BKGoodwill's Xanga

She's growing up!

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:03:18 GMT

Tonight Katrina and I took Madelyn to a birthday party she had been invited to by a friend from school. It was her first party that she personally had been invited to, and she was so excited. It just seems like such a big girl moment in her life. I can't beleive it. My little baby is being invited to parties already! The funny part was when I picked Madelyn up from Day Care all of the little girls in her class were whispering what presents they had got for the birthday girl to one of the teachers, Ms. Denise. They were all too excited and were having a hard time keeping it a secret, so Ms. Denise knew everything that Brynna was getting. Very cute. On the way home I asked Madelyn what her favorite part was. Her response was something like, "I liked the opening presents and playing in the play place and the food and the cake and the playing in the play place again," wich was the entire party in a nut shell. So cute. Hard to believe she's only three-and-a-half.

What A Week!

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:31:38 GMT

It's been a very busy week for the Goodwill family.

On Thursday morning Madelyn and Lydia's new bunk beds arrived and were set up. Maddy was so excited to have that top bunk! Tonight we tried letting Lydia sleep in a big girl bed, the bottom bunk of the new bunk beds we just got last Thursday, but after chasing her down three times in the hallway and on the staircase, she wound up back in her crib. She'll get there, just not yet.

Friday morning we had Baby #3's first ultrasounds. We told the technician that we don't want to know whether it's a boy or a girl, but after the first two, we're pretty good at reading ultrasounds, so we think we know. (We're not telling though, so YOU will just have to be surprised.)

Then it was off to Army Lake for Family Camp. There were probably about 3 times the number of campers and families there this year compared to last. That was nice beccause it meant so many families were coming together for the weekend, but having the small numbers last year meant we were able to get to know everyone out there. One of the really nice things this year was that we had a family from Wausau go with us, the Rosenows. Betsy and their daughter Anna have been coming to Mom's Group at our house since the beginning, but it's been hard to connect with Ryan becuase of his work requirements. So this was a really great chance to get to know him. Our DYS's the Millers did a really great job putting the weekend together too with a lot of fun activities for the whole familiy, including pirate treasure hunt Saturday night that Maddy loved.

10 months later...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:18:45 GMT

While working on my sermon for this week, I was trying to remember past Father's Day celebrations, and I couldn't quite remember it all. So, I checked out my old Xanga posts and there was the info I was looking for. I also had to go back to some of my old journals. Anyway, all of this got me thinking about how much I enjoyed journaling throughout college. I started keeping a journal pretty consistently in the summer of 1996 and kept it going for the most part on a daily basis until I got married in 2001. Then the entries became less and less frequent until I pretty much stopped them all together in early 2002. (Life really wasn't that exciting or advernturous working in a cubicle posting bills for an HVAC company.) But I also kept one during our Summer Assignment with a Summer Mission Team in 2005. Then we got on the Xanga band wagon for quite a while, until Facebook slowly took over my blogging time instead. But the downfall of Facebook is that those "What are you doing" statements just don't seem to capture life the way a real journal should. So does this mean I'll start posting more here on Xanga? Maybe. Does it mean I'll start keeping a written journal again on a regular basis? I don't know. But I feel like too much of life is being forgoten, too many memories escaping. The photos are fun to look at and remember, but all too often it seems like these days are rushing by and I won't be able to rememebr all of the great times with my family and friends if I'm not careful.

And speaking of Father's Day, it was Father's Day 2007 when I found out that Katrina was pregnant with Lydia. And for those who haven't yet heard, we are now expecting our third baby, due the early part of December. (Great time, right?!?)

Anyway, if anyone out there is still using Xanga, I'm sending my greetings, and letting you know I'm going to try to keep this somewhat more active again. It's only been 10 months since my last post.

Top Ten

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:22:25 GMT

The other day I heard a story on the radio about Obama and McCain's top 10 favorite songs. While the story didn't list all of their songs out, they did say that the two were quite different: Obabma favoring the Fugees and McCain favoring Abba, and both having at least one Sinatra song on their respective lists. (For their full list, see http://www.blender.com/WhiteHouseDJBattle/articles/39518.aspx) My initial thought was I'm sure I'd have more in common with Obama than McCain just because of the generational gap, but then I strated thinking about my own top 10 list. I wasn't sure exactly what my list would include, but as I thought about it I realized it's pretty diverse (even one McCain pick, which kind of surprised me). Here's what I came up with as my Top 10 favorite songs (in absolutely no order whatsoever).

