Micah turns 2!!!!!

Allison wrote a letter to Micah for his second birthday. The following is that letter. I love my family.

Dear Micah,

I first started these letters to Natalie when she was two. I am determined to remember the little details of who you all are at each age. You are absolutely a little man.

I just left your room a minute ago. You are surrounded by stuffed animals, mostly dogs. It seems that each night you add another one to your collection. We've quickly gone from allowing nothing in your bed to hardly being able to find you amongst all the stuffed things. You threw away your pacifiers a few nights ago. We cut them so they would lose the suction. You had six in your bed and tried each one of them. You sighed and handed them to me one by one, saying "boken mama, boken." I told you we had better throw them away. You stood at the trash can and tried each of them one more time before throwing them in the trash. Then you simply said, "bye paci's" and you were done. You haven't asked for them since.

You are however, the master at delaying bedtime. I can't count how many times you ask for water or a light or the covers each night. Even when you are exhausted, you push the limits. You have learned to open your door and sneak out. Fortunately for us, you slam it closed behind you, so we find you in the hallway each time.

You have learned to count to six. When you play your toy drum you tap the sticks together and say "two, three four." We aren't sure who you have heard doing that, but Daddy is so excited. He says we need a drummer in the Buchanan family. You love all things music. At church you start singing most songs on the second chorus, like you are observing at first and don't want to sing it wrong.

When driving down the road, you always point out planes, boats, busses, bikes, and helmets. You feel the need to point to your own head each time you see a biker wearing a helmet. You love watching Curious George and think Elmo is the best. You always want music on while driving. Your favorite is Sadie Hawkins Dance, but you will allow us to play other songs that Bob and Larry (veggie tales) sing.

Wait a minute...

I'm back now, I just had to give you some water...

You know mostly all your colors. You love to point at everything and tell us what color it is. I think I have to give credit to daycare for this. You knew most of them before we even realized it.

You love Heidi! She is your favorite friend. I love to watch you two play and interact. It's fun to know you've had a friend since the day you were born. Heidi gave you a basketball hoop for your birthday. You love it too and always tell us you want to play with your "ball hoop."

You also love Natalie/Sissy. Everywhere she goes, you go. You've just recently started battling with her and being more assertive. For the most part though, you just really want to play with her. She is quiet protective of you and you are of her. You defend each other when time outs are given. Natalie had to go to time out the other day. You put your hand on your forehead and said, "oh no sissy!"

As you can tell, you talk ALOT. Much more then Natalie did at this age. You are articulate and so funny. You play air guitar, dance your heart out, and love to do flips in our living room.

Most of all, you are gentle and kind. You take care of all of us and our dogs. You give the biggest hugs and slobber filled kisses. You still scream "mama!!!" when I get home from work. You quietly whisper "love too" before I leave your room at night. I pray that you always maintain such a gentle spirit. It is welcoming and charming. I pray that you always hear God whispering how much he loves you and you are forever able to say to Him, "love too." I pray you grow to be a man who loves God and loves others with as much as energy as you show us all the time.

I love you so much Micah man!

Good night!

Kindergarten

Here's what I've learned this morning.

You can tell which drivers have kids and which ones do not on the way to school.

Packing lunch for a kindergarten kid takes extra time when she is helping.

I can trust an adult I barely know with the well being of my child just because she has the title "teacher".

Natalie still likes to hold my hand as we approach a new adventure.

Parking at the public library next to the school and walking over was much faster than going through the "drop off circle".

It is amazing how many friends and family pray for you and your family when you start a new stage in life (i.e. starting kindergarten).

Don't expect to accomplish a whole lot the morning of the first day of school as your phone will ring off the hook. (That's a good thing.)

When a 5 year old girl is excited to go to school she will come out of her room in the morning dressed and ready to go before you even knew she was awake.

Little brothers can be thrown off by big sister's new school experience. However, a doughnut makes things a whole lot better for brother.

