One Month Old!

I can't believe it has been a month already! Time sure flies by. God has blessed us with another very special little boy. Truitt seems to have his brother's laid back personality. He is pretty easy going. I can't wait to see the two boys interact as they get older.

Lord, please give us wisdom as we raise these precious boys which you have entrusted to us. We pray that they will grow to be godly men that will stand for truth. But above all, we pray that they put their trust in You!

I Samuel 1:27-28
We prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted us what we asked of him. So now we give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.

Truitt's first bath. Keegan couldn't help himself. He just had to get in.

A Late MLK Post on...Discrimination!

Please read the following two paragraphs (in blue) without making any judgments on me or my church. Please be aware that the following paragraphs may sound offensive to those of you who do not share my beliefs...but my beliefs shouldn't effect you.

We are a congregation which is Unashamedly White and Unapologetically Christian...
Our roots in the caucassian religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are a people who identify with a land other than America, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent...We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a worship service and ministries which address the white community.

Personally, I claim a commitment to the white community...Commitment to the white family...adherence to the white work ethic...offered aquired skills available to the white community...strengthening and supporting white institutions...pledging allegence to all white leadership who embrace the white value system...Personal commitment to the embracement of the white value system.

Now, before I confuse you further, I want to make it VERY clear that these are NOT my beliefs...and that I have said this only to make a point.

If I held beliefs like this, what would you think of me?
Would I be called a racist?
Would I deserve that title?
Would I be a shining example of unification or discrimination?

I would be personally afraid of anyone who held beliefs like this...I believe (just as Martin Luther King did) that the color of skin does not make a difference, only what is in the heart of the person.

So, what is my point?
Simply this...I DON'T understand is how there can be a candidate endorsed by the Democratic Party who believes in everything I just said above. The two paragraphs I have just quoted are taking directly off of the website of the candidate's church...and they are not ashamed of it. Aren't we supposed to be beyond racial segregation by now?

Oh wait, I know...let's just change a few words...change 'white' or 'caucassian' to black...and the 'land other than America' to Africa...then everything is okay. My bad.

Sorry if I have offended anyone but in my book, Barack Obama is not fit for the highest office in the country (for this and other reasons). I felt it had to be said, and that if I didn't help spread the word, I would not be doing America a favor. I don't know what you believe in or what side of the political world you fall, but I would suggest that you seriously consider the actions of this man before casting your vote his way. YIKES!!!

BTW: you can check out his church's website for yourself if you don't believe me. All of those statements are on the site...http://www.tucc.org/

Can somebody tell me how this is even okay? Again for the record, I don't believe in the statements above. God made us all equally valuable in his eyes regardless of skin color or any other differences.

According to the Bible (Galatians 3:28)..."there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." There should be no room for racial discrimination of any kind.

Let's hold America to a higher standard than what Barack would want. (he's the guy on the far left courtesy of Time Magazine)

Keegan's Big Day!

No...that isn't Keegan's first truck, but today was a fun day nevertheless.

After waking up and spending some time visiting with a couple who came to see the baby, our family headed out in different directions. Keegan and I took a short nap (actually, Keegan was the only one who got to sleep...the phone kept me awake) while Mommy and Truitt headed to our pastor's house for the final weekend meeting in a woman's mentoring program Angela has joined.

Anyway, after naptime Keegan and I headed to the mall for a day of entertainment exploring the brand new play area that was revealed this morning. The place formerlly known as the "eggs and bacon" had recently gone downhill. It was in such disarray that the mall finally removed most of the toys and it was little more than a carpeted area with a hodge-podge of things that were supposed to be fun to jump on. Luckily, a local Toyota dealership must have noticed the same issue and sponsored a redesign of the play area. I must say, thank you Doxon Toyota - the new play area is AWESOME.

When we arrived the toys were crawling with kids, (like sugar ants on a lollypop) and they were all having a fabulous time. Kids could climb Mt. Rainier and slide down it's slopes, tunnel through a tree or race over a bridge. And with a couple of Toyota truck slides thrown in for good measure, Keegan was never at a loss for something to climb on.

We finished the day off by sharing an Orange Julius (Keegan calls them Jamba Juice) and looking at toy stores before Mommy met us to take advantage of some sweet sale prices at the Just Sports store on Seahawk gear. His funny saying for the night was "Daddy, did you know Mommy starts with Mom."

Daddy Days are the best!

Can you find Keegan in these pictures?

An Ode to 32

Thirty-two, oh, thirty-two
How far away you seemed
when half a lifetime (not long ago)
I was only just sixteen

Thirty-two, can it be true
Your hand reveals my fate?
In the blink of an eye, sixteen more will fly
and I'll be fourty-eight!

Thirty-two, it's me and you
Each year a gift from heaven
And every day is in my hands
to spend what God has given

Thirty-two, you'll pass I'm sure
Never promised there will be more
So, while you're here, let's give a cheer
and hope for sixty-four.

