I made the call for my consult today, and I'm kinda freaked out about it. I'm done having children, I know that, but the thought of someone cutting me... there... freaks me out. If Jodi can have a baby without any drugs, I know I can do this (but I'm getting drugs).
Jodi finally got her results back for her glucose test, and I guess the hospital must go by the 'no news is good news' policy, where they don't give you your results unless they're bad. I'm just so used to the military hospital where they call you up the next day or within a few hours and give you results. Granted the military doctors were probably not as good, but we had a share of good ones, especially the guy who delivered Faith... he was pretty awesome.
If you haven't figured it out, Jodi doesn't have Gestational Diabetes. This is good news, for Jodi and for the baby. Jodi had it with Faith, and was borderline with Grace, so we were worried that she may have it with Hope. Luckily this is not the case, not only because Jodi won't have to worry about her blood sugar levels and avoid all the sweet junk food, but there are different complications that it can bring about to the baby as well. It's just great not having to deal with all that.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.
how bout some more pics of the kids
enjoying the Bob the Builder Exhibit at the Children's Museum
Dad and Faith playing Little Big Planet (she loves that game) and Jodi bought the shirt for me, the words written on that shirt do not reflect my views and in no way shall I be held liable for your emotional state after you've read the shirt... clicking on the picture makes it larger.
(you clicked on it didn't you)
Future Alligator Dentist
Safety conscious
Water Fun
Man, time is flying by. In a few short months we'll be welcoming another life into this world. Jodi is already talking about diapers and baby supplies while the baby's room is coming together; it's exciting and scary at the same time. I'm going to have 3 little girls.
For now, I'm just trying to enjoy the time with my 2 precious little girls before the bundle of joy comes along. Jodi's parent's came down and visited with us this last Sunday to celebrate Thanksgiving with us, which went well. On Tuesday, we went to the Portland Children's Museum and had a blast. It's just amazing to see how kids can keep themselves entertained even when they aren't playing directly with one another, they tend to do their own thing, but just near each other. I don't know if it's the age difference or not, but Hope will be 4 years younger than Faith, so I wonder if they will tend to leave her out as they get older.
The kids having fun striking a pose
Faith on the swing... having a blast
Grace hiding from me... but still having fun.
Early on in the day, Jodi had to go get her glucose test at the hospital. Hopefully things are good and she won't have to take the 2-3 hour test, and hopefully she won't have Gestational Diabetes again.
Then we went to Taco Bell, and drove out to the Blazers and Kings game at the Rose Garden. See the pictures of us enjoying the game below.
Luckily the kids did well, and the Arena did a great job getting the kids into the game. They even brought out this huge balloon that Faith just loved. It was remote controlled and would drop gift cards down on the fans. By the 4th quarter, Faith kept asking me when the car was going to come back. Of course, it wasn't coming back, but she just wanted to see it again. Well, here it is flying above us.
I guess our church team isn't the only team that loses by one point. The Sacramento Kings who were getting beat pretty bad in the first quarter, then brought it back to within 4 by the half and then even had a lead, lost the game by 1 point. I've never been to a Kings game where they have actually won... I've went to one in Seattle, and now one in Portland, and 3 or 4 in Sacramento when I was younger, and they've lost them all. We still had such a great time, and I do like the Blazers too, I actually know more of their players now that the Kings have restructured the team. They still have Brad Miller, Kevin Martin, and Bobby Jackson, but that's it. I went to a Blazer game last year, and had pretty much front row seats, and other than Greg Oden as a starter the Blazers still have pretty much the same guys playing... so I wasn't too disappointed the Kings lost. At least every Blazer game I've been to, I can say that they've won every one. It's a good streak to have.
It was adorable to watch the kids clap and cheer, I don't think they knew who they were rooting for, but the feel of the crowd and arena really got them into the game... or at least made it seem that way.
Well, that's what the wife said after I got home from my basketball game. She was talking about odor, not my play on the court which could have been better.
