December 2010
 
The beginning of December is always a festive time for the Swiss Byrds, but even more so this year, with our family holidays landing right in the middle of the eight days of Hanukkah. As you can see from the photo of our menorah, tonight is the third night of Hanukkah. Even though we are not Jewish, lighting the menorah during Hanukkah reminds us of the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, and celebrates our Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus), the Light of the World.

The festivities continue tomorrow, when we celebrate Olivia turning nine. The big surprise for her this year is that she finally gets her own pet — a guinea pig! Because a new batch of young guinea pigs arrived at the pet store the day before Thanksgiving, she received her present a couple of weeks early. We'll post some better photos later, but for now here's a sneak preview.

Two days after Olivia's birthday is St. Nicholas day, on which we do our holiday gift giving instead of on Christmas. And on Sunday, the day in between, Joanne is taking part in a concert with the Corvallis Youth Symphony that she is a part of. Wow! What a busy weekend!

Of course more details will be forthcoming, but until then you can keep on celebrating Hanukkah with this cool Hanukkah video I heard about today on YouTube:
 

 
I had mentioned earlier that Olivia got a guinea pig as an early birthday present on the day before Thanksgiving. But I don't think that I mentioned that her name is Lacy. The following video is a summary of the on-the-scenes video footage that I took when we suprised Olivia by taking her to Petco to pick out a guinea pig.  
Lacy seems to be adjusting well to her new home and family. She's becoming very tame, and loves to hang out with Olivia, as you can see from the photos below.  
 
The big event in Oregon this last week was a tornado that made the national news. It ripped through the small town of Aumsville, located south-east of Salem and only 20 miles from our house! Boy, you sure don't think of Oregon as tornado country.

The past few weeks have been very wet and stormy, and the forecast is for a very wet winter. Between hanging the Christmas lights and trying to fix a small leak in the roof over our front porch, I sure have been out on the roof a lot lately. I generally like Oregon weather, but this constant rain is starting to get a bit too much. Well, I'll be thankful if we can avoid any floods.

Olivia turned nine on the 4th of this month. She had some friends over for a birthday party. Joanne and Jeremy took 45 minutes of video footage, which I distilled down to 3 minutes of action-packed partying (with a little help from my friends in the music department) — you had better take a deep breath and fasten your seatbelt before you click on the play button!

 
Joanne is in the Corvallis Youth Symphony again this year. On December 5th, the day between Olivia's birthday and St. Nicholas day, the Symphony gave their Winter concert. Below is just over half of the third piece of music they played, the second movement of Schubert's symphony #9 in C major "The Great" — well, it IS great, and a great job by Joanne and all of the other members of the symphony!  
I suppose if you want to be a good conductor, you had better get an early start, like the three-year-old boy in the following hilarious video:
   
Next is a reminder for you to check out our Twelve Days of Homeschool video which we posted on YouTube a couple of years ago. I, Brian, filmed it at the Hearthstone Educators Fine Arts Festival in Santa Maria, California, in 2004. It's been getting thousands of views this month — we're past 23,000 views and climbing steadily! If you have never seen it, or haven't seen it recently, don't miss it! And yes, we DO homeschool leeee-gal-lyyyyyy!
   
And now, today, on the 24th, for your Christmas viewing enjoyment, check out this awesome video:
   
Well, this sure is the year that we put a lot of video on this Web site! The last (maybe? probably? hopefull?) Byrd Family video for the year is Olivia playing her piano at a student workshop held at her piano teacher's house last week. Go, Olivia, go!  
The people at LatmaTV have done it again with another hard-hitting video satire, this time highlighting the Muslim persecution of Christians. The video would be funny if it weren't so true, and the subject matter so sad.
   
To bring this month and this year to a close, we'll leave you with a photo of a gingerbread house that Olivia (with some help from her Mom) made. And a cute guinea pig drawing that Joanne made for Olivia's birthday card. The Swiss Byrd Family wishes you a lovely Christmas season. See you next year!  
 