So, thirty-two, you'll get my best
I'm content with what I'm given
I'll live and learn and laugh and love
My life will be worth living

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Our day started, very early, with a sweet little boy coming into our room very excited to wish his daddy a happy birthday. That's right, Keegan came bounding into our room at 5:30 this morning shouting "Happy Birthday Daddy!"

Our day was much like any other. Chris headed off to work for a few hours. He returned home very early, to help take Truitt to the dr. Our dear little boy had his circumcision performed today. He was such a trooper! Then it was back to work for Chris.

This evening we took Chris out to dinner. He decided that he would like to have some friends join us for dinner, so he called Pastor Ryan to see if he and his family would like to join us for a birthday celebration. Keegan was very excited to have Pastor Ryan, teacher Amy & his good friend Rylie join us for dinner. It was a great night of fellowship. We are blessed with great friends!

Happy Birthday Chris! I thank God for you. You work so hard to provide for our family, both physically and spiritually. God has truly blessed us with an amazing daddy and husband. Life with you has been an adventure and we have created many great memories. I look forward to all that God has in store for us. I love you!

My Boys!

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions. Mainly because I don't usually keep them. I also think it is important to take inventory of our lives on a daily basis and change things that may need to be changed. All that said, there are a few things that I have been thinking about implementing into my life. They New Year seems like a great time to start with a few of these things.

I want my house to be the healthiest, safest place for my family. Since having kids, I have become aware of how many toxins we introduce into our own homes everyday. I really want to be protecting my kids, not adding to the ever growing list of hazards they come into contact with. I feel very very guilty for using so many different things in my home. That is why, about a year ago, I decided to make some changes. I have changed most of my cleaning supplies to organic, non toxic, products. I chose to use Shaklee products. I have fallen in love with them. In fact, I believe in these products so much that I decided to start selling them. We also use many of their nutrition products as well.

I wish I could afford to switch everything we use/consume to organic products, but that just isn't in our budget. I do purchase as many things that are organic as I can. I figure anything is better than nothing.

I have been really inspired by reading my friend Kristen's blog. She always seems to have great ideas on how to live a healthier lifestyle. A few of the things that she has blogged about have been on my mind for a while now. I would love to get rid of some of the extra waste in my life. By this, I mean, all those extra shopping bag, produce bags, etc. I would like to purchase a few of these Organic Cotton Produce Bags to use on my shopping trips. I feel that the Thanks for recommending them Kristen! I would also like to purchase reusable grocery bags.

I'm sure there are more things that I could do to make a difference, but I figured start small so that I am not overwhelmed by all the changes.

Episode V: Thank You God For...

Lately Keegan has been having some pretty elaborate prayers at the dinner table. What used to be a simple "Thank you God for this food, Amen" has now turned into a checklist of things that he is thankful for. Lunchtime today was especially funny as he began to list all the things that he was thankful for on our table. It went something like this...

Dear God,

Thank you for our day, and for our baby and mommy and daddy and thank you for my yogurt, and noodles and beans and cheetos and milk thank you for our sandwiches with a little bit of meat in it. And thank you for our napkins and spoons and...and...and...

The end.

As he finished his prayer Angela and I could hardly stop laughing and had to remind him that we say "amen" not "the end".

Earlier this morning, while I was back at work and Angie was busy taking care of baby, he discovered a marker and decided to start his career as a tattoo artist. He was proud to show his mommy what he had done, by pointing out that one of his legs had a smily face on it. I'm sure it said Mother below it as well.

Oh man, kids these days. I tell ya.

Thank you God for keeping me laughing.

Episode IV: The Thursday that Wasn't

Today didn't feel like a Thursday at all...in fact, it felt more like a day that didn't even happen. I can hardly remember it even now as I think back over the day. Very weird indeed. Something is amiss. Is it just pure exhaustion or the work of that sinister SuperVillian known as...the UnDay-er?!? (As you know, the UnDay-er's only goal is to make our SuperFamily forget our SuperDay)

In order to resist this evil plot, I am going to do my best to recount the things we did.

What I DO remember is that Truitt finally fell asleep at 3am and slept until around 8am. This is good news, as up until now he wasn't falling asleep until well after 5am. (Which has not been good for my SuperSleepy-Self)

After a lazy morning, we went to SuperWalmart (since we're a Super Family) and got our usual SuperGroceries and other SuperSupplies. (Q-Tips, Mouthwash, Ratatouille DVD...just the basics)

When we got home, we made a SuperLunch during which Keegan spilled orange juice all down the front of himself. (Not so super!) We took off his wet clothes and didn't even bother to dress him for the rest of the day. He was just SuperKeegan in his SuperDiaper until nearly bedtime.

That's when things start to get hazy. I remember that I updated the blog design to include a Super picture of our family. (Hope you like it!) And at one point we received a SuperDinner from one of the ladies at our church with a super pan of Chocolate-Chip/Brownie Cookies. Yum, yum!

We watched Mike Huckabee win the Iowa caucus. (I Like Mike) and that's all that I can remember...

Hmmm...the things that I do remember don't seem to add up to account for an entire day...man life with two kids goes by way too fast. I can hear the UnDay-er's laugh echoing in my mind. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha.

Episode III: Wordless Wednesday