5 years 6 photos

Happy Birthday Dave Dave

You were born on February 9, 2009 - a great day to be sure...

You have always been full of joy.

You bring a good attitude with you wherever you go.

You are fun to be around.

You have a great sense of adventure.

You live life to the full.

...and as great as February 9, 2009 was, I am confident that your greatest days are ahead of you. I love you Dave Dave. Happy Birthday. 

We're Climbers

That's right. We Ericksons might not be tall human beings, but we sure like to be on top of tall things. This winter we've been climbing stuff.

Dave Dave can't even see, and he's climbing stuff.

Anna Rose has never even seen Rocky. Not once.

Even the dogs…

Our dogs like to climb things.

Not to be out done.

(Lia's climbing footage…suspiciously missing…)

Hot Yoga - an Expose

Lia has been trying to get me to do Hot Yoga for months. It has quote, "changed her life." I know I just quoted twice. It's for emphasis. You see, Lia loves hot yoga. And I appreciate that she wants to share something that she loves with me. Really I do.

"So what do you do exactly?"

She describes it. The thing is the ecstasy in her voice doesn't match up with the words coming out her mouth. She tells me how you stay on this rubber mat for sixty minutes in a room that is 115 degrees while putting yourself in painful positions…oh, and you aren't allowed to leave. In other words: torture. But her voice is so enthusiastic. "You just have to try it. Promise me."

"OK," I promised.

So I go on line to see what hot yoga looks like. Here is what I saw:



Oh boy.

Over Christmas my father-in-law showed me this famous illustration of what the slave ships looked like for the Africans who were transported across the ocean. You probably have seen it. Here it is.
 

Now, please don't hear me say that these yoga peeps have it as bad as the slaves did. Hot yoga's only an hour or so, and they choose to be there (unless they are dragged there by their wives, not that I'm speaking from experience or anything). 

So last Sunday I get dragged. The room is packed. It's hotter than the tarmac in Dubai. The girl two rubber mats away is touching the back of her head with her toes. This guy strips down to his Speedo. I turn to Lia, and I tell her I'm out of here. 

She says, "Relax."

Relax. Right. My heart's racing. I can hardly breathe. There is so much stretchy clothing around me. I'm freaking out. The instructor says that the max for the room is 70. We are at 74, not that I am counting. There is definitely not enough oxygen for 74 of us, I think to myself. I panic. I tell Lia that I'm leaving. The instructor shuts the door. She says that whatever you do the one thing you cannot do is leave. I tell Lia I'm leaving anyway. She gives me the trust-me look, or it might have been the do-not-let-me-down look, I can't tell with the sweat blurring my vision. 

I'm just saying.

Somehow, I stayed. I survived. I didn't pass out. It was…a miracle. 

Lia says, "It will be better next week."

NEXT WEEK!

Thank God I promised Hugh I'd run with him. 

I have a week to come up with another excuse. Any ideas?

The Results

 She's what?

Here is the entire genetic history.

Which certifies her as a bone-fide Mutt. The test also found traces of Chow, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Sealyham Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier (Pit Bull), and Dalmation!

However, the three most dominant breeds are Australian Shepherd, Boxer! and German Shepherd. If you see it, you have better eyes than us. 

And so, the winner of the Guess That Dog Contest is Kevin Smith, who guessed Australian Shepherd, Chow mix. Others were close, but we decided that retriever guesses were nullified by the breed not registering at all! I know, can you believe it?

Congratulations, Kevin. A signed Clay is coming your way. 

DRUMROLL PLEASE!

This morning I picked up the results from Summer's (dog on right's) genetic history. They confirmed what we expected: she is a mix breed!

However, there were a few surprises in her past, a few breeds that rose above the others in her melting pot of a gene pool. 

We will reveal the results here tomorrow at 4pm. So that means you have a little more than 24 hours to submit your guesses. 

Ned will send the winner a signed copy of Clay. 

Good lick, I mean luck!

Here are photos from this weekend. (Neither will be used in next year's Christmas card). 

Christmas Chop

We continued the Griswald theme with the annual cutting down of the Erickson family Christmas tree. 

We dragged the kids through the woods until we found it. Anna Rose picked it out. Dave Dave took cover. 

I could tell it was big. But I didn't know how big until we got it in the house!

Fourteen feet, three inches. A new Erickson record. 

A little full. 

Lots of sap. 

There was a bird nest in the branches. We had to tie it to our post to keep it from falling. Our Christmas ornaments took up about a quarter of the available space. We used the balcony to put the star on top. And for as long as we live we will never forget this tree nor will we speak of it without laughing. 

Merry Christmas! May your coming year be sappy and full of joy. 

With love. 

