All About Pets Show

On Friday, March 24, Jim and I went to the All About Pets Show. Jim's mom graciously offered to care for Justin for us. We had planned to go with him, and kinda go with the flow, but her gracious offer freed us to just take our time.

For more info on the show see here

We had a great deal of fun. I LOVE going to shows and walking around booths and checking out what's new and talking with booth personnel. You can learn a lot! I also LOVE scoping freebies! Yes, I am a total and complete mooch at these things. Someone offers me something free...I take it!

We received alot of information about different types of dog food, complete with samples. Dog treats were available as well. We actually picked up enough to pay out way in! Pretty cool that eh! We entered a variety of contests, we don't expect to win...but it's fun to try anyways.

Hmm..what else... we saw the mega mutts show. See here for more information on them. They put on a show that did some flyball, musical chairs, a precision drill and agility. It was fun to watch, though Jim mentioned that he wouldn't want Sassy doing it in case she picked up some bad habits. I just thought it would be fun to do it!

We also saw a flyball tournament. Boy were those dogs ever fast! And LOUD!!! Barking, barking and more barking. We saw dogs faster than 5 seconds, and dogs that well....were longer than that! Going over 4 jumps, retrieving a ball, and going back over those four jumps and competing against each other. Fastest run we saw was 17.?? seconds. I am pretty sure the tournament was part of NAFA. We saw a couple of dogs that just couldn't get it, they were considered "green" dogs (new to the business). They would run, couldn't catch the ball, and then forget to go over the jumps on the way back. But even green dogs have to start somewhere! And of course we saw some dogs that just smoked the course. Really neat to see them move!

It caused us to wonder if Sassy could learn to do this. It would be hard because she'd want to stop other dogs from getting HER ball. And in her opinion all balls belong to her. (She's wrong but won't admit it).

If you like this type of event you should go. It was a good show to attend.

Dad is Home!

So here I was yesterday, taking it easy, reading a bit while Justin had a short nap.

The phone rings.

My dad is on the other end. I'm shocked.

The conversation runs like this.

hello.
Dad?
yup.
Dad?

Yup...I just got home.

you're home?
Yup!

Wow! I'm shocked. You're home?
yup!
Oh...well that's great!

yup, I'm sitting in my chair!
ah...that must be nice.

yup!
(mom breaks in here)
We just got home. I was talking with a health care person who said it would be best if Justin was all better before you come to visit. If he catches what dad has, if he ever gets sick and is hospitalized he'll be in isolation and that's not nice for a little boy.
Oh..Okay...I'll come up when he's done his meds then...probably next Monday then.
Okay...well I'll leave you two to talk.

Dad again.
Well...I don't have much more to say.
Nope.. um.. well, it's easier to talk in person. We'll talk more next week then Dad.
Okay
Bye
Bye Love you
Love you too
Click (the phone hangs up)

Short and sweet!

BUT MY DAD IS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't that great??!?!?!?! :) Huge answer to prayer! :)

SICK LITTLE BOY

This weekend has been a tiring one for our family. Two weeks back Justin had a throat and ear infection. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, and he seemed to get better. But, on Wednesday and Thursday this past week he had a fever. Annette called the doctor and since Justin was still acting normal and eating well, they figured it was a virus and he would get over it in a day or so. Friday he had no fever in the morning and looked good, so we headed out with him, but by noon he had spiked a fever of over 39C so we took him to an Urgent Care clinic. Sure enough he had an ear infection again , either a new one or the old one back due to insufficient or incorrect antibiotics. So Friday night and Saturday night we (read mainly Annette and Justin but me to a lesser extent) got little or no sleep with a fussy baby. Today (Sunday) we are all tired, but Justin was looking more himself. Hopefully he will sleep well now, because mom and dad don't need another night of bad sleep.

ADDED RSS FEED

Today I setup the RSS feed for our blog with Feedburner so if you have an RSS compatible reader, and you went to read Vellenga Views on it, subscribe at Vellenga Views Feed.

MY CURRENT READING

I thought I would post some of the books I am currently reading.

I usually read more than one book at a time, although I sometimes wonder if that is a good way to really dig into a book.

Currently I am reading the following:


Princeton and Preaching: Archibald Alexander and the Christian Ministry
Author: James M. Garretson

This is a wonderful book that I am reading for the Pastor's reading group I am part of. It speaks of how vital personal piety and preaching go hand in hand. I have not finished it yet, but I have read enough to recommend it to fellow pastors.

What We Are
Author: David Bast

This book deals with the various pictures of Christian ministers found in Paul's letters to the Corinthians. I found the topic interesting when I first heard about this book, and since I could get it from Word's of Hope for free, I thought I would check it out. It is an easy read, and is a good reminder of how ministry is described in Scripture.

Annette's Current Thinking Read

I am currently in the process of reading this book by Nancy Pearcey. I am finding it an interesting read. It makes me want to redesign Sunday School and Catechism classes in order to force children to think about how faith interacts with the world, and how it makes a difference.

Part of our Devotional Life

Hi All

I thought I would take a moment to share two websites that Jim and I use for our daily bible readings. Both come as emails to my inbox.

Bibleplan.org

ESV RSS Feeds

The first I often do in the morning when Justin first gets up and is all cuddly and not wanting to do anything except sit with mommy. With this one I have to link to sites to read the scripture passage. it's a bit more time consuming. I have to admit.... I don't always want to take the time... and since i know I have the back up... BUT I'm doing better at putting God first during these cuddle times. :) Of course there are mornings when Justin says... But mommy...i'm hungry!!! I can't sit here mommy...i need FOOD!!! So then having a backup is really really good!

The second is my backup...and the one that Jim uses all the time. It actually has the scripture right in the email sent out daily. It's quick and fast! :)

Both of these plans go through the bible in different ways.

The first I chose to go through chronologically. It has different ways you can have it sent. The second I think just goes through chapter by chapter.

Anyways, it is an important part of both of our lives and so I thought I'd share it with you.

OUR FAMILY BLOG

I'm not sure if this is something we really need as we both have our own blogs, but I thought a family blog might be a good thing. So here we go. This will be the place where we will post our family news, views, and other stuff. Hopefully we will be diligent in posting information here. Possibly we will post our quarterly newsletter as well, so our friends can keep up to date of what is happening in our lives.