Isaac's adventure with Gramps!

Gramps and Grandma Gurley (Betsy's parents) came over to see us this week, and while they were here Gramps took Isaac on a journey through our yard. On their journey, they discovered our tomato plants! Gramps showed Isaac how to pick the ripe fruit and even bite into them. Although we're not supposed to feed Isaac tomatoes for a while, he enjoyed using one of the bigger ones as a teether! They both enjoyed every minute of their grandpa/grandson time ~ so special!

Visit with Granny and Paw Paw!

Yesterday Isaac and I took a little drive over to Granny and Pawpaw's house (Betsy's grandparents). We had a wonderful time visiting with them, and they enjoyed seeing Isaac crawl and pull himself up. Halfway through our visit, my dad came over and joined the fun. Here are some pictures from our time together:

Isaac wants to talk on the phone too!



Pawpaw gives Isaac a ride!



Gramps and Isaac swing while Pawpaw rocks on their front porch:


Precious family! We cherish you Granny and Pawpaw!

Betsy's bread baking adventure

On Monday I attempted making homemade bread. My mom made homemade bread often when I was growing up, and I was so excited about bringing that wonderful bakery smell into my own home now. Well, after baking this bread, our home was indeed filled with that incredibly delectable fragrance. The bread itself was actually a great success, and -- to my surprise -- was really yummy. This particular loaf was a honey white bread. My next adventure will be to incorporate some whole wheat flour into the recipe to add some extra nutrition. However, being that this has no partially hydrogenated oils or preservatives, I feel like it's already a good start in helping our family take healthier lifestyle steps. I'm planning to start making this bread weekly instead of buying loaf bread at the store. Making the bread wasn't nearly as difficult as I had thought and it was actually fun!





What's new on my domestic adventure horizon? Making homemade yogurt and yogurt-cheese. I just read a recipe last night, and I am super-excited about trying it! It may have to wait until we're back home from the beach, though, but stay tuned for a blog about that adventure!

A deal worth promoting!

I have mentioned one of my favorite websites, www.moneysavingmom.com, here before and honestly, it's the most useful money saving website I've found. I've learned so much from Crystal's blog posts about couponing, getting free stuff, and shaving money from our grocery bill. I wanted to let my readers know that TODAY ONLY she is offering an incredible ebook package for a really sweet deal, in my opinion -- over $100 worth of money-saving ebooks, homemaking helps, and encouragement for only $5.97! I can't believe she's offering such a great price and I'd highly recommend you run over here and check it out.

What makes this deal so good is that this ebook package includes the ecourse Supermarket Savings 101. This course will teach you how to drastically reduce your grocery bill, as it has for us. If high fuel and food costs are discouraging you and leaving you strapped for cash, you definitely need to buy this ecourse. You'll learn how to cut your grocery bill by up to 50% or more and have fun saving money at the same time! These tips have impacted our finances so much, and that's why I'm promoting this on our blog today.

Go here to read more about this huge sale! Hurry, though, the price goes up tomorrow--get this money-saving ebook package at a ridiculously low price while you can!

Party with the paper!

On Sunday, I was going through some coupon inserts that had been given to me. When I was finished with them, I let Isaac play with a few sheets. What started out as a two or three of the inserts being shaken around by our innocent little eight-month-old quickly turned into a paper party, thanks to Steven! We had a blast playing with all that paper!

Here are some pictures of our adventure (and a peek at Isaac's bottom teeth!)

The Duggans are in town!

This past Sunday, we had some special friends visit our church and share their recent adventures as missionaries in Costa Rica. The Duggan family joined us for the first time since they made their journey to Latin America in August 2007. Our church family has been keeping up with this precious family via email and their website for the past year, but we were thrilled to be able to see them again in person. We had a great time hearing what they've learned over the past year in their new home. Brian (the dad) is the International Leader for Latin American Missionaries for the Evangelical Free Church in America.


*Note that this picture does not include the Duggan's oldest son who is in college in the U.S.

