Youth Falling Away

It is one of those things that doesn't get talked about very often. There are many different statistics but all show that a LARGE number of christian youth are falling away from the faith. Why is this? I recently watched a video that definitely made me think about how we are teaching our youth in our churches. It is an hour long documentary movie but it is definitely worth the time if you are concerned about what is happening to our youth. It is a very controversial video and has upset many people, but brings up a lot of good points. I know I now am personally questioning a few things because of the information in this video. I hope you have the time to watch it. I attached the link below to watch the full movie online. It is only online for a limited time though.

Divided The Movie

Weekend Full of Family

Friday we had my family over and Saturday we had Mr. G's family over (except for his parents - they were vacationing in Sarasota, FL).

Friday was also special because it was Baby G's first time in a swimming pool. He looked absolutely adorable in his swimsuit.

He was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.

Actually, it seemed like he could care less...

Unfortunately, the sun made it hard to see these pictures. Baby G seemed to love the water, in fact he probably could've fallen asleep in there. Granted, it felt like 120 degrees outside and the water was like bath water.

Afterwords we got a picture of all of mom & dad's grandchildren.

The 1 year old had just switched from his swimsuit to his diaper and he was enjoying walking around just in his diaper singing the Happy Birthday song. The girls were waiting for dinner to get over so they could get back in the pool. You can tell by their red cheeks that they love the pool.

Then Saturday rolled around and we had Mr. G's sister's family over. They are the ones who had a lil boy just 8 weeks before us.

His aunt absolutely loves holding him. It is neat to see him developing and knowing that Baby G will be doing that soon.

He has big gorgeous eyes just like his Mama.

Here he is with his daddy. That is one proud dad.

Unfortunately, this lil guy has been battling acid reflex and colic and it has made for an unhappy baby.

This was him last time he was over at our house. Fortunately, the doctors have figured out a good medicine for him and he is doing much better.

Now he is a happy lil boy.

Monkey & Me

It just happened. I had no idea introducing the two of them would bring a lifelong friendship. It was one evening when Mr. G and I had just finished up eating supper when I got out Baby G's bin of toys. We played with a few toys that didn't seem to interest Baby G too much, then I pulled out the monkey. It wasn't love at first sight. No...it definitely took Baby G a long time to look him over but then he started running his fingers through the monkey's fur. After a few minutes of this I thought it would be good to bring out a different toy....maybe one that made noise or sparkled, but as soon as I took monkey away Baby G screamed. Let me verify that Baby G rarely screams so this caught me off guard. I quickly brought the monkey back and Baby G smiled and continued feeling his fur.

Now Monkey goes with us everywhere and if you are ever wanting to make Baby G smile just pull out Monkey.

They even enjoy sleeping together.

Best Buds!

Unfortunately, again Marley is jealous. He will often try to take Monkey away from Baby G when we aren't looking. Maybe someday they all can be friends.

Bath Time

Giving Baby G a bath is always special, but it is usually more special when he is not screaming his head off. For the past month or so we have been giving Baby G a bath in the big bath tub with Mr. G in there holding him. Because Mr. G has to be gone all day at work we thought it would be nice for him and Baby G to have bath time be their time.

Sometimes Baby G doesn't like bath time and sometimes he seems to enjoy it, giving us lots of goofy faces. Just recently I was able to get a picture of Baby G during bath time and you can see what I mean by a "goofy face."

Hold me, Daddy

Hold me, Daddy

And never let go.

I need you, Daddy

More than you could ever know.

You are my hero, Daddy

There is nothing you can't do.

That is why when I grow up, Daddy

I want to be just like you.

Because you take the time to hold me, Daddy

I will never question in my mind

That you truly love me, Daddy

'Cause you were never hard to find.

When you hold me close to you, Daddy

I feel safe in your strong arms.

And I know, Daddy

You will keep me from all harm

Sometimes when you hold me, Daddy

You read me the Bible too.

Since I can't read yet, Daddy

I am learning about God through you.

I may be small now, Daddy

But someday that won't be true.

And I will be able to do great things, Daddy

Because of everything I learned from you.

I will have a strong faith, Daddy

Plus confidence, love, and sincerity.

And it all started, Daddy

That first day you held me.

Marley & Baby G

I am sure that there are many of you who are wondering how Marley is doing. Well, it has been a long, hard road for Marley, but I believe he has adjusted quite nicely.

Marley actually was my only sign that I was about to go into labor...if only I had noticed it then. For two days before my labor started Marley started acting really strange. He was constantly wanting to sit next to me (more than usual) and he did not like it if Mr. G came near me or him. He would actually growl and snap at Mr. G. At the time we thought that Marley was acting really strange, but then a few days later I went into labor and I truly believe that Marley had a sense that was going to happen.

Then the morning that I was in labor Marley became even more protective of me. He had to be laying on top of me, especially during contractions. He was even trying to lay on my head at times. It was a really nice gesture, but not the thing I was wanting at the time. Then when Mr. G and I took the drive to my mom and dads to drop Marley off we forced him to sit in the back seat so I could concentrate a little better. He laid there and literally just stared at me. Amazing enough, this dog knew what was going on and it was really bothering him.

The three days that we were gone from Marley because we were in the hospital having Baby G, my mom told me that Marley was a wreck. He didn't want to play with the other dogs, which is very unusual, and he even lost his appetite. If I ever questioned whether Marley loved me or not, now I know for sure that he does.

Since Baby G has been home Marley has gone back and forth from being protective of Baby G to jealous. Mr. G and I have been trying our best to still find time to play around with Marley and I will try and pet him as much as possible, but I am sure that he still feels replaced. However, anytime that Baby G is sprawled out either on the bed or the couch, Marley has to be laying right next to him, usually touching him. We have to watch Marley really closely, but he seems to know to be careful. Here is a picture of the two boys sleeping on the couch together.

I really believe that they will be best friends someday.
So for those of you who were worried about Marley you can rest assured that he is doing very well and likes his new baby brother.

Picture or Video???

Have you ever been put in the awkward situation where you thought someone was taking a picture of you and they were actually taking a video instead. It happened once to Mr. G and I on our honeymoon when we were out swimming with sting rays. One of the workers was holding what we thought was a water camera and she told us to look in her direction. So we stood together and smiled. After about 5 seconds she had to tell us that it was a video and to act normal. I could show you that video but instead I am going to show you my brother when he got caught in the same situation.

I had just taken his picture holding Baby G because they both looked so uncomfortable...especially Baby G.

Then I decided to take a video of them but forgot to inform my brother of this. Of course, he handles it with class because his fiance is sitting right there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3M_CH_qwZ4