Beautiful Weather

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and took the kids to the park this weekend. Doug gave the kids turns riding on our little bike seat. This is one of my favorite ways to exercise now!

Doug the EMT

It's official! Doug passed his National Registry EMT test and now he can work as an EMT anywhere : ) Although he would way rather have a ministry position, this will have to hold us over until God opens up some doors. I am proud of you babe! I know the test was hard! It is comforting knowing that you can now deliver a baby or do mouth to mouth recessitation!

Thanks Eileen!!!

I have had the pleasure of corresponding with a wonderful woman that Doug's family knows. Her name is Eileen as she is such a sweet, godly woman. She sent me this surprise in the mail and I love it : )



Please keep her health in your prayers!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

To my lovely wife. Many of you read the blog and see what a wondeful wife and mom Vanessa is. For Valentines I thought I would take a minute to tell the world why Vanessa is the best Mom and wife ever. As many of you know I wanted to be married since I was in the sixth grade but was the pickest man ever so I had to wait a while. All my pickyness paid off and I met the most wonderful woman ever. She is now my wife, mother of my kids, and my best friend. I am so glad that she is in my life.

As a wife she takes wonderful care of me. She lets me sleep late, makes me breakfast gives me suprises. Best of all she makes me confident and makes me believe in myself. She makes me feel so loved and constantly makes sacrifices to make me happy.

As a mother the kids are her life. She is constantly planning trips and evnets to make them smile. She makes so many sacrifices to give them all her attention. She inspires me to be a better parent.

I have had many Valentines where I was alone, I am so glad to be with my wife and and more in love with her today than when we met. Vanessa I am so glad you are my wife. Yo are the best.

Logan Says the Darnest Things

I have to keep record of all the funny things he says because otherwise I will forget. The other night when I went to check on Logan after bed I found that he had pooped on the floor!!! It has been months since this has happened and I could not figure it out. I asked him why he did it and he tried changing the subject and said, "Mommy Jesus talks to me." I asked him what did Jesus say and Logan tried to tell me that Jesus told him to poop on the floor! Nice try buddy! He is gonna make a good lawyer someday!

Logan Says the Darnest Things

Logan got a balloon at the mall yesterday after Kid's Club. This morning when he woke up it was deflated. This is our conversation:

LOGAN: Uh Oh! My balloon's not working!

ME: It is just deflated. That is what happens to balloons.

LOGAN: Please can we take it to the doctor?

ME: There are no balloon doctors. There are doctors for people and doctors for animals but no doctors for balloons.

LOGAN: Oh. Well when I grow up I will be a ballon doctor.

ME: Well good luck with that.

LOGAN: Maybe daddy can fix my balloon.

ME: I don't think there is anything daddy can do to fix it.

LOGAN: Oh! Cuz it doesn't have any screws! Maybe Jesus will fix my balloon.

ME: Maybe He will. Maybe He will.

Happy Valentine's Day

We wish you all the happiest of Valentine's Day! May you all know that you are loved!!!

Marriage Monday

27. You should view your marriage as a permanent, committed relationship. It is not something to be taken lightly and it should never be seen as temporary.(Ma 19:5-6 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.

28. A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

29. Love requires you to sacrifice pride and humble yourself. You should not be satisfied with being "equals". Instead, you should make yourself lesser and put your spouse above you.

30. Do a random act of kindness. It's the little things that make a BIG difference.

31. ALWAYS be honest. Even if your spouse might not like what you have to say. If you are always honest with eachother it is much easier to trust eachother.

32. If you are having marital problems then you should seek help from an outside source. Sometimes all it takes is getting an outside perspective. Sometimes you may need a professional counselor. You should never be embarassed or ashamed that you are going to counseling. You should be proud for taking the steps necessary for making your marriage healthy.

February Events

Friday Feb 12
Chinese New Year Festival. All ages. Authentic food, martial arts demonstrations, live entertainment, koi show, arts & crafts, vendors and dragon dancers. Call for times. Free; $5 parking. COFCO Chinese Cultural Center, 668 N 44th St. 602-273-7268 or phxchinatown.com.

Saturday Feb 20
Parada del Sol Parade and Trail's End. All ages. World's largest horse-drawn parade followed by a huge block party that includes a Kid's Area with games, pony rides and more. Parade starts at 10am and runs north on Scottsdale Rd from Oak to Indian School. Trail's End block party follows in Old Town Scottsdale, 1st Ave & Main St between Brown & Scottsdale Rds, Scottsdale. Free. 480-990-3179 or paradadelsol.org.

Thursday Feb 25
Parenting in Tough Economic Times Learn techniques which will help your family through these challenging times. 6:30-8:30pm. Free. Preregister. Madison elementary Media Center, 849 S Sunnyvale, Mesa. 480-472-7278 or mpsaz.org/parentu.

Friday Feb 26 and Saturday Feb 27
Great Fair. All ages. More than 500 artists, food booths, live entertainment and more. 10am-5pm. Free. Downtown Fountain Hills. visitfhfm.com.