November 2010
 
October and November is pumpkin season, and Olivia's been going for it whole hog! The Byrd Family camera crew has been following Olivia around as she experiences the full range of pumpkinmania: picking pumpkins, carving pumpkins, cooking pumpkins, eating pumpkins, smashing pumpkins, and more! Below you can view the 8-part, 16-minute "Olivia's Pumpkin Extravaganza" video and experience pumpkinmania with her! This is also the season of gorgeous autumn leaves. A couple of weeks ago the trees in our neighbor­hood were exploding with vibrant yellows, oranges and reds. One day, when going on my daily walk, I took my camera with me to record this lavish display of nature. You can see the results in our new Albany Autumn 2010 photo album. I'm glad that I took these photos when I did, because soon after things deteriorated rapidly. Today, the trees are mostly bare, with heaps of dead, faded leaves scattered on the ground around them. Radiant autumn has quickly tarnished into dreary autumn, the undeniable evidence of winter's inexorable approach. Good thing we enjoy Oregon weather!

Be sure to watch the incredible 12-minute video below. It tells the story of Alice Herz-Sommer, who, turning 107 years old this month, is the world's oldest known Holocaust survivor. Alice is also the second-oldest person in London. She was a leading pianist in Prague before the war, and even now continues to play the piano for three hours or more every day, performing Schubert, Smetana and Beethoven. Alice was born in 1903 in Prague, then still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She started playing the piano when she was five, taking lessons with a distinguished pupil of Liszt, Conrad Ansorge. At 16, she became the youngest member of the master class at Prague’s prestigious German musical academy. The story in this video will inspire you and possibly move you to tears.

 

October 2010
 
October seems to be concert time. Last year, I (Brian) went to a Rodrigo y Gabriela concert in Portland. And now just last week I went to a David Grisman Quintet concert in Corvallis. It was a great concert — I have made a full report, complete with photos and a seven-minute video clip, on my Brian's Bits Web site. Just follow the above link, or you can also click on the photo collage to the right. If you have never heard David Grisman's music before, you're in for a real treat!

I've been very busy writing on my Brian's Bits Web site — in the last two months since August 1st I've posted twelve new articles, of which the David Grisman concert is the latest. Five of the new articles have been book reviews, including the very timely Electing Not to Vote: Christian Reflections On Reasons For Not Voting. Christians refusing to vote? Isn't that unpatriotic, unethical, unbiblical, and even sacrilegious? How could Christians possibly NOT vote? If these questions resonate with your heart and mind, then you absolutely NEED to read this book! It it possible that we have we been seduced by the idols of nationalism and political power? Read my book review to find out!

Back in January of this year I had posted an article — The Agony and the Ecstasy — recounting my being fired from my job at the ElijahList and how God was carrying me through that difficult time. Recently I posted three more updates about my (un)employment situation and how I'm doing personally: The Good and the Perfect on August 1st, Living For a Living on September 28th, and Hearing But Not Listening on October 7th. After months of waiting on God and begging Him to speak to me, I finally have some clarity about the future He has for me — and it's NOT what I expected! Be sure to read these articles to find out all the details!

On the first day of October we as a homeschool decided to go on a field trip! If you have been reading this Web site with any regularity, you will know that we like visiting Clear Lake — nearly a two-hour drive up into the Cascades (but in the same county we live in!). We've walked around the lake — about 5 miles — numerous times, taken a rowboat out twice, and even stayed a couple of nights in a cabin one time for Catherine's birthday. But after all that, somehow we had never discovered the lovely walk along the McKenzie River just south of the lake until recently.

We parked at the Clear Lake Resort Lodge as usual. It's always a relief after a large cup of tea and a long drive that they have excellent bathroom facilities available! Then we walked south along the western shore of the lake for about a bit over a mile until we hit the trail to take us further south along the McKenzie River. After crossing a tree-trunk bridge (see the video below), we hiked down a trail on the west side of the river. Along the way we were treated to spectacular views of the 140-foot Sahalie Falls and the 80-foot Koosah Falls, as well as other gorgeous scenery in this river canyon (once again, see the video).

It's really amazing to see the large quantity of water that is still flowing down this river so late in the year. The snows have all melted long ago, and it has not rained very much all summer, yet the torrents keep rushing and pouring minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month! I wonder where all that water comes from?

After walking about 2.5 miles we came to Carmen Reservoir, which we had to walk around because of bridge construction. Then we got to enjoy the same sights, but this time from the east side of the river, as we hiked back up to Clear Lake. After the 6.5 mile round-trip walk, Olivia cooled her feet in the ice-cold waters of the lake and skipped stones (yep, that's in the video too!). Besides the five-and-a-half minute video of our walk, you can also enjoy the photos I took along the way in our new McKenzie River 2010 Photo Album.