We love this family and are thankful that God has developed a growing relationship between them and our church family. It's always encouraging to hear what God is doing, not only here in our hometown, but all over the globe.

Blessings to you Duggan Family! We're praying for you!

Another great toy!

This past week, I purchased a couple books from amazon.com to take on our beach trip. Since Amazon has free shipping on orders over $25 and my book total came to around $20, I looked for a little something to increase the total so that I wouldn't have to pay for shipping. I thought a new toy for Isaac would be nice, so I searched the toy section (I've recently learned that Amazon offers a lot more than just books! I know, I know, I should've known this already, but I'm relatively new to online shopping for anything except books or picture prints.) Anyway, I found another classic toy, the Rock-A-Stack for around $5. I thought it'd be nice to get since this is another toy that I had as a child, and I wanted to see what Isaac thought of it. Well, it arrived in the mail yesterday, and Isaac loves it! He loves the bright colors of the rings, and he loves that the red ring has little beads inside that he can shake around to make noise. (Fisher-Price has gotten smart over the years; when I was growing up, the red ring was just that -- a red ring -- no cute little noisy beads.) Hopefully a picture to come soon of this toy too! Why is the camera always upstairs when I need it downstairs?!!??

Oh, and for those of you wondering which books I purchased...
1) Passionate Housewives Desperate for God
2) From Clutter to Clarity
Both are highly recommended by folks I admire. Hopefully they'll be good reads by the seashore. I've wanted to read them for a while and they weren't available at the library, so I decided to treat myself with them as my way of celebrating the fact that we're going to the beach. (I can't wait!!!)

Standin' Up!

Today, Isaac pulled himself up to a standing position for the first time! He's pulled up on his knees in the past week, but today was his first attempt at standing on his feet. Wow! Hopefully I'll be able to catch a photograph soon. Today the only lucky eyes were mine and my mom's during her visit with us. This little crawler is gonna be cruisin' soon!

Dinner last night...

Since I didn't have any lettuce to accompany the delicious little tomatoes we've grown, I tried to think of something yummy that I could do with them for dinner last night. I diced those babies right up, added some spices, olive oil, grated Parmesan cheese, and, voila! I had bruschetta, made from scratch! Since we didn't have any French or Italian bread for it (I know, I'm going shopping today...we're out of milk, too.), I added it to our spaghetti sauce for what turned out to be a very delicious dish! The picture above is actually proof of my handiwork!

My next domestic attempt is making my cousin's zucchini muffins. My dad gave me a huge zucchini that he grew, so I'll be chopping it up later today for these sweet little treats. Yum!

Any other ideas for what I can make with my little tomatoes? They are all the baby kind that are great for salads, but they're too small for tomato sandwiches. I've got a ton of these, so please let me know if you have any dishes or recipe recommendations!

Eight months old!

Isaac is now eight months old. This past month has been full of milestones for him! Some of those include:

* Sitting up on his own (and very confidently, I might add)
* Crawling (army crawl first, and then moved to traditional crawl last week!)
* Talking with words such as "ba-ba, da-da, ma-ma"
* Pulling himself up to support his weight on his knees
* Staying by himself in the YMCA childwatch without fussing before my workout is over
* Pulling up on his bumper pads (alas, they have had to go...)
* Taking baths in the real bathtub (he crawls around in the water ~ hilarious!)

It's amazing how his brain has developed recently, especially when he started to crawl. He now wants to try and touch anything he sees even if it means he has to crawl across the room. He especially loves to crawl toward wires, cords, and anything that is specifically not made for babies! However, one of his toys does seem to keep him in one place for a while - his Shape-O Toy Ball. It was a gift from our friend Kalpana, and he just loves it! He likes to hold and examine the yellow pieces that are made in different shapes. What a classic toy! I had one like this, and now my little boy can enjoy playing with it, too! Thanks Kalpana!!!

Here are some photos from today:

First time in the big bathtub!


Our monthly comparison picture (notice the super-cute bumper pads are gone...I mourn with all you other moms out there who have gone before me in packing up one of the most treasured pieces of your nursery collection...)


