....what will make the list :)

On a side note: I used to have a list of things I would like to accomplish/learn before I hit 30 (ie drive stickshift, teach myself guitar, etc). I've been thinking about this a lot lately and here's my new list, which I will edit as needed:
-drive a stickshift (I still stall the car WAY too much!)
-go to cooking school
-join an orchestra/band (need to polish up my flute skills)
-have my own vegetable/fruit/herb garden.

What about you? Do you have anything on your list?

...when you'll start loving CLOTH

It all started when Aidan was about 6 months old and I got a personal conviction from God to care more for the environment. I was just recycling as much as I can and driving a fuel-efficient car at the time but felt the need to do more. That's when I discovered cloth diapers (and environmentally-friendly cleaning products - but that's for another post, another time). My sister was using cloth diapers on her 2nd baby and I was intrigued but a bit skeptical. It took a lot of convincing and researching but finally I decided to take the plunge. I told myself I would buy a few cloth diapers and try it out for a few months. If it wasn't for me, then I would stop - no guilt. It helped that these modern cloth diapers are much different than the pins, prefolds and plastic pants. These babies are made of a combination of velcro, snaps, microfleece, WindPro fleece!, polyurethane laminate, oragnic velour, wool...and are cute to boot! :) There are many different designs for the different types of babies. Plus, they have these fun names: bumGenius!, Haute Pockets, Fuzzi Bunz, Snap-EZ, Swaddlebees, Pocket Change diapers, Dreameze, to name a few. Anyhow, it is more work and you have to get up-close-and-personal with poo but it's been so fun for me. I figure, since I'll be changing diapers at least 5-6 times a day, why not make it more colorful & fun? ;)

But there's more...ever since I started down that road, I've discovered and used cloth pads (AKA mamapads) and family cloth (a polite way of saying cloth TP!). The cloth pads are so much more comfortable and come in these funky fabrics that make the cycle a bit easier to endure. And family cloth has cut down the amount of TP that I've used, esp when I was preggo. Anyways, to avoid divulging too much info (ahem), feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments.

Finally, to be more 'green', I hope to, in the near future: drive a hybrid and walk more, use cloth napkins, and have a fun vegetable/fruit/herb garden. :) Happy Friday!

...when the need to simplify overtakes you

We've moved a lot these 4 short years that we've been married but everytime we move, it never ceases to amaze us that we have so much stuff. We always end up throwing things away, giving things away or freecycling (http://www.freecycle.org) like crazy. Then we ask ourselves why we bought all that stuff in the first place or why we kept it around all these years. Having kids doesn't help, either - they've now got stuff that they 'need' to play with, you know? :) We even have some boxes of books that we've moved from place to place and guess what? They are still sealed in boxes. ::blush:: This time since we're planning on paying a moving company to move our stuff, we've been more ruthless with decluttering. And it feels great! We highly recommend it!

I also found a blog written by a fellow lover of God who is living the simpler life but still enjoying the things that God has given her (she is super creative and I'm stealing some of her decorating ideas...hehe) - take a look!
http://walkslowlylivewildly.blogspot.com/2006/10/blissfully-happy.html
Her other posts are very thought-provoking, as well.
May God continue help us to live simply and enjoy the things that matter! :)

...when someone will need a good laugh :)

Kev and I were laughing sooo hard!! We thought there must be someone else who could use a good laugh. Enjoy!

They're Back! Church Bulletins. Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:

-------------------------------------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
-------------------------------------------------------
The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
-------------------------------------------------------
Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
-------------------------------------------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
---------------------------- ------------------------
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
----------------------------------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
----------------------------------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
----------------------------------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang, "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
----------------------------------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
----------------------------------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
---------------------- ------------------------------
The Rector will preach his farewell me ssage, after which the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."
----------------------------------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
----------------------------------------------------
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
----------------------------------------------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be, "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
----------------------------------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
----------------------------------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
------------------------------------------- ---------
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
----------------------------------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility.
----------------------------------------------------
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
----------------------------------------------------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may b e seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
----------------------------------------------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
----------------------------------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
----------------------------------- -----------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregati on would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
----------------------------------------------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
----------------------------------------------------
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
----------------------------------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
-------------------------------------------------------
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."

