what's up? oh, not too much

So here it is, late February, and I'm just now getting around to my first blog post of 2010. Sorry folks. It's not that there hasn't been anything going on to report... in fact, it's probably because of the opposite, too much going on that I haven't found (or made) the time to post.

Here's a little taste... (if nothing else, you can enjoy the pictures)

The kids are big stuff.

Kate has moved up to a "big girl bed" now. When she saw it, she said, "Thank you Daddy for making me a bed." Even though it's passed down from Amy's great-grandmother, she thinks I made it just for her. She so sweet. And on top of that, in the past few weeks, she's even graduated out of pull-ups at night. She really is becoming quite the big girl.

Ben has started taking piano lessons. Not only is he doing great so far, but he also loves it. As my mom can attest, I, however, was not so accommodating when I was a kid. He makes me proud, and I love to listen to him practice.

And Will and I have a new connection. I'm leading the music for preschool chapel, a new initiative with his preschool on Friday mornings. All the preschoolers love it, but I'm still not sure if he thinks it's cool or not that his dad is doing the music.

Also because of the snow-pocalypse of 2010, the kids have now missed ten days of school. But at least we've gotten to enjoy the snow a little bit.

Thanks to the Elswicks, we've had a couple great afternoons of sledding on the slopes in their backyard! Kate loves to push, and Ben and Will really enjoy the sledding. (I think Ben offers the most promise for a snow skiing companion in the near future!)

And then there was the water leak. One Sunday morning as I was getting ready to head out for church, I heard a hissing sound and looked up to see a water stain line across our living room ceiling. We turned off the water into the house and got a plumber to look at it on Monday. He couldn't find it the first time, but when the water had been turned on for a few hours, the water stain came back. The plumber came back and cut a hole in the bathroom closet looking for the leak. Couldn't find it there. So he cut a hole in the living room ceiling where he found the leak in the cold water pipe leading into the bathtub on the second floor. Leak fixed, but now we had a huge hole in the ceiling and closet.

Now, my drywall skills aren't all that great, but I think I did a pretty good job fixing the holes. I got the texture pretty decent but still need to see if I can match the color better with some primer. All in all, I'm pleased with my results.

On top of that, as our Christmas present from Amy's mom, we had all the carpet and linoleum replaced in our house. A very nice upgrade in our home, but it certainly was a lot of work and adjustment to have it installed.

In the midst of the chaos when our carpet was being installed, my cell phone was lost (while our home phone was disconnected because of the work being done). The next day I got online and found that someone had used my phone, and, long story short, I got it back by offering a "reward" and driving to the next town over to get it from a guy who handed it to me with a washcloth because he didn't want his prints on it. Honestly, I'm just glad to get it back.

It's been a very active time in ministry, too.

In January, I had the chance to pray with Faith and Angelica to receive Jesus, and I was blessed to have the opportunity to baptize them during worship. Truly, this is the best part of my job!

We also set some record numbers in 2010. On the 17th of January, we had the highest attended lock-in since I've been at GBC with 58 students. Here's a video with some of the kids dancing to the Nintendo Wii game, "Just Dance." (I think there's some dance footage of me floating around somewhere out there on the internet, too.)

We had a record number attend our annual winter retreat, too. We took 36 people (29 students and 7 adults) to Pigeon Forge a couple weeks ago. We had a great time together with our games and teaching sessions based on Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. We also had a good time in downtown Gatlinburg, at the Comedy Barn, and at the outlet stores before heading back. It went remarkably smooth for the number of students who went. I have amazing adult volunteers that make this trip so much fun every year. We also collected a record number of warm clothing items for our association's annual Souper Bowl Party where they distribute the clothes to low-income individuals and families in the Lexington area. Last year, we collected probably about 50 or 60 items from our church to donate to the project. This year, the students turned it into a huge competition between the 14 adult Sunday School classes (complete with weekly skits and videos) to see who could donate the most, with the prize being a tasty continental breakfast for the winning class. The competition was fierce, and we ended up collecting almost 1000 items. Our students did a tremendous job, and I'm very proud of their hard work!

And just in this last week alone, we celebrated Chinese New Year (see Amy's blog here), Ben broke his bed by jumping on it (!), our youth group delivered 28 meals to some of our senior adults, and our church staff celebrated Mardi Gras (oh, and Ash Wednesday). And yesterday, because it was yet another snow day, we decided to get the youth together to shovel some snow and then go out to the movies and dinner together. A busy, but fun, week.

