Isaac is back HOME!

Thanks to all you guys who have been praying for Isaac. He is now back at home! Continue to pray for their family as they are still going through a lot.

Back in the hospital

Our dear friend, Isaac, had a short visit at home. He is back in the hospital. Please pray for his recovery so he can once again return home, but for good this time!

Here is what his parents have posted on their blog:

At his first pediatrician's appointment yesterday, Dr. Hunt evaluated a rash that had been brewing as well as his fever. Blood labs revealed his white cell count more than double the normal range, revealing infection. So we're back in the PICU awaiting the results of cultures drawn yesterday. Preliminary results indicate some type of infection in the blood, possibly staph. Full results will come back within the next 48 hours. After several tries (remember - tricky access), a delicate IV was established in Isaac's hand so that he could receive antibiotics. In spite of the labs, our sweet boy seems to be very comfortable & happy in his "new room." Right now, we're looking at a minimum of two more days in the hospital, possibly a week or more depending on culture results.

Sharing talents

We had a great weekend! We were able to get some work done around the farm, but mostly able to relax and enjoy each others company. It was nice to be able to reconnect after a long week!

One of the highlights of the weekend for me was when we went to the Antique Machinery Show. Andy heard about it and we thought, we'd check it out. I'm sure glad we went. There were some neat things to see, but what I'll remember for years to come wasn't the machines.

It was a gift I received.

Andy heard there was going to be a woodworker there. We found his display, which left much to the imagination, but that's not what I'll remember.

He shared with us all about the history of his work and showed us his very first piece he ever carved, a shoe. Since that day in 1990, he has carved almost 1,000 larger pieces.

That's not likely something I'll remember...

After a few more minutes of talking he pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to us.

It was a cross.

He had carved it.

We marveled at the craftsmanship and complimented him on this huge mission he accomplished, and started to hand him back his cross. He said I could have it!

He has up to this point made 10,000 of them and passed them out throughout his journey through life. That was his last one. Number 10,000! He told of places where these crosses have traveled, reaching to the ends of the earth. He never has sold one. He only makes them to give away. He's made 10,000 of these gorgeous pieces, only to hand them off to someone who he will probably never see again.

He doesn't do it for fame, and he sure doesn't do it for fortune. He does it out of the love that God has shown him.

That encounter has been on my mind ever since.

What he does is do what he loves and he does it in the name of Jesus Christ. He gives to others a portion of what he himself has been given...

That's what I'll remember!

Who said change was good?

Bottles are bad for babies teeth... blah blah blah blah blah!

Well, so is grinding them! That's something that Samuel is trying out for size, and it seemingly fits for the time being!

So, against both of our wills, we are attempting to transition from bottles to sippy cups, boo! It's not going well.

He only likes a certain few. Which I wouldn't mind if they actually didn't leak, but of course, they do!

I got some awesome ones that fit his little paws perfectly, but more importantly don't leak, even when they find themselves being plunged onto the kitchen floor!

He hates them!

I even got some great suction bowls so he can't launch them across the kitchen. See pictures for how great they work!

TIP: If you find a great deal on a seemingly great product for children, DON'T and I repeat DON'T buy multiples of them! Test one out first to see if they even like it! It'll save you a whole lot of money, and frustration! But, of course if you do only get one, they inevitably will love it! That's life I suppose...

Enjoy some pictures of the Samuel Eckert Escapades this past week!



He's looking for treasures in every drawer he can possibly find. Poor kid, isn't finding much.

Samuel has also realized he can climb! Looks like he's reading for a rocking horse! (Grandma's don't worry... he's hasn't taken a nose dive... yet).

Samuel's Birthday Present

I am building Samuel a rocking horse for his Birthday. I have been very excited about this project because it is my first with some old fashioned tools I just ordered off of Ebay.

The style of woodworking I am really interested in is called traditional woodworking. To clarify, I will make the horse start to finish using only traditional hand tools. No electricity, no modern gadgets, only things you might find in an exhibit at Colonial Williamsburg.

I identified my interest in this type of work in 2005 when I began building a log cabin dog house for Lutalo and Gamba.

Anyway, this is my first project that will involve mortice and tenon joinery, and experimentation with a variety of old tools you will see in the pictures. The project will be complete in time to present to Samuel on his Birthday, July 17th.

As you can see, he has been helping me with it.

A Father and Son

A father and son,
There's no greater pair around.

Side by side they roam
They are off with a leap and a bound.

Happy Dada's Day Andy,
And happy 11 months old to you, my dear.

I can't believe in just one month,
You will be A WHOLE YEAR!

