Mommy & Lauren

Awwwweeee

Just the 4 of us!

Carrie's mom, Liz, left last Thursday after taking off a week to help out while Carrie was adjusting. That was a huge blessing that delayed Carrie's stress of taking care of two kids, while I am at work. The bad thing about Liz leaving is that now Carrie expects me to replace her. One of the first things Carrie pointed out was how well the kitchen was wiped down (the toaster oven is actually white!). She even suggested that I take notes before Liz left. It's amazing how you can never find a notebook and pen when you need it. Thanks a lot for raising the bar Liz!

Another blessing has been the family and friends that have brought food to the house. We have enjoyed every meal!

Exposing Sin

How do you get around people saying, "Who are you to judge?" when discussing sinful behavior? This is something that comes up in conversation just as much as the idea of tolerance. Christians are seen as judgmental and intolerant. We are considered judgmental when we label someone's actions or attitude as sin, and we are considered intolerant when we claim that Jesus is the only way.

There is really no way around the argument of intolerance other than maybe clarifying what "tolerance" means. Dictionary.com defines tolerance as "The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others." The assumption is that people will disagree. Tolerance means that we recognize people will disagree and can still "tolerate" one another. Tolerance does not mean that you can't have any opinions of your own. I've talked about this before regarding Spongebob and homosexuality.

But what about the charge that Christians are judgmental? How is anyone to defend against such an accusation? There are so many angles that can be taken for a Christian to argue here. I think one of the answers is in Romans 7:7-13. In this passage Paul explains the purpose of the law. It reveals sin. By pointing sinners to the law, the judgment comes from God rather than man. The best approach is letting someone condemn themselves. Rather than telling someone that they have broken the commandments of God, allow them to come to that conclusion on their own. Check out "The Good Test" from Ray Comfort's ministry, LivingWaters. It perfectly illustrates my point.

Ugliest Dog Award

Meet Sam, the Chinese crested! Carrie and I couldn't stop laughing when we read this article in World Magazine:

"For the third year in a row, Susie Lockheed can return to Santa Barbara, Calif., with a rather inauspicious award: Ms. Lockheed owns the world's ugliest dog. The pooch, Sam, a 14-year-old Chinese crested, is almost ugly beyond description. What the dog lacks in hair (and it has almost no hair) it makes up for in warts. Below its neck hangs a droopy fold of flesh, and Sam's smile is crowned by a set of snaggle teeth. The judges were said to have recoiled in horror at the sight. "People are always horrified when I kiss him. He may turn into a prince yet. He's definitely a toad," Ms. Lockheed said during the World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin fair. "I always thought he'd be great on greeting cards or on a commercial for Rogaine."

As Carrie said, "That's GREAT journalism!" The comments left on World Magazine's Blog are pretty funny too. He looks like a cross between Yoda and James Hong from Big Trouble in Little China.

Daddy and Maddie at the Zoo

Maddie and I went to the zoo yesterday to give Carrie some extra time in the morning to rest. We got to the zoo right when it opened hoping to beat the heat, but it was still very hot by the time we were leaving. The heat is ridiculous right now and it is expected to get ridiculouser with 3 days straight at 106 degrees. Unfortunately, our home doesn't stay as cool as the office at work does (which John likes to keep as close to freezing as possible without losing all productivity from the staff).

We made it around the zoo twice, hoping to see the Hippo out of the water and the elephants in the water (none of which panned out). The tigers were play fighting in the water and it got pretty intense. I've never seen them play so rough. That was the first time that the tigers scared Maddie. There wasn't too much excitement anywhere else. I think all of the animals are dying from the heat. Most of them were just laying in the shade or water and barely moving. The monkeys of course were as loud as ever. They were the most active. Their is a baby monkey that is becoming a little more daring. It came right over to where everyone is standing and climbing all around the fence. They were pretty fun to watch.

Maddie Meet Lauren

Home from the hospital

The picture is actually from the hospital this morning. I will take some more pictures tomorrow and upload them to Flickr.

Carrie is recovering incredibly well and Lauren Elizabeth is getting acquainted to her new home. Maddie has been interested in Lauren but not overly concerned. When we first got home she wanted to stay right next to her, but by the end of the night she was playing with her toys like normal.

We are so thankful for everyones prayers and concern. God had grace on Carrie and allowed this delivery to be very quick, she pushed for maybe 15 minutes. She is also recovering much faster than she did with Maddie. Lauren is very healthy, especially for being 3 weeks early. She is feeding well which is always a concern for newborns.

All cleaned up

It's a girl

She scored a 9.9 (that's out of 10 for those of you not in the know) on the APGAR test, which was better than Maddie's score.

Still no baby...

Carrie is getting some rest right now and progressing along very slowly. The doctor came in around 8am and decided that if her water has not broken by noon he will come back and do that. Once that is done things will speed up...hopefully.

We're Admitted

She is going to stay. The good news is that she will probably be having this baby early tomorrow. The bad news is that Carrie really wants a cheeseburger but all the nurse will let her eat is ice chips. ICE CHIPS...WHO EATS ICE CHIPS WHEN THEY'RE HUNGRY!

In the hospital again

We are walking right now to give her some more contractions. If she keeps moving along they will admit her but for now we are waiting. She is having contractions about every 4 minutes or so. They started around 7:30 so we are hoping that they keep going so she will be admitted.

Happy 4th of July

With Carrie on bedrest we didn't want to go anywhere. Instead we went to the Wagners for some "safe & sane" FUN!

Back in when I was in high school my dad caught some kids playing down the street throwing and kicking the fireworks. They ended up starting a fire in the field next to our house. One of the local news stations did a story on it. Stupid kids!

Generations praising God together

Young men and maidens together,
old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.

Psalm 148:12-13

A couple of things stand out when I read this passage. One is the lack of mixed generations worhipping God together. We seem to segregate the young from the old too much. I can understand the need to provide children with teaching that they can understand but, I think there needs to be time when children see their parents praising God. Of course they should see that exemplified in the home but what about at church. Many families need to see how other parents worship God with their children. If a church never allows for that opportunity, I think they are compromising family for individual. Even single adults can benefit from seeing families worshipping God together. I'm not saying children need to sit through the pastor's sermons but, they should at least be there for the singing.

Mowing the lawn in 100 degree heat

This past week carried an onslaught of heat and allergies my way. My allergy medication could do nothing against its attacks. Mowing the lawn didn't help my problems either. Carrie and Maddie actually joined me in the backyard for a bit before all of us thought we were going to have a heat stroke.

Carrie is on bedrest for one more day. The doctor returns from his vacation tonight and he has pretty much given her the ok to act normal again. We are anxious to see Lauren Elizabeth. It's exciting but at the same time, scary to think there will be TWO of them.