Employed, new Baby, NanoWrimo, amazing Grace

We've been busy - hence the lack of posting since June!
Jason
1. In July he got hired at Bridgeborn through Pinpoint IT, and is currently employed there as a 3 month contract-to-hire.  On Oct 29th, he was told his contract was up and that they were letting him go.  Quite stunning, especially with a baby due on October 31st.  He prayed, shared and coveted the prayers of others to Jesus that he be employed - and Jesus took care of the needs, supplying the exact same job not 15 hours later.  He is currently awaiting a full-time position.
2. Is currently engaged to complete NaNoWriMo (link).  He is currently posting both his entry (here) and a narrative on his efforts (here).  As of this entry he has written just around 5,000 words for his entry and another 5,000 words for his narrative.
3. He is working with the Home Educators Association of Virginia on their website. (link)
4. Finished his undergraduate with God's help and received the certificate!
5. Survived a staph infection - likely caused by too tight shoes, foot bleeding, and walking in the rain.

Ruth
1. Recently gave birth to an amazing baby boy; his name is MichaelAndrew Isaac, he was born Nov 02 (2 days "late"), weighed 10.5 lbs, was 21 in long (with 15.5" head), and the labor took upwards of 10 hours.

2. Ruth finished her courting/engagement/wedding/anniversary gift of a crocheted web-comic.  It took hundreds of hours to finish:

3. She is currently engaged in planning out the epilogue of her book "Wanting Nothing", which will be a rewrite of the last third - the book up to this point is what happened in her courtship with Jason up to where she was at the time of her writing and the remainder covered her hopes and dreams; God had a much better plan.

Peter

1. Is very, very close to both running and speaking.  He has been seen stumbling forward in a less-than-controlled manner and speaks words at random.  It is clear he has an ever-increasing vocabulary, but usually only "speaks" during calmer circumstances, predominantly curiosity.

2. Spent the anniversary of his parents at Ruth's parent's house and enjoyed massive visiting time.

3. Has not mastered multi-variable calculus.  Although his parents are not worried, more evaluation testing might be in order.

4. Still getting used to being a brother.  Is still young so the transition should (hopefully) be relatively easy.

Michael

1. Was born 11/02/09 (less than a week ago).

2. Is single, according to FaceBook.  Look out ladies, charm personified is out and about!  His parents have their work cut out for them.

3. Is mostly feeding on a schedule - the times of which are getting progressively further apart ... to the satisfaction of both parties involved.

4. Has not mastered the uneven bars and thus has worried his parents over his apathetic attitude toward gymnastics.

Other

As always, this kind of sparse documentation always leaves out sooo many details.  Here is a summary of some stuffs:

* Midwife came and was a blessing - especially since the baby was born 2 days "late"

* We finished refinancing the house - and because of God's providence had to pay little towards it

* During the two months in which Jason was unemployed - the cupboards were NEVER bare.

* The screened-in porch in the house has been mostly (90%) converted to an office with lots of windows!

* Massive family/friend help has been integral to keeping efforts to improve the general feel of the house - special massive "props" go out to God and Ruth's father.

* David (Jason's friend) has given us two couches - so no sitting in chair-only for visitors!

* A high-chair, training potty, double-stroller, and alphabet foam floor mats all showed up ... blessings toward raising our children!  In particular, the high-chair has redefined how we feed Peter.

* Swagbucks no longer offers the acoustic guitar (as mentioned previously).  In love and with planning, Ruth bought Jason an acoustic guitar for their anniversary - it came with an electronic tuner, spare strings, and a primer book.

Mirth and its fruit/seed

-: Jason :-

* In late April/early May, I was let go from my position at Cox Auto Trader.

The circulation arm of the company was bought out - I was not included in the migration.

* Visited the food pantry over at Sovereign Grace Church

My very first impression of the church was the peace - deep, amazing, and simple!

The administrative aspects of the pantry were a true representation of Christ - they were organized, there was no hint of disrespect or dishonor, and it appeared as if God was truly blessing people through this church. The manner in which it was accomplished caused me to praise God and made me want to participate as well as contribute when next I have goods or services to offer.

