I have the two cutest kids ever!

Elliott Andrew Stringer
8lb 13oz / 20 inches
@ 11:15pm 10/4

We are so happy to have him here. He is doing great.  He is nursing well and still exhausted from his long journey into this world. We are super thankful for God's faithfulness and goodness to us during this time. 

Tonight was Noah night at church. There were animals to pet that Truett really liked. It was a good family night. We go to meet some more of our new church family too, which was really fun. 

Today we did something special for lunch. We live a block away from the train tracks. So we went and had a picnic next to them for lunch. Truett loved it. I wonder sometimes how many different engineers there are. I can't see them close enough to know. If they are the same ones over and over they are probably getting tired of waving and horn blowing. I appreciate them still doing it though, Truett loves it. 

My little man tonight before bed. Maggie gave him these pj pants. He looks like such a big boy. I asked him if he wanted to wear his choo choos or handy mannys and he saw these and said baseball. I was so shocked. Might be a little influenced tonight by his t-ball set he got for his birthday from uncle Andy and aunt Caitlin. Big thanks again he loves it.

Here is the start of hopefully many updates to come on our city. Today I drove home from the dr in the city and decided to take pictures of our street. You have probably heard me say we live in a hundred year old home, but not really one of those cool ones. Remember it is a rental. But our street is full of them, not to mention our neighborhood. We are definitely probably one of the sore spots. Apologies to the neighbors. So, if you ever come to visit you'll start to enter our neighborhood and be like wow this is really nice till you get to our address. Now all that to say we are super thankful for our little house because it was the only way to afford living this close to where our life takes place. This really is an amazing area of the suburbs to live. So far we are settling in great thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Stringers help the first week we got here. All we did was work. We are still trying to get a few decor details underway, but we'll see how long they take. So stay posted as I attempt to post more o. Our town, church, and house here in Wheaton. 

This Monday Josh did an outdoor project. He had a really good time doing it too. He went to the home store a couple times, rented a truck to haul it all, and then came home to build. He did a great job. As always Truett was very eager to help daddy work. I sure hope this boy keeps this work ethic because as soon as he is able I will put him to work.I still have some flowers to plant and then it will be done. Final pick coming soon.

Imagination stage today pretty good. 

10 Lists of 10

When my time at seminary was drawing to an end I thought I should do something in the way of reflecting over the past three years. As a family we experienced quite a bit. We moved to a brand new city, had our first child, I studied... a lot. Now that I'm done and living in Wheaton, I've decided to do several Top Ten lists - 10 Lists of 10 to be exact. These aren't in any particular order and the items on the list aren't really in a "Top 10" order. So #1 isn't necessarily the best and #10 isn't the worst. You follow? Ok, 10 Lists of 10....

Things We Liked to Do in Louisville
1. Lynn's Paradise Cafe and Wild Eggs for breakfast
2. Thunder Over Louisville (although I never really got to go thanks to The Fresh Market)
3. Churchill Downs
4. Louisville Slugger Museum
5. Louisville Zoo
6. Cherokee Park
7. Grater's Ice Cream
8. Going down to the River
9. $5 Tuesdays at Tinseltown Movie Theater
10. Family Nights at Chick-Fil-A

Books I Read
1. Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns
2. When People Are Big and God Is Small by Ed Welch
3. Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
4. The Reason for God by Tim Keller
5. The Gospel Centered Life by CJ Mahaney
6. Tell The Truth by Will Metzger
7. A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent
8. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
9. The Institutes of Christian Religion by John Calvin
10. The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott

Professors
1. Hershael York
2. Russell Moore
3. Stuart Scott
4. Tom Nettles
5. Jonathan Pennington
6. Shawn Wright
7. Bruce Ware
8. Tim Beougher
9. Jim Hamilton
10. Randy Stinson

Things I'll Miss
1. Grinstead Neighbors/Community
2. Fresh Market Friends
3. SBTS Library
4. SBTS Lifeway Bookstore
5. My Professors
6. The sidewalks in our town
7. The Elders at Crossing (Dustin Neely, Heath Lambert, Dave Northrup, and non-elder but might as well be Steve Hudson)
8. The Reason for God Louisville group - Matt Riddle, Tony Loseto, Ryan Dischinger, Jessica Trevino, Jackie Wagner, Sarah Hyman, Melissa Northrup, and several others.
9. The guys I shared class with, particularly my Preaching Practicum class
10. The "Golden Age" of our small group at church. This group included The Falls, The Bailies, The Peavyhouses, The Rothwells, and Kim Davidson.

