The Logsdon Link

2008-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ariana Claire...

was born May 6th, 2008 at 1am. She was 8lb 6oz and 19 1/2 in. We're so excited that she's here. Praise the Lord for a safe and healthy delivery. She has been the joy of our lives for the past week now. Any of you ladies who are interested in my very exciting birth story will have to call me for the details. In the meantime, I love being a mommy!!
Here are some pictures from Ariana's first week...

One happy family...............................................................One of Ariana's few awake moments during the first couple days

She's such a sweet baby. We love her so much!!! ...................................................................................

Mommy and daughter bonding (kind of)......................................................Daddy is reading one the classics to his baby girl.

2008-04-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Ariana's Nursery...

is now completed. The bedding is washed and ironed and on the bed; the clothes are all put away; the projects are completed and on the walls; and the glider is waiting to be used. Now all I need is little Ariana, but she still has a few more weeks of developing to do. Enjoy the pictures!

2008-03-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

To Ireland and Back

Our trip to Ireland was all that we expected and more. We were able to see and do a lot of things. Our traveling companions, Don and Katrina Hines, were so much fun to be with. They made our trip that much more enjoyable. Thanks guys for going with us! Ireland was beautiful! It's so different than the states. It was so green. The countryside consisted of rolling hills, rock fences dividing properties, lots of quaint little villages, and lots of sheep. We also saw parts of Ireland that were rugged and mountainous with crazy narrow, winding roads. The weather was cold and rainy, but we did have a few sunny days. The light rain was never enough to hinder us from doing anything. Our accommodations were great. The townhouses were on a beautiful piece of property with a lot of cool stone structures and walls. The resort also had an old castle and a beautiful old manor house where people could also eat and sleep. There was also a golf course on the resort where this year's Irish Open will be held. Well, I could go on and on about our trip. But instead I'll post some pictures for you all to enjoy. (Caution: There's a lot of them) .

Day One: Traveling. Notice our green Ireland getup.

Day Two: We spent touring the grounds of our resort, relaxing, and playing games in the manor's library while drinking Irish coffee and hot chocolate

Day Three: We saw the Blarney Castle, kissed the Blarney stone, drove through the city of Cork, toured the small fishing city of Kinsale, and saw the south eastern coast of Ireland called Old Head.

Day Four: We drove through the city of Killarney and saw a beautiful cathedral. We went on a carriage ride through the state park. On the grounds of the state park was a beautiful old manor house and chapel. The scenery at the park was beautiful. We saw lakes and mountains and waterfalls. Later that day we drove through part of what's known as the Ring of Keary where TJ drove through the mountains on some very winding, narrow roads. We were able to see the more rugged, mountainous countryside of Ireland.

Day Five: We drove to the western coast of Ireland to see the famous cliffs of Moher. After seeing the cliffs we spent the rest of the day driving around seeing more of the countryside. We found another castle to tour, saw lots of sheep, and saw some mountains covered with limestone.

Day Six: We spent all day in Dublin. Dublin was a very unique city. There was a lot of history to see. We went to the famous post office where the Irish revolution began. We walked around Trinity College. Don and TJ were looking forward to touring Trinity's famous library. There was a cost to tour it and they couldn't take pictures, so they decided not to. We saw the Dublin castle. We tried to go into the old city prison, but we got there after it closed (much to Don's dismay). We walked into a pub where they were playing traditional Irish music. But, when we found out they didn't serve food, only drinks, we had to go upstairs to find some dinner. We ended our evening in Dublin doing some souvenir shopping.

Post Office .............................................................................................................Trinity College

We got around the city in the tram. It would have been to crazy to try to drive.

Day Seven: After a very busy week. We all decided to spend our last day relaxing around the townhouse and manor. The guys did some swimming while Katrina and I sat by the poolside reading our pregnancy magazines. We took some more pictures of the grounds and went into town to eat some pizza. We spent the rest of the evening playing games.

Time to go home: Our day began around 3:30 in the morning. After a long day of car travel and air travel and sitting in airports we got home around 10:00pm Virginia time. Which was actually 3:00am Ireland time. So yes, we were up for about 24 hours with a few hours of sleep here and there on the plane or in the airport. Needless to say, we were so glad to make it home and sleep in our own beds.
We praise the Lord for a great trip full of memories. We also thank the Lord for the safety He gave to all six of us (including little Ariana and Kate).

Here are a few more pictures of what you might see along Ireland's countryside:

2008-02-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day with their sweeties. Because it's Valentines Day, does that give me the right to brag on my sweetie?? Probably not, but I'm going to anyway since I'm sure most of you would do the same thing :). I woke up yesterday morning with a rose next to my pillow. I got out of bed and saw that there were a trail of roses leading into the office. In the office, TJ had left me more roses, a new watch, some other little gifts, a card, and a video message on the camcorder. He had left the house before I woke up. He usually wakes me to say goodbye, so it was a surprise when I woke up to no TJ but lots of roses. It was so sweet and thoughtful of him. I didn't get to see him until after he got off work that night. So we actually spent most of Valentines Day apart. But after TJ got off work, we went out to eat at a little authentic Italian restaurant we love called La Bella Italia. The food was delicious! I didn't get a picture of TJ with his Valentines gift. But I got him chocolate covered strawberries (one of our favorites) and a new Fossil watch for work (which he really needed). Just like all of you with husbands, I'm so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful sweetheart to celebrate with on Valentines Day. I love him so much!!!

My surprises! ...............................................................Valentines Day picture with my pregnant belly showing. :)

Side note:
On Valentines morning I also woke up to the most snow
we've had on the ground all winter. Isn't it alot!! L.O.L.

2008-02-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

Update AND Super bowl Sunday

I haven't been too faithful in my blogging attempts. Sorry for those of you who check my blog and have seen that I've been a little slack this month in my posting. TJ and I have been busy. TJ is in the midst of one of his busiest semesters of seminary. But we can see the light.. After this semester, he'll only have two spring classes to finish. Along with his school work and job, he's been helping me with projects for the nursery. Preparations for Ariana are well underway. With only about three months left before her expected arrival, there is still lots to be done. I will post pictures of our completed projects and of Ariana's nursery when we are closer to finishing it.
Praise the Lord, my pregnancy is going great! Ariana reminds me daily of her presence with her activity inside my belly :) I love it! I haven't had any unique food cravings, just food in general and ice cream :). I'll post some updated pregnancy photos when I get a chance. We appreciate your continued prayers for Ariana's health and delivery and for TJ and I as we prepare to undertake this huge responsibility of parenthood.

Sunday night we enjoyed the big game with a few families from our church. We were out of church and back to our friends house just in time for kick off. Congrats to the NY Giants! Not being much of a football fan myself, TJ and I had a little wager going on as to which team would win. Our fun little wager gave me an incentive to be more into the game...it worked for the last half of the game. I was actually enjoying it since the game was so close. He wanted the Patriots to win; and since I didn't care too much I cheered for the Giants. Needless to say, I won our wager. :) We had a great evening filled with delicious food, friends, and football.

The men were glued to the TV. I'm surprised they found
time to break away for food. :)

Me and my sweetie!.......................................................................The little ones weren't too interested in the game...What great poses!