* I completed the course work for my degree ... several times.

Lesson: get your transcript notarized and any agreements in writing!

Note:

FEMA.gov (link) offers free college credit/continuing education unit classes.

Be sure your college accepts them, and when complete, submit a request for a transcript.

* Was part of the effort to put on a Home Schooling convention, through HEAV, last weekend

It is put on every year, and no year is easy, though some are more flawless than others.

This year we had more help, more attendees, more lives touched, and amazing speakers.

* During the convention, I took time out to listen to Voddie Baucham.

He had powerful stuff to say - my personal take away is

I can be more attentive to Christ, a better student of Scripture, and also to discover what the Bible has to say about things on things to which I have not applied, or not consistently applied, in my own life.

* I recently signed up to do E-Learning on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

I've set a goal for myself to accomplish successfully the Certification by July 4th.

The Preparatory courses are six in number, and in addition to being interesting information, I have first hand knowledge that not having it is occupationally detrimental.

-: Ruth :-
* Has been looking lovelier than ever!

As was possibly mentioned earlier, she is pregnant and due October 31st.

We don't know the gender but, as with Peter, are blessed to know the child is healthy and will wait on Christ.

* Was also busied this past weekend with the convention.

As the primary Office Moblization Coordinator, she makes sure stuff gets to the right places and safely arrives at various offices, stations, and tables as appropriate. During the convention itself, she and I run errands, working help the teams that ensure smooth running. Our efforts usually have her one of the last five people, every day, to leave the Convention Hall

* Was able to visit grandparents (and Peter's great grand parents) immediately following convention!

They live in Richmond, so the convention was a perfect opportunity to visit.

During that meeting, Ruth's dad was able to visit - having four generations in one place is a trip!

* Has officially finished her secret anniversary project - Jason will have to wait for October!

Jason knows it took hundreds of hours to finish.

Jason also believes it to be a craft project of some kind.

this is about all Jason knows - and he is excited!

* Has recommitted herself to healthier choices, both in exercise and diet.

Ruth has mentioned that having a healthier form makes pregnancy easier.

It is also is, perhaps, one of the reasons Ruth is gloriously adorable!

-: Peter :-
* Now chirps when he's in a comfortable place.

Jason believes he chirps nearly the moment he becomes comfortable.

Jason has seen him chirp in this same way when he is finally comfortable with individuals too.

* Has taken one or more steps three or four times.

Jason believes the convention helped - that much space encourages an expansive mindset!

Jason believes the only thing holding Peter back is a little confidence and some patience.

... thus Jason is excited and interested to see how much running Peter will be doing.

* Has had a boil the past few days.

Jason has learned that many boils indicate the potential for the spiritual presence of anger

thus Jason and Ruth are mindful of that potential area of prayer need in Peter's life.

Peter is mostly healed now and Jason gives all credit to Christ, who strengthens us all!

* has migrated, in the past few months, from an old room and earlier feeding methods

This has included a migration to the auto-feeding of Ruth via the obvious natural method to more oatmeal concoctions - its amazing what you can add to oatmeal to suggest a different foodstuff :)

This has included a migration from his old room in the middle of the hallway (current a stanging area of unsorted goods) to the corner bedroom.

This is part of our schema to give him more room to play, more room to grow, and less disorder as his sibling arrives in a few months.

-: General :-

School - Schooling has been on our minds of late. I have been getting an undergraduate through Thomas Edison State College (link) and I am still encouraged by their flexibility, the fact they offer all of their classes online, the fact that so many of my own credits transferred from TNCC (link), and the fact they offer classes that start every month gave me the opportunity to knock out 36 credits in 36 weeks. What I'm still dealing with is that their transcripts are dynamic - and sometimes credit for a class one week may not count the following week because the transcript available online is not a frozen pdf but a living document that reflects the ... actions and thoughts of the college system. Not necessarily good or bad, just a point of which one should be aware is that this causes a potential for frustration.

