It's been awhile...

Yes, it has been awhile...too long! But IT'S finally here..SUMMER vacation! I'm hoping this will be a time to sit back, relax, and enjoy life! I have literally been anticipating summer vacation since my first day back from maternity leave in February. I have lots of goals set and time to accomplish them! One of them being blogging! I can't promise any profound posts or wonderful, easy to read writing. BUT I can promise some cute baby pictures and some stories to go along with! ;)

I'm back at it starting...........................................................NOW!

Today (Saturday, May 29th) was such a fun day! We were able to spend a lot of time together as a family with very little on the agenda. This is becoming quite the rarity in our house. Graham was also able to experience several "firsts" today. Take a look...

First #1--Solid Food!

We tried some organic bananas to start...he LOVED them. There wasn't any spitting them back out or closing the lips to deny the spoon. :) I'm pretty sure he was way past ready to start solid food.

The kid LOVED them. He didn't get anything

on his bib and very little on his face. He was a pro!

We're going to try avacado next. I'm expecting a different reaction then what I got from the bananas! :)

First #2--Sippy Cup!

We were at Toys r Us getting new monitors and I noticed sippy cups with the age of 4+ months, so I thought we might as well give it a try.

He did really well with a little bit of help.

Biggie boy holding it with two hands!

Haha...moving on to playing with the sock!

First #3--Daddy's Finger

As we were browsing the aisles of Toys R Us we came across the baby toy aisle. I'm always, to a fault, looking for a new toy for Graham that will be the "perfect" one to entertain no matter the circumstance or environment. Well, I came across an Elmo doll, of all things. I, not thinking, passed it to Graham and he instantly began chewing on it. I said to Jake "he likes it, we should get it for him." Jake's quick response was "he doesn't need it." So (after I begged a few times), we continued through the store allowing Graham to play with the Elmo, intending to put it back before we left. When we got to the check out Jake, without thinking, took the Elmo from Graham. OH.MY.WORD. It was an instant poochy lip followed by the saddest cry you could ever imagine.... the kid was screaming. Instantly, to prevent the stares, we gave the Elmo right back to him. Of course, he was immediately content. Jake and I both looked at each other, smiled, and KNEW we were buying that Elmo! As we walked out of the store I, with a smirk, said to Graham "Yep, Graham, you sure do have Daddy wrapped around your little finger already." Jake smiled at me with some sort of Daddy pride! And it begins....;)

Elmo hasn't left his hands since we bought it!

First #4 (for mama)--The Baby Bullet

I decided several weeks ago that, because it's summer break and I have the time, I want to make my own baby food. I've done plenty of research and it's obviously the healthier route for Graham and more resourceful for our family. As I was doing my research, I kept coming across the "Baby Bullet". It's basically a blender with a few extras that make it easier for preparing/storing baby food. I looked everywhere online for any sort of "deal" and the cheapest I could find was $90. HUGE bummer! So, with Graham starting baby food that day I decided we should head to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some covered ice cube trays and stick with the blender we already have--I knew it would do the same job (just not as convenient :)). So....while I was browsing the aisles of BBB I came across the blenders and on the middle shelf noticed.....THE BABY BULLET! I was so excited, even before looking at the price! :) I then looked at the price and it was $60, AND we had a 20% off coupon making it $48!! Yes, that is still a tad pricey, but much better than the $90. Also, one of my darling students gave me $50 as an "end of the year present" (such a nice gesture:)). So essentially we paid nothing out of pocket, and I have the baby bullet that seemed to be only a "dream". :) :) I am so stoked to get going on it!! As soon as Graham is finished with his last jar of bananas we are plunging, full force, into the homemade baby food! I'll keep you posted on how it goes....

In the Bennett household this was quite an exciting day! I'm so thankful to the Giver of these blessings....large and small!

Oh, and we ended our night with a nice stroll around our quiet neighborhood!

My boys! :)

Colic in Chicago

This last Saturday we packed up minty, grabbed the diaper bag, bought some "colic calm gripe water" and headed up to Chicago for our second holiday party with friends. We had been planning on having Matt and Jill down to our house, but when Tyler and Jackie mentioned a party at their house with friends from Michigan, we decided to head up and meet everyone there.

We had a great time, and Jill happened to have her camera and awesome new flash with her for some photo ops. Sorry for the crazy hair, I think I ripped about half of it out on the way up listening to Graham with his upset stomach in the back seat. Enjoy the pics, and happy new year to everyone!

p.s. A plug for Colic Calm. The stuff works wonders. Supposed to eliminate some of the stomach discomfort of newborns...Thanks Gret!