"Indescribable" by Laura Story (a little better than Chris Tomlin's remake)
"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder (that bass riff is just so infectious, you can't help but love it)
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2
"Sabotage" by the Besatie Boys (I'm not sure why... maybe the Starsky & Hutch style video)
"Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band (especially the live version with the 3 minute intro)
"What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong (this is one McCain picked too).
Largo movement from Symphony No. 9 by Antonin Dvorak
"Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang ("get up-a wit' da' get down!")
"After The Last Tear Falls" by Andrew Peterson
"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" by The Beatles (there's just something about songs in 6/8)

Rock On!!

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:25:37 GMT

The Western Territory Commissioning really rocked out hard core this year! This little girl even changed the official salute to show just how awesome they are!

Hooray!

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:05:57 GMT

Tomorrow we leave for a munch needed vacation. We're going El-Cheapo on it too. Staying at CFOT for free, spending most of our time hanging out with friends for free, going to Lincoln Park Zoo for free. What will we be spending our money on (besides gas and tolls)? Food. Lots and lots of food. We're planning on hitting up all of our favorite old haunts: Cozy's, Portillo's, Caribou, Allende, Roong Petch, Bourgeois Pig, etc., etc. We're very excited, not just for the food but also the friends. Justin, Kelly, Jordana, Nancy, Jaime, Dan, Rachel, Ann, Jon, Rosie & Lucy--we'll see you guys soon.

The Grant Writers of Grace Session

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:32:00 GMT

I'm not sure why, but I've been thinking a lot about session names latley. Maybe it's because Commissioning was just a few weeks ago, and although we didn't go, one of the most moving parts for me every year is the parade of flags as I consider all those officers who have come and gone before us. Or maybe it's becasue I'm mindful of the session that has just been commissioned and the new one preparing enter training.

Whatever the reason, session names have been on my mind. They all tend to be great evangelistic proclamations (Heralds of the Good News, Ambassadors for Christ, Dauntless Evangelists, Messengers of God's Love) or plays on our strong military heritage (Prayer Warriors, Agressors, Conquereors, Invincibles, Defenders of Faith), or hopeful for the future (Visionaries, Preparers of the Way, Messengers of Hope) Never has there been a session called the Grant Writers of Grace or Faithful Human Resource Managers, yet those are the things I seem to be doing the most of lately. To me these session names serve as reminders of what I should be focusing on: winning the eternal battle for souls as we move forward into the future with the hope and grace of God.

It's kind of strange to think we're entering into our third year of officership. The corps is at a bit of a weird point. It feels like if something drastic doesn't change soon, the corps might not be here too much longer. Older adults are less interested and able to attend; our youth are busy working and enjoying the summer. It's a challenge, but a reminder that we're suppose to be growing the kingdom, not just fostering those already in it. We need to break out of the old patterns and mind sets and really be Builders of the Kingdom and Ambassadors of Grace.

Keep praying for us and the Wausau Corps.

To see more great session names visit http://www1.salvationarmy.org/heritage.nsf/titles/Sessions

Wait, what!?!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:51:03 GMT

SACEP starts when?!?

Oh crud... I better get busy...

And the winner is...

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:24:28 GMT

Save It!!

The totals wound up being:

Shave It: $131.05
Save It: $136.88

It was a narrow race. Just prior to announcing the winner the totals were at $106.43 & $106.88, in favor of saving it. Then our Admin Asst handed me an envelope with $24.62 in it from an "undisclosed source" for Shave It. I had come prepared however and added my own $30 to the save it side. (I had stopped by the ATM just before Youth Programs began--I had a feeling 45 cents was too close of a margin to let slip.)

Thanks everyone who helped out! Our kids are thrilled to be going to Youth Councils and Katrina is thrilled to not have a bald husband (as is my mom too, I'm sure.)

Shave It Or Save It!!

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:51:16 GMT

As a fund raiser for Youth Councils, I'm putting my hair on the line! Over the past 6 weeks I've been collecting money for Youth Councils in one of two jars: Shave It or Save It. Whichever jar has more money in it by Wednesday, April 23 determines the fate of my pretty blond hair. In other words, if there's more in the Shave It side, it's gone; more in the Save It side and I get to keep my gorgeous locks!

We're down to the final days and the funds on the two sides are pretty even. You can decide my hair's fate! If you'd like to contribute, send leave a comment saying how much you'd like to contribute and to which side before 3:00 PM on Wednesday. Then make out a check payable to The Salvation Army, with either "Shave It" or "Save It" in the memo line, and mail it to:

The Salvation Army
Attn: Capt. Brian Goodwill
202 Callon St.
Wausau, WI 54401