Stay-at-Home-Mom Life

Happy Independence Day!!!

Andrew is back and we're in full-blown fireworks stand mode. Actually, that has just meant a few more phone calls than normal and making trips from the stand back to church with money so we don't have too much at the stand at one time. It's wonderful having him back home, though he seems to have some residual effects of Guatemala still bothering him. Fun fun fun.

This morning Alice & I went for a walk around the "lake" at the park down the street. It was HOT, but Alice was smothered with sunscreen and wearing her sunhat (which she is getting better at leaving ON her head) in her nice shaded stroller. If you haven't seen it already, Alice likes to wave at just about everyone who walks by. When we go to the grocery store, the doctor's office, Costco, to get the mail, she waves and smiles at anyone she sees whether they're looking or not. Today in the park there were a number of people running/walking around the lake. Some received a smile and cheerful wave while others elicited the coveted giggle. Only a select few were privileged to witness her overjoyed exclamations combined with all-over-body-wiggles and leg kicks. Those are my personal favorites.

As we made our way back home and I anticipated a dip in the pool I couldn't help but marvel at the blessing it is to be home with my daughter. I feel like I'm finally getting to know her better and seeing her personality blossom. Then again, it could just be the age she's in where things are easier to see now. Either way, I'M LOVING IT!!! Though I will say that the dip in the pool was less than pleasant with a squirmy almost 14 month old wanting to get in and out of the pool and run around and "jump" in and sit in her floating boat thing and get out of the boat thing and... well, you get the idea.

This week we're preparing for the college/F.I.T.(career) camping trip from Friday to Monday and then we'll take the rest of the week as a family vacation at Bass Lake at a friend's cabin. SO wonderful! My goals this week are to make an extensive packing list, have the first meeting of the girls' bible study (SO exciting!), get all the laundry done, and clean everything before we head out at a ridiculous hour on Friday morning. Hoping that Alice will transfer and fall back asleep in her car seat :-)

Almost time for Alice to wake up! The picture is from my sister's visit when we went to Disneyland (THANK YOU JACQUELYN!!!). Alice loved the merry-go-round. Have a lovely 4th of July!

TOMORROW!!!

Andrew/Happy gets back from Guatemala in less than 16 hours. My sister left California less than 8 hours ago, saving me from a VERY long week, and has arrived safely home in Virginia. I'm so thankful for my sister!

The Guatemala team leaves for the airport tomorrow morning at 5:30AM, which is 4:30AM here, and will (Lord-willing) arrive around 12:30PM in California. I will be joining the caravan of vehicles heading to the airport to bring them back to church.

I hope I can sleep tonight!!! :-D

Pictures!

This is me and my beautiful wife at some friends' recent wedding. Click here and here and here and here to see many more, including a lot of pictures of the little person you really want to see!

Summer Edition

There's been a lot of changes for our little family these past few weeks. First, as Andrew already mentioned, he's now the Associate Pastor at Village Bible Church. We couldn't be more thrilled! We're both praising the Lord at His timing and provision.

Second, my last day of work is Tuesday as Andrew & I have decided the time is right for me to be home with Alice more. It's hard to raise your child to know the Lord when she hardly sees you each week. So we're thankful for the change, but if anyone knows of something I can do to make some money from home, I'm all ears! Right now there aren't a lot of options for a mom with a 1 year old, but we trust that God has a plan for this too.

Third, I decided the blog needed a summer look. Okay I guess that change isn't such a big deal. I'm also hoping to be able to blog more frequently now since I'll be home, although I make no promises :-)

Alice is now rounding out the second hour of her nap, which means I probably won't have this lovely silence much longer. Off to laundry and other exciting stay-at-home mom things! YAY! (And I really actually meant that. I'm quite excited about doing stay-at-home mom things at 3PM!)

Two Quotes

Benjamin Franklin on good sportsmanship in chess from H.W. Brands' The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin:

"You must not, when you have gained a victory, use any triumphing or insulting expression, nor show too much pleasure; but endeavor to console your adversary, and make him less dissatisfied with himself by every kind and civil expression. . . . You may indeed happen to lose the game to your opponent, but you will win what is better: his esteem, his respect, and his affection, together with the silent approbation and good will of impartial spectators."

Michael Lawrence on sin in his Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry:

"As long as we think of sin as simple rule-breaking, we will never understand the enormity of sin, the incredible offense that it gives God, and the justness of his response. Fundamentally, sin is not a matter of our behavior, though it eventually shows up in our actions. Fundamentally, sin is a matter of our hearts, for as fallen creatures our ruling desire is to remove God from his throne and to sit there instead."

The Next Episode

Today marks the first time I've worked full-time since early June 2008. That's right, my church voted to increase my hours to full-time and my job title is now Associate Pastor. I have increased responsibilities that include preaching a little more often (8 or 9 times a year), developing and administrating our church's new website, starting some new ministries and lots of other possibilities. I'm very excited.

This is Amy's last week of working full-time at Pan-Pacific. Next week she'll be working some kind of part-time schedule.

We had a great time hosting a one year birthday party for Alice and enjoyed time spent with friends and family, some that we had not seen in a long while.

That's the update for today. Hopefully a lot more blogging will take place this summer!

Almost There

The title refers to the end of the school year and several other major transitions on the horizon. But mainly, I just can't believe we're only two days away from Alice Mary Gilmore turning one! We're celebrating her birthday on Saturday with friends and family and it's just crazy to think back to what life was like two years ago and then just last year at this time. Wow!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
- Psalm 127:3-5

And I know I haven't continued the "series" that I started last month. I promise it will get moving this summer, if not before then.

Hole in the Head

I'll continue to the What I Listen To series next week, but I couldn't pass up posting this video. Wow.

What I Listen To, part 1

I have wanted to do this series for a long time, but just haven't started (is that the theme of this blog?). So today I was listening to a podcast and the content spurred me to just get something started, hoping that momentum would be started!

The series will focus on all the podcasts that I listen to on my iPod. Today I'll start alphabetically.

The Briefing

The Briefing is hosted by Dr. Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I used to listen to the Albert Mohler Program until it ended last year. The Briefing is "a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview." The podcast is updated every weekday morning and covers relevant news from the day or days before. It usually lasts 12-15 minutes and camps out on several topics. Recently, those topics have been Libya, the Middle East, and the US economy. Although Dr. Mohler usually talks about some of the main headlines that would appear in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and other major newspapers, he often finds smaller topics that are not covered well or thoroughly by the press. As you would assume, he also covers news about churches, denominations, missions and legal proceedings regarding religious liberty.

I find the podcast to be helpful, giving me a good summary of some major domestic and world events as I start my day. Dr. Mohler does more than just report; he analyzes and digs deeper than facts and opinions to the worldview behind the news. He is a keen observer of culture and does a balanced job at trying to see things from other points of view.

Today's podcast was especially helpful in dealing with the Florida Koran burning and the continuing repercussions in Afghanistan. Take 15 minutes and listen to it.

Hopefully this series of posts will help you find some good content for your iPod. If it does, let me know and spread the word. Share some of your favorite podcasts in the comment section below.

Next time, I'll share about Dr. Mohler's other podcast, Thinking in Public.

New Pictures

Check out Web Album 2 on the sidebar to see updated pictures from Amy's dad's and wife Belen's California visit!