In addition, as happened several years ago, Ruth and I are planning on offering an Algebra review class this summer! It will cover Algebra I, Algebra II, some Trigonometry, some Geometry, and is intended to get the target student ready for either Pre-Calculus, the screening test before one might enter a college or classroom environment, or for students who have taken the courses and need a more personal aid/mentor before attacking it again. It is of importance to note that the student should already have had the material, or be an excellent student, because the rate at which the material is covered is fine for a review but perhaps a bit rushed for an initial introduction. Rate, time, and duration to be discussed, but we will likely offer discounts for multiple students from families.

I've been trying to build up enough SwagBucks to buy a guitar! Swagbucks is simply, much like other sites, a search engine. I believe it ties in results from Google.com and Ask.com. Once you've logged in, using the search will intermittently offer SwagBucks - which can be redeemed for various prizes. If you consider it something in which you'd like to participate, every SwagBuck that you earn is also given to the person you signed up under. My own signup is available here. Please take a look and use the service if useful.

No progress on the aforementioned June novel(s) - taking care of Peter, the house, and trying to find alternate income have made the focus and/or core material for the novel(s) of scant or nonexistent character. To be sure, I'll be participating in NaNoWriMo and perhaps this year I'll actually meet or exceed the word count requirement. I have to say that 50,000 words is no minor feat.

YMCA, school, and an end of the ballroom classes

-: Jason :-

* In late January I signed my family up as members of the YMCA as a pre-anniversary gift.
* I completed the Y-Change program at the YMCA - with certificate!
* Nearly 2 modules complete - 4 more to go and I'll have a Bachelors of Computer Science!
* New job duties - a co-worker has found a new position and I have agreed to take on his duties in addition to my own. I have lots to learn in the two weeks I have until he moves on.
* Recently read the book Sphereland (the sequel to Flatland; different authors)
* Recently picked up some art for the garage (two Escher prints)
* Reorganized the back room into an actual office
* Started another blog, this one of daily thoughts (haikusnapshot.blogspot.com)


-: Ruth :-
* Completed the Y-Change program at the YMCA - and received a certificate!
* Has been attending more intensely the YMCA than I; last Thursday she lifted 55,000 + lbs !
* Has been regularly losing weight at the YMCA and was in the top 10 in three different areas!
* Quit delivering papers for Auto Trader last Friday


-: Peter :-
* Is speaking / chirping / singing with a great deal more regularity
* Can almost stand unaided and is just this close [] to walking
* Is a sight to behold when I get home from work
* recently survived his first experience with colds - God healed my little boy up quickly!


-: General :-

Ruth and I completed the ballroom classes a few Wednesdays ago - we should be getting certificates for that in the mail. So now I can dance six styles poorly (Waltz, Rumba, Cha-Cha, Swing, Foxtrot, and Tango) instead of one (think the movie Hitch). Still feel I need a little more practice - but at least I have something to practice now.

I have been considering developing a basic application for Facebook as an initial attempt. Something along the lines of a big red button. The user would get points for pressing a button. There would be statistics tracking how long the button had been pushed, how frequently it had stayed down, if it had been pushed by a visitor (maybe each Facebook profile would have it's own button?), and perhaps points for pushing a friend's button. You could then spend the points on different button styles (colors, types of buttons, sizes of buttons). Lots of things are possible, even with a simple button-pushing application. The key is getting SOMETHING started.

We've been considering each writing a little 70 - 200 word novel by June. If we were to throw in editing, polishing, a nice cover, and the content were properly targeted, we have just the market and perhaps could sell enough to pay for the books. It would be an interesting endeavor, I think.

General Status Update #2

Hey all - our lives have been busy ...

-: Jason :-

* I finished the Shack - powerfully written fantasy that has the potential to bring many people back to Christ Jesus.  I was personally moved by the foreword.  I believe the essence of the book is true and that not any single aspect of the content to be impossible.  Miracles happen every day.

* A few weeks ago I grew a full beard. In the last three days I've shaved it. I took pictures ...



