Bad husband confession: I didn’t blog in honor of Katie’s birthday last week. The day came and went, and no words were penned (or, keyboarded, rather) about the most important person in my life. That makes me feel like a dummy.

But what I would have typed last week is no different than what I would type today. And why not write about my beautiful wife on a day that is not her birthday or our anniversary? I know, I’m trying really hard to justify and redeem the fact that I didn’t write last week. But, alas, the past is the past.

I am amazed at the woman I married. I mean, I knew she was totally hot and really funny. A woman who desired to know and understand God. A person that puts more value on family than almost anything else in life. I knew all that, but every day she still amazes me.

As we get prepared for parenthood, I can’t imagine being in this place with anyone else. Katie is really everything I could have hoped and dreamed for in a wife and partner. I know that because of her gifts and abilities our daughter will be in great hands.

Look at this little Munch!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my most Favorite Boy in the World! I love you so much and here are just SOME of the reasons:

You love the Lord and love learning about Him. Your favorite part of the Bible is the OLD Testament and that is no small feat to not only KNOW the O.T. but to love it too.  You love me and tell me all the time.  You know which commercials make me cry. And when said commercials come on, you say, “Hey Bubbs! Watch me!” And you make me turn to you and you do fancy dance moves and kicks until the commercial is over. You have rockin hair. You have a rockin beard. Your eyes are a shade of olive green that I have never seen on anyone else.  You have awesome clothes. You love your nephews. You do amazing impersonations of celebs.  I thought Dave Muhumbi was in our bathroom this morning! You let me eat cherry sours. You buy me roses for no reason. You truly are a better cook than I am.  You instant-message me at work just to tell me you love me. You wiggle around in bed to warm up the sheets before I climb in. You’re  classy. You like small batch whiskey. You fill up the humidifier every night because I like it – even though you don’t think it works. You smell DIVINE.  You have sweet tattoos.  You are so excited to be a daddy. Of a GIRL! And you’re going to be an AMAZING daddy to a girl. You are uber-talented in the graphic design world so much so that a company is paying you MORE than you requested in order to get you to work for them. You take your glasses off the same way every night. And you didn’t even realize it until I pointed it out. So cute.  You play a mean guitar and Baby Girl LOVES it when you play! So does Mommy. Even in the dead of winter, you have the best skin tone.  You love to read books and finish them super quickly! err… You are okay with it when I tease you. ahem.  You love to drive in the snow.  You love veggies and fruit. And you also love McDonald’s fries. You know exactly that when we’re at Taco Johns, you order two bean and cheese burritos, only refried beans and extra cheese for me. And you don’t even need to ask first. You send me links to cuteoverload.com when I’m feeling blue.

I could go on and on…and on…and on….but I must digress.

He is my favorite, he is my love, he is my joy. And I am so thankful for him!

As the days leading up to fatherhood become fewer, I can’t help but think more and more about how our culture views marriage and parenting. Everyone has an opinion, and each opinion has a plethora of books written to support that view. We know, we’ve seen them on the shelf. One issue that tends to still be a hot-button is the decision for a mom to stay at home.

As a family, we have decided the best thing for us is for Katie to stay home, and that is usually met with one of two responses:

A) That’s cool that you guys want to do that
B) Won’t Katie be bored? / How can you afford that? / Doesn’t Katie aspire to other things?

We know that no decision in life is ever black and white, or easy for that matter. Even the decisions that seem blacker or whiter than others come with baggage. There are single moms that need to work. There are parents that decide the best thing for their family is for both parents to work. And that’s great, I’m not knocking that by any means.

What I am saying is that we need to be more supportive of moms who decide to stay home.

When Katie and I talk about raising our kids, we think the person best qualified for the job (and yes, it is a job) is Katie. We believe she has the gifts, skills, talents and emotional and physical connection needed to best raise our baby girl. And because we believe that, we’re willing to make sacrifices to make it happen.

