Blog Post 100!!!!!!!!!

Me and the family, our Easter photo

I did it! I actually managed to write 100 blog posts in the past 15 months! It has been a fun adventure, and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.


Blogging has been a fascinating experience for me. I have never been much of a diary writer or journaler. In fact, I really hated all of the forced journaling that I was required to do in college. So I wasn't too sure how blogging was going to go for me.


Well, it turns out it has been pretty good. This gives me an outlet to share what is on my mind, repost things that are interesting to me, and reflect on what is going on in my life and the world. I am a little curious why blogging has gone better than my attempts at writing in a journal or diary in the past. If I am going to be totally honest with myself, it probably has a little something to do with narcissism. I am posting in a public forum, a few people read what I write and they sometimes even comment on it.


I think I lead a pretty interesting life with my work and Healing Waters, my work at Wellshire Presbyterian Church and my amazing family. I enjoy sharing parts of my life with the world, back to the narcissism, perhaps it is a little bit of bragging?


Anyhow, I just thought it would be fun to share this milestone with everyone out there. I hope to keep on blogging for a long time. I have some interesting and exciting news to be sharing in the next couple of weeks that will probably have a long-term impact on the nature of my blog posts. So I guess you will all just have to stay tuned!


Finally, thank you to my loyal readers. Like I mentioned above, knowing that you are reading is at least part of what has motivated me to keep blogging. I especially appreciate comments and feedback, so keep that coming too. A shout out to all my brothers and sisters in the blogosphere. Keep writing my friends, I love to read about your lives too!

New year, new perspectives. . .

After a month and a half long hiatus from blogging, I am back. For those of you who have been encouraging me to write and post, thank you for your encouragement.

A lot has happened in the last month and a half. Most importantly, my wife and I had our first child. Esther Margaret Allen-Pickett was born on December 17th, 2009 at 1:50pm. She weighed in at a healthy 8lbs 8ozs and is doing great! She is quickly approaching three weeks of age and she changes and grows every day.





This year I am going to be doing a lot of posting about being a new parent and the daily miracles I am experiencing. I will also continue to post about global poverty issues, the global safe drinking water crisis and my work with Healing Waters International. I will not be traveling to the field for a few months as Jessica and I settle into our new lives and roles and parents, but will be back in Latin America before too long.

The first thing I want to share with you about our miraculous bundle of joy is the history of her name, Esther Margaret. The post below was written from Esther's perspective with a little help from her mom and dad. Enjoy!

The Story of My Name: Written by Esther with help from mommy and daddy

Monday, December 21, 2009

The big day has come and no longer am I just “Lil’ AP,” but I am now officially Esther Margaret Allen-Pickett. Outdated, old-fashioned, and maybe some might even say obscure, but my parents thought long and hard about this name. There are many special people who are a part of me; however, my parents figured that a name with an infinite amount of letters might not be the nicest “Welcome to the World Baby Girl” present they could give me.

My first name, Esther, comes from my dad’s paternal grandma. She was a great lady who lived to be 99 (less than two weeks shy of her 100 birthday). She had a kind and gentle spirit, an unassuming manner, and was the eternal optimist. If you could only use one word to describe her, it would be "kindness." My dad’s favorite memories of her involve, Chinese Checkers, pecan pie, love for dogs (I think this is where my dad gets his), weekday afternoons, and New Mexico style enchiladas. My daddy wrote a blog post about her last year that you can read by clicking here.

This is a picture of Daddy and Esther, Daddy's Grandma

My middle name, Margaret, comes from my mom’s maternal grandma. She was also an extraordinary woman. Whose strength carried her through many trials and tribulations. If you could only use one word to describe her, it would be “spunky.” She never took no for an answer, was hard as nails, but had the patience of a saint when it came to her granddaughters. Some of my mom’s favorite memories of her involve bicycle riding, cards, swimming in the river, the library, and chocolate chip cookies. This is a picture of Mommy, Grandma Char and Margaret, Mommy's Grandma with my big brother Sol

It feels like a lot to live up to (these two remarkable ladies), but I know that they, along with all of my past and present relatives and friends are with me. With the help of this great village, I know that I too will be an exceptional woman.