ericebbinghaus.com

THE MOON
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

The moon has been pretty big and cool looking here in Oklahoma lately, and I wanted to try and take a picture of it with my digital camera, and it’s not quite as exciting as I thought it’d be, but it’s better than nothing I guess. I love it when it’s light out at night because of how bright the moon and stars get, it’s especially cool when you’re camping away from the city, then you can really see things.

Christmas 04
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

For those of you who complain about me not posting picture of myself or Brandi, this one’s for you. Below is the Christmas letter I wrote to friends and family. We sent it out to as many people as we could afford to, so if you didn’t get a hard copy, just check this pic and the message below and you’re as good as in!

It’s really amazing and hard to believe that Brandi and I have already been married for 15 months and are celebrating our 2nd Christmas together as a married couple! It’s also hard to believe that we slacked off so much last year that this will be the first Holiday letter we will have sent out as a couple. It’s hard to know where to start, and since we’ve been married for what seems like a short time that’s flown by, I’ll start at the beginning.

Last August we interviewed and accepted the student pastor position at First Wesleyan Church in Bartlesville, OK. Some of you may know where that is, others may not have the foggiest idea, but for those of you who don’t, it’s about 45 min. north of Tulsa, OK. After accepting the position, I (Eric) proceeded to spend the weekdays in OK and the weekends in MO, it proved to be a challenging and tiring time for Brandi and I, but has also proven to be a most rewarding decision.

We were married on September 27, 2003 and were surrounded by all of our closest friends and family. Actually, most of you were probably there! We honeymooned in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Tennessee and definitely enjoyed the time away.

Since moving to Bartlesville, we’ve experienced many firsts in life and ministry. Last November we got our first puppy as a couple. He’s a mini-wiener dog named Oskar. I guess you could call him our “son” for the time being. Our time has been spent learning, growing and developing relationships with others and with each other. We’ve put on youth events, a large concert style outreach event, fundraisers, youth camp, a Wesleyan youth convention, a family vacation with the Ebbinghaus’ this past August, and Eric’s first-ever camp speaking engagement in Prescott, Arizona.

Brandi has been busy not only helping me with full-time ministry (and doing an amazing job!), but also began working as the 2nd Assistant Manager at American Eagle Outfitters at our mall here in Bartlesville. Though her heart truly lies with the ministry, she’s done a great job of helping contribute financially and has taken on the store as a mission field not hesitating to witness her beliefs to those around her.

The months of May and June saw us moving out of apartment life into a home we rent from a friend we made here who recently moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Upon moving, we also welcomed our “second child” into the family. Kylee the Cocker Spaniel joined us from Mom and Dad’s ranch after struggling in the outside dog realm. She’s proved to be a great friend for Oskar and on top of that is a sock finding magnet. (Timmons, the dog updates are for you.) June saw the passing of Papa Haus, my beloved grandfather and friend. It proved to be a very difficult time as he asked me to conduct his funeral service after going to be with the Lord. I of course, said yes to his request and I think it might be safe to say that my first funeral was most likely one of my most difficult. Nanny is doing well and Brandi and my relationship with her has grown well as we get to speak with her a couple times a week. We love you Nan.

As for me, well I can hardly believe I’ll be 25 in June. I’m enjoying ministry and have been able to stay extremely active and am just about as busy and productive as ever. The college down the road lets me join in their intramural sports and I’ve been able to help Pastor Lance a bit here at the church with some sports ministry start-up stuff (softball, flag football, and soon-to-be “Dunk” basketball league in the spring). As usual I’ve got more interests than I have time for but am truly thankful the Lord has continued to bless us as a ministry and a family.

Our prayer for you this season is that you’ll feel God’s blessings more richly than ever before. Know that we miss those of you we can’t be near to this season and look forward to seeing you again! If you’re interested in tracking our progress online, you can get updates and pictures at ebbinghaus.blogspot.com.
Love Always,
Eric, Brandi, Oskar, and Kylee

Millau Viaduct
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

This is truly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s nearly 1200 feet tall at it’s highest point and is 2.46 miles long! It was built near a small town in France called Millau. Ironically enough, it was built by Frenchmen, but it was designed by English architect, Lord Norman Foster.

Check out this link to the Google search page of Millau Viaduct: http://www.google.com/search?q=Millau+Viaduct&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 .

Bike 1
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

FREE? Yep, got a call and was asked if I would ride a free bike. The answer was yes. Anyway, I rode it the first night I got it and then it started leaking massive amounts of gas all over the garage. Turns out, the intake manifold was dry-rotted and burst a bunch of huge cracks into it when I rode it around that first night. This picture was taken before the leak, right now it’s sitting in the same spot but in about 50 pieces. The replacement part should be in today so maybe I’ll get to ride this weekend!