People tend to ask if Katie will get bored staying home. Does the babysitter or daycare provider get bored? It seems like we have a double standard in not thinking it’s weird for someone to work in a daycare, but it’s weird for someone to stay home to take care of their kids. Plus, how can you get bored of spending time with your kids? Sure, some days will be more quiet than others, but if I could have my way I’d be there right alongside my girls every hour of every day.

Then there is the question of why doesn’t a stay-at-home mom “asipre” to anything. Aspire to what? To what end is the careerism rat-race? What could be a greater aspiration than making the sacrifice of time and energy to raise your kids? In my mind, Katie is the President of Child Development, and the COO of the Saldanha Corporation. The pay isn’t that great, but the reward sure is.

Like I said before, this is just one view. I’m not saying that other opinions are wrong, nor am I trying to bring people down if they choose to work. All I’m saying is that the other side of the argument should get some well-deserved respect.

To moms!

For whatever reason, there was a virus that decided to take down our blog this week. Maybe it’s the Blog Gods bringing punishment upon us for not blogging in a couple weeks. Maybe it was one of those smart and sexy Kiev girls that keep commenting on our blog.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t cool. But we’re back! And I’m sure that all five of our readers appreciate that.

Two and a half years ago, a lot was changing in my life. I had recently purchased a house, I had just married the love of my life and I started working at Two Rivers Marketing. Today, a lot is changing in my life.

On March 1, I’ll be starting my new job at iMed Studios in Ames. Very convenient, considering two months later we’ll have a little baby girl joining our family and Katie will be staying home with said baby girl. Now my commute will be cut from 40 minutes to five. Nice.

It is insane how amazingly orchestrated this opportunity was. It’s probably not appropriate to go into specifics, but trust me, there is a strong argument for divine providence here. The timing, the position, my qualifications . . . it all lined up perfectly. One of the best parts is that originally, iMed was looking to hire someone on contract for three months or so, and then possibly hire full-time. With baby girl on the way, I was unsure if that would work. I needed some kind of assurance that I would still have a job in three months. Instead, they flat out offered me a full-time position. Something tells me the Big Guy had something to do with that.

The hardest part is having to quit a job, especially a job where you genuinely enjoy the people you work with. It’s kind of like the feeling I get when I finish my french vanilla yogurt. Two Rivers Marketing has been good to me, and it’s tough to walk away from that. But this just makes sense, and feels so right.

Needless to say, I’m pretty excited. Oh, and my new office will be down the street from The Cafe. Not bad.

Well, not yet. Three weeks from today I turn 27. That number seems crazy to me, considering I still feel like a 14-year-old. But considering that these days, to me, college students look like high schoolers and high schoolers look 12 it must mean that I’m getting older.

Some time ago, I came across an organization called charity: water that was founded by a guy who wanted to make a difference on his birthday. He was turning 31, and he had realized that his faith had grown stagnant and his life was all about himself. So he asked his friends to do away with the gifts and try to raise money to deliver clean water to areas of need. In the last two years, they have raised over $7.5 million, funded 1,030 water projects in 13 countries and effected the lives of 500,000 people. Talk about putting faith into action.

This year, I want to do the same. Instead of gifts, I’m asking for contributions. $20 will provide clean water to one person for twenty years. If you think about it, $1 will give someone clean water for a year. A year of clean water for the price of, what, chicken nuggets? A third of a cup of coffee? The amount of change in your couch? For my birthday, I want to provide 1000 people with clean water this year.

The past month I’ve been part of a study through the book of Proverbs, and one thing has been staggeringly clear to me: God wants us to care about those who need help. In fact, He says it is an abomination to ignore the cries of the poor and needy. According to Merriam-Webster, an abomination is extreme disgust and hatred. I don’t want to be that anymore.

Please watch the video from founder Scott Harrison, it’s nothing short of inspirational. Go to charity: water and read about the organization. 100% of public donations go directly to water projects.

Then, please consider going to www.mycharitywater.org/chris. Every dollar saves a life.

