The Whalen Grind

Picture from Faithwalkers 2011

2012-01-04T11:22:00.001-08:00

Did some photos at Faithwalkers this year. I think they turned out pretty cool I think!

https://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/FridayNightWorship
https://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/Faithwalkers2011ThursdayNightWorship
https://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/Faithwalkers2011FridayMorningWorship

Whalen Kids 2011

2011-11-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

Whalen Kids 2011

Silas Rocks Out the Air Guitar!

2011-08-03T07:05:00.001-07:00

Whalen Kiddos

2011-07-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Isaiah's Story: Big Decisions and a Bath Tub

2011-03-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Pirate Princesses!

2011-03-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

They're cuties! Made pirate hats today with momma. :)

The Boys!

2011-02-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

Silas ROCKS! He's a fun baby!

2010-12-07T13:21:00.001-08:00

Olive - 3 Today

2010-11-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today at this moment we were arriving at the hospital for an amnio. It would be another 40 minutes till they got to us to do the ultrasound. At 3pm the verdict came, your baby must come out, no time for amnio and we think he/she should be healthy. Approx 40 mins later mom knocked out, our teeny not-quite-ready baby came out. Daddy was waiting so anxiously for his baby to arrive and to be told he could come and see and hold him or her "would it be another girl or another boy?"

A few moments after she was out poor daddy see's a very scary life-altering sight. Doctors with his tiny baby with bag over her mouth pumping life giving air into her fragile body and working frantically to keep her alive. No sooner than seeing this he is told to follow them up to the NICU and helplessly watch as doctors and tiny Olive struggle to maintain life. Mom is still under anesthesia and comes to close to 425. I remember not being able to open my eyes quite all the way and saying "nurse!nurse? What did I have?" pause... no answer... Then a hesitant "i don't know" The pain of no pain drugs and realizing that this is not a good answer comes crashing down on this mama. I bug them and bug them to tell me where the baby is and what I had, so they call my doc. He comes in to explain, " you have a baby girl.... But..... She is not doing to well, her lungs are not quite developed and she is sick..... You can go and see her on your way to your postpartum room, your husband is with her oh AND you also lost a lot of blood during your c section we will be keeping an eye on you"

The first time seeing her just about killed me. No touching, nothing but looking at her for 5 minutes confused by the tubes and by all the beeps, alarms and nursing keeping watch. The next few days pass so slow, it's hard to re-live. A visit with her here and there until I receive my life giving blood. Being able to lay a hand on her and then finally pick her up, see her finally get dressed, finally get tube fed, finally a bath, then to nurse. The constant two steps forward three steps back. The next two weeks painfully slow and yet looking back went so fast.

I love you my teeny tiny Olive.

Ollie

2010-11-08T06:13:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that 3 years ago Friday Olive's life was in the balance. God surely had a plan for our mischievous little being.

Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Erin's 30th

2010-11-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here's the birthday card I gave Erin today for her birthday:

Filmography Class - Lego City Episode 1

2010-10-31T06:29:00.001-07:00

So yesterday a good friend of mine came over to our house and we spend the better part of 3 hours recording a stop motion video with Isaiah. As most know, Isaiah is very into his Lego City sets and spends countless hours in his room playing with his legos, setting up scenarios throughout the city and playing them out. At times, Erin finds him in his bedroom by himself in the morning and he's already been playing for a half hour before she knows he's even awake.

From Wikipedia - Stop motion (also known as stop action or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own.

We had 3 digital SLR cameras setup, lighting and a backdrop. The Lego City people experienced a accident and some criminal activity. It's crazy for me to remember how old Isaiah is and how big he is getting. He was running one of the camera's all on his own. He really enjoyed and had fun doing the project yesterday. Stay tuned for the video when we get done editing it.

Kids with Pumpkins

2010-10-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Silas Action Figure - Now with clapping and so big action!

