Ridiculous...

Some of you know my affinity for hip-hop. This is amazing.

Shana's Update: Plants

This is our new earth box. Josh did some research and found a really cool way for us to grow a lot of stuff in a small area. There is some chemistry to this planting system, so we have 2 tomato plants, 1 bell pepper, and 2 herbs in this box. It is really cool. Josh put this all together. It looked kind of complicated. We are going to use the railing behind the box as our trellis for the tomatoes to grow up.

You can see my other three small pots to the left of herbs. Last year we had great success with our herb garden. We used it a bunch and got well our moneys worth out of it. Hopefully this year we'll get our moneys worth out of the produce.



See my pretty pansies. I got those for free. My neighbor underneath bought to many of them and shared her wealth. That was super sweet.



This is a jalapeno plant and my basil plant. Basil was by far my favorite to grow last year. I made lots of stuff out of it. I made homemade pesto, unfortunately lost it all in the weather storms when the freezer got wiped out because of the power. BOOO!! I made homemade spaghetti sauce with it too. Super yummy!


Now last year we offered to our neighbors to use our herbs whenever they wanted. Jason and Rachel were really the only ones to help themselves. We really mean it. Any of you guys in Louisville who need herbs come on by and clip you some. It is super healthy to do that to the plants, you aren't robbing us of our produce. It will only make the plant grow more. We kept all the pegs in the pots so people could figure out what herbs were what. We have sage, thyme, basil, rosemary, cilantro, and chives.

These are the vegetables we are growing: heirloom tomatoes, sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, romaine lettuce, butter crunch lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, jalapenos, and banana peppers. So far the spinach is not coming up, but we'll give it some more time. We are also planning to plant some zucchini if we can ever find a starter plant.

Shana's Update: Braves Game

This past weekend, Josh and I went with Ben and Cynthia to a Braves game in Cincinnati. It wasn't that great of a game. Braves lost BAD! We had a really good time hanging out with Ben and Cynthia though. It was a really good day. The sun was out and the wind was blowing, it was really a beautiful day. You can see I am a little red from it all.

We parked in Kentucky and took the ferry directly to the stadium. It was really neat. Cincinnati Reds stadium is right on the Ohio River. It made the trip a little more special.

My take on the game: I am really sad about the players now. It just doesn't seem like the same Braves team to me, especially with no John Smoltz. I miss the days of him as a closer strutting on the field with the crowd going wild because he is about to win the game for us. I am just not that big a fan of Chipper Jones, who I guess is Mr. Atlanta now. BOOO!! O well. I still have the Colts, well Coach Dungee just left so that is a bummer. I don't know how you sports fans do it. I feel a like betrayed when people leave the team or retire. They can't go anywhere else. Kind of sad. Well, that is my female take on sports. I promise there won't be too many of those.

Shana's Update: Bogie

Ok, so Bogie has bitten again. Josh and I realize that we have been in denial of his gradually escalating biting problem. The last time he bit someone we hired this trainer that turned out to be a quack, we might as well should have flushed our money down the toilet. Well, we have since then thrown everything that trainer told us to do out the window, and gone back to pack structure in our house. That is the philosophy we trained our dogs on in the beginning, and it was working great.

Well, we have had to buckle down on somethings in the house with the dogs, and revamp the rules so-to-speak. I guess when you learn something isn't working, you change it. Thankfully dogs live in the now and are pretty easy to mold. At least ours are. So, Bogie is walking on his last chance pretty much. Dr. Jeff Witt gave us some anti-aggression medicine to put Bogie on for now while we are in the transition mode. So far it seems to help a bit, hopefully though once things get reestablished (which takes time) we'll be able to take him off of that and hopefully not see his aggression escalate.

Josh and I are working really hard to try and get them back to this training and structure especially before the baby gets here. There is a chance Bogie won't ever be allowed in the same room with a child again, but we love him and he is kind of like a kid to us too so we really don't want to put him down or give him away. I guess this issue is one of those that only dog lovers can understand. I know people without pets or who have no affection for them probably look at us crazy and say we need to get rid of him, but he has been a huge part of our lives for the past 5 years. I grew up in a home that never kept our pets around long, and I vowed that I would not be that kind of animal owner. In essence, I made a commitment to them "till death do us part." So, pray for us as we seek knowledge and wisdom on doing what is right with Bogie and Zoe. The hardest part, as you may tell, is just finding the right resources.

If you are interested or curious as to where we are gleaning our resources right now on this, Leerburg.com. A great website with tons of free resources. If you are a fan of the Dog Whisperer then you'll be a fan of Leersburg too. Cesear Milan has a good saying, "whenever you want to point your finger at your dog for a problem there are always 3 fingers pointing back at you."

