Josie at 5 weeks

Here's a quick video I made of Josie

Baby Do's and Baby Don'ts

Baby Do's and Don'ts: A tribute to the first few days of fatherhood
(My favorite is "Waking Baby", what's yours?)

Josie Fun

Me, Josie, and Chloe hangin out on the couch.
Believe it or not, this was just after she rolled over by herself for the first time...at 4 weeks old!!
I turned her over, and she started sucking on my finger!
Somebody's sitting in daddy's chair!

The most amazing thing...

As I am learning day by day, the most precious thing in the world is a child. No matter how old, a child is so priceless. It all makes sense now. The word of God becomes clearer, the sacrifice of Jesus means so much more, and the innocence of a child is something you wish you could bottle up and cherish forever.

Tomorrow, Josie turns one month old. Over the past 30 days, I have grown so much as a person. There is something special about a child. There is something deep down everyday that triggers inside of me: "This is your daughter, God has blessed you with her. Take good care of her."

I know there are many people who struggle and suffer throughout pregnancy, with many losing their children to various reasons. I stumbled across the website "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep", and I realize more than ever how grateful I am to have my darling baby girl Josie. Another Website to check out is the "American Child Photographers Charity Guild"

God, thank you so much for her. She's a gift. She's a joy. God, bless those families who do not get to come home with their children. All over the world, many suffer the loss of a newborn. Give them peace.

Two Weeks Old, No More Sleep

Well, Josie is now two weeks old. Other than the fact she thinks nighttime is playtime, all is well. Of course, we still freak out anytime anything happens that seems even remotely like its not normal, but that's to be expected I'm sure.

It was hard being away last week while I was at camp, but I was able to come home each day and see Kristen and Josie for about an hour each day during rest time. A big thanks goes out to Kristen's mom for staying with her while I was away.

Schedule wise- we're still trying to figure out a pattern for us to get some rest at night. It doesn't help that next week we'll be traveling to Impact at Lipscomb University next week. We're not sure if Kristen and Josie will be staying with me in the dorm, or at my parents house near Nashville. Either way, it'll be another challenging week. After that, however, I don't have anymore big trips planned for the summer.

Here's a few more pics of our little girl:

Josie coming home/ First day at home

Well, its definitely not easier when you come home from the hospital. Josie slept all the way home from Crestwood, and then when we got home, she stayed awake from 10pm till about 6 am. Maybe tonight, she'll be a bit more cooperative. Even if we could lay down and get 2 or 3 hours, that would be great. She just loves to be held.

Here are some more pictures from the hospital and from when she came home.

Grandma Sims holding Josie

My sister, Mary Anne, her husband Kevin, and their kids Faith and John Derrick

Kristen and Josie and I, leaving the hospital to go home!

Chloe, our pug, watching over Josie, or "The thing that makes her really jealous".

Josie Layne Widick

At 7:19 pm on Tuesday, May 27th, Josie Layne Widick came into the world. She weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is beautiful as can be, with the Widick blue eyes, and a head full of dark hair.

I've been tagged

My good friend Jason tagged me, and I've never been tagged before, so here goes:

*Maybe I should...lighten up. I get too tense.

*I love the smell of...okay, I love the smell of fried food, restaurants, etc. That's kinda sad, but I love the smell of a good restaurant as you approach it, especially a steakhouse.

*People would say that I...am sarcastic. I'm really not all that sarcastic, people just catch me at the wrong time.

*I don't understand why...people don't keep their word anymore. A commitment should be just that, a commitment.

*When I wake up in the morning...I know that I have to get up, but I can't. I attribute this to the fact that for straight years working in summer camps and teaching school that I had to get up at about 5:30. I usually hit the snooze about 4 times. I know all that is about to change though.

*I lost my will power to...stop eating fried foods. I gave up caffeine about 3 months ago, and haven't caved, but I can't stop eating fried foods. Maybe there's some sort of pill.

*Life is wonderful with...the knowledge that no matter what, I'm going to have my little girl in my arms by next Tuesday.

*My past made me...that my future can be so much better.