2010-10-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

In Celebration of Edward Jay Whalen

2010-09-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

I love you dad!

2010-09-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

My heart hurts. My amazing dad passed away on September 20th. My mom, my sisters and I surrounded my dads bedside when it came time for God to call him to heaven. It feels like its been three weeks...but only two days have passed. We witnessed beauty in action in its toughest form that day. We were able to hold his hand, talk to him....see his breath and heartbeat. His last words to us were "I love you too." My heart hurts, my mind is confused, I don't know what to do with this. A few times I've thought that I need to call my dad to ask a question on how to fix something and then a very dark, deeply cutting feeling digs itself into my soul.

I know my dad loved Christ. I know that I will see him again. We'll worship together one day soon.

I miss you papa. I miss you daddy. You were always solidly there...ever present...never wavering...always there for whatever we needed. God chose you for me before the earth began...and he designed each and every breath you took with care. The tears sting....but I am so thankful for each moment I was able to experience with you.

Philippians 3:20-21 (New Living Translation) - But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Psalm 116:15 (Amplified) - Precious (important and no light matter) in the sight of the Lord is the death of His loved ones.

My father's memorial service will be held on Friday, September 24th at Faith Christian Reformed Church - 1600 Silver Lake Road, New Brighton, MN. Service times - 10am Visitation, 11am Service.

We would love to see you there.

Fun at Grandma Tractors

2010-08-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

God's Plan is Amazing!

2010-07-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to me how God even deliberately used the Jews' disbelief in Jesus with the eventual intent on saving everyone. This is awesome!

From Romans 11:

¹³ I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, ¹⁴ for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. ¹⁵ For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! ¹⁶ And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

¹⁷ But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. ¹⁸ But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

¹⁹ “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” ²⁰ Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. ²¹ For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t^a]">[a] spare you either.

Why is Death so Frustrating?

2010-07-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last night my wife and I found out some news that made my heart sink. I have a cousin in Chicago who has been battling cancer for quite some time. She has put her trust in the Lord through her situation and has found her strength in Him. Unfortunately she lost her battle yesterday and is now resting with the Lord.

As Erin and I were talking about this last night about how it's so hard to lose people. My heart just sinks to the ground so much....I don't understand why.

Erin's response was enlightening. The reason that we are so shaken by death is that God created us....and our souls and minds....with the intent of eternity for our existence. So when someone close to us passes....we long for eternity together and their removal from our lives is unnatural and inconsistent with our desires and how our creation was intended.

Death definitely forces us to re-evaluate our current situation. How do you want to be remembered when you are gone? What do you want to be known for OR how do you want others to know you lived?

I personally want people to know and think of me as a follower of Christ that has bulletproof integrity. I want to be known as the rock for my family and a passionate husband and father.

Horns.

2010-07-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Actual conversation

Isaiah - Row you have two skeeto bites on you head.

Rowan - Ouch i know.

Isaiah - Kinda like horns, you look kinda evil with those.

Kiddos at Wedding

2010-06-28T05:02:00.000-07:00

We were at a wedding this weekend of one of Erin's aunts that got married. The kids had a awesome time. Pic 1 is Isaiah and Rowan. Isaiah picked all his own clothes out!!! Pretty styling dude.

Picture 2 is Olive enjoying a kiddie cocktail and some food before dinner.

Picture 3 is of Silas with Amy (grandma) and Constance/Stacy (aunt).

Hawk Eats Snake in Our New Yard!

2010-06-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

My Kids Rock!

2010-03-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

Gosh I love them a lot!

Erin's caption for this picture today was: "Nothing better than a morning spent defeating dragons to save the princess."

Mom was the dragon. :)

Natural Born Killer 2.0

2010-02-24T09:36:00.000-08:00

So on April 2nd of 2009....I posted a comment from Rowan about wanting to put a pillow over Isaiah's head....

Today, she returns to her previous glory.

Mom - "Rowan, don't put a pillow over Olive's head!"

