March22nd
I came across this set of photos taken by a Marine in Lima Company (Ohio) while on duty in Iraq. It was very interesting to see what war looks like from a soldier’s perspective.
Please continue to keep all of the soldiers in your daily prayers…
March20th
We had our Baby Shower for Caleb last weekend and we got a TON of stuff! About 40 people showed up to give Caleb gifts and we were so thankful for each one of them.
We’re so blessed to have such a wonderful church family that is already blessing our son and he hasn’t even been born yet!
February28th
Today we had another Doctor’s appointment. It was basically the same as all of the other ones, but this time I was able to record Caleb’s heartbeat using Mary Beth’s new phone (The quality is only so-so). He sounds stronger than ever!
Not only is his heart strong, but we’ve been figuring out that his legs are even stronger! He’s really been moving and kicking a lot more than usual lately. Last night, he made Mary Beth double-over with one of his monstrous kicks. He’s pretty crazy…
Well, without further ado, Caleb’s Heartbeat:
February22nd
For those that know me well, it’s pretty obvious that I love music. From my 20 GB iPod, to my large collection of CDs and MP3s, I’m always ready to rock out to great music.
I also love to share different obscure bands and artists with some of my music-loving friends. Because of this, I was really excited when I ran across this website that takes all of the music you’ve been listening to in iTunes and makes a compilation out of it. It’s called the iTunes Signature Maker.
I recently compiled a sixty-second signature of some of my most-listened-to songs. I’d love to know if you can recognize any of the artists or songs. Let me know if you create your own signature…
February13th
Doesn’t she look beautiful?!?
I can’t believe we only have a couple more months left until Caleb is born. Mary Beth is doing very well. Her energy level is low, but that’s to be expected when carrying a watermelon around all day!!
It’s hard to know if we’ll be ready to be parents, but we keep praying that God will give us the wisdom we need to be good parents for Caleb. One thing I’ve done to get ready is to start a journal for him. I hope it will be something that he can look back on when he’s older and see the times when I was really proud of him, and when I was frustrated with him. I think it will be a good tool for him to have as he thinks about being a father someday in the future.
Now, onto other baby news: We are about 99.5% completed with his room, but we just have a few more finishing touches to add before he gets here. We are going to paint a bible verse on the wall and we’re still trying to figure out which one. Here’s our favorite so far:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart… Jeremiah 1:5”
If anyone has any other verses to recommend, just let me know in the comments. I’ll be posting a video and photos of the new baby room in the coming weeks…
January20th
Spc. Dustin Kendall
Last weekend Allan, my brother-in-law, found out that one of his best friends, Dustin Kendall, was killed in Iraq. Dustin went to college with Allan and they were roommates.
I didn’t know Dustin extremely well, but what I did know of him made a very good impression on me. Dustin was always smiling. He was a very funny guy that could always make you laugh, and he was a very likeable person that left you feeling positive.
Allan and Brad were interviewed by some local news stations the other day to talk about his life. After watching the news stories, I was very proud of Allan. Allan has always been a very loyal friend, and he should be very proud of how he was such a good friend to Dustin.
Let’s all join in by celebrating the sacrifice that Dustin made for our freedom and keep his friends & family in our prayers…
January12th
Well, I’ve been sick for the past five days. I went into the Emergency Room on Sunday night with severe abdominal pain. Everyone (including myself) thought it was appendicitis. After much poking and prodding by the ER doctors and nurses, they ran a CT Scan to see what it was. After about a half an hour the doctor came back and told us it was mesenteric adenitis. I had never heard of that, but apparently it’s a viral infection of the abdominal lymph node.
So, after about a five hour ordeal in the ER, we came back home with a diagnosis and some pain meds. I then proceeded to sleep for the next three days and not eat much at all. Yesterday morning, I woke up feeling much better with only a little bit of pain. Today, I’m back at work and almost 100%. For those of you that were worried about me, thanks for the concerns and prayers!
December28th
Christmas was wonderful this year! My wife and I went up to visit my maternal grandparents on the 22nd. We had a great time! On Christmas eve, we always gather for a large meal and open our presents that night. So, we went over to my Aunt & Uncle’s house just down the road and had dinner there. In total, there were about 40 of my relatives there!
After the big celebration, we drove home that night and had a great Christmas service at our church on Christmas day. It was great to see all of our friends and family at church that morning.
Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we all decided to wait until Monday to open our presents. So, on Monday morning we all woke up early and ran downstairs to tear into the gifts. We all got a lot of great things; some of the highlights were: my father-in-law getting an HDTV, Allan getting a new iPod, me getting 20 tokens for the local driving range, and my wife and I getting a pack-n-play for Caleb. We got a lot of great presents and ate a lot of great food, but the most fun was getting to see all of our family. Christmas was definitely a great success this year.
December20th
I’m not exactly sure what the word “Zeitgeist” means, but I thought this was pretty cool. Google has posted all of their year-end search trends with their corresponding dates to show exactly what people were searching for and when. At first glance, this doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal, but when you take a look at what events were occurring when people were searching on certain topics, it becomes pretty interesting.
I don’t have much more to say about it, but you can check it out for yourself…if you want.
December15th
Today was my wife’s last day of teaching. During lunch, I went up to the school to help her move all of her stuff out of her classroom. She’s really excited about having some time to get ready for Caleb and also have a little time to relax.
For those of you who don’t know Mary Beth, she’s an avid reader. Over the past year and a half, she’s constantly been reading books that she had to read, either for grad-school or in preparing for teaching. Now, she’s really excited to be able to read anything she wants. So, for all of you relatives and friends that don’t know what to get her for Christmas, look no further than Barnes & Noble…
Speaking of Christmas…I’m starting to get really excited! The office is starting to get a little quieter as everyone begins to take the rest of their vacation for the year. I can almost hear the Christmas clock ticking as we count down the last 10 days before presents, family, food, and fun. My wife and I are heading up to Gravette, AR in a week to spend a few days with my mom’s side of the family. It’s always fun to go see my grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles out in the country. I’m sure there will be plenty of four-wheelin’ and dirt bike ridin’ to go around.
Drop me a note and let me know what you’re planning to do for Christmas…
