Husbands, cameras and Tongues, Oh MY! Take 2

For those who may not have believed me on a previous post when I commented about me not being able to take a picture of my handsome husband without him sticking his tongue out at me upon sensing a camera pointed in his general direction, here is another post devoted to him and his camera loving antics.

Wait for it...the tongue is right there behind the teeth, getting ready to work its way out...just watch.
Here it comes...

There it is...right on cue.

Unbelievable.

The moment (urge) has passed. Guess he doesn't sense the camera anymore. Maybe he plain old doesn't have feeling left in his head from the tight goggles. He's got that "OUCH" expression.

Beware Fishes!

In all fairness, I was finally able to catch a nice picture of him. I don't know how it happened, but it did. I am sure the tongue was right there behind those pearly whites poised and ready to ruin the shot. Thankfully he exerted self control. The only bad part of the whole thing is the fact that I inadvertently got a picture of myself in his glasses!

The Flip Side of the Coin

I'm sure that over the course of your life you've heard that there are 2 sides to every story. Today I am offering proof.

Cast of Characters:

Princess in Training...Boogie Cousin visiting from Sunny Florida..."Double T"

(He Looks Sweet Enough)
His mom was sitting somewhere behind him and told him to give Boogie a hug...He happily obliged.

What she saw was one of those heart melting moments when her little man gives his cute cousin a hug.

The Flip side of the coin is what Auntie saw...look at that look of concentration as he carefully poured that water down Boogie's back...

Carefully...carefully...

Our lesson for today...there ARE in fact 2 sides to every story.

The Taming of Big Bertha

This past weekend we went up north to spend some time at the lake with Steven's family. The 2 big kids decided they wanted to try tubing...but only if Grandpa tried it first to show them the ropes. Never being one to turn down a challenge, Grandpa obliged. Unfortunately, the old tube was no match for Grandpa or our little boat. The cleat ripped off on the first try, which left us scrambling to find a new tube on Saturday morning...Enter BIG BERTHA...

The ride home with Big Bertha was a trip in and of itself. I figured at any moment the little VW convertible was going to go airborne with this big thing attached to the roof, but alas, we did make it back safe and sound with all 4 wheels on the ground. In just a matter of minutes, Big Bertha was hooked on the boat and loaded with its first round of passengers... The first round of the taming went well...
Sis didn't want to get out of the tube.

Bertha...yes...camera...No.
The victims...er...passengers lined up for their shot
at taming the beast. Grandma hopped in with Sis.
It is hard to tell who is in charge here...


A quick passenger switch and Bertha is off for another run..

In the end, Bertha was not that intimidating. She just looks big.

The Path to Healing

My brother still seems to be improving a little bit day by day. He is having blood drawn about 3 times/day now to keep an eye on the infection. He is still in a lot of pain, and is having a hard time with one of the pain meds. After consulting the doctor on that one, hopefully, this will be rectified. His swelling continues to improve. We are still praying that this course of antibiotics will continue to be effective and that his pain and swelling will continue to subside. I am praying ever constantly for his salvation. Thanks again, too, for all your prayers.

Prayers needed

It has been a little hectic around here lately (as usual). We have been dealing with one crisis on top of another, but have seen God's miraculous hand in all things, which is awesome.

A little over 2 weeks ago, a friend of the family was cleaning the gutters on his elderly neighbor's roof when he fell and broke his neck, back and shattered his ankle. He received a miracle on 2 accounts...#1 he is alive and #2 he is not paralyzed. The doctor could only say that he was a miracle.

Just a couple of days after that happened, by brother in law was hurt at work. He was involved in an accident with a crane. A 3/8" bolt went through his arm...which ended up looking like an exit wound from a gun. He also experienced injury from steel that had fallen. In this situation, he, too received his miracle. The doctor told him there was no explanation why he was still alive. The bolt should have severed the artery in his arm. My brother in law is expected to regain full use of his arm with no lasting damage. Our God is great...

