January post updated: Check Original January Post Below

For all those who read the first edition of the January newsletter, you may have noticed that we forgot a big part of our month. right about the middle of January, my parents came down from Canada to spend 4 days with us in Waukesha! We had a great time catching up, navigating the backstreets of Milwaukee from the airport, and sharing our little bundle of joy with them. They were very proud grandparents and relished those 4 days with our little one. Mom could hardly let go of him. Dad enjoyed meeting his first grandson, and we enjoyed their company immensely. On that Saturday, we headed to the mall to go shopping, eating out and enjoying Cinnabon with them, as well as spending some time in Barnes & Noble as well as getting some new clothes. We got to eat out at Applebee's for supper and ended the night on a high note. The next day, we got to show them our church, Elmbrook, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing with them as we prepared for school to start the next day. Unfortunately, due to me doing busses and classes starting at 9am, we couldn't drive them back, but our Dean of Marrieds was gracious enough to give them a ride. Those four days were probably the highlight of our month...besides Olivia's birthday. ;) We love you mom and dad!

February

Hey again! I finally got around to writing then next month update. In February, there wasn’t too much activity on our end, but we were able to witness a noteworthy thing. On February 4, NTBI live-streamed the debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Ken did an awesome job of laying the foundation of the Christian worldview and how Nye has nothing to stand on. Unfortunately, I think most people missed how poorly Bill did because he is very good with presentation. However, that’s beside the point in a sense because at least now there are many more people asking questions! Praise God!

Tannin has a tooth coming in (bottom right canine), and got to try some solid foods for the first time. We found out that so far, he loves carrot mush, green bean soup, pea slop, and prune paradise. He really, really loves prunes. Oh, and he lost his voice for a few days. It was kinda sad, but then really funny. His complaints were mostly silenced and when he was happy, his pathetic sounds made Olivia and I laugh. Never a dull moment with that boy. When he would try to laugh, no sound would come from his mouth. The most he could muster was a bubbly grin. Apparently the technical term is called blowing raspberries.

For me personally, I was able to go to the Men’s No Regrets Conference at Elmbrook Church with my small group buddies. It was great and very challenging. Definitely gave me new insights into everyday life. One that has really been sticking with me is that we are to live for Christ because of God’s approval, not to earn it.

Olivia completed her Daniel/Revelation chart, or scrapbook to be more precise, for school. Because Tannin was teething, and thus NOT enjoying life, lol, Olivia was having a very hard time trying to get homework done. Her solution: she made him her homework. Our son starred as Jesus, the Antichrist, an angel, 1 of the 2 witnesses, the Bride of Christ, and the world. To clarify, she posed him for pictures of key events outlining the end times. Then, she compiled everything into a scrapbook. My wife is so creative!

I was a little more boring and did a scroll, modeling it after the 2-sided scroll that John saw Jesus open in the vision. On the front side the 7 years tribulation was outlined, all the way to Christ’s return, while the backside outlined the establishment and reign of Christ into the Eternal State. Lots of diagrams…and sewing. Olivia had the bright idea to sew the pieces of paper together to make it look more authentically like a parchment scroll. I couldn’t help myself and subjected my hands to the brutality of the feared sewing needle…it wasn’t that bad…after 2 hours. It took me 3 days to finish.

For Valentine’s Day, I took Olivia out to the mall in Brookfield, ate out (dessert was Cinnabon) and then got her some new shoes. Nice red ones. Almost neon. She’s loves them, lol. I can’t remember what I got. I got something though…now she is frantically searching her memory to remember. Oh wait…we got it. I got the Beginning series with Creation Today, presented by Eric Hovind. I’ve been wanting that DVD series for many years and now I’ve got it! The reason we couldn’t remember what I got was because we haven’t been able to watch it yet, but we are planning on doing that soon.