Our host, Terry and Pastor Eric

2008-01-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

Summary of our Christmas and New Years...

It's so hard to believe the holidays are over. Although I must say, I've been pretty excited for this year to come. This Christmas was one of the most relaxing ones we've had since being married. TJ and I had our own Christmas in the morning. Our main gift to each other was a video camera. Which we plan on using quite a bit once Ariana arrives. Our good friends, the Hines, came over that afternoon for Christmas dinner; and the rest of the day was spent playing games, relaxing, and eating (which is becoming my new favorite past time).
New Years Eve we went to the Hines house and were joined by some friends, Stephen and Sarah Branine. The evening was filled with lots of laughs and good food. I even managed to make it past midnight without getting too tired.
Now that the holidays are over, preparations for our little Ariana are under way. New Year's day was spent gutting out Ariana's soon-to-be nursery. We took down the bed that was in there and TJ put up the crib that was given to us. We cleaned out closets and drawers and bookshelves. It's pretty bare in there right now. It's very exciting for me to think about decorating and setting up her room. I'll post pictures of her room when it's done, but that won't be for awhile. Her arrival will definitely be the highlight of our year.
I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. May your year be filled with lots of memories and may God be glorified through our lives this upcoming year!

Christmas dinner ........................................................................................................................TJ carving the ham.

This pic is for those of you who were asking about my baby bump ......................................Our New Year's Eve group

Here's a fun picture of Niko. He's so festive!

2007-12-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas Blessings

Remembering Christ's birth is one of the greatest blessings I can think of this time of year. We can't even imagine what is would have been like for God to humble Himself enough to be born as a man. As Christians this time of year, we often meditate on the Christmas story so we can focus on what this season is all about. I challenge you to also meditate on Philipians 2:4-10. Think about what it would have been like for God to take on the form of man; to live His life in the confines of the human body. He did this so that He might die for you and me, and so that we could be saved. Praise God for sending His Son to be born a man, and thank you Jesus for your example of true humility and sacrifice!
We'll I didn't intend to give an online devotional, but I also wanted to mention another great blessing that God has given to us this Christmas season. God has blessed us with a little baby on the way. Today I am officially half way through my pregnancy! Yesterday T.J. and I went to see our midwife and have our monthly checkup. We were able to find out something very exciting that I wanted to share. (Warning: The secret of the baby's identity is about to be revealed.) Any of you who want to be surprised until after the baby comes should stop reading right now... :) God has blessed us with a BABY GIRL!! Her name will most likely be Ariana. The pronunciation is "Are - re-ona." We are very excited. It's so fun to be able to talk to her in a more personal way. After TJ and I found out, we celebrated over breakfast than went to Babies R Us to buy our first baby girl outfit together. We're praising the Lord for our little Ariana Logsdon! (Middle name will be revealed later). Merry Christmas everyone!

Her head(left) and part of her body and spine ........ ..........................................Of course, the first outfit had to be frilly and pink!

2007-11-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to our Family and Friends!

Ten Things We Are Most Thankful for This Year:
1. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
2. Our new baby - on the way!
3. The healing of my hand
4. Our wonderful church family in Williamsburg
5. Family/Friends who love Christ - and us! :)
6. Each Other
7. Freedom to Worship
8. T.J. starting his last full year of seminary
9. God's continuing, faithful provision of our needs
10. Our new, free couch! :)

2007-11-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

TJ's Birthday!

My handsome honey turned 26 last Friday. We didn't officially get to celebrate until Sunday night. His restaurant of choice that night was P.F. Changs, a local Chinese bistro. After dinner a couple friends came over to have cheesecake with us. One of his main birthday presents was a new fishing reel to go on his newly purchased rod. My husband has become quite the fisherman lately. It's something he has come to really enjoy. I'm so thankful to God for giving me such a great husband. My life would be so different without him. This is one of many reasons why no one has more to celebrate on his birthday than I do. I celebrate his life so much because my life has been changed forever because of him. Happy Birthday sweetie, I love you!!!

The mighty fisherman! Maybe he did so well CCCCcccccccccccccccccccccccccccc TJ enjoying his delicious
because of his new reel. :) ccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc lettuce wraps!

2007-11-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Visits from our family

While I was recovering from the burns on my hand, we were blessed with some of our family coming to visit. The visits from my parents and my grandparents were already planned before I hurt my self. Since God knew ahead of time what would happen and that I would need the extra help, it was a blessing that He had their days already planned to be here with us. TJ had already planned a vacation week from work so he and my dad could do a lot of fishing. With my mom around to help me, they were still able to get a lot of fishing time in. My dad brought down a small boat for them to use and left the boat so TJ could use it when he wanted. TJ was like a boy at Christmas; he was so excited. My mom stayed an additional week to be with me. Since I still wasn't working, we were able to do a lot of fun things and build memories together. Then my grandparents came the weekend after my dad left. They have never been to our house here before. I was excited for them to be able to see where we live. They stayed for a few days and my mom left with them. The same day they left my sister-in-law, Theresa, flew in to be with us for a week. She was a big help and it was great to spend time with her. We had such a wonderful time with the family last month. We were so blessed that they were able to come.

Mom and I went to the Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach

TJ's first big flounder. Dad holding a striper.

My Nana and Papa/ Theresa, TJ, and I on a picnic together

2007-10-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

God's Blessings!

God is so great; His grace is so abundant. In the last few weeks since I hurt my hand, He has shown us His love in so many ways. Have you thought recently about the fact that God doesn't always bless us based on the fact that we do or don't do something right. I use to think that if I was walking with God and doing the right thing that God would bless me even more for my "righteous works." But that's not true! Or have you ever had a day when you weren't walking with God and you didn't feel that close to him; yet He blesses you unexpectedly in some great way? I have. Those are the days that God humbles me and causes me to be even more grateful for the fact that He gets joy out of blessing me not because of anything I did to deserve it. If His blessings were dependent upon my actions, I'm afraid I wouldn't be on the receiving end...ever!

I just wanted to share a few ways in which God has blessed us in the last few weeks so that you all as family and friends can glorify Him with us! Because I burned my hand, I've been out of work the last three and half weeks. It was easy for me to be concerned about our financial situation. Early on, God gave me the grace to trust Him in this area. God has blessed us in that He provided for us through gifts from family, church family, and friends. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the people God used.

Another area God has blessed us is in the healing of my hand. I must admit that I am surprised at how quickly my burns are healing. I shouldn't be surprised since the Great Physician has been in control of my healing from the very beginning. The doctor said I will have little to no scarring and I'm going back to work this week!

The last blessing I want to share, and probably the most exciting, is that I'm pregnant!! God is creating within me our very first child! I'm about 10 1/2 weeks along and due on May 10th. Many of you who read our blog, probably already know. But we would appreciate prayers from all of you who already knew and who just found out.
Praise the Lord for His blessings!!

Our first baby purchase ......................................................................................................................Our first ultrasound

One of our first baby gifts- stroller/carseat from our Nana and Papa. TJ proudly posing after putting it altogether.

We told our church in a fun way through a mad gab game. We had a Harvest Activity and decided it would be a great time to tell everyone together. As you can see, we shared the moment with our good friends the Hines, who are also expecting their first.