The situation in the Middle East always seems tense, as usual. Indeed, for more than six decades the Arabs have been threatening and promising to drive ALL of the Jews of Israel into the sea — meaning, to totally destroy them. And over and over again, Israel's so-called friends pressure her to make bad choices which actually help the Muslims achieve that goal. This recent video from Latma TV expresses very well what the Muslims, and the West, are demanding of Israel. Well, what can I say? That video really tells it like it is! Is it over-the-top? Sure it is! Is the Muslims' goal for Israel's complete destruction over-the-top? Without doubt! Is the West's pressure on Israel to give in to Arab demands over-the-top? Most definitely! So here's my applause to Latma TV for their creative efforts to bring out into the light the over-the-top threats and dangers that Israel faces on a daily basis. They've got a couple of other videos which may even be better than this one. I've put all three on a page on my Your Islamic Future Web site. Check it out!

We had an old fire extinguisher which was WAY past expiration date, and we decided to empty it before throwing it away. So with Olivia's participation we had a chemistry experiment / role playing / video production afternoon just a couple of days ago. Below is a condensed, slightly-less-than-three-minutes version of the resulting video. You get a star next to your name if you can identify the theme music in the background!

 

September 2010
 
In February I told you about the new Web site I had just launched called Your Islamic Future, which presents information about Islam, and its relationship with Christianity, as well as numerous book reviews on these topics. For the first three months of its existence I wrote quite a few articles, but then for the next three months I had to concentrate on my computer networking classes at the community college rather than writing articles. But during the 25 days between 9 August and 2 September, I wrote 25 articles! This is very time consuming — it's almost like a full-time job. Even though it does not earn me any earthly money, hopefully my labors are earning me treasures in Heaven.

If you have not done so already, I strongly encourage you to have a look at Your Islamic Future and take the time to read all of the articles. With Islam being more and more in the daily headlines, this is not some insignificant fringe issue, and you as an American (or Westerner) cannot afford to disregard Islam or remain ignorant of the Islamic agenda. Unfortunately, the mainstream media seems more dedicated to promoting the Islamic agenda rather than exposing it

Labor Day this year was also Catherine's birthday, so just like last year, the family went to the Rheinlander German Restaurant in Portland to celebrate the momentous day with food and song. As before, Greg the accordion player came by to serenade us, this time with many more songs than last year. And this year I had the foresight to bring our video camera, so we could share with you some of the highlights of the evening. Unfortunately, I am still not completely used to our new camera, so about two-thirds into the video the sound is often distorted for the remainder of the video. Live and learn — hopefully I've learned my lesson and won't repeat that mistake. If you are ever in Portland, don't miss having dinner at the Rheinlander for an evening you will always remember! (And don't forget to give Greg a good tip!)

Just a few days after Catherine's birthday, we took Joanne to the YWAM Salem center to attend her first-ever NIKO camp. Here is a summary of her experience in her own words (and photos):  
 

August 2010
 
Last month we celebrated America's 234th birthday with a barbeque, while on the first day of this month we celebrated the 719th year of the Swiss Confederation with a traditional cheese fondue. And with Swiss folk music, a sample of which you can listen to by clicking on the fondue photo to the right. There's one thing you can definitely say about this piece of music: this lady really belts it out with all of her heart!

We really had a lot to share in July, including six videos: a snake rescue, squirrels and waterfalls at Yosemite, plunging over the edge of a waterslide, a banjo and violin concert, skiing in the summer, and more! Just in case you read our July entry at the beginning or middle of the month, you might like to scroll down and review our entire entry for July in case you missed anything we had posted later in the month.

In our January blog entry I, Brian, had shared about being axed from my job. In case you are wondering how things are going for me now after seven months of unemployment, you can read the latest article on my Brian's Bits Web site which gives all the details.

Today we made a donation to help the victims of the massive, deadly flooding in Pakistan. It struck me recently that you rarely hear about Muslim nations giving aid or support during natural disasters, even when the victims are fellow Muslims. Apparently humanitarianism does not fit in well with the Islamic ethos, which seems more along the lines of "If Allah wills — if Allah wills that you suffer in a natural disaster, then so be it. We do not want to oppose Allah's will by helping you in your great need."

