My Ebenezer

At the beginning of the summer, I posted my very hopeful and ambitious reading list, and by the Lord's grace, I've made it through quite a few of them! Books I've Read: The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom. I've already reviewed that book on this blog, but if you missed it, this book is a Must Read. Must. Read. The Great Physician's Rx for Women's Health, by Jordan and Nicki Rubin. Also an excellent read, and influential in my life in the sense that it's what I'm basing my current eating plan on. Some things I disagree with: such as the author's censure of all pork products and shellfish (citing the Old Testament where God declared them unclean....but he forgot to read the rest of his Bible, where God later admits them into acceptable foods.) The shellfish I have to avoid anyway, since I happen to be allergic to it. Most of the book makes great sense, and I'm trying to follow its advice for the most part. For Women Only, by Shaunti Feldhah...

I have been having the hardest time keeping my background on my blog! I hate to have to blog about blogging, but here we are. Couldn't get it to stop showing a black background, no matter how much I tweaked, begged, pleaded, and threatened to chuck the computer out the window. But anyway, I *think* it's fixed now. Hopefully for good! Thank you for being patient with my black blog. :)

Noah was explaining to me yesterday how tithing works: Noah: "See, I put my money in the offering at Truth Baptist Church and God swoops out of the sky and gets it."

This past weekend we celebrated one year of ministry and the Lord's faithfulness at Truth Baptist Church. What a blessing it was to go to the anniversary banquet on Saturday night (kidless!) and enjoy dinner with our church family. Pastor Masitto, from Victory Baptist Church, was our guest speaker and it was so good to see him and his wife again and hear him speak. My testimony: I am especially thankful to the Lord for knitting together the hearts of the people at TBC, so that it really does feel like a family. Stay tuned! Next week, Lord-willing we will be hosting our first Vacation Bible School!

Once again I seem to be having background issues with this blog. Hopefully I will be able to resolve them soon! P.S. Am I the only one who sees a black background instead of my usual colorful one?

Still in his pj's, he was so excited to receive his fishing pole Telling me about the fish he was going to catch. "It's going to be THIS BIG!" It was a long wait until the water came up and he could test it out. At his party in the evening, opening gifts. Sunglasses are always cool gifts! His cake. (yes, I had a small piece.) Opening his card. There was a check inside, and I said, "Oh Noah! What did you get?" He looked bewildered and said, "A receipt!" When we told him it was money, he lit up. :) Playing with his MegaBlocks truck he got As much as I would have liked to post this on his actual birthday, life got in the way, so it had to wait. My little boy turned 3 years old yesterday and couldn't have been happier about it! In his mind, he's now one step closer to 6 years old. This is key because, at six, our local batting cage will let you bat. No joke. Consequently, he now thinks that 6 years old is the pinnacle of Big-Kiddishness,...

Last week when Noah was sick, I introduced him to the classic Disney film, Bambi. I had forgotten what a joy that movie is (and how clean and wholesome compared to much of the junk available today!). It also has some great quotes, one of which has become my new motto: Ahem. "Eating greens is a special treat. It makes long ears and great big feet. (But it sure is awful stuff to eat!)" Isn't that great!? It sums up exactly how I feel these days. My friend Laura warned me that the 2nd and 3rd weeks of healthy eating are the hardest (when you're not used to it). She was so right! The first week I was gliding along on the knowledge that I was helping my body and enjoying the fresh tastes. But now I'm feeling as though I have never had so much salad and fruit in all my life. Much more, and I may grow long ears and great big feet! Carrot, anyone?

What does your Dream Kitchen look like? I always wanted an island and undercabinet lighting in my kitchen. I've never had a kitchen big enough to make an island justifiable, but undercabinet lighting is sooo nice. Yesterday Josh spent the morning wiring up our undercabinet lighting for me! Thanks, honeybear! And, since I'm sure you need a new look at that, here are the results: Ta Da!!! I love the warmth and added function it gives. Now I can actually see what I'm doing at the counter! Oh, look! Muffins!! And, because I know you must be as distracted as I am by those freshly baked muffins, let's take a closer look: I was wrong, folks. It's not chocolate that calls my name anymore on my new healthful diet. It's bread. Enriched white flour in any form, but especially baked goods. These are apple-cinnamon muffins that I baked for church. Not for me, but I can look at them!! And now, lest I get tempted any more to go scarf one down, let's go to th...