2007-10-11T16:59:00.001-07:00

Burnt to a Crisp...well, not quite!

Two and a half weeks ago I experienced the worst pain of my life! I left some oil unattended on the stove and when I returned the pan and oil were on fire. In a state of panic, I picked up the pan and searched for the fire extinguisher. In the process, I dropped the pan, probably because it was burning me. After I muffled the fire with a towel, I looked at my hand and realized how badly I had burned it. Praise the Lord my landlady was home and able to take me to ER. They treated me for second degree burns on my left hand and the index finger on my right hand. It was probably the worst few hours of my life. God gave me the grace to endure it along with some pain medication. :) In the two weeks since then, I have been out of work and attending physical therapy almost everyday. It is amazing to see how God is working to heal my burns. I have almost all the movement back in my fingers and Lord willing I hope to return to work in a couple of weeks.
TJ has been a huge help and encouragement to me. Thanks babe for being there for me. I have also been blessed with help from my mom the last couple weeks. I don't know what I would have done without her. And for all of you who have known what happened, I want to thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and many acts of kindness. You have all been such a blessing. It is amazing what we take for granted until we suddenly lose it. I had no idea how much I needed two hands and especially my thumb. One of the things I have learned is to be more thankful for the things God has allowed me to do with two hands such as cooking, playing the piano and flute, doing hair (mine as well as others), making projects, and many other things (like posting on my blog). God has truly been gracious to me throughout this experience and the mistakes that I made. He's teaching me to keep looking toward Him that He might continue to work in me for the praise of His glory.
P.S.
In case any of you are wondering, I do have pictures of my burns but I didn't think it was a good idea to post them for all to see. It is not a pretty picture!

Here's a pic of the offending pan and my burned hand in bandages.

2007-09-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

Our weekend- Football, farewells, and freaky people

Football- Saturday night we went to a football game with a few other couples. We drove to Williamsburg to see William and Mary play Liberty. I'm not usually much of a football fan, but I must admit that the game was pretty exciting, especially the second half. The game went into double over time (which I didn't know could happen) with William and Mary coming out with the victory. Go TRIBE!!

( Our pre-game "tailgating" party)

We saw Carl from our church enjoying the game as well. Katrina & Don are wearing Tribe colors

Final score: Tribe- 48 Liberty- 41

Farewells- On Sunday, we had a commissioning/farewell service for our friends Stephen and Shannon Conley. We have been with the Conleys at Colonial Williamsburg for two years. We are so excited for them and the ministry God has provided, but we will miss them a lot! The service was so encouraging yet emotional. The service was followed by a church luncheon outside on the grounds. It was a beautiful fall day to be outside! Stephen and Shannon, we will miss you both and are thankful for the time we had together at Colonial!

Freaky people- We didn't have an evening service so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Busch Gardens. Now that fall is almost here, B.G. has started their Hallow-O-Scream weekends. I use the word "freaky" because I was definitely freaked out by some of the characters they had roaming the park trying to scare me. Let's just say they succeeded! This was probably our last trip to Busch Gardens for a long time. It's definitely become one of my favorite theme parks!

2007-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Camping Trip/ Labor Day

Saturday and Sunday we went on our second annual Labor Day camping trip with James and Jess Frohlich. We stayed at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. We praise the Lord for beautiful weather. Our activities varied greatly for being a camping trip. We experienced all the basic camping activities such as sleeping in tents, building camp fires, cooking our own food, fishing (for the guys), playing games, and observing wild life. Well, the only interesting wild life I saw was a fox, and that was at like 2 in the morning walking through the trees on my way to the bath house. We also managed to do some not so camping related activities such as shopping, watching a movie, eating a P.F. Changs, and driving around Norfolk and Virginia Beach. For not being much of a camper, it was still a great time.

Monday morning we all drove up to Williamsburg to spend the day with our Pastor and his family and our friends the Hines. We spent the day boating and jet skiing on the Chickahomany River. We also did some skiing, tubing , and swimming. There were a lot of laughs especially with T.J. and James trying to balance on the jet ski with out it falling over. Let's just say it took them a few attempts before they finally got it. We also witnessed Pastor's amazing tubing experience. With Don behind the wheel, pastor had a wild ride. There was also a mini diving competition featuring Don and Katrina. For the sake of male egos, I won't say who won. :) (J/K, the loser lost graciously). Needless to say, it was hard to go back to work the next day. God was so good to give us such a great weekend with friends and a time to build more memories.

2007-08-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Fun in Hampton!

Sat night the young married couples from our church got together for some fun and fellowship. We all met in Hampton, which is a half way meeting place for most of us. A Winks family opened up their home to us. For our activity, we went on a photo scavenger hunt. The teams were divided between the guys and the girls. We had a list of things to take pictures of and different challenges to accomplish. The points varied on how hard the item was to find or how hard the challenge was. We had a great time driving through Hampton accomplishing our tasks. The girls were creative and bold in their attempts to rack up the points. And even though the guys tried to get extra points by taking pictures of things they found on the computer, they still had a lot of great "real" pictures. After our time was up, we all met back at the house to compare lists and pictures. It was such a great evening and blessing to spend time with good friends. Here are some pictures from our evening:

Human pyramid.................................. .......................................... Picture of a couple kissing

Picture of TJ waist deep in water - 50 points! / The team who found a three legged animal got 25 points. The dog picture was one of a few that the men found on the computer, and took a picture of in order to get extra points. Well, it didn't work but it was pretty funny anyway.

I wasn't able to get a picture of all the couples, but here are two.

Steve and Melissa..................................................................................... Don and Katrina

2007-08-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Anniversary trip to Myrtle Beach

TJ and I celebrated our third anniversary on Aug 7th. For our anniversary, we spent about four days down in Myrtle Beach. We thank the Lord that we had beautiful weather! We spent most of our time there just relaxing and spending time together. Some of our other activities were....

Alligator Adventure...

( Biggest Alligator in captivity in the U.S.)

(Albino Alligators)

Broadway at the Beach....
(These fish must have been fed before) :)

Mini golf...
(hole in one!)

And of course swimming...

We stayed at a great hotel right on the beach...

( The Hilton) (View from our room)

The night of our anniversary, we got dressed up and went to a Brazilian Steakhouse called Rioz. The meal included all-you-can-eat salad bar and meats of many different kinds. They brought the meat right to the table and cut it off the skewer for us. We sampled lamb, lamb chops, flank steak, fillet mignon, garlic steak, pork loin, chicken, and a few others. Needless to say, we were stuffed. The meal was delicious and definitely worth the experience.

We had such a great time! God has been so good to us. Three years and Lord willing, many more to come.

2007-08-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tagged...

I was tagged awhile ago by Katrina Hines and Emily Ingram and have just now decided that, just in case anyone may be interested, I will give you some tidbit of hopefully interesting information about my life. The way this works is each player must list eight relatively random facts/habits about himself/herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags new people by posting their names. Enjoy!

1. I am double jointed in my elbow. In elementary school one day I was crossing the monkey bars and fell off and broke my arm. The first doctor set it wrong. So, within the next couple days a different doctor discovered what happened, had to re-break it, and set it right. For the longest time after the bone healed I still couldn't touch my shoulder. But as a result of that, I can twist it in an abnormal and somewhat unnerving way.