Classes
1. Systematic Theology (I-III) with Dr. Wellum and Moore
2. Christian Ethics with Dr. Moore
3. Preaching Practicum with Dr. York
4. Pastoral Ministry with Dr. York
5. Typical Problem in Biblical Counseling with Dr. Scott
6. Calvin with Dr. Wright
7. Marriage and Family counseling with Dr. Scott
8. Personal Evangelism with Dr. Beougher (biggest surprise class for me, I thought I'd hate it)
9. Church History I with Dr. Nettles
10. Hermeneutics with Dr. Hamilton

Things I'd Do Differently
1. Start taking languages my first semester so I'm not left doing them on my last
2. (If it would have been possible) I would have worked less so I could build better relationships with other seminary guys and been home more
3. Invest more in relationships at church
4. Know my professors better
5. Preached more
6. Read a little slower
7. Shared the Gospel more boldly
8. Memorized more Scripture
9. Spent more time with my wife and son
10. Saved more money

Truths I Learned
1. The Gospel has bearing on EVERY aspect of life.
2. Everyone has a story, so listen more than you speak.
3. It is better to really read and understand one book than to skim 10.
4. The Bible will never get old.
5. My wife and family will the be one's that matter most in 50 years so invest more in them than in others.
6. But invest in others too.
7. People are more willing to talk about God and the gospel than you think they are.
8. The best counseling happens in the context of discipleship and becoming more like Christ.
9. There is great value in the past and there is great hope for the future.
10. Debates over some things are entirely fruitless and debating parenting styles can be as controversial as Calvinism vs. Arminianism.

Things You Should Know When Shopping for Meat (this could have been titled "Questions I Was Asked At The Fresh Market)
1. Don't talk on your cell phone and try to order meat.
2. Lean ground beef makes a terrible burger - get ground chuck
3. Lean steaks should NEVER be cooked over medium. They will be dry and gross.
4. Dry rubs and seasoning are better than marinade for beef.
5. Kabobs are a waste of time. Just grill the meat whole and do the veggies separate.
6. You should really learn to cut up your own chicken or cut your own steak in half.
7. A tenth of a pound of ground beef extra will NOT ruin your recipe. If you asked for 1 pound and the scale says 1.12, relax, you'll be fine.
8. Standing away from the meat case, pointing to your steak and saying "I'll have that one" does not help get your meat quicker. Your meat guy has no idea what you're pointing at.
9. Different beef roasts respond differently to different types of cooking. A chuck roast is going to fall apart when its done and is best done in a crock pot all day with veggies. Most other roasts should be done in the oven and the temperature should be monitored so you don't over cook it.
10. ALWAYS say please and thank you.

Why You Should Go To Seminary (if you're considering ministry)
1. You will be a better reader.
2. You will benefit from simply being in the classroom.
3. You will make life-long ministry friends.
4. You will find out how little you know.
5. You will be a better learner.
6. You will find ministry and theological resources you never knew existed.
7. You will be challenged to grow.
8. You will find amazing professors who care about you and your family.
9. You will learn Greek and Hebrew better in class.
10. You will know the Word better.

Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Doing ministry at College Church in Wheaton, IL.
2. Having baby #2.
3. Having a regular schedule where I don't have to work Saturdays or nights.
4. Having more time with my family.
5. Getting to practice what I've been studying for the past 3 years.
6. Not working at Fresh Market.
7. Enjoying reading what I want to read at my own pace.
8. Having friends and family come visit.
9. Making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends.
10. Experiencing the Chicago spring, summer, and fall (keep the winter comments to yourself...I've heard them all)

I think that about covers it. I could have added a few more to each list, but these are some of the things that I have experienced in Louisville and Southern Seminary.

Playing with Truett. He is getting into imagination stuff.

Last night after dinner in downtown Wheaton, just a walk away from our front door. Really love where our house is located. 

My handsome men after a long day at Navy Pier in Chicago. A totally spontaneous vacation day from all the house settling we've been doing.
This was dinner at Outback Saturday night after packing truck all day. 

Truett had a good time playing during the rain storm. He put stickers on baby S.

Our last trip to the pool this summer. Had a great girls day at Caitlin's pool. Jonathan even made an appearance which Truett was very happy about you can see. 

New haircut today. He had a bunch cut off.

Playing at the mall today. 

This is mostly a test. Trying to figure out how to post to my blog from my phone. 

Favorites: Benji and Jenna Cowart

They Will See God from Jeremy Cowart on Vimeo.

My very first job on staff was in Florida. I was an intern on staff with these guys. They are amazing people who love God and make amazing music. I am a huge fan. This is their newest song out, they are working on a new cd. You can find their other music on Itunes if you are interested. Just search under Benji and Jenna Cowart. I hope you like it.

Great Truett Videos from this past week.

We got to go to the pool this week and the boys had a blast. David especially. Truett is now asking to play in the water everyday.


Probably one of my favorite videos. Truett playing with the Smith kids, some of his best buds this past year. Obviously wrestle mania is just part of their make-up as boys.


