Book Giveaway :: Father Hunger by Doug Wilson
Mother’s Day has come and gone and in just a few short weeks, we will be celebrating Father’s Day. In honor of this special day, Joe and I would like to give away two (hot off the press!) copies of:
Father Hunger: Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families by: Doug Wilson (father of Rachel Jankovic, author of Loving the Little Years)
Father Hunger is one of the best books on parenting and fatherhood that Joe and I have come across. We’re firm believers in the fact that everything is related because everything is related to God. And in Father Hunger, Wilson shows how fatherhood, in particular, relates to all things–from politics to economics to education to culture to the problem of evil, while still being rooted in the Bible (the chapter where he unpacks the vision of Fatherhood in the gospel of John is fantastic) and incredibly practical (see the chapter on the Mechanics of Fatherhood).
A few years ago, Joe and I were really blessed by listening to Wilson’s Father Hunger audio series and were thrilled when we learned that it was being turned into a book. One reason for this excitement, is that we wanted to be able to give this book away to others! Father Hunger ranks high on our short list of favorite parenting books and we hope you will be encouraged by it as well.
If you would like to win a copy, just leave a comment below by May 24th sharing one thing (or more if you’d like!) that you are grateful to God for about your husband, father, grandfather, or father figure in your life.
We will draw two names and announce the winners on Friday, May 25th.
Happy Commenting!
mono on mother’s day
You’re technically not supposed to come down with mono twice, but according to my blood work results, I like to beat odds and prove the doctors wrong. The first time I had mono was seven years ago and it was accompanied with a severe case of strep. I had to quit my job and rest for three weeks (fine by me, I didn’t like the job much anyways).
This second time around, I have a bad case of strep, feel the need to rest for weeks, but quitting my job is not an option. I remember mono wiping me out years ago, but it’s harder now. I have the energy of a jaundiced newborn. I turn my head, I need to take an hour nap. I sit up, two hour nap. I get up to use the restroom, I’m down for the night. Those who’ve had mono will understand this, there’s just nothing like it. This is the most energy I’ve felt since Monday afternoon and I’m about to fall over on the keyboard.
Rest has been wonderful, though. Between naps, I’ve been able to listen to hours and hours worth of messages I’ve been itching to hear for some time, read The Hunger Games, and watch a few movies. God has provided practical help by way of friends caring for our boys (thank you, Becky and Kristin!), a wonderful homemade lasagna (thank you, James and Amelia!), and multiple offers from dear friends to help.
Perhaps the greatest gift of help (and undoubtedly the best Mother’s Day gift I could ask for) is that tomorrow afternoon, Joe will be picking my mom up from the airport to rescue me help me. This is just like something she would do.
I feel emptied of energy this Mother’s Day, but I am filled to the brim with thanksgiving.
a random few
The boys and I returned from Texas yesterday afternoon, all delighted to see the Man of the House after being away for two weeks. When Joe was asked to speak for a men’s retreat at a church in Houston, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to fly down with him and visit with my family and friends.
A highlight for me, besides having access to a Chick-fil-A for two weeks, was getting to celebrate my 30th birthday with my family and three of my dearest, life-long friends. It’s been seven years of living so far away from these friends, making times like this even more special to me.
These pictures have no particular rhyme or reason, but I love them and wanted to remember them here.
Uncle Ryan taking the boys to an Astros game
Becky, Marian, and Melinda
Bennett, Sam, Rylee, Colin, and August outside of The Chocolate Bar
The cousins enjoying some yogurt at Cherry Berry
Peter’s first time in the pool
Colin and Sam providing an audience to Uncle Ryan’s fish fileting show
read-alouds for april 2012
Peter- 9 months
Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon
Guarino, Deborah. Is Your Mama a Llama?
MacPherson, Elizabeth H. A Tale of Tails
Campbell, Rod. Dear Zoo
Sam- 2 years, 10 months
Barrett, Mary Brigid. Shoebox Sam
Berner, Susanne Rotraut. In the Town All Year Round
dePaola, Tomie. Pancakes for Breakfast
Gliori, Debi. Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep
Hughes, Shirley. Don’t Want to Go
Saltzberg, Barney. Cornelius P. Mud Are You Ready for Bed?
Saltzberg, Barney. Cornelius P. Mud Are You Ready for School?
Scarry, Richard. Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever
Srinivasan, Divya. Little Owl’s Night
Thompson, Lauren. Leap Back Home to Me
Verburg, Bonnie. The Kiss Box
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. A Little House Birthday
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Summertime in the Big Woods
Notes:
Our favorites from this month were: In the Town All Year Round, Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever, and both Cornelius P. Mud books. Sam also really enjoyed the two Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Don’t Want to Go, by Shirley Hughes.
photo shoot :: my niece and nephew
I’ve had certain suspicions prior to this photo shoot, but after today, I think these pictures confirm that I might just have the cutest niece and nephew around (says their completely unbiased aunt).
