"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

Katy-Lin's prompt today is to tell about when you knew you were going to marry your husband. She mentions the movie Fireproof in her post, which is funny because Jeff rented it for us to watch last night. We were going to go see it the first weekend in October, which was its second week in theaters. But as you know, Jude had other plans for us, coming into the world a month early. So instead of sitting in an uncomfortable movie theater seat, I was at home sleeping off my super short, super intense 6 hour labor.
(Side note: I know that the firefighter connection was not the only reason Jeff wanted to see it. He was really interested in the marriage theme, too. But the fact that it revolved around the life of a firefighter didn't hurt.)

Soooo. When did I know I was going to marry Jeff? Our story is kind of weird because I thought he was a moron when I first met him. (C'mon. The guy sprayed gum freeze spray in my mop bucket to see if it would freeze the water!) But as some of you know, Emily P. said to me that same week, "You should marry Jeff." and I was like, "Uh, no way." But then the next day when I saw him at work I was like, "Oh. Uh oh." In my head of course.

That was May, or maybe June. If you knew me then, you'll know that the only reason I was working at Covenant that summer was because my engine blew on the day I was leaving for home where I had a great job waiting that my grandfather helped me line up. So making a new friend while cleaning campus toilets was only a small consolation for missing out on that opportunity and being with out my car for months. And I certainly wasn't looking for a relationship. Not after the disaster that was my freshman spring and sophomore year!

Some time through out the course of the following school year, I was at his parents house. I can't remember why because I know we were still only friends at that point in time. We were sitting in the foyer and he was doing something on their computer when his nephew, Jacob crawled up on Jeff's lap with his sippy cup Jeff gave Jacob a sweet kiss on the end of his sippy cup and that was when I knew. He loved kids and I had always loved kids, too.

Of course, the rest of the story goes that we had our first date that following February (my birthday), started talking about marriage by April, were officially engaged by September and married by the next May.

Looking back, I think it is funny that we had our first date during Valentine's week ('00) because Jude was also conceived during Valentine's week last year, and we are having our first childless date since he joined us this year on Valentine's Day (Yeah! Inkheart!). Good things seem to come my way in February.

P.S. I second Katy-Lin's recommendation that you rent Fireproof and have a date night if you haven't already seen it. It's really well done for being such a low budget pic.

And another P.S. Thanks, Emily, for saying I should marry Jeff!

100 Things

100 Things I've Done

Katy-Lin was doing this over at The Great Adventure, and thought I'd play along. Everything that is in BOLD I've done. If you decide to post this, please comment so I can check your list out!

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a lawsuit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

Katy-Lin" prompt for this week is:
"Tell us about a time that your spouse went out of his way to serve you, and love you sacrificially."

I have already posted this on the blog before, but to me, it is the absolute perfect picture of sacrificial love; the picture of loving your wife as Christ loves the Body.

It was one chilly day last April. As we drove back from signing our first mortgage papers a light snow began drifting from the all day over cast sky. We had already made one stop for a large bottle of ginger ale and I spent half of the time at the mortgage brokers office leaning on her desk as my morning sickness began to really rear its head at 8 weeks into the pregnancy. I kept my eyes closed most of the way home, trying to go somewhere outside of myself so that I wouldn't think about how bad I was feeling. Then, it hit. . . "You are going to have to pull over." I said. I must have mumbled because Jeff asked what I said, but I just could not bring myself to talk again. Immediately, he saw what my need was and pulled to the side of the road, but he wanted to get past this driveway, so he drove a little further. By that time, I was already opening the truck door, still in motion, but because Jeff's foot was on the brake, my seat belt locked and I threw up all over the inside of the truck door. (Eww!)

So, what did my husband do? Did he hand me a towel and make me clean up the mess I made? Not my knight. He got out of the truck and in the snow, took off his T-shirt and began cleaning my truck door with his own shirt. If that's not sacrificial, I don't know what it:-)

FREE STUFF!

I am only 18 points away from a Starbucks gift card! And all I've done so far to get it is search the internet. At random times, Swagbucks decides that I earn a certain amount of points (the most I've won at once is 4 points). It takes anywhere from 30 to several thousand points to win prizes (should I save 800 and get a drum set? Suuuure!).

