Potter Update...

Don't worry, the picture doesn't mean anything...or does it? I meant to post this on Monday, but this week has been crazy busy. At 12:30 A.M. EST Sunday night or Monday morning, whichever you prefer, the world of Harry Potter came to a close for Amber and myself. The book wasn't everything I wanted it to be, but it was exactly what it needed to be, and it is phenomenal.
We devoted Saturday night and Sunday night after the boys were in bed, to reading together...the same copy at the same time. The decision to stay up late for two straight nights made this week very tough, but it was worth it. I kept Amber motivated to read through the late hours by telling her it was sort of like a date. You know, one of those dates with no talking and being totally interested in something other than the person you are on a date with. In all seriousness, it was actually fun to read together. Being the loving husband that I am, I usually let Amber have the book first, but she has a nasty habit of spoiling what happens for me. This book was too important for any of that nonsense since I had been fighting the temptation of spoilers all week before the book came out. The lengths I will go to preserve the integrity of fine literature.
Well, I am saddened that it's over, but I've convinced Amber that after the baby is born that we have to re-read all seven books from start to finish together, plus we have two more movies to look forward to. Let the Potter mania continue!

3 Days and Counting

Let me just say that I can hardly wait until Saturday. The book is preordered and is guaranteed to arrive at my house sometime on Saturday or it's free. Honestly, I don't want a free book, I want it on Saturday. Actually, I want it yesterday.
For those who know me, I did not start out as a Potter fan. I used to ridicule and tell Amber how sinful it was that she was reading such demonic trash. (Yes, those were probably my exact words.) Then we went to see Prisoner of Azkaban right after Asher was born and I was hooked. That was still a year away from Half Blood Prince being released, so I read up on Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix and watched the first two movies. Don't attack me for not reading the first three books. I let Amber give me the cliff notes version on what was left out in the movies and what was added.
I say all of that to say that I am looking forward with great anticipation to this weekend. I must admit I am a little saddened that it is coming to an end.

Astronauts, Tractors, and a Countdown!

So we made it through last night with only some minor hiccups... Caleb wasn't too thrilled with his big boy bunk bed when he got left alone, but settled down after not TOO long. The Asher factor though is a different story. Not that Asher isn't thrilled that his little brother is sharing his space, but he now has a partner in all his crimes and thinks naptime and nighttimes are playtime! We are learning as we go, but tonight was 100% improvement over last night! Now if we could just figure out a strategy for naptime :)

O... most of you are probably wondering what this post has to do with astronauts, tractors, and a countdown, so scroll on down to the bottom of our blog. We succombed to all the peer pressure of friends and went to liliypie.com so we could add tickers for the boys to our blog. Now if that top one could just go a little quicker.....

Tonight's the night...

Pray for us. No, seriously, pray for us. This is the last picture that you will ever see of Caleb in his crib. Tonight he makes the transition to the lower bunk in his and Asher's room (formerly just Asher's room). As we are now 4 weeks away from the arrival of Baby Nate, Caleb is moving from a room all his own and is invading Asher's space. We will keep you posted on how it goes.

IMPACT!!!

One of the reasons we have been so lax in updating lately is that for one week we were pretty much out of pocket. Last week I was in South Carolina from Monday to Saturday at our annual youth camp. We do one camp for all of our students, as opposed to splitting MS and HS (praise the Lord!). This year was even more exciting than usual because Am got to join me for most of the week. She came down on Wednesday afternoon and stayed with me til the end. Her mom and dad were gracious enough to drive from Arkansas and spoil our kids for us for a few days. We had a lot of fun as you can see.

Me, Steve and Joel working really hard.
Steve and Joel working harder than me.
Am and Tina
Am in all her 9 mo. prego glory! She looks gorgeous as always!
Aaron Keyes Band. These guys truly know what Worship means.
Jake and Ben, Impact won't be the same w/o you!
Thanks Larry and Martha. Am needed the rest and the boys needed a break!

Swimmin' in the big pool!

We had a fun adventure a few weeks ago (Mom has been a little behind in her blogging lately) and went swimming with two of our favorite people in the world, Bailey and Kira Rider. We had a great time and by the end of our pool trip, Asher was ready to venture out into the deeper parts of the pool. It was Caleb's first "real" trip to the big pool since he was too young to remember last summer. He didn't dig it so much though, so I think it's going to be a process of taking him so he can get used to it!

Asher and Kira

Caleb preferred to rearrange all the pool noodles!