Bike 2
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

I realize this isn’t a great picture, but it’s the second of only two I have of the new moto. Thought y’all might like to see what it looks like. Not bad for a 15 yr old bike, huh?

Kylie’s Mop
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

Last night Brandi and I tried out hand at dog grooming for the first time ever. See, we’ve got a Cocker Spaniel and her hair grows at an amazing rate, and just to get her groomed cost like $35. So, we decided to spend $40 on the clippers and start doing it ourselves. We didn’t do too bad, but it took like 3 hours! CHECK OUT THAT PILE OF HAIR! The scissors and brush are sticking straight out of it because it’s so thick!

Puppies 5 weeks
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

Here’s two of the puppies at 5 weeks old. They’re getting funny personalities and are enjoying playing more! Want one?

Geza Plateau
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

Today was the first Saturday I got to wake up when I wanted to and accomplish what I wanted to in a long time. I was able to get some random homework done, have lunch with Brandi and in a bit we’re going to have a night on the town with a family from church.

Anyway, during my “do what I want” Saturday, I came across loads of interesting stuff on the discovery channel. The first was the 7 great wonders of Egypt, followed by The Mystery of the Great Sphynx, and finally it featured the Death of Cleopatra. This included many interested things I had not heard to date and some cool useless facts I can lay on folks when I want to appear smarter than I really am.

I also got to DVR (digitally record) “Rameses, Wrath of God or Man?” which is playing tonight while Brandi and I are gone. I’m so frustrated with myself that I had a chance to see these things when I was in the middle east 4 1/2 years ago and didn’t take the few extra days to. I guess I’ll just enjoy this picture of Khaffra’s Sphynx overlooking his Great Pyramid on the Geza Plateau. The Sphynx was actually built by Khaffra’s son Jeffratha in his honor.

snow patterns
Originally uploaded by Muffet.

I made this up around two years ago for my youth in Warrenton. Recently, when talking to one of them on IM, she asked if I remembered them. I told her I did so she sent me the copy she had. My mind is strange.

Ton ten things to do after the first Major Snow By Eric Ebbs

10. Fall Down

9. Make a snow angel while wearing very few clothes on and tell your friends you like the numb feeling

8.Feed snow to your dog

7. Insist on wearing all white in order to “Blend in” with the other “snow people”.

6.Let snowflakes accumulate on your head, then run inside Wal-mart Screaming, “Give me the best dandruff shampoo you got, pronto!”

5.Bury your sister

4.Say the words, “Winter Wonderland” everytime you refer to the snow

3. chain your dog to the grill of your truck/car and refer to your vehicle as a dogsled

2.Make whimsicle comments like, “I wish I had snowshovels for hands”

1.Make an enormous snowball, then gun it at one of your cows at point blank range. NOTE: if you do not have a cow, this will also work on other animals and some humans

-1. Always yell “BONZAI” when sledding down a large hill.

-2 When trying to find your way home during a heavy snow, refer to home as Desert Command and your vehicle as Eagle1, while refering to yourself as Snow Fox

pujols breaker
Originally uploaded by ebbs.

Albert Pujols is a big man. There’s no denying that. He was big to begin with. In fact, his first year with the Cardinals he was required to lose in excess of 15 pounds just to make the team, I guess you could call him a stout kid. But there’s a difference between this 24 year old and the man opposite his age, 42.

Barry Bonds and others have embarrassed baseball. Look at a picture of Barry Bonds when he was Albert’s age, he was tiny. Warning track power maybe. What makes a man get bigger as he gets older instead of more frail? I think we know the answer to that now.

Was McGwire justified in using androsterone to help bulk up as he entered his early thirties? Is his 70 homeruns more legit than Barry’s 73, or for that matter, his last 250 homers? I’d like to think there’s a difference between drinking a supplement in a nasty tasting shake than rubbing a cream on God knows what or dropping some special clear juice under your tongue. And how is “I didn’t know it contained steroids” good enough? How could a freakin’ grown man “not know.” Either Barry Bonds is the biggest moron ever to roam the face of the earth, or he is the biggest bold-faced liar baseball has seen since Pete Rose walzed off of the scene.

I am dissapointed. My grandfather is rolling over in his grave right now because he said it all along. I feel sorry for protecting Barry like I did, saying, “Maybe he’s just been working harder to get bigger.” Maybe he has, but in inappropriate ways.

I love the sport of baseball with all my heart there’s left to give after my wife, family, most of all the Lord Jesus, and it tears me apart to see the distortion that’s entered the game with greed, cheating, lying, etc. But isn’t Baseball just one example of pro sports mirroring the condition of the US and the world. No integrity, people willing to do things to get ahead no matter what the end result?

I’ll be praying for baseball.