To start off the game, our team Captain for the day, made it a point for everyone to sub out for at least 10 minutes, which may have been a little much since we only had 7 players, but we each made a point to get off the floor at least twice. I felt like I was involved a lot more, and it was my best game yet, but it was all for not cuz we lost... and to make matters worse, the one point that we lost by was due to the last foul of the game that was on me.
I scored 9 points this game, which is my personal best (out of three games so far), but that last point just drives me nuts. The guy drove in on me, I was getting pushed in the back by another player, and he just kind of jammed himself under my arm, and hooked up under me with his arm, and jumped, but he got the call. Both teams were in the penalty and he only needed to make one of his free throws, to win them the game.
Oh well, even though we lost, I had a great time playing the game, and I really am just enjoying myself. I don't have a lot of free time, and rarely have free time to myself. Jodi has a few things she does during the week with other women, while I stay at home and watch the girls, so it's nice for me to get away, although, it would be nice if Jodi and I got away once in a while too.
Then I came home and watched Wall-E with the girls. Of course, they had already seen it, so they lost interest fast. But, it was nice that both Grace and Faith cuddled up with me during the movie, and Jodi fell asleep on the couch with us. Grace kept showing me her loose tooth, and Faith couldn't sit still for long. I liked the movie, and despite the lack of human characters in the movie until about halfway through it, I liked the characters and communication that occurred with the robots. It was a nice movie and I hope the girls like it, cuz before we rented (free rental), we bought it for them for Christmas... shhhh! don't say anything.
Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged and quite a bit has gone on, but nothing crazy.
A week ago both my kids came down with Strep throat, and I thought I was going to get it too and maybe even made myself feel a little sick... somehow. But, I never did come down with it.
Grace and Faith have really amazed me at their ability to memorize. They've been going to Awana's and they have memory verses that they have to recite and little Faith remembers almost all the verses she's memorized so far. We'll ask her what her verse is and she starts reciting a verse from a few weeks back, and then we'll say, "not that one," and then she'll recite the next weeks, and finally recite the one she needs for this week. Isn't that just amazing. Grace also has a small part in reciting a poem at school and she's got it memorized too. She said the poem to us in kind of a monotonous voice, then I asked her to add some feeling, and without hesitation she began rattling off the poem with feeling and then recited it again in a goofy voice, which reminded me of myself as a kid.
Not only is Grace doing well at memorization, but she's also doing pretty well at reading. It's so exciting to see her progress. She's at the point now where she can read to us at night before she goes to bed, and Faith likes to pretend like she's reading to us.
I love cooking, especially cooking any type of meat, and Jodi and I were watching a cooking show where they made Filet Mignon. I had mentioned I would love to try and make some one day, then the next day while I was at work Jodi bought some for me. I was so excited. After I got off work, I made it up and it was the best meat I had ever had. Ridiculously expensive, but ridiculously awesome.
On Sunday's at Church, I've been taking a class on Greek, where I've been learning a little bit about Greek and trying to understand Biblical Greek. There's so much to understand, but I'm really excited about what I've been learning about the Bible and Translation so far.
I've also been playing Basketball with a couple of guys from my church. The first game, my buddy Andrew and I were a little disappointed due to the amount of time that we were on the bench compared to other players. I guess it wouldn't have felt so bad had everyone on the team subbed off the floor at least once. This week was awesome because we only had 5 guys show up for the game, so I got play the whole game, and although I only scored 4 points, it was 4 more points than I scored last game and people actually passed me the ball this game, so I felt pretty good about it, which gave me the opportunity to make some assists as well.
After I came home from the basketball game, I was hungry. We had a little bit of steak (not filet mignon) left in the fridge and since it was getting late I figured I would have to spread it out a little bit and make dinner for everyone else too. I decided that I'd cut the meat up in pieces and dip them in a tempura batter and fry them up, kind of inspired by the Beijing Beef entrée at Panda Express. I made up a little sweet and sour sauce with pineapples and some rice and it turned out to be a pretty good meal; Grace even had seconds.