2. Of all the places I've been to so far, my most favorite is a place called Sharbot Lake. It's in Ontario, Canada. I grew up going there every year with my family. We would go the same two weeks in July, stay in the same cabin on a beautiful lake, and see the same people. Some of my greatest memories are at that place. It was also where TJ and I were engaged.

3. I love water skiing.! I like to play most sports ( soccer and volleyball are among my favorites), but I would have to say my favorite sports like activity would have to be water skiing. When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional water skier at Sea World.

4. Growing up, I had several interesting collections. I loved Marvin the Martian (A looney toon character). I collected dolls, figurines, pictures, anything that had him on it. I also collected water globes. I have about forty to fifty. Another collection I have and still keep up with is collecting pencils. I have over 300. I would collect pencils from everywhere I went. Today, I still pick up a pencil from new places that TJ and I go to. One other collection I started in high school, but haven't added to lately, are Boyd's Bears figurines. I still can't believe how many different collections I had. I'm sure it sounds like I was the queen of clutter. I promise you I 'm not like that now. The only collection I have on display are my Boyd's Bears, and their in the guest bedroom. The rest of my collections are packed away.

5. I am a neat freak! I've been this way for as long as I can remember. When I was little I had a rug in my room. Every night before bed I had to brush the rug with my hands to make sure the grain of the rug was all going in one direction, and of course, make sure my room was picked up. Today I still can't rest until the house is picked up and everything is in order. I feel like I have to vacuum my bedroom carpet every other day, because I can't stand to see lint and stuff on it ( The carpet is dark green so it shows everything).

6. Ok, I can't believe I'm going to admit this for everyone to read. Get ready to be shocked.... I bite my nails! I know it's a terrible habit and those of you who don't do it have no idea what it's like and how hard it is to overcome, but there it is. It's one of my habits that I'm not very proud of. I've been biting them for as long as I can remember. Somehow I managed to grow them out for my wedding, but they didn't last long after that. I think they should have AA or something like that for nail bitters. ---- Sorry, you had to read this.

7. I've been shot before! Nothing too serious. When I was little, I was out back sitting on my swing set. My brother was off in the distance, shooting his bee-bee gun at a target. He told me to move because I was in the way. I said "no". So, he proceeded to shoot me with his bebe gun. I remember screaming, because I was little. But, obviously, since it was a bebe gun there was no serious damage done. Brothers!!

8. I've only dated one person in my life! His name is Thomas John Logsdon. I'm now married to him, and I'm so thankful that God brought us together. He's my best friend!

PS. Sorry Katrina, I stole your idea for #8. It was so good and it applied to me as well.

I'll tag the following people (forgive me if you've already done this): Jess Frolich, Bethany Varner, Sarah Branine, Jen Horak, and Tiffany Wagner.

2007-07-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

Last week's events:

Saturday TJ and I went to our very first Tides baseball game. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but being there with friends made the evening more enjoyable. I think my favorite part of the game was when the Tides' big blue mascot would go out on the field and dance after they scored a run. He was very hilarious!

The first part of the week we had some friends visiting us from Illinois. Mark and TJ have been good friends since high school and were in each other's weddings. Mark and Lynn were in South Carolina for a wedding and were able to stop by our house for a couple days on their way back home. It was great spending time with them and getting to know them better.

For July 4th we spent most of the day at Busch Gardens with our friends Don and Katrina. It was very busy there, but fortunately we didn't have to wait too long for most rides. In the evening they had a beautiful fireworks display. I only took one picture all day. The picture was of Don and TJ wearing very funny hats and looking very silly. I decided not to post the picture because I wasn't sure if they would like it up for everyone to see. :)

2007-06-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Last Two Weekends

Two Saturdays ago T.J. and I went to Harbor Fest. It's an annual festival held at Waterside in Norfolk. Lots of ships of all sizes come from all over and dock up and down the waterfront. Some of the ships were huge. We were even able to go on board a few. They were pretty awesome to see. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post. Somehow the pictures got deleted off the camera before we downloaded them...oops! I was pretty disappointed when I couldn't find them. Now, I have to go next year to get some more pictures of those awesome ships. (So, stay tuned for next year's post about Harbor Fest so you can see some pictures, j/k ) :)
This past Saturday, TJ and I tried out an Italian restaurant called Carrabba's. The food was excellent! We would definitely recommend it. After dinner we drove out to the oceanfront. It was our first visit to the ocean this spring. It was a beautiful evening. We took some fun pictures and just enjoyed sitting on the beach and watching the waves come in. I feel like we take advantage of the ocean/beach being so close to us. It's so beautiful; we don't get out there and enjoy it nearly as much as we should. Overall, I had a wonderful evening with my best friend.

Sunday afternoon TJ and I went canvassing with our church members for our VBS this week. A youth group from Lebanon, Pennsylvania has come to help our church put it on. They brought all the supplies with them (decor, verse sheets, the stories, games, ect.) The only thing our church had to provide was the snack. The youth group is even sleeping in the church. Since our church is small and doesn't have the means to put on a VBS by ourselves, it is a huge blessing that they have come to do this for us. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do this week.

(Here are some of the teens and leaders that came to help out)

(Eli Ickes and Matt Winks)

2007-06-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

Recent Happenings

Well, I'm a little behind in posting so I'll just mention briefly what we've been up to. We spent Memorial day in Williamsburg with our pastor's family and a few other church members and friends. That morning T.J. woke up early to go fishing with the guys. The rest of us met up with them around lunch time at the park. After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon playing games, skiing, and tubing. Since it was a hot day, the water actually didn't feel too cold. It was so exciting to see some of our friends get up skiing for the first time. TJ had tried skiing in the past a couple times and he was able to get up briefly as well. (Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of him out of the water.) Overall, we had a great day enjoying God's creation and spending time with friends.
Two weekends ago, TJ and I attended a pirate party in celebration of the third Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out. James and Jessica Frohlich were the hosts. TJ and I had a great time picking out our costumes and getting ready for the party. Everyone was so creative with their costumes. Jessica had decorated her balcony outside her house like a pirate ship. We enjoyed kababs and other great food. We also played a couple creative games, including the dice game Davy Jones' men played in the second movie. It was such a good time with lots of laughs and memories. Following the party we all went to see the new movie together-which was very good! No, we didn't wear our costumes to the moive... although I would have liked to. :)
PS. Just in case any one was wondering, in the pic of us below, TJ is holding a root beer.

2007-06-04T07:23:00.001-07:00

SHANNON'S 25TH BIRTHDAY

Shannon just had her twenty-fifth birthday two weekends ago. While we weren’t able to get away for long (Shannon still had to work on Saturday), we still wanted to do something special. So, we planned to spend Sunday at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. A few days before, we learned that the new ride the Griffon opened that weekend instead of the following weekend as planned. Shannon was even more excited about going then. As it turns out, our good friends Don and Katrina were planning on camping only minutes from the Park. They invited us to go camping the night before and we invited them to join us for part of the day at the Gardens. Katrina and Don surprised Shannon with a wonderful birthday breakfast that morning, too. The Griffon was a sweet ride and God gave us beautiful weather to enjoy the day. To top it all off, Shannon and I went out for her birthday dinner. We had been planning to go to the Cheesecake Factory for months. Yet, on a whim, she decided to go to P. F. Chang’s Asian Restaurant instead. And a great choice it was. The food was…perfect. Chang is probably our “new, best friend,”—so long C. Factory.