January

Hello friends! So, here is the first newsletter for the year 2014! I just wanted to begin by thanking God for an awesome 2013 and all the ways we saw Him working in our lives and the lives of those around us! Even in the midst of great sorrow, Olivia and I were able to witness and be a part of a dear couple’s life as they went through a miscarriage. Seeing their dependency on Christ and seeing our church small group pull together was a blessing and an honor to be a part of. It’s hard to believe that in 5 months we’ll be leaving that group for Alabama, but it is our hope to stay connected to them in whatever way we can. They have been some of our closest friends since getting to NTBI and we are so glad God led us to the Early Years Marriage classes at Elmbrook Church so we could meet them. Anyways, back to January.

In this month, we have had the privilege of seeing our son Tannin grow into a little giant. He was in the 95^th percentile the last visit we had at the doctor’s office, and he continues to grow. He graduated from size 1 diapers to size 2, and we were even trying size 3 at the end of the month. I was also able to witness him roll 3 times on the couch…but he refuses to do it ever since. Unfortunately, Olivia wasn’t there to see it. Oh well, he’ll do it again soon enough. He’s getting strong enough now, Olivia propped him up on our coffee table and he held himself up long enough for her to get a picture! He was only 2 or so months at that point! Besides physical growth, he has had his personality skyrocket as well. He loves to smile and continually reminds me of how much I love him when he gives his silly grins and makes his funny sounds. We finally learned some of the basics of the baby language and now have a much easier time figuring out what he is trying to say.

For all those who read the first edition of the January newsletter, you may have noticed that we forgot a big part of our month. right about the middle of January, my parents came down from Canada to spend 4 days with us in Waukesha! We had a great time catching up, navigating the backstreets of Milwaukee from the airport, and sharing our little bundle of joy with them. They were very proud grandparents and relished those 4 days with our little one. Mom could hardly let go of him. Dad enjoyed meeting his first grandson, and we enjoyed their company immensely. On that Saturday, we headed to the mall to go shopping, eating out and enjoying Cinnabon with them, as well as spending some time in Barnes & Noble as well as getting some new clothes. We got to eat out at Applebee's for supper and ended the night on a high note. The next day, we got to show them our church, Elmbrook, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing with them as we prepared for school to start the next day. Unfortunately, due to me doing busses and classes starting at 9am, we couldn't drive them back, but our Dean of Marrieds was gracious enough to give them a ride. Those four days were probably the highlight of our month...besides Olivia's birthday. ;) We love you mom and dad!


As to our lives, it has been one hectic rush, but a good one. At the beginning of January, we were able to see our friends’ newborn baby; they’re a part of our small group. She is pretty adorable, and even though she was technically a few more oz than Tannin at birth, Tannin had grown so much that he dwarfed her in the hospital room when held side by side. We also started doing Krav Maga, the Israeli martial art, and we’re loving it. We got a membership for 3 months, so we’ll see if we can keep going with it after that or not.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention…I am now a certified Bus Driver!!! I got hired on the 3^rd by First Student and have been driving ever since. The weather has made for a few snow days and interesting driving conditions, but so far there haven’t been any accidents J. We started school back up on the 12^th with registration and started classes on the 15^th. In this month, our classes were Intro to Tribal Missions, Philippians/Philemon, and Daniel/Revelation. I have to say though, Intro to Tribal Missions has definitely been my favorite class so far. Hearing our school president’s testimony and learning about Animism was a blast and a challenge. Daniel/Revelation has been good too as I continue to sort out eschatology (which I will be posting on my Theology page once I get to it).

My Pontiac breathed its last when I attempted to pick up a friend from the train station, only making it halfway before overheating. Later on, we found out it was because I had a blown gasket…which was a $1100-1200 fix. It still hadn’t been imported, so I couldn’t sell it for parts. So I had a friend help me bring it to the scrap yard and got a little money for it. At least it wasn’t a total waste.

On the 25^th, we celebrated Olivia’s birthday by going out to The Melting Pot for dinner. She is now officially 22!...So old, lol. We had a great night, trying out fondue and enjoying cooking food at our table, making breaded shrimp, teriyaki steak, chicken, and something else as well as other dipping sauces on the side, and that was just the main meal. The appetizers and dessert were delectable as well.