Goodbye 2008

Well, it's one of my favorite times of the year.  I reflect on the year gone by and look forward to the possibilities of the new year to come.  I'm always amazed how short a year really is when it's all done. I usually take the day to reflect on the year and then the first day of the new year to set goals.  This year, I have 14 family members here and I won't have time.  But that's okay, I'm so grateful to have them here.  I'll make room for all of that next week.  

Besides, there are too many personal memories to list in one day.  And, since I don't have time, I'm going to make this short.  

At the core of 2008, I'm grateful for God's grace, for my marriage, for my children - including our girl to join us in 2009, and our many family and friends that support and encourage us along the way.  

Here's to an outstanding year to come! I'm so thankful to be living this life with you.

Country Music Marathon

Here come the New Years Resolutions! 

I just signed up for the 1/2 Marathon on April 25, 2009.  13.1 miles.  Gulp!  I've never ever run that far.  5k - no problem.  10k, yeah, I could do it.  But, 13.1 miles - that's going to be a new milestone for me personally.  Mainly because I have an IT band that gets excruciatingly sore at about mile 6.  But, some of my friends have encouraged me that it's manageable with stretching and exercises.

With the help of my friends, I'm going to begin training, hope my knee holds up and accomplish this goal in 2009. 

Country Music Marathon - here I come!

Strange Sleepers

Even though we've separated them into their own beds, they still end up sleeping together.  Here is one of the more strange poses - taken at 11pm recently.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Starry Night Soup as prepared by Krissy!  Yumm!

Our family having a Christmas Eve dinner together and then we opened a present (or two) each that evening. 

Kaden prepared a special present for me...used Halloween Candy from the pantry: old wax lips, a pair of suckers and partially eaten pop rocks.  How thoughtful of you, Kaden!  Krissy and I laughed to ourselves when we had a moment alone.

Later on, I pretended that Santa and Nordhoff the Red Nosed Reindeer landed on our roof and delivered our presents.  The boys were scared and made us lay with them until they fell asleep.  So much for the Santa magic...

Christmas Morning

Nothing beats Christmas Morning.  Here are some pics of the boys.

Pink and Butterflies

We finished redecorating and painting Anthem's room this week.  

Our neighbors were so kind to give us a rocking chair.  We fixed it up a bit, painted it white and put new yellow cushion covers on it.  Krissy worked her buns off making those things.

Our other neighbors loaned us a crib and changing table which they used last for their daughter.  

So, there we are - Anthem's new room is ready for her.  We can't wait.  March 30th can't come soon enough for us.  
In the meantime, we are enjoying her kicks!

New UltraSound Pictures of Anthem

Krissy went to the doctor on Monday for her regular ultrasounds.  Everything about our baby girl, Anthem, is healthy.  She is due March 30, 2009.  Here are some pictures.  

The first is a closeup of her head.  You see her eyes are well developed.  She weighs almost 1 pound 9 ounces now. She is already growing hair on her head.  Maybe she'll have her Daddy's hair - oh no!!

The second is a picture of her foot.  She's got all her toes!

The last one is a picture of her face and her arm behind her head.  She's resting easy in Mommy's belly.

Thank you for sharing in our blessing!

The Greatest Test - Prosperity

Another great Os Hillman devotional reading...

Elevated From the Pasture
By Os Hillman
Powered By Marketplace Leaders

Now then, tell my servant David, "This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over My people Israel." - 2 Samuel 7:8

Have you ever heard someone say, "He is a self-made millionaire"? They are stating that this person accomplished everything through his own efforts. His achievements were a result of his hard work and street smarts.

David was nearing the end of his life. The prophet Nathan was responding to David's idea to build a temple where the Ark of the Covenant would stay. God reminded David of his roots and where He had brought him. God took David from the fields of pasturing sheep to pastoring a nation. God reminded David that He cut off all of David's enemies. (David never lost a battle.)