Needless to say we had a blast the whole weekend (except for the fact that Shannon and I about died from frostbite camping—who would have thought we’d need more than two large blankets?) And I am thankful that I was able to spend it with friends…especially my wife.

2007-05-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND

Well I'm not a mom yet (unless you count Niko), maybe next year :); but TJ and I are so thankful to have wonderful mothers who love the Lord. They did their best to train us in the right way- to love God above all else. We miss our moms a lot. Even though we are all separated by hundreds of miles, they are still very close to our hearts. We could never adequately put into words how much they mean to us.
Last Sat. TJ and I went strawberry picking. We went last year and got a lot of deliciously fresh strawberries, so we decided to go again this year. We both LOVE strawberries, especially strawberry pie and homemade strawberry jam (which I have yet to attempt myself). Our picking was a success. We brought home lots of luscious berries. If any one wants strawberry pie come on over before it's gone. :)

Sunday, after church the women were all treated to a wonderful meal which was all put together by the men in the church. The food was great! After lunch all the fathers/husbands surprised the women by presenting them with a perennial flower to plant outside on the church grounds. They had cleared out an area on one side of the church for a lot of the flowers to be planted. Seeing as how roses are my favorite flower, TJ gave me a rose bush. It was such a great idea. I can't wait to see all the flowers/plants bloom and grow.

We didn't have an evening service Sunday so we spent most of the rest of the day at Waller Mill Park in Williamsburg. We went with our friends, Don and Katrina. We rented a couple of boats and the guys went fishing. Unfortunately they didn't catch anything, except branches, twigs, and seaweed. Although, they almost brought one in. We saw it right before it spit out the lure. But, it was a beautiful day, so it was nice to just be out on the water enjoying nature and spending time with friends.

2007-05-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

Back Home in Michigan...

Two weekends ago TJ and I flew to Michigan to visit my family for a few days. We hadn't been back in over a year. I saw my parents last Thanksgiving, but it's been almost a year since my brother and sister-in-law (Aaron and Beth) were here last summer. We had a surprise waiting for us when we got back to my parent's house. My Nana and Papa were there! I wasn't expecting to see them since they were suppose to be in Arizona for a few more days. But, they changed their tickets and flew home early to see us. The weekend we were there was beautiful. It was warm and sunny (which can be hard to come by this time of year in Michigan). We had such a wonderful time with everyone. We got to see my brother's new house. And, we got reacquainted with my almost two-year old nephew (Ryan), who I'm sure didn't remember us from last summer. He's a completely different child from when we saw him last. It's amazing how fast babies grow up when you don't see them very often. He was a bundle of joy and energy.
Another highlight of our trip was being able to see TJ's sister(Laura) and her husband. Matt is attending seminary in Detroit and they only live about an hour from my parent's house. It was great to see them and see their home for the first time. We just praise the Lord so much for our wonderful families and the opportunity we had to spend time with my family for a few days. We miss you all and love you lots!!

2007-04-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday...

Last Sunday at church we had a different type of S.S. and morning service. During S.S. pastor teached on foot washing. He took us to the Scripture where Jesus washed the disciples feet. Christ humbled himself as a servant. Pastor explained that we don't practice this today because it's not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture and it was never laid out as a church ordinance like baptism and communion. Although, we don't wash each other's feet today, pastor still encouraged us that we should be following Christ's example and find ways to serve one another. After the explanation, the men and women divided up and we proceeded to wash one another's feet. It was a really neat experience. Don't worry, we're not going to add foot washing as a church ordinance.
For the morning service, Mr. John Metzer with Jewish Awareness Ministry was visiting and took the hour to walk us through the Jewish passover meal . Every year the Jewish people still celebrate the passover. Mr. Metzer demonstrated the process and explained the significance behind everything that goes on during a Jewish passover meal. It was very informative.

Our church didn't have an evening service so TJ and I spent the rest of the day at Busch Gardens! We got a really great deal and decided to go in with some friends to get season passes.
The weather was beautiful and the rides were great!

2007-04-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Night!

Last Saturday night our church had its first monthly family fun night. The evening included pizza, dessert, games, and a great time! For most of the evening everyone played the games together. We played Cranium and Pictionary. The teams were divided between the women and the men. And, of course, who do you think won...well, we won't go there right now. The activities also included a couple rounds of thumb wrestling, Anand doing push-ups on the church pews, and Doug showing the guys how to do some weird he-man type pushup. It was a great night of fun, food, and fellowship. We praise the Lord for our church! We just love being a part of this church body.

P.S.
Thanks Kristen for watching Niko!

2007-04-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend...

After the weather we've had this weekend, I'm not sure if I'm still in Virginia or back in Michigan. The eighty degree days we've had this spring seem to be something from a dream. Sat morning we looked outside and IT WAS SNOWING! I might have been excited if it was around Christmas time, but not when I already have spring fever from the warmer days we had the previous week. I think we got more snow that morning than any day this past winter. Virginia weather is crazy!!

(It's hard to tell from the pic, but the snowflakes were huge)

Although Sun. was just as cold as Sat., it still ended up being a beautiful sunny day. T.J. and I enjoyed Easter Sunday with our church family in Williamsburg. The Sunday morning service was such a blessing. The pastor's message was all about Christ and the days leading up to and including His death and resurrection. After the morning service, we had a big dinner with a lot of people from our church. The meal was delicious!! In the afternoon, the kids had an Easter egg hunt and some of us went to Pastor's house to relax and play games. It was an excellent day!

( The seminary couples in our church)

2007-04-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last Two Weekends...

I'm not so good at keeping up with the blogging world. So, by the time I post something I feel like it's old news already. Then when I get around to checking everyone else's blog they have like three new posts. How do you guys do it?? I really do admire the fact that some of you are so good at posting and keeping everyone up to date with your life's activities. I guess I'm just not a very committed blogger. Oh well... here are a few pics from our recent activities.

Chef T.J. tried out a new recipe he found off the internet. We got some free shrimp, and TJ decided he wanted to make dinner for me and a couple of our friends (the Frohlichs). The meal was a success. It was very tasty. And, I certainly didn't mind letting him take over in the kitchen :) For dessert we had chocolate fondue with lots of goodies to dip into it. It was a great night with wonderful food and fellowship.

Last Sat. we had a sleepover with our Pastor's kids (Ashlyn, Abby, and Eli Ickes). We had a great time with them. We took dinner to the park and played tag on the playground. We ate ice cream; watched a movie; and, of course, played with Niko. They are great kids, but we were all wiped out by the end of the night. It's hard for me to imagine what it would be like to have our own children someday. Having the Ickes' kids over, gave us a small taste of what it could be like. It's exciting to think about the future and having a family of our own. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to keep enjoying everyone else's kids.

P.S.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

2007-03-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

Looking for a good book to read...

TJ and I just finished reading together "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" by John Piper.

