Saturday, January 31, 2009

Introducing Fred E. Bear

We decided to go with a "bear" theme for the baby's room; it was both a gender-neutral thing that we could get started on before finding out the baby's gender, as well as a nod towards Baylor (Junior's future college of choice, of course).

We found the set of nursery decor (bedding, etc.) that we wanted awhile back, and we'd talked about wanting to find a giant stuffed bear to go with it. Today at Sam's, we found him. Introducing Fred E. Bear (here posing with Bethany for scale).



Also, a few of you have been asking for photos of the baby's room now that we've got the decor and the furniture mostly set up. We're not quite ready for that yet, but here's Fred with a sneak peek.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Bethany and Junior: Week 19

So Bethany's not quite to the halfway point of the pregnancy (Tuesday she hit week 19), but Junior is starting to make an appearance!



Ok, so Junior's not incredibly obvious yet... But there is definitely a little bump there. By Monday night, hopefully we will know whether that little bump is a he or a she! That means there's still time to vote in the poll; which do you think Junior will be?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Will Junior be a boy or a girl?

We should soon learn whether Junior is a boy or a girl. Bethany and I have our own guess, and some incredibly unscientific polling on Facebook so far seems to consist mainly of guys saying "boy" and ladies saying "girl". So I thought I'd further add to the confusion by posting a poll on our blog. So go vote!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Empty Me (a resolution from my heart)

I usually don't mess with New Year's Resolutions. I (like many people) don't keep them and why bother making a resolution I'm not going to keep?

However, this year, really since last Thanksgiving, I've had this song rolling around in my head (and in my car, and on my iPod, pretty much everywhere) and noticed some major changes that I'd like to have happen with me. It's less of a resolution and more of a prayer (because this is a work that only God could do!):

"Empty me, of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition, and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord, empty me of me so I can be...filled with you."

I love these words...This year promises to have several major changes for me (and those are just the ones I already know about!). Shifting responsibilities in my job, becoming a mother, all while still trying to fulfill my other roles (wife, friend, employee. etc.) to the best of my ability. The only hope I have of not completely messing those up is to let go of what I think should happen and let God fill me with what He knows is best. He has the big picture, He knows what is important, and best of all, He loves me and only wants the absolute best for me!! I can't lose really!

So, I need to stop thinking the world does (or should) revolve around me and start (once again) revolving my world around the only perfect One who has ever existed or will ever exist. I need to stop thinking, "I'm a good person, I'm doing ok..." when I'm just as sinful as the next guy and need Jesus' saving grace more than ever. I'm going to take it one day at a time, here goes...


Here is the song if you want to hear the whole thing:

Empty Me by Chris Sligh

Friday, January 2, 2009

Christmas 2008 photos

Man - it's already 2009! Before we go any further with this year, we'd better wrap up 2008. December ended with us covering three cities in nine days -- Austin with Jeff's family Dec. 24-26, then Houston at Jeff's mom's house for one night before flying to Miami for five nights with Bethany's family. (No, we did not get to party with Ricky Martin on South Beach for New Year's Eve; instead, we celebrated our fourth anniversary with a rousing game of Uno, then toasted in the new year with sparkling cider left over from the wedding.)

Quite a trip! But it was fun to spend time with so much of our family and especially to get to see everyone around the holidays, even as they are spread across the country. Here's a link to our photos from the trip; if you're looking for more, here are Aunt Sue's photos and Kim's photos from our time together in Austin. Aunt Sue even uploaded a few short videos -- mostly of Jeff, Joseph and Elizabeth enjoying Rebekah's new Busy Ball Popper.

Hope all of y'all enjoyed the holidays as much as we did!