Rowan - "But mom....I wanna sit on her head."

RIIIIIGGGGHHHHT....Thanks for playing demon child.

Previous Post: http://whalengrind.blogspot.com/2009/04/rowan-pillow-natural-born-killer.html

Silas Laugh!

2010-02-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

4207 West 124th On The Market

2010-02-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

Stay tuned! Tomorrow our house should be 100% on the market and ready for offers!!! Any takers????

Pics will be up tomorrow.

Home site: www.obeo.com/583002

New Pictures of Silas

2009-12-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

More pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/SilasPictures

Who Does Silas Look Like?

2009-12-28T11:38:00.001-08:00

So I don't have any digital pictures of Isaiah as a baby because we didn't have a digital camera at that time...but out of Rowan and Olive who does Silas look like?

Silas and Rowan

Silas and Olive

Videos of Little Man

2009-12-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

More Silas Pics

2009-12-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

Hi all. More Silas pics with hair!

http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/SilasAtHospital

Silas Daniel Whalen is Here!

2009-12-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

Silas arrived today at 10:32am via c-section. Both he and momma are happy and healthy.

He was 8lbs 3oz and 21.5 inches. Thank you for all your prayers for the delivery!

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Other pictures can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/silasathospital

The Unofficial Rock Cookbook

2009-12-22T20:39:00.001-08:00

Howdy! Erin's been bugging...or more like me forgetting...for 3 months to upload this cookbook to a website where people could download it from. She went out and gathered recipies from a number of different people at our church and had me type all of them up into a single document. Thus results in a 39 page Word document with everyone's healthy food ideas.

Have fun! Feel free and download at will!

DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE

New Photos!

2009-12-10T06:20:00.001-08:00

Here's some recent photos of our crew. Stay tuned...baby number 4 is almost here!

http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/November2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVE!

2009-11-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it's been 2 years since she tramatically came into the world!!! Here's some recent pics for enjoyment.

http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/KiddosInNovember2009

WOW! GO TWINS!

2009-10-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

UPDATE - Pics online of the game via Picasa Web. http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/TwinsTigersTiebreaker

So Isaiah and I scored a pair of tickets for yesterday's Twins/Tigers division tiebreaker playoff game. 12 innings of nail biting, great hits, great defense and best of all...Isaiah got a baseball!!! He and I were standing in the front row when Joe Mauer was warming up with Scott Baker. A few other players were warming up at the same time behind them and Brenden Harris tossed a ball up to us!

Needless to say he was very excited. He sat through all 12 innings of baseball and enjoyed himself throughoughly. It was probably the best baseball game that I've been to in recent memory.

Go TWINS! Beat the Yankees!

Goodbye Big Inflatable Toilet

2009-10-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Ya know...it's not very pretty, but I'm definitely going to miss seeing Twins games at the Metrodome!!!! Erin and I are going to get to see one of the last three MN Twins games at the Dome tomorrow against the Royals. Even though it is a really ugly and hard stadium to want to go see a team...there's tons of fond memories that started there.

Here's a little article from a ESPN.com writer that details some of the memories...pretty cool!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=4519529

Horse Riding!

2009-09-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

So on Sunday we took the kids north of the cities to a old friends place...Carl Jorgenson. Carl was a Blaine police officer and as a kid...I connected with Carl when he would sit on duty in his squad by my house. His ealiest recolleciton of my friendliness as a child was walking up to his car and saying, "Hey, what you doing? Are you a mailman?" He even attended my graduation party in his uniform...pulling up in his squad to "take me away". He invited our family up to his daughters horse farm and the kids had a wonderful time riding horses for the first time.

Preorder The Rock's First Worship Album

2009-08-14T23:11:00.001-07:00

Our church, The Rock, is recording a worship album full of original songs written by some of Erin and my friends that do music at The Rock. They're currently recording drums and have gotten some bass done as well.