So, here's what you do: click here and register. It would be helpful to me if you would say that I referred you because then I will earn points when you earn points.

Really, I think I will save up my points for the iPod Nano, since we lost my MP3 player in the move.

Angel Food

Here's Jude all bundled up for our trip to the Methodist Church to pick up our Angel Food order.




















































Here's our loot from our "shopping trip" for our Angel Food. We got there at 12:10 and were out the door by 12:18. There were a bunch of men just waiting around to help. Jeff stayed in the car with Jude (it was 12 degrees at 9 am and still only around 20 at noon) and I brought in the laundry baskets and the men took them to each station to fill them and brought them out to the car!!! I've never gotten $203 worth of groceries with such ease.
























































What Angel Food is not: It is not a welfare program. You do not base this on income.
What Angel Food is: It is sort of a (very) large co-op, where things are bought in bulk for the best prices and divided up amongst all the people who "go in" on it. You prepay and then pick up your food on the delivery day. And it is pretty good stuff. Each regular unit is $30 and is supposed to be enough to feed a family of four for a week. Then the extra boxes of meat or produce run anywhere from $15 - $22.

So, for $203 we got:
1.5 lbs of New York Strips
1 lb sirloin
1.5 lb of boneless pork chops
20 hamburgers patties (10 lbs)
3.75 lbs T-Bone steaks
6 lbs of ribeyes
16 lbs chicken leg quarters
8 lbs prok ribs
4 bls chicken fajita strips
4 lbs ground turkey
4.5 lb. (avg.) Whole Chicken
2 lb. Wings
2 lb. Chicken Nuggets
2 lb. Breaded Chicken Tenders
(If you are counting, that is more than 60 pounds of meat)
4.5 lbs cheese manicotti (frozen)
4 lbs broccoli (frozen)
4 lbs peas(frozen)
4 boxes of instant oatmeal
1 gallon shelf stable milk
4 packs of blueberry muffin mis 48 corn tortillas
4 lbs dried pinto beans
4 boxes of rice & vermicelli
4 dozen eggs
4 boxes of snack pack cookies (10 packs per box)
4 lbs russett potatoes
3 lbs sweet potatoes
2 lbs yellow onions
4 lbs navel oranges
2 grapefruits (anyone want these?)
4 tangerines
4 pears
1 lb carrots
1 head of green cabbage
1/2 lb pecans

Watching us put all of this away made Jude very happy!














If you want to see next month's menu, click here. Remember, there is most likely a distribution center near you because around 50 new ones start up each month.

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

Jeff rocks because he is completely dedicated to being a Godly husband and father. He's even been stocking at Michael's until his Gwinnett anniversary raise kicks in so that I can stay home with Jude. He's absolutely dedicated to making sure that that boy has the best upbringing possible.

And even after working a 24 hour shift, then an 8 hour one at Michael's, he is a devoted father. I have never seen a father so into his child. He talks to him, reads to him, prays with him, takes him on walks, carries him around in the Bjorn carrier. As a matter of fact, on Sundays after a Saturday shift, I do not have to bring a sling to church because Jeff insists on wearing Jude those days in his Baby Bjorn. I don't know what he's going to do next week when Jude is too big for that thing (because you know he's gaining weight so rapidly). I guess just hold him. Or, he could wear one of my slings. Wouldn't he look so cute in green flowers or blue paisley?

Stained Baby

The results of Gentian Violet? My baby is stained blue! We both got thrush from his long stint on antibiotics, but I really did not want another prescription medication for him, so I got this off of Dr. Sears' site (and Kellymom and WebMD, etc). So, I put it on me, then when he nurses it coats his mouth -- and face apparently!




























I wish you could see in his mouth. It is the color of dark blue jeans. The sites all recommend that you put a little on a swab and rub it in his mouth. I won't be doing that tomorrow. He screamed for nearly an hour today when we did that. I mean, the kid's never tasted anything other than breast milk, antibiotics that taste like strawberries, and his acid blocker, which supposedly tastes like bubble gum (lie!). So I suppose it was startling to have a 10% alcohol/water/antifungal solution on his tongue. He was much better after his nap, smiling that inky blue smile at me:-)

Already an attitude

"Oh, great! They're in my face with that box again."