That brings us to Monday...my brother became very ill Monday evening. He was vomiting and running super high fevers. Thinking it would pass, he waited it out until Wednesday morning where my brother in law found him weak and feverish and in a lot of pain. Within moments, he passed out. My brother found himself in the hospital with a horrible systemic infection. The doctor said that had he waited much longer to seek medical attention, he would not have made it. He received his miracle. God worked out the circumstances to have my brother in law check in on him at just the right time...Thank you Lord for working out those details.

So today, I ask for your prayers...both those of thanksgiving for the miracles he has already performed and for the healing that is to come. My brother is still not well, and at this point, there is still no assurance from the doctors that he is "out of the woods." The doctors are still trying to figure out what bacteria is invading his body. We are praying that there will be a combination of meds he can take that will destroy this highly adaptable and resistant bacteria. We are praying that the swelling and pain would subside and that most of all, he would be drawn into a relationship with the Lord.
**Update**
As of last night (late afternoon) the doctors feel that they have figured out what bacteria is causing all of the problems. Unfortunately, this bacteria is very tricky to get rid of as it is highy adapatble and tends to quickly develop resistance to antibiotics. The doctors are hitting my brother with a combination of antibiotics in hopes that they can wipe out the bacteria. His fever has subsided. He went most of the day with no fever (Thank you God!) His pain is still pretty intense at times and is still requiring meds for that. The swelling is also subsiding. I am so thankful for my praying friends and family. I, personally, have received so much comfort from the prayers and have a real sense of peace. I am praying that my brother will come to know the one who was instrumental in his healing and that today would be an even better day than yesterday. Thanks again to the Lord for his provision and for my faithful friends who are praying and will continue to pray through this situation. Thanks again!

The Latest Boogie-ism

I was in the bathroom this morning just getting out of the shower when Boogie stumbled in half-asleep...

Me: "Goodmorning baby...did you sleep good?"

Boogie: "I don't feel so good today. I don't think I'll be goin to princess school. I have Croak-its in my froat."

Me: "You have what in your throat?"

Boogie: "Croak-its...they're in my froat."

Me: ***smile***

For those of you who don't know my little Boogie well, she is a princess in training and goes to princess school everyday in a land far away named Monia. She drives a little convertible and picks up her friends every day. They all wear back packs and go barefooting because there are no rocks in Monia. While she is in Monia, she is cared for by her black mom named Agey (pronounced age*e). Agey lets her eat chocolate and teaches her how to be a good princess.
Next time you see her, let her know you've prayed for Agey...she has had the flu.

The Man God Chose...

It is interesting sometimes to sit back and reflect on the days passed and to see how God has worked the pieces of the puzzle we call life.

I would have never guessed 18 years ago that the man I met that summer would be the man that I would eventually marry and that he would be the person who would take me to church and share his God with me.

I never dreamed that I would eventually be able to place my trust in God to meet my needs or direct me in a path of righteousness when all the other people I trusted in my life had let me down and failed me.

I certainly never thought I'd experience an unconditional love from my heavenly father or the love that I have felt from my husband, when most of the boys in my life before them wanted more than I could ever give.

If someone would have told me that my husband would be my best friend, I would have never believed it. I had seen my parents struggle and there was no friendship there in the end.

I never thought that God would chose a man for me that would love me, cherish me and honor me the way my husband has. I am thankful for the 14 years of marriage that I am celebrating today. I am thankful for the husband God has given me and they way he continues to bless me. I am thankful that God makes the difficult choices in our lives, and though we experience pain, God takes those pains and turns them into something great. I am thankful that our past failures shape who we are and mold us into the person God wants us to be and that those failures don't define who we are. I am thankful that God did not give up on family, marriage and mankind in the garden, that his love for us is immeasurable. Today, I am very thankful. Thank you Lord for 14 years of marriage to my best friend.

***Pictures to be added later...as per the usual, I'm having troubles uploading.

Husbands, pictures and tongues...Oh My!

I don't know what it is about my husband and cameras. Last night we went to a friends house to ride for a little bit. Try as I might, I could not get a nice picture of him. I love taking his picture, he is such a handsome guy...you'd never know it from the following pictures.