Oh, and every time I thought about sitting down to write a blog there was another big distraction--UK basketball!!! What a great season we're having! So, with that acknowledged, I guess you should expect my next update sometime after April 5th :).

camera phone

So I was copying the pictures off my phone and realized there were some highlights from the last few months that I've neglected to share with everyone.

A big one is Kate's first day of preschool. You may remember our first-day-of-school ritual. In the same way, I took Kate out for breakfast on her first day of preschool. It was later because she started later in the year, shortly after her birthday. And, as you can see, she picked a hearty breakfast from McDonalds to celebrate.

Ben and Will also helped our youth group with raking leaves. They had a lot of fun... and literally helped "grab a corner." I'm excited about my kids getting opportunities to be a part of mission projects.

And just last Tuesday, our church took some college students to the Kentucky basketball game. I had an extra ticket at the last minute, so I was able to take Ben with me. He had a great time with his dad and learned a lot about basketball... plus, he got to see John Wall break the UK single game assist record and experience the number one program in college basketball history. Go Cats!

More "24 things I've learned about my daughter"

Last year after the first week with Kate Nana, I posted a list of 24 things I learned about my daughter. Since today is the one-year anniversary of her adoption, a.k.a. "gotcha day," I thought I would add to the list what I've learned.

1. She is even more absolutely perfect-er (cf. last year's #1).
2. She is brilliant. Watching her play, interact, sign and learn new things, I'm convinced she's a genius.
3. She is now an incurable "mama's girl." The first several weeks of her new life with us, she was the ultimate daddy's girl, never wanting to leave my arms. But coming home and with me going back to work during the day, she soon attached herself to Amy and now has an unmistakable preference for her mom. (It's okay though, I'm learning to deal with it and am waiting a few years until she reverts back to daddy's little girl.)
4. She's a feisty, independent woman. Kate loves to do things on her own. "I do it," she says.
5. She loves to do whatever her brothers are doing, including playing trucks, screaming at the top of her lungs, or wrestling as pretend superheroes.
6. She won't wear hair bows or barrettes, so we're forced to cut her bangs (which kills me). Sometimes she'll let us put her hair up in pig tails.
7. She can get her feelings hurt pretty easy when you tell her "no."
8. She is quite athletic... she's maybe the best of the three kids at soccer!
9. She is very excited about starting preschool in two weeks. She talks about it non-stop.
10. She is potty trained... mostly.
11. She loves houseboats, pools, and "baybing soos" (bathing suits).
12. She likes to eat treats (ice cream, candy, gum, milkshakes, "emmies"-M&Ms) and meat (hotdogs, chicken, bologna), but mostly just stares at fruits and veggies (though she likes lima beans and asparagus most of the time).
13. She loves to talk on the phone... which is funny because very few of us can understand her, especially when she gets to rattling off some big story.
14. Like most women, she changes her mind early and often.
15. She sings like an angel. Part of our nighttime singing ritual usually includes "The B-I-B-L-E" and "Jesus Loves Me."
16. She is getting more and more used to her reconstructed palate and learning to make lots of new sounds and funny faces with her mouth :) And her ear tubes have worked wonderful so far to keep away earaches. We're still hopeful that she'll eventually have full hearing in both ears.

17. She is ticklish everywhere and has a contagious laugh, along with the most beautiful smile... careful, it will melt you!
18. She doesn't seem to have many of those tearful "grieving moments" anymore... though she still requires one of us to stay by her room until she falls asleep each night.

19. She loves to "help." Whatever it is, she wants to be in on it with the excuse "I want to help!"
20. She likes to wear dresses, tights and anything pink... or with Spiderman on it!
21. She is growing very big and tall. It's hard to believe she'll be 3 years old soon!
22. She likes to go on trips and doesn't like to be left home when anyone is going out.
23. She's still very hot-natured... it's funny how easily she works up a good sweat.
24. And she's still much more wonderful than I deserve!!!! I'm so thankful to be her dad.

beach pictures

* We all shared our pictures with one another, so most of the good ones were taken by Wendy or Mom!

Springtime

Spring is honest-to-goodness finally here, with blooms on the trees, a freshly tilled garden (wish us luck)... and, of course, some pictures!

