DB and Jeni

2008-07-17T21:45:00.008-04:00

New Blog!!

Well, after two years at this site, DB, EB, and I have moved to a new address!

www.dbandjeni.com

This new site allows for a little more creativity AND we can password protect posts that are of a secure nature. Click on the picture below or the link above to go to our new site, and don't forget to update your RSS feeders!

2008-07-11T15:43:00.002-04:00

Okay, I need some advice. EB is a little drool baby - is there any way to keep her crib sheet from becoming yucky without changing the sheet after every nap?
Also, any ideas on wake time activities for an almost 5 month old? (Who, at this very moment, has her foot in her mouth).

What's in My Bag Contest Winner: Leah Clark! Thanks Leah for participating - I will be sending you some brownies this week! Email me your address!

And finally - Devin Moore is having baby Claire as I write this! Stay tuned for pictures and updates!

2008-07-05T13:17:00.003-04:00

What's in Your Bag?

So I saw a picture on the Flickriver (DB's and my new favorite thing to look at online) that had a purse emptied out. Turns out it is this whole thing on flickr called "What's in Your Bag?". So I am starting my own tag for my friends - show what's in your bag! I am particularly interested in seeing what is in Carree Stewart's bag - now that I think about it, Tina and Jody would be pretty interesting too - okay, on second thought - everyone I know who has a blog needs to do this - mine is predictable given my season of life, but I would LOVE to see Jessi (aka Pied Piper), Katie Fox (hello, toddler mom?), my mom (predictions: one unfinished knitted object, one unfinished crosstitch, and a cozy mystery?), and anyone else reading this - please link back and let us see who you REALLY are based on the contents of your bag! The person with the most interesting items wins a batch of brownies made by ME! (Unless the winner is Katie, who makes the best brownies in the world - I am not sure what her prize would be...)
Also tagged: Blaire, Karey, Lyndsay, Nichole, Tara, and ANYONE else reading this!!!

2008-07-05T12:41:00.005-04:00

The Fourth

The Wright family had a great fourth of July! We got some great news about future plans, we celebrated our nations independence with good food and friends, and we enjoyed our first full year with EB in our lives (we found out on the 4th of July last year that EB was coming!!!)

Okay, on a more practical note, lets talk diapers. EB went up a size in diapers - she was busting out of the size ones, so with much sadness, she graduated to size 2. Unfortunately, her diaper now leaks every night (she is sleeping abut ten hours, so it is pretty full when morning comes). Any thoughts on how to fix this situation? It seems odd to me that going up a size in diapers would cause this problem. We use Huggies - are pampers just that much better? I look forward to some tips on this....

2008-06-28T21:14:00.012-04:00

Genius Baby

So while I was out of town, my AMAZING husband got me a Nike plus device - it goes inside a special running shoe and hooks to my ipod and records running mileage on an online program. It is SO COOL!! We ran twice today just to see what our little "Nike Mini" people would do (they dance or jump hurdles or ride a unicycle so far).

So on our second run tonight, EB was wearing her shoes in the stroller. Every time she kicked her feet I would tilt the stroller back and she would laugh. It didn't take long for her to figure out that SHE was making the stroller tilt. It was unbelievable! Who knew a four month old could understand cause and effect. Seriously - GENIUS!!!!

2008-06-21T21:17:00.004-04:00

I just love people. Seriously, I really love people - nearly everyone I meet. This week EB and I have been able to spend time with the people at the very top of that list - the people who I love as much as my family - people who are dear to my heart, forever friends, no matter how long we are apart it seems like just yesterday we were together, "kindred spirits", etc... Don't get me wrong - I haven't seen ALL of the people who meet this description this week - but I have been blessed to spend time with a lot of them. Today EB and I had breakfast with Karen Salerno and Ricky Stark - Karen is such a great cook, and it was wonderful to catch up with them and, as always, we were encouraged by the visit. Then we hung out with the Hall family. It always does my heart good to see those three amazing kids - not to mention Johnnie and Tonya, two of my very favorite people in the whole world!
Than an evening with my Daddio. EB loves him so much - he makes her laugh and talk like crazy! The only thing that could have made this day better would be if DB were here to share it with us. Check out the updated Flkr page on the left hand column - some great pictures especially of the Hall girls!

2008-06-20T21:09:00.003-04:00

There have been lots of things said of me living in KY. Funny how the pot some times laughs at the kettle black. Yet one thing that has never been said of me - hey you city boy!!!
This video express just that.

2008-06-20T20:32:00.008-04:00

EB's Busy Week in SC

Monday EB got her shoes off (she only wears them at night now!!). Since then we have spent time with Mamaw Wilma and Great Mamaw Pearl, Honey, Grandaddio, Aunt Jessi and Kris (wedding next June!!!), Nana (great grandmother), Karen Salerno, Tara (baby due in three months!), Rhonda, the Dickerts (Donna, Mary Catherine, and Sarah - Steve and Erin couldn't make it, sadly, but we had a great time with the Dickerts that made it!), Devin (whose baby is due in three weeks!) and there is more to come! This has been a week of special time with special people that EB's mommy loves dearly - so of course, EB does too!!!
EB's week has been VERY busy - but I guess when you are so cute and loveable, everybody wants a piece of your time! We are having a great time, with more fun to come...stay tuned! (And check out EB's pictures on the Flikr page to the left).

2008-06-17T21:44:00.002-04:00

Update from SC: EB's loathing of travel

Monday morning EB was officially given feet free status for twelve hours a day. YEAH!!! She loves it - but when shoes time comes at night, EB and her mommy both have a really hard time. EB has cried herself to sleep two nights in a row, and her mommy isn't much better. I guess sweet EB will adjust to this phase the same way she did the casts and the shoes all of the time, but my heart is breaking for her at night. 4 years of this! Tonight she actually threw up when I went to put the shoes on - I am teary-eyed even typing this! The evening agony aside, her feet are perfect now and the nighttime shoe wearing is just for maintenance. She is so blessed to have the option of getting her feet fixed, and whether she choses ballet or basketball, her feet will serve her well!

Today EB has been fairly fussy off and on all day. (Not to mention her very vocal protests all the way home yesterday). Maybe this is because she is teething? Maybe this is because everything is unfamiliar? Or is this because she is a little off kilter from driving all day yesterday? I do not know why, but my normally sweet, amiable, non-fussy little angel has become a totally different baby the past two days. Goodness gracious! I am considering never leaving the house again - or is this a normal part of a baby's life that she needs to learn to deal with (and that I need to learn to deal with)?

2008-06-15T14:42:00.010-04:00

Happy First Father's Day to DB, and first father's day as grandfathers to Papa D and Grandaddio!

This is a big week for Baby EB! Tomorrow she gets her shoes off while she is awake! We are so excited for the little cutie - she has been so patient with those shoes one - they haven't slowed her down or set her back one bit! She is truly amazing!

She also gets to spend a week in Greer, SC with Jeni's family, and then on to Charleston for a week with Honey and one of Honey's good friends. Jeni and EB are VERY excited, but sad as well - we will miss DB SOOOOO MUCH!!!!

2008-06-12T22:05:00.007-04:00

Last night Jeni and I took EB over to Fox and Hound Pub & Grill to meet face-to face with some of the local Louisville Twitter members. There were several notable attendees including @dgregorie who coined the term "podcasting" also recognized in the Let's Tweeup online article @EBWright would also be noted as an important part of the evenings events. This Video reveals the youngest member of the Twitter community.

Still wondering what Twitter is about - check out this video!!

2008-06-10T20:36:00.004-04:00

Sneaky EB has been able to scoot for quite a while now, but pretty much only when we are not looking. No way would she ever "perform" for the video camera. Well, EB has finally been outsmarted by her mommy. I placed her on this blanket and took a picture every five minutes...
(posts like this are pretty much just for the grandparents who want to know every little thing...sorry to the rest of you...)

2008-06-10T07:57:00.004-04:00

How does a 3 and half month old entertain herself? Well, EB spends hours on end rolling over and scooting. Even as I write this she is throwing her feet back and forth talking up a storm. Every now and then she rolls all the way over on her tummy - but she is very unhappy when that happens.
7 days until the shoes come off!!! Yeah for EB!!!!

EB and I spent the day out and about yesterday at a coffee shop in Louisville. Please don't think I am stupid, but does anyone have suggestions on going out and about with bottles? According to the directions, it seems impossible. Someone enlighten me on how to travel with bottles without poisoning my baby. Right now we just mix it on the spot, but I know that will not always be possible.

2008-06-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

Any one know the source of this very very old paragraph with out doing a google search?

2008-06-05T16:49:00.003-04:00

EB Flips over!

Well, it happened weeks ago for the first time - she was playing on the floor during her feet free time and the next thing I know - this is what I see. I was so proud of her! Even with her shoes one, her favorite thing to do is throw her feet up in the air. Well, this week it became a repeating event -WITH her shoes on, she flips all the way over..well, almost - more like half and half.

2008-06-03T21:24:00.006-04:00

EB's New Hairstyle (and other things I learned from Tonya Hall)

My dear lifelong friend Tonya Hall has taught me many things over the years. Her classic sense of style (think Lorelia Gilmore) and passion for the Lord are aspects I can only dream of emulating, but it goes much deeper than that. When in desperate need of a new kind of make-up, Tonya is my go-to-girl. (New Favorite: Sephora Mineral). She introduced me to The FIRM workout videos, some of my favorite books (The Mark of the Lion Series, Stepping Heavenward), budgeting using envelopes (Crown Financial Ministries), BabyWise and Growing Kids God’s Way, many great recipes, and, the icing on the cake, a little girl should always have a big bow on top of her hair. As many of you know, EB has never left home without a bow in her hair, but yesterday was a monumental day, as I discovered that her hair is long enough to put the bow directly on top of her head, following in the footsteps of two other beautiful little dress wearing girls, Emily and Claire Hall. The bow thing I can handle - if only I can be half as good of a mom as Tonya in other ways, I'll be happy! Thanks Tonya - you would be so proud of our little EB!

In other news - the count down is on! 12 more days until she gets her shoes off!! We are not sure exactly how much she will have to wear the shoes, but as of June 16th, it will NOT be 23 hours a day! YEAH for EB!!!!!

2008-05-28T08:02:00.004-04:00

Do you ever wonder what we are doing between the long periods of time that we post a new blog article?

Twitter is a very simple way of keeping up with the little details watch this Video to see how.