Please check out the website and if possible....pre-order the album. We sing a number of these songs at The Rock and trust me...you'll love the album.

General Website: As We Tremble

Pre-Order Now

Posted using ShareThis

The Rock Music

2009-08-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Rock is our church...and of all things, what hooked me the most was the music. It's passionate, connecting and allows you to really get in front of God after a tough week. A number of the people that perform the music at The Rock are recording a album of The Rock music...all original songs written by the artists. It's music that we sing at The Rock during worship. To support those efforts, there is a presale for the recording of the album...or if you just would like to understand more about what is going on, head over to the website that supports the efforts.

http://www.aswetremble.com/

WE'RE HAVING A.....

2009-07-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

BOY! The being growing in my wife's tummy has a penis.

Isaiah cheered when we told him. Rowan cried when we told her...NOOOOO!!!!

Pictures to come later.

God is GOOD!

2009-07-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!.....BILL! BANG!

2009-06-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

New Pics from this past week

2009-05-23T20:38:00.000-07:00

New Whalen kiddo pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/May2009#

Funny Activity at Small Group

2009-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Rowan + Pillow = Natural Born Killer?

2009-04-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Scary kid quote of the day:

So Rowan walks up to Erin today holding a pillow and says..."Mama, can I hold this over Isaiah's face?"

Um...no.

Happy Birthday to Me (From Harold)....I Guess...

2009-03-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

No Comment.

Isaiah Quotes

2009-03-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

Funny Isaiah quotes, "Frogs are really hoppy creatures, I know they are fibians and humans are humans, but frogs they are really hoppy creatures"

"Wouldnt that be funny if daddy was a spy and writted (write ed) everything down that I sayd all the time" ~he's on to us

and my most favorite of them all

Dad: what do you guys wanna do?
Isaiah excitedly: I wanna go to Target and spend some money!!!!

Chasing Cavemens?

2009-03-04T12:26:00.000-08:00

There is a Adele song called "Chasing Pavements" has a line that goes...."Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements.". Well...Isaiah has his own take on this line. It goes "Should I give up or should I just keep chasing CAVEMENS".

He then goes on to say - "Mom...chasing cavemens would be dangerous!"

Hilarious!

Jesse Langseth on American Idol

2009-02-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

Erin's best friend Jesse Langseth made it to the Top 36 in American Idol! She is going to be on the show next week in Group 2. Only the top 3 make it to the final 12 contestants on the show so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for her!!!!

If you want to become her fan on FaceBook...please click this link: FACEBOOK

Atheists Perspective on Christians

2009-01-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

This is a interesting perspective from a celebrity Atheist of how he see's Christians that do not care to share their faith. He speaks to how people, if they truly believe, should want to tell as many people as possible and how someone talked with him with true genuineness in their heart. Very interesting perspective...

Broken Arm? What is God Teaching Us...?

2009-01-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

So...the past few weeks after Faithwalkers (church conference) have been quite interesting. The second Monday after we returned I ended up getting a stomach bug that forced me to sleep for 17 hours. This caused both Rowan and Olive to get the bug as well.

While I was downstairs with the kids on Rowan's birthday (Erin was off getting her nails done with a friend), I smelled a poopy butt and was changing Olive on the floor. Next, Rowan walked by me and Isaiah yelled, "She's gonna puke!". Rowan proceeded to start hurling all over the basement floor. While this happened, I quicky turned my attention to Rowan, holding her in order to point her spew in a specific direction (not the couch). When Rowan was done getting dinner on the floor, I turned around and saw Olive sitting up, without diaper (was changing poopy remember), and she was waving the poopy diaper above her head excitedly.

My eyes immediately went to the floor.

I scanned and scanned and couldn't find the poop that I had just cleaned off her. I started yelling out loud, "Where's the poop? Isaiah...WHERE'S THE POOP????". Then I thought...OH CRAP....the poops in her mouth!!!! Thankfully it was not. I found the poopy under my slipper SMASHED into the rug below my foot. Thankfully not in her mouth.