Stay Tuned..for hopefully good news of Bogie's progress.

Shana's Update: long overdue I know

I know this post is way overdue. It seems like forever since we have posted anything. Well, can you believe it I actually have some pictures to go with this post too. Josh and I had a great time at the wedding 2 weekends ago. We brought back the baby furniture for our apartment and Josh got it all set up. If you ever stayed in our guest rooms then you'll recognize it. Little known fact, Dean made everything but the bed.

This is really exciting. I have been given some hand-me-down clothes too and I have been washing them and putting them away. They are so cute. I go in there all the time and just pull stuff out and lay it on my tummy. I can't wait for the little guy to be here. The bed isn't going to stay in here though. We just decided that we'll move the crib into our room. But, Josh will have to take the bed apart again to get it through the doors. That will be a project for after the semester is over. We're going to move the dog kennels in here where the crib is now.

An entire other post one day - we just learned for pack structure sake - that the dogs shouldn't sleep in the same room as us. Weird, but since we are having trouble with Bogie, we'll pulling out all the stops. We'll have to elaborate on this issue in another post.

Crazy Calvin

This semester is about to mercifully come to an end whether I like it or not. I've almost completed Calvin's Institutes. I'm now reading a section that absolutely blows my mind - not in a good way. Calvin's take on the sacraments are just nonsense. He values the sacraments accurately, but his take on infant baptism and the Lord's Supper are just flat ridiculous. I understand his argument for infant baptism - meaning, I understand where he's coming from. I don't agree with him but I understand him. The part I don't understand is HOW IN THE WORLD DOES HE BELIEVE THIS AFTER HE'S SO CLEAR ON THE MEANING OF BAPTISM?!!?! His section on baptism is very, well, Baptistic (which is good). Then out of nowhere he's all like, "baptizing babies is ok because they'll grow into their faith [and like such as]." (I know I just typed out the phrase "he's all like") If you ever decide to read The Institutes - which you should (especially the part on prayer and Christian living) - even if you don't agree with predestination (that's barely any of what these books are about), just go ahead and skip the part on infant baptism. GAAAHHH! or in the words of Charlie Brown - AARRRGGGHHHHH!

Shana's Update: Some Wedding Pics

These are pictures at the Rehearsal dinner. Thanks Jen for taking these for us.




We had a really great weekend doing all that had to be done for Andy and Caitlin's wedding. It was a really great time, a beautiful ceremony, but exhausting. Sad it is over, but excited for the new life Andy and Caitlin get to begin.

Batting Stances

This Sunday Shana and I are going to a Reds game in Cincy. They're playing the Braves. I've been to countless Braves games but never one on the road. This should be fun. Anyway, I saw this video on E:60 which is a cool show that comes on ESPN. The video is about batting stances. If you like baseball you'll probably like this video.

Stupid Game Show Answers

I love game shows. All kinds. I found this channel on YouTube called "Stupid Game Show Answers." Shana and I watch these when we need a laugh. Here are a few.


Sometimes people just get lucky...

A Vocal Legend

I'm certainly not a Philadelphia Phillies fan, but I am a baseball fan. Harry Kalas died yesterday. He was the announcer for the Phillies and did a lot of work for NFL Films. Since I never watched the Phillies I mostly knew him from the NFL. His voice was one of those voices that you just enjoy listening to no matter who you root for. Here's ESPN's take on Kalas:

Summer and Fall

Summer Schedule:
Old Testament II - Hamilton
Intro to Biblical Counseling - Scott
The SBC Annual Meeting - Moore

Fall Schedule:
Greek I - Pennington
Biblical Theology of Worship - Ware
Intro to Family Ministry - Stinson
Systematic Theology II - Moore

At the end of 2009 I will have one year left. Wahoo!

Shana's Update: More Favorite Things

Here is a new list of some of my favorite things: (I will try and give you pictures this time, I heard through the grape-vine that people didn't know what some of my favorite things were)



1) My Hobo clutch wallet (this is the color of mine too). I got this for Christmas from Dean and Judy this year. I had a cheaper version from Target for a couple of years, but it was cloth. I love it so much I am going to have my old one cleaned and stored in case anything ever happens to this one I will have a back up. This one is leather and holds up way better. It will fit perfect in my new baby bag. Seriously, I use this all the time. It is my wallet and then when I go out I have a cute clutch. Caitlin (my future sister-in-law) has one too, and I know she is a super fan as well.

