Need a Formula Coupon?

I have a $5 off coupon for Nestle Good Start formula. Can anybody use it? I hate to just throw it away!

Congratulations, Tim & Cindy!

Tim & Cindy (my brother and his wife) gave birth to Caleb Timothy yesterday morning. Everyone is doing well. We are rejoicing and thankful to the Lord for His blessing in their lives.

Low Body Temperature

The past couple of days, Rachel has been very clingy and fussy and her appetite has been decreasing. (And for all of us that know Rachel, that is NOT normal!) We didn't think too much of it until Wednesday. She was very fussy yesterday morning and I put her down for an early nap, thinking that she was just tired. She slept for 6 hours before we decided to wake her up. While I changed her diaper, she just laid on the bed wanting to go back to sleep. Because of the way she was acting, we took her temperature figuring that maybe she had a fever and was fighting something (even though she felt quite cool to the touch). Our thermometer read 93-95 each time we took it, which of course is quite low. I googled low body temperature and couldn't find much of anything on it, but to be on the safe side I called our pediatrician and also IM'ed my brother, who is currently in med school. The pediatrician wanted to see her right away, so we drove to the office immediately. After running a CBC and urinalysis, there were a couple things that didn't look right so the doctor ordered a lot more blood work and urged us to get it done right away.

Well, I'll try to make this as consise as possible...we headed to the hospital lab and they attempted to draw blood 3 separate times from Rachel's veins. She has apparently inherited my veins...they like to hide and are quite small. The lab then told us that they didn't want to attempt to get the blood anymore, so sent us on to a different hospital where they deal more with babies. So...off we went. When we arrived at the next lab, they told us that they couldn't draw blood after 5 pm because of liability issues and advised us that the only place we could get blood drawn at the late hour was through the emergency room. Ugh! We did not want to go through that entire process, but felt that we needed to do all that we possibly could do based on the doctor's advice. We registered Rachel then with the emergency room and began the long process of...waiting. It took them 2 more attempts in her arms and 2 attempts in her feet to finally obtain the blood necessary for the tests. Once they hit a vein in her foot, it took 10 minutes for the blood to drip into the vial...all while holding our precious baby down. Talk about agony for her and for us!

After more waiting, the blood tests came back normal for which we are VERY thankful for. I am thankful the Lord chose to answer our prayers!! Rachel has a follow up with the doctor today and we are continuing to monitor her. Her appetite is still lacking, but perhaps her body is just fighting something. Her body temperature is back to normal and we're continuing to monitor that.

Thank you to all of you at church that prayed for Rachel last night.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

We're Headed To The East Coast!

Two travel vouchers + Two cheap tickets = Trip to the East Coast!

We are headed to the east coast for two weeks to visit family and friends. We are so excited!! We'll be in New Jersey From April 7-14 and then in Charlotte and Greenville from April 14 - 21. We'd love to catch up with friends for coffee or for a meal while we're in town, so feel free to email us. ;-)

Also, we're looking for someone to house sit (and care for our two pets) while we're away. So if anybody on the west coast wants to help us out, let me know!

You See It All At Walmart!

I ran to Walmart for a few things last week and pulled into a parking spot next to a little hatchback car. As I was parking, I saw a dog in the car next to me (not an unusual sight, though). When I stepped out of the car, I was shocked to see that not only was there a dog in the car...there was a HORSE!! Yes, inside this little hatchback car was a full size dog and a horse. It was unbelievable. I checked to see if the owner was nearby and wanted to get a glimpse of the person that would consider carrying their dog and horse inside their hatchback car to Walmart! I couldn't see anybody that looked like they belonged with this vehicle, so what did I do?? I pulled out my cell phone and snapped a quick picture of this sight! I knew if I didn't, nobody would believe me when I tried to retell the story later. = )

On another note, when I came back out of Walmart an hour later, the car was still there! I don't know if this car belonged to an employee or a long-winded shopper, but it definitely made for a great story when I got home!

Sarah's 7th Birthday Party

We had a great time with friends yesterday, celebrating Sarah's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. Thanks to all of you for helping to make Sarah's birthday special. It's exciting to see all of the friends she has (and we have!) since moving here less than a year ago. Here are a few of the photos we took at that party. I'm going to give Smilebox a try...I haven't decided yet whether I love it or hate it. Enjoy the pictures!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy 7th Birthday, Sarah!

Happy birthday, our sweet Sarah! It's hard to believe that 7 years ago, we were holding you in our arms for the first time. We had only been married for 10 months and could hardly believe that the Lord had already blessed us with a baby. We loved getting to know you and were so excited when you started sleeping through the night at only 6 weeks old. You astound us with your love for learning and your love for music. You are such a special part of our family and we thank the Lord for placing you here with us.

Hobbes, the Kitty

Sarah's birthday is on Monday and she has made it known for several months that all she wants is a kitten. She even said that she'd settle for a fake one if that's what it took, but she wanted a kitten so badly. We found out that one of the families in our church had five kittens and they were happy to let Sarah come and pick one out. Sarah named her new kitten "Hobbes" after the Calvin and Hobbes comic books that she loves to read. She is taking great care of her new pet.

The Importance of Walking

These are taken from Ivman's Blague. I thought they were hilarious, so wanted to pass them on to my readers.

The Importance of Walking as Exercise

Each time you go for a walk, you can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there.

Every time I hear or say the dirty word exercise, I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

The advantage of exercising every day is so that when you die, they'll say, "Well, she looks good, doesn't she."

If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years, just to get over the hill.

We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

They say you can't really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. I say if they've got itsy-bitsy feet or some kind of foot disease, I don't wanna know 'em!

A Recent Glimpse of Rachel

Hard to believe our "little" girl is nearly 15 months old. Here's a couple recent shots of her.

From Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey recently passed away. I remember my English teacher my sophomore year of high school reading a Paul Harvey story to us at the beginning of class each day. Below is one of his writings.

If I Were the Devil
by Paul Harvey
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

If I were the devil...

I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.

Piano Adjudication

Sarah had her first piano adjudication recently. A piano professor gave her instruction for about ten minutes on two pieces that she had worked on and had memorized. The adjudicator was very impressed with the progress that Sarah has made in only five months of lessons. We are grateful that Sarah is using (and so excited about!) this talent the Lord has given her.

Couple's Retreat 2009

Garth and I enjoyed our church's couple's retreat in February. The accommodations were so nice...and you couldn't beat the company! We enjoyed reading for a bit in front of the fire before the evening session.






On Saturday after the sessions, we went about 30 minutes up the road and toured some little shops. Garth got some great architectural photos and some of the beach near sunset. We really enjoyed our weekend together and are already looking forward to next year's retreat.

Consider Vonage

Are you happy with your phone service? We had Qwest phone service when we first moved here, but after several months of the phone line being unclear (and not finding a decent solution), we made the switch to Vonage. We have had this service for about 2 months now and LOVE IT! We have no complaints whatsoever. You can get your voicemails sent to your email as well as accessing them via your phone. This makes it so simple to get voicemails when out of town without having to consciously think about calling your phone to check the messages.

If you are considering switching to Vonage, we'd love to refer you! Each new customer that we refer will receive 2 free months of service. We'll also receive 2 months of free service for each friend that we refer. If you are thinking of switching to Vonage, let us know and we'll send you the information you'll need.