Jack & Grandma Mattern

Hickory Park

Following Jack's dedication service, we headed to Hickory Park with the Matterns and Sheriffs.

Jack's Dedication Service

Last night, in front of our church and family, we:

• Acknowledged that Jackson was a gift from God.
• Recognized that we have a tremendous responsibility to shape him so that his primary delight is in God and not blankies, food, cars, or people.
• Asked for God's help in this wonderfully serious task.

Jack in a Hat

"It's a Raccoon"

Ella and I often watch videos of animals on YouTube. Since we recently encountered some dead possums, Ella has been interested in the more reclusive four-legged furballs. So this morning we watched some funny possum and raccoon videos. Here's a screen recording of us watching a raccoon:

Recent Photos of the Kids Playing

Jack enjoys playing with big sister ...

usually.

Thanksgiving - 2009

Sneaky

Earlier this week, Melissa posted a photo of Jackson wearing one of her old outfits. It was actually Ella, and not Jackson in the photo. She posted it to see if anyone would notice. Congrats to Sarah for being the only one (that we know of) who picked up on Melissa's haberdashery:

Yes, Sarah, you are crazy. And they do look alike.

Jackson

Here is Jackson in one of my outfits from when I was a baby.

Happy Birthday Heather

We hope you had a special day. We miss you!

5 Things: Fill up that iPod

Many of our readers are traveling for the upcoming holidays. Here are 5 suggestions to fill your ears this season.

1. Desiring God audiobook (free in November from Christian Audio). This is John Piper's foundational work. A hundred years from now, people will still be reading this pivotal book, giving it credit for much of the reformed resurgence that occurred during our lifetime. Get it and listen to it once a year. You will be changed for the better. I promise.

2. Fernando Ortega's Beginnings CD (Beginnings - 2 Cd Set). $5.49 for 34 songs. Tremendous vocals, piano, instrumentals, a few Spanish songs ... bought it today and will be enjoying it for some time.

3. Fernando Ortega's Christmas CD (Christmas Songs). If $9.90 for the whole album is too steep, consider buying Let All Mortal Flesh ($0.99 ... I wrote about it last year). You can also watch a short video of Ortega describing this album below:

Fernando Ortega - Christmas Songs from fernando ortega on Vimeo.

4. Daniel Renstrom's On The Incarnation, reviewed here, here, and here (scroll down).

5. Lots more Christmas Music on Amazon.

Ella: 2 Year Stats

Weight: 27 lbs 15 oz. (67%)
Height: 33 3/4 in. (50%)
Head: 18 1/4 in. (22%)

Jackson's weight @ 7 months: 19 lbs 11 oz

*Both kids are H1N1 and regular flu vaccinated. We did find out Jackson had a double ear infection today though. He is a tough little guy and hanging in there.

Jackson Up Close

5 Things: Black Friday Myths

When it comes to finding the best deals on tech gear, I let TechBargains.com do all the heavy-lifting. They recently listed 5 Black Friday myths:

MYTH #1: The deals are over-hyped.
MYTH #2: All deals go quickly.
MYTH #3: You need to wait in store lines.
MYTH #4: The deals are cheaper in-store.
MYTH #5: Black Friday sales begin on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Read more details here.
Also, check out their sister site, PlanetBargains.com, for deals on other stuff.

Irony

Those following the rise of the "new atheists" will find this photo and its accompanying article quite ironic.

From the Times,

The two children chosen to front Richard Dawkins’s latest assault on God could not look more free of the misery he associates with religious baggage. With the slogan “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself”, the youngsters with broad grins seem to be the perfect advertisement for the new atheism being promoted by Professor Dawkins and the British Humanist Association.

Except that they are about as far from atheism as it is possible to be. The Times can reveal that Charlotte, 8, and Ollie, 7, are from one of the country’s most devout Christian families.

Read the short article here. Also, if you have a good explanation as to why religious education of children is not "brainwashing," I'd like to hear it.

It's Very Safe to Operate

Actually, I didn't have it locked. You have to lock it ...

New Sleeping Position

I found Jack sleeping like this when I went in to wake him up this morning. He usually cries when he ends up on his tummy. Maybe we have made a breakthrough.

Scamming the Scammers

I enjoyed reading this exchange between a Nigerian scammer and a guy named Benjamin Waters.

"So I decided to sell my Ford Laser, and I listed it on a used car website. I was promptly contacted by a Nigerian scammer who called himself Nicholas Smart (nicholaszx002@yahoo.com). I was feeling bored at the time, so I decided to have a bit of fun with him."

See what he did here.

Jackson David

More Bass Pro Shops Photos

5 Things: Our Trip to Bass Pro Shops

We took Ella to Bass Pro Shops in Altoona for her birthday. It was all for her. Really. I don't even like the place. Too much outdoor gear. Here are 5 photos from our trip to the greatest collection of dead animals she has ever seen.

New Blog Header

RSS readers may be interested in seeing our new (temporary) blog header:

Ella @ 24 Months

• speaks clearly about 90% of the time
• loves to sing songs such as "Twinkle Twinkle", "Jesus Loves Me", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "ABCD", "I Love You" by Barney, The Cleanup Song, etc.
• Can count to 10 and counts objects
  
• she uses 4-6 words sentences
  
• she talks about herself such as: "Ella's coat is red"
• we can carry on simple conversations with her
• she can name the color red (we are still working on naming all the other colors correctly)
• she is starting to recognize letters and can recognize the letters in her own name
• jumps with both feet
• can easily go up and down stairs one foot at a time like a big girl
• toilet trained during the day (still hasn't perfected going #2)
• recognizes the differences between boys and girls
• climbs on everything
• Has good manners and most of the time says please, thank you, excuse me, bless you and asks people if they are ok when they cough
  

Jackson @ 7 Months

• weighs 19 1/2 lbs
• sits very well without support for long periods of time
• lunges forward when sitting and usually ends up on his tummy
• jabbers/babbles "da da" "ba ba" "nay nay" and I heard him twice say "ma ma"
• imitates waving hi
• stands by himself while holding onto something
• beginning to understand object permanence
• passes objects from one hand to another
• loves to jump up and down
• loves to blow bubbles with all the extra saliva in his mouth (no teeth yet though)
• imitates the sign for "all done"
• loves to give hugs and sucks/kisses faces
  
• shakes his head no (just because he likes the feeling)
• nurses 4 times a day with 3 meals of baby food and oatmeal
• sleeps 12 hours at night and takes two, two hour naps a day
• he loves his sissy (when she gets close to him he always grabs her hair)
• his daddy can make him giggle very hard
• he is such a smiley and easy going baby
  

Birthday Breakfast

We have a tradition of celebrating Ella's birthday with a big breakfast (see last year). We were happy that G & G Schulz could join us this time.

What's Wrong with this Photo?

from the birthday party...

Thanks Grandma Sue!

for the cake and quilt.

Birthday Photos