I have no doubt that we have a TON of stuff to learn this year but we'll do it together. We are now slaves to the school calender. Here we go!!!!!!!1

Welcome to Kindergarten!!!!!!!!

where have you been?

I have not blogged a new entry in a looooong time.

I have so much running through my mind lately yet can't seem to take a moment and get it done in writing.

This summer is my 20 year high school reunion. WOW!!!! I can't wait to see my old class mates. I can't wait for them to meet my wife. I can't wait to meet their spouses and here how they are all doing. I hope and pray they conveniently forget certain stories from high school days:-).

As of this writing I am sort of blond. That's right. We told the church that if they raised $5000 for missions during our annual penny crusade campaign I would dye my hair blond. It's actually more of a golden color. Oh well...anything for the Kingdom.

Natalie is wrapping up her second season of soccer. She never ceases to amaze me. She is so fast and is learning so much about team work. She is fun to watch.

Micah is trying his best to keep up with his big sister. He has turned into a little monkey and is climbing on EVERYTHING!!!!

This fall Natalie could very well be in kindergarten. I'm not sure any of us are ready for that. However, she can't stay little forever.

It seems like the further I go in life the more tempted I am to use cliches like "I don't know what tomorrow holds but I know who holds tomorrow." Well, duh. I know God holds it I just wish He would spell things out in a little more detail for me. But, I guess that wouldn't be faith.

So with that in mind I reckon I should turn the light out. Close my eyes and see what God has for us when I open them again.

Can't wait.

this day

I will never forget this day. Rather, I will never forget this date. December 13, 2003 the most amazing woman in the world became my wife. There is so much about that day I will never forget. How I got choked up during the vows.

How beautiful she looked in her wedding dress.

How we got out of town on our way to the honeymoon just before an ice storm hit.

The last seven years have been more than worth it. We now have two kids. Two dogs. A mortgage. A minivan.

Sometimes I look in the mirror and I have to laugh and asked "when did you become an adult?"

I wouldn't trade the last seven years for anything. I can't wait to see what's next.

Today Allison had to go to work. Working for hospice provides many moments people will never forget. Today she told a family that their loved one would likely die within the next six months.

I'm sure they will never forget this day either. I'm sure they will never forget this Christmas.

Sometimes we remember because we want to.

Sometimes we remember because we can't forget.

Sometimes we remember because of the lessons we learn.

Sometimes we remember because we just can't help it.

Even though I can't remember every single day that I have lived I do remember people that God has used throughout my life to impact me in an empowering way.

My prayer today is that I may walk in a manner so that one day, maybe a day someone will never forget, they will remember me and think, "wow, he helped me walked a little closer to Jesus."

Apology

To all of our friends, family, and especially WJACC folks...

I apologize if you have left messages on our home phone over the last month. We made a change in our phone service and we now have voice mail on our home phone. We noticed that we had not been receiving any messages lately but didn't think much of it.

Then today Allison realized the we had not set up the voice mail yet and when she did she discovered a whole list of messages that were waiting for us from the last month. So please know that we did not intentionally ignore you. We just didn't realize you had called.

Thanks for understanding.

Happy Birthday Micah!!!

Today my little man turns one! Wow! This past year he has spent the majority of his time with me in the office and going where I go. We have been companions and friends, working, playing, and sometimes even snoozing together. In a couple of weeks he starts going to a daycare class. There's a part of me that is excited to get my office back. I won't have to worry about books being pulled off of shelves or papers being thrown everywhere. I won't have to worry about stepping on toys, blocks, or balls. I can set up my office the way I want it.

Then again, in a couple of weeks this office will get a little more quiet and it will remind me once again that my kids are growing up way faster than I will ever be comfortable with. I am thankful that I have a God who loves my son much more than I do. And that says a lot.

I love you little man and I can not wait to see what all God does in and through your life. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Natalie!!!

