God's Handiwork!

This photo absolutely takes my breath away every time I look at it. God has made my life so beautiful!
WOW.

New WebCam Experiment

We wanted to test out our new WebCam. Here's a few of the results.
Click here! These sent us rolling!

Enjoy!

Ashley Had a Birthday!

Because of all of the baby and Christmas festivities, I was unable to announce to the world that my bride had her 30th birthday the other day!  December the 19th to be exact!

We decided to attempt to make it to church for the first time since Caleb was born.  After church we took Mommy out for lunch to Applebee's.  The restaurant was at Brier Creek were they were doing horse-drawn carriage rides.  It was a little chilly, but we had a great time!  It was amazing how different it is to attempt "going out" with the whole family now.  Life will never be the same that is for sure.

Thirty years ago, God did an absolutely amazing thing when he brought my Ashley Dawn into the world.  I am so grateful to him for giving me the incredible opportunity to share life with her.  She is the love of my life, and I adore her so much.  I only wish we could have done something really big for her birthday to show her how special she is.  I guess you could say we gave her a new baby for her birthday.  That's a pretty big deal.  She got round-the-clock room service and two nights away from home.  But we decided to take her to Kirkland's while we were at Brier Creek.  I think she had a really good birthday.

Merry Christmas!

This is the first Christmas where we spent Christmas Eve/Morning with just us.  We sure missed everyone, though!  Georgia came our way this past week and West Virginia is coming this week.  In the meantime we are enjoying the family time.  Ashley is baking cookies while the kids play with their new train table.  I'm under my new quilt my mom made for me for my birthday/Christmas/new baby gift.  Life is good.

We were at our church last night for a Christmas program.  Abigail was in the first group that sang.

After the program we came home and got in our PJs.  Then we talked about the story of Jesus' birth.  The kids really got into it.  They wanted to reenact the story so we dressed them up. 

One Thing I Never Get Tired Of

As a Dad there are a lot of things that make me tired.  But there is one thing that I certainly will never get tired of, and that is being a Dad!

Nanny and Grandpa

Nanny and Grandpa came to help us for the weekend.  The kids loved all their adventures with Grandpa!  

Grandpa introduced the kids to a taste of mountain culture by reading Possum Come Aknockin'.  

Wrestle mania!  I told Grandpa that the kids were meaner than they looked! 

This was a rare moment!  Micah actually sat still long enough for Grandpa to read him a bedtime story.

Yes, that is pink hair on Abigail's head.  She's going for a new look.

We introduced Grandpa to Wake Forest's little taste of heaven on earth - Krispie Kreme!  Check out the hats!  Thank you guys so much for helping us this weekend!  We had a great time!

Welcome Home Mommy and Baby Caleb!

Ashley and Caleb came home yesterday afternoon!  It was a cold and rainy day, but it was so warm and inviting in our house.  Mrs. Debbie was with the kids all day and had some great adventures.  Ashley's Mom and Dad were able to be here for the homecoming and stayed until this afternoon.  They were all such big helpers.  Thank you everyone for all that you have done for us!

Uncle Noah and Aunt Stephanie got to spend some time with us last night, too.  They weren't sure if they should come because they wanted us to spend time with family.  To which I immediately responded, "But you ARE family!"  Love you guys!

Caleb Joshua Erdman

Caleb didn't have a middle name for the first couple of days of his life.  We finally decided on Joshua.  How fitting for the names Caleb and Joshua to be together in one name.  Caleb has always been one of Ashley's favorites, and I have always liked the name Joshua.  Caleb means "heart" and Joshua means "God is my salvation."  So, the two make a great combination.  As far as the biblical characters who bore those names are concerned, Caleb and Joshua are tremendous examples of faith.

When Israel was standing on the edge of the promised land, the elders sent 12 spies (one from each tribe) to explore the land and check out its inhabitants.  Of the 12 spies, ten of them came back with their tails between their legs in fear.  They were sure that Israel didn't stand a chance against the vast armies and giants that inhabited the land.  Caleb and Joshua on the other hand, came back bold and sure that God would bring them into the land and surely wipe out the inhabitants.  When everyone else lacked faith, it was Caleb and Joshua who demonstrated great faith.  Because of Israel's lack of faith no one who came out of Egypt was going to live to see the promised land.  No one except Caleb and Joshua!  For they served the Lord "wholeheartedly" as Numbers 32:12 puts it.

That is a great legacy!  And our Caleb will be taught all about what his name means.  My heart will absolutely explode with joy should he choose to follow the same path.

Welcome Baby Caleb!!!

Join us in welcoming the newest addition to our family!  Baby Caleb!

Born: December 9, 2010, 7:01 am

9 lbs, 12 oz!!!!

22 in. long

Ready or not here he comes....okay maybe not.

There aren't too many things that make me anxious as much as waiting for a baby to be born.  There have been a few times now where Ashley will be having contractions about 10 mins apart.  This will go on for several hours, and then just stop.  It will continue long enough for us to get our hopes up and then just stop.  I have to make a conscious effort to not think about it.  It's driving us both bonkers.

There have been some great things about not having a baby yet, though.  Yesterday every one of us took a two-hour afternoon nap.  Mommy, Daddy, kids, everyone!  It was glorious!  Even the cat was sleeping!  Well, okay, that's nothing new for him.  That's all he really does.  I told him to get a job, but he just rolled over and acted like he didn't even hear me.  But this nap was certainly something that probably will not happen once little guy arrives.

Ashley's beat.  She is so spent from carrying around the baby in her belly and going through the normal daily routine.  Fortunately there hasn't been much going on, so we've been able to take things pretty easy as we wait.  If the baby doesn't come before Friday the 10th, they will induce that day.  Who knows...maybe he'll be here by then.

For those innovative types out there, I thought of the next great invention if you're up for it.  You know those pop-up timers on turkeys you buy from the store?  They pop-up to indicate when the turkey is fully cooked and okay to pull out of the oven.  Someone needs to invent a pop-up timer for pregnant ladies.  They should pop-out when it's time to go to the hospital.  That would eliminate all this guess work and waiting.

Then again...I think God likes it when we wait.  Our true colors tend to come out when we wait.  Wouldn't you agree?