Big smile!


"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes."
-- Author Unknown

Visiting the mountains, once again!

This weekend, Steven, Isaac and I took a trip to Boone, NC. We stayed right between Blowing Rock and Boone in a lovely rental suite, which is where we stay almost every time we go to the mountains. The conference we attended was held at the Broyhill Conference Center on the Appalachian State campus, and the meetings included ministry time with Kathie Walters, Sid Roth, and the praise band from RiverLife Fellowship in Mooresville, NC. In addition to praise & worship, speaking, and ministry, there was a prophetic painter and an Irish dancer who shared their talents. We had a great time together being refreshed in the Lord! On Saturday afternoon, Steven took Isaac outside for a long walk and I got a 2 hour nap, which was very much needed! On this trip, all three of us got some rest, had some fun, and enjoyed fellowship with each other and the folks attending the conference.

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Our family photo...another attempt at using the camera's timer...this was taken on the deck of our suite:


Isaac playing on the floor in the den area of our suite:


Our little bright eyes!


Feeding Isaac his breakfast at the Mountain House Restaurant in Boone:


Steven and Isaac with David Walters (this is Kathie Walters' husband, and his passion is ministry to children and teenagers.):


Steven and Isaac with Sid Roth (we love this guy!!!):


After a long day, Isaac fell asleep in my arms during the worship time on Saturday night... too sweet!


Beautiful summer flowers (everywhere we turned, there were huge volumes of gorgeous summer wildflowers and annuals):


What a great trip!

What is Juice Plus?

You may have seen the Juice Plus website link in our sidebar on the left hand side of the screen. As of this week, that link has been replaced with a picture of Juice Plus bottles that now link you to my website.

Since the link is there, you may have asked, "What is Juice Plus?"
Juice Plus is a nutritional supplement that Steven and I have been taking for three years. Put simply, it is juiced fruits and veggies that have been dried into a powder, using low temperatures, and put in capsule form (there are also gummies for children that have all the nutrients in them). Steven and I both take the capsules daily and we also break up the capsules and pour the powder in Isaac's baby food! Since we started taking Juice Plus, Steven and I have definitely seen an improvement in the strength of our immune systems. I used to get two colds every winter season, but I have not had a cold or any other sickness since I started taking Juice Plus. Yes, you read that right! I haven't been sick in three years! I attribute this to the Juice Plus since I haven't made any other significant changes in my lifestyle since then. Also, Steven rarely gets sick and when he feels a cold or virus coming on, he "doubles up" on Juice Plus and kicks the bug out! I could go on and on about the benefits we've experienced as a family, but I don't want to bore my faithful readers! :) This post is to let you know that if you're interested in reading more about Juice Plus, just click on the link to the left or contact me. After having such success personally with Juice Plus, I decided to become a distributor two and a half years ago. Now that I am not working outside the home full time, I am hoping to be able to grow this home-based business more in the coming months. If you'd like to give Juice Plus a try, just let me know!

Juice Plus has been the subject of many research studies at leading universities, and that research is available on my Juice Plus website. Also, it is recommended by top pediatrician, Dr William Sears. Here are his thoughts on Juice Plus: (this is taken from his website)
***This is somewhat lengthy, but I wanted to include the entire text for the benefit of those who are interested.***

"Juice Plus+® is the only daily supplement I personally take."

Each morning I put a scoopful of Juice Plus+ Complete® into my fruit and yogurt smoothie. Every day I take my Fruit and Veggie Juice Plus+® Capsules, and dole out Juice Plus+® to our kids in the form of powder, chewables, capsules and JP+ Gummies® according to their age and taste. Then I go to my office and recommend the Juice Plus+® Children’s Health Study to the families in my pediatric practice, especially those who are sick a lot.

Do I feel passionate about this product? Yes! Here’s why.

