Happy Valentine's Day

Everyone has different views on Valentine's day. For some, it is a commercial holiday just as an excuse to sell us something. For others, it is seen as one of the best holidays because it allows the romantic in them to come out. For Heather and I, we see it as a special day to remember why we love each other, and be thankful for what God has given us. We don't have any over the top, make it the most romantic day of the year traditions, although they wouldn't hurt. :-) Instead, we make sure we kiss a lot, tell each other "I love you," and show that love through our actions. gifts are not necessary in our "celebrations". Our only real tradition is to go out the day after Valentine's day to get our favorite candy on major clearance.

We wanted to share with you some of the things we are excited about right now. We're both excited for baby Holly's arrival. Less than 6 weeks to go now. Holly is incredibly active and moves all day long whereas Stanley did not move much at all while on the inside. So we're looking forward to seeing what kind of personality this little one has. We are also just fine waiting another six weeks for a full term baby because Heather is feeling so good with this pregnancy. She is experiencing very little pain and is constantly thankful for good health. We're hoping to work on Holly's room tomorrow as there is still so much to do in order to get it ready for her.

Heather is currently reading "Toddler Wise," and loving what she is learning. She's reading about temperament vs. personality and how temperament is what you're born with, and personality is a combination of your temperament, heredity, and the environment you are raised in. Stanley is less than two months from turning two, and we want to learn all we can and raise him the way God wants us to.

I just finished the book "Raising a Modern Day Knight," and am excited about teaching Stanley what it means to be a man. The book talks about the importance of ceremonies in marking a young man's life and teaching him core values both by word and deed. For those of you who are curious, the author points that there are 4 key values of true men need to live by.

1. Resist Passivity

2. Accept Responsibility

3. Lead Courageously

4. Expect a greater reward (live for something beyond himself)- God's reward.

I was able to go to the NW men's conference a couple weeks ago, and there they challenged each man to step up and lead, and to seek a Timothy in his life. Exciting stuff.

We are also just loving our little man so much and enjoying all the new things he is learning and doing in these sweet years.

We're also having fun with home improvement projects and now have three canister lights in our living room, a chandelier in our dining room, and a fan and heat source in our bathroom. I am learning a lot and enjoying improving our home.

That's all for now. Have a great Valentine's Day, and God bless.

Injury update: We spent all of 45 minutes at the pediatric orthopedic specialist's office and were told that yes, it is broken but it will heal on its own. Two weeks in a splint is all it should take. I'm so thankful for an easy appointment. We were expecting to have to be there for at least a couple of hours including waiting time. No re-breaking or surgery necessary, praise God! So since we were at St. Vincent's we went to the zoo afterward with my membership I got for Christmas. I can bring one friend each time I go and kids two and under are free.

The roar is back! The lions and sea lions were our favorites today.

It's broken...

But what a trooper our little man is. Stanley fell yesterday and hurt his left index finger. It swelled up pretty bad and turned red, purple, black and blue pretty quickly. After talking to a few people last night including three nurses (I love our church) we knew he needed to be seen so today we went to urgent care after church. Weekends are not the best time to get injured just so you know (we suggest you choose a weekday if you must get hurt). So after waiting for a long time, getting x-rays and a lot more waiting we told his finger was broken (perhaps at the growth plate). So tomorrow we are going in to see a pediatric orthopedic specialist. I don't know what to expect (re-breaking the finger, surgery, etc.) so I'm a little nervous. Please pray for us. Stanley has been awesome throughout the whole process. He has had such a great attitude and is happy to play and read and do everything the doctors and technicians have told him to do. We are so thankful to have such a wonderful boy and we are thankful that his pain is not enough to hinder this little one's joyful spirit. And he loves to sing if you're happy and you know it through it all.