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!

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.

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.

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.

I thought, ‘Is it insensitive to follow up a post like Baby Girl Has A Cyst On Her Brain with a post about products I love?’ But then I realized how much peace Chris and I have about all this and figured what better time to share things I love but shouldn’t!

So here goes. A recent list of Things I Love. But Shouldn’t.

Item 1: (is anyone else reading this with a Murray voice?)
Jo Malone fragrances. Okay, let’s just stop here and reflect on the fact that I have a bottle from TWO YEARS ago and I use it SPAR-ING-LY because I am so afraid it will run out. *Any thoughts on Jesus keeping this full a la the fish and bread?* THIS.STUFF.IS.DELICIOUS. I have never had a scent that is so fresh, so non-alcoholly smelling, so AMAZING. It lasts ALL day, my clothes smell like it weeks later, and it is the best stuff EVER. I got a sample of another scent at the Bloomingdale’s counter in Chicago and I could not stop smelling myself!! I feel like I’m going to stop traffic one of these days with my luxurious scent!! I have Orange Blossom and I recently aquired the Nectarine Blossom and Honey sample.

Why should I NOT love it, you ask? Because it is DANG expensive and the nearest store? Cheeecaaaagoo… Oh, and it’s DANG expensive.  Glerrrgg….

Item 2:
Lush products. I was introduced to this fantastic brand in California and love love it. The thing about Lush is that these products are all natural (like literally, ingrediant lists read like a recipe) and let’s be honest, are a little weird. For example, I got some Ultra Bland face cleanser and the first ingredient is PEANUT OIL. I was hesitant to see how peanut OIL would be on my dry-in-parts, oily-in-parts skin.  But would I give it a shot? Heck-to-the-glowy-skin-yes! My skin has never felt so SOFT and clear and SOFT! I tell Chris how soft my cheeks are frequently. I think he agrees! It’s a little disconcerting scooping out some heavy oily whipping cream and smearing it on your face. *Consistency of Vaseline*

Why should I NOT love it, you ask? Because it is kind of expensive and Cetaphil does (kind of ) the same thing…

Item 3:
WOW! That’s BIG!! It doesn’t NEED to be because it lasts FOREVER. Philosophy’s Hope In A Jar…it’s a moisturizer that has the consistency of whipped butter. And it meeelts onto your skin. Here’s where I’m torn. When I use Lush Ultra Bland, my skin is so soft, I don’t NEED moisturizer! But if I stop using Lush, I would like to continue in using H.I.A.J.
So why shouldn’t I love it? Take a guess…it’s dang expensive.

Item 4:
Any and all Fresh products. I’ve only used their Sugar Lemon stuff, but C & I went into a Fresh store when we were in San Francisco, and I wanted to move in right then and there. Maybe their products AREN’T so grand, I’m just lured in by their DELICIOUS marketing/design/packaging/store decoration.

No.

They are that grand.

Item 5:
Okay, we’re going to take things in a different direction now. BonneBell Cappuccino lipLITES. My first experience of this remarkable product was exactly EIGHT years ago and I have YET to find something I like better. EIGHT YEARS! I was living in Kollen Hall in Michigan with Elizabeth Boss, across the hall from Christine Powers whose friend came to visit her from high school and she whipped out this little beauty and here I am today, almost 29 years old, and still addicted. It’s creamy, goes on SO smooth, is the MOST flattering color on ANYONE and it tastes delicious. So why should I NOT love this? Well, again, I’m almost 29. They sell it next to sparkle headbands in Walgreens.

So that’s my (non-exhaustive) list of things I am currently loving. And thanks to my generous B, I am able to try out these girlie things. I want to live a life of simplicity, so can I just stick to buying Target clothes/cappy and splurge on Jo Malone? Every two years?

HERE’S THE PICTURE!!!!!

hahahahahahahhaha It’s Dancing!!!!!

…or at least today will be the day if Munch decides to cooperate!

We find out this afternoon if Scooter is a boy muffin or a girl muffin (or a panda muffin…see previous post). Here’s a rundown on some people’s guesses:

Me: Girl

Chris: *undecided but when pressured, goes with Boy

Josh: Boy

Em: Girl

Gavin: Girl (who he suggested we should name O’Tranny. I’m not kidding)

Liam: Girl

Taters: Could care less

Jamechia: Boy

Natalie: Girl

Natalie and Jamechia (two of my student workers) are so SURE of their answers, they are betting with their Christmas gifts to each other!

In unrelated/similar news: Lil’ Spunker is starting to make some motion down there! Last week, I was laying in the dentist chair, and I felt something I have never felt before! A desire to discuss politics?? NO! A little *pop* or little *ppooof* or what-have-you!! It was certainly weird and I was the only one in the room and I audibly said, “wai…wha…?” And TODAY, I am feeling the ppooof a LOT! I think it’s lil Munch saying hello!! It kind of feels like the daintiest piece of popcorn popping!!! hooray!!! I bet our Lil’ Popcorn Baby looks something like this: 

*please go to flickr.com and type popcorn. it’s a picture of a popped piece of corn that looks like a man dancing. I can’t figure out how to get it to upload.
UGH! SO DISAPPOINTING! Sorry, everyone who reads our blog!!! So…mom!!

This year we certainly have a lot to be thankful for. In a lot of ways I would say we have more to be thankful for this year than ever. Is that true? Sure, a lot of awesome things have happened, but should I be any less thankful any other time? Do I value certain things too much, and those things are what make me thankful?

I have been listening to a seminar that a pastor in Minneapolis named John Piper gave about prayer, fasting, and meditation. I have to say, it’s been really challenging. It has challenged what I am thankful for, and how to create a spirit of thanksgiving in all areas of my life.

Like orange juice. Did you give thanks for the orange juice you drank this morning? Why not? Orange juice, as much as a child, is a provision from God, and I want to thank God for all providence in my life.

So God, thank you for the harvest. Thank you that you bring rain when the crop needs rain, and sun when the crop needs sun. Thank you for the farmers whom you have given knowledge to grow and nurture the crop. Thank you for the hard workers who squeeze and bottle the orange juice, the truck drivers, the stockers at Hy-Vee, and the technology of self-checkout so I can enjoy a refreshing glass of orange juice in the morning. Thank you for a job that pays me more than enough to enjoy such luxuries. And thank you, my God, for life today, so I could enjoy that glass of juice.

Maybe if we were more thankful for orange juice, we’d be all-the-more thankful for the big stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If he were a rock star, he’d be Glen Hansard .

If he were a drink, he’d be a Peroni.

If he were a restaurant, he’d be the Blue Bird Cafe in Kansas City.

If he were an animal, he would be a big Boxer that is sweet and tender, but will bite you hard if you hurt someone he loves.

If he were a state, he would be Washington. Or Oregon.

If he were an article of clothing, he would be dark jeans.

If he were a book of the Bible, he would be Isaiah.  Poetic and beautiful, but deep and thought-provoking.

If he were a politician, he would stand for social issues and justice. Basically whatever Jesus stands for.

If he were a car, he would be an old Volvo station wagon.

If he were a superhero, he would be Superman. Strong, courageous, but very humble, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

If he were an apostle, he would be Peter.

If he were a food,  he would be a steak. With A1. Medium well.

If he were a color, he would be brown. (hahahha…he IS!)

If he were a football player, ahem, a FOOTBALLER,  he would be Jozy Altidore.

If he were an actor, he would be Ewan MacGregor.

If he were a bird, he would be an eagle.

If he were a tree, he would be an oak.  Strong, durable, and he turns the most lovely shade in the fall!

I love this man and I am eternally, eternally grateful for him.