Contrast that to Western culture. While not very Christian by Biblical standards, the Western nations definitely HAVE been influenced by the teachings of the Bible to some degree or another. One way this is manifested is by how quickly Western governments and citizen respond to the victims of natural disasters — even when those victims belong to a religion that despises that very same Western culture. In doing this, we obey the teachings of Scripture to love our "enemies", do good to those that hate us, feed them, and overcome evil with good. (Luke 6:26; Romans 12:20-21; Proverbs 25:21-22).

We as the Byrd Family have already donated $400 ... let's see if we can multiply that by ten to reach our goal of $4,000. I strongly encourage you to make a generous donation through the Mercy Corp sponsored Brian Byrd's Fundraising Page For Pakistan Flooding today!

Last night, August 3, was National Night Out. This was the fifth year that neighbors on our street have participated by holding a block party in the evening. Two police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck showed up, to the delight of the neighborhood children. Below you can see a photo of Olivia with a fire hat she received from one of the firemen.

During the evening Joanne set up shop in front of the house and painted the faces of many of the neighbor kids. The girl with the hearts on her cheek is Olivia's friend Hope — as you can see, she is a happy customer! The more faces Joanne painted, the more kids lined up for their turn. Meanwhile, Catherine was having nice conversations with the neighbor ladies. This summer Olivia is taking a baseball class at the local YMCA. She is very happy and excited to have this opportunity. To the left you can see Olivia with one of her teammates, as well as her team photo. Below are some videos highlights.

The last weekend of August brings to Albany the annual Northwest Art and Air Festival, featuring over 40 hot air balloons. So at 5:55 this morning we were out the door heading to Timberlinn Park to watch the balloons rise with the sun. Below is a video of the highlights.  
 

July 2010
 
As we celebrate our nation's 234th birthday, here is something to ponder: You can read the entire article at Daniel Greenfield's blog. Mr. Greenfield is a deep thinker, and all of his articles are worth reading. I encourage you to visit his site regularly and often.

Today, July 8th, less than an hour ago, Catherine rescued a snake that got tangled up in the netting in our garden. Here is the exclusive on-the-scene report!

As I promised last month, here are some of the highlights of our recent trip to California. On the way to Santa Maria, we took a detour and spent a few days at Yosemite. I've gathered the best 28 photos into our new Yosemite 2010 photo album. I've also put together a five-minute video with the highlights of our Yosemite visit: While in Santa Maria, we made our traditional pilgrimage to the Mustang Water Slides at Lopez Lake. Here is a video with those wet and wild highlights: On our last day in Santa Maria, Jeremy and his friend Kristopher did some archery together. Stopping by the house on the way to youth group, Kristopher played his banjo a bit for the family. Then Joanne got our her violin and joined in. Here are the melodic results, plus an exclusive interview with Kristopher at the end!  
Maybe Joanne's water slide days are over, but she did have fun in other ways, like helping her grandma in the kitchen.

Well, strawberry season is over, and now it's raspberry season. It's been in the 90's these days, so Catherine and the kids headed out at 8:00 this morning to pick berries before it got too hot. They came back with 32 pounds of raspberries. That will make quite a bit of raspberry smoothies, raspberry pancakes, raspberry jam, and other berry delights!

Last but not least, here's a photo of some of the family and friends who gathered for a Father's Day picnic at Waller Park in Santa Maria. There were more people there, but they left before the photo was taken at the end!

Around the middle of July, I, Brian, spent a couple of days up in the Mt. Hood area of Oregon. I was SO surprised to discover that the Timberline ski area on the southern slope of Mt. Hood offers the only year-round lift-served skiing in North America. Evidently there are numerous summer ski camps up there, which I can attest to, as I saw lots of cars, vans and buses up there, and many, many youth on skis and snowboards.

The last part of the following video I took while I was driving my Toyota Tacoma 4x4 truck up a one-lane gravel road to an elevation of over 5,800 feet, stopping at the old historic Cloud Cap Inn to take photos of the mountain. It was a long, dusty drive. In the video you get to experience about three-and-a-half minutes of the 30 minute drive. I was sure glad I had a 4x4! The next morning I drove up again around 5:00 to watch the sun rise! You can see all the photos in my new Mt. Hood 2010 photo album.