This was this evening on the way to dinner. Daddy and Truett breaking it down and I was so thankful to catch it on video (praise iphone). I love moments like these.


Truett adores his Grandpa and Grandma Stringer, you can see it on his face, but then he crash and burns. OOPS

Truett Videos

Here are some up-to-date videos of Truett. They will probably be very boring to you, but anything this kid does puts a smile on our faces.



This was a first. We have this extremely pointless balcony on our apartment. Pretty much during the nicer weather months we use the door as a large window and open it. Well, it was raining this day and Truett decided to go out on the balcony. He was pretty shocked by what he found. He really started to enjoy it though and it was hard to get him back inside. Pretty funny too the music in the background is from the tv. Truett had been watching Signing Time, one of his favorites. Fitting song.


Truett all of a sudden got all crazy on us when he saw daddy trying to get skype working. He loves talking to family on skype. This night we were talking to Uncle Andy and Aunt Caitlin and he was crazier than ever.


Here is a video from Easter morning. It was so fun having him wake up to his Easter basket. I really wanted to hide eggs around the house because that is what my mom did when I was little, but I didn't think we would have time before church. Maybe we'll tweek our traditions next year. He got an Easter box in the mail from Grandpa and Grandma Stringer too so I had that stuff out for him. He loved it all as you can tell.

Truett's favorites shows are Signing Time, Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny, and occasionally Elmo. Anything with them in it he is all over. I think in that order too. We got Truett a bunch of Signing time books and music cds because we get the dvds all the time from the Library. It is nice now to have some non tv stuff for him that he loves.

Late Updates: Jan visit from Aunt Heidi

In January of this year, Heidi came to visit us in KY. This would be her last visit to Louisville (at least to see us) because we are graduating in May. WOOOHOOO!!! It was a lot of fun. I had just found out that I was pregnant and struggling through the first trimester sickness, but Heidi (as always) was a trooper. She soaked up all her time with Truett.

On this day I am pretty sure that Heidi read every single book that Truett owns. They both loved it. Truett still loves books and can sit in your lap for hours reading them.
Josh taking a turn down the big hill. This hill is a haul so you only do it so many times before you are exhausted from climbing it.
Heidi (carring Truett), Josh, and Zoe coming up the hill. Heidi and Truett just took their first trip down the hill. Way to go Heidi. She was nervous. She did great. Heidi had hoped that the snow would still be around when she arrived from Florida, and boy did it. I think we even got some more.
This guy is so handsome. This is a Christmas Story moment.
Thank you Aunt Heidi for coming to visit us. We were sure glad you did.

Warming up from playing outside in the snow.

This is a really good picture sometime in January or February. Truett is warming up in his cozy chair watching tv because he was just outside playing in the snow. Handsome little man.

New Truett Video

This is a new video from this week of him falling asleep at the table. I skipped his nap this day and it proved he is not ready to go without a nap still. He is too darn cute.

Truett's Farts

Last week, Friday to be exact, I was getting Truett ready for bed. We have a routine we do every night probably like most parents. Bath time, Diaper, Pj's, close the curtains, turn on sound machine, hugs and kisses to daddy, read books, rock a bit, and than night night in his crib with blanket and fuzzy. Well, this night was obviously no different. I was putting Truett's diaper on when he farted. It was loud and smelly. It was practically in my face. I reacted how someone would normally react to such an event, and Truett thought it was the funniest thing in the world. It was as if he was a teenage boy laughing at just doing a smelly fart in in his mommy's face. It really was funny even to me a bit. We proceed in the bedtime process. Now we are reading books, and he lets 2 more go. I now can not handle it.

During this pregnancy I am convinced that my nose is way more sensitive than it was with Truett. Half my battles have been living in my apartment because of my neighbors smelly cooking and no fresh air. Now that the sun is back and the weather is nice, the windows are open and I can walk around the house without a face mask on (literally).

So, back to the fart story. The second time, I can't handle it much longer. I yell for Josh to come and relieve me and take over bedtime process. I then proceed to the bathroom to throw up what seems like everything I ate that day. Which was a real bummer, Josh had brought home a T-bone steak from work to grill out. I ate the filet and he had the strip. It was awesome, well not for long. I don't think baby got any of that steak.

End of story, hope you got a good laugh.

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma

Last night Truett opened a present that came in the mail from Grandpa and Grandma Stringer. He loves it. We always read books before bed and this is the one he wanted last night and then this morning he read it to his buddy David. This is one of the coolest gift ideas.

Shana's Update: sorry no photos

I know I am way overdue for a post. I apologize my first trimester has not been a fun one. Unfortunately, Josh takes his computer to class so when I think to sit down and post I usually can't because he has his computer (his computer stores all the photos and videos). Although, I haven't been good at even taking any photos or videos the past 2 months. I am curious to see what we even have on there. So, I hope this update will do (with no photos).