A few things to note - 1. pay careful attention to your text message plan on your cell phone, as this service will offer to send you messages via your phone. 2. You may also update or read your profile online @ twitter.com/(your account name) OR as Jeni and I have come to love - we have added a RSS Tab that we manage our account as well as EB's

Yes, Yes, I know - RSS is another new idea - hold on let me find a video.......

Some places that provide RSS Readers include:
* Netvibes (DB and Jenis fav)
* Google Reader (another ok reader)
* illumio (not a fav of mine but another well recognized)

If you chose to set up a Netvibes page you can feel free to email me any questions regarding setup or use. Also if you added twitter you can automatically add content in your netvibes page and bring your info in just like your email.

Twitter accounts you might like:
* dbthedoulos (DB's random daily thoughts
*Jeniwright (Jeni's journey of mommyhood)
*EBwright (well - need I say any thing)
*willcmars (a very good poet)

(Added note - netvibes saves you SO MUCH TIME - Jeni VERY HIGHLY recommends using this - and Jeni is not the most technologically advanced of all people, although she is coming along quite nicely...)

2008-05-26T09:56:00.007-04:00

This has been a fun weekend! EB has enjoyed playing with her Daddy non-stop! Saturday we relaxed all morning and then took EB to Waterfront Park. We walked and walked around downtown Louisville and ended up eating dinner on 4th street. Then home with a zonked out EB so mommy and daddy could watch National Treasure Book of Secrets. I must say, cheesy though it is, I really liked this movie!
Yesterday we went to Sojourn and heard another great sermon on Romans. Lunch with Karey Kilgore, followed by a cookout and fun evening at the King family's newly built and almost finished house - top it all off with beautiful weather and you couldn't hope for a better day!
Added note: Sunday's really mess EB up. Until the last two weeks she just slept through everything. Now she is excited to be around new people and new places and you can't get the little girl to sleep for anything! Next week...da da daaaaa...EB goes to the nursery! Believe it or not, I have been pushing for this for a while now, but DB likes to hold her during church. Now that she is a wiggly worm, things must change....

During the 8:00 Feeding tonight DB discovered that Little Bit is a Drama Queen.

2008-05-25T08:44:00.003-04:00

The following was sent to me in an email from a family member in K-town. I couldn't stop laughing....

Due to the popularity of the Survivor shows, we're planning to do our own show entitled

"Survivor: Tennessee Style."

The contestants will start in Bristol, travel down to Morristown and on to Knoxville. From there they will head over to Athens then Chattanooga. They will then proceed north to Nashville then east through Cookeville, Crossville, Kingston, back through Knoxville and hit I-81 all the way back to Bristol.

Each will be driving a pink Volvo with Florida license plates and several large bumper stickers that read:

"I'm Gay and Dale Earnhart was my lover"
"NASCAR Sucks"
"Go Bama"
"Copenhagen is for Idiots"
"Barrack in 2008"
"Deer Hunting is Murder"
"Say No to Budweiser"
"I'm Here to Confiscate Your Guns"
"Go Gators."

The first one to make it back to Bristol alive wins.

2008-05-21T21:30:00.002-04:00

From the loss of a finger to the clothing malfunction EB has had an eventful week! Her mother has really enjoyed being a stay @ home mom. Today I got really excited to come home and play with EB on her 3 month mark in the world. Little did I know! She has started talking?!? As you will see in the video she hasn’t quite mastered holding up her head – but she certainly lets us know her opinion.

2008-05-20T14:46:00.004-04:00

EB Has a New Trick!

The first time it happened I thought it was because I had not managed to hook her diaper tight enough. When it happened a second time, I began to think she had done it on purpose, especially because she was smiling and laughing at me.

Here is what I know - how it happened will probably always remain a mystery. EB is playing on a blanket on the floor, and for a few minutes sounds a bit unhappy - then she is back to talking in a normal, happy tone. I look over, and her diaper is around her knees - she is smiling, her clothes and the blanket are soaked, and her diaper is dry. Hmmm...

2008-05-16T08:46:00.008-04:00

Day Three Staying at Home with EB: Injuring My Child

Yes, that's right. Every mother's fear has been realized in me, Jeni Wright. After EB's 7:00 bottle this morning, I decided to brave the ever daunting task of cutting my daughter's fingernail. I have been putting this off for so long now EB's fingernails are long enough to provide a canvas for the second painting of the Sistine Chapel. On the fourth fingernail, EB's mouth turned down and her lower lip popped out and her face turned bright red and after ten seconds of silent ranting, the loud, violent wailing started. My poor little baby girl! I hugged her to me while she cried and cried for what seemed like forever - but was actually about 2 minutes. The next thing I know, I see her smiling through my tears...uh, I mean....her tears. (No way am I such a softy that I would cry harder than she did). After calling DB and a quick debate about whether or not she needed to go to the hospital, I wrapped her hand tightly in a green bib and decided to wait it out.
Now she is playing on her RRRoaring Fun Play Gym and keeps looking at her hand as if she is trying to remember why it has this big bib wrapped around it. Is the short term memory of a baby the same as Dory on Finding Nemo? Whatever the case, she is fine, and maybe one day I will finish cutting her itty bitty fingernails. Now that the worst has happened, it can only go uphill from here, right?

I am also curious to know how many of you mother, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles have maimed your child in a similar way. PLEASE share a comment and make me feel better, okay?

2008-05-14T14:15:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of my new lifestyle staying at home with EB. It is a bit bitter sweet - leaving my job at Sozo International, a job I loved with people I love, but very exciting to think I can spend this time with precious Baby Blaine. I mean, who wouldn't want to stay home with this little girl? I am sad to no longer have this connection with what is going on in Afghanistan, but I plan to continue volunteering with them and taking part in anyway I can.

As most of you know, this has been a pretty difficult time for our little family, as our whole life plan has changed in the last three months. Things have settled a bit recently, we have moved and are settled in (sort of), DB has a job that he really enjoys, and today is my first day in my favorite job yet! EB's feet are doing good - she is happy and sweet and wonderful! Maybe one day we will be back on track and headed toward Central Asia, but in the meantime, we are seeking God and trying to figure out what He has for us here and now. One day soon I will post about the myriad of thing He is teaching us and revealing to us about Himself through this. In the meantime, know that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and most of, we are thankful for this adorable little girl!

2008-05-08T20:44:00.008-04:00

2008-05-08T11:51:00.002-04:00

Research that reveals new paths to productivity
Recently I have fallen back into my evil habit of writing a to do list and then ignoring it because I don’t think I can get it done. I know from past experience that the best way out of this rut is to read research about productivity. Even if I don’t act on the research, taking the time to think about productivity inspires me to be more true to my to do list.

1. Pay attention on Wednesdays and Thursdays. ...

2. Stop obsessing over your choices and just decide....

3. Go to church... (this was really interesting)

4. Put a treadmill in your office...

( This is a great blog post you should read the rest of from Brazen Careerist)

2008-05-03T18:08:00.003-04:00

Thanks Honey for the bows and bloomers! Now Baby Blaine can wear her dresses without her diaper hanging out! She was feeling embarrassed about being so unladylike. (Bloomers were impossible because of the bar between her shoes, but Honey, otherwise known as Jane, sewed snaps up both sides of a few pairs). She LOVES all of her bows and looks forward to wearing a different one with every outfit!

In other news, thanks to Carree and Sophie for the shoutout to EB on their blog. EB had a nice time hanging out with the Stewart girls this week. Carree is such a good mommy, and Sophie is such a sweet little girl - I hope EB learns a lot form her!

2008-04-29T08:14:00.003-04:00

As many of you have notice on the blog over the past few weeks I have been talking with a company called DBSinteractive. A web company in the Louisville area that works with design and marketing aspects. They also do some software stuff but I haven't tried to figure that one out yet....

I started on Monday working 8-5 which for me looks more like (7:20-5:30) just because I am attempting to learn the market and the mark ups for my job. I am learning soooo much about the net and Search Engine stuff its crazy. Annny way< the next time I have a chance to plug in my external hardrive to the computer I will upload more video of EB... but for now. PEACE

2008-04-23T20:10:00.008-04:00

Two Months
Baby Blaine had her two month check up today. She is 10 lbs 13 oz, 23 in long - exactly average for a 2 month old! YEAH!! She is eating exactly what she should, and she even slept through the night last night! We aren't betting on it being a trend, but we are thankful for whatever sleep we get!

This weekend we visited my family in South Carolina. My grandmother met Blaine for the first time and it was a mutual love at first sight. Blaine laughed and smiled and talked to Nana - it was precious! Blaine also got to meet some of my closest friends - all of whom immediately loved her dearly (of course)

2008-04-16T06:29:00.004-04:00

I have been offered a job in Louisville KY, by Digital Business Solutions. A company that knows the web and works for a large client base to put them on the center stage. From Website design to search engine ranks they cover it all. Jeni and I are pleased to begin seeing a few of the puzzle pieces coming together in our life. Big thanks to Cyndi Masters, the owner, Mike Foster, Director of Online Marketing, and Dan Seifert, Sr Account Executive.

2008-04-14T23:43:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning was opening day of spring turkey season in the commonwealth of Kentucky. As any good hunter would do regardless of the fact it was below 40degreeeees I got up made myself some coffee and started the typical rituals for a morning hunt. I gathered up article after article of camo, food, watter and all the right equipment for this sport. (High top boots, jacket, face mask, gloves, hat, jacket special pants, and never forget the calls) A big shout out for the new "sassafras box call" that I was given while home in East Tennessee this last trip.

5 AM - I arrive @ the "farm" three of us are going to be hunting this one farm together today. As we start our morning walking toward the back 80 acres we are easing along trying not to spook up an of our game. I take my first post of the day just before day break under a nice cedar tree. My friend and expert turkey hunter Keith King was pulled up in a fence row about 200 yards my North West. The morning began with some easy calling as I watched three hens drag their way into my area of the woods with no promising bird for the day. After about one hour of calling and enjoying the wonderfully cool morning we moved on into a different area of the farm where there had been some more promising gobbles. At around 9:45 am I took a seat next to a large forked popular tree in a good fence row thanks to some well placed calling by my partners there came my prize strutting and gobbling in the bottom of the draw just South of my tree. In a fearful state of spooking a few jakes as I had no choice but stand for a shot on my prize bird. When he took a step behind a large maple tree just 50 yards down the hill from my current position I took my chances. My attempt was successful at getting to my feet with out spooking the other birds, and as that beautiful Gobbler strutted himself out from behind that tree well .... you saw the picture. I became the happy owner of my first true Long Beard.