The book only has thirteen chapters. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Christ's character. "The Power of Jesus Christ," "The Wisdom of Jesus Christ," "The Mercies of Jesus Christ," "The Excellence of Jesus Christ" - are just a few of the chapters. Piper did an awesome job with each chapter. We were so blessed and convicted as we read through this book together. Christ is seen throughout the whole Bible. Our lives would be nothing apart from Him. It was great to read through it and just meditate on His person. We thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it to all of our friends and family.The back of the book says that Piper wrote it "in hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else. "

2007-03-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

Beading Party...

A few girls came over last Friday night while our husbands got together for their monthly "men's accountability" meeting :). I have "accountability" in quotes because I'm not to sure how much accountability really goes on. Anyway, we had a fun time making jewelry. It was one of my first times attempting such a thing. I was surrounded by beading experts. They made some awesome pieces. I managed to put together a bracelet. Maybe, this will be the start of my beading days or.....maybe not. Even if I don't get into it, the experience was fun. And, of course, it will always be nice to admire what everyone else creates.

Abby

Julie and Jess

Katrina

Emily

2007-02-28T09:44:00.000-08:00

Recent Happenings...

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day held a few nice surprises. Among them was a nice Italian restaurant called La Bella Italiana. The food was very tasty, fresh, and authentic. It was recommended to us and we were definitely NOT disappointed.

Fun Times with the Varners

Sat. night we went to John and Bethany's house. We had a great night together. We've known John and his siblings since going to college at Northland. We were all at the same church together. Kristin, John's sister, is Niko's dogsitter when we're away. Niko loves Aunt Kristen. And Shannon was friends with Bethany back in her days at Maranatha College. Thanks Varners for your friendship.

Niko's New Playmate

The last couple times Allie Trach has been over, she and Niko have had a great time together. At first Allie was a little timid, but then she opened right up and found out how much fun Niko could be. She loves throwing Niko's ball and having Niko chase after her while she's holding the ball. Niko probably loves being able to play with someone his own size. They were so cute when they played I had to take a few pictures.

2007-02-10T10:10:00.002-08:00

Our Seattle Trip

We had a great time visiting Seattle with our friends Steve and Sarah Branine. Overall the weather was rainy, cloudy, cold, and foggy - typical for Seattle at this time of year. Inspite of the weather, we still enjoyed our adventures. I hope you all enjoy the pics ...

Our sweet ride for the week- Chevrolet HHR

SUNDAY

Our first sights for the city

Pike Place Market:

We ate at a cheese factory

The Original Starbucks

MONDAY:

Pics of our condo

The Air Museum

This lady was a woman pilot during WWII.
Her husband served in the same war. There was
a pic and a story written about him in the museum.

Here we are on an older model of Air Force One

Concord jet -flew very fast, but too expensive to keep flying

Harbor Cruise around the Puget Sound.
Oldest pier in Seattle

While on the cruise, we came across some seals.

Silly pics-Steve and Sarah in a curiosity shop. TJ and Steve playing some game at the Science museum.

More pics from the Science Center

The space needle was a little difficult to see with all the fog.

TUESDAY:

We spent most of the day in Vancouver, B.C.

Steam clock

We didn't find too much to do in the city. But, one of the hightlight was definetly the ice cream shop that featured 218 flavors.

TJ and Steve tried Wasabi flavored icecream-Here are before and after photos of them trying it. Look closely at Steve's facial expression.

Vancouver wasn't our favorite city so we were glad to return to the states

WEDNESDAY

Tues night and all day Wed T.J. and I were very sick. I think that we got food poisoning. It was pretty bad. Fortunately it only lasted one day.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY

Thursday morning we took the Branines back to the airport. It was sad to see them go before us. We then drove around Seattle some more. We went back to Pike Place market and did a little more shopping, ate at a Mexican resteraunt, and then went back to the condo to relax on our last evening before going home. Our flight left Seattle early Fri. morning. We had a lay over in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to get out of the airport to see any sights. The airport there was definetly the busiest and coolest looking airport we had ever been in. They even had slot machines in the airport- no, we didn't actually play any. We also saw some great views from the plane of Mt. Rainier and of Las Vegas.

Self portrait at Pike Place market. You can barely make out the small sign in the background.

Sights from the plane

Overall, we had a great time. We thank the Lord for safety and the opportunity he gave us. Thank you Steve and Sarah for inviting us. Thanks to their aunt for giving us the time share and thank you to Fed Ex for the cheap tickets. :)

2007-01-31T18:06:00.000-08:00

Small Blessings

TJ and I love our church. We love the people, the preaching, and the many opportunities to be involved in ministry. TJ and I are teaching the primary Sunday School class. We average three children, two that come consistently. I know it's small, but we love the interaction we have with such a small group. We can easily focus in on each of them and teach them in a way that best meets their spiritual needs. Our pastor's two youngest children are the ones that come every Sunday. They have been such a blessing to us. They are only 5 and 7, yet their ability to remember the things we teach them is amazing. We just recently finished studying through the life of David. It took us a few months. By the time we finished the quarter, Abby and Eli had memorized all of Psalm 23. Their hard work and faithfulness to memorizing the psalm, were such a blessing to us. Praise the Lord for little children with a desire to learn God's Word and hide it in their hearts!

Eli and Abby Ickes

2007-01-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

( They all matched, but not on purpose--Don't they look silly)

Happy New Year Everyone!

We spent New Year's Eve with our friends the Hines, Conleys, and Branines. The festivities included eating, playing games, laughing, and toasting sparkling 7up at the beginning of the new year. It was a great time. After watching on TV the ball fall in Times Square, I was grateful for the fact that I was with a few friends instead of trapped in Times Square surrounded by all those thousands of people. As for New Years Resolutions, TJ and I didn't make any. Although,
we heard a great message last Sun. night on new life resolutions. The message was taken out of 1 Peter 1:1-12. The message had two parts. The first part was reflecting on what had taken place in one's past spiritual life and then the second part was looking forward to new resolutions in one's spiritual life. Some of those resolutions were being mentally prepared and setting our hope fully on God's grace. Both of these resolutions and others were taken right from the text. It was a great reminder for what all Christians need to be striving for!
New year's day we spent time relaxing, shopping, and watching movies. We went to the imax with the Hines to see "Night at the Museum" - a great movie!

2007-01-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the Logsdon Family

2006-12-15T19:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!
Christmas is definitely my favorite time of year. I love Christmas music, Christmas cookies, Christmas presents, Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating...just anything that has to do with Christmas. More importantly, I love the fact that it's a time to celebrate the birth of Christ - my Savior! I find that it's so easy for me to get caught up in all the things that I mentioned and lose sight of what the season really means. Christ humbling Himself, becoming a man, giving up the glories of heavan, dying for my sins - doing all this and more so that a sinner like me can be saved. I'm so thankful for Christ! I can't imagine celebrating Christmas with out having Him as my Savior.
TJ and I believe family traditions help to make times more memorable. We have several Christmas traditions that we've establised, so far. Each year we exchange ornaments. My ornament came from Disney world, when we where there this past February. T.J.'s new ornament does not have any particular meaning. I just thought it was cute. On Christmas Eve, we eat what we call a "fun meal." This tradition was in his family before I was. It includes various finger foods, snacky stuff, or fruits/veggies. Then we watch a Christmas movie. (This year, my new favorite Christmas movie is Elf- so hopefully we'll be watching that with everyone). After the Christmas movie, we read the Christmas story from the Bible and open one present before we go to bed. We sleep in Christmas morning. When we get up, we usually open presents before we do anything else. We're too excited to wait until after breakfast ( I know we're like a couple of big kids). Of course, we only open one present at a time so we can ohh and ahh over everything that's opened. After presents are opened and the mess is cleaned up, we make brunch. Then the rest of the day we relax, enjoy our presents, and eventually make Christmas dinner.
TJ and I are eagerly awaiting our family coming for Christmas. TJ's parents, sisters and brother-in-law will all be here to celebrate with us. I know we will have a great time. We will post pics of them after Christmas. We hope you all have a great Christmas season!