Have you ever felt tempted to look at your accomplishments with pride as if you were the reason for your success? Have you ever thought your prosperity was due to your ingenuity? Has your material success been a testimony to others that God is the ruler of all aspects of your life, even the material side?

Joseph's greatest test was not his temptation to be bitter against his brothers. It wasn't the sexual temptation that came inside Potiphar's house. It wasn't even the discouragement of years of imprisonment for being wrongfully accused. It was the temptation of prosperity and ownership. Once he was elevated, he was given choices that he never had before. It was totally up to him as to which choice he would make. Stewardship reveals what we believe about God and ourselves.

Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity. -Oswald Chambers

Do you have a proper understanding of who you are? Do you understand that it is God who has given you the ability to work and achieve? He is the source of all good things. Ask God today if your life models this belief.

My Son Is Reading 2 Pages a Minute

My son, Alex, called me last night while I was out buying paint supplies for this weekend's project.  He was proudly stating he just finished a 312 page book.  My son is 9 years old!  He loves to read; he particularly loves the Warriors and, now, the new Seekers series.  I encourage him all the way.  You go Alex!  Daddy's proud of you.

The Spirit of Competition

Another great devotional from Os Hillman...

I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me. - John 17:23

A story is told about F.B. Meyer, the great Bible teacher and pastor who lived a century ago. He was pastoring a church and began to notice that attendance was suffering. This continued until he finally asked some members of his congregation one Sunday morning why they thought attendance was down.

A member volunteered, "It is because of this new church down the road. The young preacher has everyone talking and many are going to hear him speak."

His name was Charles Spurgeon. Meyer, rather than seeking to discourage this, exhorted the entire congregation to join him and go participate in seeing this "move of God" as he described it to his congregation. 

"If this be happening, then God must be at work."

Meyer, even though he was an accomplished preacher and teacher, recognized where God was at work and joined Him in it. [The author heard this on a radio show from Key Life Ministries with Steve Brown, based in Orlando, Florida.]

Can you imagine this story taking place in our competitive world today? Competition has penetrated the Church so much that many churches and Christian organizations approach ministry like a sports event. They view their mission as a business that seeks to gain market share among Christians - donors, members, influence - all under the name of God. I am sure God looks down at us and asks, "Whatever happened to John 17:23?" Sometimes we must remind our fellow servants that we are all on the same team! We should be seeking to impact the Kingdom of God, not increase our own market share.

When Jesus made this statement about unity in John 17:23, it represented the key to bringing salvation to many. He was saying that when His Body is unified, the non-Christian would be able to see who Jesus really is - the Son of God. Are you contributing to unity in the Body of Christ? Or are you contributing to a spirit of competition? Ask God where you can be an instrument of unity in His Body.

The Spirit of Competition

December 3, 2003

Os Hillman

Nordhoff, the Red Nosed Reindeer

Our friends, Katie and Hector called Krissy today laughing. 

Their son, Malachi, is insisting that instead of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," it's supposed to be "Nordhoff the Red Nosed Reindeer."  Katie told him that the reindeer's name is Rudolph, and our last name is Nordhoff, and he said, "Well, then, what's a Nordhoff?"  

Even after all this, he came home yesterday from school saying they made 'Nordhoff's' in class, and today they heard him happily singing from his room, "Nordhoff, the Red Nosed Reindeer!"

I never knew we were so famous:)

The Payoff Is Worth The Hard Work

We conquered a major project this weekend.  We've converted our bonus room into the boys room this weekend.  All of the pictures and decor are not up yet, but at least you can see it at 80% completion.  

We prepped the room for painting: spackled loads of cracks in the ceiling, taped the room and cleared the floor.  Then, we finally painted a new ceiling, walls and trim.  We also added a new ceiling light and installed new hardware on all of the doors (not pictured).

The theme is football - complete with Titans sheets and football light switch plate.  Pictures of the boys' flag football adventures (see other posts) will be on the wall and there will still be plenty of room to fit the lego table next to the window!

I'm sore today after 20 hours of work, but it feels good!

Next weekend is Anthem's room (our new baby girl coming in March).