the oviparous rover part 2

Well, because I know you are all on the edge of your seats wondering what happened with the egg drop. I thought I’d provide a little update.

O.R. made us proud by protecting the little egg from breaking even though cotton balls (the stuffing on the inside) did go flying when the Oviparous Rover crashed into the pavement. To be honest when I saw and heard it fall I was a bit pessimistic, but after further investigation we saw that the egg had indeed remained intact.

We had a lot of fun, and Logic made it onto the news. We even received gift cards as a prize for our efforts. The following pictures are of O.R. before the flight. Afterwards, it didn’t have any legs and was a bit mangled in some parts :). One is right before Mark put on the finishing touches and the other one is when it was all complete and being officially entered.

the oviparous rover

What do you get when you combine one tennis ball can, a funnel, business cards, chop sticks, cotton balls, and a few other special supplies here and there…that’s right the Oviparous Rover. Continue reading »

halfway there

Yesterday marked the 20 week point in our pregnancy. Though I hesitate to blog too much about pregnancy, it is also true that this is the most significant thing that God is doing in our lives right now. Continue reading »

Happy Birthday Sydney

Today our cute little puppy is one year old.  Even though she is just a dog, she has been a blessing to us and we really love having her around.

Perhaps I’ll get her a special bone or something to celebrate.

I believe.

Right now I am working through a devotional study by Beth Moore called Believing God. I had heard so many good things about these Beth Moore studies that when a friend gave me this workbook as a gift I was anxious to get started.

The study so far has highlighted the fact that God is who he says he is, and that he does what he says he will do.  Last Wednesday I read several passages about God’s ability to do miracles, not just 2000 years ago, but today. At the end of Wednesday’s lesson we were challenged to choose one friend who needed a miracle and to pray for that friend with boldness and with faith.

I chose two.  The first was my neighbor who has been battling breast cancer. The other was another friend with a health related struggle who had a doctor’s appointment that week. I journaled for a while about them both. I prayed that at my neighbor’s next appointment the doctors would find no sign of cancer in her body. I prayed that my friend’s doctor would be surprised by how well she was doing. I prayed with all the faith I could muster believing that God could heal these friends and asking him to lay his hands on their bodies in a powerful way.

On Thursday afternoon I recieved the first report from my one friend that her doctor’s appointment had gone well and that both she and the doctor were happy with where things were at.  I got emotional as I read an email from her with the update.

God is who he says he is, he does what he says he will do.

Thursday evening while our small group was meeting in the backyard, my neighbors Charles and Pat came out for their evening walk (Side note: Every Thursday night while our small group is out on the deck they stop by and ask for Sydney’s leash so they can take her with on their walk.)

As I brought the leash out to them Pat said she wanted to tell me about her doctor’s appointment that day (I didn’t really know when the next appt. would be when I was praying). She proceeded to tell me that her scan that day showed NO signs of cancer and that the tumor that used to be in her breast was GONE. What does it do to you to read that, because it gives me chills just to write it.

I was amazed.  I told her about the Beth Moore study I was doing and the prayers that I had prayed for her the day before.

God is who he says he is, he does what he says he will do.

Now I know that in my own life, as is likely the case in yours, there have been times when I prayed so fervently for God’s hand to heal someone I care about or to provide in a certain way that he chose not to.  Because I trust in the goodness and the sovereignty of God I know that there will be times when in his love he does not do what I ask, because he knows better. But not because he can’t.

God answers prayer. He is working in miraculous ways.  I continue to be floored as I think about the way he answered prayers this week. I find myself with a newfound confidence when I pray and a renewed passion to see God’s power unleashed in my life and in the lives of those around me.

God is who he says he is, and he does what he say he will do.

you know you’re in a bad place when…

Rejection from the dog causes emotional pain. Continue reading »

any suggestions?

The past few days I have consumed around 100 fluid ounces of water each day and I haven’t even peed that much at all. That my friends is what we call water retention. Any suggestions?

I don’t know a good way to iron the sleeves of Mark’s long sleeve collared shirts.  Any suggestions?

I need a hobby. Pretty soon Mark’s classes are going to start up again and I’m going to need to find some ways to entertain myself while he is lost to the world of academia that I have left behind. Any suggestions?

I thought about starting a book club, but can’t figure out what we would read. Any suggestions?

I need to bring a side dish to the Unity meal at our church this Sunday.  Meat will be grilled outside as the main dish. Any suggestions?

I need a good topic for my next blog entry. Any suggestions?

Hughes family camping trip 2008

We recently went on a camping trip with my family. It was great to be together. Here is a link to some photos of the weekend if you’re interested in that sort of thing.  http://flickr.com/photos/markbenson/tags/hughescampingtrip2008/

special treats

Since being pregnant there are a few questions that I get often. One of those questions is whether or not I’ve been having cravings.  Because I am a person who has a general love and passion for food it is difficult for me to discern what pregnancy has done to me and what is just a part of who I am.

Whether or not this counts as cravings I will say that there are a few special treats that I can’t seem to get enough of this summer.  The first is tacos. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have been to Taco Bell or Taco Johns in the last few years.  Since being pregnant I have  been the happy recipient of a warm bag of joy in a crunchy shell (every once in a while a soft shell to keep me on my toes) through more drive through windows than I care to admit.  I could probably eat them every day and be happy.  I know…it’s dirty…but I can’t help myself.

The other thing that I haven’t had in years but have had lots of in the last month or two is cherry icees.  That’s right…the kind you got from gas stations as a kid. Personally, I like the cherry icee at Target the best, and I’m disappointed to report that the Holiday gas station right by our house doesn’t carry them at all. Yesterday after running errands I rewarded myself with a little something. I did learn that you should never fill it up to the top right away, because the thing expands like crazy. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the huge mess I made after my icee started overflowing all over the counter.

Baby Got Book

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=97759aa27a0c99bff671