I proceeded to clean up the puke and poop...and rolled up the soiled rug to set it outside by the garbage can.

Later that evening, Erin got home from her night and had a canister of formula from Target. She purchased the wrong formula...so I proceeded to Target to swap it. I happened to get there 2 minutes too late. I noticed however, Erin called me about 5 times while I was gone for that 15 minutes. She had heard Isaiah freaking out in his bedroom...thinking he threw up in his bed or hurt himself....made a mad dash for the stairs.

She efficiently found a toy plasitc dinner plate on the floor (where the rug used to be) and she hit the plate and when FLYING into the air. Three feet up....three feet down, she hit the floor hard and her arm was definitely not feeling right. She ended up breaking her arm right before the elbow. Thank you toy!

That's been our last week. Pray that God would teach us through these, "somewhat funny before you break your arm because of them", event.

UPDATE: After Erin broke her arm...Isaiah was talking with her and was REALLY sad that he didn't pick up the toys off the floor. He said..."it's all my fault. I should have picked my toys up.". After Erin consoled him for a while and reassured him that it wasn't his fault and that he didn't contribute to her breaking her arm...he said, "You're right mom, maybe you should watch where you're going."

BARBS FROG EYE SALAD

2009-01-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

FROG EYE SALAD 25 SERVINGS
PREPARE ACINI DE PEPE: 1 - 16 OZ.BOX ACINI DE PEPE
2 T. OIL 2 TSP.SALT 4 QTS. WATER. BOIL 14-16 MINUTES. SHOULD BE TENDER. DRAIN AND RINSE IN COLD WATER. DRAIN WELL. SET ASIDE TO COOL.

MIX:1 C. SUGAR 2 EGGS, LIGHTLY BEATEN 1 T. LEMON JUICE 1 ¾ C PINEAPPLE JUICE
½ TSP. SALT 2 T. FLOUR
MIX ALL INGREDIENTS EXCEPT THE LEMON JUICE TOGETHER.
COOK OVER MEDIUM HEAT UNTIL THICKENED. ADD LEMON JUICE. SET ASIDE TO COOL.
WHEN ACINI DE PEPE AND EGG MIXTURE ARE COOL, MIX TOGETHER AND REFRIGERATE OVER NIGHT.

NEXT DAY: ADD: 3 - 11 OZ. CANS OF MANDARIN ORANGES, DRAINED. 2 -20 OZ .CANS OF CHUNK PINEAPPLE, DRAINED. 1 -20 OZ.CAN OF CRUSHED PINEAPPLE, DRAINED WELL. 1 -12 OZ. CONTAINER OF COOL WHIP. MIX FRUIT AND COOL WHIP WITH ACINI DE PEPE MIXTURE AND REFRIGERATE IN AN AIRTIGHT CONTAINER UNTIL THROUGHLY COOLED. REFRIGERATE LEFTOVERS..
I DRAIN THE 2 CANS OF CHUNK PINEAPPLE AND THAT IS 1 ¾ C. PINEAPPLE JUICE.UNLESS YOU HAVE OTHER PINEAPPLE JUICE TO USE. ACINI DE PEPE IS FOUND IN THE PASTA SECTION IN THE GROCERY STORE.

100th Post!

2009-01-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

We were at grandma Chicken's yesterday and we have some lovely pictures of the kids trying on some of their Christmas presents. You have the Warrior Princess (Storm Trooper Barbie), Isaiah as "Blue on Gray Storm Trooper" and then Olive with grandpa reading a really hilarious book!

Enjoy!

Rowans new hair cut

2008-12-18T15:59:00.000-08:00

her hair now. here she is with the culprit :=) he had been thinking about this for a while I think. He said I was afraid her hair would get in her poop. Nice thinking bud, next time check with mom before you hack off 10 inches of your sisters hair.

her hair before

...The Whalen Bunch....