4 years ago you entered my life. Before that day I never really liked the word "princess". However over the last four years that's exactly what you have become to me. My princess. I pray that as you grow in wisdom, discernment, strength, and beauty that one day God will supply that proper prince that will love you unconditionally. I love you baby girl! Happy Birthday!!!! Enjoy.

update-finally

Wow! It has been almost two months since my last blog post. I know some people have probably given up even checking for updates but I have not abandoned the blog.

Micah is now VERY mobile. He is not walking yet but he can get anywhere he wants to. Any day now he will take those first steps that send him into another stage of development and daddy into another stage of activity.

Micah is asleep right now and Sunday's sermon is ready so I'm taking a moment here for a quick update.

My dad's back surgery went well this week. For those who may not know, he had a herniated disc in his back causing pain and then numbness in his back and legs. Immediately after the surgery he experienced feeling in his legs again and the doctor said the rest will return in time. He has at least 6 weeks of recovery ahead of him so please keep my folks in your prayers as they attempt to get settled into a new house in the midst of this recovery.

Natalie has her first dance recital next weekend and she is beside herself with excitement. We can't wait to see her up on stage...(one of her favorite places at church).

Allison is doing well and continues to allow God to work through her at Hospice. Her ability to submit to God's Spirit in her job never ceases to amaze me...even when she's had "enough".

Back in April I had my latest check up at the doctor and had lost 18 lbs since October. I am no longer taking Prilosec and have had fewer problems with allergies. Notice I said fewer...just fewer.

I am setting a goal for myself of blogging at least once a week so everyone check back for more thoughts and things. Thanks to everyone who takes a moment to check in everyone so often.

God Bless!

Monday's weekend review

This past weekend was good but packed full. Here's a small glipse of what we experienced over the last couple of days.

• Saturday we stood in line for a looooooong time to register Natalie for VPK. It was a big moment for us as our little girl is growing sooooo fast.
• Something I learned about parents waiting in line to register their 3 and 4 year olds for VPK: Some like to dress ready to go clubbin'. You never know when they might break out the open bar and turn on the loud music! Seriously! Put some more clothes on.
• We had the chance to eat dinner with a friend who was in town for a conference Saturday night. Good times with Sarah! I just have one thing to say...red velvet cake cheesecake...you read that right and it was AMAZING!!!!!
• Sunday rocked the planet! Rev. Brent Ross is here at WJACC as our guest speaker for our Spiritual Enrichment week of services. Brent is a good long time friend and speaks God's Word from the heart. I can not even begin to describe how encouraging these services have been so far.
• Tonight is our next service. If you are in the area come out tonight and join us. The service starts at 7pm. We'll look for you.
• I was introduced today to a new BBQ place. In a word...YUMMO!

Time to get back in the groove

I took a few weeks off from blogging and in that time so much has happened that I thought I would just knock out some bullet points to catch up. So here's some of what I've experienced in the past few weeks.

• Celebrated New Year's in West Virginia and saw WVU lose to FSU at Bobby Bowden's last game as head coach.
• Saw Natalie play in the snow for the first time...including the construction of a snowman, snowball fight, sledding, and the high calorie eating of the snow.
• Had death impact friends and family as only that enemy can do. Pray for comfort for the grieving.
• Preached a sermon on the inseparable connection between God's will and God's word. God rocked that one!!!
• Was extremely encouraged by two believers who just want to be used by God and be supportive of their pastors. Thanks guys. You don't know how much that means.
• I turned 36 recently. Who knows what God has planned this year? At 35 I ran a marathon and saw the birth of our second child. That alone will fill up a year!!!!
• I am entering the world of electric guitar. It was once said that the electric guitar is of the devil. I guess I like living on the edge.:-)
• This Sunday is our homecoming at WJACC. We are kicking off our week of Spiritual Enrichment with additional services Sunday (6pm), Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (7pm). Brent Ross will be our special speaker through the entire week and I am pumped!! Brent is a man after God's own heart and has a desire to see people come closer to an Almighty God. Please invite your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors for this special week of worship.
• "Fireside Blend" from World Market is some of THE best coffee I have ever tried.
• We are going through Colossians in our Wed. night Bible study and God is showing us just how mysterious He really is. He is so cool and sooooo creative.
• Finally, I hope and pray that this blog has been an encouragement for someone this past year and it is my prayer that you may benefit from it in some way this coming year. Just by reading my humble ramblings you play a role in my walk with Christ and I hope this forum is an encouragement for you in your walk with Christ as well.
• ps. Here's a will willimon quote that made me laugh so hard the other day I almost had to pull over..."I saw a sign the other day that read...'a church for those who don't like church'...I thought, man I don't want to deal with folks that don't like church. I can barely stand the ones that love the church." (Don't be offended by that statement...just laugh and carry on. :-)