Truett is amazing. He is fast approaching 19 months. All of a sudden he has started to say all kinds of words. We were worried for a while because he can sign so much, and he still chooses to sign over speak sometimes, but at least we can communicate. He is such a big boy. He can push him self on his ride on toys, throws balls really well and with good aim, plays with puzzles, stacks blocks, and still loves books. His favorite toys are probably his balls. He has a huge box full of them and he chooses them over anything else all the time. Anytime we go somewhere he is asking for a ball to take with us. Every stage I say to myself he is so much fun. He gets better and better. He is heavy and it is starting to set in that I don't have much longer in this pregnancy to be picking him up. I can barely put him in his crib at night. He is wearing 18m and 24m clothes. I think he is pretty skinny, but he seems pretty long. One of the cutest things that he does is come up to us and speak all kinds of jibber jabber. He is so cute. He wants so bad to tell us all kinds of stuff, but not quite there yet.

Josh is doing great with school. We are totally excited this is our last semester. I can hardly believe in 2 months we'll be packing up. I am excited and sad all at the same time. Most likely we are moving home to GA with no job prospects in the immediate future, although Josh is still working on that and there seem to be some great possibilities. It will be sad to leave behind some of the friends we have made here because who knows if and when we will see them again. Every one here is in the same mode of from here then where and so we will all be spread out. Back to Josh, I know he is enjoying his last semester as well.

As for me, I am pregnant, and that about sums it all up. First trimester seems to still be going since I am still sick. I will be 13 weeks on Thursday. I am thankful that the toilet worship has kind of come to an end. The last time that happened, Truett played along side me and at one point had dragged his crawl tunnel into the bathroom. When I started to throw-up he stood at the toilet next to me putt his head on my shoulder and then himself pretended to throw up in the toilet. It definitely perked up the event taking place. I am definitely showing. Although to the unknown person I think I probably just look chubby in my tummy.

That is all I can think of for an update for now. I hope to be able to get some pictures or videos on here soon so stay posted. We have no forgotten the blog.

New Years Eve Part 3

Here is the crew from New Years Eve. We had a really good time. We played all kinds of Wii games, bingo, and re-gift white elephant. Not to mention Josh made some awesome BBQ. It was a ton of fun. Andy went home with most of the prizes, as usual. (I realized after this picture was take that it looks like Josh is holding my belly as if I was pregnant, sorry folks no news just an ackward pose)

New Years Eve Part 2

Truett and Jonathan wore the same shirt. Andy and Caitlin went to Disney in November and brought them back matching onsies. They were too cute. Not to mention every time they are together we do a photo shoot. These poor boys are going to grow up asking us why so many pictures of them together in the same outfits. You would think they were twins. We are probably going to pay for this when they get older.

Someone found the boots again.

Big Announcement

Josh eagerly posted on Facebook, but forgot our blog. Facebook found out a day earlier. We are excited to announce Truett is going to be a big brother. We are very early on barely 7 weeks pregnant. We had our first Dr. appointment yesterday. We are due September 24th. This shirt Truett is wearing was Josh's. Josh wore it when Andy was born. I don't know how we can recreate perfection, but we are doing it again (jk). Truett is a little model in this picture he looks like he is putting his hand on his hip. I love this little guy. He amazes me more and more everyday.

New Years Eve Part 1

New Years Eve was a ton of fun this year. I hope we can do it again next year.

Daddy, Uncle Andy, and Truett.

Marcy's memorable mock margaritas. Whenever we get together there is always a request. They were super yummy. Even Truett likes them (no worries, there is no alcohol).

Me, Caitlin, Marcy, and Judy

Girl band. I don't know why but I love playing rock band. It was a ton of fun.

The boys played their share of video games too. Truett was too cute. He wanted to be right up there with them. Josh and Andy gave Truett a piece of the controller and Truett would pretend he was playing too. It was soo adorable.

Piano Time

We went for a visit to the Howards for dinner one night. They have a piano in the front sitting room. Truett loves the piano.

Misc. Christmas Photos

Here are some more Snow day photos.

Truett love love loves going for rides on the cabota, especially with Daddy and Grandpa.

Aunt Caitlin and Truett

So cute - Uncle Andy and Aunt Caitlin trying to get Truett to do a snow angel.

Daddy, Zoe, and Truett playing in the snow.

It was really hard trying to pull together some snow gear for Truett. We didn't pack for snow coming from KY to GA. I ran to Walmart that morning and found 2 pairs of boots not knowing which ones would work. These were one pair I bought. They are more a rain boot, but the Walmart in GA didn't even have any snow gear. Turns out Truett loves these boots. He puts them on every time he sees them.