2) Lime, I am really liking anything that is tart right now in flavor. I made some homemade strawberry limeade the other day. I could definitely use some of Marcy's famous punch right now.

3) Sunday. We love the church we are at right now. God has really blessed us with the opportunity to serve. Worship is amazing!! Then I get to come home and spend the day with my husband. Sometimes that means I just watch him study, but I usually get to make him a good dinner. Definitely my favorite day of the week right now. If I knew how to do that link thing I would put one to our church site. O well.

4) Hand-me downs. I have been given a few bags of baby boy clothes. I get so excited going through them. We might be bringing back the furniture for the baby next weekend. I can't wait to wash it all and put it away!!!

Shana's Update: Prego Picture

Here I am in the kitchen at lunch time. What do you think? I have been working my arms out like they are going out of style, but being sick last week I think put me back. I still don't have the cuts yet. O well. Can you say pale. Can't wait to be outside more and get some sun in my skin. I am seriously considering buying that spray tan in a can for Caitlin's wedding.

I don't know if you can tell in this photo. I feel massive, but I know I am not. My stomach is so low! These are actually pre-pregnancy pants still. I am wearing my bella band to keep them up. Super happy about that. I guess that means my butt and thighs are the same for now, yippy for that one.

Well, I guess that is a good update for now. Counting down till we go home for the wedding. It is going to be an exciting event.

Why DC*B is the best!

Every time The David Crowder Band makes a new album they post their progress with videos on YouTube. You can follow the making of the album there. This is probably one of the funniest videos yet. Check the 5:00 mark and the 5:15 mark.

Commercial Better Than The Game

As I'm watching Carolina put an ACC whoopin' on Michigan State, this commercial came on which is way better than the game. Enjoy.

Shana's Update

I have been sick for almost a week now. YUCK! I am getting over a respiratory infection, so my doctor calls it. I think that is a fancy term for cold. Who knows? Well, the weather is changing up here finally. I think we have had our heat/AC off for almost a month now, which is awesome. Can't wait to see those savings reflected in our bill. We have had our apartment open, which is awesome too. Josh, my hunky handy man, has made a cool contraption for our door so that we can get some circulation without the bugs when it starts to heat up more. We are also starting to get things planted. My chives came back from last year, and my neighbor below gave me a planter full of pansies. I was super excited about that. Josh and I want to plant some more veggie though. We are in the middle of researching tomato plants and some other veggies to grow. There is a chance of another snow next week, so we are going to wait till that passes until we do anything, but we are getting prepared. I think tonight we are going to measure the spots we have available to put planters in so we can get as many in as possible. I am really excited to grow tomatoes. I really wanted to grow them last year, but we only were able to grow a herb garden last year. That was super successful so we'll try some more stuff this year.

Husband has been enjoying his spring break, especially these past 2 days because the sun has been shining. I am glad for him, he was working really hard for a while with this semester. He is almost done. He actually has his assignments that are left listed on his white board. I get excited looking at it too knowing there isn't much left. I think Josh is feeling the reward too of working really hard and getting to chill because of the hard work part. I am super proud of him.

In baby news, we are super excited to be having a boy. Most of you who know us well, know how excited we are to have a boy. People have been giving me all kind of hand-me-downs, and it is so exciting to go through them all and imagine a little Josh in them. I am so excited. My belly is definitely growing too, which is fun. I am feeling this guy moving all around in side too.

Sad news, I went to the doctor's office Monday to check on baby and find out what I was sick with. I have had a rash on my stomach and the front of my hands for while. Well, my midwife asks if I have eaten more processed food lately. OOPS, can you say Chic-fil-a. I was like oo no maybe. She said sometimes pregnancy can't handle all the work it is doing for mom and baby. So, the less processed foods the better. I was blown away. I had no clue, obviously. So, I am super sad to say I will be avoiding the chic-fil-a along with everything else processed. Which is actually a good thing, that helps our wallet and my gorda. I think Josh was thinking I was making secret trips without him to the chic-fil-a.

Super excited to be having a baby!! Oh my goodness, this will officially make me an adult won't it, no turning back. No getting off this roller coaster!! WHEEEEEEEEEE

Stay tuned, I am going to try and post pictures later to go with this post. (Don't hold your breath though, I might forget YIKES)

Cause for Concern?

So...do you think this 4 pound burger is a little out of line?













You can get one at a West Michigan Whitecaps baseball game. Its called the "Fifth Third Burger." It has 4,800 calories. The 4-pound, $20 burger features five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and liberal doses of salsa and corn chips all on an 8-inch bun. So do you take the pre-antacid stuff or the post? Or both?