In April of 1997 I underwent major surgery for colon cancer, followed by a long course of radiation and chemotherapy. Realizing that colon cancer, and all major diseases for that matter, are influenced by diet, I was determined not to let my medical problem repeat itself. So I began devouring medical literature on the connection between diet and health. During the year following my surgery, I read volumes about nutrition, subscribed to every nutrition journal I could find, put together a collection of over 500 file folders about food, and became what my friends tagged a “health nut.” About three months into my new style of eating I noticed some amazing changes. My energy level skyrocketed, prompting my wife Martha to call me “Zip.” We stepped up our ballroom dancing and even beat some of the younger couples in the swing contest. My mind was working better, too. I just plain felt good all over – mind and body – and finally learned what it is to experience real well-being. Too bad I had to get sick in order to learn to eat right instead of eating right to keep from getting sick.

Why was I feeling so good? The answer seemed clear: I was putting the right fuel into my body that made it run better. At that time – as a father of eight, author of 28 books, and a pediatrician at the peak of his career – I was going to do everything I could to keep my health up and not let the cancer reoccur. Talk about motivation! During my quests for what constitutes good health I devoured books and articles about supplements and discovered that one of the secrets of good health is to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables that contain thousands of disease-fighting chemicals called “phytonutrients.” I call them “phytos” for short. The same phytos that help keep the plants healthy help keep our bodies healthy. Even thousands of years ago Hippocrates said, “let food be thy medicine.” As I studied the parade of supplements out there, I concluded that whatever supplement I take must have good science and make good sense.

That’s how I came across Juice Plus+®. It had good science behind it and made good sense – a whole food based supplement! Whole foods, a bunch of the healthiest fruits and vegetables, juiced and dried at low temperatures, removing the water and most of the sugar, salt and bulk. These nutritious juice powders are then put into capsules, chewables, and gummis! Intrigued by this concept of packaged phytos, I realized that my life depended upon eating the right foods and taking the right supplements. So, I did my life-saving detective work. While visiting the company where Juice Plus+® is made I saw firsthand the care and quality that went into this product. In examining their independent research I discovered that researchers had measured the blood levels and found that disease-fighting “phytos” go way up after taking Juice Plus+® – and they had published their results in a peer-reviewed medical journal. This was a vital discovery since it’s not what’s on the package label that’s important, it’s how much gets into the body. Finally I grilled the company executives. They were honorable people. The combination of good science, good sense, and a reputable company convinced me that this would be my supplement of choice.

Since taking Juice Plus+® daily and following an overall healthy eating and exercise program I have not even had so much as a cold, even though my wonderful little patients share their germs with me everyday. The parents of children who are sick a lot often thank me: “Since my children have been taking Juice Plus+® they haven’t been sick as often.” Juice Plus+® is now the only whole food based supplement I take. I’m pleased to recommend the joy of taking Juice Plus+® to everyone who takes their health seriously.

Do your children get sick all the time?

Do you frequently feel tired and run-down?

Is it nearly impossible to get your children to eat fruits and vegetables?

Are you lacking the recommended 7-13 servings of raw fruits and vegetables each day?

If the answer to any of these is yes, then Juice Plus+® is extremely important for you and your family.

For many years the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and every other national health association has emphasized the importance of eating at least five servings of raw fruits and vegetables every day. The health benefits of this are numerous, including:

Protection against cancer
Stronger immune system
Prevention of chronic illness
Protection against heart disease
Slows down the effects of aging

These benefits are not only due to vitamins and minerals, but also from the enzymes, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber contained within the raw fruits and vegetables. There are many more potential benefits of these nutrients such as improved intellectual function, better eyesight, and increased energy level. In short, our bodies simply function more efficiently.

How many of us actually eat 7-13 servings of raw fruits and vegetables every day? Some Americans may eat an orange with breakfast and maybe an apple with lunch. We are pretty good at making sure we finish our one or two cooked vegetables at dinnertime. However, virtually all of us fall far short of the quantity of fruits and vegetables we need to protect us from cancer, chronic disease, infection, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Very few of us are receiving the nutrition required to help our bodies run smoothly and efficiently and to maximize our potential for a healthy life.