Today we decided to go back to doing a devotion with the kids. I'm not sure if we'll do this every day or once a week, because the kids seemed to lose interest pretty quickly. The devotion was about Jesus doing a very unbelievable thing and dying on the cross to pay the penalty for us, even though we are sinners. Then afterwards, Faith started asking me all sorts of questions about her Great Grandma dying (which happened a little less than a month ago, but I waited until the other day to tell them). It was interesting to see her think about these questions, I could see the little gears turning in her head as she tried to think about what she was asking, and it was kind of hard to answer them. She asked about the spirit, the brain, heaven, and our bodies, and man was I amazed at her thought process.
So, I started the new schedule... you know the one I've been blogging about... the one where I get Sunday's off. Yes, that one. I'm liking it so far, so I hope I keep liking it. I like the guy I'm working with, and I like feeling like I have a little bit of responsibility. Plus, I'm looking forward to actually going to church this Sunday. Yipeee!
Memorial day weekend we went to Cannon beach with some of our friends Jenna and Andrew. Andrew's sister and her husband came along as well, and we had a good time hanging out. Here's a pic of the kids and I enjoying ourselves at the beach.
Then later that evening we had some dinner with them back at their pad. After dinner us guys took to the kitchen and talked about almost everything, from dihydrogen monoxide, politics, religion, welding, electronics - almost everything. I didn't even realize how all over the place our conversations were until Jodi pointed it out to me later that night, but they all related. Think about it, dihydrogen monoxide is H2O (aka water for the chemically challenged), Penn and Teller did a show on getting hippie libs to ban water, which led us to the sheep in this world who will be voting for Barack Obama, then of course got us talking about the end of the world as we know it - see the connection there - needless to say, sometimes just talking with your peers is good, whether it makes sense to the outside listener or not.
Now, this week we had a nice little church get together with the other happy couples of our "Homebuilders" bible study group. I made some hot wings and some sweet & tangy wings for the party.
A few weeks ago Grace decided she wanted to try and ride a bicycle. I did everything I could to be the Dad and push her along and let go, but she wanted nothing to do with it. "Fine," I said thinking that she would just give up, but I was wrong. She borrowed other children's bikes up and down the street and now she's a pro... well, a very good novice.
Anyways, check out this short clip of her really pedaling, and I can't even say I helped. She's such a determined little girl. She's also reading really well too. I'm so proud of my little girl.
I guess I'll have to get her a bike now, of her own.
Last weekend, as many of you may know, we came up to Washington to visit some friends and family. I thought Jodi had everything planned out, as we were coming up for her to spend time with her mother on Mother's day weekend, for our neices birthday, and for a friend's baby shower party. But, things weren't really planned out, and it almost seemed like I had no idea what was going on from hour-to-hour and neither did my wife. Needless to say, I was able to fit time in for me, so I could chill out a little and get away from the chaos of living with the in-laws for the weekend, watching other people's kids, cooking up dinners, sleeping in someone else's bed, and all the other stuff that make not being at home hard and tedious. Needless to say, it was good to see everyone and visit with friends and family, but I need another weekend, and luckily for me, mine starts today. I'm still feelilng kind of under-the-weather, so hopefully I will be able to recouperate over the weekend and get back to one-hundred percent before next week.