On this trip I also went on a 13 mile hike along Eagle Creek, which is off the Columbia River Gorge, north of Mt. Hood. This is one of the most popular and magnificent trails in all of Oregon, and can be very crowded at times. But I got up at 4:30 so I could start hiking by 6:30 and beat the crowd (and the heat). In all it took me seven hours to complete the hike, including lots of stops for photos and videos, and half an hour for lunch. Following is a seven-and-a-half minute video showing some of the highlights along the trail. I've been on quite a few hikes over the years, and I would have to say that this one was really spectacular. It's much more impressive in person — the video just doesn't do it justice. I hope that you get to see it in person one day — it's definitely worth it! Also, don't miss all of the photos in my new Eagle Creek 2010 photo album. Just when I thought I was done with this month's entry, Catherine and the kids went berry picking again. After a couple of hours of gathering, they came back with about 26 pounds of blueberries and 37½ pounds of raspberries. Yes indeed, it's been a berry, berry bountiful summer!
 
Just when I thought I was definitely finished with this month's entry, Catherine and the kids attended the Willamette Celebration in Albany. It was kind of like a fair, with activities and performances, at Timber Linn Park. Here you can see some death-defying motorcycle jumping. Joanne participated by painting kids' faces for a number of hours on both Friday and Saturday.
As you can see above, the beloved Veggie Tales characters made a special guest appearance at the Celebration. Larry the Cucumber was kind enough to pause for a photo with Olivia. Hmmm ... cucumbers and olives ... it almost starts to sound like the beginning of a Greek salad!

In the evening there were concerts by well-knows Christian bands like Superchick, Newsboys, and Skillet, among others. Catherine and the kids didn't get home until nearly 11:00 Friday night! On Sunday morning there was a community church service at the park involving a number of churches in town.

Whew! It sure has been an action-packed month, as you can see from the length of this month's entry! But, I do believe that this is finally the end of this month's entry (but you never know!).

We will leave you with this photo of a dragonfly that Joanne took in our backyard garden. During the 16 months that we have lived in this house, located within the city limits of Albany, we have been delighted with the various wildlife we have seen in our backyard. Besides the normal animals, like dragonflies, which you might find in any backyard, we have also seen nutrias, deer, tree squirrels, Garter snakes, and more! Imagine all the wildlife we might see if we lived in the country!

Be sure to click on the photo of the dragonfly to see a larger version, plus a second great photo of it that Joanne took. Until our August entry, have a great rest of the month!
 

June 2010
 
It's been just over two years now that I purchased a first-generation Apple iPod Touch, which, in case you don't know, is pretty much just like an iPhone, but without the phone capabilities. After using it extensively that entire time, I can honestly say that it's the most incredible computer I have ever owned &mdash not because it's the fastest or most capable computer I have used, but because at only 4.25 oz. and 4.25 x 2.4 inches, it's almost miraculous what this tiny pocket computer can do ... I'm still constantly astonished even after two whole years!

So it was with great interest that I followed the two-hour presentation by Apple's Steve Jobs yesterday, as he announced the new fourth-generation hardware and software coming out this year. Although it was specifically relating to the new iPhone coming out this month, I am expecting a similar iPod Touch to be released sometime this Autumn. You can watch the entire keynote address video by clicking here — if you are at all interested in technology, it's well worth watching.

It sure gave ME goosebumps! If the original version from three years ago was astonishing, this new model is leaps and bounds beyond astonishing. Like I said — GOOSEBUMPS! You can find out all the details by visiting the iPhone page on the Apple Web site. Just be sure not to drool all over your keyboard!

Last weekend Joanne played part of a Mozart violin concerto for her end-of-the-school-year recital. Here, for your listening and viewing pleasure, is a video of the performance. Sorry about the occasional head on the right!

Strawberry Fields Forever!

We went to California for 10 days this month (more about that in our July entry above). On the day we got back, Joanne's rabbit Brownie died. She was buried in our back yard, right next to her companion Oreo, who died late last year. I'll never forget the extra-long journey we made for the rabbits when we moved to Albany, to bring them up the cooler highway 101 rather than the scorching I-5. They brought Joanne many years of happiness, and now they will live in our memories, photos and videos for many years to come.

 
To end the month, Catherine and the kids went strawberry picking yesterday morning. They came back with 50 pounds of this delectable crimson fruit! Then they spent all afternoon making over 18 quarts of jam! Check out the video below for a behind-the-scenes peek into the process.