Due to a long morning in the woods it was and easy decision to return to the farm house for some coffee and warming up before we would return for the evening hunt as I took a post next to an old hay rake and waited out the rest of the evening looking and listening for the next bird.

2008-04-05T10:26:00.003-04:00

EB was six weeks old yesterday – and my how she has grown!! She is 23 inches long and a little over 9lbs. She is, of course, beautiful and wonderful, and keeps us laughing all the time! Most importantly, she met her Uncle DK last night – I think it was love at first sight on both ends. I see a bright future for the two of them, as they have a lot in common:

EB sleeps about 18 hours a day, DK would like to sleep 18 hours a day

EB makes funny faces, DK is just plain funny

EB likes to suck on a passy, DK likes to steel passy’s (Hardin family history – DK lived to torture me by steeling my passy and hiding it for the first few years of my life)

EB likes to stay up late and sleep late, DK does too…the list goes on and on

It is like they are instantly bonded by blood and common interest!

In other news, EB smiles frequently now, but we are having trouble catching it on camera…many smiles to come in future posts!

2008-03-27T20:12:00.006-04:00

I want to give a shout out to Dan and James at dbswebsite.com

As many of you might know Jeni and I are staying in Louisville, and I am currently looking for a full time job as we are leaving the student pastor position at Plum Creek. Today was an exceptionally productive day, as I had an interview with a Louisville based company called Digital Business Solutions, a website design and software development company. I had a great time talking with Dan and James, regardless of what Aaron says about them. (just kidding)

--- Keep praying for our little girl - she is still not enjoying the shoes, and often times just whines and cries for no real reason. When she isn't being a bit fussy, she has started smiling @ us - not just gas or an accident, but smiling in response to seeing our faces and talking to her. This might be one of the greatest things in life - the first time EB smiled at Jeni she laughed and cried and scared the little girl - we are trying to be calmer now when it happens.

We are traveling to Tennessee this weekend to visit family, and will have pictures and a new YouTube video up soon.

2008-03-25T14:21:00.006-04:00

Baby Snowboader

When your daddy is an avid adventure sport enthusisat and your Pappa D's lifelong ambition is to hike as many miles day as possible, you learn at an early age to experience extreme sports to the fullest. EB has already staked her claim as the family snowboarding expert. I know in many countries they start children off at an early age playing instruments and learning complex math equations, but our one month old takes the cake with her "snowboard" wrapped in pink ribbon.

On Monday we showed up for EB's third set of casts and the doctor said, " I don't think we need to put anymore casts on her. Let's start the shoes today." YEAH!!! Baby Blaine skipped at least four weeks of casting and probably won't have to have the expected surgery at all. Now in her "dancing shoes" as DB calls them, there are three months of non-stop torture for the little girl as she learns to deal with the heavy confinement.

Our little trooper is adjusting surprisingly well - after crying like never before for about 12 hours, she is dealing with her new wardrobe addition and almost back to her usual, laid back self.

Thanks for your prayers for quick healing - this is a crazy miracle! Don't stop! (See more pictures in album on the left hand column).

2008-03-23T19:07:00.006-04:00

--- EASTER ---
This weekend is well know for something that occurred a few thousand years ago. The resurrection of the Son of God.

While the season of spring brings the thoughts and evidence of new life as trees begin to bud and flowers begin to sprout. Our family wanted to share with you our special pictures (more included in the Photo album <---) as we celebrated a man named Jesus who God as a personal relational Father, One who loves his creation through the Son "Jesus"

Before we had lunch with the King family we took a few minutes to enjoy the hard work of a rock stacked wall that is here in our community of Waterford where we live.

We hope your weekend has been a blessed one. Please continue to pray for us as I am seeking a full time job and a new place to live. Also Jeni is returning to SOZO April 1st and will certainly be missing her little girl but is very excited to back work with her team!!!

2008-03-17T21:42:00.002-04:00

The little girls QUEST for a passy !!!
(2minutes:19seconds) but I promise its the best video yet.

2008-03-11T17:41:00.008-04:00

Nipple - the word is from the mid 16th Century, and until today I didn't realize there were all types of different ones?!? As you well know EB has been having a very hard time with here eating. We fight and fight and she will only eat 40-60cc of milk. If we force her to eat more -well most of you can guess what we spend the next 30 minutes doing. (thats right cleaning up the reflux) So theres no big deal right - just feed her the 40-60cc and stop. Well that is all well and good but one we are trying to get her weight back up to 8+ pounds. Two, TIME - not sure how many of the readers of this random blog have bottle feed a child on a regular basis but when they are just a few weeks old you feed every 2-3 hours. Again many of you are thinking ok no big deal.

Well yes but when you do not realize there is a difference in nipples and you are using a level 1 infant nipple and it takes 45 minutes to 60 minutes to feed only to turn around one hour later to feed again well its begins to get very tiresome. Yet today - a day that goes down in the history of DB and the nipples --- Jeni and I bought some new BORN FREE bottles and a level 2 nipple. Could it really make that big of a difference.

Let me start by saying we got home around 4pm and I was so NOT ready to feed the little girl all I really wanted to do was take a nap but knowing there would be a fair amount of work in cleaning the bottles and boiling them for their first use I agreed to help. Jeni washed and scrubbed I boiled and mixed up the formula, and then came the moment of truth. I served up 70cc of this wonderful - Similac^® Advance totally knowing I was about to be stuck on the couch for the next 60 minutes. Then it happened, the baby started to pull and down goes the milk cc by cc (stop to change a dipper ) back to the bottle and in less than 10 minutes GONE. Praise the Lord for a larger nipple. We both agree we have a new lease on life (more sleep) who knows we might catch up on the wash.
(Note: I feed the baby cleaned the bottle and wrote this blog post with links and pictures in less than 60 minutes again thanks for the new bottles)

2008-03-10T19:28:00.004-04:00

Baby Blaine had her appointment this morning to get casts for her little feet. The doctors at the Shriner's Hospital were very nice and gentle and sweet and put casts on her feet that reach her hips. Poor little thing is having a hard time coping today because she can't curl up in a little ball like she likes to, but the doctors have assured us that she is feeling no pain - only discomfort. Mommy and Daddy are having a bit of hard time, but we know that this is what is best for our baby girl, and she won't remember a thing by the time she has finished with the castings.
The doctor says 4-6 casts, which they will change every Monday, and then special shoes for three months. Please pray for our precious little one to be fixed quickly and painlessly, and for DB and I to know how to best take care of her while she is in casts.
Some of you also know that Blaine had some weight loss last week, but we are on top of things and feeding her every bit we can get her to eat every three hours. She is still not back up to her birth weight, but she is growing steadily and we are confident that she will be up to par in a short time. Her little belly doesn't seem to like formula so much, so please pray that she will digest the formula and her belly will grow.
Here is the video from the hospital of the casting process. Blaine handled things beautifully (especially because her daddy was feeding her a bottle the whole time).

We are so thankful for our sweet, precious baby girl and that God has provided us with excellent doctors to care for her so well.

2008-03-02T14:35:00.003-05:00

The pictures of EB in this little dress have a bit of a history - A few decades ago there was a "little boy" about to be born to Keith and Jane Hardin. On that fateful day of March 7th along came Jeni (the little boy) so her Grandmother "Nana" immediately ran out to Belk's and bought a dainty pink dress and some pretty little shoes. (ok - back up it was a little boy? well 20 something years ago there were no ultrasounds. Doctors just guessed based upon the way the mother walked what the mother was carrying.)

Well about 6 months ago when we discovered that we were going to have a girl it was recalled that there was this little dress, so on 2-25-08 EB got to come home in her mommy's dress.

If you could have only been a fly on the wall those few days in the hospital and could have heard the conversations of the Grandmothers – “she looks like _________ I will get the pictures out and we can see” - well regardless if I had hair of if Jeni didn't. If the lips are curved more like this or that la la la - We did get one pretty baby.

Several of you are aware that we are staying in the states a bit longer than we had thought because EB's little feet were turned inward. We will be meeting with a doctor this Thursday 3-6-08 just after lunch to discover what will be needed to see that they will straighten out like they should so she can run and play when she gets a bit older. Jeni and I are so grateful to have such an amazing little girl who is so healthy and happy - she has been sleeping GREAT and eating farely well, although mommy wishes the feeding would come a bit easier some times. All this said, things are going great in the Wright family's household – we love our baby girl so much and we are so thankful to have her as a part of our lives!!!

2008-02-28T10:56:00.004-05:00

Dear Cool Aunt Jessi,

Thanks so much for coming up to see me the day I was born. I know you had to come through an ice storm to get here, but I am so happy that yours was one of the first faces I saw! My mommy told me that you were such a big help in the hospital – she was a little out of it with all of the drugs she was on, and you were there helping her in such sweet thoughtful ways. I can’t wait for you to come visit and hold me again – I already love you and know that you will be a special part of my life! Thanks for being my mommy’s sister that she loves so much, and for being my precious aunt. My daddy loves you too, and thinks you are the best sister/aunt in the entire world.

Love, Baby EB

2008-02-26T12:51:00.002-05:00

2008-02-24T22:16:00.003-05:00

Day 1-3 From her Birth to meeting her very large family.

2008-02-21T23:29:00.002-05:00

The following video is all from the very first day of EB's life. Jeni has just come out of recovery and this is her first time to hold her little girl.

2008-02-21T10:14:00.002-05:00

We are currently @ Baptist East and Jeni is connected to the baby stuff - The next time you see an update we will have a baby E.B. I promise pictures for all of our friends around the world. (Pray for our parents who are driving up during a coming ice storm).

2008-02-17T08:53:00.002-05:00

Many of you might be wondering about our little bit... As of this past Friday the doctors said she was 9lb 4 oz Jeni takes a deep breath, and the doc says dont fret some times the ultrasound is off by 10% - Yeah I though She could be 10lb 4 oz, I am looking out for a healthy baby. Regardless we are still waiting for her to come. Saturday evening we had another baby shower and we have piles of cloths (Tina jan - we have more mommy stuff) There are some people that think she is going to be a dad's girl. Not sure where they would get that idea. I promise some pictures and more info soon. Just wanted you to have our most recent news.

2008-02-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

The Goal (3 of 4) Time

In the past two post we have talked about "The Goal" using this perspective of a hiking trip. We plan the date, the mileage, the gear. Then we "do." We take the hike, climb the stairs, whatever... The question in the first blog that has really haunted me recently- Did I choose a wise goal for my amount of preparation?

- Have I spent my time wisely?