There's more to this story, but the gist of it is that I'm trying to shift schedules at work. Right now, I work Sunday's and I would like to get Sunday's off. Partially, I want more responsibility and I want to go to the church I feel the most at home. At work, I think that I know enough now where I can run a shift, be in charge of the day-to-day operations, and answer to Intel; we call this guy "The Lead". So, basically I would become "The Lead" of this other shift and I would have one guy under my cognizance. No huge step, but I think it's something that I need, so that I feel like I'm going somewhere and progressing within my company. So, now that I've explained the concept of the lead, I can finish my story. Right now, I feel as though my lead still treats me as a trainee, and for me to really make my move within this company and industry and be recognized for my talent and ability, I have to step up to the plate. I'm not looking forward to the schedule change with the exception of getting Sunday's off, because now I will work every Friday and Saturday... ugh! But, I am looking forward to a change in roles, and a different atmosphere on a new shift. I realize that this new position is not a big deal in the eyes of the management of my company because it's not even really considered a leadership position, but I think it will help me progress and learn as now I will be the guy that Intel and my company will look to for answers. I'm also excited about going back to church, especially after going to SWHBC for only six months and then trying to find another church that met on Saturday's only to realize that I couldn't find anything that fit my needs and style of learning and worship as well as SWHBC could. I'm truly looking forward to Worship and Fellowship at my church.
I love my kids, and I try to enjoy as much time with them as I can. One day, I know that they will probably not want to spend as much time with me and I will probably get on their nerves, so I am glad that we had some fun times together over the past week or so. We went out to eat, we went for a nice little drive, and the next day we went bowling and shopping. Initially Faith seemed to be having a fun time bowling, but by the second game she was bored and tired. However, Grace enjoyed herself throughout. I got a kick out of the expressions on her face and her excitement, especially when she bowled her first strike - the ball didn't even hit the bumpers. I hope that when my kids get older they won't be like I was; once I hit 16 or 17, I never wanted to do things with my dad. I can't explain it, but I know quite a few teens go through that, and I just hope my kids will still want me around. Grace is growing up so fast, and Faith is right on her tail. I guess I just have to enjoy life while I can.
I hope everyone had a good Easter, I know I did. I got to hang out with friends and family. I didn't get to go to my old church, but I was able to attend church none-the-less, so it wasn't that bad. Needless to say, I wasn't a big fan of my old pastors sermons anyways, I was able to get a little bit out of the sermon from my in-law's church, not much, but it was alright. I also made a kickin' Ham that used beer (Hefeweizen again, but this time Widmer's) if you're interested I'll send you the recipe. Then I had a great chat with my wife's family right before we drove back home.
Then I show up to work and find that not only did my tax return show up in my bank account, I got paid, and received a nice little bonus from my employer (that everyone received, not a personal bonus)... sweeeet! I'm excited. Then we get that whole economic stimulus thing... I might be able to afford that carpet after all or get those cabinets.
First of all, I don't usually watch this show, and you're probably wondering how this will fit into marriage, but it does.
I came home from work today and Jodi had the show on, so I started watching it. I usually hate this show, cause there's always crying people, and I don't know what it is about crying people, but why would I want to watch that? Well, needless to say, I was actually interested (people crying and all). They had a an Army person who has been serving over in Iraq for our country. Well, you're probably thinking "yah ... there's thousand of guys over there, and tons of them have families and issues at home, why is this guy getting a huge house over everyone else," but still it was awesome to see this story of appreciation toward those that serve.
Toby Keith came on and sang, "American Soldier," to a bunch of army men and women. Every time I hear that song it really gets to me. I can't really consider myself a soldier, but I did serve my country, and the song has always given me that little lump in the back of my throat out of the respect behind the words. If you didn't know, I was in the Navy for 9 years. While listening to the song, I start thinking about this guy having to go back to Iraq under intense conditions. Then I think about his wife and family and the other soldiers' wives and families, it gets me to think about the sacrifice of soldiers every day, which is why I love that song. Toby Keith understands, maybe not through personal experience, but he understands how much military personnel must sacrafice for their country, the sweat, the tears, and the hard work. "Freedom don't come free," that's for sure Toby.