world of adventure

I love this picture!!!! Right now it is the background on my computer. Others have seen it and love it also. It's just a really cool picture. However, today I realized that there's more to it than that.

At 3 years old my daughter has a lifetime of adventure and opportunity ahead of her. She will test some waters.
There will be times when she will dive right in.
There will be moments when the waves will be over her head.
There will be beauty.
There will be noise.
There will be places to go.

Through it all she will have a daddy that is right behind her.
Encouraging her.
Supporting her.
Loving her.
Watching her.
Enjoying the moments.
Guarding her.
Laughing with her.

I love being a dad. It seems like when I start having those overwhelming paternal feelings God taps me on the shoulder and says, "You're my child too."

Wow! Thank you God for always loving,
always encouraging,
always guarding,
always supporting,
always watching,
always being God.

Florida Christmas

Do these pics really need a description? It's Christmas in Florida!!!

seriously??????

So I've been on vacation this week and we have had a great time seeing family and friends. We even had the chance to see some of the fall leaves throughout the mountains. I have actually worn long sleeves all week. The temperature dipped down to the 50's the other day and Natalie was convinced it was about to snow. Ahhh my poor little Florida child.

In any case I was having a great week relaxing when I came across this news story. My first reaction was "SERIOUSLY???". Then I couldn't help but just shake my head and be reminded of other well meaning people who are sooooo guilty of taking things out of context. Whatever your reaction is to this story please pray for these folks because I'm sure there is something more productive they could be doing to build God's kingdom.

Here it is...

Monday morning reflections

• Yesterday we experienced a great God service. God's word. God's music. God's generosity. God's people. God's timing. WOW!
• Saturday was a great day in the life of WJACC as so much of the church came together for the purpose of celebrating a wedding and a marriage. Congratulations Marshall and Sarah!
• My brother and sister-in-law were visiting this weekend and we had a blast together. Natalie took about 1 1/2 seconds to warm up to both of them.
• I will be blogging some of my thoughts from yesterday's sermon on giving soon so keep watching.
• Quote of the day...this one is for all pastors and worship leaders. "The hour on Sunday can be a time of wonder, a time of transformation, maybe even a time of awe."-Nancy Beach
• Check out this blog from Clayton...it should make all of us pause.

Tuesday Morning reflect

I hope everyone had a great day yesterday. We took advantage of Chick-fil-a's free chicken sandwich offer for lunch and loved it so much we almost went back for supper. You gotta love the cow!!!

Sunday's service was a little low in number. A lot of people taking advantage of the Labor Day weekend. I hope and pray you all have been able to take advantage of a little more family time this weekend. We had a great service. The music was hummin' and God worked despite my state of sleep deprivation.

Speaking of which, Micah had his two week check up today and he is healthy and strong. He seems to be changing by the hour. I look at Natalie right now and find it hard to believe that 3 short years ago she was that small.

In any case, enough rambling. Here are some cool links for you to check out today.