*I get annoyed when...(there's a lot of things that could go here, but I'll list just a few) people leave their shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot. I get annoyed when people at Walmart won't move out of the middle of the aisle. I get annoyed when I see cars with small babies and children not in car seats.

*Parties are not...something I frequent anymore.

*Dogs are...awesome. Even though they do some stupid stuff (like chewing on our curio cabinet), they are loyal and happy and eager to please.

*Cats are...the spawn of satan.

*Tomorrow I am going to...play golf.

*I have a low tolerance for...whiners.

*I'm totally terrified of...aliens.

*I wonder why I thought my life would be...I really don't get this question, so I'm going to pass.

*Never in my life...have I broken a bone.

*High school was something that...made me realize that some people just get down right spoiled in life. I had to earn everything I accomplished or received, but some people just expect everything handed to them.

*When I'm nervous...I couldn't tell you the last time I was nervous, until now, and that's about how the birth of my child will be.

*Take my advice...mayonnaise is two parts evil, one part disgusting.

*Making my bed is...something I never did, until I got married, and now I do it to make Kristen happy, or when I want something.

*I'm almost always...drinking some sort of beverage.

*I'm addicted to...I don't have an answer to this right now. I used to be addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper, drinking about 7 cans a day. Now, I guess I'm addicted to the tv show LOST.

*I want someone...to explain to me why we can't drill for oil in Anwar. I understand conservation, but I also understand civil unrest.

I'm supposed to tag someone else, but I don't think anyone else who reads my blog actually has a blog, except maybe Keith or John or Jonathan. We'll see if they respond. Thanks Jason.

Baby is.....still not here.

The doctor decided today wasn't the day, but that we should wait until Tuesday of next week to induce.

We went into the doctor's office, and were surprised when he said they would be doing another ultrasound. They wanted to check the fluid level (which sounds like something you do to a car, not a mother and child). While he was searching for the parts to measure the baby, he couldn't locate the femur. It wasn't because there's not one, its because her foot was stuck so far up Kristen's ribs, that he couldn't get to it. He said he hasn't had this much trouble measuring a child in a while. Great, our child is already being complicated!

The big news (no pun intended...read on) is that the estimated weight right now of our "little" ladybug is 9 POUNDS!!! He also said she's pretty long, but he couldn't get an accurate read on that.

So, we sit for a few more days, but if nothing happens, we know she'll be here by Tuesday sometime!

Maybe baby?

We go to the doctor in about 5 minutes. There's a slight chance baby may come today. If so, I'll let everyone know, but more than likely she'll wait till Tuesday to arrive.

And by the way, we think we've picked out a name, but we're going to wait and reveal the name when ladybug arrives.

Pray for us!

I'll be a dad, by Tuesday, May 27

Hey everyone. Just to bring you up to speed on how things are going with Kristen and ladybug. We went to the doctor today, and he told us today that regardless of things are going or will happen, we will be parents by the 27th.

Kristen has developed preeclampsyia, which is not a good thing, but our doctor has told us both that nothing is wrong, and everything should go just fine. The only way to relieve the high blood pressure is to get the placenta out of Kristen, and the only way to do that is to get the baby out of Kristen.

So, to make a long story short. We go back to the doctor on Thursday. If her body isn't ready to have the baby yet, we will go in on late Monday night to start the induction process. Lord willing, we'll have our little girl here with us by Tuesday sometime. Prayers would definitely be appreciated through this time.

On a side note, we are definitely displeased with Target, and feel we should warn a few of you about their policies. They have a new policy that if you do not have a gift receipt or original receipt, you can only return up to $20 worth of items, twice a year. We received about 17 crib sheets, so needless to say, we took some back. After I had reached $20 worth of returns, the guy told me "I'm going to swipe your driver's license again, and after $20 more, you won't be able to return anything else for a year".

The thing is, these items were Target brand, on our registry, we just received too many of them. Anyone else have an issue with Target? I love shopping there, and its a great store, but the policy is a bit much, in my opinion.

