A Normal Day

This is a bit long, but pretty good nonetheless.

Emily for Mother of the Year

I'm nominating Emily for wife and mother of the year. Thanks for all you do to make our home so wonderful Emily!

Our Boys

Just some good pictures of the boys that I wanted to share.

Reformation Videos

If you've never studied the men of the protestant reformation or just want to brush up on them, here are some videos someone posted on Youtube that might help. They run about 30 minutes for each reformer (it is broken into 3 files). They are all good, but the one on Luther is not the best (so don't start with it). Start with Hus or Tyndale, especially if you've never heard of these men and the sacrifices they made so that you can read the Bible in the language you speak. They are produced by Vision video if you are interested.

John Wycliffe
William Tyndale
William Tyndale Part 2
John Hus
Martin Luther
John Calvin
Ulrich Zwingli
Anabaptists
Anabaptist Part 2
Anabaptist Part 3 - or really 1?
Oliver Cromwell
Part 2
Erasmus (not a reformer, but important in the process)

Brave Sir Ben

One of the things we really wanted for the kids this year was dress up costumes. They got a kings crown, a dragon suit, some superhero masks, and this knights outfit. Ben really likes it. He would walk around the house saying, "I'm gonna poke you daddy."

Optical Illusions

Pretty Cool Stuff.

Christmas Pictures

We Wish Everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12 Days of Theology

Source

On the first day of Theology my professor gave to me atonement on an old tree.

On the second day of Theology my professor gave to me two Testaments and atonement on an old tree.

On the third day of Theology my professor gave to me three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the fourth day of Theology my professor gave to me four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the fifth day of Theology my professor gave to me five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the sixth day of Theology my professor gave to me six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the seventh day of Theology my professor gave to me seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the eighth day of Theology my professor gave to me eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the ninth day of Theology my professor gave to me nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the tenth day of Theology my professor gave to me ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the eleventh day of Theology my professor gave to me eleven apostles on Easter, ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the twelfth day of Theology my professor gave to me twelve tribes of Israel, eleven apostles on Easter, ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

E-Scavenger Hunt

Our final installment of "playroom monotony avoidance tactics."

Boredom is the enemy in our house. Not that the kids get tired of playing with their toys very often, but Emily and I do. So I'm always trying to think of something new to do with their toys, or some new game to play. One day we decided to play computer scavenger hunt. I went around the house and took pictures of things all over the house. Sometimes it was something very small and hard, and other times it was a favorite DVD cover. The boys loved it. Our real goal was to get some energy out, so we told them to run to find the object and then run back to the computer to see the next picture. It worked beautifully. We played again the next day with some new pictures.

So if you have come up with any fun games to pass the time, what are they?

Jesus Vs. Santa

Matchbox Cars

Day 2 of our series on "avoiding playroom monotony."

Sometimes you have to get creative with the matchbox cars racetrack. Here Ben races the cars down the stairs, through the loop, and onto a jump. Caleb's job is to try to catch the cars after they jump.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Emily!

Super Tube

This post will begin a series of posts dealing with creative activities to keep the kids (and the parents) from boredom.

On a boring afternoon we decided to take a bunch of tubing we found around the house and put it together to make a "Super Tube." We then rolled balls down the tube from the second floor down to the first. The boys would take turns at the top and bottom, running back and forth and wearing themselves out. It was great!

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

John Piper presents the gospel in 6 minutes.

Dews come for a visit

Our boys sure do love the Dew twins (who wouldn't).

Christmas Cartoon

Sleepy Ben

Ben had a cold a few days ago. He didn't slow down too much, but when he got tired it would hit him hard. Here he is after falling asleep watching a show.

FYI, that's a spiderman tatoo on his stomach...his bellybutton isn't that big...not that there's anything wrong with big belly buttons.

Name That Tune

This game is pretty cool. The faster you answer the more points you get. A lot of the shows were before my time (I assume), because I had never heard of them. Give it a try and see how you do.
Link

Jars

We are trying a new discipline/motivation technique in the house. Every day the boys get a ball in their jar (which they decorated). If they behave, they get to keep it, if not, they lose it. Once they collect a few, they can then turn them in for prizes. Going to the ice cream store, getting a new book, getting a piece of candy, going putt-putt, etc. The boys picked out the prizes, we just set the "price."