Okay, I admit it. That last post was maybe a little bit negative. Hopefully this one will bring me some redemption.

I remember several years ago my bible study leader / mentor / friend’s dad / friend Steve Larson had us think back through our life and write down the landmark people, places and events that had shaped our life and our journey of faith. It’s a pretty powerful thing when you see the people who changed you (for the good or for the bad) and God’s providence in all aspects of your life.

The last ten years have been the most important years of my life in terms of shaping my beliefs and philosophies about life. And I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it were not for some key people. Certainly, everyone in my life is influential in some way, and plenty of people have ebbed and flowed in the amount of influence throughout my life. My family, of course, has been incredibly influential, though in the last few years less so. Same with friends.

These are some of the people that shaped the person I am today.

Tiffany Baird
Tiffany was the first person to really start talking to me about Jesus. I had my experiences with “religious” people in the past, but there was something very different about her. And, she actually cared about me rather than spouting something at me and walking away. Six years later she introduced me to the woman who would become my wife. Tiffany is the reason for the two happiest days of my life thus far.

Josh Goodman
I grew up catholic, so I spent a lot of time in mass. When I heard Josh Goodman talk about the bible for the first time at Franks House of Rock in Des Moines, I couldn’t believe the passion and depth with which he talked. The dude clearly believed what he was talking about, and cared whether or not you believed it. Josh’s messages where the meat of the conversations Tiffany and I had. Were it not for Josh talking about the reality of heaven and hell, I might not have thought twice.

Greg Teselle
Greg was the pastor in charge of Franks House, where I first hard that Jesus can change your life. Through my freshman year of college, Greg was the one who poured into my life, challenged me to be a youth leader (even though I still didn’t really understand what Christianity was about) and helped me get my legs as a new believer.

Aaron Nordyke
Aaron has been a dear friend for most of these last ten years. He has influenced my daily relationship with God, shown me the value of the New American Standard and English Standard Version bibles, challenged me to quit smoking, got me back into long-distance running, showed me the value of generosity and is an all-around awesome guy. My life would be drastically different without his friendship.

Steve Larson
About seven years ago, Steve took a group of young guys under his wing and taught them the value of reading, interpreting, and applying all of the bible from Genesis to Revelation. The lessons I have learned from him are immeasurable. My relationship with Steve is the kind that is hard to define: he’s my friend’s dad, a bible study leader, a mentor, a role model and above all, a friend. Complicated relationships can be good.

The Monday Night Study
Since Steve started the Monday night study group, members have come and gone. I realized the other night that I’m the only remaining original member, but I would have it no other way. There is something powerful about sharing meals together then discussing our ideas and insights into what the bible means. In the early days, we would study for three hours, then go to someone’s place and drink, smoke and discuss for another three. Life circumstances have caused a change in that model, but those first couple years were by far the most impactful. There’s something oh-so-right about discussing theology at midnight with a beer in hand.

Paul Sabino
Paul was the college pastor at The Salt Company, so I spent most of my college career listening to him speak. Again, he was a man who spoke with an all-too-rare passion and understanding of the bible. To date, he’s still the best boss I have ever had and consider it a privilege to work along side him for two years. It’s pretty amazing when your boss prays for you, I certainly miss that.

The Salt Company / Cornerstone Staff
My first year on staff with The Salt Company gave me an invaluable inside look at the staff dynamic at Cornerstone. If you ever doubt the intentions of a pastor, just spend a week with him and you’ll know pretty quickly the state of his heart. I was humbled by the honesty, integrity and authenticity of everyone on staff, and it challenged me every day to live out what I believed. That first year with The Salt Company really felt like family, and now that we’re spread throughout the country it makes you long for reunion.

Todd Wallace
Todd is one of my favorite people to talk with. Any time we get together it seems like what we’re supposed to be talking about gets put on the back-burner and we usually meet way longer than planned. Everything from theology to technology, life to leadership, music to marriage, and now how to raise girls. I blame Todd for making me step up in leadership, but it has been a healthy struggle.