2008-12-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Olive's Birthday Today!

2008-11-12T05:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy year with Olive being born early and everything. She is definitely a miracle and a wonderful little girl that we've been blessed with. It's hard to imagine all the wires, lines and stuff that she was hooked up to in the first two weeks of her life. God has taught us to trust him and to be moved by our faith in the Lord through trying times via her birth.

I was very amazed this morning when I read my one year Bible that the first verse that happened to land on November 12 was Hebrews 11:1. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." This was the first verse that we put in Olive's hospital area in the Infant Intensive Care Unit at Fairview Ridges. God truly communicates to us in interesting ways.

Here's some pictures for the memory of her birth and where she's at today:

Halloween was "too" fun

2008-11-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

I found this picture on someone's facebook profile who I am friends with. Made me laugh...

What Vote Matters to a Five Year Old?

2008-11-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

So...what vote matters to a 5 year old? Erin brought the kids to the local fire station to vote. She figured that it would be a interesting experience for them and a good teaching opportunity.

Isaiah asked...where are we going?

Mom said, "I have to vote".

Isaiah said, "For what? American Idol?"

:>)

He's funny.

Not to get too political...

2008-10-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

New Blog!

2008-10-24T23:36:00.001-07:00

Erin said that our 4-5 year old blog needed refreshing. So...here's the new look. Is it fresh and hip, just like us?

Catch ya on the flip side...I'm so cool...

New Pics Online

2008-10-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We have some new pics of the kids and fam online.

Pics of Kids:http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/October2008

Pics of Service Project with Small Group: http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen/RakingServiceProjectWithSmallGroupOctober2008

Random Words

2008-10-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

We have a lot to add but not a lot of time. In the meantime enjoy these rowanisms.

"No! I can't do want to!"

"Twinkle twinkle lidda star, how I wonda whatcha ah, up abud the twinkle pie, like-a like-a twinkle pie"

"Shake it mama shake it!"

Isaiah pronounced EYE YAY AH

Olive pronounced ALL IB

Row Row pronounced Woah Woah

and our personal favorite

"Mingahs" can you guys what that is????

fingers! ha shes so stinking cute!

The end of a busy summer!

2008-08-25T10:53:00.001-07:00

Hello friends, what a busy summer, we cant believe its coming to an end!
We have been having fun taking weekly adventures with Auntie Stacey, Elliot and Paige. We have been hunting grasshoppers, cicadas, beetles, ladybugs, pill bugs, spiders, crickets and frogs/toads on almost a daily basis. Isaiah and Bill have gotten out quite a few times to fish and do "boy" things together. While the girls and I would sleep and enjoy peace and quiet. We have found many wonderful places around our city to hike and just enjoy being outside as a family.
Olive is getting bigger and sits on her own now. She has started screaming at the slightest frustration or pain which we are hoping will be short lived! She has started saying "Dada" which Bill just absolutely adores and is wrapped around her finger. She is hopefully going to start scooting around soon, but given the history of our other 2 I don't expect crawling or walking for quite some time!
Rowan is 2 1/2 in all its glory and is starting to be really fun for Isaiah to play with. Its wonderful to see them be the best of friends. She is definitely our jokester with no volume control. She is very into girly things like babies, phones, nail polish and likes all things pretty and puppy :) The little beauty queen animal lover of our family.
Isaiah will be 5 next month and has already given us his birthday requests (3 wks ago). They include: Dinosaur cupcakes, ice cream, a #5 candle, dinosaur plates, cups and table cloth, cheese pizza with garlic bread crust, balloons, and streamers and I need to have it all decorated in the night while he is asleep so that when he wakes up he will be surprised! He does not get this detailed personality from me that's for sure!
Bill and I have been able to get out on quite a few dates, including bowling at B-ville bowl, grand slam batting cages and putt putt, going out for dinner at cafe ena, and many times shopping at Target with no distractions. (aren't we romantic) We took the kids camping which lasted not quite 10 hours, ask us for details if you dare :o) and are really excited for our small group year to start at church and to be around other people and the real world this fall/winter. We missed that sooo much last year.
And we will end this summer at the State Fair and our family reunion over labor day wkend!