So far it seems to be working pretty well. They really don't like the idea of losing a ball (whereas time out doesn't always get a negative reaction).

They both saved up for the most expensive thing and we went putt putt last Sunday afternoon. Now they are saving up to go see the Christmas lights at the "winter wonderland" up the street. So what kind of reward system or discipline techniques do you use?

Public Service Announcement

Psychedelic Man

Here's a really cool site full of optical illusions. check it out. Here are my favorites.

Link 1

Link 2 (So is it moving or not?)

Link 3

Link 4 (warning, not for the epileptic)

Link 5

Link 6

Link 7

Link 8

Link 9 (one of my favorites)

Link 10

Link 11

Link 12

Link 13

Link 14

Link 15

Link 16

Link 17

Link 18

Link 19 (Just the top one)

Ben's Tricks

Dining Room

It only took us eight months, but our dining room is finally usable. It just wasn't a very high priority in the grand scheme of things when we first moved in. Then the infamous hole in the wall to fix the pipe with a hole in it slowed us down even more.

So finally, after 6 years of marriage, Emily got to unpack her china and crystal. It has literally been boxed up for 6 years because we didn't have anywhere to put it. I think she got it looking great for the holiday season!

Iron Stomach

Growing up my friends and I used to say we could eat tons of Bojangle's food and not be phased by it because we had iron stomachs. This guy proves he has the real deal. I think my boys would love to have him around so they could jump on his stomach.

Christmas Tree

Here are some pictures of the boys busily decorating the tree. They had a great time handing all of the ornaments on the same five branches. We kept asking them to spread them out, but it just didn't sink in.

We have gone to an artificial tree (we did that two years ago), and don't regret it one bit. It's so easy to get it put together and in the house. We can put it up early without worrying about it drying out. And no lights to string up!

12 Days of Christmas

The best part is the carol of the bells segment:

Eco Babies

So apparently babies are the new target of the eco-nuts and global warming crowd. This woman sterilized herself because she concludes that children aren't good for the environment. I'm all for taking care of the planet, but this is just crazy. Stewardship of God's creation is important, but the Earth was created for man, and not vise versa. Sadly, many seem to have forgotten that.

I'm just curious, but by her logic shouldn't she sterilize the cows that are "emitting" most of the greenhouse gases too, and then consider committing suicide to reduce her own impact on the Earth? (I would never encourage that, I'm just showing the fault in her logic).

She should have just purchased some credits to offset her impact and reduce her carbon footprint. Then she could do whatever she wanted!

Do You Cornhole?

Personally, I've never played. Maybe we should get it for the backyard. The boys could play this game.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Io8X4pz_QJ0

Hey There Pilgrim

During Thanksgiving Caleb made all kinds of stuff at his preschool. Once he brought it home, Ben decided to play with it. Here he is with the pilgrim hat and the turkey Caleb made. On Thanksgiving day Ben played pilgrim. I would hide the turkey somewhere in the house. Then he had to hunt for it and shoot it so that we could eat our Thanksgiving dinner. Then he proceeded to cook it and spice it up (Picture 2). It was all very cute.

Black Parents, White Children...What Gives?

This short audio message (less than 2 minutes) is pretty profound when you consider the races of humanity. Be sure to check it out.
Link

Water Park Rollerblading

Sometimes the temptation is just too much to withstand. These guys are crazy.

Walkin' Through Bethlehem

Last night Emily and I took the boys on a walk through Bethlehem. Wake Forest Presbyterian was sponsoring it at their church. We had never been to anything like this, but apparently its an annual tradition at the church. The wait was a little long for young children, but I think they really enjoyed seeing the Christmas story come to life. The church obviously put a lot of work into it. I'm not sure if it is over, or if they are doing it any nights this week. Here is the website of the church if you are interested. Church website