The Bible Alphabet

Good Monday morning!

Whew! If you happen to live in Alabama, have you EVER seen so much rain in the months of August and September? Unbelievable!

The Showcase Pic, as well as some of the Gallery Pics, are of Roxie in two different stages of babyhood. Since this is her Birth Day Story week, I'll have one or two of her each day... along with any and everything else that might come up.

The other Gallery Pic is of one my FAVORITE things (other than pumpkins) in the whole world... The new Sandra Lee magazine... The Special Christmas Edition... From my friend, LANA, who bought it for no other reason than because she knew I would LOVE it! That's the best kind of gift you can ever give. No special occasion except "Just Because." Thank you, Lana.

I'm having to change my name from The Enchanting Belinda to The Incredibly Flexible Belinda... and I don't mean "flexible" as in backbends or cartwheels or yoga. EVERYTHING changed this weekend due to the rain.

Mike and I did start off at the high school football game, but left before halftime because of... rain.

They rescheduled the rest of the high school game for 2:00 Saturday... the exact time Mike and I were supposed to leave with Austin to go to the Huntsville Alabama A & M game. Mikie went and I stayed home to be able to pick Josh up when the game was over. (Roxie and I didn't go to the high school game because of extreme wetness and because Josh is on the sidelines. Believe me, if there was a chance he would play, we would most definitely have been there.)

Roxie and Josh were unable to spend the night at Mom's because of all the difficulties caused by... rain. However, Roxie, Josh and I did go to Trussville and eat dinner Saturday evening. We were going to let Josh watch the Auburn game until halftime, and then hurry home so Josh could watch the remainder, but because of... RAIN, the kickoff was delayed, so we had to hurry home an hour earlier than planned to get to Gardendale for the beginning of the game. We didn't quite make it, but we listened on the radio. (War Eagle, by the way!)

I have to say, I didn't have much hope that Sunday would go as planned. It was such a simple plan, too. Church, family lunch and a movie at 7:00. Surely rain couldn't mess that up, too. AND IT DIDN'T! In fact, except for a cloudy Sunday morning, it was actually sunny the rest of the day! We had a great time... check out the movie review below.

TV Review - IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. I wish I could blame it on the rain, but we were all unable to gather around Mikie's computer to play catch up. If we don't see it by Wednesday, all will be lost, and we'll just pretend Survivor is really starting THIS THURSDAY!

Movie Review - The Secret of Jonathan Sperry is like many of the Christian movies that have been released in recent years... even though it doesn't have Oscar-worthy acting, the message is strong and the story is good. There were several things I loved about the movie, and I would strongly recommend your family supporting it... whether at the theater or on DVD when it comes out. Some of the themes in the movie are how to treat your enemies, being a bold witness, studying your Bibles, working together, respecting the elderly... the list goes on and on.

No, there wasn't a great car chase, or a light saber fight, or cars that turned into giant good guys or bad guys, or women with tight, low-cut shirts, or loud music that people will spend a ton of money to buy the soundtrack for their I-Pod. It was just a good, Christian film that actually taught Biblical truths in a sweet, entertaining way. I liked it, as did Mikie, Austin, Melia, Josh and Roxie. It's a good movie.

Roxie's Birth Day Story - Part One

It was the day of our eighth anniversary. I was at Mom and Dad's dropping the boys off, and Mike and I were going out to eat and spend the night at Embassy Suites as was our tradition. I was visiting with Mom for a few minutes when her phone rang. It was Mikie. The doctor hadn't been able to reach me, and had called him. They needed to talk to me right away.

Hmmm. That didn't sound good. I had been to the doctor earlier in the week for my annual doctor's appointment. I hung up with Mike (who told me he was on the way to Mom's), and dialed the number. A nurse answered the phone, and when I told her who I was she immediately put me through to the doctor. Hmmm. That didn't sound good, either.

"Mrs. Faulkner?" the doctor verified.

"Yes," I responded a little louder than normal.