It is difficult to get adults to consume their share of fruits and vegetables, but trying to coax children – from toddlerhood through the teenage years – to eat enough of them is nearly impossible. Many parents worry about their two-year-old who barely seems to eat anything at all or about their busy teenager-on-the-go who doesn't even sit down to eat. The nutrients in fruits and vegetables can maximize the physical and intellectual development of our children as they grow through the school-age years.

What is Juice Plus+®? Juice Plus+® is more than extra vitamins and minerals. It is actually a whole food based supplement. The fruit capsules are made from apples, oranges, pineapples, cranberries, peaches, cherries, papayas. The vegetable capsules are made from carrots, parsley, beets, kale, broccoli, cabbage, oat bran, rice bran, spinach, and tomatoes.

How is Juice Plus+® made? The fresh fruits and vegetables are juiced, then dehydrated to a powder form. It's carefully tested to ensure no pesticides or other contaminants are present in the product. It is never exposed to high temperatures that would destroy the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables. Most of the vitamins, minerals, active plant enzymes, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and fiber are preserved in the final capsules. When re-hydrated with water, the nutrients are absorbed into our bodies as if we had eaten the fruits and vegetables whole.

Is Juice Plus+® as good as eating fruits and vegetables? There's no complete substitute for eating the real thing. But how many people actually eat such a wide variety of raw fruits, vegetables and grains every single day? Juice Plus+® is a convenient way to ensure you and your family get all the benefits over time from adding more nutrition from fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet.

But my child already takes a multi-vitamin. Why does she need Juice Plus+®? Juice Plus+® is not a vitamin supplement which contain, at best, only a small number of pre-selected antioxidants. It is a whole food based supplement containing nutrition from the thousands of antioxidants and other nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Some children may need vitamin supplementation, but every child needs Juice Plus+®.

Is there any scientific proof that Juice Plus+® really works? To my knowledge, no other nutritional product in history has been subjected to as rigorous scientific investigations as Juice Plus+®, which has been investigated by scores of scientists at leading hospitals and universities all over the world. The results of 12 such studies have already been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals – and numerous other studies are currently underway. The published studies indicate that Juice Plus+® delivers key antioxidants that are absorbed by the body, reduces oxidative stress, promotes cardiovascular wellness in several ways, helps support a healthy immune system, and helps protect DNA.

This all may sound complicated, but the simple truth is that Juice Plus+® is the best way to get your entire family to reap more of the healthful benefits of a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables. Juice Plus+® comes in three forms:

capsules for adults
chewable tablets for older children
great tasting “gummis” for toddlers and younger children

I am very excited about Juice Plus+® and have seen the benefits in myself and my children. Start your family on Juice Plus+® today and see the benefits over a lifetime!

To Your Good Health,

Dr. Bill, Dr. Bob, and Dr. Jim

Our trip to the library!

Yesterday afternoon, Isaac and I went on his first trip to the library! We stayed all of ten minutes, but we had a great time! Since he's only *almost* eight months old, he was very content to be strolled around while I looked at the books, DVD's, and kids' stuff. Our library is very nice, and it will be a wonderful place to spend time reading and choosing good books as Isaac gets older. Thankfully they have a wonderful selection of board books, which are perfect for a babe like our little man. We picked out five books for Isaac, one book for me (Patches of Godlight, by Jan Karon - I'm a sucker for good quotes...), and two DVD's (DVD #1 - baby signing instructional video; DVD # 2 "Baby Einstein" video - we haven't tried any of these yet, but Isaac's friend Taylor loves them; hopefully he will too!)

Overall it was a great time! My goal was to introduce Isaac to the library so he begins to have a concept of it, and I'd say that goal was met!

Mmmm...tomatoes!

There's nothing like ripe, homegrown tomatoes in the middle of summer! Yesterday I harvested the first tomatoes from the plants in our backyard. Today there were several more ripe ones to pick. This little adventure has gotten me so excited about the raised bed garden we're planning to build this fall (and plant in it next spring)! Here are some pictures I took today:

Our tomato plants (keep in mind that these plants came back on their own, from fallen fruit that wasn't harvested off last year's plants.)


