Introducing

Ransom Ray Immanuel Laughery

For Christ Jesus the King has payed the demands of sin so that we, who believe in Him, may be raised from death and be reborn into eternal Life.

Born naturally at 12:45am on December 9th, 2009 after 28 hours of labor. Eight pounds four ounces and 21 inches of grace.

Celebrating Life and Vine

In a whirl of consecutive weekends my wife and I have found ourselves celebrating at a broad arrange of life events with whom we love. We have attended a funeral, child dedication, baptism, wedding, and just yesterday my birthday. With such events in concert with each other I can not help but to thank Jesus, and appreciate His branches. Life of the Vine is amazing to consider. While the design of organism life cycles from this earth are often quite intricate and beautiful, they are limited by the circularity of their biology. I am more amazed when I step back from the grid of my own life to catch a new view of those whom are in Christ. Those that branch from His Vine are obviously connected to something more powerful and sustaining than the mere cycles of birth and death. By the evidence in which we love, connect, relate, and expand indeterminately through eternity is a testament of outstretched praise to Alpha and Omega the God of Heaven and earth.

We excitedly await the arrival of our son, and also Christmas. The celebration of these two births so close together will appropriately tie them emotionally for the remainder of my life. To be born anew with Christ is to be born into the Vine of Life. What more could a father ask?

We are eleven days from our prescribed due date and as far as we, the doctor and birth instructors can tell everything is progressing fine. We have been very blessed by friends, family, and church with all the miniature items to properly carry, house, cloth, and clean. Thank you, but please, we ask for your continued prayers for a safe deliverance of mother and child.

This will be the second to the last post here “at my bench”, and the last will be Christening in nature. Until (and after) then you may find us online elsewhere.

mushroom side dish, a Thanksgiving tradition

For this year’s dish we use:

• 14 large collard leaves, stems and thick portion of center ribs removed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 5 tablespoons minced shallot
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1.5 pound mixed fresh whole oyster, sliced portabella, and grated brown button mushrooms

Prepare ingredients

After steaming the collard greens dip them in cold water and lay them flat. Saute the mushrooms, garlic and onions in the white wine and butter. Add a little salt and pepper. Drain the saute juice into a baking pan and wrap a couple scoops of the mushroom mix in each collard green.

Bake at 450F for about 20 minutes until juices are bubbling then serve.

We are thankful for you… even if you don’t get to enjoy our delicious mushroom bundles.

what I would have read at his bedside

 ¹The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

 ²It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.

 ³Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

 ⁴Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

 ⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

 ⁶Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

 ⁷And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

 ⁸And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

 ⁹No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

 ¹⁰And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35, King James Version)

Vetmed poster symposium

found a new trail

My wife went to a church retreat for the weekend so my brother and I went out to play around on the mountain. Saftey was almost mostly our first concern.

Wait for it… Alice catching air was the best shot of the day.

not quite, but getting closer

We are six months along as of yesterday.

Virginia: what we came to see

Laurie walking up with David Servideo

Dad walking up with Janna Laughery

David and Janna Servideo walking away

It was a really great wedding.

Virginia: arrivals, wine, bugs and the bees

After visiting five different airports we finally arrived in West Virginia to meet up with Dad and Laurie. Because we got in a little late we stayed the night in Charleston before piling into the rental the next day for the 3hr scenic drive to Blacksburg.

Above is the house that Marian and I get to stay at. The owner of the house, Diana, is a lovely Christian lady who is taking care of her husband that is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

View from our bedroom window.

Here is the happy couple still working on the wedding details. Shaking David’s hand was one of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip. He is a good man, and I think a great match for my sister.

David’s parents came into town and we all went out to a Cajun restaurant. Sorry for the cell phone pics. This was a very fun 2 1/2 hour dinner.

The sparkly rock.

Justin finally flew in on a red eye. We picked him up at the airport and then hung out at Janna’s place for a bit. He ate the spaghetti.

Oh! I felt the baby kick for the first time last night. He’s in there just letting everybody know that he is okay.

Some more family friends dropped in and we all caravaned up to Chateau Morrisette winery to sample the Black Dog list.

The grounds of Chateau Morrisette were very beautiful with flowers everywhere. We couldn’t stop noticing that the place had a fertile ora. Perhaps a foreshadowing of the reason we all came to Virginia?

shots from Moscow Mt. Thursdays

This summer I have  peddled up Moscow mountain a couple of times with my good friends Chuck and John.  We will leave after work Thursday evening and ride until about eight, which is the best time to beat the heat. It really is a good time. When I was doing my undergrad, riding Moscow mountain would be a bi-weekly event. By the end of the season getting to the top was hardly a challenge.  Well, since then I have been a bit out of practice, and now it is quite a challenge.  But, I know the higher I peddle my bike up the mountain the more downhill I will get to enjoy.

Pics!