• Perry once again has another great, humbling post on leadership here.
• Tomorrow is the free online leadership conference "The Nines". Check out the info here.
• Here's a quote from Duke Ellington-"The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen."
• Clayton challenges with the use of boundaries here.

Have a great day!!!

Monday morning thoughts

Finally, I have a semi-normal Monday again. The last few weeks have been anything but normal. Last Monday we celebrated the birth of our second baby (and first son) Micah Christopher Hall...7lbs. 11oz. 20 inches long. I am still amazed that God has seen fit to entrust two children to my care. This is definately taking my trust in God to a whole new level. Here are some pics from the past week.


Happy Grandparents!

This is how he fit in mommy's belly.

Sissy is not sure about Micah's first bath at home.

But she is a proud big sissy.

Monday morning

For the second Monday in a row I started the day by receiving an early morning phone call. Today it was my Uncle Robert letting me know that my Uncle Raymond passed away in his sleep last night. Please be in prayer for all who are now traveling to Jacksonville and for all of the arraingements that are being made. Thank you for your prayers.

Tuesday morning reflections

• This past Saturday was another great day of serving our community. Even though numbers were down for the Back to School Bash God still allowed us to share His love in a tangible way for students and their families.
• We received a good number of prayer requests from people Saturday and we will be lifting those up in prayer.
• Our house had family come through this weekend and it was great to visit with Uncle Rob, Aunt Pam, and Diana. (We even let Rob pray in the service Sunday am:-)
• Sunday's service went very well. Another great day to Praise God for all He is and all He does.
• Please be in prayer for Logan and his family. Logan had a seizure yesterday morning and they are running tests today to try and find out what triggered it. Pray that the doctors have wisdom and insight into what's going on.
• This Sunday we are looking at Psalms 21-23. I can not wait! I get pumped when I think about God as our shepherd.
• Baby Micah is not here yet but could come any time now!!!!!!!
• The Randalls are at the hospital right now anticipating the birth of their twins.
• Remember, in all things..."To God be the Glory...Great things He has done!"

Car tunes

This morning I had an awesome worship time with Natalie as we were driving into the daycare/office. We were listening to a Veggie Tales cd filled with praise songs when we started singing "God of Wonders". The next thing I knew I here this little voice belting out..."You are Hoooooooly, Hooooooly". It really almost brought tears to my eyes to think that my daughter is praising God. Even if she doesn't understand exactly what that means God is being glorified through her.

My next thought was how little I really understand God and His praise yet He uses my feeble attempts to bring honor and glory to Himself. Wow....what a cool God He really is.

adventures in the potty

So today was "daddy/daughter day" at the Hall house. We had a pretty great day. Natalie seemed to be having a good time. I was becoming "father of the year" in my own mind. All was right with the world until the following episode happened.

"Daddy, hurry, hurry, I need to potty before I pee pee in my pants."

Alarms went off in my head as Natalie grabbed my hand and we ran to the bathroom.

Sensing the urgency of the situation I rapidly pulled Natalie's pants down and lifted her up and placed her on the potty. That was where I made my fatal mistake.

"Daddy, no...you don't do that!!!"

*Extremely confused look on daddy's face*

"I do that!"

Ok...my independent child is now squirming her way off of the seat and pulling her pants back up only to turn right around and push them back around her ankles. Now she is ready, without the assistance of Daddy, to wiggle herself back up onto the toilet seat.

"Do you need my help?"
"No."
"Ok...let me know if you need help I'll be in the bedroom."
"No, daddy, NO!"
"Ok, what do you want me to do?"
"Sit."
"Do you need help?"

Now, I know this was a silly question seeing as I had already asked it but I figured...hey, why not. She changes her mind often and I might luck out and get a different response.

"No."
No such luck.
"Then why am I here?"
"Because I want you here."

Ok...so there I sat with my half naked daughter who was sitting on the toilet trying to figure out if peeing was the ONLY matter of business she had to tend to at the moment.

Daddy/daughter days are rarely if ever boring.