Baby romas (I think). Such beauties!


My harvested fruit thus far...


“Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes.”

John Denver, 'Home Grown Tomatoes'
(from a song written by Guy Clark)

Isaac at the mic!

Our family had a wonderful time this weekend when Guy and Ilke Peh visited our church. Friday night and Saturday morning included times of praise, worship, teaching, preaching, and healing ministry. We were drawn to the throne of God by the CIC praise team, and the messages were delivered by Dr. Guy. There were several people who received healing in their physical bodies by the power of the Holy Spirit, and there were others who received spiritual, emotional, and mental healing. It was a truly refreshing time in the Lord! I didn't snap too many pictures, but I did catch this precious moment when Isaac was singing and playing with his Daddy after the Saturday meeting. This was his first experience with a microphone... surely won't be his last!

Reach out and touch...a cat!

Isaac likes our kitties... and they like him too! Here you see Isaac and Noel reaching for each other. How sweet!

Music to a father's ears...

Steven went to get Isaac up from his nap on Sunday, and he was greeted by a smiling face and the words, "Da-da!" It's pretty clear now that Isaac knows what those words mean!

Little crawler!

Isaac's crawl is more of an "army crawl" these days, where he pushes up on all fours and then slides forward on his belly. It's so cute! This boy definitely doesn't have any trouble gettin' around!

Another milestone this week: Steven and I went into Isaac's room on Thursday night to find that he'd sat up on his own! Before that point, we would have to help him get to a seated position. Now, though, he can do it on his own! Our little man is growing, growing, growing!

Treats and gifts...

There's nothing quite like walking by the Godiva stand in the mall and seeing that they are offering free chocolate! This happened to me tonight while Isaac, Steven and I were at the mall to get new glasses for Steven. We walked by the Godiva stand and said, "We'll get some free chocolate later, on our way out." On our way out, however, the free chocolate was gone! How sad. We must have stood by the Godiva stand for a whole minute, our mouths watering over the chocolate for sale, but our wallets wishing the free stuff was still available. We really must have looked pitiful because one of the clerks said, "Is everything okay? Can I help with anything?" We said, "Oh no, thank you. We just hate we missed your free chocolate." She then turned around, grabbed the free chocolate plate from behind the counter and brought it back out. There were three delicious flavors to choose from - milk chocolate mango truffles, white chocolate orange sherbet truffles, and dark chocolate ganaches. YUM! We were suddenly so excited that the free chocolate was available for us again, and you know what? We couldn't decide which one we wanted!!! What happened next was unprecedented (at least in my life), the lady said "Go ahead, take one of each." Wow! One of each of these full-size pieces of our favorite brand of chocolate. FREE. Totally cool. Got me thinking...

...I guess I take back my comment about something like that being unprecedented in my life. Jesus actually did that for me, too. He gave me life, for FREE! And unlike the chocolate situation, where I could have paid if I'd really had to, I could never pay for the gift that Jesus bought for me with his life. His gift to me is life ~ eternal, abundant, and with the power of the Holy Spirit! Wow - kind of like the three pieces of chocolate, but oh so much sweeter!

Thanks to Godiva for some yummy FREE treats tonight!

Thanks to Jesus for paying for eternal life so that it would be FREE for the taking for anyone who would ask and receive.

"...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
Romans 10:9-11

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
John 10:10

Why are the Mauneys dancin'?

Here are some things our family is very excited about right now:

~ Special guests, Guy and Ilke Peh, are visiting our church this weekend!
Everyone is welcome! If you're interested in coming, comment here and I'll send you the details. Steven and the CIC praise team will be leading praise and worship, and they've been working for several weeks to prepare. They have felt the hand of God touching them during their practices, and they've said they know that the Lord is going to do some awesome ministry through the meetings this weekend. I know it will be a very special time!