We had a very nice Easter, too... even if the kids wouldn't sit still for pictures!

25 Random Things

There's are notes being posted on facebook, "25 Random Things," where you write 25 random things about yourself and then pass it on to 25 friends. I thought I'd go ahead and post it here, too. Enjoy!

1. My whole family is great (and there's a lot of my mom and dad in me), but my dream is that I turn out just like my grandfather, Leland Schindler.
2. I love hanging out with teenagers, I think maybe especially middle school guys (so long as there aren't any little girls around for them to impress).
3. It's been a long time since I've done some of my favorite things-- snow ski, golf, play poker, wear bowties, or study ancient Hebrew and Greek... very sad.
4. My middle name is John. I was named after my grandfather, John Claire Swinehart... another amazing man :)
5. I don't think my wife is as amused as I am that I have so many "old flames" as facebook friends (and, Cindy, no comments on "the list"!)
6. I was a student at UK when we went to three straight national championship games and won two titles ('96 & '98)... maybe I should go back to school!
7. Amy and I met in 1996 at UK (tomorrow is the 14-year anniversary of the day we met). It turned out we had several friends in common who were helpful in getting us to start dating :)
8. My favorite restaurants are Chipotle, Sonny's BBQ, Chick-fil-a, Giuseppe's, the Melting Pot, and any kind of Hibachi Japanese place (I like meat and chocolate... but not at the same time).
9. Though I played trumpet and french horn in band, I most enjoyed choral music and eventually taught myself how to play guitar.
10. I enjoy blogging (www.grabacorner.blogspot.com) and reading blogs, listening to podcasts, texting, facebook, twitter, etc.
11. As I type this, Kate is napping next to me... so sweet! I love my daughter more than I ever imagined. Truly amazing!
12. Adoption has taught me more about God than I am able to put into words. I highly recommend it :)
13. I'm usually bad at details and better at big picture stuff. (Amy does not like this feature in her husband.)
14. I love playing with the boys. Ben and Will are getting to that age now where we can do more and more fun "guy" stuff... I only wish I had more energy!
15. Not that I want more kids, but if we had another boy, I wish my wife would let me name him "Cook"... after the English name of a kid I met in China in 1997.
16. I love football. (This will be a long offseason.)
17. Though I've got some close friends, as a whole, I've never been able to replace my college "accountability group"... Shawn, Cager, Greg, Chuck (Last one on facebook is a eunuch, Chuck!)
18. With that said, I really miss Monday nights in Somerset (Poker for Jesus)
19. I love to read... but won't read fiction.
20. I watch much less tv these days, though I still carve out time to watch the Simpsons and the Colbert Report (usually on hulu.com)
21. Because Amy won't live north and I don't want to live south, we have a short list of places we would likely live: Hawaii, North Carolina, Kentucky, overseas, and Virginia (in that order... for me, at least).
22. Images are important to me (usually in the form of metaphors or stories)... they are useful for helping me think about/ understand things I have a hard time putting into words.
23. The trip to the Liberty Bowl this year was so much fun... thanks Alex and John.
24. I truly enjoy hanging out with my brothers, Rick and Brian, and wish I got to do that more. (It's funny how things change over the years, huh?)
25. Especially since so many high school classmates are on here now, I think there should be a 15-year class reunion for PHS class of '94. Any plans in the works, Emily, Jessica, or Steve?

hard books & surgeries

(* in the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I'm typing this on a decently sophisticated cell phone.)

Right now I am sitting on a lay-down chair in my daughter's warm hospital room on a cold, snowy day... and I feel especially aware of the irony of it all.

Firstly, I am so thankful to the Lord for letting Kate's surgery today go so smoothly. This was a real blessing for her and for me and Amy.

We left the house at 5am, and made our way cautiously (and safely) to the hospital. Kate had been in a great mood up until the time they picked her up and carried her away from her Mom and Dad into the OR. They began with the ear tubes and were done before we knew it. The cleft repair and minor lip revision took a little longer (about an hour and a half). She's been a combination of grumpy, scared, mad, hurting, confused, apprehensive, and sleepy all day. Honestly, she has slept and cuddled most of the day, with short bouts of crying mixed in. I knew she'd want Mommy immediately, but I was thrilled that she allowed me to comfort her quite a bit! We will talk to the surgeon more tomorrow, but the roof of her mouth looks good from our perspective. On the other hand, she may have messed up some of the stitching on her lip "touch up."