Katie Saldanha
I have never been challenged more in my life than in the last two years of marriage. Katie is not only my joy and my crown, but my mirror and magnifying glass that brings to light every blemish and flaw in my life. What I love about our relationship was that the precedent to challenge and grow one another was set in our dating relationship. As cheesy as it sounds, she makes me want to be a better man. Not only a better man, but the man God is calling me to be. She will accept nothing less, and I’m thankful it’s that way.

Looking back on the influence these people have had in my life, and how drastically different I am today than ten years ago makes me excited for the change that will come in the next ten years. Hopefully, I can manage to influence a person or two along the way.

Even though I work in the world of mass media, sometimes it bothers me how much the media penetrates our lives. There seems to be some sort of brainwashing power the media holds over us, as we remember and parrot the most annoying things revealed to us in television, movies and music.

These are ten phrases from the last ten years that I never want to hear again. In fact, if I hear you say it I just might slap you. There, I said it. Consider yourself warned.

In no particular order:
“Wazzup?!?”, or “Wassup?!?”
Like many super bowl commercials, this was the gift that kept on giving. Even when I asked it to stop.

“Git ‘r done!”
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve never liked rednecks. Or poor grammar.

“I’m kind of a big deal.”
Chances are, you’re not. Please stop telling me you are.

“In these (tough) economic times…”
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this phrase in the last two years. Yes, we get it. Move on.

“Oh, snap!”
Oh, shut it.

“Debrief”
If you’re in the military, you can go to debriefings. But this term has become so commonplace. I particularly dislike hearing it in the context of Christian activities. It seems like every missions trip, retreat, and bake sale needs a debriefing.

“Emo”
For the first part of the last ten years, the term “emo” was used to describe anything that didn’t fit a specific category. Music was emo. Haircuts were emo (specifically, mine. It got old fast.). Deserts were emo.

“I’m Rick James, b—-!”
I love Dave Chappelle as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean that every frat bro in the world needs to quote it. It’s funny when Dave says it, not you.

“Holla back”
I’m sorry, you want me to holler back? I don’t holler anything.

“OMG”, “LOL” and smiley faces
Technically, this may have started in the mid-to-late 90s, but it exploded in the last ten years. I would say something snarky like, “You teenage girls need to learn to write correctly,” but considering my peers and elders invented and adopted this language I can’t help but feel partly responsible.

I’m sure the next decade will give light to many more phrases that bother me, but I’m hoping we can at least leave a few of these in the past.

First off, I need to make it abundantly clear that I refuse to call 2010 the start of the new decade. Technically, 2011 is the start of the new decade. You see, we start counting at one, not zero. So it’s day one, month one, year one. So if the first year is 1, the last year of the decade would be 10. The start of the next decade would be 11 and ending at 20. I had the same issue with the supposed “New Millennium” in 2000, but no one listened. Such is the life of a prophet.

But no matter, because this isn’t a list of the last decade, it’s the last 10 years. Even though I refuse to recognize 2010 as the dawn of a new decade, it does have me feeling nostalgic. So I decided I would do some Top 10’s this week, starting with something that is near and dear to my heart: music.

This list is not the top ten most influential albums in terms of music as a whole, but these are ten of the albums that have had a great impact on me. Sure, there are more than ten, but these are the heavy hitters that brought me to my musical palate today.

Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
Radiohead ruled the brit-rock scene of the mid-to-late 90s, but they broke the doors open with Kid A. They won me over with The Bends, but this delightful album helped me take the bold step into electronic music.

Jurassic 5 – Quality Control (2000)
J5 put intelligent hip-hop on the map, and thus helped mature my taste in hip-hop and black culture in general. Cutting through the clutter of crap that was the MTV-served “hip-hop” (very loosely termed) they made a big move in bringing intelligent hip-hop to the masses.

Pedro The Lion – Control (2002)
My indie-roots grew deeper when I first head Pedro on the way home from a trip to Omaha. This is how music should be written – each song holds it’s own, but together the songs write a tragically beautiful story.