Anytime we get together to testify of the goodness of God and worship Him with all our hearts, it promises to be an incredible time!

~ The three of us will be journeying to Boone, NC for the weekend in mid-July for a conference with Kathie Walters and Sid Roth. These are two of the coolest people, and we're pumped! We've heard Kathie in person before, but we've only seen Sid on his television show... We're staying with our friends Roy and Sandra in the suite above their house. We stayed there when we went to Boone in February.

~ Our beach trip is coming up in less than a month! We'll be taking a week long trip to Ocean Isle Beach, NC in the first part of August. YAY! Isaac will see the beach for the first time, and I'm betting he'll also taste sand!

I'll keep you all posted as these events occur, and I plan to post pictures of each of them.

We LOVE Summertime!!!

"Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year - it brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul. "
~Author Unknown

Our little fireman!

This fireman's hat was a treat from Ms. Marie, our cashier at Saturday's trip to Firehouse Subs, one of Steven's favorite restaurants. I wasn't able to eat anything from Firehouse during my pregnancy because it was a major aversion for me (which meant Steven didn't get much of it either!). Therefore, he's now trying to catch up on the number of subs he missed out on during that time! Isaac tried pickles for the first time yesterday at our July 4th BBQ, so we let him have our Firehouse pickles tonight. He loved them! We chopped them up and put them in his fresh food feeder.

Aren't I blessed with two incredibly handsome (and adorably sweet) men in my life?!!

Happy Independence Day!

What a glorious day we enjoyed on July 4th, 2008! Our morning started out with lots of fun as we joined our extended family for the Coulwood neighborhood parade. This is the neighborhood where I grew up, and I've gone to this annual parade almost all my life. I have always enjoyed sharing the fun with my family, and eventually with Steven. This year was even more exciting because Steven and I were able to take Isaac and watch him take in every portion of it. He seemed to really like watching the fire trucks, horses, drummers, and neighborhood kids riding their bikes covered in patriotic decor.
...our family at the parade...

...one of the fire trucks at the parade...

After the parade, Isaac took a four hour nap! That's the longest nap he's ever taken, so we know he must have been worn "slap dab out" from the parade! Steven and I took advantage of the naptime by watching a movie for two hours, and then I got in a two hour, much needed nap while Steven wrote another song. Lovely day.

...Isaac with Granny and PawPaw...

...Ray, Kati, Betsy, and Steven...

In the evening, we joined our family once again for a BBQ at my Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Leon's house. It was a great time of good food and relaxation. We even prayed and discussed politics - two things I am very thankful that we can do freely in our country, without threat to our lives. On days like this, I am reminded of the freedom that we have here in America that we absolutely must not take for granted. I thank God for His hand here and I am overwhelmingly grateful for the men and women who have sacrificed everything they have on this earth so that we could have that freedom.

Thank you, men and women who have served our country, for protecting our independence as a nation. May we never forget the need for our complete dependence on our God.

Happy 4th of July!

...Lord, may Your Hand be upon America...

I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me
And I'll proudly stand up next to him to defend her still today,
Cuz there aint no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
~ Lee Greenwood, Proud To Be An American

The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.
~ Woodrow Wilson

The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.
~ Woodrow Wilson

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.
~ Benjamin Franklin

Our great modern Republic. May those who seek the blessings of its institutions and the protection of its flag remember the obligations they impose.
~ Ulysses S. Grant

We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.
~ John F. Kennedy

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.
~ Robert J. McCracken

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
~ The Pledge Of Allegiance

Flora and fauna...

For my out-of-town readers (or those in town who haven't been to my home lately), I wanted to share a few pictures of our summer flowers and plants.

Here is our tomato garden! Thanks to my dad for his help with staking them up!


Our front porch with petunias galore. In my opinion, it doesn't feel like summer until you can smell petunias when you walk out your front door! (Notice the butterfly bush in the back? We transplanted that two years ago from my parents' house. It's truly flourished there, and provides a sort of wall to our front porch.)


When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.
~Chinese Proverb