There's a rainbow in the clouds

So the bed rest thing is pretty hard for Kristen. She's always been a go-getter. She wants to get up and clean or cook or exercise or anything else BUT sit or lay down and rest. Yesterday she got some severe cabin fever. We offset that by putting away some new things from a shower we had in Hartselle, and then she watched the Princess Diaries 2, which is much better than the first one.

She didn't get to go to church yesterday, and I honestly believe it is the first time since we've been married that she's missed a church service. Even if she's been sick, she hasn't missed. Thank God for a woman who sees the importance of a family going to church together.

Yesterday was also the day of the annual baccalaureate service for Guntersville high school. I went by myself, so Kristen could stay home and rest. I stopped and got some milk and bananas, and then a cheeseburger from Burger King for Kristen. As I was coming across the causeway, I saw the most beautiful rainbow I think I've ever seen. It was a complete rainbow, which I hardly ever see, and it was a good small size rainbow so you could actually see all the intricate details of it.

Kristen has this thing for rainbows. She somehow thinks its biblical that when a rainbow appears, that God is letting you know His promise for you is still coming (insert sarcasm, its very BIBLICAL!!), and I got her up and took her out on the porch to see it.

That's God's way of letting us know that He's still watching over us. To top it off, last night was a full moon, and there's all sorts of wives' tails about how babies come on the full moon.

God's watching over us, I know He is.

Kristen and Ladybug *UPDATE*

Hey everyone. We went to the doctor on Monday, and Kristen's blood pressure was a bit too high for the doctor's comfort. He put her on bed rest, and she has spent the better part of the week on the couch or in the LazyBoy Recliner. She did get out to go to class last night at church, but that's about it.

We had to go back to the doctor today, and thankfully, her blood pressure has come down to an acceptable rate. However, the doctor is not happy with how the baby is positioned at this stage, so he's keeping her on strict bed rest until the baby comes. If you guys know Kristen, this is so extremely hard for her.

We're not, nor is the doctor, expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen. This is all merely precautionary, so please pray for us as we enter these last few days of pregnancy.

On a side note, we are accepting name suggestions, so if you have one, please let us know what you think!

Kristen and Ladybug Widick at 37 1/2 weeks

Thursday we hit our 37 week point of pregnancy. We are so excited, and ready to meet our little girl face to face. She's officially full term now, so she can come anytime and she'd be as healthy as could be. Of course, we're waiting for God to work in His time, but its okay to be a bit anxious.

Yesterday, we snapped some shots of Kristen in Ladybug's nursery. Here is Kristen at 37 weeks, 3 days:







We go today for our weekly check up! Doctor says now that the baby may not come until due date, but we'll maybe find a bit more out today!

In other news, I think its a joke that Parvati won on Survivor over Amanda. I'm glad Jason Castro is finally out on American Idol, and Lost's last two episodes have been outstanding.

American Idol Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Week

In lieu of Jason's absence, I shall be blogging for him on American Idol. I'll be doing a live blog.

David Cook- I called it. I knew the judges would say it was just average. It sounded like him, but he didn't do much different to the ole Duran Duran song. I loved it, but the judges seem to want more from David. I guess when you're the best, they expect the best.

Syesha- Really, you're the most talented girl left? Proud Mary would not be proud. The judges seem to be split. I agree with Simon's bad shriek version. But seriously, how can she be the only girl left?

Jason Castro- He never seems to know many of the songs on the list. Bob Marley wanna be sings a Bob Marley song. I Shot The Sheriff, well, I didn't care for it that much, but that's just cause I can't stand Jason's voice. I will give him props for doing a challenging song, but I didn't like it. And I agree with what my wife asked..."Why does he have his guitar?" He didn't strum it at all. I don't think it matters what the judges say, the teen girls are going to vote him through. Jason is a dope.

David Archuleta- "Stand By Me", safe song for David A. Should be good. And it is. As Randy says, "If you can sing good, you can sing any song good" or something like that. I don't really care for the background singers. David A could sing the phone book and it would sound good. I am sick of the "Who Me?" look, however.