Thrice – The Illusion of Safety (2002)
Finger-melting riffs, gut-quaking chugs, and the most amazing harmonies this side of the Mississippi. I had the pleasure of seeing Thrice at the M-Shop at Iowa State the year they released this album and it changed my view of how beautiful and technical metal could be. Every album since has been a welcomed evolution in their songwriting abilities. To date, still probably my favorite band.

mewithoutYou – [A->B] Life (2002)
I never knew that shouting could be so worshipful, then I saw mewithoutYou in concert, and then their album won my heart over. The poetic lyrics mixed with amazing instrumentals is a surefire way to win me over.

Beloved – Failure On (2003)
Beloved is what I had been looking for in the post-hardcore era: great vocals, catchy riffs, and clean tones. As an added bonus, their Christan-themed lyrics brought some good indictment to my life.

Sigur Ros – Taak… (2005)
One word to describe this album: beautiful. I can’t understand a single, made-up word, but I think that’s the point. Each song is perfectly layered and orchestrated. It’s probably my favorite album to fall asleep to.

Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)
Sufjan opened my eyes to a new realm of songwriting. Not only are the lyrics and melodies fantastic, but each song takes you on an orchestral journey. After recording the guitar, be sure to pick up the banjo, recorder, flute, trumpet . . . well, anything you can find in a junior high band room.

Leeland – Sound Of Melodies (2006)
Leeland did the unthinkable, they wrote Christian worship songs that didn’t sound like adult contemporary songs on Lite 104.1. I couldn’t believe my ears, I actually wanted to sing these songs, and listen to them repeatedly. “Tears For The Saints” and “Carried To The Table” still bring tears to my eyes. This is an incredibly beautiful album.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)
Ten years earlier, Elliot Smith opened my eyes to the modern singer/songwriter. His music was honest, and I loved it. In 2008, Bon Iver did the same thing. I can tell this album with be a favorite for years to come.

There’s the ten. The last ten years brought forth a lot of fantastic music. I’m sure there are albums that influenced me more, but I can’t think of them right now. Eh, who cares, really?

The highs, lows, and mediums of 2009.

January

* Our 4th nephew, Samson Joseph Sellers was born to Chris’ older sister Bridie and her husband Chad. Sam was 6ish weeks early, but thrived in the NICU. He is almost one year old and is a healthy, happy, sweet little guy!

* We finally sold Chris red racer, MontellJordan, aka the Monte Carlo. We wanted to become a one-car family, and figured we would get more money selling a car that all doors open from both the inside and out! AND that starts right away when you put the key in the ignition! (Passandra does NOT do these things, fyi)

February

* Christopher Shane celebrated his 26th birthday on the 24th!

* We bought our first car as a twosome. Thanks to Christopher’s wise planning and awesome handling of our finances, we were able to pay cash for the Vibe. 10 months later, we still can’t come up with a decent nickname for her. Him? Any suggestions?

March

* I celebrated my 28th birthday. Yikes.

April

*Chris had the awesome privilege of playing a representation of Jesus in Cornerstone’s Easter production, “Ragman.” It was a huge undertaking for him…I mean, come ON! You’re playing the Savior of the World! He did an amazing job that brought tears to my eyes each of the five times I saw it. (I’m actually surprised he hasn’t been asked to do play Jesus sooner…I mean, have you seen him!?!?)

May

* We were blessed to travel to California this month. We visited friends, saw famous landmarks (Alcatraz isn’t a landmark, I know…a famous island mark?), visited Chris’ dad Rui in L.A., and went to DISNEYLAND!!! I honestly can say that from sunrise to sunset, the day we went to Disneyland was one of the most fun days I.HAVE.EVER.HAD.

June

*Well, this month was full of a lot of joy and a lot of pain. The joy? We had the absolute, well, joy, of having Gavin and Liam up in Ames for a few days while Em and Josh were in Massachusetts at the Son-Rise Institute, an autism research facility. We watched Horton, went to a pet shop, cuddled on Katie and Chris’ BIG bed, watched for trains, stared mezmorized at said trains as they were racing past. A lovely time had by all.