ISAAC IS HOME!!!

Please continue to pray for this family as their battle with Isaac's health continue. Click here for the whole story and more pictures of this beautiful family. God, thank you for letting us witness this miracle. We believe!

Stop, Drop, and Kiss

If I had two ounces of writing skills I could have written this exact story. I want to encourage every wife to read this. It might be long, but I promise you, you will get something out of it!

One small gesture sparked romantic evenings.
by Mandy Houk

A typical evening at five o'clock in our house would find me cooking dinner, my two small daughters desperately in need of a bath, and my ears perked, awaiting a magical sound—the garage door opener. This was the blessed signal that my husband, Pete, had arrived home from work. Yes! I'd think, mentally pumping my fist. Reinforcements!

As he came through the door, I'd give Pete a choice: "You want to make sure the rice doesn't boil over or get the girls in the tub?" And that was on a good day, when he walked in smiling.

If he dared to come home dragging and tired. … Well, game on, buddy. Get ready for the Exhaustion Olympics. "Oh, you would not believe the day I've had," I'd groan. "I did 14 loads of laundry, went to the grocery store, the post office, and the bank—not the ATM, mind you, the actual inside of the bank, standing for 45 minutes in that roped-off line." (Cue the dramatic sigh.) "You've got to help me with dinner; I'm about to keel over." So there.

Then our pastor began a series of messages on marriage. The first three focused on the husband's role. As I diligently took notes, I was struck by my great fortune in being married to Pete. He's tender, patient, tolerant of my insanity, generous, steadfast, loyal, and loving. By the third Sunday, I couldn't get all his wonderful qualities out of my mind. All day Monday I was preoccupied with the kind of thoughts I'd had when we were first falling in love. So when Pete arrived home that night, things weren't all that typical.

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Hip Hip Horray

Samuel took his first step yesterday!

I'm having mixed feelings about this. Of course this was a looong time in the making, so I'm excited that he has finally accomplished the task at hand; but this is yet another fact that my baby is growing up, and growing up quick! So, here I am with a "walker!" (okay, let's be honest now, he stood up, took a step, and dropped)

Sunday he turns 11 months old and with that I have decided to start weaning him off of the bottle. Should be interesting. Because at 12 months I'm going to start weaning him off of formula. I'm not sure if it's that I don't want to put him in shock at all this change, or if it's my emotions I'm trying to watch out for; either way, it's happening all too quickly.

And Two Shall Become One

Kevin and Briana are getting married!

We are so excited for you both to have found one another, and are taking this next step in your relationship, with engagement. What an exciting time! We pray that God will bless you as you start your new life together!

Let love and faithfulness never leave you… write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3

Fun in the Sun

Andy, Samuel and I flew to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina to meet up with my parents and my aunt Becky the week before last for a nice get-a-way. We had such a good time! We just spent the week relaxing and enjoying life with little responsibility. It came at a perfect time because Andy started a job a few days after we all got back. I'll let him blog about that later.

But, of course, no one had a better time than my mom did! The love grandparents have for their grandchildren just go unmatched! We found so much joy seeing them spend many precious moments together and welcomed the extra help! This was Samuel's first pool experience, so Nana wanted it to be a memorable one. She got him a pool float of an elephant that he just adored. You could hardly keep him out of the pool. He had been to the beach before, but of course it's a new experience each time as he gains more and more understanding of his surroundings. He built sandcastles, was buried up to his belly, went in the ocean, and ate more sand that should ever be allowed! He also got his first hair cut last week.

Nana was working all week on Samuel learning where his nose was, and the very last night after being asked a couple dozen times "Samuel, where is your nose?" he responded by bringing his finger up and touching the tip of his nose! What a nice reward for Nana!

There are just too many good pictures to add them all to this post. So go here for the rest of them!

Sporting his new hair cut with Nana.

Teaching Dada the crab crawl!
(Normally called the Bear Crawl, but since we're at the beach, it's the Crab Crawl).

Loving his first pool experience.

The Honey Farm Pictures

I know we've been promising pictures for quite some time of our new home, and haven't delivered. So, here they are! I haven't taken many pictures inside yet, since we aren't totally unpacked yet. The rest of the place is more exciting anyways. Enjoy!

The owners of the farm have a huge garden, 54 x 104 feet, which they have allowed me to use as much of it as I would like, so I of course took them up on it! I'm calling it my "extreme gardening experience." I have planted tomato plants, jalapeno pepper plants, and seeds of: green peppers, scallion onions, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, basil, spinach, beans, and wildflowers! It has been fun, but it's such hard work! I'm keeping my expectations low...