Life in the Big Potato

I realize I haven't told you what's happening in ministry for a few weeks. Pastor Search Continues. It turns out the guy that the search team brought wasn't the guy for NorthStar.  So we are still diligently seeking new leadership for NorthStar. Children's Ministry We are working on beefing up our children's programming by providing consistent childcare during the service each week.  We are also working on long range plans for implementing a children's Bible study time. Men's Ministry The men are meeting once a month to eat breakfast and discuss men's ministry opportunities.  Last week I made sausage and biscuits, and we had like 10 men or so.  We are looking into doing a spring retreat and a summer fishing trip. Women's Ministry There is an unofficial women's ministry team that has been cooking up some ladies event's.  They will host a Wednesday morning Bible study.  They're also planning on going to a Beth Moore conference in the Spring...

Sorry for the barrage of posts, but I'm home today and trying to catch up. Fans of the Fox series 24 will no doubt be insulted by the title of this post.  I'm sorry, but this is for your own good.  I've only watched a few episodes of 24.  The first season I watched the premier because I thought it was a cool concept.  There wasn't a lot of hype back then, and I figured it wouldn't last.  I didn't get addicted because I was in seminary and only had time to watch WB shows (Everwood & Gilmore Girls).  Sad, I know. The next time I watched an episode was here in Idaho.  It was a rerun from I'm not sure which season.  I quickly got into it for all the reasons everyone else did.  Then in the very next episode Jack had to shoot a good guy in cold blood to stop a terrorist attack.  I tried to take this in stride, "Its just a TV show," I told myself.  But it really seemed unnecessary.  In fact I would definitely say it was gratuitous.  There are all kin...

Too much Christmas Coffee... This was the first time she had started "talking" like this.

This was actually only the third or fourth time she was eating solid foods. It was just cereal, and she didn't find it interesting until I let her try to do it herself. Now she's working on baby veggies. More videos to come.

We started veggies this week. Green beans- um ok. But squash we love! I think next we'll try some peas. Most everything ends up on L's face or hands, but we are having fun. Speaking of food, I heard a nutritionist speak to our MOPs group yesterday. She showed us a 2 1/2 year old McDonald's Happy meal including fries and cheeseburger. It was not rotten or molded. The fries were petrified and the burger was just really hard. She keeps the happy meal in the closet in her mud room, and uses it when she speaks to moms about their incredible role of promoting healthy eating.

The sun has been shining this weekend, and it's been a great break from all of the fog we had last week. We got bundled up and went to play outside yesterday. Mrs. Dorothy (from MS) bought L this snow suit so "she wouldn't get cold up in Idaho." She loves her suit. After walking around the park we had a nice coffee break downtown. We "heart" Coeur d'Alene.

Our fellow blogging friend Paul recommended this website. Echo I have been using it for a few weeks and really like it. You should check it out. If there is anything we can pray for you and your family about please let us know, and I will add it to my prayer reminders.

L and Pop! (her great grandaddy) Aunt Miriam is funny. We were very sad that my Grinny passed away the day after Christmas, but at her funeral we celebrated a life filled with love and caring for others. Her church fed our family a wonderful meal (enough for maybe a hundred people, with tons of delicious looking deserts). We were able to see family that we had not seen in a long time. Most of them had not seen L. Sandy took this opportunity to give me some tiny horns. L joins Popsy in his favorite spot. L connects with her roots and heritage. Wintry weather in Mississippi Our only nephew is a year old now and wonders if there are any more gifts. Great grandma Sanderson is a comfy place to lay back and enjoy Christmas. We just wanted to thank all of our families for making our Christmas holiday so special. It is not easy being so far away from all of you, but we were blessed to celebrate our Savior and His birth with ya'll. Thanks for cooking for us, showering us with presents, a...

Two and a half days of snow thaw has relieved our roof of most of it's burden.

Sorry for the deluge of updates, but we've kinda been out of pocket for like three weeks. *Warning: this post contains some boring details. It may require some skimming!* Weather We came back to Majestic Avenue and saw 4-5 foot walls of packed snow lining the streets, medians, and driveways. Amazingly ours was the only driveway on the street that was free from snow and ice. Our neighbors hooked us up, and since we weren't home to drive on it, no ice got packed down onto our driveway. It snowed another 10 inches the other night. Now finally, it has warmed up enough for a lot of the snow to melt and for icy roads to clear. Unfortunately, that leads to flooding. House The melt off has eased our fears over a collapsing roof at home and at the church. Our furnace has developed a sickness that causes it to never turn off. The heat goes on and off like normal according to the thermostat, but the fan is constantly running. I'm playing mr. fixit and ordered a part that I ho...

Nanananana NANA! What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor? Where's my tractor? L is like "Thistle Hair the Christmas Bear" spreading joy everywhere. She does not mind wearing hats. As long as they are in season. In front of the pecan plantation. *disclaimer by Bennett: "Dixie" is meant as a geographical determination and a reference to a particularly sentimental Alabama song that my wife listens to every year. It in no way is meant to suggest that we advocate the racism associated with the word "Dixie" or any other negative connotations that may be involved. We love you all!

We're home, and there is lots of snow all around. We were blessed by some sweet neighbors who took care of the house while we were gone. Here are some pics from our time down south. Enjoy. My dad flew down to NO to pick us up when we flew down south. He also took us all around the state of MS while we were home, and we were so thankful. He loves his new granddaughter. When she enters the room, it's like everyone else disappears. I think if he was having a conversation with the President he would stop in the middle of his sentence to play peek-a-boo with his grandbaby. We had the pic of them in the plane framed, and he was so proud. I think he probably has her flight school arrangements made too. Thanks Dad for being an incredible Papaw. L loves her engraved Teething ring :)