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  The Girlies
  
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  Auntie Jill
  
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  The men (minus Davers)
  
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  Uncle Ty getting in some practice
  
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  Cutest baby ever :)
  
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  Thanks for the pics Jill!
  

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity

The writer of Ecclesiastes was one of the most wealthy men ever to live. He speaks of how "I withheld nothing from my eyes." This guy literally had everything that he ever wanted. Everything he saw, he gave himself, and yet, his conclusion about self-pleasure, about living wisely, about the fact that our lives in general leave little impact on the world, about life its-self is that all was vanity. Literally everything was simply fleeting, or "like a vapor," pleasing for a short time but ultimately unsatisfying. This is what we have been talking about in our small group lately and I was fortunate enough today to have a student direct me to the testimony of a guy who is a modern day equivalent of the Ecclesiastes author. I could attempt to qualify that statement, but the video below does a much better job.



Praise God that he is still saving those who are lost, and giving hope and strength to the weary. When we finally arrive at the point where we find our identity in Him rather than the fleeting pleasures of this world, we get fulfillment, satisfaction, and peace greater than anything this world can afford. Thanks for the reminder "Head."

Too much TV

I am not a huge fan of most of the shows that contain judges these days. America's Got Talent...actually no most of them don't but are convinced they do. American Idol? No more Simon this year and a talk show host who pretends to know something about music? Not so much. However, Laura and I have been watching a newer show on NBC called "The Sing Off." The program is an amazing showcase of acapella talent from across the U.S. Every song on the show is sung completely absent of instruments (other than the human voice of course). I have been VERY impressed with the singing from every group. It's on twice a week and is an hour well spent.

Now, onto the commercials. The majority of the commercials in Bloomington-Normal are local commercials that range from the terrible carpet salesman to the used car guy that uses a computer synthesizer to talk like a chipmunk to the pawn shop that remakes classic rock songs using their own lyrics... pretty bad stuff. That's why when I see a good commercial, the kind that makes me laugh, I find it absolutely necessary to share. Consider this the first post of many to come, featuring my favorite recent picks.

The first commercial that I found hilarious is the new AT&T commercial advertising their mobile network's reliability and speed. The commercial is great because it presents a situation that we can all relate to... putting our foot in our mouth. The actors perfectly fit the part of the typical office staff and the situation plays out fairly close to what would happen in real life. I loved it!



The second commercial that left me wishing I still had my DVR was the Kevin Bacon commercial for the Logitech wireless keyboard along with Google TV. It took me a while to figure out if the guy posing as Kevin Bacon's biggest fan was actually him or just someone that looked really similar. He does such an amazing job of playing the part that it was difficult to determine. I die laughing every time he crosses his finger at the end of the commercial. Great acting Kevin. Bravo.

Baby Buddies

Tonight was the first meeting of Graham and Maddox, who are scheduled to be future best buddies. Maddox is the son of our good friends Matt and Amy Horine who are in our small group Bible study which meets every Tuesday night. Maddox was born almost three weeks before Graham was, but the difference in size of the babies was unbelievable. It seems inconceivable that in just three weeks time a baby can grow that much!

Although Graham and Maddox are the only babies that are currently attending small group, every other couple, four other couples in total, are also expecting. Surprised? So were most of us. This last summer, Matt and Amy were the first to announce they were expecting. We followed them with our announcement two weeks later, then Zach and Karissa, Jake and Melissa, Rachel and Jordan, and FINALLY Ben and Caitlin! It was almost a joke by the time everyone had given their announcements. There must be something in the water down here.

We are so thankful for the amazing christian friends that the Lord has provided us and I can say with confidence that our small group has been the catalyst to starting most of the relationships we share today. Church on Sunday's and mid week services are great don't get me wrong, but I truly believe that small groups are a necessary part of every church. The reason I say this is that a large purpose of the church is to promote and facilitate the close fellowship of believers. Meeting once or twice a week in a large congregation and only giving at max 20-30 seconds of time to "meet and greet" does not accomplish that purpose. By participating in a small group, you allow people to connect on a much more personal level and promote interaction, openness, and accountability. Any of you who have been a part of one would readily agree I'm sure.

If you aren't a part of a small group Bible study, or your church doesn't have them...start one. Pick one day a week or one day every other week that you can meet for an hour or so, study the word, share prayer requests, and then just hang out. You will be amazed at the insights you are able to gain into God's word by hearing others perspectives and at the deep relationships that are formed when you connect with other believers on a spiritual AND social level.