- As you can see, I appear to lose several years of age and maturity. It is quite odd :D

* As mentioned previously, I have placed my web-comic online. Please post comments if you would like to peruse.

* Almost a week ago, my back seemed to be less than stellar.  Through the Lord's healing, and a wake-up call to slow down, my back has been healed!  Praise God for His healing mercies!

* School starts for me, Lord-willing my last semester doing undergraduate work for a Computer Science degree. Books are expected to be ordered before too long and away we go! I'll be studying Astronomy, Programming in C++, Network Technology, and Software Engineering. A big shout out goes to God for allowing this past year to occur with all its grandeur. Truly He is amazing!!


-: Ruth :-

* Ruth got her car inspected and it failed - but that is where Dave Ramsey's suggestion for an emergency fund kicks in! We've had, built up, used, and built up again this thing several times now - and I heartily endorse it!

* Ruth has been an amazing care-giver, a reliable and loving domestic engineer, and a consistent stabilizing force in my life - I am blessed to have her as my wife!

* I learned recently that Ruth has drawn closer to God as a result of living with me.  Apparently she prays a great deal as my wife!  The reality is that we are two very different people and it is only Christ Jesus that allows us to function as one flesh.

-: Peter :-

* Peter is adorable!  He continues to grow into his skin, sometimes over the course of a week, sometimes over the course of an hour!  At least five times, we've seen Peter go down for a nap and wake up visibly different.  The boy grows in visible spurts!

* Peter has gently improved his crawling, having made his first "official" crawl stance today.  This is in addition to his tendency to crawls backwards.  Yes, he IS my son.

* Peter will, no doubt, make many friends over the course of his life.  I believe one of his newer friends is a Rumba!  We found he fits nicely upon it.  Initially we placed him a box on the Rumba - later, we let him ride the Rumba for a short time as well ...

 - Which didn't last too long but was a joy to share with the family.

-: God :-

God has shown Himself faithful every day in so many quotidian details that to list them all would be only evidence of my own inability to recognize every aspect of His presence in my life.

A short list would be:

• We were able to visit a family relative
  
• We observed amazing weather
  
• We made it home safely after being driving more tired than we were aware
  
• I continue to be gainfully employed
  
• Peter continues to be a source of amazement and humility as I identify many of his weaknesses as my own

May you praise Christ daily in your heart, life, walk, and mind.

General Status Update #1

-: Jason:-

I've been reading "The Shack" (author: William P. Young) ... and won't endorse it yet; but, I've personally been encouraged by the raw hope and faith exhibited by the character/author.

We start our ball-room classes up next week - I have not practiced often (enough). Haven't quite worked out consistent recollection of the distinction between dances. It comes with time, I expect.

I'm looking forward to starting classes next week - last semester for my Bachelor's Degree!

I have been considering starting a web-comic.

And I just realized I've been getting phonemes and phenomes backward!


-: Ruth :-

Has been busy doing her fair amount of chores, t'toring, d'livering, b'keeping, and Petering.

Has been working on something of a secret project that I look forward to observing when she's through.

Has been mulling over the epilogue to a novel she wrote.


-: Peter :-

Seems SO CLOSE to speaking - he's been repeating his phonemes quite a bit. I expect he'll be a bit of a talker :D

He has been standing up in his portable crib, with help. Not quite strong enough to climb up there by himself, but getting there.


-: Praise Reports :-

1. Clan Miller stopped by last weekend to do what they do best - enhance!
It was amazing to see my house be transformed by God's grace and copious effort into a place where I can really see clearly the vision God has placed in my family's heart.
It is humbling to know how much I cannot do myself and how much simple trust and acceptance in Christ can transform ... EVERYTHING!

2. I finally got my grade for Programmable Logic Controllers: A!
I find all for of the classes resulted in praise resports this semester and seeing His hand in reconciling my efforts was a huge blessing.
It was only through hand of Christ Jesus that I was able to stay focused, learn so much, and grow as a student this past semester.

Well, I'm out - hope your walk is stronger now than ever before.

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