Isaiah at Grandma Tractor's House

2008-07-15T08:41:00.001-07:00

Isaiah is at "Grandma Tractor's" house this week until Thrusday visiting Bill's grandmother in Spirit Lake, IA. Yesterday they went swimming and you can see the pics below of him swimming in a pool for the first time!

He told Grandma Chicken (Bill's mom, name from all the Chicken figures in her house) that he planned on "just watching" rather than swimming. He's funny...

When did it happen?

2008-06-26T07:13:00.000-07:00

So I know that we all notice that our kids are growing up, but I will admittedly say that I have been putting it off in a weird way. I mean Isaiah is only 4 and a half and really he is still a babe. Or so I thought. I walked into the bathroom this morning to him fully dressed in an matching outfit which I have to say has been happening more and more often. Heres what went on...

"MOM! This is a huge serious problem!"
"What babe?!"
"This!" he says while pointing to his hair. You see he had slept on it while it was somewhat wet and the sides got a little spikey, which is I have just found out a HUGE SERIOUS problem.
"Oh that's okay, here let me get it." I move toward him to get my hand wet and smooth it out.
"No, let me do it." He wets his hands and takes time to smooth it out with care and look at himself in all sorts of angles to make sure its taken care of.
"There, does that look good mama?"
"Yes baby you look so handsome"

He happily ran out of the room to go play with row, as I just stood there. OH MY GOODNESS! What just happened? This isn't supposed to happen hes not old enough, especially for this to be a huge serious problem. Oh well it was bound to happen right? This is the very reason I think I fall to pieces when he wants me to cuddle longer to sing him my made up lullaby.. I cant risk loosing out on any more of those precious moments, they will be gone before I know it!

More Pictures of Crazy Misc Whalen Stuff!

2008-06-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

Sweet Kid Pics

2008-06-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Its been a while!

2008-06-22T17:20:00.001-07:00

Isaiah is going to be five this fall and we are going to be starting a very fun, long journey into homeschooling this Sept! He is very excited about starting school and that he gets to have me as his teacher, he is such a sweet boy. He has a great sense of humor and is always making up jokes which are actually funny. He is very good with Olive and he helps us with her a lot!
Rowan is getting so tall, and it seems as though overnight she added like 100 words to her vocab. She is very funny and has the best and weirdest sense of humor. She also has a very sensitive gag reflex. While feeding the baby rice cereal she started yelling "run away baby run", so it seems that baby food, poop, and butts push her over the edge and causes her to gag like she's going to throw up..
Olive is still our little peanut. She has started eating solids and has mixed feeling about it. Most of the time she loves it and we cant get it into her mouth fast enough. Peas on the other hand get a one-eyed blink with a shudder. She babbles more, is working on sitting up and sleeping through the night (again).
Bill is able to be home more as his travel schedule has tamed back a bit, which is a huge help to me. I cant do it without him. He is a very involved hands on kinda dad, and is great at it.

St.Pattys day pics

2008-03-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

So I've always taken a lot of pride in having the most beautiful kids ever :) But I think I am going to have to be OK with sharing that title with my niece and nephew. These are recent pics from the Quinn house for our St.Pattys Day feast of Ruebens, potatoes and cabbage!
Arent Elloit and Paige so cute! Elliot is 3 and Paige will be 1 on June 1st!

update on the family!

2008-03-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast the kids are growing up! It seems like just yesterday that Isaiah was our little colic baby, he'll be 5 this fall, crazy huh?!!!! I must say that he is a really well behaved boy too! (for the most part) He has memorized 12 bible verses and we are starting to work on writing, reading, and a little bit of math. Hes catching on pretty fast, I really think that this whole homeschooling thing will work out great for us!