Words fail me to express how earnestly Noah has desired to hold baby Titus since he was born last week. Due to H1N1, the hospital wouldn't allow children under the age of 5 to visit. And then there was church, and Jen wasn't into passing Titus around just yet (I wonder why?). Then this week Noah (and Brianne) were sick, so they've been quarantined from holding him til they got better. BUT! This evening, more than 24 hours after Noah's fever broke, we are babysitting Brianne and Titus. I asked if Noah could hold Titus, and he was given the All Clear! I thought Noah might jump out of his skin in excitement!! So before Matt and Jen could even pull out of the driveway, there was Noah FINALLY holding baby Titus. He was so tender and concerned with Titus. "Oh, Mommy, I think he's about to fuss!" He definitely wants one of our own. So do I! :)

Woah, Nellie. I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking over the past couple of weeks about how I'm rearing my son. Noah, in the throes of what the world would call "The Terrible Twos," is now about to turn 3 next week (I know !). While I wouldn't classify his behavior as "terrible" per say, it's definitely not where it should be. And I've been the problem. I finished reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp, and have since moved on to Childwise, by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. Both books have been excellent and so helpful in reminding me of my purpose on this earth right now. My purpose is clearly NOT to sail through life on the couch with my feet up, eating bon-bons and reading novels (though sometimes I have to admit, that sounds pretty good!). One of my purposes (among being a good wife to Josh and keeping my house orderly) is being a good mother to Noah. I have to admit that I've been very lazy in that regard. For one,...

Almost every afternoon in the summertime, we have a thunderstorm. Coincidentally, these thunderstorms take place during Noah's naps, but thankfully he sleeps right through them... although today's sounds like it's right on top of our house, so I hope he still sleeps through it. *prays* I've been doing a ton of research about the foods I'm eating. Brainstorming ways to add nutrition to the foods we're eating, as well as working out a plan to make it all practical is taking up much of my free time these days. One thing I'm finding out: I used to think I ate healthfully. I don't even like soda (never have), so that already puts me in the Healthy category, right? Hmmm... Not really. I'm discovering all kinds of things I'd never thought about on this nutritional journey! It's getting exciting!

Noah suddenly came down with a fever today; totally unexpected and seemingly out of the blue! We were cleaning house together and he was his normal effervescent self, but just sort of lost steam at the end. Totally out of character, he sat limply on the couch to watch a video with his eyes half-open. I asked if he wanted to go outside with me to play, and when he said, "No," well I knew something was wrong. He doesn't ever turn down invitations to play outside. One touch to his skin told me he was feverish. 102.5 to be exact. He's been complaining that his neck hurts (!), so I'm watching him closely to see if he gets any worse. So far the fever and aches are his only symptoms. We've been sitting on the couch a lot today, and he's had 2 lukewarm/cool baths along with his tylenol and juice. Hasn't been hungry. It's the kind of thing that really takes the wind out of your sails. I hate that he feels so yucky. But I know that the Lord knows ev...

Mrs. Clark (a dear lady from church) came up to me a few weeks ago and handed me a book called "The Great Physician's Rx for Women's Health," by Jordan and Nicki Rubin. Mrs. Clark had been reading my blog and found out about my endometriosis and infertility, and wanted me to read the book. Over the following couple of weeks, I read it cover to cover and was pretty impressed with what I read. In a nutshell, this book is all about eating healthful foods and cutting out the refined sugars, enriched white flours, fatty fast-foods, and anything artificial. Trying to eat foods as close to the way God made them as possible. I had heard that a good diet might help endometriosis, but every time I've mentioned to Josh the possibility of changing my eating habits, we've come to the conclusion that it would be too costly and too inconvenient to do something so drastic. All that has changed. I am just so ready to feel better than I do; to have more energy, to alleviate...

I've been promising this for a long time: the complete before and after pics of our home on Cellar Cir. I had forgotten, in some instances, just how far we've come in the renovation process. This project was HUGE!!! Come with me! Let me show you my home in Before/After style: Walking in the front door before After Turn around and look back at the front door, before After Look into the living room before After Our depressing kitchen before. Notice how small the window looks with those wood shutters! Kitchen, after. Excuse my (clean) dishes piled on the countertop. I do live here after all! Kitchen, from vantage point of fridge. Before. Same spot in kitchen, after. This was taken from a slightly different angle, but it's pretty close. Dining room, before After. Dining room from view of fireplace, before After. Notice Noah with cheeks full of a mouthful of juice. Hi, buddy! Hall bath, before. After. EEEEK!!! Hall tub surround, before. And to think we contemplated keeping it!...

So it happened; Jen gave birth on her birthday! What are the odds? Titus Matthew Rowley was born at 3:13am today weighing 6lbs 12 oz, 20 inches long. I hear that Jen and Titus are both doing very well! Lord-willing Josh and I will be able to go see them this evening. Isn't he a cutie? Happy Birthday, Jen! Happy Birthday, Titus! Welcome to the world.

You know those ads on tv telling you about THE most innovative, exciting product? Just when you think it's already impossibly overloaded with benefits and gizmos, the rabid announcer bellows out, "But wait, there's MORE!" We've had a weekend kind of like that. 1. Josh's brother Dave came on Friday to spend the holiday weekend with us. 2. Brianne's 2nd birthday was on Saturday. 3. We celebrated Independence Day on Sunday afternooon with a church picnic at our house, followed by our own fireworks show off the end of our dock in the evening. But wait, there's MORE! 4. Today, Jen went into labor! Is that enough excitement for you? Let me hit those numbers again in a little more detail... 1. Hearing that Dave was coming for the weekend made me so excited. We haven't seen him in a while, and we miss him! While he was here, we enjoyed jet ski rides, motorcycle rides, fixing up a motorcycle, and talking with him for a while. Noah especially found a friend...