May 2010
   
This seemed like a very appropriate cartoon to put on our Web site on May Day. It's utterly shocking how far the leadership of this nation has degenerated into meaningless doublespeak, idiotic political correctness, and twisted morality, which is in reality immorality. This cartoon really sums it up!

With all of the tragic human interest stories in the media about the illegal immigrants, everyone seems to lose sight of the fact that they are ILLEGAL. That means "against the law", and "breaking the law" — people who do illegal things are CRIMINALS. Gosh! How hard is that to understand?! The only way "illegal" doesn't mean "illegal" is if "white" suddenly means "black", "cold" suddenly means "hot", or "bad" suddenly means "good".

And now, because the government of Arizona makes a law to enforce the federal immigration laws, it is being vilified and condemned by the left-wing federal government, and its left-wing supporters, out of their mindless political correctness.

The Bible teaches that governments exist to keep the order and punish wrongdoers (Romans 13:4). If a country has laws but does not enforce them, it's the same as having no laws. And no laws means anarchy and chaos — the self-destruction of a society.

Illegal immigrants are ILLEGAL. They are not heroes, but lawbreakers, wrongdoers. The law makers are not evil — they are trying to enforce the law against the lawbreakers. It's so simple a child could understand it. But the calling of "good" as "evil" and "evil" as "good" by our leaders is a very clear sign of the anarchy, chaos and self-destruction to come.

God's words to Israel through the prophet Isaiah are eerily and frighteningly applicable to our nation in our day:

Ah! Springtime in Oregon! Even though we live in a town of 50,000, the flora and fauna of the area transport us back to a more rural time.

On Mother's Day we took a little walk at the nearby E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area. Why spend lots of money on an expensive Mother's Day bouquet when God so generously fills the fields with bouquet after bouquet of wild flowers, like the iris pictured here?

Just this morning we awoke to find three deer in our backyard! In the photo to the right you can see one of them standing right next to our raised garden beds. I wonder what kind of scrumptious breakfast they were finding there?

Well, as they say in show biz: Th-th-th-that's all for now, folks!
 

OK ... we're back! Speaking of show biz, Olivia played at her Spring recital tonight ... just a couple of hours ago. Hot off the flash card is the edited video of her performance.

First she plays two pieces solo (notice that she has them memorized — no sheet music!). Then she plays a duet with her fellow piano student, Gabriella. After eight months of piano lessons with an awesome piano teacher, Olivia is making awesome progress!

Click on the video to the left to see the 4:50 audio/visual report of the event.
 

April 2010
 
Wow! Time sure flies! And we didn't even get a chance to post anything for March! Well, we have been very busy with learning — Catherine and the kids with homeschool, and I (Brian) with my networking classes at the community college. So there's nothing much going on (except learning), and not much time to say much about it.

But we do have a few minutes to entertain and inform you. For your viewing pleasure, we are presenting the following four videos. But first, a brief introduction to set the stage.

If you have been following our blog entries over the years, you will probably realize that I (Brian) have owned two professional-level Panasonic video cameras, and used them on various projects. But for the last couple of years I have hardly used them at all. And even though they are very nice cameras, because they are standard-definition only they have been losing more and more of their value as time goes by.

So last month I decided to sell them before they became totally worthless. With the part of the proceeds, I bought a new, just-released, high-definition, consumer-level video camera, the Panasonic HDC-TM700K, which I received about a week ago.

This small camera (only 5.25 x 2.75 x 2.5 inches, weighing slightly less than a pound including the battery!) is truly a high-tech marvel. I specifically wanted a model that records onto flash memory — no more tapes! So far I am VERY pleased with the beautiful video it records. For our first public broadcast, here is a video of Olivia playing "Minuet".