Then I asked, "Was the time I spent planning and doing worth the investment? Was it really wise to walk 8 miles to see that waterfall?" I have taken this group of ideas and applied it to different areas of my life, not just hiking. I have started to see that the time I have spent doing certain things have not provided an ample reward.

You want to understand a major let down!!

I spoke with a park ranger and took his suggestion on a great hike. "Only 4 miles," he says. Then you get there and the leaves have all fallen off or better yet the dry season has set in and you only see a trickle of what you were expecting from a great waterfall. As I have looked at my time of investment in the Youth group over the past year I feel like I have gotten my boots dirty. I have spent countless hours working up sermons, playing games, "doing". The problem there in lies with the reward. My students are still not reading their Bible and seeking out God for themselves. I feel as thought I have some how not spent a block of my time wisely.

- You only have 10,080 minutes each week.
- Ask your self have your goals provided a good reward for your time

2008-01-31T06:24:00.000-05:00

The Goal (2 of 4) Doing

In my last post I reflected on the dry spell that I have discovered in my life due to a spiritual issues. I attempted to use the idea of stairs to a goal, or a great day's hike. It is easy to make plans and resolutions. Just a few weeks ago my father had planned a day hike in the Big SouthFork National park. It was just after the Holiday, and there were 8 or 10 people planning to go. We agreed on the distance, the date, and the goal. That morning when we started to gather, most of those who were willing to DO backed out.
- The planning is easy!!
-The Doing thats Hard ?!

When we are faced with the choices we often want the easy way out. Like this flight of stairs, would you rather stay at the bottom or climb to the top? Well there in lies an important question. What is in the doing? If I climb this set of stairs, or if I hike for 6-8 hours what is in it for me.

To accomplish any goal we must have an understanding of what is at stake. If I told you there was 1 dollar at the top of the stairs how many would run there to get it? Then lets assume I placed 100k at the top of the stairs.

What we must be careful with in our planning is setting our goals too high - for example, attemptimg to hike 20 miles in one day. The goal needs to have a good reward, like hiking 8 miles to see an amazing waterfall.

- Make the reward in accomplishing your Goal worth the work.
- (Next) What do do after you see the waterfall.

2008-01-30T07:19:00.000-05:00

Ode to Saturn

Dear gold Saturn, my very own car

Across the east coast you have taken me far

For nearly ten years you have served me well

Taking me safely over hill and dell

Though you leak when it rains and I never knew why

And I broke your poor engine, your dashboard message
I continued to deny

You were my friend, whom I loved dearly

Oh, my gold Saturn you were not a car merely

Many mailboxes and curbs you and I have met

But narey a wreck with other cars have you been in yet

Remember the good times with family and friends

Oh the tickets, the laughter, the story never ends

Now we must say a tearful good bye

Oh, dear Saturn, sold with a sigh!

2008-01-29T09:02:00.001-05:00

The Goal ( 1 0f 4) Planning

Do you ever feel like there are just so may places in your life that you would like to see changed. As with every January people make a list of new year presuppositions. Notice I am not focused on resolutions, because if your are like me the doors you are trying to open are some times at the top of a long flight of stairs.

So that is it right make the goal easy and small so you don't have to work hard to accomplish it right. OK, now we can all rest easy knowing we just need to make smaller and easier goals. NO !!!

DB Whats the point - Well to be open and completely transparent, I have had a bit of a dry spell I guess you might say. John Piper calls it a Hunger for God, others have called it a soul craving. Here is what it has looked like for me. Many of you know I am a Hiker- so I start planning a trip get a date in mind pack a bag grab some gear (there are several things I need for a good hike) and head for the woods. I have made the decision I am going to Hike - The Resolution. I am standing there ready to start my day. The question in my planning is did I choose a wise goal for my amount of preparation?

- Planning, or resolutions, are an important part of the process.
- Did I choose a wise goal for my amount of preparation?
- How do you continue the hard work of climbing the stairs to the Goal.

2008-01-25T10:53:00.001-05:00

I enjoy hiking and seeking out sights like this because God gives me a fresh breath from creation after hours of just enjoying what he as created.

Many of you might know that Jeni and I have recently accepted a job with a company that will be doing high adventure travel. It is fun to dream about the new places we will see and all the people we will be meeting. Continue to pray for us as we are expecting Elizabeth Blaine to be joining us on this journey we call life. Her date of delivery was originally March 5th but the doctor and Jeni are now talking Feb? So keep reading.

I have recently discovered a fresh breath in my blogging world, and I do promise to do better on updating. ENJOY!!!

2008-01-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

A man in Topeka, Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read "Calls: $10,000 a minute."

Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to GOD. The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.

Upon entering a church in Jellico Tennessee, - he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read "Calls: 35 cents."

Fascinated, he asked to talk to the pastor, "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to GOD, but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call.

Why?"

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in Tennessee now ...... You're in God's Country, and It's a local call."

2008-01-18T16:33:00.001-05:00

Okay, I have a confession to make. I am totally not into the whole election year thing. I am reading books about parenting and current events only interest me when they deal with Central Asia. Berate me if you want to make a pregnant woman cry, but I will become interested eventually and I will educate myself on the candidates and vote as all good Americans should, but as of right now, I am simply not interested.

My little sister, on the other hand, is all about Fred Thompson. As you can see on this video, she used to be all about Huckabee because of Chuck Norris, but she and her boyfriend Kris are not only all about Fred, they are volunteering their time to help out with his campaign. Now, I know nothing about Fred Thompson, but I am proud of my little sister for taking a stand and being a part of this great United States. Props to Jessi for being a good American citizen and setting a good example for me and everyone else who has been totally ignoring the whole election issue.

http://fredfile.fred08.com/blog/2008/flip-for-fred-jessie-hardin-greer-sc/

2008-01-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

It has been almost a month since I updated I do realize that there are many of you who have know idea what is taking place in our life, and some of you that do keep coming back well thanks.

Jeni and I are just a few weeks away from having our little girl here in our arms, and needless to say this might be a bit of a stressful time. We are starting to realize all the things that have to take place, and well ... I am not even going there. In the picture you will see the new pack-and-play that we bought for E.B. because we didnt want here to come and not have any where we could put her. (Yes we know all the items must come out before the baby goes in.) We just wanted to share the different things that have been bought or made for here thus far.

I am working on getting all the Christmas stuff together so check back for our Holiday!!

2007-12-06T10:46:00.001-05:00

One of my friends asked me yesterday if Baby Blaine was sitting up and waving at me yet. No kidding – it feels like I have been pregnant forever – like she must be a toddler by now - but I am just now entering my third trimester. That little girl is growing like crazy – and bringing me right along with her! She moves quite a lot – basically, every time I sit down. It is so amazing to feel her moving around and know that there is a human being growing in side my tummy – what a miracle. Now I know I am not the first woman to marvel at the miracle inside me – but when I think about the fact that my little girl is inside my tummy – it is mind boggling! What a blessing! I just cannot wait to meet her – to know her personality – to hold her and play with her and read to her and dress her in cute clothes and teach her about Jesus and sing and dance with her….you get the picture.

For weeks on end, DB and I have sat and tried to get him to feel her moving. I would put his hand right where she had just kicked, and we would wait – and then, suddenly she would move on the other side of my tummy. I think she was playing with her daddy – seriously – this went on forever. He has been able to feel her moving for about a week now – and last night we were sitting on the couch and he looked at my tummy and his eyes got really big and he said, “Was that her moving??? That looked like King King trying to break out!”

One of my friends from church told me that when she was pregnant, she used to place items on her tummy and the baby would kick them off – it was her office’s entertainment everyday. “Put the pencil on.” “Here – see if he will kick this off.” So for those of you who live nearby – I am trying to train Blaine to do this – hopefully she will learn quickly – I like to have party tricks, and there are a lot of parties coming up!

Things are great in Afghanistan with a refugee camp that Sozo has been working with. Sozo has done several distributions there, and has been raising money for a well and for housing for the 590 families before the winter. On the most recent trip, the elders of the camp expressed interest in being ready for development. They actually said that the distributions were good for a short time, but they really need help in finding jobs and doing things on their own. This is exactly what we wanted to hear!!! How exciting to watch this camp bond together and become a community with a desire to work towards a better future. Pray for this camp that God will move – that He will provide for their physical as well as spiritual needs!

Sorry this post is so long – I figure since I update once in a blue moon, I might as well make good use of it. By the way – I can’t wait to see my family for Christmas! I haven’t seen DK in a YEAR! I feel that I have an amazing advantage over him for the first time in my life – He is bigger and stronger and better at basically everything. Now, for the first time EVER I can pick on him, tease him, throw stuff at him, hit him, basically whatever I want – and he cannot do ANYTHING back to me. Pregnancy – a little sister’s dream!

2007-11-19T20:44:00.000-05:00

2007-11-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

HOODIE WEATHER – no not really we had a light frost this morning, and need I say it was a great day for a hunt – I woke up early and as I had indicated in my last post that today was opening day of gun season. As I had hoped I have some pictures to share with you and I will soon – include a video!!!

2007-11-09T06:28:00.000-05:00

Jesus would move to Central Asia !!!!

It is HOODIE WEATHER in Louisville and I am getting really eager about opening day (sat is gun season for Deer). I hope that my next post will include several pictures of a big buck that walks in front of my gun.

Jesus would live in Central Asia if he were ministering in today’s context. While reading the book of Matthew and attending a perspectives class in Louisville, it became very clear to me that the life of Jesus was focused on more than the Jews. Major surprise? Not really, until I took a pen and started marking my Bible ever time Jesus had some type of contact with a Gentile. Humm… To whom did Jesus spend more time teaching, talking with, and ministering to? Jews / Gentiles?

So why the MAP? The major concentration of lost souls in the world fill an area know as the 10/40 window, the area between the latitude lines of 10&40. Over 95% of the worlds human population live in what is know as the 10/40 window, and only 5% of Christian work, money and churches are located there. In America we see only 5% of the world’s population and the largest number of pastors and churches… you get the point.

Why are more people not willing to serve among the hard places in the world? Why are members of the Christian community not doing the very things that Christ commanded them to do? Matthew 11:5_The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Luke 14:13_But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame….

Rather we do things in our own ways and have justified our actions saying we are reaching the hurting and the poor here. ( GOOD ) But I believe Jesus would move to Central Asia.

2007-11-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

November 6th - The trustees of the IMB voted today and Jeni and I were approved to be appointed by the board in January. The long Long process of paper work chewed fingernails and prayers from all over the world have come to this group of men agreeing today that we are to work for the Board. Its all toward the field now…. Man I haven’t been on this cloud since well I found out I was having a girl.