Probably not coincidentally, I finally finished reading "Everything Must Change" by Brian McLaren, as Kate lay sleeping on my chest this evening. This is one of those super hard books. It focuses on how the world is caught in this suicidal web of overconsumption in pursuing prosperity, violence in trying to attain security, and inequality that results from attempting to guarantee the other two... and it's all reinforced by a broken "framing story." He paints a bleak picture where we're all caught up in this self-destructive mess, none more so than the United States. It's shocking to read about our military... that we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy ten planet earths, or that it costs $100 million per day to keep our weapons poised and ready, or that so much of our economy is based on arms sales (even often supplying weapons to both sides of a conflict). McLaren writes about our unsustainable consumption and our gross exploitation of the world's poor.

But he also talks about hope and a new vision. This is where it gets hard because it calls for rejecting or "defecting from" the ordinary way the world works which is so pervasive and all-encompassing in favor of "the kingdom of God." Besides feeling powerless because it seems like there's little I can do to change the big societal problems, it challenges me with the inconvenience of doing many little things I CAN do (and by doing so begin to change some of the culture around me).

Ok, so here's the irony. I'm acutely aware all the sudden of how this is related to today. Inequality. How many of those here who lost their power today in the ice storm are cognizant of the millions who live without it daily? Prosperity. Did I ever think about the kind of prosperity system that makes possible a surgery like this? What do people on the other side of the world (particularly the developing world) think about my ease of access to medical care, especially non-life-threatening, life-enhancing medical care? What's it mean that by virtue of her residence in the US, Kate has this kind of care afforded her (almost as a right)? And what do I now do with this? I know as a Chinese orphan, there's a good chance she wouldn't have had this opportunity, and the adoption itself is a part of this kind of living out of the Kingdom. But despite this, is my prosperity somehow at the expense of someone else? In a global community, it seems like I should be asking questions like this. I don't know. (It doesn't help that I saw a complaint about internet access and read about a shopping trip described as "heaven" earlier, either.) Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely grateful that Kate will have benefited from this procedure. I just somehow have this sense that I've unknowingly bought into the Empire of Caesar more than the Kingdom of God sometimes.

processing stuff

It's time for this blog to do what it's really here to do: help me process some thoughts.

Kate is going in for surgery on Wednesday morning. As most of you are aware, my daughter was born with a cleft lip/ cleft palate. Her lip was repaired in China when she was seven months old (thanks to the generous sponsors of the "Happy Fund" in Suzhou). There is a little scarring and a "bump" on her upper lip from the repair, but I feel like it was done well and, if you've seen her, would have to admit that she's the most beautiful little girl you've ever seen!! (By the way, the doctor also concurs that the procedure was done well... which is important.)

So, though the lip was repaired, Kate still has an unrepaired cleft palate. The cleft in her palate is complete, which means the hole in the roof of her mouth spans both the hard and soft palate all the way to the gum line. Wednesday they will insert ear tubes (to help with the constant ear infections which are common with cleft-affected kids) and repair the cleft, leaving only the gum line unrepaired (which they will repair through a bone graft once she's a little older and her permanent teeth have come in). This later surgery, along with probably pretty extensive orthodontics, will help with her teeth and under bite.

The surgery on Wednesday will be in the morning, and they are planning to keep her overnight to watch for any swelling that might obstruct her breathing. Then she will come home Thursday to a diet of nothing but liquids for ten days. This will be quite a test, I think... she loves to eat and it will be tricky to work out the logistics of feeding the boys and keeping food (and toys) out of her mouth. After the ten days, she'll have a period where she can only eat soft foods like mashed potatoes and whatever we put in the blender before she eventually returns to eating normal again.

This surgery has the potential to be so great for her. For example, because of the cleft, she is unable to suck. As much as she loves straws (she insists on having one every time we go out to eat and non-stop pretends to drink out of it), how great will it be once she's recovered from the surgery and she can actually suck something through them! We're also hoping it will help with the amount of drool :)

Also, every once in a while, the cleft has made it so that when she sneezes, food comes out her nose. (I remember the first time she did this and a huge chunk that had apparently been lodged up there flew out and landed on my arm! Nice.)