They say that women often choose mates who are like dad...I guess you got me there. When we were dating, we were on our way to see my dad. When we pulled in the drive way, he was jogging behind his pushmower wearing silky running shorts (in style in the 80's), mix-matched knee high tube socks and cowboy boots...no shirt. All I have to say is...at least the socks match...

I have no explanation for this one.
This one neither.

Even with a telephoto lens he STILL manages to sense the camera...

Maybe he was just hot here?

I give up.

Happy 4th!

First off, a big thank you to those who are serving or who have served our country. Your sacrifice is truly appreciated.

In true Baldwin fashion, we spent our 4th Up North, as we have for many years. This year we stayed at the Huntin' Shack. My father-in-law worked hard to have a flush toilet functioning in the outhouse for us, which was great!

Our friends, the Olivers, camped there with us for the weekend. We had a nice time hanging out on the property and watching fireworks over the lake.

You will notice that this post is devoid of photos...silly me. I brought my camera, but forgot to get it out, which means a little bit more reading for you!

We spent a lot of time eating, relaxing, tromping through the woods and playing Canasta. I also encountered something of the creepy, slimy kind while tromping through the creek.

The manly men were down by the creek cutting up some branches and beautifying the place a little bit. While Lisa was over at the cabin with the girls getting showers, I decided to go down river with the guys just a little bit to the little swimming hole they created last summer. Me, being like the big clumsy bull I am, went too far over to the side where the mucky stuff settled. The further I walked, the more I sank. I was up to my knees in black muck and before I knew it had lost my precious croc in the muck. The muck literally sucked the croc off my foot. Not knowing what else to do, I ended up having to step out of my shoe in order to keep myself from falling over.

Dave and I poked around in the muck looking for the shoe. He used a stick, I used my feet. There I was with one barefoot in pretty much knee deep black muck digging around when I saw something creepy, slimy and scary slither up onto the shore. I let out a scream that would curdle milk and vacated the water very quickly. My squeal was Dave's signal to vacate as well. He hopped out of that water faster than me! I think everyone around there received a complimentary heart attack following that scream. I'm still not sure what it was that came up out of that muck, whether it was a little snake or a ginormous leech. I decided that finding my shoe was not that important. The nasty crawly thing could have it.

The manly men didn't quite see it that way. It was their open invitation to get the heavy equipment and dig out the shoe with the excavator. I found my shoe, all is well, and creepy slimy things can rest assured that I will not be violating their space again.

Cousins

In addition to being able to spend time with my dad on Father's Day was getting to see my nieces and nephews. We don't get to spend nearly enough time together.

My oldest niece has suddenly gone from being a sweet little baby to a beautiful young lady... I fed this one his first bottle in the hospital when he was born.

These 2 are the babies...
This one just keeps getting prettier every time I see her...look at those eyes!

Here's part of the gang!

This is my newest nephew. I got to meet him for the first time on Father's Day. Unfortunately, he wasn't as happy about meeting me.

You really need to start at the very bottom picture and scroll up to get the full effect of the pictures. I was trying to move them around, but for some reason my desktop won't let me. I didn't feel like getting the lap top out.

He went from smiling and sweet to red faced and angry in about 3 seconds!

Seeing these pictures, it really makes me realize how fast time is flying!

Boogieism Take 2

So Boogie was sitting on the couch with her little orange "Bible" (new testament) with her daddy.

Boogie: "Daddy, will you read me a story?"
Daddy: "Sure, which one do you want to hear?"
Boogie: "Little Red Riding Hood."

I guess we've got a lot of work to do.

Who is this Guy?

Last weekend I was able to surprise this guy with a visit on Sunday. He lives a couple of hours away and was having a little cook out at the house I grew up in. He seemed a little sad that we couldn't be there. Because we didn't want this guy to be sad, we drove over for a surprise visit! Who is this guy you ask?

We share the same smile.

• I inherited my blue eyes and freckly skin from him.
• I like to think that a lot of what makes me who I am comes from him (Jesus, too).
• My sister, brother and I used to wait on the side walk for him when he returned from a trip. We could hear his car from about a mile away (no joke) and would salute him from the side walk when he pulled in the driveway.
• He is an avid fan of the Looney Toons...Foghorn Leghorn is his favorite
• Loves to fish and hang with his dog Captain
• Sings and plays guitar...He's VERY talented
• Appreciates fine food. He was once quoted saying: "There's nothing like a cold biscuit on a hot day."