Christmas Vacation Partay 2013 Style

It's the most highly anticipated party of the year! Christmas Vacation 2013 Style. Costume of the year goes to Brad Cox. Mr. Shirley even came with Jelly. I mean come on! It gets better every year.

Andy came as himself. I think.

Becky came as the house. You go Becky. Second Place is yours. She had this crazy long extension cord so as long as she retraced her steps she was cool. 

Ned tried to go as Rocky but he ended up looking more like Ruby Sue. 

Lia went as the cat, which is a perfect segue to our next photo: 

Uncle Lewis! Earlier that day Murf had doused himself with lighter fluid and set his jacket on fire in front of his kids! If that's not all out, I don't know what is. 

MURF! I love you man. There was a faint sent of burnt fabric and back hair emanating throughout the house all night. 

Every year we invite like two thousand people to this party and the same twenty show up. Nevertheless, next year will be the year this thing blows up. That's right. You're invited. I'm giving you a year's notice. Christmas Vacation Partay 2014 is going to be so huge we are going to have to rent out the jumbo-tron at BB&T Field. 

You heard it. Put it on your calendars, friends. The Sunday after Thanksgiving (unless Murf gets sick again and has to postpone it like he did this year) we will have the 23rd annual Christmas Vacation Party of the Century. 

This blog post will self-destruct in 10 seconds. 

CLAY has left the building

Lia and I are pleased to announce that Clay has finally been released. I'm not sure what else to say. I'm so happy. I'm so tired. It feels a lot like what it feels like finishing a marathon. So thankful. So proud. So humbled. So exhausted. I want to celebrate. I want to go to bed. Big breath. Hi Ho Here We Go.(If you want a copy by Christmas, order soon!)

Clay the Paperback 

Clay the Ebook

There are so many of you to thank. Please know how thankful I am for each one of you. 

About the book, here are a few of the kind words some friends have shared on its behalf (plus some of Beth Williams amazing artwork).

Praise for Clay

Clay will seize your heart and your imagination while becoming your friend. Clay will awaken you to the amazing truth that there is something really special about you. Clay will convince you that becoming yourself is what living is all about.

Fil Anderson, author of Running on Empty

Clay powerfully captures a person's journey (particularly a teenager's pursuit) toward purpose and identity. It is real and engaging. I recommend it.

Ty Saltzgiver, Senior Vice President of Young Life

Ned uses the art of metaphor to mine the depths of our common experience. In the personification of Clay we find the fear, loneliness, hope, and longing of our fundamental pursuit of meaning and identity in life – this little story will linger in your soul long after you turn its last page because it is true, and true things stick.

Rick Lawrence, Executive Editor of GROUP Magazine, author of Sifted and Shrewd

I found the work to be wonderfully creative. Several times, I pulled aside to read portions to my family and comment to them how much I was enjoying Clay. The story kept me guessing, wondering how it would end. When I turned the final page and read the last line, I “sliced” a smile and closed the book, contented.

Marty Machowski, author of Long Story Short and the Gospel Story Bible.

For anyone feeling ordinary, here's a story that will redefine you. For anyone searching for purpose, here's a story that will redirect you. For anyone longing for more life, here's a story that will renew you. It's not the lyrical beauty of Erickson's prose or even the "page-turner" storyline that gripped my heart – it was the gradual realization that I am Clay. We are all clay.

Alan D. Wright, author of Free Yourself, Be Yourself and Lover of My Soul

Clay is a book that you will happily add to the list of classic reads that you enjoy returning to again and again. Ned has a truly sweet and pure way of raising our curiosity, drawing us in to Clay's beauty and it's winding path below the surface of things. It is the story of our calling, design and purpose. This book most definitely will awaken the sleeping child in many a reader. It did for me!

Michael R. Jordan,
Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts


Greenwood Community Church, Greenwood Village, CO


This book is simply a gift. Clay’s story is unique and familiar, gut-wrenching and buoyant. With its vibrant language, compelling narrative, and provocative questions of meaning and purpose, we find upon turning the final page that we, like Clay, have been transformed.

Dr. Joan F. Mitchell, Master Teacher and co-author of Bridging English

Clay is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' Narnia – decorated with wonder, but founded on unshakeable truth.  As Clay embarks on his search for purpose, every reader will see bits of themselves in his adventure. If you've ever questioned your purpose in life, doubted your value to the world, or simply longed for something more, then Clay's journey towards "being made" will delight you, teach you, and inspire you. 

Greg Lisson, Director of Christian Life at the Wesleyan School, Norcross, GA

Is this book for you? 

Well, have you ever wondered if there was something more to life? Have you wondered what it was? Or wondered how to get it? Clay has. Wonderings like that curl around his mind like question marks and keep him up at night. That is, they do until the day a boy bumps up the road.