....where God will lead you

So someone pointed out that we never gave the details of WHERE and WHY we're moving in our 1st post, but just that we are moving again. To that, we say, 'Oopsies'...hehe. So without further ado - We've moving to the Clearwater, FL area mid-June of this year due to Kev's acceptance to a Rehab fellowship down there. Yuppers, there is more training to be done after residency for Kevin. :) This program lasts only one year, so we have no idea where God will take us after that. But one step at a time, right? We are also super-excited to go because someone who can hear God very clearly told us that God intended for this next season to be a honeymoon period with Jesus. :) What better place than Clearwater, eh? [So, if you are going to be in the area, please let us know - we would love to see ya!] Our God is always full of surprises and they are ALWAYS good ones. ;)

Aidan's laugh - i love it!

...how handy a camera is

I just thought this was cute, Aidan and Jana have each come a long way. Aidan used to ignore her, but now he always asks us "where's Jana?"

...what you'll learn at a marriage conference

Kev and I went to a marriage conference this weekend and it was beyond great for us. :) We had gone on one before and learned about the typical 'I" statements, love languages, how to fight fair, etc.. All those things are good to know and will help to resolve the conflicts that will inevitably come up in a marriage. But this conference took it a step further and covered forgiveness, bitterness, judgments - the deeper root issues that NEED to be resolved if you want to stop fighting about the same kind of things over and over. But the main 'ingredient' to getting healed in these area is: JESUS. He is the one that will expose the areas we need to work on and completely heal us up. After being married for 4 years, we already know that we cannot do this ourselves. In short, these are some of the things we learned this weekend:

1. Negative emotions are not bad - they simply tell you that you feel something is not right and/or you have a deeper issue that needs healing. And it's ok to be angry, if you deal with it in the right way.
2. Many times, 'sinning' is misbehaving out of your past hurts or woundedness - not simply reacting to the current situation. And, man, do we do this way too often. ;)
3. Many times, negative experiences in our lives that were never dealt with causes those wounds that impact us down the line. Sometimes, we don't even have a clear memory of it but it still happened.
4. Because I believe that God is omnipresent and chose my family for me, when they hurt me, it might skew my view of God & cause me to believe lies about Him. (I never even thought about this!)
5. We need to forgive & bless, instead - impossible things to do on my own.
5. In short, we all need Jesus in a bad way!

There was so much packed into the 3 short sessions that we are still processing through. Feel free to ask us about it, though! :) This weekend just made me appreciate God's grace more and revel in the fact that he still loves me despite how messed up I am on the inside. I am so humbled by my 'messed-upness' and I love Him so much more! Thank you, Jesus for this weekend!

...who's wondering when you'll post some pictures

Here's a picture of our family (taken Christmas '06), for those that are wondering what we look like. And it's here, as opposed to in the profile, because we haven't quite figured out Blogger yet. ;) More to come...

...when someone is looking for a new home :)

So we thought that, just for fun, we'll post the website to our condo up for sale:
http://njall.prudentialnj.leadmaxx.lantrax.com/search/index.cfm?Action=Details&DetailListingID=1387452

You can even view a virutal tour of our place by clicking on '360 tour' and 'Panoramas'. :)

Who knows, we might just make history by being the first family to sell their house through their blog - haha!

...when you'll finally give in to starting a blog :)

We had held off for the longest time, saying we'll never need a blog. But, here we are - writing our first post. :) Who would've thought. The whole reason we decided to start blogging was the fact that we're moving AGAIN - this will mark the FOURTH time that we will have moved in our 4 short years of marriage. :) So, this spot is where you'll find out where we are and what we're doing. We'll start with links to pictures (who doesn't love pictures!) since someone once said that pictures are worth a thousand words.

http://photos.yahoo.com/jacklynhsu
http://picasaweb.google.com/mama4jc

Enjoy,
Kevin and Jacks