John Magnoski *blog

I woke up this morning to a cool breeze coming in through my window, carried with it is the smell of a light rain.

Man, what a way to wake up.  Days like today are among my favorite.  I just love the rain, the cool air - it all reminds me of fall, which happens to be my favorite time of the year.

Now I am longing for fall.

I just hope it stays around a bit longer than usual.

However, it has nothing to do with Chicken Littles.

My wife and I went into the doctor today for her ultrasound… oh, yeah, we have baby #7 on the way - did I forget to mention that?  Sorry.

Anyway, our current lineup looks like this:

Luke 9yrs.

Faith almost 7yrs.

Joshua is 5yrs.

Micah is almost 4yrs.

Philip is 2.5 yrs.

Stephen is 15mos.

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Did you notice anything about our lineup?  That’s correct - one girl… one.

So we have been praying and seeking prayers from family and friends that God would not only bless us with yet another healthy child, which according to the ultrasound looks to be the case (thanks God!) - but we also have been praying hard for a girl.

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And so we were at the ultrasound waiting with bated breath, eyes fixed on the screen to see if this little blessing would be what we had been praying for…  and praise God, it is a girl!

Our daughter, Faith, has been wanting a sister for a long time.  It was such a joy to see the expression on her face when we delivered the news.  Her eyes welled up with happy tears, her smile bigger than I have ever seen it and she gave me a very large hug.

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Who needs material things?  The gift of a child, an answer to prayer, and the joy on my daughter’s face (not to mention the joy on my wife’s face) is all anyone ever needs to feel complete and blessed.

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What an awesome day.

Chicken Littles were not as I had remembered them… : (

I guess some things are just too good to be true.

Due to my overwhelming excitement, and hunger for some not so good for you food, I loaded up the kiddies in our Suburban, leaving mom at home since she isn’t feeling too well today, and we headed off to our nearest KFC.

My goal was simple - I wanted to re-discover the yumness (yes, yumness is a word at my house) of those delightful Chicken Littles. Plus, I was hoping that my children would fall in love with them as I did when I was young.

Upon arriving at the Colonel’s, my kids excitement grew. “Where are the little chickens daddy!?” asked my 2.5 yr old son. To which I replied, “Inside, Chubbies… Inside.” (btw - Philip’s nickname is Chubbies because he was a chubby baby). And my older children chuckled because they imagined baby chickens running around the KFC - it was a funny thought. But no matter, I was on a mission and unloaded the children and we entered the doors, stood in line ready to order.

Pictured beautifully on the new ‘value’ menu, at the very top, was the Chicken Little… (only .69 cents!? Joy! - think Ren and Stimpy voice), we ordered 12 which would allow most of us to have at least 2 of them (I have 6 kids remember?) along with mashed potatoes, wedges and juice boxes.

After prayers, and plating all the food and making sure our youngest had small enough bites to eat without choking, I took my first bite in what has felt like a very long time.

“Hmmm” I said to myself… “the texture is a bit different.” It tasted sort of like what I remember but the chicken is a lot thicker. As I inspected the contents of this cute little sandwich I discovered that the ‘patty’ is really not that much different than one of their chicken fingers - only on a smaller scale. Come to think of it, it was more like a very large popcorn chicken piece slapped between a dinner roll… “Hmmm, tastes good - but different too.”

That is when the wave of excitement began to fade. I felt a moment of sadness, a moment of my childhood slowly fade into the past. I wanted to relive that moment through the taste and texture of the Chicken Little sandwich, but alas like all things modern that try to hold on to the past, it wasn’t the same. They changed my beloved Chicken Little, modernized it for a new generation…

In the grand scheme of life however, it doesn’t matter that I am slightly disappointed that the new Chicken Little sandwich isn’t exactly how I remember it from my youth. It was still quite tasty, and surprisingly filling.

More importantly though, my kids loved them and ate them like they had been starving for weeks - and I assure you, we feed our kids well (remember Philip’s nickname?).

It was still a joy to take my kids out for lunch which allowed mom to get some well needed, and deserved, rest. Plus, I just love it when people are shocked at how well our kids behave sometimes. I had a few people comment, which always makes me feel all sparkley with pride.

I still wish it was exactly like the ‘old’ Chicken Little sandwich I remember.

I guess the saying is true - you can never return to your paste, all things change with time.

I just saw a commercial last night that has me so excited.

Seriously, this is huge news…

are you ready?

CHICKEN LITTLES ARE BACK AT KFC!!!!  WhooHooo!

I used to eat these all the time as a kid and cannot wait to share them with my kids.

Happy days are here again.  : )

{click on any image below to view it larger}

I’ve recently rediscovered this song, “Melody of You“ by Sixpence None the Richer.

No matter how many times I listen to it, I just cannot get enough.

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Melody of You by Sixpence None the Richer

“you’re a painting with symbols deep, symphony
soft as it shifts from dark beneath
a poem that flows, caressing my skin
in all of these things you reside and I
want to flow from the pen, bow and brush
with paper and string, and canvas tight
with ink in the air, to dust your light?
from morning to the black of night

[Chorus]
this is my call I belong to You
this is my call to sing the melodies of You
this is my call I can do nothing else
I can do nothing else

you’re the scent of an unfound bloom
a simple tune
I only write variations to
a drink that will knock me down to the floor
a key that will unlock the door
where I hear a voice sing familiar themes
then beckons me weave notes in between
a bow and a string, a tap and a glass
you pour me till the day has passed….”

But that is okay, because now the cooler air is blowing into my office window and carrying in the songs of happy little birds as they gobble up worms and play in the puddles.

Nature has the best music…

I’m trying to get a lot accomplished today so I can actually take some time off tomorrow (a Saturday w/out a wedding)…  but it is so hard to work when the sky is pouring rain.  I just want to sit on my covered porch and listen as the rain hits the ground.

It sounds like there’s a bowling tournament in heaven as well… I’m pretty sure God’s winning.  ; )

I just love the sound of a summer rain storm.

Inspiration comes in many forms. One can be inspired by reading, by music, by language… anything really.
I’ve been inspired to try and blog more often, and not always about my latest e-session, wedding or fine art photograph.

My inspiration has come from my late friend, Julie (see my previous post) and how she handled her blog.
There was so much transparency… and I feel that is missing from my blog.

To be honest, I am a very private person. And while I can be outgoing and the center of attention, I usually prefer to
hide, to be quite and reserved. I worry too much about what others might think of me.

And while it really is unimportant if I remain hidden or if I attempt to be more transparent, I personally need to be.
I need to get my thoughts and feelings out ‘there’, I need to be who I am - regardless what others may think.

So to start, here’s a little conversation my wife and I had last night.

Me: Hey Love…? (that’s our nickname to each other) If we didn’t have ANY bills or debt of any kind, and if the kids were all grown up or at least, being taken care of by someone… what would you do? What would you want to do - or learn - or accomplish? I mean, if we had the time and money… what would you want out of life?
Her: … … … … um, I don’t know. I’m a mother of six and I don’t have time to even think of this stuff… … … I don’t know. You?
Me: First, I want to have our house on at least 50 acres and sit on the porch with you while we watch our kids explore the world around them. Then, I want to learn the guitar, learn to paint, sculpt, work with metal and stained glass, learn woodworking… basically I want to be free to work with my hands and create beautiful things.
Her: Yeah, that would be nice….

And we just smiled at each other.

My good friend, Julie Steiskal died Wednesday trying to save the life of another girl she was with while hiking up along the north shore.

Read the full story here.

Julie and I were close but not as close as her and many others that were blessed to hang out with her.
We didn’t get to hang out often, except for some online photography forum banter and phone conversations.

I’m sad that we won’t get to talk anymore, but am not worried about the state of her soul in any way. In fact, whenever someone I know dies and I know they are not in danger of hell, I feel total joy and happiness… I even get a bit envious because they don’t have to worry about life here on earth and all the trappings of this world aren’t holding them down.

It saddens me that she went the way she did, but at the same time, she died doing what she has always done - trying to help and save others.

She died a very virtuous woman.
She was single and was saving herself for marriage… What an honor it is to have known such a strong person.

1 Thes. 4:
[13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

So while we may be sad that it appears we have lost a friend, the truth is we haven’t lost anything… we are just separated until God’s time is fulfilled.

Those of us who are in the Lord will get to enjoy Julie’s personality and friendship again very soon.

Julie, Your humor and kindness will be missed.