Our family according to Jonah

Patriotic baby

Awesome summer Bible study

So I am a blog addict, I think. I have probably no less than 30 blog sites in my favorites list. One that I frequent on a daily basis is Beth Moore's blog. This summer she is facilitating a Bible study written by Kelly Minter. The study is called "No Other Gods: Confronting our Modern Day Idols." When most people think of an "idol", we probably revert back to our Sunday School lessons about idols of gold and such. Kelly teaches that an idol is actually ANYTHING that you are using as a substitute for God. An idol can be a good thing, in and of itself, but it's the attention we give it and the time we spend on it, thinking about it, desiring it, whatever "it" may be, that makes it our idol - our substitute. I am doing this study with nine other ladies from church and we are having an awesome time of fellowship together. I highly recommend this study - to do on your own or with a group of friends. You can read more about it at http://livingroomseries.com/store/. It will really open your eyes to the things that are functioning as gods in your life - when all we really need is to place our complete trust and dependence on the one true living God.

The latest news

Isaac

We finally have a tooth!! After months of chewing and drooling and anticipation, Isaac's first little tooth has appeared, at last. The timing could not have been worse. You see, he also had his 6 month check-up this week - and that means shots. So the poor little guy had 3 shots and cut his first tooth all in one week. God bless the ladies who kept nursery this week at VBS! Last night was a challenge, but they are both great mommies themselves and gave him lots of extra TLC. The other news at his check-up is that now my little guy is..um...well...not so little. He is 21 lbs, 14 oz and 29.5" long. Off the charts for height and 95th percentile for weight. What can I say - I grow 'em big. Everyone asks what I'm feeding him - and really, it's just formula. We are slowly adding new foods, but he still doesn't show much interest..and honestly, it's not like he isn't growing well! I'll try to snap a pic of that little tooth when I get a chance.

Jonah

Jonah is READY FOR KINDERGARTEN!! Honestly, not to sound boastful at all, but I worry the child will be bored. He already knows all his shapes, letters, numbers, can sound out simple words for spelling, can write his full name, can tell time (still working on 5, 10, 15....), can cut, paste, draw better than I can, and "can't wait to go to my new school!" In addition to going to a "new school!" next year, he will also be starting piano lessons - much to my delight - and will be playing soccer - much to his father's delight. Jonah is such a blessing. He loves Isaac to pieces and is the best helper to me. He has such a tender heart and can be quite sensitive, which is sometimes tough when you're a little boy and other little boys want to play rough, but I'm hoping that is something that he can hold on to because I think that's a great quality and it came straight from his daddy. We've also been doing a lot of talking about heaven, Jesus and what it means to ask Jesus to "save us" and how when we do that, we're given the promise of eternal life. He's not too sure about heaven..."will they have toys?"....."will they have my favorite foods?" I can totally understand that it's a strange concept to a child, but I think he's beginning to understand it's better than ANYTHING we'll ever experience on earth. I will not push my child to make a decision because it is his decision to make, but I will pray over him like crazy that his heart will be protected and that one day he will come to choose Jesus. Aahhh...goose bumps!!

I love VBS!

I have such great memories of summer time as a kid. One of the things I remember loving best about summer was VBS! Our church is doing VBS this week. The theme is "Power Lab: Discovering Jesus' Miraculous Power!" Chad and I are both crew members and we'll be teaching the bible story on Tuesday night. Our theme for the night is "Jesus gives us the power to be brave." Chad will be re-enacting Peter's story of walking on water from Matthew 14:22-33. We're going to have a "storm" complete with flashing lights, thunder sounds, rippling waves (blue sheets), rain (spray bottle - ha!) and wind (a big fan). AND - if that weren't enough, the kids will actually get to WALK ON WATER! I kid you not! Apparently if you mix the right amount of cornstarch and water together you get this cool substance called a "Non-Newtonian fluid." If you punch it or slap it, it acts like a solid, but you can pour it like a liquid. Weird, huh? Supposedly, if you walk fast enough across it, you won't sink. If you slow down or stop, you'll begin to sink - just like Peter did when he took his focus off Jesus. So...wanna see? Well, we're not big fans of "Ellen", but she had a guy on her show who did this and it's REALLY COOL - take a look...



Isn't that the coolest? We're using one of those long shallow Rubbermaid "under-the-bed-storage" bins rather than a huge tub. Pray for us - that it works!! Most of all, though, pray that the kids whose lives we are impacting this week will be changed and that one day, if they haven't already done so, they will choose to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

**Disclaimer: If you decide to try this at home, DO NOT pour this down your sink. It will stop up your pipes!! You just have to throw it in the trash.

Cardboard Testimonies

Ok, Ok, I'm back!!

Ok, so we actually got back from Hilton Head on Saturday. It's just taken me a little while to get back into the blogging mood. The trip was wonderful! Jonah got to ride his bike, swim at the pool, ride his bike to swim at the pool...you get the idea. I think mini-golf was his favorite. I'm so thankful I have a husband who understands the concept of father/son time. If you threw this mama into the mini-golf father/son time, it just would NOT have been the same...trust me. In other words, I'm pretty bad. However, I was REALLY good at sitting under the cozy umbrella on the beach...because, you know, the baby needed to stay in the shade. Yeah, that's right...the baby needed the shade. *wink*

So, enough of all that - I know what you guys really want. PICTURES!!

The fam at Harbor Town

Ga-Ga, Jonah & Isaac


Sand castle builder extraordinaire

All my boys

Daddy & Isaac

Oh, by the way, special thanks to my niece, Caroline, for spending some quality time with her uncle on the way home...you know...changing that flat tire at the rest area. Yeah, that was special. Good times. Good times.