2007-11-06T11:32:00.000-05:00

It is amazing to me the random things you will do when you are pregnant. (well your wife) Jeni and I have started going to bed early early early – WoW there was a time when I made fun of people who didn’t stay up past 9:30 (sorry Jody jan).

Last night – wasn’t much different we had just finished dinner with a family from Sri Lanka, at Bob and Kathy Drane’s home, and fell into or new Queen sized bed (which is getting smaller by the day – should have bought the King) extremely exhausted. I was talking to the baby, and trying to feel her move. I had my hand on Jeni’s belly pushing poking, trying to get the little girl to move. When she (the baby) started kicking I thought she was going to break a leg. I was like how in the world do you sleep with here kicking like that. “What are you talking about” Jeni said, she is not moving yes she is I jeered as if I knew what this little girl was doing that I have as of yet not felt move. “Put your had here” I protested. Who ever knew that you could feel the heart beat of that little kid, well except for all you smart people who have kids, or read a lot of books but anyway it was just amazing when I Felt my little girls heart beat at the end of my fingers

2007-11-01T18:01:00.000-04:00

Indian Grave Falls in the Smokey Mt.

2007-10-27T23:38:00.000-04:00

For those of you have not had the pleasure of my little rant I some times take when people use scripture out of context to fit their own purpose…. Here is my scripture twisting for the night…

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Mt 20 something – Who cares which verse the point is Tennessee just became the first in the SECC East division.

SEC Standings
SECC EAST
CONF. W-L OVERALL W-L
Georgia 4-2 6-2

Tennessee 3-2 5-3

South Carolina 3-3 6-3

Florida 3-3 5-3

Kentucky 2-3 6-3

Vanderbilt 2-3 5-3

Tennessee had a Biblical precedence that we would come to do something great – Last will be first right (ok I hope you all know I am kidding) Even though I know that God is for Tennessee. (If you do not believe that just send me a private email I will explain the reason God Watches Tennessee Football, and has a big orange welcome sign in Heaven. To all the Gamecock fans – great game the score does not indicate the effort of play, but problem still stands that the game comes down to the score board. There is always another chance for an O.T. in 4 more years.

2007-10-25T06:52:00.001-04:00

Ever just have one of those weeks that you need some comic relief... this has developed into one of those weeks. Not to forget that I have an all night Youth Lock INN starting Friday Night - which means I will not see the bead untill 9am on Saturday.
Where is monday when you need it???

So this morning after my first pot of coffee is started looking through some random junk to lighten the mood, before I started preparing for a big meeting that I have tonight. So HERE you go - enjoy the two things that brough me a few moment of joy today.

Paris Hilton gets interviewed by David Letterman, Paris seems annoyed at David when he kept on asking question on the whole jailing incident. It is really hilarious. Watch the video.

2007-10-19T08:59:00.000-04:00

March Madness – Middle School Insanity

Yes I realize it is fall but for those of you who did not
know, I (DB) have started subbing for Spencer County. Today was my
first day in the Middle School, and allow me to say I understand God's
frustration with the children of Israel. Time and time and time again
God would say do this and I will bless you. Do this and you will
prosper.

Deuteronomy 31:1-3
When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon
you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses
you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the
LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul
according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God
will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you
again from all the nations where he scattered you.

Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth;
meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do
everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Why do we hear Gods words and not do them? Even as adults we are like
the numerous youth who think the authority in place over their lives
is foolish and just there to make their lives more miserable. The
prophets lament throughout the Bible was to turn to the Lord – to
LISTEN. Are our insanely crazy lives a product of our unwillingness
to listen to the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

Matthew 15:9-11 "They worship me in vain; their teachings are but
rules taught by men. Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen
and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him
'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

Do our lives reveal that we refuse to listen to the words of God, or
that we are stuffing our lives with meaningless things attempting to
be happy? If God's children will humble themselves, pray, and seek
his face He will do far above what we could imagine. (Eph 3:20)

2007-10-18T11:22:00.000-04:00

The difference between truth and fiction: Fiction has to make sense. - Mark Twain

Life can some times be a rush and Fiction could be allot easier, some times I am not really sure which way is up. I have started a new social network thing with some friends - its called Twitter - you use your cell phone to send text messages to the web and then the web sends it out to every one who cares to listen. It seems like a fad that could catch on - but you need to check your txt package if you sign up. I have one buddy that well all he does is updates his account. I love you "A" but dude when do you sleep.

Jeni and I are getting rally excited about the little girl. We have another doctors apt on Tuesday, and we will see if we can get some good picture to share with you. I was happy about having a kid, until last week when we discovered it was a girl, and now its like I know the kid, can start thinking of names and buying clothes that are the right color.

SO NAMES: We currently have a few suggestions:
* Claudia
* Rebekah
* Elizabeth
* McKenzie
* Emuu
* Irma Ellen
* Caitlyn
* Micaela
We will be developing a poll soon, so if you want to include a name, please send us your thoughts (D.K. Megatron will be on the poll).

2007-10-17T14:13:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had the phone ring and it seems as if the world around
you has just changed because of what the person has just said? This week I
received a call from a great friend who said "Medical reports have shown something abnormal." Just
like that fear changes the very face of everything. That phone call could
be about money, family, kids, or even news of war, yet in that very moment
the question stands, "Upon whom do you place your trust?"

David wrote in Psalm 27
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my
enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war
break out against me, even then will I be confident.

I am guilty of fear. My wife will call and say, "DB.(fill in the blank)."
and I begin to think of how to fix the problem. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of
love and of self-discipline. Those who read the KJV will remember
the word timidity as "fear". When the phone rings, and you are
faced with the choice of depending upon your self, or God, which power
will you chose?

2007-10-12T08:07:00.000-04:00

ITS A GIRL !!!!!!!!!

Jeni and I Just had this wonderful 3D 4D Ultrasound thing done..... (and ultrasound is a cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of human hearing, and for me seeing). - it was all fuzzy black gray and I couldnt make much out of it, but the people who do this on a daily basis said its a Girl.

I am working on moving the VHS over to Digital so I can share with you the wonderful world of fuzzy baby.

NOW the next question? What should we name the baby? Give us your suggestions of Girl names, and we will start another blog poll.

2007-10-10T10:56:00.000-04:00

The weeks are ticking right along – as you can see from the picture the baby is coming right along. Jeni is currently in week 20 of this great process, and if you have not voted yet on what you thing the gender is, YOU NEED TO Friday morning we are going to finally know what little bit actual is!!! Stay tuned to the poll, because we will be using our blog for naming the baby.

Several of you might have noticed on my Facebook account last week that I was in hotlanta for the Catalyst conference. It is a yearly event for leadership development, including great speakers like: John C Maxwell, Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, David Kinnaman, Ed Stetzer, Nacy Ortber, and the guy that rang my bell Craig Groeschel. The theme of the conference was Reverb, and Groeschel was talking about how we live as practical atheist. We often believe our effort is better than God’s. Our private life doesn’t effect our public life. OR We think we must please people more than God.

They Take away - WHAT are you cravings – what can you not live your life with out.
• Coffee
• Air
• People

2007-09-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

Thanks to every one that has called,emailed .... about Jeni and the Baby. Things are going great. She has finally broken through the first stage of felling sick and tired all the time, and took to cleaning the house... and cooking wow some great potatoes. The poll, vote on the Gender of the Wright baby over the past 4 days gives a large % to a girl. HUMMMM guess I need to be learning how to play house and have tea parties.

Sundays are always eventful around our home. With countless youth calling or wanting to do something during the days events. I am some times never really sure which way is up.
Although from the sermons that the pastor has been delivering we are discovering what is next in the game plan on the terms of Gods calender. "End Times"

Youth Events on Sunday Nights are always fun because the majority of the students who come to the evening Bible study are wanting to grow deeper in their walk. So this month we are going through a witnessing program called sharing Jesus with out fear.

The Discussions starts with 5 questions
* Do you have any king of Spiritual belief?
* To you, who is Jesus?
* Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell?
* If you died right now, where would you go? If Heaven, why?
* If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it?

The senior pastor and I are teaching the students the joy that can be found in the conversations, with the lost people of the world. In sharing with them the change that there personal relationship with Christ has brought in their life.

2007-09-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

What an amazing weekend. ( WOW) As Jeni and I look at the events that are filling up our calender this fall it seems this weekend is the last free time we have. So what do you do with your last free Saturday in a long long time.... Well we watched TV show after TV show online @ ABC.com - They have posted almost all of the Lots season online, and we started a new one called 6 degrees. (it is a bit of a soap) but needless to say they do have some great characters.

Breakfast in Taylorsville, when we got up on this morning the Dinner was calling my name. There are two great dives here, and one serves a great breakfast, well did. When we showed up to have our gravy, eggs, grits, etc. they were closed. Well i guess the second best bet will do the great DQ. ( I wish we had a Hardees).

It was a great lazy day.....

2007-09-06T20:10:00.000-04:00

As you all well know Jeni and I are expecting our first little one.... Now is your opportunity to interact with the first step in our kids life. The first poll of many that regard our little bit. As Jeni and I are excited to find out the gender of our child you can give us your guess before we post the facts online. (freely post a comment but most importantly vote so we can see the %%"s listed) A name survey will follow in which you can give us suggestions on the name of our child.

2007-09-02T11:37:00.000-04:00

Do you just ever wish you lived in the world of "Cheers"
From the guy who is crazy enough to stand at the alter a 3rd time, to the parent that has to deal with the extremely ticked off cat that some how got displayed by its tail. How can people really make it in this world today ha ....

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?

All those night when you've got no lights,
The check is in the mail;
And your little angel
Hung the cat up by it's tail;
And your third fiance didn't show;

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.

Roll out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead;
The morning's looking bright;
And your shrink ran off to Europe,
And didn't even write;
And your husband wants to be a girl;

Be glad there's one place in the world
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to go where people know,
People are all the same;
You want to go where everybody knows your name.

Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came...

2007-08-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

When was the last time you went rock climbing, and took the great jump off a cliff and found your self in the middle of a thrilling race of life or death. (hum lets see was 1993,1999, 0r 2004 with Sylvester Stallone.) What about the last time you came in and swept you wife completely off here feet with a romantic evening. I will tell you "I come from a long line of stubborn idiots." Because the more I ramble around in my head I realize is spend more time on my duff in front of the boob tube watching her live out her romantic dreams from You’ve got Mail or Return to me.

Yet I am “no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that.” As I began to process this idea I did the unthinkable, and got alone with my Brain!!! It’s a scary place to be some times, just asks my wife. No, on second thought don’t she just might say “What we've got here is failure to communicate." But just the same I was lost rambling around in my head thinking about the majority of conversations I have with my friends and students. “ What movie have you seen recently, really what did you think about it?” Who are you listening to these days,….” Well you get the gist. More times than not we are talking about the Corleone life and sleeping with the Fishes, and dreaming about the adventure life Mel Gibson's can live out on our TV screen. As a youth pastor I spend countless hours reading and attempting to follow the culture of TV, Movies, and Music. Through what seems to be a wonderful exciting eventful job that allows me to work with students on a daily basis (thank you Lord), one thing I have found is the lack of adventure we have in our own life.

Erwin McManus says – we have gotten so good at watching life happen rather than living life. That if we want to be heroic we rent Brave heart, if we need a great adventure we watch Lord of the Rings.

What happens, is the reality that we are living this life, as we give our $8 dollars, and set in the safety of our seats and eat our popcorn and drink our diet coke. We have become a generation of MOVIE/MUSIC critics, and our life is often defined by the themes and lyrics of our contemporary counterparts. As we watch and listen they fill us with our quotes and often inspiration.

I will have to give props to a guy like my brother-in-law, boredom is not on his list, though he might watch a few to many movies… THIS guy has a life adventure, he willingly participates in stick fighting tournaments. Want to talk about something uncertain and dangerous that will pump your blood pressure.

What are you doing in this life, are you watching it go by on the big screen or are you living large. “GO BIG OR GO HOME” and watch a Movie.

2007-08-14T20:54:00.000-04:00

Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to [a] those he loves.
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

In the life I have been allowed to live for the past 26 years I have often thought about the principle and reason of my life. As many of you are well aware Jeni and I have made a commitment to serve God in International Missions. The more I think about being a father and read this chapter of Psalms the more I consider the home the Lord is building. The city that doesnt have the Lords protection .... Well you see they guard in vain.

God is the element of our life, or should be the one guiding the plans of our life. Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. So if this life is about God's plan would not the heritage from God be for GOD !!

I think so - So consider this If the arrows in the hands of a warrior are the sons born in one's youth. Would not the little one God has given us that appears to be coming along in March be a great missionary.

2007-08-09T19:35:00.000-04:00

Jeni and I not only had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate my birthday today we also had a doctors visit and heard the heartbeat of our first little bit. If you look very close you will see the head and a small arm in the middle of the picture.

By the time we got to the ultrasound appointment, Jeni had to go with a full bladder... ha ha who ever thinks they need to tell a pregnant woman this.... must be crazy, or have never had a pregnant wife. Well we made it to the appointment and she had a wonderful time filling out the paper work ... they took and old device and attempted to hear the heart beat with a hand held box.

Needless to say we listened and listened, and the doc could find nothing... NO problem she said. You need to just go to the other office and they will perform and ultrasound. We made the time for our second appt of the day and waited on the next technician. She looked exactly how an ultrasound technician should look. Pleasant cute gray headed lady that made you feel like she had done this since the machine was created. I don't know. Post-urination euphoria or something. All I know is that Jeni was ready to see that little baby, the lady warmed up the ultrasound goo before starting the procedure.

In the 15 seconds it took for her to locate the uterus, the screen was blank and empty and completely devoid of anything remotely baby-like, and I though that Jeni was not pregnant "and has some splaining to do" She sure has been demanding lots of chicken salad this past week.

"And there's your baby!" she said.

As Jeni looked at the screen and the lady was printing off pictures we began to hear -

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

"And thats your Baby's heartbeat" she said.

The technician printed out 10 pictures but we only got 4 but unfortunately they don't offer the heartbeat as an MP3 file for the iPod. It's like living in the Dark Ages, I swear. Yet you can understand we are talking about listing to a thum sound who would be crazy enough to list to that over and over.... Well I did go out and find a file that I could listen to randomly when ever I was thinking about my little baby.

Jeni has not suffered much from morning sickness.... but the baby sure does like to snack (ha ha) I will give you more details and info as they come together.

2007-07-19T18:02:00.000-04:00

July 16-18 I had the great pleasure to travel to Rockville VA with Paul Chitwood.

Paul has been a life long friend a pastor, mentor, and is also a trustee on the International Mission Board. The reason for our trip to VA was to attend the Trustees meeting. Paul and I drove over from Louisvlle and on our way enjoyed the sights of Charletville. This meeting was a refresing time as I was able to talk with Paul about several spiritual issues, and also able to learn some insightful truths from the sermons he has been preaching from the parables.

The meeting was a great oppertunity for me to meet several members of the Central Asia team, and to also see a Board apointment service. WoW what a challange that can be to see 84 men and women sent out by the call of God

This is the second week of Jeni's new Job, Yes on top of the great news that we are expanding in numbers Jeni has had the oppertunity to move from LifeBridge to work with SOZO again and help with the moblization of resources and people to the Land and the People that we Love so much in Central Asia.

2007-07-14T16:45:00.000-04:00

The Week of July 8th-13 I took the The Youth Group (12 students) along with 2 Adults to Crossings Summer camp.

The week was focused on the the purpose of ONE, the subjet changed each day as we talked about ONE Lord, ONE Calling.... It was and extremly long week, and I will have to say there was ONE thing that I seemed to think about. ON Friday night the 6th Jeni and I discovered that we were expecting a new addition to our family.

During our week at camp I had the oppertunity to talk with our students one on one about many of the things in their lives that hindered their walk with Jesus Christ. Several of our students talked about how youth camp was often a hill top or emotional high that often ends in a let down just weeks after returing home, or shortly after school starts back.

During This week I thought alot about how the garbage we put in or life through TV iPods and Movies will often clog or minds and emotions with elements of the "Worldly Culture", and not allow us to focus on the Spiritual mindset that God had made a way for us through Jesus Christ.

2007-07-06T18:15:00.000-04:00

Its a LITTLE BIT

Jeni and I have just discovered there will be a new member of our family !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-04T11:31:00.000-04:00

During the week of Independence Jeni and I were able to have a time to relax on the sands of Hilton Head Island. We started the week with some great time with our family. My father and I took a very long and Hot Hike in the Smokies. It was the last weekend of June, and David and I took the long journey to the top of Gregory's Bald. We had an amazing time. While Jeni enjoyed several days with all the members of the fam in Greer S.C.

Jeni enjoyed hours of sun and sand while I took cover under a green tarp and read a great fiction book called, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. We enjoyed lots of great sea food at several of the local places. One that we would suggest was Caption Wood's.

2007-06-28T21:17:00.000-04:00

In the words of a dear frined of ours "Dont pay the Ransom"

There have been so many things take place of the past 20+ days.
I will attempt to fill you in on some of the random events in reverse order.
Last week we had VBS at Plum Creek and we had five days with our youth.
During the week we talked about becoming a Hero and shared many different stories from biblical chactors

We had two nights that we took the youth out after VBS (and to be honest I was done) Stick a fork in me finished.
Jeni was the trooper of the week, she worked 40 hours @ LifeBridge and then was there with me every night at VBS.

on June 16th Jeni ran a 5k race at the Local State park and did better as far as time in comparson with her time from the derby 5k this spring. Other than reading some random books here and there we have just been busy with Church Events.

I can hardly believe the month of June is almost over, and July looks as if it will go just a quickly.

UP COMING Events -

Jeni and I are going to be spending time in SC next week and preparing for the busy July that is coming!!!
July 8-13 is youth summer camp, (look for some updates)

2007-06-14T11:02:00.001-04:00

There are days and yet weeks that some times see very daunting !!!

The approaching VBS at our church is only days away and as I have attempted to work up the material for the Youth it seems like an informational overload. I have been told to expect 40-50 youth next week during our 5 day VBS - and I have 3 people who will be assisting me with the events. WOW

As the week has passed by in what seems an extremely slow rate this week - I have sat here at my desk this morning looking at all the titles of the hundreds of books that line my shelf and asked what is the point of all this madness. ( The Barbarian Way , The Life you Always Wanted, Blue like Jazz, God is the Gospel, What Jesus demands from the World, Everybody's normal till you get to know them, Seizing your divine moment, Uprising, The Problem with Pain, The Purpose Driven Life, Running with the Vision.) What is our Purpose and our "divine moment".

"Christ likeness" (From Valley of Vision)

Father of Jesus,

Dawn returns, but without thy light within

no outward light can profit;

Give me the saving lamp of thy Spirit that I may

see thee,

the God of my salvation, the delight of my soul,

rejoicing over me in love.

I commend my heart to thy watchful care,

for I know its treachery and power;

Guard its every portal from the wily enemy,

Give me quick discernment of his deadly arts,

Help me to recognize his bold disguise as an

angel of light,

and bid him begone.

May my words and works allure others to the

highest walks of faith and love!

May loiterers be quickened to greater diligence

by my example!

May worldlings be won to delight in acquaintance

with thee!

May the timid and irresolute be warned

of coming doom by my zeal for Jesus!

Cause me to be a mirror of thy grace,

to show others the joy of thy service,

May my lips be well-tuned cymbals

sounding thy praise,

Let a halo of heavenly-mindedness

sparkle around me

and a lamp of kindness sunbeam my path.

Teach me the happy art of

attending to things temporal

with a mind intent on things eternal.

Send me forth to have compassion

on the ignorant and miserable.

Help me to walk as Jesus walked,

my only Saviour and perfect model,

his mind my inward guest,

his meekness my covering garb.

Let my happy place be amongst the poor in spirit,

my delight the gentle ranks of the meek.

Let me always esteem others better than myself,

and find in true humility

an heirdom to two worlds.

2007-06-05T06:52:00.000-04:00

JUNE 5 Man where do the days GO>>>>>>>

Jeni and I are sure enjoying the warmer weather - this past Saturday we drove out to Lagrange KY to visit the Old Rock Quarry from last summer. We had lots of fun with our friends, and enjoyed some great music and a camp fire. Even though there was not much SUN we did enjoy our self. It is clearly summer in Taylorsville and Jeni has gone to running again. Man some times that girl is like a Machine - And you would think I was a bum or s0mething, because I cant start to keep up with her on the number of miles she will log during the week.

As I stated in a previous blog I have started doing some Car detailing on the side - and thanks to a local business man in the Louisville area I have my days lined up for me this week. Rick McIntire, the Louisville Division Manager of Champion windows was the first on the list this week with his Chevy Tahoe, and from Monday on I Think I have 4 cars booked this week. Thanks to the prayers of several people this looks like the start of a profitable summer.

Tuesdays are Church Softball leagues as we rotate from 6:00 - 07:00 Games every Tuesday night. The team has been lots of fun- though my ability is a bit rusty I do manage to score @ least one run every game. The most important part of the event is that opportunity to hang out with the guys and just enjoy a brainless activity.

Prayer Request:
* The opportunity to clean more cars.
* The Youth Ministry and the need for Workers.
* VBS is coming up on June 18-22, Pray for student and the 3 women working with the YOUTH.

2007-05-23T12:31:00.000-04:00

So what do you do when you finish School? I hear lots of people say they have weeks of stress, and unrest as they seek what the next step they should take after school>>>> Well not me.

This past weekend we traveled to Tennessee to volunteer our time @ Galilee Bible Camp (there are several great pictures on their web page)
The weekend was a great event, the students were able to help Brenda and Bill put the finishing touches on several small projects just before the summer camps would begin. We washed windows did some painting, and cleaned up some brush so that wildflowers could be planted along the lake.

I also had a great visit with family considering this camp is only 20 minutes from most of my family, they joined us for dinner, (an amazing home cooked meal that my mom put together.) I was able to visit with my Grandparents, and all 4 of my parents. It was really a great time. Bill and Brenda or the B-Team as they call themselves. Have complete 3 years @ GBC and have done an amazing job. On Sunday morning the students gathered in the most recent building project that has been completed, "the Hull building" and worshiped, and heard the world of Habakkuk 2.

As for other events, I am about to start doing some Car detailing. I am praying that their will be enough business that I can help pays some bills around the house. One project for those who have been to our house will enjoy seeing....... I spent Tuesday Evening Digging in a new flower bead which made the back of our house look finished.

Pray for us as we seek God's will in the Youth Ministry
Pray for my new start up business that God will send 1 or 2 cars a week.

2007-05-16T09:58:00.000-04:00

Schools out Schools out ..... Well i'm not entirely sure I Like being called a monkey but the weekend came and went with Jeni and I enjoying the Queens city. On Friday I enjoyed spending the morning with a group of Jesus followers, and praying for our friends and "family" in Afghanistan, it was a rather uncommon Friday morning because I didnt have to rush away and do school work. So I took the opportunity to help around the mission department, as they were moving boxes and cleaning out one of their work areas. Then after a small lunch I enjoyed detailing my car, I cleaned from top to bottom, carpet, to taking toothpicks to the air vents/ the car was clean for the road trip.

Jeni and I left for Cincinnati OH, around 4:00 on Friday. We check into the Millennium Hotel in Down Town Cincinnati. A great 4 Star hotel. Walked about the city and had some great quality time talking. (Something that had been lacking due to the heavy school schedule.) We enjoyed a great dinner @ Pompilios - a fine Italian restaurant.

Saturday morning we drove to Newport KY which is 2 minutes outside of downtown, and visited the Cincinnati aquarium. This was Jeni's first visit to an aquarium and I think she might have been a Marine biologist if she had visited a few years sooner. We enjoyed walking through the different displays, and reading about the different details of fish and sharks. (the pictures of us with the birds came form the aquarium) Lunch was from the Pacific Moon a great Chinese restaurant with the traditional dishes, served by a Chinese cook. I gave them an A+ on the food and service.

We couldnt wait any longer - so Saturday Night- we watched Spider-man 3 one of the best yet, 3 villains, and some great plot development. It is a must see if you enjoy marvel films. Dinner was in a great little Pub there in the Mall complex, and then off to enjoy our great room that evening.

Just when you think nothing could top such a great Saturday - then Sunday comes along - It was not only mothers day - which is always a good day, but also the opportunity to visit the Cincinnati Museum center at Union Terminal. This was a great display of Exhibits, the Cincinnati History museum, had scale models of the city as it progressed through out the life of the city, and then many different displays of the tool and work that was done from the city during the world wars. Although the best part of the Museum experience had to be the Titanic Artifact Exhibition. It was a display of real objects and stories from the great ship of the White Star line. They take you back to April 14th 1912, with the stories and even the Captain walking around talking in first person of the facts and information about his ship crew and passengers.

2007-05-09T10:59:00.000-04:00

The week of Finals is almost over - I have just finished my World Religions Final and am about to stuff my brain full of Cross Cultural Info to take 2 more Finals on Thursday .... Sorry there have not been many blogs I am just extremely busy

My Loving wife has been so supportive during the past few months as School has been extremely stressful.. So we are going to take the weekend and see the Queens city. We have a great room reserved in the Millennium Hotel. In Down Town Cincinnati. I promise more updates and picture soon.

2007-05-06T08:36:00.000-04:00

This Past Thursday marked my last day of class @ Southern, this week is Finals Week. 3 Test. The week is going by very crazy I have sett out plants in the Garden, and mowed the grass, worked on my final book that I had to read for school, Servant on the Edge of History by Sam James. It is an amazing story of an M who risked every thign for the gospel in War-Ravaged Vietnam. 1960's - I will have to say this week is going to be alto of FUN. Jeni has been enjoying several new changes with her job. - some times change is fun and some times we discover it is stressful. We both see the good and most importanly the ministry that is taking place.

From the last post I had said something about the Derby - well we went we saw and Well I didnt see a T-shrit that I liked that much. There were lots of wild and crazy hats, and some very interesting dresses. My Mom and Stepdad came up on Friday and we enjoyed the weekend with them in Lousiville. (Did we win? Well We did ok on a few of the other runs but in the Derby, well I think think the two horses I picked came in 5th and 14th.) It was a great time, and an experieance I had wanted to be apart of for several years now.

2007-05-03T10:31:00.000-04:00

Jeni and I have survived the D-Now weekend. The students were awesome and we had a great time talking about the "eikon" (image) we are of Jesus Christ. We played lots of games and I pulled a few shots on some of our guys in puttputt golf.

I am sure you are all wondering what is up with the head shots and why they are so large, well it is the end of the school year, and i have been working on papers papers and yeah more papers - I still have one more small paper and then my 3 finals to finish. But the picture is actually from our new computer that we just recently bought. Jeni has her MacBook that we have been wanting for over a year now... and it has a great feature called a web cam built into the computer it takes some odd picture and does some other amazing things.

The Derby weekend is coming up quickly - and Jeni and I are making plans to spend the day @ the track with my Mom and Step-dad. It is going to be an event, Derby 133. This will be the first Derby trip for all 4 of us so there is alot of excitement.

2007-04-24T10:23:00.000-04:00

Greetings to all our friends and Family - I couldn't help but notice a few days ago that there have been over 3,000 hits on our webpage, from all over the world.

Things are going well in The Vill - Jeni and I have been very busy this weekend and the week is not looking any better. On Saturday we took the Youth group to Lexington KY to work a Audio A and Mercy Me concert. It was really a lot of fun. The goal of the event was to sell about $15,00 of T-Shirts. We sold over $25,000. Needles to say it was a good evening. The students enjoyed the concert and for those of you who remember Audio (dad that was the bad Music I would leave in you tape deck when I was a teen) This was there last tour. They are no more :(

The week is building with lots of fun things as we approach Disciple Now - This is going to be a great weekend. If you would be willing to pray for one of the students or one of the leaders that will be taking part in this event pleas email me @ dbthedoulos@gmail.com and I will be glad to give you some one to be lifting up during Friday Saturday and Sunday.

2007-04-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

Gobble Gobble

On Thursday morning of this week Keith King, one of the deacons and dads from our Church called me and asked if I wanted to go Turkey Hunting. Well who could say no to an offer like that! First I must explain; Keith is a great hunter of all types of game, and to be invited on a hunt with Keith was great.

Thursday evening we gathered up all the gear we would need for the evening hunt.

I dug out my Old BDU's and layered up in an attempt to stay as warm as I could. We were loaded and on our way to the woods by 4:30, talking about the sport of turkey hunting and the correct terms and good stuff.

By the time we had seen 2 birds, I knew this was going to be a fun. Around 4:45 we had made it to the Farm that we were going to hunt that evening, loaded our guns and started walking toward the place we would set up.

No later than 5:00 I had finally taken my seat under a cedar tree in what is called a blind.

It is basically a cover that helps you hide little movements from the birds because they have such great eyesight.

Keith and I were both in behind this tent like object and were settling in when a group of hens, female birds, come into view. They were coming from our left side and walked past us to the right. Now the object of this game is to shoot a really BIG gobbler, male bird, that has a really big beard and long spurs. The hens that walked past us acted like there was a gobbler behind them, and sure enough there he was. The sad part was that he was not within reach of the gun. I had attempted a shot but after the bird flew up from the sound of the gun we discovered that it was likely 75 or 80 yards away.

The evening continued - by 5:45 I had shot once at a bird, but coyote got it instead, devouring every thing but a few feathers. The beard of that bird is what you see in this picture, the longest one. Keith and I were watching the birds move around, and he said you can still shoot one of the Jakes, a one year old. If you want a bird tonight. I said sure it is my first turkey hunt why go home with out some meat. They all taste the same and it is after all a legal bird. 6:30 we have a second opportunity, the same group of hens that were milling around before came back through and after what seemed like hours of holding a gun in ready position I finally had a good shot on a bird. BOOM - one solid shot, and he was down. My first turkey as you can see from the first beard he was a small bird but my first bird. I was very happy.

We walked around a bit more talking and looking for some more tracks, and as Keith said turkey hunting is something that gets in your blood, so I am sure there will be another great adventure to share with you, and my next bird will be a good Gobbler.

2007-04-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then, the greatest day of your Life . . You become 21. Even the words sound like a Ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it is a day-by-day thing - you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90's, you start going backwards - "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

2007-04-12T09:19:00.000-04:00

3,000 people lost in the Louisville.

Many of you are looking at the picture and wondering what is he talking about now. Some of you will recognize the little white church as the one for which I am the Youth Pastor. Yesterday started out as just about any normal day would. Well almost, Jeni Jan would have some argument about that.

I have spent the week in the Library working on my research paper for class and future work in ministry.
Still Wed. are a day unto their own. Most of the time on Wed. I will work on sermons for church and other important Youth events, and yesterday was no different. I had finished my Wed night lesson and started working of items for summer camp. I had my normal 2pm meeting with the Senior Pastor and then we had our youth service which starts around 6pm.

We are working through some different life sketches of different Biblical characters trying to discover the truths from scripture, of how their lives were important and why God recored them for us to learn from. Last night we started talking about a man named Joseph, (did you know he has more press in the book of Genesis than Adam Noah or Abraham) .