After 7 months of piano lessons, Olivia had her first official exam (called a "syllabus evaluation") a couple of days ago. She had to go to Corvallis to present herself before a representative of the Oregon Music Teachers Association. Here are some of the comments that the adjudicator (judge) wrote on her evaluation sheet: As you can tell, we are very proud of Olivia's progress after only 7 months of lessons. This next video is an old commercial that I remember from my childhood — it must have really made an impression on me! Next, we would like to draw your attention to the vital and awesome work that a ministry in Israel is performing. If you would like to support Israel against their Muslim enemies, and help save Jewish lives from abortion, click on this link to find out more about Be'ad Chaim, a Messianic pro-life ministry in Israel, and please consider supporting them on a regular monthly basis, as we do. You can also read my thoughts on this in an article I wrote. Following is a short video about their ministry. Speaking of Israel — whether through stupidity or malice, the pressure against the apple of God's eye is rapidly building to a crisis point, even from supposed friends like the United States. The Jewish right to live in Jerusalem — the city of the great King, Yeshua (Jesus), the Jewish Messiah of all mankind — is being threatened on almost a daily basis. More and more, the nations are raging against the Lord, and His Messiah, and the Jewish people and their eternal capital city Jerusalem. In light of all that, I found the new words to this old song quite appropriate and timely. Lynyrd Skynyrd, eat your heart out! And as the Jews say, next year in Jerusalem!
 

February 2010
 
I've been telling Catherine for a long time that even if I didn't have a job, I would never be bored. And now that I am unemployed, this statement is proving to be ever so true! How did I ever get anything done when I had to spend 40 hours a week at work?!

I'm spending a fair amount of time each week doing the required work for my Cisco networking class. (Want to see what I'm actually getting into? Click here to explore chapter five of Routing Protocols and Concepts). I'm working through the main course text book, Routing Protocols and Concepts, CCNA Exploration Companion Guide, as well as the study workbook, Routing Protocols and Concepts, CCNA Exploration Labs and Study Guide. The material is interesting, and I am enjoying my class at Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC), just a few minute's drive from our house.

Because I only have one class this quarter, I am also doing a LOT of study on my own. One subject that I've wanted to learn about for a long time is the Unix/Linux operating system(s). Because I have been using an Apple Mac computer for almost a year now, and the Mac OS X operating system is built on Unix, that seemed a good place to start. So for the past month I have been slowly working through A Practical Guide to UNIX for Mac OS X Users. This was just the book I was looking for to teach me Unix on the Mac ... very cool!

At LBCC they offer a course on Linux, which my networking instructor teaches. (Hopefully I will be able to take it next quarter.) When I asked him which "flavor" of Linux they use, he specified Ubuntu. So I downloaded and installed Ubuntu on my Mac, and got a book to go along with it: Beginning Ubuntu Linux, Fourth Edition. I am eagerly awaiting its arrival so I can explore the depths of this popular version of the Linux operating system.

Speaking of operating systems, I was able to pick up a free copy of Microsoft Windows 7 Pro through LBCC. And thanks to the near-miraculous VMware Fusion software I have running on my Mac, I can run Windows XP, Windows 7 and Ubuntu, all within the Mac OS X. Very, very cool!!

Some people have been asking me how my job searching is going. At this point I am not looking for a job. I feel that God has given me this time until June to complete the four Cisco networking classes so I can take the Cisco Certified Network Associate exam and get that certification. That's the task at hand that I'm focusing my time and energy on.

I have also been spending a lot of time studying Islam, slowly working my way through a pile of books I've collected on the subject. Islam? Why study Islam? Because Islam is the future, my friends! If you thought that the horrific terror, death and destruction that Nazi Germany brought to the world in the previous century was bad, just wait until you experience what Islam is going to do to the world in this century! I must do my part to speak up and warn those I can about what is happening in our world and our country these days, and what's in store for the future ... your Islamic future. So I have created a sub-section of my personal Brian's Bits Web site dedicated to this issue, entitled Your Islamic Future. I've already written two articles, with many more to come.

The big news for Jeremy this month is that yesterday he got the new Line 6 Spider IV 75 75-watt 1x12 Modeling Guitar Amplifier for his electric guitar that he has been researching (and longing for) for months. The cheap little one that came with the guitar was OK at the beginning, even though its tinny sound left much to be desired. He's been saving up his money, and once he added his St. Nicholas and birthday money, he was chomping at the bit to make his move.

Now Jeremy is in guitar heaven, experimenting with all of the controls and settings, which allow you to create an amazing number of different sounds. So while Joanne and Olivia continue to learn their classical music, Jeremy's jamming is going to cause Beethoven to roll over! With 75 watts, this amp might end up shaking all the plaster off the walls! True? Of course true! Oy gevalt!