He is also the proud grandpa of 10 awesome grand babies...

Happy Father's Day Dad! (I know, this is a little late)

Random Acts of Silliness

I think the title of this post says it all!

Have a great day! Be happy...be silly!

Upward Soccer

We signed the two big kids up for Upward Soccer which is being hosted by our sister church, The Rock. I have never had my children involved in the Upward program before. For that matter, they have never been in any organized sports before, so this has been a great experience for us for many reasons...

...Christ is worshipped and glorified in prayer at the start of every game.

Devotions and memory verses are integrated into practices...
Each Child has his or her name announced at the beginning of every game...
Every Child taking the field is encouraged and is important...

Every Child has the opportunity to play at least half of the game

and also has the opportunity to be in the starting line-up.

No Benchwarmers Here!

Good Sportsmanship is rewarded and honored in this program...


Working together as a team and showing off your fancy moves made

during the game with your sister...Priceless!

Baby Jacob Fahmer

Baby Jacob was born with Trisomy-18. This amazing little man lived for about 138 days before Jesus called him home. On his blog, it said that he passed away at about 5:30 today. Please lift his family in prayer.

Sponberg Family

This morning while driving home from dropping the kids at school I was listening to our local Family Life Radio station. The morning crew was asking for prayers for Nicol and Greg Sponberg. For those of you who don't know, Nicol Sponberg was in the Christian music group Selah. Her and her husband had just welcomed their second son into the world in March. When she went into his room to check on him, she found that he was not breathing and was not able to be revived. All this comes about 7 weeks following the passing of Todd and Angie Smith's baby Audrey Caroline. Todd, also a founding member of Selah, is Nicol's brother. Please remember this family in prayer. You can find further information and updates on Angie's blog. Angie has posted a list of specific prayer requests.

5 Favorite Things Meme

So it seems that my sister has tagged me again. I guess it is time to disclose more of my nasty habits...

5 things...


5 Things found in my purse/bag:

1. Checkbook/wallet

2. Gum wrappers

3. Old receipts

4. Chapstick

5. Ink Pen


5 Things found in my bedroom:

1. My pillowtop bed

2. My sewing machine

3. 2 deer skulls (mounted on a nice plaque)

4. Box of clothes the kids have outgrown

5. A big box of Stampin' up stamps

5 Things I am currently into

1. Sewing

2. Helping my children learn to play soccer

3. Encouraging my husband

4. Saving money

5. Growing in the Lord

5 Things I've wanted to do:

1. See a glacier

2. Visit Alaska

3. Go on a missions trip

4. Live near my sister

5. Run a family friendly resort somewhere

The part I always struggle with in this whole tag thing is who to tag next. I know we played a round or 2 of tag a few months back, so I'm not going to re-tag those who comment here often. I am, however, tagging those who read but never comment. I know you are there somewhere, I see your dots on my map and your marks on my counter! Please play along and leave me a link! Oh, and if you don't have a blog, just list your favorite things in the comments! Now you have no exuse.

Gone Fishin'

Seems that lately the stress of life has been getting the better of us. Last Friday was no exception. As the case has been for months now, work was really slow. Steven and his employee were in the barn working on stuff after a really slow day and kind of depressed. I told Steve that it was a perfect day to go fishin'. He kind of laughed it off at first. Being the submissive wife I am....I persisted. I told him that fishin' is a great way to relieve stress and it really doesn't cost much to fish, especially when your bestest friends have a nice little lake on their property just teeming with fish waiting for us to catch them. After a few kicks in the hiney we headed off to The Oliver's for some R & R.

5 Great Things About Fishin'...

1. Brings out the Smile in Everyone

2. Everyone, both young and old can be involved...
3. Awesome Stories about the ones we landed...

4. No special outfit required...

5. Great times with great friends...

...and 6... (I know it was only supposed to be a list of 5), no one really remembers much about the beginning of the day Friday...just the awesome time we had while we were fishin'.