***Correction***

Uh, did I say it was going to be 11 tomorrow night? Well, someone changed their mind. No, no. Make no mistake about it. It will be 9 tomorrow night. Yes, you heard me. Single digits. Thank the good Lord this only happens a few times a year here.

The only thing I hate about living in LaFayette

Thursday it is going to be 11 degrees. I really do not like cold weather. I am good to about 40 degrees, which is better than when I first moved here whey 60 degrees was my limit. Anyway, I will have to make sure that all my errands get run today and tomorrow because I am NOT going outside on Thursday.

I can not tell you how it is that our fish pond hasn't frozen over. I guess that little fountain really makes a difference. But then I wonder why waterfalls freeze. Oh well. The world may never know.

Roerdink Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Developments

I finally found a pair of jeans that fit Jude in the waist and over the diaper! Thanks to my friend Leah for the hand me downs! I guess when you have seven kids, you understand the importance of reusing what you can.

































And here is our little sickie. Jude's had a cold for just over a week now. I have never met someone who is so cheerful when he's sick. Of course, the T.V. was on and I am discovering that he is a bit of a couch potato. That was completely an accident and now I only put it on when I need to put him down so I can eat.


As promised, footage of Jude's new hands in mouth skill. Sometimes in the middle of the night if he wakes up and realizes that he lost his paci, instead of crying to wake me up, he sticks those hands in his mouth. The sucking noise is probably just as loud, though, so I usually wake up.


And last, but not least, Jude has graduated out of the tub sling and now sits in the tub like a big boy:-( Too fast!!! But he loves it. He gets those little legs pumping as if he were swimming. Last night he kicked a significant amount of water out of the tub onto Jeff's feet.

"My Husband Rocks!" Friday

I came across this blog because some other Covenant alumnus has her blog linked to the Scots Alum site. Since I couldn't agree with the founder of MHR more, I will just quote what she included in her blog about why she started "My Husband Rocks!" Fridays:

"No husband is perfect and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is how I set myself up to think about him. If I focus on his failures, his annoyances, or ways in which I’ve felt hurt by him, then I will interact with him as a hurt and frustrated and disappointed wife. That makes for miserable living for me and my husband and those around us. But if I focus on his strengths, his potential, and the ways in which I feel blessed by him, then I will interact with him as a forgiving, blessed, and contented wife. And there’s no greater need a man has than to feel respected by his wife. If he feels like all he does is hurt, disappoint, and frustrate, then the same atmosphere and the same actions will be perpetuated. But if he feels that his wife can be happy and responsive regardless of his shortcomings, he feels respected and empowered. Then a positive atmosphere is perpetuated and actions, once destructive, can improve in an environment that is rich for
cultivation and growth into deepened respect and intimacy." (from the From*me Tees Mission Reflection)

You can click the MHR button in my sidebar to check out her blog.

So, to begin with, I am going to use her prompt for today.

1. Where did you meet?
He was working at Covenant the summer I was supposed to go home but my engine blew up. He was in charge of my B.E.S.T. assignment.

2. How long did you date b/f you were married?
First date: Feb. 16 2001 (my birthday)
Engaged: Sept. 7, 2001 (at the Phantom of the Opera in Atlanta)
Married: May 17, 2002

3. What does he do that surprises you?
Gets the dishes or the laundry when I am busy with the baby

4. What is your favorite quality of his?
He is always willing to lend a hand and never complains when I commit him to help someone:-) as well as his desire to be a Godly head of house.

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
I love Jeff's smile and that it comes so easily. He has a great sense of humor.

6. Does he have a nickname for you?
He started calling me peanut after he saw a baby picture of me at my parents house when we were dating.

7. What is his favorite food?
Um, beer? No, really, I think he likes pizza the most because he's always game when I'd rather order than cook. If we're talking sweets, it is definitely pecan pie!

8. What is his favorite sport?
I'd say hockey, though he is not really crazy about sports. He pretends to care about football when he's around his dad or brother, but has told me more than once that he doesn't really like it.

9. When and where was your first kiss?
It was April 2001 after a Lookouts game on the front door step at the Pace's house.