Lost Dutchman Days. All ages. Carnival, parade, rodeo, wild horse and burro adoption, arts & crafts, live entertainment and more. Times vary. Admission prices vary per event. Rodeo Park, 1590 E Lost Dutchman Blvd, Apache Junction. 602-540-6524 or lostdutchmandays.org.

Saturday Feb 27
Matsuri: A Festival of Japan. All ages. Japanese exhibits, demonstrations, arts & crafts, children's activities, food and live entertainment. 10:30am-4:30pm. Free. Heritage & Science Park, 115 N 6th St. azmatsuri.org.

MACFest & McDonald Street Farmers Market. All ages. Festival with local artists, vendors, food and activities. 10am-4pm. Free. Downtown Mesa, Main & Center Sts. 480-644-6500 or macfestmesa.com.

Science Story Time. All ages. Science-related stories and activities. Presented by the Arizona Science Center. 11am-1pm. Free. Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S McClintock Dr #C101, Tempe. 602-716-2028 or azscience.org.

Fishing & Outdoor Expo. All ages. Games, arts & crafts, raffles, outdoor information and fishing. 10am-2pm. Free. Chaparral Park, 5401 N Hayden Rd, Scottsdale. 480-312-2771 or scottsdaleaz.gov.

Sheppard Update- February

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well and are enjoying the new year! We are off to a bit of a rough start this year. My dad was in the hospital twice this past month which was pretty scary. He fell at work both times and both times they thought it could be a stroke. Luckily it was not a stroke, but his health still does not seem the best these days. My poor mom has a lot on her shoulders right now and a lot of big decisions to make so please keep her and my dad in your prayers.

Our dog, Sunny, also had a trip to the vet this month because she was limping. We thought she just jumped on it wrong so we waited a week or so to see if it would get better and it didn't so we took her to the vet. They said she isn't in any pain and that it is related to her brain. They did some blood tests and it turns out it is Valley Fever (something that is very common out here in the west). She will be on antibiotic for the next 3 months and hopefully it will end her limping. They are not sure though because sometimes Valley Fever leaves permanent damage.

Doug has been sending his resume to churches all over and we are praying for that perfect job that God has in store for him, wherever it may be! He also passed his national certification test for EMT this month and we are very proud of him! It was not an easy test! The pool business has picked up and we are still in awe of how God keeps providing for us. We will hopefully soon have health insurance as well, which has me ready to do cartwheels!

The kids have been great. Aila is a little social butterfly. She just wants to say hi to everyone! And she always flashes her adorable smile. People say her smile makes them melt : ) Potty training has not really been progressing, probably because I keep having to stop when things get crazy and start over again. I am hoping things will calm down this month and we can really get it done. Logan is starting to come out of his shell. I think Aila may be influencing this some because he sees the positive reaction she gets when she talks to people. His favorite game to play right now is house. We play in this tent my mom gave him for Christmas. He is still obsessed with books and his favorite day of the week is Tuesday when we go to story time.

Well I hope you have a great February! Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO,

DoUg, NeSsA, LoGaN, & AiLa

Marriage Monday

20. It is important to still have some personal time when you are married. This does not mean as a woman I should be going to the clubs and dancing with other men or that as a man Doug should be going to a strip club. I am talking about having a hobby or a personal goal. Go back to school, play a sport, or just have a special place where you can go and read.
21. Instead of focusing on how you can make your spouse a better person you should be focusing on how you yourself can become a better spouse.
22. When you are married you become one, so when you hurt your spouse you are really hurting yourself as well.
23. Try to meet in the middle when you have a disagreement. When each of you gives 50% it creates a mutual sacrifice and you can appreciate the willingness of your spouse to compromise.
24. Marriage tip of the day: The only "Open Marriage" there should be is the kind where there are no secrets. Not the kind where you are free to see other people.
25. Tell eachother daily that you love one another.
26. The man should wear the pants. It is the way God designed marriage. At the same time, men must lead out of love, putting their wives needs before their own. ( For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything. And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife.)

Surprises from Mimi and Papa

Thanks Mimi and Papa for the surprises! Aila's new shirt from the Granny Botique fits perfectly and Logan even slept with his new Buzz Lightyear car tonight!

Park

After the birthday party we went to play at the park:

Tristan's Birthday Party

On Saturday we went to Logan's friend, Tristan's 3rd birthday party. Logan and Tristan have been friends since before they could talk : ) They met eachother at my nursing support group at the hospital. A group of us mommas became friends and all of our boys play together. It is so nice for Logan to have a bunch of boys his age to play with. I can't believe they are all going to be turning 3! The birthday party was so much fun. Logan said, "It was the best day ever!" LOL They had a big bouncer and a choo choo train that took the kids around the neighborhood. Thanks again for inviting us Tristan!

The birthday boy:



Playing house:



Party hats:





Aila loved being pushed around in this car:


Daddy and Aila:


Logan and Brady:

\

Logan and Elias:


Ericka and Elias:


Elias:


Doug holding baby Micah:


Joelle and Caitlyn: