A quick riddle for you.

What do you get when you mix 1 four year old, 1 six year old, a box of costume makeup, and a closed door in the bathroom, with permission from mom to play?

I don't think I need to say anymore. Just look at the pictures if you cannot figure out the answer.

Only 7 months to go!

We found out the due date for our new baby today. He/she will be coming into this world on or around July 19, 2009! Brooke is 9 weeks along, a little farther than she thought she was.

So this ultrasound picture is still not our baby, and is actually a little smaller than our baby actually is right now.

This ultrasound is what our baby would look like at this stage(9 weeks).
If it were twins!

But it is not twins, there was only one in there. This ultrasound picture is actually very close to what our baby looked like today at our ultrasound. It is not a picture from our ultrasound but this is about what it looked like. We did get to see the heartbeat too! I do not understand how anyone can look at this and come to the conclusion that this is not a life yet! Nor can I fathom how anyone can see the miracle of conception and development of a child and think that it is all just random chance and it all developed by accident the first time. I thank God once again for the evidence that God has put in our lives and our world that confirm intelligent design and contradict the theory of evolution.
Stay tuned for updates on the new baby.

If God is for us, who......

I just finished my morning devotions. A couple days ago I finished reading through the Bible after starting last January. This time I started in Romans. Today was convicting and encouraging. I sometimes feel like I let life and things get in the way of my walk with God, it becomes stagnant and I am not growing closer to Him. I know the things I should be doing or should not be doing, but through laziness or business I either do not do what I should do, or I do what I know I should not do. This is just like what Paul wrote about in Romans 7:15-25. So it is encouraging to me that even someone like Paul had the same type of struggles and then he explains how to get through them with the strength of the Holy Spirit that resides in us. I really like what he says in 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" All we have to do in times of trouble and temptation, is to call out to God, because He is always there and is always for us. The last two verses of chapter 8 shows what can separate you from God:

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What can separate us from God? Nothing! This is very encouraging in times when you feel like you are falling away. Just trust in Him and He is there for you.

At last, I got one!

And I thought hunting season was over. A couple nights ago, I was able to get a deer during a special hunt! This hunting season is usually from the week after Thanksgiving until the week after Christmas. The hunting area is inside the city limits but once in a while you will find one outside the city. There is no bag limit, so you can go all season. The best time to find these special deer for this special hunt is at night, or at least in the dark. They are not as easy to spot in the daylight. You cannot use a rifle or a pistol for this hunt. It is knife or arrows only. And the ability to unplug an extension cord! I was able to get mine across the street in my neighbors yard! Here is a picture.

The most exciting part of this hunt, is the enjoyment you get while watching the person that lives near the deer discover that his/her deer has been hunted! This part of my hunt was somewhat disappointing as this person walked past the deer 4 or 5 times the night of the hunt and did not notice that its lights were out. But I got the satisfaction of a successful hunt the next morning when I got a text message stating, "All right, who killed my deer?" This is probably the most inexpensive successful hunt I have ever had. The arrow cost $2.50. And I did not need to buy a hunting license or a tag. So it was nice to end the 2008 hunting seasons with a successful hunt and I am looking forward to next year.

Accidental Discovery!

I was playing around with our 1 year old daughter Sarah the other day and found her 7 year old sisters sweater nearby. I thought lets see what she does with this. So, I put it on her and turned her loose. Little did I know that I was about to discover a wonderful new tool for house work and childcare!

Not only did she think it was great fun and took off through the house playing. There was several side benefits that I had not considered before putting it on her. It was great for keeping her out of stuff she was not supposed to be into. She could not grab anything through the sweater. Secondly, now Emmas sweater was no longer laying out on the floor where it did not belong. It was not put away, but it was not laying in a pile on the floor!

The next benefit was that she has enough energy and explores every nook and cranny in the house that she made a great broom. She swept everything up nicely! If you wanted to take it further, you could have a squirt bottle and just squirt a little water on the floor in front of her and she would make a great mop as well! Who knew a child could be so productive at cleaning the house? We also let her crawl around on the carpet and she was able to collect lots of lint. Then, when she would walk along the furniture, like the coffee table, it was great for dusting and as she walked down the hall rubbing her hands along the wall, she was keeping the lower part of the walls clean.

So lets recap all the benefits:
1. She is entertained
2. She cannot get into things
3. The sweater is not in a pile on the floor
4. Broom
5. Mop
6. Vacuum
7. Dusting low furniture
8. Scrubbing walls
9. Makes for great pictures and blog topics.

Sounds like a win win situation. Now I just need to find a sweater for the older sister that is made out of a good material for cleaning! Any recommendations?