This is a story about what happens on the journey toward meaning and purpose. What happens to Clay will surprise you, shock you. It may even reshape how you see things, including yourself.

Go to http://www.nederickson.com/ for more!

Bet Part Deux

February 2008, our vet Eric Taylor (aka give Clark Griswald a run for his money) at the Reynolda Veterinary Hospital told us that he had just received this promo from this company for getting your dog genetically tested. He didn't know if it worked and was wondering if we would let Winnie be his guinea pig.

Um Yes!

For a trip down memory lane here is what happened: Bet, and The Results Are In



Well, fast forward almost six years and here arrives mutt number two! What do you think we did? We got her genetically tested that's what! Believe it or not, and personally I don't believe it, we were told that we are the only people from Eric's office who have gotten the test done.

That's crazy.

So here is the deal. We are having a Dog Breed Contest Extravaganza. Do you think you know what kinds of dog Summer is? Take a look at these pics, come and visit her, do some research, and

Submit your votes here on this blog, on facebook, or by email by December 26 when we will make the big reveal! A prize will be awarded (likely a signed copy of Clay which will be officially launched by the end of the weekend). Whoop!

There it is! Good luck! And happy guessing!

Video Promo

Award winning artist and filmmaker Steve Childs was kind enough to shoot me trying to recite the entire prologue to Clay. I stumbled through it, and Steve (because he's Steve) made it look good.

But then I woke up at 2:30 in the morning after reciting the prologue in my sleep, and I was like, "Man, I can recite this thing in my sleep." So I called Steve up and asked if he'd film me one more time. He said, Sure if it's right now. So I ran over (this was on that flurry day we had last week). (His studio is just down the street from my office.) (Lots of parentheses today.) And he filmed me. Boom.

Thank you Steve! You are the man.



and check out… http://stevechilds.com/

OH! and http://nederickson.com/

Clay the Cover - Thanks Robert

Robert Milam is the man. Nuff said.

10 days until release!

First Ever Interview

Over the years I have interviewed a lot of people. Last month, it was my turn! Lesha Sabio interviewed me for the Twin City Track Club's monthly newsletter. Woo-hoo. Thanks Lesha! 

Surgery

A little post surgery humor with my nerve blocked arm. (All went well with the surgery.)

Unexpected

I expected this. I expected that Anna Rose would fall in love. I expected her to be a great dog owner. Here's a snippet from the 10 minutes of Anna Rose First Grade Share and Teach footage I was able to score yesterday.



But this. I didn't expect this.



I didn't expect that Ned would fall in love.

The heart is a crazy thing. It is limitless in its capacity. And it grows when you let it. To be honest, I didn't know I had any more love in me. But then I met this dog. And I have fallen in love with her. I'm so full I could burst. But now I realize that there is no fear in a heart bursting because there will always be room in a heart willing to grow.

Summer Has Arrived

Anna Rose has been asking for a puppy for...well, longer than I can remember. The answer's been No. This has been a daily occurrence...well, for longer than I can remember.

Then came that fateful, that beautiful fateful day last spring at Stone Mountain. It was one of those magical family days when everyone is happy. A no tears Saturday. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. A day that happens every once in a while.

It was then we blurted out the fateful words, "If mommy and daddy do not have another child, we'll get a puppy." Anna Rose heard us. She latched on to it. I'm pretty sure she prayed against mommy's womb. Long story short, Lia and I are not having any more children.

Anna Rose went on the offensive. The answer was No. She redoubled her offensive. The answer became Not Yet. I told her (and Lia by this time) that under no circumstances would I allow them to adopt a puppy until I was finished with my book.

One baby at a time.









Last week, the book was finished. And I allowed myself for the first time to look at the rescue puppy website.

Wouldn't you know it - there she was, Summer, like she had been waiting for us.



Then, came the realization that websites do not always get updated as frequently as you would like them, too. We were looking at this website on a Saturday evening, after the day's adoption fair was over. I mean, who wouldn't adopt this puppy?

So now it was my turn to pray.

And now, Summer is coming home today!



I know, crazy, right? Though, I'm developing this theory called "Simplification via Complication Theory." It works like this: Life gets simpler when it's complicated. Like my friend who totaled his car. He's got a million things he could do today, but guess what he's doing? Buying a car. Or my friend who just had surgery. Her life was crazy, but guess what she's doing today? Reading a book. So I'm thinking the same thing might work for us. You know what I got on the agenda today? For the first time this fall, Nothing. It's puppy time. No time for anything else. Simplification by Complication at its best.

Hi Ho Here We Go!

leaves and children - a Sisyphean Task

Some of my best memories from growing up have to do with raking leaves with my dad. 

I don't remember dad getting as frustrated as I was getting. But going back and seeing these pictures brings it all back to what matters. 

Bigger piles tomorrow kids...