Sam and Peter can’t get enough of their cousins, which makes sense since these two are a total hoot to be around, both full of so much personality- each in their very own unique way. We are really blessed to have these little ones in our family.
Here is the last group of pictures I’ll be posting from my time in Bryan-College Station this past weekend…Enjoy!
photo shoot :: the kipp family
The next round of pictures from this past weekend were taken of my sister-in-law’s parents Ron and Penny, their two daughters Shannon and Melinda with their families, and Penny’s mom.
I love this group of people! They are so fun to be around, love each other deeply, and make me feel as though I am one of their very own. My brother was blessed indeed when he married into this family.
Here are some of my favorites…
photo shoot :: the williams family
This past weekend, I was given the fun privilege of photographing my sister-in-law’s family. This first installment of pictures were taken of Melinda’s sister Shannon, her husband Gary, and their three daughters, Misty, Mackenzie, and Gracie. It took me all of two minutes to realize that I could happily snap pictures of this beautiful family all day long.
A Special Day for a Special Woman: Guest Post from Joe
Greetings from the Wild North, where the reign of the White Witch has come to an end and Aslan as is on the move (it’s been a lovely 66 degrees for weeks). Joe here, writing from the isolation of my empty cave. My little tribe is on pilgrimage for a few weeks and I’m doing my best to cope without delicious victuals, tickle fights, and familiar warmth on the other side of my bed.
But this post is not about me. Today is a special day in the Rigney house, and I have the great privilege of highjacking this blog and marking time with a list.
Today is my beautiful wife’s 30th birthday and it’s fitting that I as her husband rise up and express gratitude and love for an excellent wife and mother. So without further ado, here are 30 reasons that I love my wife and am filled with gratitude to God for her.
- She is my best friend
- She is the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen
- She gave me this little guy
- And this one
- God has given her incredible wisdom and insight into my life
- She’s not afraid to challenge me and push me to be the man that God wants me to be
- She is full of wisdom and kindness for her friends and my students
- She is a good friend who loves to make her friends feel special in very particular and concrete ways
- She followed me to Minnesota
10. She stays without complaining (despite the difficulty of being so far from family and friends in Texas)
11. She absolutely loves to make special days special; she is a creative genius about holidays
12. She is a fantastic cook (and she loves to feed people)
13. Her heart is bent and inclined toward generosity and giving; she can’t help but gladly share what she has
14. She provides a wonderful balance of affection and discipline for our boys
15. She regularly amazes me with her creativity with Sam and Peter
16. She works incredibly hard to make our household a place of joy and gratitude and fullness and life
17. She wakes up in the morning knowing who she is because she knows who God is
18. She is an incredible photographer and blogger; I’m so grateful that we’ll be able to remember our past in pictures and stories
19. She has a deep faith in God’s goodness and a winsome love for Jesus
20. She is a holy woman who hopes in God, and therefore doesn’t fear anything that is frightening (like submitting to and following a fellow sinner)
21. I never doubt that she’s in my corner. And with her in my corner, I can climb mountains, swim oceans, and kill dragons
22. She strives to make sure that we don’t neglect either of our sons
23. She is a model of wifely submission and respect for her husband
24. She has a fantastic sense of humor and is an incredible storyteller
25. She is a welcoming, inviting, and engaging person who loves to make others feel safe and at home
26. She is always thrilled to see our boys and loves to talk with them and read to them and pour herself out for them
27. She delights to follow my lead and loves when I step forward as the head of our household
28. She has a wonderful family who love and support us in countless ways
29. She is a praying wife and mother who intercedes for her family
30. She loves the word of God and is always looking for ways to weave it into our lives
And one to grow on…
31. She is my (little ‘r’) rock who always directs me to the Rock, who is Christ
Happy Birthday, Jen. You are an unfathomable gift to me, and I’m so grateful to God for you.
today’s creation
Sam: “Mom! Come look what I built!”
Me: “Oh wow, Sam! Is that a castle?”
Sam: “No. It’s Wisconsin.”
toddler “busy bag” swap, take two!
If you’ve been following this blog for a little while now, you might remember the Toddler Busy Bag Swap that I hosted at my house last fall. A few weeks after I hosted my swap, my friend, Emily, hosted one as well and invited me to be a part of it! Below you will find pictures and links to (almost) all of the activities she included in her swap.
After participating in both swaps, we now have close to 40 different toddler activities (all of which are very simple for you to make and fun for your little ones to enjoy!). What I like to do in our home (if I am on top of things), is to set up a few activities on the little kids table in our kitchen and have them waiting for Sam to work on after his nap while I’m feeding Peter. This usually takes him around 15-30 minutes, depending on how much time he wants to spend on them.
I hope you find these as helpful and enjoyable as we have!
Flannel and Foam Board Game
Brown Bear Head and Tail Matching
Happy and Sad Face Magnet Pages
I recently took this same idea and bought some extra Easter eggs to make the same matching game and Sam loved it…