More than that, her language should progress significantly. Because of the cleft, she has a very hard time making many sounds (she was never really able to speak Chinese either). In the mean time, we've been learning sign language so that she can communicate with us, and it has worked pretty well so far. And even if she doesn't get all the sounds just right, she already does such a great job with the English words she has learned so far like "hello," "bye," "home," "help," "hot," and "mama." Kate's got a great speech therapist working with her already, and I can't wait for her to make more sounds and start speaking more and more words and phrases. It'll make such a difference in her life.

But I can't help but think, "Poor girl!" I feel so bad for her. We really can't prepare her for this. Obviously she doesn't understand the English word "surgery"... not to mention the fact that it's hard to explain to a two-year old the principle of delayed gratification, i.e. what hurts so bad now will make your life so much better down the road. She doesn't have a clue that her world is going to be turned upside-down. I mean, there she is having such a great time with us, laughing and playing. With all we've gone through to try to build trust and avoid her rejecting us; I'm afraid something like this might destroy all that we've built the last three months.

I'm praying for the surgery to be successful and the healing to be quick, but maybe that's my deeper prayer-- let this ordeal not damage our relationship with her and turn her away from us... and maybe even somehow let it strengthen her bonds with her mommy and daddy. Or at least, let her emotional wounds from this surgery heal eventually, too.

That's the problem with suffering, isn't it? Let her go through it or protect her from it? Will it drive her away or draw her closer? As a good dad, I have to submit my daughter to this trauma. I wish I could save her from it, but I see the bigger picture and the long-term benefit of the surgery. It wouldn't be real love or mercy if I let her avoid the pain. But if she were given the choice, she might choose not to have to endure the pain and she may not perceive that I did what was really best. In the same kind of way, I guess I hope that through whatever painful experiences I might have to face in my own life that I will know that I have a Father I can trust so that I don't doubt his love for me, even if in my own eyes it seems unloving. Pain usually leads to one of two things: greater distance or greater closeness. I think that if Kate really trusts me, then as she receives comfort from me in the pain, it will knit our hearts together more and more. Oh God, please help my little girl know her daddy loves her.

Top 10 Highlights of 2008

In honor of the new year, I thought I would do a top 10 list of my highlights from 2008. Enjoy.

1. Kate & China
The biggest highlight of the year, of course, is the adoption of our daughter, Kate. We were finally matched with our daughter this summer on July 11th. After getting our LOA and TA, we traveled to China for two weeks in October, and on October 13th, 2008 we met her for the very first time. While we were in China, we went through Beijing and saw the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, traveled to Nanjing and Suzhou and walked around the beautiful canals and the Ming mausoleum, and finished up in Guangzhou with some final shopping and the oath ceremony at the US Consulate. After an extremely long flight, we returned home on her 2nd birthday, October 23rd. She has been a constant joy, even as our new family struggles through the newness and strangeness of it all. She has gone from wanting me non-stop for the first two weeks, to not wanting me at all (only Mommy), and now--especially in the last little bit-- she seems to be comfortable with us both (though sometimes she still just wants Mommy). We have worked through a lot of communication issues already: we picked up some Chinese, she seems to understand a lot of English now, and we've all been learning sign language. She loves her brothers, and the boys absolutely adore her. I can't tell you how thankful to God I am that we are now together at last.

2. the Boys
The boys are great kids. I'm so proud to be their dad. This has been a wonderful year with them. Ben and I have always been close, but now that Kate has come along, I think Will is becoming a little less of a Mama's boy and has been closer to me. This summer they both took swim lessons, and they're starting an indoor soccer program next month. In the Fall, Will started preschool two days a week and Ben started half-day Kindergarten five days a week. They are so smart and are great at teaching Kate new things. In 2008 Ben started reading, and I'm so amazed with his ability to read so well (he reads anything and everything he can get his hands on). And Will is very creative and athletic. The work he brings home from school and church are very imaginative, and he's becoming quite coordinated as we play ball together. I'm so excited to watch how they continue to grow!

3. 10-year anniversary
This August, Amy and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary, and we took a long weekend trip together to Myrtle Beach (via Chimney Rock, NC). If you know my wife, you know how lucky I am. She is beautiful and sweet and smart and witty. She loves God and her family and supports me and my ministry in a hundred different ways. I love that she "gets it" (i.e. she cares about the things that you're supposed to care about), and she's so great at listening to me go on and on about whatever I need to talk about. She's my favorite.

