Friday, May 21, 2010

Leah Joy 10 weeks old

So today we had another doc appointment for Leah and I wanted to post a cute picture and give you and update on her stats (how big she is and stuff)
(Our friend Adena took this super sweet picture)
So for Leah's 10 week check up she is:
23.5 inches long= 75%-90%
12 pounds 12 ounces= 75%-90%
and her head is huge; that is basically what our doc said.

What does all this mean?  It means that Leah is healthy, she is growing and she is an amazing little girl (the last one is my perspective).

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Sophie Loves Her Hippo

When Charity and I went to Africa back in December 2006 I bought this wood Hippo.  I'm not exactly sure why I bought it; maybe because I like to barter and I thought a wood Hippo this big would be cool maybe because we saw some Hippo's in real life; who knows!
(The Hippo himself)
Well when Sophie was about 12 months old, maybe younger, she fell in love with the Hippo!  When I say fell in love I mean it.  She would ask for the Hippo every morning and wanted to cuddle with it.  The though thing about the Hippo is that he weighs 8.6 pounds and Sophie weighs 21.2 pounds (with her clothes on).
(I wasn't kidding when I said she loves the Hippo)
About 6 months ago I hid the Hippo for a month and Sophie cried for it almost every morning; I finally gave it back.  Maybe a two months ago I placed the Hippo under the bed to give him some rest and keep him away from Sophie.  Well the other morning we were playing on the ground and Sophie found the Hippo.  I don't know what it is but Sophie loves this Hippo!  She loves him so much she cuddles him after she dropped him on her foot in the bathroom.
(Yep, crying and still hugging Hippo)
Not sure why my daughter loves the 8.6 pound wood Hippo from Africa but she does!  Even after we took the pictures of Hippo all she wanted to do was look at him.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

A Changed Life- Nick Markovich

This week we had Nick Markovich share his story of how God changed his life.  I love Nick's story because it talks about the changed life and how it doesn't just happen all at once; God is constantly working in our life and leading us to life change.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Simple Weekend Learning

This weekend I learned a few simple things that seemed noteworthy to share with the rest of the world.  The one story I am going to share is something that will be a bit of an emotional learning for my life; but its good for me to share from my heart about what God is teaching me.

On Friday night we went to a dance deal at Coronado High School.  A few of Charity's small group girls were in the dance deal and its always good to get onto the high school campus and see students that we love.  We saw a lot of students that we have grown to love and been able to have involved in our life.  Well this night we brought Sophie and I wasn't sure how she would do sitting still for 75 minutes.  She sat with me for a few, then went to Jena for a little bit, then she went to the row behind us to sit with Kiki and Chandler.  While she was sitting with Kiki I looked back and just thought to myself: "My daughter is growing up".  She was dialed into the dancing and rarely took her eyes off the girls on stage.

So intermission came and we decided it would be the best time to leave so we could get Sophie home to bed.  In the car (I think is where it was) Charity said something like this: "The old saying is that it takes a village to raise a child".  This got me thinking for the last 48 hours, but even better than that is that Charity also commented that we have a "village" around us.  That village consists of grandparents willing to travel to town to see our children, high school students who hold my daughter and graduated students who come over and babysit.  We have a village around us (I haven't started to mention all our friends at church like: the Rossiters, the Shines, the McComb's, the Yureks and so many more families who love our family) that is helpings us to raise our family.  The cool thing about the village is that they help me grow as a person also; they are there for me to ask questions on life, parenting, where to take my wife for Mother's Day and other valuable information.

Thank you to our "village" that has surrounded us and helps us grow as a individuals and a family.  Honestly, we could not do this, nor would we want to, with out you all!

Thursday, May 06, 2010

A Changed Life- Zoe Dodd

This week Zoe Dodd shared her story in our High School Ministry.  I love hearing her story and how God has totally grabbed her heart.  Zoe has an amazing heart and I see big things happening in her life as she continues to seek Jesus.  I'm also very thankful for Sam being there to answer her questions while we were at Hume Lake last summer!  Thanks for sharing your story Zoe!

Monday, May 03, 2010

A Changed Life- Series Overview

When we do a sermon series in our High School Ministry its not just open the Bible, point to a verse and preach on it. I am constantly asking God what He wants us to teach students and how that translates into life change for them; what can they apply to their lives?
For this series I landed on the Sermon on The Mount. As I was reading over the text (Matthew Chapters 5-7) I just kept thinking "Jesus is calling the people to life change". Jesus tells them what they heard from others and then shares with them the plans He has to change their life through the truth of God. Here's the deal though; its tough! Its tough because when you read The Sermon on The Mount it calls for life change and most of us aren't ready for that!

Here is how we broke the six week series down:
Week 1: Matthew 5:1-12
Week 2: Matthew 5:21-26
Week 3: Matthew 5:33-48
Week 4: Matthew 6:5-15
Week 5: Matthew 6:25-34
Week 6: Matthew 7:7-14