Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Yesterday was Daddy's birthday, and the day before that was of course, Fathers Day.  Sadly, I was too busy to blog about both of those events on their day... so I will combine them into one post. :)

Happy Birthday to you!!! Happy Birthday to you!!! Happy Birthday dear Papa!!! Happy Birthday to you!!! :)  

This is what I said on Facebook Sunday:

You are courageous, passionate about Jesus, loving towards people, patient, a good provider, and funny! I love you to the moon and back.

And of course, he is a lot of other things as well.  Those are just a few of the qualities that came to mind.

I am so glad Daddy that we got to spend both Fathers day and your birthday with you!  You are the best Dad in the whole universe, and I am so thankful for you!!

Lots of love,
Abby xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

30 Years... of marriage!

Grandpa, Dad, Great grandma and Grandma on Dad & Mom's wedding day

Mom & Dad's engagement picture 

Before they left to celebrate their anniversary

Don't they look great 30 years later?! 

They have aged with grace... :) 

Our parents have been married for thirty years, which is quite a milestone in this day and age.
We are so thankful that they are still married and are blazing a trail for their children, encouraging us by their example, to stay faithful to one person until death separates a couple.

“May God’s blessing be with you

and may it be good to you.

May God’s goodness be with you

good and for seven times good

may you spend your life.”

 (an Irish blessing)

According to this the best wishes for another year of marriage!

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom & Dad! We love you!!

Dad's 50th Birthday!

Our dear Dad's birthday was just a couple of days ago, and it was his Golden Birthday: 50 years old!  He requested hamburgers for his birthday meal, which we had on Saturday for supper.  By the way, we got our hamburger patties from The Local Yocal, a store in Downtown McKinney, which you should go to if you live in the area.  They sell awesome tasting and good for you meat (beef, chicken, pork & lamb), and it's all local!  Check them out on Facebook also.  Anyway, we had delicious hamburgers for Saturday's supper.  I think I can say with confidence that they were THE BEST hamburgers I've ever had.   Maybe I'm biased.  =) 

Here it is: THE BEST HAMBURGER IN THE WORLD!!!  We used 7-grain sprouted English muffins 'buns'.  They worked great!

The table before everyone got a burger on their plate.

On Sunday (Father's Day), we had our Grandma and Great-Grandma (Dad's Mom & Grandma), and our Aunt & Uncle and cousins over for lunch.  Dad knew they were coming, but he didn't know what was happening later on that afternoon.  Around 3:30 some of the folks from our church started arriving, and he eventually found out that they came as a surprise for his birthday.  We served cake and ice cream, and had fun visiting with folks from church, as well as other friends and our family.  Good times don't last long enough, though, as everyone was gone by 8pm (yes, we would have loved to have them here till 10pm, at least!). =)  Dad seemed to enjoy the day, and we hope he was blessed and encouraged by his surprise 'party'.  We love you, Dad!!

ALDEN'S ICE CREAM!!!!  Yep, the best ice cream in the world!!  Try it out, you may wish you had... =)

Playing Apples-to-Apples.  Fun, fun, fun. 

  

Dad greets our friends, the P. family.

Dad saying goodbye to some church folks who came by for the party. 

The guys had some good conversation...

 

And here we see 4 smiling young ladies.  "Why are they smiling?'', you ask.  I answer,  "because they just had Alden's ice cream, of course!'' =)

Little Jordan enjoying his ice cream.  He smiled nicely for me while I took his picture.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Father's Day!  We did, that's for sure! 

Our family

Dad and Mom

Joel

Abby

Caleb

Phoebe

Johanna (this is a self-portrait-- I used yellow-tinted sunglasses to make the glow)

Jaden

Chivalry is Dead, So They Say

I'm a little confused.  

 

Yesterday I happened across a news story that puzzles me.  

 

Worst date ever: Boyfriend bails as foul ball hits girlfriend

 

At a Houston Astros ball game, a spectator  jumped out of the way of a ball that was hit into the stands.  Nothing unusual there.  But the rub is that the ball struck his girlfriend.  The story gives him a hard time about not doing the chivalrous thing by throwing himself in the way to protect her.

 

So they're saying chivalry is officially dead.

 

I think I know who or what killed it.

 

Feminism.

 

In general, the media promotes feminism - equal rights for the women.  Equal pay.  Equal job opportunities.  Equal treatment, even to the point of serving in combat.  And please don't open the door for the woman.  Thank you very much, she's strong.  She can do that for herself.

 

So why is the media in this case giving a guy grief for treating his girlfriend as a feminist?  She's a big girl.  Let her take care of herself.

 

Let's be consistent here.  Ladies, you can't have it both ways.  You can't be the Helen Reddy lion, roaring, and expect to be protected by the very men you scorn.

 

After thinking about it, maybe this isn't about disgruntled women who want protection.  Maybe this is another instance of media male-bashing.  Have you ever noticed that the TV shows, the movies, the ads on the radio nearly always portray the woman as the smart one and the guy as a perfect dolt.