10. What do you like to do together?
As long as we are together, we are happy. We like to run together, take walks, play the Wii, play board games, go to concerts. Anything, really.

11. Do you have any children?
Our chunker, Samuel Judah. (Yep, 3 months old and 17 pounds!)

12. Does he have a hidden talent?
The ability to make people laugh. It is one of the qualities that attracted me to him in the first place.

13. Who said "I love you" first?
He did. Actually, he typed it into his cell phone because he was shy, and then showed it to me.

14. What is his favorite type of music?
I always find the car radio tuned in to the classic rock station when I get in after he's used it. But more, he probably likes Christian rock like Skillet, Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline, Casting Crowns, etc.

15. What do you admire most about him?
He is a really good role model for the other married men in the church because he takes his role as a husband and father very seriously. He puts others ahead of himself.

16. Do you think he will read this?
Yes because he always reads my blog.

Pray for Ellie

Please pray for Jude's future wife, Ellie. She also has reflux, but it is the type where she spits up all the time. Jenn and Daryl have to take her to the hospital today for an upper GI because her doctor was concerned that she only gained two ounces in two weeks when she should have gained between seven and fourteen. There could be a problem with the muscle at the bottom of the stomach and this problem usually results in surgery. This poor little girl has been through a lot for being only nine weeks old. Pray, too, for Jenn and Daryl to rest in the promises of God during this time.

***EDIT*** 1/10/09
Praise God for answering our prayers. It looks like Ellie will not need surgery. As a matter of fact, on Thursday when she was weighed at the pediatrician, she had gained nearly 6 ozs. So who knows why she only gained two in the previous two weeks. We will still pray that Ellie's reflux medicine to take full effect so that she is not spitting up so much. If you know Jenn, you know she hates to do laundry, and spitters cause a LOT of extra laundry.

Jude's newest skill

Jude found his hands Friday night. Each day since, I see those things in his mouth more and more. Sometimes it seems that he is trying to fit both hands in at once. Photos to follow, I hope. Every time he does something that I want to film and I take out the camera, he stops and stares at the thing. I guess he's waiting for the flash because it's always flashing in his face.

An interesting start to the year

New Year's Day
Yesterday was an interesting day in the Roerdink house. My dog is faaa-AT! So here's how it went:

Jeff stayed home from Michael's because I've been sick and the only medication I could take for it was sleepy medicine. I just didn't feel comfortable being by myself with Jude in case I didn't hear him or something. I am very greatful that Jude started sleeping most of the night this week (he only wakes up once!). He must have known I was going to need the sleep.

Jeff cleaned the gutters while I was organizing some toys and books that we got for Jude off of Freecycle (Jude now has 180 books!). When he can in, he took Jude and they took a nap on the couch. Just before this, he let Daisy out. Two hours later we were getting ready to go to Grandma Linda's for Ian's first birthday party. I was putting Jude's jacket on and I kept hearing Jeff yelling from the yard. Well, the poor guy forgot that he left the gate open when he let the dog out.

We walked all over town calling for her but that dog was long gone. So we just left for Linda's. I figured that the dog knows where the food is, and since she likes to eat, she'd be back by dinner. But poor Jeff was all out of sorts at the party. He looked sad. It is his first dog after all.

As we pulled into the back yard after the party, down comes a fat Daisy leaping off the deck. Her mid section was ROCK HARD and at least a few inches thicker in diameter. I don't know what she ate, but when I got up to feed Jude at 3:30, she was dancing all over the room wanting to go out. I believe that she tried to get through the door before Jeff even opened it.

Hope she learned her lesson.
Other Jude Developments
As of New Year's Day, Jude has had two solid good weeks. I am so glad that the Axid is the right medicine for him, because I'd hate to have to go through months of trying different things. He sleeps really well on his AR pillow and we keep him up in the swing or in a sling for most of the day. He sleeps better in the swing than in the sling though, because if I sit down while he's in it, he usually wakes up with in half an hour.

I haven't weighed Jude this week, but I sure do love these cheeks!














These cheeks, too! (Look how many fat rolls run down his side!)














Here Jude is with his little buddy that Daddy brought home from work:














And here is some of Jude's new babble. Of course, as soon as we took out the camera, he quit doing it.