ROUND TWO:

David Cook: The Who? Good choice I would think. He's able to do any rock song, and make it his own. By far the most talented singer left. Great song for David. I love it. The judges should love it too. And...they do! If he doesn't win, the show is rigged.

Syesha: Sam Cook's "A Change Is Gonna Come" She relies on her big notes, her big voice. But she looks so angry. I do like her hair better down than frizzed out, but I don't like the song. You're the only girl left, pick a girl rock n roll song. I guess she sang it well, but I didn't like it. You can tell the judges are pushing for a Syesha/Jason bottom two. And Paula gets weirder each week. I agree with Randy, not Simon and Paula. Stop the cryfest.

Jason Castro: If we can get to him, what will he sing? Well, it can't get any worse than the first one. What's he gonna sing? Bob Dylan???? OH NO!!! Of all the songs you could have chosen...WHAT??? He just forgot the words???? What a disgrace. You have no business being up there. None, at all. Bye bye Jason. You just gave Syesha a free pass. I can't wait for this to end. That was atrocious. I agree with Simon. Surely looks won't get him through.

David Archuleta: Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender should be a good one for David. Put this guy after that Jason Castro performance, well, just not fair at all. Wow. You knocked it out of the park David. He does have some quirky facial expressions though. Faded a bit at the end, but still great.

Best Performance tonight: David Archuleta
Sure to go through: David Cook
Worst: Jason Castro

Bottom Two prediction: Jason Castro and Syesha

Going home: Jason Castro

Your thoughts?

Obstacles

How do you overcome the obstacles in your life?

When you meet a challenge that is too difficult, too daunting, too much, do you deal with it, or let it deal with you?

Lucille Ball was told she'd never be an actress. Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team. Thomas Edison was told he should go into a career where he could use his good personality, because he'd never make it as an inventor. Abraham Lincoln failed at just about everything he tried. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper saying he had no creativity.

I think they were all able to overcome their obstacles.

Jim Abbott was a major league baseball pitcher from around 1989-1998. He played for the Angels, the Yankees, the White Sox, and the Brewers. There are more pitchers in the major league than any other position, but its still an elite position. Jim Abbott may just another pitcher to some, but to me, he's an inspiration.

You see, Jim Abott only had one hand. He was born without a right hand. When preparing to pitch the ball, Abbott would rest a right-handed thrower's glove on the end of his right forearm. After releasing the ball, he would quickly slip his hand into the glove, usually in time to field any balls that a two-handed pitcher would be able to field. Then he would remove the glove by securing it between his right forearm and torso, slip his hand out of the glove, and remove the ball from the glove, usually in time to throw out the runner, and sometimes even starting double plays. During international play, Cuba once decided to repeatedly bunt against him, hoping that he wouldn't be able to manage, which proved to be an unsuccessful strategy.

Obstacles seem to slow us down quite a bit. We have too much on our plate to devote time to God. We don't have time for prayer, because by the time we get everything else done, we want to sleep. We don't have time for Bible study, because we have a million other things to read and study throughout the day. We don't have time for church, because our jobs overtake our time, and school projects mount up for the teens. Its hard to remain a Christian all the time, because of all the pressure in the world to be everything but Christian.

In Matthew 4, Jesus met an obstacle to his devotion to God in the form of Satan. While trying to devote weeks to God through fasting and prayer and meditation, Jesus was met head on by Satan, tempting him in the three categories of sin: Lust of the eyes, Lust of the flesh, and pride of self. As easy as it would have been to cave into these temptations, or obstacles, in the state of mind that a human body would be in after 40 days of fasting, Jesus met these obstacles in a strong manner, pushing them down, and telling Satan to leave him alone.

Yet, we struggle with finding time to talk to God, or to listen to Him.

Dear God, please help us meet our obstacles in life with strength. Help us to understand that the more obstacles we let run our lives, the less strength we'll have to encounter them. Thank you for the obstacles you place in our lives, so that we'll be able to grow stronger from them. Thank you for your example of Jesus, and how he daily overcame obstacles, proving that you can be a Christian and still have obstacles placed in front of you.

