What am I thankful for?

So many things. I am so thankful that our house was ok during the hurricane. I am so thankful for Campbell, that he is healthy and happy and here! I am thankful for my other two boys, that they are smart and kind and helpful and lovable. I am thankful that Cooper learned how to read. I am thankful for my husband, that he works so hard, is a fabulous father, is patient with me, and doesn't expect Martha Stewart. I am thankful for my mini-van. I am thankful for God's Word, that it is alive and always meets my needs, when I take the time to read it. I am thankful that God is patient with me, and waits for me to come to Him and accepts me with open arms, no matter how long its been. I am thankful for my church that is full of people who love the Lord and support us. I am thankful for all of the adults who teach my children. I am thankful we live in a country where we are free to worship together. I am thankful for my family, and even though they are strange at times, they love me and my children and would do anything for us. I am so thankful for my in-laws, who love and adore me and my children and pray for us! I am thankful for my mom who prays for me daily. I am thankful for TV, coffee, my bed, Sonic, my computer, books, mexican food and chocolate. Happy Thanksgiving!

Campbell's first sickness

Well, we made it 3 1/2 months before getting sick. He just has a little cold, but as many of you may have experienced, when the baby gets the phlegm down in their tummys, sometimes it comes back up after they eat. So I have been the recipient of projectile vomiting twice today. Fun, fun. We are at my mom's, so I least I have some reinforcement and support.

Astronaut Shane emailed Jason today, from space! How cool is that! And he sent a picture of himself with the Addison Road CD floating next to him. So cool!

Christy's Picks of the Week- I bought the new Jeremy Camp CD that came out today, and the Casting Crowns Christmas CD today for $7.99 each because I am a preferred customer at Lifeway. I am not quite sure why I am a preferred customer, I don't spend that much there and I'm sure they have forgotten that I endured working there from 93-95 and again in 99. I do think I deserve the title of preferred customer. Anyway, both of the CD's are great! I highly recommend them. Break out the Christmas music!

Space... the final frontier

I am watching Shane Kimbrough space walk. Shane is a member of our church, and friends with Jason. I didn't meet him until his launch party at church, but he's a really neat guy. That's why Jason and Cooper were in Florida, they got VIP seats for the launch, really great opportunity. I could have gone too, but we couldn't afford to fly, and I couldn't see us driving with a three month old all the way to FL. We did give Shane an Addison Road CD to take with him to space. They are really excited about that.

When we were moving to Clear Lake, and were told that probably 1/3 of our church works at NASA, I was concerned a little. Up until that point I was kind of against space travel, not really against it, but thinking of all the things we could be spending that money on, like the homeless. But now that we are immersed in the culture, I think its the coolest thing. I think Shane is the 5th astronaut from our church since we've been here to go up, and each time our pastor leads a prayer for them and talks about exploring God's creation. So many people in our church have jobs that just blow my mind. Mark, one of our Sunday School teachers, has the job of keeping track of all of the things floating in space, like every nut, bolt, and now tool bag, star, etc. floating out there. Our other teacher, David, his job is to work on the space suits. Jonathan works on the exercise equipment that is taken to the space station. And I hear all the time about things that we now use in our lives down on earth, that wouldn't have been possible without NASA. And when you see pictures of all that is out there, all of God's creation, we realize how little we are and how BIG God is. I got to watch live the other day the astronauts arriving at the space station, and giving hugs to the guys living in the space station. It gave me chills! And now I'm watching the space station circling the earth, it goes around the whole earth every 92 minutes. The earth is beautiful. Why did God make the whole solar system and more? Is there life in other places? I don't know. Maybe it was just to give us something to do with our lives, to keep us from getting bored. Or maybe it is so we can really grasp His greatness.

"Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." Nehemiah 9:5,6

I am really mad...

This morning I came downstairs to find that Cade had accidentally bought a pay-per-view movie in his attempt to watch Thomas the Train. I called to try to get it cancelled, but they wouldn't. So, he bought "Baby Momma" which I one point I had wanted to see, so I thought I would watch it tonight after the boys were in bed. This is a really stupid movie! I am really mad we wasted $5 on it. And I'm really mad that Comcast wouldn't take it off.

Baby Poop Stains!

I have struggled with three kids trying to get out baby poop stains, you know, the bright yellow stuff that explodes out the top, bottom and sides of the diapers, even the good diapers. Yes, if you just wash the item immediately, there is usually not an issue. But please, who can wash the stuff immediately. So I have been washing this one outfit over and over with stain stick trying to get out the poop. It is a really cute outfit my mom bought for Campbell, and so I wanted to pass it on to my sister-in-law in a few months, but I can't with a baby poop stain on it. So with the great invention of the internet, I searched baby poop stains, and found the answer... the sun! I thought it surely wouldn't work, but oh my goodness. All you do is wash the outfit with a stain remover, but before drying it, lay it out in the sun. And the stain magically disappears! Apparently, the yellow in the poop is the billirubin, so just like a baby with jaundice, the sun takes it away! I tried it today with four outfits, and three of them came out perfect. Amazing! The other one, the stain is now very light brown, if you weren't looking, you probably wouldn't be able to find it, but I'm going to try again tomorrow. I used the Spray-n-Wash stain stick, but apparently, the Dreft stain remover might work better. Why didn't I learn this 7 years ago!!! God's free stain remover!

Observations of a non-political person

My person lost, but I'm over it, for a number of reasons. One, because what good does it do to be upset, it doesn't change anything. Two, I realized a lot of things people blamed on Bush weren't his fault, no one person can make all the mistakes people said he made by himself, therefore, Obama can't do all the things people say he will do by himself. Three, and most importantly, because God is in control and has a bigger picture than I can see. He already knew the outcome. Jason and I were discussing last night people's reactions as we watched Obama's speech (really good I thought). Jesse Jackson and Oprah crying made us roll our eyes. But then you see like a quarter of a million people cheering and crying and just the fact that they stood out there to hear him speak for 10 minutes was crazy to us. I said that I couldn't imagine being that supportive of anyone to show that much emotion about them winning. Jason asked why they were all there. Why were they all so emotional. We get that its a big deal that he's the first black President, but I don't think people in our generation, or white people in general, can really get the significance of it. But I also told Jason that these people have put so much hope into him and what he can accomplish. They are suffering and most of them can only put hope into this man, who is only human. We don't put hope in people. We know that only God is big enough to handle our suffering, our complaining, our issues, and that He is the only one we should put our hope in.
Jason is driving to Dallas tonight to attend the Memorial service for Sweet Hopkins, the Children's Minister at FBC Richardson, where we moved from. She passed away this week from cancer. All of this uncertainty about the future of our country at the same time of her death made me realize that all I can really control is the present, what I can do today to make a difference in this world, especially in the life of a child. They are our future. I can help my three boys grow up into Godly men with values, knowing the difference between good and bad, helping them find their talents and gifts, and teaching them how to treat people with respect and kindness. I can also teach that to other children, just like Sweet did, and that will truly make a difference in the world. I can do my part and let God do the rest, and put my hope in that!

Politics of a 6 year old

We were eating dinner, watching the election results. Cooper was watching intently, waiting for them to announce the winner. We had to explain we won't know until after he goes to bed, or maybe way longer than that. So then we got into a discussion about our newest favorite thing in the Gadman house, Star Wars: the Clone Wars. And Cooper made the most astute comment. Obama looks like Chewbaca because he's brown and McCain looks like Yoda because he's old. We had to laugh and I had to post. Enjoy.