Well enough of my ranting, the wife and baby are both sleeping and its about time I do the same. Until next time.

A Picture is worth...

As you might have seen at the bottom of our thanksgiving post, our friend Summer Knobloch is an amazing children's photographer. We were so excited to have her over for our first photo shoot with our brand new baby yesterday! This picture is just one of the photos that she uploaded to her blog as our little sneak peek. You can check out some of the other pictures she took by visiting the links above.

I could make this post extremely long and share all the details about the photo shoot and how we had to crank the house temperature to 79 degrees to keep the baby comfortable while he was nakie, or the hour and a half it took me to find the black v-neck shirt I hadn't worn since the beginning of summer, or the fact that we waited for 2 hours for Graham to fall asleep (he didn't) but for now, I'll just leave you with this picture and the promise of more to come. Christmas cards coming soon!

A Story of True Love

Today on my way to work I found myself contemplating something that I had thought about previous, but never carried the weight that it does now that I have my own son. The situation I was thinking about was what Mary must have been thinking when she realized how privileged she was to birth God's son, Jesus, into the world, and at the same time the curse she would bear the rest of her life for the same reason. Now before you scream "BLASPHEMER" think about the situation. At first it might not have been apparent to her what Jesus final mission on earth would be (death on the cross to redeem the world). It wasn't obvious to any of the Pharisees who were the spiritual gurus of the day, and it wasn't even known by his closest friends, the disciples, as evidenced in Peter's words when he says in Matthew 16:23 in reference to Christ foretelling his death:

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”

Jesus mission may not have been completely obvious to Mary from the beginning as many assume, but lets suppose that the angel Gabriel, who also foretold Jesus birth, told Mary that her Son would be the redeemer, or that at some point in Jesus life she understood that Jesus was not just a story of a miraculous birth, but the one promised by God to redeem mankind in Genesis 3:15. The gravity of this hit me pretty hard this morning as I listened to a Christmas song that I had never heard before. I have embedded a youtube video that includes the song, as well as the song lyrics describing the above situation:

Hold on now, i gotta take a deep breath
I don`t know what to say when i look in your eyes
You made the world before i was born
Here i am holding you in my arms tonight
Noel, noel, Jesus our Emmanuel


You`re here, i`m holding you so near
I`m starring into the face of my savior, king and creator
you could`ve left us on our own, but you`re here
don`t know how long i`m gonna have you for
But i`ll be watching when you change the world
I Look at your hand, they`re still so small
Someday you`re going to stretch them out and save us all
Noel, noel, God with us Emmanuel


You`re here, i`m holding you so near
I`m staring into the face of my savior, king and creator
They could`ve left us on our own, but you`re here you`re here
someday i`m gonna look back on this
The night that god became a baby boy
Someday you're gonna go home again,
But you leave your spirit and flood the world with joy


You`d be here, i`m holding you so near
I`m staring into the face of my savior, king and creator
They could`ve left me on my own, but you`re here you`re here
Hallelujah you`re here hallelujah
You`re here

The emotions that accompanied this realization were overwhelming and I found myself wiping tears from my eyes as I rushed to work (already late, whats new). Having a new son myself, and trying to put myself in Mary's shoes, and having to live knowing that someday my son would give his life in such a gruesome manner was unbearable. I can't imagine the burden that could have been if Mary did indeed know the future fate of her first born son. Certainly if Mary wasn't aware of the situation, God certainly was, and yet in spite of the pain it must have caused Him, he followed through with his promised plan, and sent His son to this sin ridden world to die for a race of wretched men. I say all of that to say that I am so thankful that our God wrote and directed the most amazing story of love that has ever been told. The timeless message of our creation as humans, fall into sin, promised redeemer by God, and then the fulfillment of that promise through the birth of a baby boy will never get worn out, outdated, or overplayed. The message of our salvation through His birth, life, death, and resurrection is just as relevant today as it was when the writers of the New Testament penned it on the parchment. Praise God for his super-amazing grace to each and every one of us undeserving and ungrateful humans. Be sure to thank Him today for His love and mercy in your life, as well as the salvation you enjoy through the blood of His Son. If you want to know more about this amazing story, be sure to check out viewthestory.com where you can learn how to accept Him as your savior and make Him the Lord of your life. You won't regret it.

Merry Early Christmas.

Credits: You're Here - Francesca Battistelli
Extra: You can download a free MP3 Copy of this song at Amazon.com