Eating consciously

I know that I love to eat. Always have, probably always will. I mentioned in my last post that I have gone 65 plus days without caffeinated beverages (I know that there is caffeine in chocolate and other things, but negligible at best). Now, my latest venture is cutting out fried foods. Let me tell you, its not the easiest thing in the world to do.

When you're used to a certain lifestyle, and you grow complacent in your eating styles, trying to cut things out of your diet is complicated. I never realized how many fried things I enjoyed eating. Chicken strips and fries are probably the hardest, plus, a lot of my favorite items at Mexican restaurants are deep fried as well. (is there such a thing as shallow fried food, and if so, is it healthier?)

Since last week when I made the post, I have eaten so much more consciously than ever before. Case in point -- yesterday, I had some Senior Sunday interviews to conduct almost immediately after church. I didn't have much time for a typical "Sunday Dinner", so Kristen and I got in the car to go grab something quick. Well, its literally impossible to grab something quick that is also rather healthy. We ended up at Sonic, buying salads. I got the Sante Fe Grilled Chicken Salad, and Kristen got a regular grilled chicken salad.

All Sonic salads come with a, get this, an onion ring. There, sitting on top of your healthy salad, is a greasy deep fried onion ring. I really wanted to eat it, and I even left it in my salad bowl, until I had a massive craving to eat it. Then, I took it out of my salad and put it on Kristen's plate and said "Eat it if you want, or throw it away, but I can't have it in front of me anymore."

I have found that the choices of eating is a complicated one. However, for the first time in 5 years, I'm eating better, and starting to feel better as well.

65 Days

On February 19th, I consumed my last known caffeinated beverage. Since then I've had about one headache, and I typically feel much better. My goal is to slowly start phasing out carbonated beverages altogether. Right now, the only thing I drink carbonation wise is Diet Sprite (or similar). I decided not to even drink the Caffeine Free Diet Dr. Pepper, even though it was a temptation.

I chose to do this because I had to start teaching myself that I didn't need to be dependent on something like that. I have amazingly been able to have self control over the dark colas and caffeinated beverages, but I've lost a little more control on other things. I tend to overeat more, but i'm not really sure why.

Eventually, my willpower is going to have to take another step. The transparency of putting your life on a blog has a highly motivating effect on accomplishing a task.

So my next mission, will be considerably more challenging. I have decided to give up fried food. The reason this is more daunting is the fact that there are a lot of things you eat that you might not realize are fried. Therefore, it will be a lot harder to enforce this on myself. The main things I'm targeting are:

1. French Fries
2. Fried Chicken Fingers/ etc.
3. Basically anything at Cracker Barrell (sorry mom, I know you work for them, but that's all they really have to eat).

To add on to the fried food ban, I'm going to limit my fast food intake to times when it was basically intended for -- when I'm in a hurry.

Pray for me as I continue to stay off the caffeine, and as I try to kick the fried food/fast food habit.

Kristen and Ladybug at 34 Weeks.

Here's Kristen and Ladybug by the flowers in front of our house at 34 weeks. We think the baby is going to be two weeks early. What do you guys think? Vote in our poll! Also, don't you just love Kristen's new haircut?

*EDIT* I forgot to mention at her 34 Week check up that Kristen's uterus was measuring at 36. Kristen is sure that means we'll be early.

On talking to God, and letting Him talk back

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

Does anyone else think that talking to God is a rather difficult thing? Prayer in and of itself is a very simple thing. The problem is letting God talk back to you. How often do we pray, and then immediately take back control of the things we've just handed over to God?

I believe we treat prayer way to casually now. Prayer used to be a communication tool between God and His people. Now, it seems to be more of a one way street, with us talking to God, but not being willing to listen for Him to talk back.

How often do you think that God is telling is those great and unsearchable things that we don't know, but we just aren't listening to Him? God simply asks us to call to Him, and He will answer.

So is our problem in calling, or listening? Often, I feel like I'm calling out to God selfishly. My prayers too often begin with requests, wishes, needs, instead of calling out to my Heavenly Father. When I finish my prayers, my attitude rarely reflects that of having believed in what I prayed for.