 

That is counter to God's design.  Read Genesis 1.  Adam was very smart.  The New Testament talks repeatedly about wives honoring husbands as the heads of household.  Feminists hate those passages. But those verses in no way demean the woman.  It's a matter of who is going to be in charge.  And, are we going to follow God's design.  Women can be smart and Biblically submissive.  And men definitely need to be intelligent to lead a family in a way that pleases the Lord.  Even though I'm a woman (and fairly intelligent), I guess I'm just standing up for the underdog here.  I'm sick of the male-bashing.

 

My fellow Christian women, I'm challenging you/me to treat our husbands like the smart guys God designed them to be.  If they act stupid, maybe it's because we expect it or we tell them they're stupid.  Let's honor our husbands and our fathers.  Let's show the world that the Lord's ways are higher and nobler and satisfying.  And instead of criticizing our husbands every time they goof up, let's pray for them.  They've got a tough job.  One day they will stand before the Lord and give account for how they took care of and led their wives and children.

 

Julia 

 

God's Way is the Best Way

Please go to Dad's blog and read the latest sermon, God's Way is the Best Way. He preached this sermon on Sunday, February 7, 2010 (last Sunday). It is VERY good!

Taken from Psalm 1, Psalm 18:28-33, Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-9 and John 14:6. Very powerful!

Here are the first few paragraphs:

I’ve got a two-question survey I’d like to conduct this morning – and guess what? Your number is the one I’ve dialed and I’ve got you on the line… So, will you participate with me in this?

Question number one is designed for you to show your response to what I
ask, by raising your hand. But, question number two – let’s just say that I
invite you to take it up with the Lord, just between Him and you – without any
visible response on your part at this time…

Here’s the first question: “How many of you believe that God’s way – His plan – is the BEST way to go?” Raise your hand, please, if you agree with that statement.

Okay, now to question number two – and, again – I urge you to take this one up with the Lord, just the two of you. Here’s the question: “If people watching your life were to try to discern whether or not you really believe that God’s way is best, what would they say – what conclusion would they draw, based upon the way you live your life?”

“God’s way is the very best way” – our survey says that an overwhelming majority of this crowd, at least, really believe that to be the case. But, the question – the one that makes us squirm in our seats, the one that pricks our consciences, or maybe even causes our blood pressure to go up – is not: “Is God’s way the BEST way?” But, rather, “Does my life line up with my acknowledgement and confession that God’s way is best?”

Germany Pictures

Dad flew out from DFW around 2:30pm on Monday afternoon. After having two layovers, one in Raleigh (North Carolina) and the other in London, he arrived in Germany on Tuesday around 5pm Germany time. After looking around at a Christmas market, they finally got back to Jim & Naomi's house. After being up for over 28 hours, they finally went to bed, I'm sure exhausted.



The Sternenback super-market


The front of the shop below Jim & Naomi's apartment



Their apartment from far away



A veggie market along the road



The streets of Tubingen


Dad's room




Sunday morning service at International Christian Church


Jim leading the song service, with Naomi playing the piano





English Bible study on Sunday evening


Ludwig and Ruth's abode


Joachim, Raphael, Martina and Tabitha Kautt


The view from Ludwig and Ruth's back porch


Ruth's nativity scene


A German barn


Jim, Mousa, Sami, Conny & Naomi

The Answer is...

...GERMANY, and SWITZERLAND! Dad (with his mom) had the opportunity to travel over to Germany to visit with his brother and sister-in-law during the holiday season. On his way back he flew out of Zurich, Switzerland.

The famous Neccar river, which runs through the town of Tubingen.

During the International Christian Church's Sunday morning worship service.

Dad got a chance to visit some of our more distant relatives, as well.

More pictures and details about the trip to come, hopefully!

Where in the World? - part 2

Where in the world did Dad take these pictures? Please leave us a comment with your guess.

Where in the World? - part 1

Okay, so here's a guessing game for you. Where in the world did Dad go to take the following pictures? Please guess by leaving us a comment on this post.

Happy 28th Mom and Dad ~

From Abby's blog:



"Yesterday was my parents' 28th wedding anniversary! God has truly blessed our family with a wonderful example of biblical, Christ-centered marriage. Through the years I have been so blessed by their commitment to each other in a world where divorce is rampant, in the world and in the church. Thank you, Mom & Dad, for being such a blessing! God bless you with many, many more years of happy marriage!!!"

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yesterday was Dad's birthday, and I failed to blog about it then. I was busy making the "special meal" and baking/frosting the cake. So here are some pictures from the little celebration. Happy Birthday Dad!! We love you!

Dad with his Carrot Cake birthday cake

Dad with one of his gifts

Mom being goofy with plastic glasses on (I think she looks like her mom about 25 or 30 years ago!) :)