* Now for the pain – physically and emotionally. Chris was involved in an Ames Park & Rec soccer league and during a race to the goal (is that how you say it?) he severely injured his ankle. I’m talking HUGE, swollen, can’t-walk-on-it, need crutches awful. That same week,  the joy we had experienced a couple weeks earlier when we saw two little lines on a pregnancy test, came to an end, when we lost that baby one day. THAT was a tough, tough week.

July

*But, by the grace of God, we love each other more deeply, can see His hand more clearly, and experienced the END of that horrible month.

*Our 5th nephew, Tate Joshua Hulling was born to my older sister Emily and her husband Josh. He is 5 months old and is constantly wide-eyed at the noise his older brothers emit. He’s such a smiley sweetie!

* We were able to travel to Holland, Michigan to visit my best friend Becca and her husband Josh and their son Jack. We love western Michigan, home of all things beautiful.

August

* THIS month, we found out that I was pregnant again! With much joy and some anxiety, we were excited but had some reservations. As each week passed, and the nausea persisted, we were encouraged that maybe this one “took”.

* I also was given the great privilege of leading a group of five Salt Company women’s group leaders each week. These girls range from sophomores to seniors at Iowa State and every Tuesday night, they come to our house and make me laugh and make me think. They are passionate about their relationship with Jesus and it has been so fun getting to know Natalie, Yasi, Lissa, Holly, and Jaime.

September

* This month, baby was still a secret, even from family. It was kind of fun knowing that there were actually 3 Saldanhas and we were the only ones who knew!

* We also hosted Mom & Em’s Birthday Buddy Celebration Brunch at our house. Their birthdays are 6 days apart, so one sunny Saturday, we had a lovely (if I do say so myself) outdoor brunch under our redbud tree.

October

* Chris and I celebrated our two year anniversary! October 20, 2007 seems like just yesterday, but at the same time, it feels like we have always been married. And that’s just the way I like it.

*Chris’ dad Rui visited from Los Angeles for a couple days. It was good to see him again, but the poor guy was awfully chilly in our 40 degree weather!

November

* After telling family and *select close friends, now was the time to really let the baby out of the bag. Hmm. You really can’t change that saying, can you? That just sounds wrong. It was wonderful to finally be able to tell EVERYONE at work, church, etc., that we were expecting a Little Muffin of Our Very Own, as my cousin Jaymes said.

* Another trip to visit my friend Becca and her family, only this time, we met “halfway” in Chicago. Becca’s aunt is an incredibly generous woman and let us stay with her in her high rise apartment a block from Michigan Avenue! While we were there, we were able to visit my friend from college, DOCTOR Lisa Hardy and her fiancee Craig. They are getting married in June, so it was fun to hear her wedding plans!

December

* On December 7th, we found out that Baby Saldanha was a baby girl! I don’t know why, but a tiny piece of my heart just KNEW it was a girl. We are so excited to meet her…what is she going to be like?? She has been moving around quite a bit, and just last night, as we were laying in bed, you could actually SEE her moving. We had FELT her little pitter patters before, but to actually see your stomach move is very odd, very awesome.

* I was able to be a part of another Jenni Sabino original production at Cornerstone. This one wasn’t a full fledged 2 hour long to-do, but a 20 minute long “Family Dinner” scene. Her vision was that it resemble a 1960’s Black & White sitcom, and boy did they go all out. Body paint, blacked out tongues, completely black and white costumes, even black and white food! It’s amazing to see photos from it…we seriously looked black and white. *see facebook

Of course, 2010 is going to be probably the most challenging, most joyfilled year yet in our marriage. We are so excited to meet our daughter and see how different our lives actually become. May 10, 2010 can’t come soon enough.

Happy New Year to everyone! We hope that this year, you continue or maybe even begin to see just how much God loves you.