Happy Birthday, Mikey!

My first words to you, soon after you made your appearance, were, "I forgive you." They were joyfully given... but weighing in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces, 10 days late, with a super-quick labor that left me no time to even be given the option for drugs, and did I tell you that you weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces? You were worth waiting for, Sweetie.


I don't usually cry after giving birth, but when the birth team announced your birth date with your birth information, I cried. We don't always know what God's plan is, but we do know that in giving you to us on the very (10 days late!) day that He did, He gave us a joyful sparkle on a day that will carry much sadness for Americans for many years to come.

We thank God for you, Mikey. You are a good kid. We love your enthusiasm for life, your love for others, and your good-natured, easy going personality. And you have slept through the night since you were two weeks old. Good kid!

We love you, Mikey.

Happy 4th Birthday!

Are You Equipped?

Good thoughts from Pastor Greg:

While the necessity of adequate training and preparation for effective usefulness is an inbred reality in our society, we in the church often fail to recognize the need for such training, education and preparation when it comes to spiritual matters. Believers sometimes forget that God has saved us and left us on this earth for a reason—to do something. He wants to use us to “bear fruit” for His glory (Jn. 15:8), actively pursuing the “good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. And in order to be effectively used by God, we simply must be “equipped” – trained, educated, prepared. Eph. 4:11,12 speaks directly to this issue:

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…

The key principle here is that God has given gifted leaders to the church whom He uses to equip the saints – all believers – for the work of service (for the ability to minister and serve one another). The word translated “equip” here literally means “to set in order or to mend,” In the context of Eph. 4:12 it has to do with making someone completely adequate or sufficient for something. A form of the same word is seen in 2 Tim. 3:17, in a passage explaining why the inspiration and sufficiency of the Word of God is so profitable, “…that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

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Moral: Windows are for looking out, not jumping out!

Story Time

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!!

It's hard to believe that you are five years old... I know they say it happens so fast, and indeed, it did. You are such a gift from God, Little One. You have such a fiery personality and tender, compassionate heart, all wrapped into one. You have taught me so much... most recently, that it's much more traumatizing to have a child turn five than it is for one to turn thirty! We love you, Baby Girl, and we pray that you would fervently glorify the One who has gifted you with so much, and Who has gifted us with you!

Happy Birthday, Eliana!!

Sammy at Three Months

Patty Cake Video

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Alice.com

I have a new love. Seriously. Most of you know how much I hate shopping. If you don't know, I'll tell you now. I hate shopping. I would buy everything online, allowing me to just shop in quick spurts when the mood strikes (and the children are otherwise occupied), but that's not always practical. And I also don't like to get ripped off, so unless it's a larger item or a book, buying stuff online doesn't usually produce the best deal.

Until now... Of course, there's always an exception to every rule, but I have to tell ya'll about this new site, Alice.com. The premise of this site is warehouse prices without the bulk and without the warehouse. Basically, it's items that you would normally buy at Walmart or Target, at even better prices (of what I've noticed -- but of course, there's always exceptions, so certainly feel free to prove me wrong). I've compared prices to Amazon Grocery, and the deals at Alice.com are much better.

And get this: they clip the coupons for you. I hate clipping coupons. I hate trying to organize them and remember what I have. I hate it when they expire and you have to clear them out. At Alice.com, I don't have to worry. They search for manufacturer coupons and add it to my already good deals automatically. Sweet.

AND -- get ready for this, Sharon -- the shipping is always free. Okay. Now you're telling me, there's no way they can have great deals AND free shipping. There has to be a catch. Well, there is -- you have to buy at least six items at a time (though they gave me, and presumably you, a first time order of less than six items to check it out). But six items can be found pretty easily and pretty cheap. And when was the last time you went to Walmart and bought less than six items? Here's the purchase I made just a bit ago:

Old Spice Invisible Solid, Original Scent $2.87 - $1.00 =$1.87
Oral-B Bubblegum, Disney Princess $2.49 - $1.00 = $1.49
Oral-B Rocket Berry, Little Einstein's $2.49 - $1.00=$1.49
Oral-B Berry Bubble, Tigger & Pooh $2.49 - $1.00 =$1.49
Shout Wipes, Instant Stain Remover $2.59 - $0.55 = $2.04
Kotex Ultra Thin Pads, Regular, Unscented $3.31 - $1.00 = $2.31

Sub-Total $16.24
Coupons - $5.55
Tax $0.94
Shipping Always Free

Total $11.63

Six items. Free Shipping. Less than 12 bucks.

They also have a great set-up for organizing the products you commonly buy, and I love the ability to search through their best deals to see what items they have good coupons for at the time (hence the reason I stocked up on the kids' toothpaste in the purchase above!)

So try it out! And use this link to set up your account, please. We'll get a handy dandy referral bonus and YOU will get a $10 credit after you have spent at least $50 at Alice.com. (Don't worry - I would have blogged about it even if I didn't get a referral bonus. I like it that much. And all the embedded links lead to the same place, so feel free to click on any one!)

Three Weeks Already...

Full Van

In honor of this picture (aren't they cute??), we've set up a handy-dandy poll on the side bar so that you, our dear readers, can help us with our next "dilemma." Weigh in now while you have a chance!

Samuel Joseph

with his friend Nathan

with Danny and Eliana

with Danny

Samuel Joseph

born May 5, 2009

8 pounds, 10 ounces

20 1/2 inches long

"Uh...Honey?" revisited

I've been thinking about this post all morning as someone (I won't mention names) made a couple comments (yes, both this morning! can you believe it?) that reminded me of the post and made me want to add these additional ideas for any husband out there with a wife. Please don't say these things to your wife. Especially if she is over-due with your child.

"Well, your belly IS getting really big..."

"Well, you DO know that your body is going to start wasting away quite quickly, anyway, now that you're 30 and all..."