Any way on to the odd picture and the 3000 people that are lost in the Louisville area. One of the parents called and said you know there is bad weather approach right. Yeah Yeah, I know. The joy of very over protective parents. So we finished up our normal lesson played a game or two and went outside to play football, and as we started the second snap I couldnt help but notice some very dark clouds and some lighting so I told the students we needed to go back inside. Next thing was the rain and then the wind, things continued to grow and get darker and the wind blew harder. Needless to say there was several thousand dollars worth of damage done to the building we were meeting in. Trees were down across the roads and as you would guess the power was out. Some 3,000 + people in the Louisville area lost electricity.

What do you do when there is not TV or Facebook - no Blogs to read or Blingo to search. Well I will have to say that Jeni and I were not lost for something to do we lit several candles and I fixed up a battery light so we could lay on the couch and read a book. Who ever said that the Internet would replace books. - Their crazy.

2007-04-11T11:57:00.000-04:00

For all our friends and family who have listened time and time again about our first night we met in a coffee shop, and for all of you havent haven been so blessed to hear the story. Here is the actual footage from the very first night we met @ Coffee Crossing.

A friend of ours just found the clip and posted it on Google Thanks Aaron

(can also be found on Google / under the Video tab, type db Wright or Jeni Wright)

2007-04-09T10:13:00.000-04:00

Spring is always a great time of year, and the Redbud winter that has covered the Louisville area did not slow us from having a great Easter Weekend. Jeni and I had planned to spend the weekend @ Taylorsville State park camping and hiking, but the weather turned of extremely cold for April. Friday night we had a great evening with the King Family from our church. They are a great family - two of their kids are in my youth group, the second little boy Hunter, is a newborn. Which Keith, the father, says is the reason we come over all the time to play with him. We played Shelby's new Nintendo Wii , Jeni claims I staged the event because I love this new game system.

Saturday was the opening day of Turkey season for Youth here in KY, and as you would guess one of my students did kill a 2 year old bird. He called about 09:00 and I enjoyed hearing the story of their hunt. There were several other friends that came in to the local lairs bench and told us about their hunts. It was a good morning in Taylorsville.

One small detail I failed to share with you about our good Friday events was the fact that Jeni and I went easter shopping for new clothes. You can see the new items in the pictures above. The reason this idea came back to my mind was after my bird seeing adventure on Saturday Jeni and i went back to Louisville for a second trip of shopping. Yet we discovered the items she had bought were no doubt the best choice.

Sunday was a great Easter- We joined a new Sunday School class and enjoyed getting to know several new members of our church. We heard a sermon about all the things that a "Dead man Dont do", and finished of a great weekend with Lunch with several of our Louisville Friends in the Highland area.

2007-04-01T22:59:00.000-04:00

I think it has happened. My wife has left me - the checking account is empty and I am eating cold Pizza for supper. This has been the longest week of my life. I will have to say. Jeni went to work on Tuesday and I have not seen here since. The bank sent me an email on Friday saying I was out of money..... I guess this is it I am through. There is not doubt I will be without a job - i mean come one what pastor do you know keeps his job when his wife leaves him.

Not really - Check the date - It is April 1.....

Jeni has been in NY with her mother and has had a wonderful trip. She did empty the checking acc... Hand bags and dresses, but hey it wasnt hard to do. You know us pastors we never make a bundle, any way.

I have had a very busy week working on Deacons retreat for our CHurch and the I preached a passage of Romans 8 tonight in the PM service. I will have to say in all honesty, I can hardly wait for Tuesday to roll around an my wife to get home.

2007-03-28T23:05:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I posted about a meeting with our IMB adviser. I just received and email from Dan that all the recently thought of problems with my text was ok. We are still in open conversation with the IMB and working on our future progress in Ministry.

Jeni is currently on here way to New York with her Mom for a High School trip. I have to batch it now for the next week. I have been eating Pizza- KFC and watching all the BlockBuster movies that Jeni wouldnt like.

2007-03-27T22:21:00.000-04:00

Jeni and I have just returned from Winter (spring) retreat. We took the Youth Group to a place about 45 minutes from our church called Otter Creek. We had a log cabin reserved on the Ohio River. The trip was planned to be an over all focus on the Glory of God and his control in our life.

We talked about the general concept of Cat and Dog Theology... and focused on how we relate to our Master. "God". The deeper we looked into the scripture the more we talked about how we often as "self focused" Christians only read half the truth. Not that we would intentional do this rather we read such things as Romans 8:28 and say sure every thing has a purpose , but we forget that those things make us more like Christ. Or what about the 46th chapter of Psalms "Be still, and know that I am God;___________________________, _________________________________.

Sure we all look at this scripture and say when things are going crazy, or we do not have answers to all the events of our life we just need to be still, yes, but the idea is not the peace of God rather He will be exalted among all people if we will trust in his will.
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

2007-03-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

Road Trips can be so Much FUN.......

Jeni and I are traveled to Greer SC for a weekend full of FUN. On Saturday the 10th one of Jeni's girlfriends that she lived with in Poland Got married so we attended a very beautiful service at Furman University. We also celebrated Jeni's birthday with her mom and dad this past weekend.

On the road trip to SC we listened to an Audio book about an Egyptian project. It is always and event to have a road trip with my wife. She is a very fun, eventful woman, and there is nothing like have a 6 hour trip with her. We did have the opportunity to see Jeni's Sister before returning to Louisville. (She had been to Hungary) D.K. well he wasnt around on this trip :(

2007-03-07T22:54:00.000-05:00

Jeni and I have been praying about our future work with the IMB. As of Tuesday I had a meeting with our regional director, Dan. He was concerned with my test results from a MMIP that I had recently taken. This meeting was a bit of a disappointment because as we can now see we could no longer be in conversation with the IMB.

I was greatly bothered by this conversation with our adviser, because I couldnt understand or see the good in this seeming setback. I had a long conversation with a local pastor here in KY, Paul Chitwood. He shared with me several ideas that were very helpful. Most importantly God is in control and his timing is perfect.

2007-03-05T09:40:00.000-05:00

2007-02-24T07:09:00.000-05:00

I'm changing lanes and talkin' on the phone
Drivin' way too fast.
And the interstate's jammed with gunners like me
Afraid of comin' in last.
But somewhere in the race we run,
We're coming undone...

And days go by...
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by...
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by...
(days go by -Keith Urban)

I apologize for the lack of posting... days seem to go by so very quickly right now. Traveling 3 days a week for classes @ the Seminary I spend a fair amount of time stuck in the interstate traffic. I (DB) have 3 classes this semester that I am enjoying greatly. My Cross Cultural Church planing class has forced me to reason and write my ideas of church. I have searched the scriptures and attempted to define what the Apostle Paul defined as a Church. I came to a basic conclusion that the Reformations Historical Marks of the Church were a clear distinction for a group of bible studiers to be called a Local Church. (see Bible Study for more)

I did get a new cell phone from my wife for V-day. Only those of you who talk with me on regular basis will really care, simply put my old phone was OLD - it had died about 2 or 3 months ago.... But for those of you who know me I love technology. I looked and looked and finally decided that I wanted one of the BlackBerry phones.
It would reduce the items that I would have to carry around charge etc. (because I used a Palm and a Cell together all the time, this new item combines both)

Jeni has started a running program that will allow her to run the Local races here in Louisville as the city prepares for the big Race day on the first Saturday of May "the KY Derby". Next Saturday is the first leg of the runners triple crown. the 5K. is one of three races leading up to the Derby Festival Marathon & miniMarathon

We are enjoying the ministry here @ Plum Creek greatly, seems like each day God is showing us something new. In every part of life and ministry there are points of tension and things you wish you could change. Continue to Pray for us both as we are leading a Bible Study on Monday nights regarding relationship issues, dating and other things on our teenagers radar. Jeni and I both are making some great connections with our students and really fell like the Lord is using us in those relationship to grow these different students.

Continue to Pray for Jeni's job as she works @ Life Bridge Monday-Friday it come some times be stressful, and will all the hard cases with the different clients, it can sometimes be depressing. Pray for me as I am reading and writing my head off at Southern. It seems like each semester there is more to read and more to write than the sem before.

Last Thing: I have a meeting with Dan Panter on March 6th about our future work with the IMB. Pray that this meeting will be helpful and encouraging, also pray for Jeni and Myself that we will clearly see God hand in our next steps of Ministry

2007-02-17T17:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I have found a WONDERFUL new website that I HAVE to share with all of you. It is called DINE WITHOUT WHINE. They will email you every week with a menu for the week, with recipes, and a grocery list. It eliminates all PLANNING! I tried the free week example and I love it-so I signed up for a month. The food is good, the recipes are easy, and I love having all of that planning done for me. It is only $5 a month to have this all sent to you.

PRAISE THE LORD! I am so excited that God has provided this - I have been starving my sweet husband to death lately because of my lack of planning. Not this week-he has been eating well! Click on the link above-and let people know! One tip: I copied the recipes to a word document, one recipe per page, and then printed 4 to a page. This makes them the size of a recipe card.

Additional news from Taylorsville: IT IS SNOWING!!!!! We just went out sledding and playin ghte snow-it was so much fun!!!

2007-02-16T10:37:00.000-05:00

Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace...
It's a name for a girl
It's also a thought that, changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything ...
...................
Lyrics skipped
....................
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings...
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace finds beauty in everything

As Jeni and I joined our Friday morning prayer group I continued to think about the lyrics of Bono's song and the idea of Grace. "A thought that, changed the world" something that changes the way we humans act think and feel. Each person in our group talked and shared some ideas this morning, but it was the thoughts of one of the ladies that really got me thinking. "I feel so unworthy" She continued to express this in different ways. Her primary expression was the fact God was using her and she couldn't express why.

GRACE - the thing that finds beauty in everything.
Grace is more than just the name of a Girl.

Grace is the Biblical concept that allowed Jesus Christ to pick 12 men - One he knew would betray him, to his death on a cross. Jesus actually told Peter (one of the 12) you will deny that you even know me 3 times before the night is over..(rooster crows). The Men Jesus chose to continue his earthly ministry after his death were fishers, tax collectors... not your most likely choice of men to continue a ministry that you know must succeed. Why would Jesus (the smartest guy in the world) choose such a group of men... the most unlikely the most unworthy.

Jesus knew the true meaning of Grace and he knew that through his life and ministry simple common people could be the example of Grace that finds beauty in everything: a Grace that will go to the ends of the Earth to share the true gospel the Grace that in the face of trials and struggles will say each prayer each day knowing that God's Grace "makes beauty Out of ugly things".