2006-11-16T18:07:00.000-08:00

Fall is the air, but the leaves are on the ground....lots and lots of leaves.

Today we set out to conquer the blanket of leaves in our yard. With living right next to the woods, we had plenty of them…

it was a daunting task...

Niko was even out there to cheer us on…

Alas, we finished the task that was set before us…

Now we just have to rake the back of the house. We also found it pretty funny that while raking the leaves others continued to fall from the trees around us. So, who knows what the yard will look like in a few days. Oh well, we wanted to get some of them up since my parents are coming in three days!!

2006-11-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

TJ's Birthday

TJ's Birthday was last week. He turned 25. We first celebrated by going to Captain George's on the Sat. before his birthday. They have a big seafood buffet. TJ had wanted to go there for awhile. He loved it! TJ's actual b-day was the Thurs. after. Since TJ works so late during the week, we wanted to go Sat. so we could enjoy the dinner better than if we went at 8:30pm during the week. After dinner we went to see a movie. I ended up making TJ wait till the actual day of his birthday to open some of his presents. Here's a pic of what TJ got.

Not really…he wishes. This is what he actually got.

He got a couple oriental swords to decorate his office and a few other small things. The night of his b-day we had tacos (one of TJ’s favorites), and some friends showed up to help celebrate. We also enjoyed some delicious ice cream cake (another favorite). Happy Birthday TJ!!

2006-11-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago TJ and I went to a costume/harvest party . We dressed up as Napolean Dynamite and Deb. If you don't know who they are, you probably haven't seen the movie. Anyway, we had so much fun getting our customes together prior to the party. We found out thrift stores were very helpful when trying to find stuff we needed to make our costumes complete. The night of the party we had a lot of fun with friends. There we some great costumes. Everyone was very creative! We played some crazy games, ate delicious food, and sang some wacky songs. Overall, we had a great time with friends. Check out some of the pics, you'll never guess who some of them were!

2006-10-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

Since we have both friends and family native to the Detroit region, I'll keep this short...

THE CARDS WON THE WORLD SERIES!

The Logsdon Clan would have disowned us if we didn't put something on our blog about the world's greatest baseball team.

2006-10-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

A few moments ago, I sat in my study and stared at The Vocabulary Guide to Biblical Hebrew, and then, I stared some more.....So, instead of doing the smart thing-going to bed, I convinced myself that cruising the blog-o-sphere would be more profitable than studying any ancient language at 1215 am (Anand, my starbucks connection, lied- he didn't give me decaf after all). An upon glancing at our own site, I realized that I had not posted in a while. So, Here you go.

Yes, I'm still alive and still a student (which means I'm half awake). As to how that is going... We are in week six of a fourteen week semester. This is extremely encouraging because I am more than a 1/3 done with this semester and have about 7% of my reading, papers, and quizzes completed...

Seriously, I am loving my classes this semester. The reading is very profitable and the languages are... challenging. In addition, I have the privileged of preaching on Oct 21 at our church in Williamsburg. There are a few texts in 1 Peter where God calls Christians "sojourners" and "strangers." What a theme to describe us! No matter our situation in this life, we know that this is not our true home. Our true home is with Jesus. In light of such a title, Peter tells us how Christian/strangers are to live in verses 2:11-4:11. I'm excited to dig into these passages. Needless to say, you won't see me post on the blog for quite some time.

well the "decaf" has worn off, I'm hitting the sack. 'night.

2006-10-04T18:54:00.001-07:00

This past weekend TJ and I and some friends went to the annual Neptune festival here in Virginia Beach. The festival is a celebration of the locals gaining the beach back from all the tourists. Every year on the beach they have a sand sculpture contest. There are sand sculptures like you’ve never seen. What these people can do with sand is amazing! We also were able to see the word’s largest (record-breaking) sculpture. Unfortunately we don’t have a pic because it was dark by the time we got to it. In addition to viewing the sculptures, we ate some delicious New York style (whatever that means) pizza. We also enjoyed some ice cream that we ended up walking like three miles to. Actually, it wasn’t that far – although it seemed like it. This special ice cream place that T.J. wanted to go to was on the other end of the boardwalk. Oh well, I definitely needed the exercise anyway. Overall, it was worth the walk. We had a great time. And to end the evening, we sat on the beach and enjoyed a beautiful fireworks display.

2006-09-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Below are some pics of our recent trip to the Shenandoah mountains. We stayed three nights and four days at Massanutten Resort. We spent some time sightseeing in the national park. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get very good pics because of the fog. We still enjoyed viewing God's creation. While at the resort, we did some horseback riding. That was pretty enjoyable for most of the time, but at the end of the ride my seat was starting to become very uncomfortable. I don't know how our guides ride in those saddles all the time. Anyway, while there, we also enjoyed swimming, playing games, and relaxing. We also spent part of the day at their new indoor water park. We had a great time. Although, I think TJ and I were the only ones there who weren't kids or who didn't have kids. It was still fun, especailly the water slides. We also spent part of one day in Harrisonburg, which was a few miles from where we stayed. We went shopping, saw a movie, and went out to eat. On our way home we detoured through some of Virginia's countryside, which was very pretty. Overall, we really enjoyed our time away together.

2006-09-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

2006-09-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Right now, Shannon and I are sitting at the beach, taking up the sun and sipping southern iced tea. Just thought I’d let you Midwesterners know……

Actually, none of that was true! “Deluge” more accurately describes Hampton Roads, today. Tropical Storm Ernesto is has been blessing us with rain for the second day…lots, and lots of rain. Sever Thunderstorm warnings, flood warnings, and tornado watches (believe it or not, tornados often form from Tropical Storms) have been in effect all day and all night. Many of my friends are not able to leave their homes because of the flooding. Makes you want to move to the east coast, right? Actually, I don’t believe there is any real danger from this storm. Chesapeake will NOT be on the weather channel—showing pictures of people sitting on houses. It ISN’T that bad.
I have always loved storms, especially big ones. I love to see the way humans react to it, too. In a storm like this, I think “This is God’s doing; man can not stop it, only run or hide from it. These storms interrupt all the plans that people make. God is breaking into the lives of men, whether they like it or not. Men can prepare, but can not stop it.
Psalm 107 describes the interplay between the Lord and men in the mist of adverse weather conditions:

"Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.

So, while underwater in Virginia, We exalt His name! What marvelous things our God can do. I’m just praying I don’t have to go to work today!