I also have a lot of respect for the military wives. It's not just the soldiers that have the hard job, but the wives who keep order and are basically a single parent for 3 months, 6 months, a year or longer. They have to worry about their children and their husband off at war. Luckily, when I was in the military, the longest I had ever been away from my wife and kid (only had one kid at the time I was on sea duty) was a little over 3 months, but I know it was still hard on her, and I respect her for that. But, I also knew that I couldn't make Jodi go through that again or for much longer (which is part of the reason why I'm no longer in the military); it's very stressful and hard on a marriage. I'm glad that there are people serving our country and continue to do so, and it was cool to see this story and the appreciation shown to these soldiers who have been at war, who continue to fight for you and for me despite the stress it puts on them, their home life, and family life. To everyone who has ever served, Thank You!
Sometimes I think to myself it would be nice to win a million dollars, and I think about earning $50,000 a year in interest and just living off of that and the great things that I could do. I sometimes imagine ways to earn more money or some scheme, but I realized that all that is greed. Greed is Idolatry.
Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' 6 So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' "
So, it reminds me that even though it would be nice to come accross a couple mil, God will never leave me and never forsake me. I'm happy and content with what I got... sometimes it's nice to dream, but I guess there is a point where dreaming becomes idolatry and greed.
This weekend was my 4-day weekend. Thursday, I took Faith to the park while Jodi was at school helping out in Grace's classroom. We had a good time, and Faith gained the courage to climb accross these poles with bases on them all by herself. Now, it's her favorite thing to do. One of my buddies just got back from Kuwait or Iraq, he's going through a divorce and he only has his kids once every other weekend. He's originally from near where I live and he came down to visit his family, and he and his 3 kids and mine all got together and went to the park together. The kids had a lot of fun together. Jodi made all of us lunches of sandwiches, yogurt, and snacks and brought them out to the park - she's such a great wife. It was a good time for all of us. Then we went back and I made some chicken wings for a party we were having with our Bible Study Group. I'm glad some people liked them cause I was afraid I would be stuck with 30-40 hot wings that probably only I would eat. Jodi and I had a babysitter and it was kinda nice to get out together without the kids. Grace and Faith are so good for babysitters, they just love em. The party was a lot of fun too, since I usually work on Sunday, I got to hang out with the guys and gals from our Homebuilders group and we played games, which I won a $10 Starbucks gift card and a free movie ticket... AWESOME!!!
What is it about us men that make us so indecisive about having children or more children? I wasn't sure when to start having children with my first, I wasn't sure when to have another, and now I'm still not sure if I want a third. But, there was a time when my wife and I tried for a third. What has changed since then? Why has my outlook changed?
Before my wife and I got married we discussed our goals and dreams, and for some reason I envisioned having 3 children. That dream also included some sons. I am completely happy with my two daughters, but a small part of me still wants a son. I have no control over whether I have a boy or not, although they claim its up to the man it's really up to God. I am a little hesitant to try for a third child, because I don't need a son to be happy, but I would like a son.
Do I want a third child? What if I have a girl? I need to think and I don't know why men like me are so hesitant on having a child.
What are your thoughts? Help me if you can.
My wife went on a women's retreat with our church. That meant it was just me and the kids at home. I wasn't really looking forward to my wife being away for 2 nights and 3 days, but it made me realize how important my time really is with my children. I really enjoyed myself; we went to the park, we went out for pizza, played together, read stories, and watched movies. I'm just glad the weather allowed me out of the house almost the whole weekend, or I may have been pulling my hair out trying to entertain my kids in the house. I even had time to do some chores, make meals (other than pizza and Mickey D's), and all the other stuff parents have to do for their children. I gained some respect for my wife and especially for those single parents out there that have to deal with taking care of their children on their own. I think that up until now I didn't realize how unmotivated of a dad I have been, not that I don't do fun things with them, it's just that all-too-often I expect my wife to take care of a lot of things that I should be doing as well, and I really hope that I can take this lesson and apply it to my life to become the father and husband that I should be. I'm looking forward to my next weekend so I can hang out with my kids some more.
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