"Well, we have good news and bad news," she went on. That's it. She didn't ask me which one I wanted to hear first. She didn't ask me if I wanted to hear any of it at all. She just kept on talking. (If you've known me for more than a minute, you know when given the choice, I will hear the good news and totally disregard the bad news. It's a defense mechanism, I am sure.)

"You are pregnant," she said. I was surprised because even though we were planning on trying for a third child, I hadn't thought I was actually pregnant. Before that could sink in and I could be thrilled, she gave me the bad news. "However, your numbers are not good, and you will probably miscarry this baby."

The only thing I heard was the "pregnant" part. I didn't understand the "numbers" part. I didn't comprehend the "miscarriage" part.

"Well, okay then. That's wonderful," I answered. She paused, then repeated the other stuff until she was sure I had grasped what she was talking about.

"Call the office over the weekend if anything happens. Otherwise, I'll see you in my office next Wednesday for some more tests." And that's how the call ended. Mike arrived, and I told him what was going on. Anniversary plans were now very irrelevant compared to the news we had just received. However, two little boys had made plans to spend the night with Grandmother and Granddaddy, and that was NOT going to change.

Mike and I left with heavy hearts and made it through the weekend. We then made it through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon found us at the doctor's office having more blood tests. Friday morning we received a telephone call saying we were not out of the woods, but the numbers were better. (To this day, I don't know what numbers they were talking about... nor did I ask.)

Two weeks later, we received an "all clear" on the baby. We were expecting baby number three. The numbers were good, and the due date was the first week of October. Mike and I were both very excited.

Everything went well (extremely well) until the middle of April when I received yet another call from the doctor. A blood test I had given permission for them to take indicated our baby was at high risk of being a Downs' baby. I knew which blood test they were talking about, and I knew I had NOT signed the permission slip. Several of my friends had false/positives from this same test, and I had not wanted it... EVER. I told them I had not signed the permission slip, but it didn't change the fact the test had indeed been given, and the results were not good. They wanted me to come in for another test, and if the results were better, they would disregard the first test. I agreed on that condition.

I went in for the test, and a few days later received a call from the doctor (again, a very bad sign). If anything, the results were worse. Much worse. While I tried to absorb this new information, they made an appointment for me and Mikie to come to UAB for a special ultrasound test which would help determine if the baby was Downs'. They also wanted to know if I wanted amniocentesis, but I immediately declined. If God was giving us a Downs' baby, we would absolutely welcome him/her into our family and love him/her and take care of him/her just as we had our boys. Nothing would change that... ever.

After all, we were talking about the baby which would one day make us the Faulkner Five. This baby was always going to be special... no matter what.

Tune in for Part Two tomorrow... It gets a little more complicated!

The Bible Alphabet

Again, we're going to use this family devotion under the Party/Event section. This is no little devotion. This goes on for 26 weeks. Wait, wait, wait. Don't stop reading. It is an EASY 26 weeks. Read on, please.

To do this activity/event/devotion, choose a special day of the week that will suit your family.

Have each member of the family choose a Bible verse that begins with the letter "A." The verse that is chosen must be a complete sentence.

At a certain time of day (breakfast, supper, bedtime, or whatever time the family chooses) have each person share their verse.

The next week, learn verses beginning with "B," and the following week learn verses beginning with "C," and so on.

Continue this activity until everyone can complete the alphabet. The REAL fun begins with letters like "X" and "Z."

Examples:

A - All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

B - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31)

C - Choose ye this day whom ye will serve (Joshua 24:15)

D - Delight thyself also in the Lord (Psalm 37:4)

Hopefully, you will not have many duplicate verses. This will be a weekly "event" which will also serve as a tool for children to learn to use their Bibles more easily.

Again, this idea comes from Let's Make a Memory. Great book!

Have a stupendous Monday (if there is such a thing). Tomorrow I have a VERY good recipe (or so I am told) by a guest to the blog. I am going to make it, and I am going to try it, and I am going to like it better than parsnips. I just know it! And you will, too. Also, we'll have Part Two of Roxie's Birth Day Story. It's going to be a busy week on the blog, but hopefully, it will be fun, too. Check back in if you get a chance.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Incredibly Flexible and Enchanting Belinda