On the same day that Jeremy received his new amp, another glorious event occured: a Trader Joe's opened in Corvallis, only 15 minutes from our house! That's a whole 60 minutes closer than the one we would infrequently visit all the way up in Portland. After three-and-a-half years of living in Oregon, we can be regular customers of our beloved Trader Joe's once again!

The other day I was looking through Matthew 6 in The Message, and I was really encouraged by the words of Yeshua (Jesus) I found written there:

January 2010
 
This is a picture of me on December 22, during our Christmas vacation, on the pier at Pismo Beach, California. As the culmination of a long and painful period, it was on this day that I had been officially notified that I was fired from my job at the ElijahList.

Some whine, "Life's a beach!" Others proclaim, "The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need." Maybe the reality is that as we process the pains of life, we find ourselves saying both at one time or another.

So how did this happen? What's going on? How is Brian doing now? What is Brian doing now? The answer to these and other questions, as well as the uplifting account of God's wonderful shepherding, can be found here on Brian's personal blog.
 

And now for something on the lighter side ... you may have seen this already, but I just saw it today for the first time. Being a computer geek, I thought it was hilarious. To the left is a sample of 26 definitions of Technology for Country Folk. Click on the graphic to see all of them. I think they are pretty clever. I hope you like them as much as I do. Enjoy!

Wow! The devastating earthquake in Haiti this week. I can't stop thinking what it would be like to be in their shoes. The very day of the quake we sent a donation to Mercy Corps to help the victims. The next day there was a poll on the CNN Web site asking if you had made a relief donation. I chose the Yes button, and then clicked to see the results, imagining that a good 95% of respondents would have made a donation. I was so very shocked to see that about 65% had NOT made a donation. Today a similar poll was a bit better, but still an astounding 56% of respondents stated that they had given nothing to help the people in Haiti. I think that this selfishness on the part of Americans is a really bad sign of the moral condition of our country.

The other day I was taking a walk and listening to the album Prayer by Vineyard Music on my iPod. In the song "How Much More", I was struck by these lyrics, even though I have listened to this song many times before:

I started thinking about those words. I don't lay in bed each night, sleeplessly worrying whether the sun will rise the next morning. Of course it will! And I don't sit around all day depressed, anxious whether the night will really come or not. Of course it will! It's a sure thing ... a done deal! So, why should I ever be sleepless or depressed, worried or anxious whether God really loves me or not? It's a sure thing ... a done deal! As surely as the sun will rise the next morning, that's how sure I can be that God loves me and always does what is best for me. Now that's a very encouraging thought!

January is birthday month for the Swiss Byrds, as well as Catherine's side of the family. Two of Joanne and Jeremy's older cousins in Switzerland have their birthdays earlier in the month. On the 24th Joanne reached the milestone of sixteen years. She celebrated by having some friends over for food and fun. The crêpes were a big hit, as well as the hilarious dictionary game that they all played for the first time. In the picture to the right you can see Jeremy looking through our humongous 2500-page, 11-pound unabridged dictionary. You know, that book has an interesting history....

It all started a few years after Catherine and I were married, in the early 1990's. Actually, it might have even been in 1994, the year Joanne was born. Anyway, I decided to order the electronic version of an unabridged dictionary on CD, which I had delivered to my parents' house in California. My cousin Jeff was going to visit us soon, so I asked him to bring it with him. When he arrived, he pulled out that huge dictionary you see in the photo. I was so shocked! I asked him what THAT was, seeing I had ordered a version on CD. Come to find out that when you ordered the CD version, you also received the PRINT version as a bonus for FREE! My poor cousin, having to lug that monster all the way from California to Switzerland in his suitcase! Thanks, Jeff ... you really went beyond the call of duty! And now, here it is, the guest of honor at Joanne's 16th birthday party!!

And last but not least, today, on the last day of the month, Jeremy celebrated the completion of his 15th year. We made mini pizzas in our raclette oven, which takes a while, but hey, we had all afternoon! As you can see from the photo, cooking at the table this way really brought out the chef in Olivia!

Then this evening we enjoyed the bon bon ice cream pie that Joanne made especially for Jeremy from their grandma's receipe. Jeremy's tastebuds were tickled to death!

So there you have it ... one month of 2010 down, 11 to go. And in about 4 hours it will be time to start our February blog entry ... stay tuned!