If I call to God, He will tell me great and unsearchable things. Question is, will I listen?

Sympathy and Prayers go out to...

The family of Steve Hawley, one of the most beloved teachers and coaches that has ever been. Steve's father, Roger Hawley, passed away. His funeral will be in St. Louis on Friday.

Coach Hawley (Steve) has probably impacted more lives than anyone I've ever known. His book - "What Then Is This Child Going To Be?" is a great book about being a teacher, and loving your students. There's even a mention of yours truly in the book, along with my good friend, Jason Bybee.

Coach Hawley always did "Auctions" to raise money for underprivileged families at Christmas time. During break at school once every couple of weeks, he would auction off autographed items from college and professional sports teams that the students would write letters to.

For every test he would give, he would have a list of top 4 songs. They would be "Top 4 songs about breaking up" or "Top 4 songs about girl's names"

I had the wonderful opportunity of not only being a student of Coach Hawley's, but also teaching with him in Houston at Westbury Christian School.

Coach Hawley, I'm sorry for your loss. I know you peruse this site from time to time. God bless you in your loss of your dad. We'll be praying for you.

Got it wrong...

America, you got it wrong. Michael Johns over Syesha or Kristy Lee? How can you send him home? I think he'll go on to a few albums. I'll miss you Michael.

I can't wait till Thursday....

...because of this:



My good friend Jason and I are going to Birmingham to see them in concert! They put on an awesome show. Its going to be awesome.

The fascinating thing about Jesus

Jesus is awesome. There's just no real way to get around it. You can try to find reasons not to love Him, but you won't be able to do so. You can try to deny Him, but one way or another, you're going to bow down before Him.

There's something fascinating about Jesus. His ability to teach, amid all the storms and trials he faced, and not bat an eye.

Many people doubted Him.

Many people opposed Him.

Many listened with an argument in hand.

Many listened questioning His authority.

Many wanted to trick Him.

Most heard, but did not listen.

When you read of the gentleman in Mark 10:17-22, you read about a guy who was even reverent as he opposed Jesus. Jesus made no apologies for what he requested of this man. He simply told him to sell whatever he owned and give it to the poor. The man could not do this. What's crazy to think about is that Jesus probably knew that the man would not be able to do so.

Jesus' ability to teach to people which He knew 99% of the time weren't going to listen, act, or care is amazing to me. Oftentimes, I feel as if the words I speak or teach fall on deaf ears. Often, I feel as if I could have said something better, something that pricked hearts a bit more, something that would have hit home, but Jesus made no such apologies. Jesus taught it like it was, and it was up to the listeners to grasp, accept, and listen.

Regardless of how much I want my teenagers, the people in our church, the people I preach and teach to, to just get it...I can't make them. Its up to them to get what they will out of mine and everyone else's teachings.

God, please open our hearts and minds to Your Word. Help us to understand that we don't know it all, and that there are so many things we need to still learn from you. Help us to understand that when people reject or disregard our teaching, that You already told us that they are not rejecting us, but they are rejecting Your Word.

American Idol Wrap Up Final 9

In lieu of my friend Jason, who always blogs the AI wrap up each week, I will fill in for him (he's finishing up a Grad class at Lipscomb).

Last night's theme was Dolly Parton songs, and in my opinion, the worst of the season. Dolly Parton was a great song writer, but her songs aren't the best for all types of singers.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT: As much as I like David Cook, I have to go with David Archuleta's performance of "Smoky Mountain Memories" was amazing. His voice is really pure sounding. He's not my favorite, but last night, I think his performance was the best.

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE: In my opinion, Carly Smithson's rendition of "Here You Come Again" was wonderful. It was one of the first times I disagreed with Simon. She reminded me last night she was talented.

SONG I WOULD BUY TODAY: Its a toss up between David Cook's version of "Little Sparrow" or Michael John's version of "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right".

FORGETTABLE: Ramiele's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" reminded me that she does not.

Bottom Three Prediction: Jason, Syesha, and Kristy Lee.

Going Home: Kristy Lee