Monthly Archives: March 2010

Inspired Wallpaper

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Today my daily bible verse (I get one in my inbox each morning) was James 3:17. My first thought was, this is exactly how I would like to be. I read it again, but this time I replaced “the wisdom from above” with my own name and I asked myself, is it an accurate description of me? I’m not really a post-it-note type of person, but I do love Photoshop, so I made my own desktop wallpaper to help me memorize this verse and really let it sink in. Then I realized, maybe some of my friends would  like to have this as well. Now, this resolution is 1440 by 900, but if you would like this wallpaper in a different size, just leave me a comment with your resolution and I will post it in another entry.

Click on the image to view it in full size, then right-click and "set as desktop background."

Milestones

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Occasionally I like to write out some of the things that Micah has been up to, since I am terrible about keeping a traditional baby book. He is now eleven months old. I am in the process of planning a big birthday party for him that will be on April 10. I’m pretty excited!

Micah has been hitting quite a few milestones lately:

  • He loves to wave when someone arrives or leaves.
  • He just learned to clap his hands the other day, and now he likes to clap all the time!
  • He nods or gestures at an object that he wants and “talks” as if to say, “I would like that, please.”
  • He can pick up a toy from the floor and stand up without assistance. (He usually then drops the toy so he can repeat this “game.”)
  • He can take a few steps. He can walk all over the place if he’s holding onto a finger, though.
  • His baby laughter has evolved into a childlike giggle.
  • He cut his seventh tooth recently, so he no longer has just the two teeth on the bottom, he has three!
  • He can open any cabinet or drawer and remove all its contents very quickly!
  • He eats regular table food now, as long as it’s cut up into little pieces. His favorite food is definitely chicken. He likes meat in general.

Evidence

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My husband’s computer was ruined in the “flood.” In the meantime, he has temporarily relocated to my home office. He is nice enough to limit his game time so that it does not interfere with my work. He was also generous enough to share his keyboard, which is much nicer than the one I was using, but also has quite a bit of wear and tear on a few of the keys. Can you tell which game my husband plays just by looking at the keyboard?

*Edit*

I’ll give you a clue. The name of the game is also commonly used as an expression of surprise or wonder.

My New Favorite Toy

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There is something that I have wanted for years. I have had a digital SLR on my wish list for about eight years now, but they are pretty expensive. When Eric and I got married, we each had that dream toy we promised to buy each other. He wanted a big screen TV, and I wanted that camera. Last year, we finally bought the big screen. It probably wasn’t the best timing, but every time we got some money, he would push to buy the TV and then become incredibly disappointed when it didn’t happen. We always ended up having to spend the money on something else. It never failed, something would break and the extra money would go right out the window. He would bring up the fact that he had spent the money he had saved up for the TV on DATING me, and that guilt trip got really old really fast. Now you understand why I basically agreed to buy the TV so he would finally let it rest. He was so excited he looked like a kid in a candy store. He has thoroughly enjoyed the TV ever since.

The camera was my big screen, so to speak, except nobody was telling me no, but me. I always felt compelled to spend the extra money on other things, like sending in double payments on my student loans. The longer I put it off, though, the more I realized, I am never going to buy myself this camera. One day, I will be 50 and all of my kids will be moved out. There will always be something else. I will have never bought the camera, never pursued my dream of essentially becoming my own professional photographer and filling my photo albums with beautiful memories. I will regret it.

So when we got our tax return this past month, I told my husband, “I have to buy it now or I never will.” I have to make it priority because I want to enjoy it while Micah is still a baby, while there are still so many photos to be taken. Now is the time!

So I bought a Nikon D3000. I absolutely love it. I told Eric, “I want to make out with it.” Haha. Not really. This is one of those things I will never get tired of, just like Eric still really enjoys that TV. Yeah, I could have hoarded that money, but money is not just for paying bills (extra payments, I mean, you should always pay your bills), you have to enjoy some of it, too. It’s my last hurrah before we really crack down on the debt snowball (thanks to Dave Ramsey). From here on out, we’re going to be seriously throwing everything that comes our way towards our debt. The good news is that we can be debt free (including our mortgage) in under ten years if we stick to the plan, and that is if Eric never gets a pay raise. I’d really like to see us become debt free even sooner than that. That is my big dream: to have NO debt whatsoever.

What a Mess

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Home ownership has its perks. It also has its risks. And after this past week, I would even say that home ownership may have more risks than perks. Apparently, our house hates us. It hates us so much that it decided to spray everything in our basement with enough water to fill a pool.

Just in case you never thought about where the water comes from while you take a shower, I’ll give you a quick explanation, and that is assuming you have city water like we do. The city pipes water into your neighborhood, and those pipes branch off and attach to your house. There is a main pipe that pumps all of the water you use through a valve which has a meter, and then into the rest of your home’s plumbing (water heater, etc.). The valve allows you to turn the water off if you need to. The meter allows the water company to charge you for the water you use.

Apparently, the very important seal that connects the main pipe to the valve and the meter, the one that should never ever be broken, broke. The water pressure was incredible. It looked almost like a small fire hose spraying into our basement, and it sounded like a gushing river was running through our house. There was no way to turn it off. The valve was hanging away from the wall, completely useless. I called my husband, who was at work. I called 911, who sent the fire department, who couldn’t do anything. They called the water department. That guy didn’t arrive until nearly an hour had past. In total, the water continued to soak our basement for fifty minutes. The man from the water department had to disconnect our water from the street. In the meantime, it was the most awful sound. I was really scared, I’m not going to lie. I had visions of water creeping up the stairs. Fortunately, the drain was keeping up with it enough so that the water level never really exceeded two inches. Unfortunately, that was enough to ruin quite a bit of stuff. We do have home owner’s insurance, however, and it looks like we will be able to replace everything that was damaged, including a desk, several computers, a lap top, and some other things. They fixed the seal and the plumber promised us it will never happen again. I can only hope.

Shout for Joy

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We stood at the edge of the water under a clear starlit sky and the dull orange glow of pretty street lamps that surrounded the park. Light flickered across the surface of the lake. There was a warm wind and all of God’s glory seemed to hover like a mist, filling our lungs with heavy awe. He was present (he always is) and we lifted our voices, shaky at first, then more loudly with each breath.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”

I was only 20 years old at the time. Revival was springing up out of my broken heart like a geyser. It was a pivotal period of time during my life in terms of faith and my enthusiasm was contagious. I led a freshman women’s bible study and the girls in my group hesitated to recite that Psalm to the heavens at first, but soon realized, as I had already, that the Word of God is powerful when spoken aloud. It changes you. Things you desperately wish to believe shake you to the core when whispered, alter your life when joyfully proclaimed. Our thoughts may or may not make it to the depths of our hearts, but the lips send arrows that never miss. For this reason there are some things we’ll never repeat aloud, but for this same reason, worship was never meant to be a silent affair.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!

From Psalm 66