though it was a new revelation each time it’s repeated. “America is the last, best hope of the world!” “Country first!” “We’re going to change the way things are done in Washington!” “We’re going to keep America safe.” “Our opponents say… but we know…” “We have the answers and our opponents just don’t get it.” “God bless America!”

The true believers passionately embrace all this. The hope of the nation and even the world hangs in the balance — if only they can win. It’s almost as if these sincere folks have forgotten that these exact same sentiments, hopes and dreams — almost always in the name of “God and country” — have been around since the dawn of human history. It’s almost as if these committed devotees have forgotten that these same sentiments, hopes and dreams have fueled most of the bloodshed throughout history.

more...

Hiking Chevelon Canyon with my bro...

Well, seeing that I've had such a prolonged absence from the blogging realm, I figured I might as well record a bit of what I've been up to. I haven't forgotten about "the list," and I still plan to finish it out. But in the meantime, I'll toss out a few posts to catch-up anybody who's still reading this weak-sauce blog.

A couple years ago, my brother, Dave, talked me into going into the northern Arizona wilderness to hike our little boots off. Over the course of two and half days, we did around 23 miles and probably a couple thousand feet of elevation change, most of it without trails (thank you GPS:). Oh yeah, and we almost died... (joke... kinda). But I was definitely starving and walking funny by the time we made it back to the truck.

This year we decided we'd head back to the same location, but we only had wife/child-clearance for one night (which was just right). So it was back to Chevelon Canyon on the Mogollon Rim, northeast of Payson. The below video is nothing special, but it shows the beautiful Arizona forests that exist less than a couple hours north of the barren desert of Phoenix.

Bamford Bros Hike Chevelon Canyon from Arizona Bam on Vimeo.

I Am Alive.

Sorry.  I haven't blogged for a long time.  I'll try to get back on track, etc.

I love my daughter (and my wife, duh)... they're a lot of fun.