4. Baptisms
This year, three students from our youth ministry were baptized: Buckley, Sarah and Stefanie. I was also privileged to perform the baptisms for Stefanie, her step-dad Dean, and a new friend, Aaron. It is a huge honor to be a part of such a special moment in their spiritual journey.

5. Toronto
I think the highlight of our youth ministry in 2008 for me was probably our mission trip to Toronto, Canada. It was awesome to be a part of a group of 10 youth and 3 adults from our church to serve in the urban center of Toronto this summer. We had a great time, and I got to witness God using our teenagers to go outside their comfort zone and serve others. I'm continuing to see ripples from this week of ministry all throughout our youth group.

6. Fusion, Summer Internship, and Student Leadership
In my second year of youth ministry here, I'm proud of three new developments. One is our youth ministry network called Fusion. In January, I began contacting and pulling together youth ministers from churches all over town and setting up opportunities for us to get together. In the Fall, we pulled off our first joint venture-- Fusion: United-- community service projects and joint worship service. I've enjoyed getting to know these awesome leaders and look forward to what we'll do together in the future.

Second, we started a summer youth internship program. Blair, a junior at the college next door, worked with the youth this summer and did a fantastic job. She was full of great ideas, was great relating to the youth, and was fun to work with. I've enjoyed hanging out with Blair and am glad that she's continued working with our girls high school small group.

Finally, there were a few students who were ready to take the next step in their relationship with God and their role within the youth ministry. So, we've begun a student leadership program with four students who have committed to being contributors instead of just consumers. We're meeting to talk about what it will take to be the kind of leaders within the student ministry that God wants them to be. It's so exciting seeing their enthusiasm.

7. Jacob & Hawaii
Back in January of this year, Amy's mom took the family to Hawaii for two weeks. It was our Christmas present and basically a last chance to spend family time with Amy's brother, Jacob, and his wife, Alison. Later in 2008 they would leave for the mission field. It will probably be quite some time before we get to spend much time together again, so the trip to Hawaii was such a significant two weeks. It was so nice to escape the cold January winter for the warmth of the Hawaiian beaches. But more than that, it was great for us and the boys to spend some time with some of our favorite people. We saw the sights, ate good food, drank Jamba Juice, visited friends (Kele and Kaala & their kids), sat on the beach, and played together. Especially since Ben and Will miss them so much now, I'm glad we got these two short weeks together.

8. Presidential election
In 2008, we saw the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. I'm still in shock that it happened, but I'm very excited for this new time for America. I saw him in person at the campaign rally for the Democratic nomination in Louisville on May 12th and followed the general election on the news pretty regularly. I'm proud to be a part of this historical moment in our country's history, and I look forward with great anticipation the work that he'll do when he begins his term in office.

9. New Guitar
In March, with some of the money my grandmother left me, I purchased a new guitar. It's a Takamine EG543SC Acoustic Electric, and it's beautiful. It's got a great sound, and I love playing it. I think Grandma would be happy that I'm enjoying it so much :)

10. Cubs, Browns, UK basketball disappoint, but football Cats make 3rd straight bowl game

As you would expect from the Browns and the Cubs, I was very disappointed this year. Both had high expectations-- the Cubs even led the NL in wins-- but both failed miserably. The Cubs got swept in the first round of the playoffs to the Dodgers. The Browns barely even made it out of the gate before finishing the season miserably with two injured QBs, no offensive TDs since early November, and firing the head coach. Pitiful.

The Cats struggled in their first year with new head coach, Billy Gillispie. Had it not been for the emergence of Patrick Patterson it would have been very ugly. And even barely squeaking into the NCAA tournament, we made an early first round exit to Marquette. I don't even remember the last time we were ranked in the top 25. As we head into the SEC part of the schedule in 2009, I'm starting to have some hope for the Cats yet.

On the positive side, congratulations to the underestimated/ overachieving UK football team. Even though no one expected them to have much of a year, they crawled their way across the six and six line into their third-straight bowl game appearance (and hopefully third-straight bowl win). I'll be heading to Memphis tomorrow with great hope that they'll pull another one out, this year against the Conference-USA champions, the East Carolina Pirates.