2006-08-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally made it back to the midwest a few weeks ago. My sister Laura married Matt Gass, whom she met at college. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed the wedding; it was the best kind--God honoring and short! Shannon and I both had the priviledge of being in the bridal party. Even though our five days in Illinois went unusually fast, we still had a great time seeing my extended family and First Baptist of Divernon. If I get the chance, I'll write more about our trip later.

2006-08-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

August 12 & 13: Logsdon's First Camping Jaunt

Shannon, Niko, and I recently enjoyed our first

experience camping. James "the buttercup" Frohlich and his wife Jessica invited us to join them at First Landing State Park (30 minutes from our house) for the weekend. We had a blast!

Shannon and I have enough outdoor-loving friends that we were able to borrow all of our needed equipment for the weekend.

The park itself is rather nice--which had its own shoreline (although it was covered with hundreds of dead jellyfish).

For Niko, camping was a real treat. Because he rarely gets to run around outside for long periods of time, he did everything with us during the weekend, including hiking, driving for ice cream and, of course, going into the Ocean. I'm not convinced Niko liked the salty water, but he did enjoy chasing the waves everytime the tide receeded.

We will have more pics and deatails about our adventure (including seeing a giant mutant squidman on the beach) here on our website.

2006-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

A Day of Great Importance

For those of you who did not realize it, Monday, August 7th was a very special day for Shannon. Yes, as of Monday, she has managed to stay married to me for exactly 2 years! For those of you who know me, you'll agree that Shannon deserves a metal or award for such a feat!!!

Seriously, anniversaries are important, of course. Shannon and I have seen God's grace and providence manifested innumerable times in these last two years. When we were wed, there were still many uncertainties about the future (i.e. neither of us had a job), yet our faithful Father has not let us down once since then. So, we once again bless the Lord for his goodness to his undeserving children.

Because I was working twelve hours on monday, we celebrated our anniversary on Saturday, going to our favorite restaurant and shopping, a little. Also, we will be getting away for an extended weekend in September because our packed summer schedule would not allow more time off from work this month. For this long weekend, we will be staying at a resort in western Viriginia, which we are eagerly anticipating.

As wonderful as this anniversary was, we look forward to celebrating our marriage for many, many more years to come. (Maybe next year you should sent Shannon the award!)

2006-08-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

The God of break-lines and of broken cars....

Just yesterday I was telling a friend, while we were charging the dead battery of his car, that automotive problems seems to be God’s chief tool to test my spiritual walk with Him. In our family we joke that we have a curse when it comes to cars….

Today, I took my ’96 Grand Am in for a required Virginia State Inspection (which I knew needed to have a fixed hole in the exhaust system-only 75$). The mechanic called me about an hour later telling me, “You need a new car.” I was dumbfounded. The curse has struck again. It turns out that he was exaggerating… kinda. Throughout the conversation, I learned that I needed two new brake-lines, new brakes and new calipers, and a few other things, totaling over half a grand in parts and labor. He said that the rust is so bad it will cause problems later, too. So, just to make sure, I drove back and looked at it myself. Sure enough, rust had eaten the back brake-lines. It was so bad that when they touched it to check, it broke.

This isn’t a good way to start a morning. Anxiety, impatience, frustration, and helplessness, started to creep in my heart, as usual. No one likes to pay that much, or take the time and frustration to fix it or to ask friends for rides while their car is in the shop. Yet, in my soul I have an animosity more than most towards broken cars. Despise is a good word.

The Bible says that all things work together for good for those who are true Christians (Romans 8:28). Yet, if we are honest, most of us see an apparent disconnect between this truth and our reality at times. How does having a broken car work out for my good? On a larger scale, how do trials in general work out for good?

First off, we must remember that we are only creatures and that God is God and He has the ability and right to do whatever He wants (Job 38). He is much wiser and smarter than we are, too. So, when our trials, big or small, seem to workout badly instead of for good, we don’t see the big picture. For example, Shannon told that when she was a kid, she broke her arm. It turns out that a second doctor had to re-brake her arm weeks later because the first doctor set it improperly. Now, to Shannon, breaking her arm a second time did not seem good. Yet, despite the pain then, her arm shows no sign of deformity today. In my favorite poem by John Piper, an excerpt reads, “Beware…God is kind in ways that will not fit your mind.” We must trust that God is good, even when we don’t see or understand it.

Secondly, God often brings us trials to reveal who we are inside and what we are trusting in. Once again Piper’s poem, which retells Job’s trials and loss, puts it well,

The Lord has made me drink
The cup of his severity
That he might kindly show to me
What I would be when only he
Remains in my calamity.Unkindly he has kindly shown
That he was not my hope alone.

When we get frustrated over little things like cars breaking down, we reveal that we are putting our trust in material things, money, etc. Whenever I have car trouble, I start to feel the stress of not being able to handle the situation. Yet, God wants us to trust in Him to take care of the situation. He wants to have His rightful place-1st place- in our lives. Often, He will move things that are in the way of that goal. We should be grateful too, because there is nothing better than trusting God completely and enjoying who He is and what He has done for us.

So, at the end of this day, I hope to praise the LORD that He made my brake-line rust, knowing that He did it because He loves me and is drawing me closer to Him. I guess that the curse is a blessing in disguise.

2006-07-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, Shannon and I left for New England so that I could be in Mark Rosedale's wedding. Mark has been a close friend of mine since junior high school and was also my 'best man' for our wedding. His bride, Lynn, is from Dover, New Hampshire. We had a great time seeing Mark and getting to know Lynn a little. The wedding went beautifully.

During our extended weekend, Shannon and I had a chance to do a little sightseeing. Although we were too far away to visit Acadia National Park, we did see quite a bit in lower Maine. I was very impressed: it is one of the most beautiful places I've seen so far.

The day after the wedding Shannon and I saw four lighthouses, such as the one pictured. The warm, yet overcast, weather made the day ideal for viewing the gray, rocky coastline. Once again, we marvel that all this could be made with merely a word.

Monday morning, before we left for home, we even tried our hand at kayaking, which was an experience we enjoyed. (we have more pics on our website)

The only challenge of weekend (other than lack of sleep) was the fact that I was stung by a wasp the day we left for NH. Over the process of two days, my leg continued to swell and redden. The night before the wedding, we considered the emergency room, but settled for benadryl, an ice pack, and nine hours of sleep. Thankfully, the symptoms began to subside.

The trip home was as uneventful as the initial journey north--for which we are thankful. Overall, Shannon and I had wonderful and refreshing weekend seeing old friends and enjoying God's creation.

2006-07-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

WEBPAGE OR BLOG?

Bloggin' seems to be the hottest fad on the World Wide Web today. Yet, the question must be asked, "why do you need a blog if you have your own webpage?" Shannon and I feel that both will be usefull for us. Our Webpage will be the fountainhead of our pictures, links, and big news (http://tjandshannon.googlepages.com). On the other hand, we plan to use this blog for quick updates and correspondence with those loved ones and friends who are both near and far. With that in mind feel free to reply or comment on anything we put on this blog, as long as you write with a spirit of Love. :) We look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks for visiting us!

Love,
T.J. and Shannon