Rowan is 2 and is getting huge. Shes already in 3t pants! Her hair is about 1 1/2 inches from her butt and has earned her the nickname "crystal gale" from her auntie Stacey. She's picked up a lot more words in the last few weeks and will repeat just about anything. (this can be very good and very bad!) We are working on moving her in to a big girl bed and potty training which will take some time. She is a lot more attached to her crib than Z ever was. She's the current comedian in the family, we will have to post some video of her in action soon!

Olive, oh the sweet little Olive. She's the bestest baby ever. I really think that shes my favorite "baby" so far. She's smiling, laughing, cooing, sleeping at least 5-6 hours straight at night and lets me put her down for naps (most days)! Shes a tiny peanut just tipping the scales at 13 lbs 2 oz at 4 1/2 months! Just for perspective the other two where about 17 lbs at this age. We are working on nicknames for her, the current runners are Ollie, Lovey, Livy and la la. Row likes to call her "ahla" which we think is cute but are trying to break don't want anyone getting the wrong idea.

We are in the home stretch here with being on "house arrest" and are very very excited to get back to church. But I have to admit that these last 4 months have been priceless. We have learned so much about trusting the Lord and wouldn't trade what we have gone through for anything. The Lord has blessed us so much, we are so very grateful for all that He has provided and there just aren't enough hours in the day to thank Him.

Snow in March!

2008-03-18T09:48:00.003-07:00

We got like 4 inches of heavy and wet snow last night! It looked cool on the trees. Here's some pics right outside my office:

Olive 12 Weeks

2008-01-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

Crazy to remember all the worries about Olive when she was born. She's growing well!!! Praise God for her growth and for her not getting sick while the rest of us have battled colds and stomach bugs. She hasn't gotten sick at all.

New Family Pics

2008-01-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

Monkey Butt Powder???

2008-01-19T07:08:00.000-08:00

Erin noticed this advertisment in the Sunday Mills Fleet Farm insert. I didn't know that Mills was getting into the butt powder business. This is quite the interesting development...or is it a conspiracy? Is Fleet Farm betraying it's dedication to the domestic midwestern farmer community, for financial gain in another country?

Let's consider. What could anti-monkey butt powder be used for? I can only think of one thing....the red back sides of the millions upon millions of unfortunate baboons in the world.

Look at the picture of the poor, sorry, sore assed individuals below. HOW does that happen? Possibly, they just live in a very disadvantaged part of the world where their butts need moisturizing powder to keep them from rubbing them raw! Alternatively...maybe they are still serving my needs by warding off various red butted monkeys with the "anti" part of the product. I haven't seen many crazed red assed monkeys around my house lately. My neighbors must be using this stuff like crazy!

Still...uncomfortable monkey or not...thanks to Fleet Farm for abandoning my needs for industrial amounts of bird seed, NASCAR t-shirts, horse saddles and fishing equipment. Jerks.

I know some humans that could use this.....(not me).....does anyone know if they make Human Butt Powder?

update

2008-01-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hey I just wanted to fill you all in with whats happening here with the whalen clan.
Isaiah is 4 going on 40, the kid is just so smart it kind of freaks me out. I can't believe he will be 5 this year and that its already time to start seriously thinking about school. We are really starting to consider homeschooling but realize that it's a huge commitment and not something to take lightly.
Rowan had her 2nd birthday on Jan 8th and enjoyed having a very low key night with us and Grandpa and Grandma Quinn. Surprisingly she did not dig into the cake. She loves food but is not a sweets freak like her older brother.
Olive is 9 wks now and getting big! We just brought her in for her 2 month and she weighed 11lbs 4oz!!! I couldnt believe it! She smiling all the time now and starting to coo. She is our little cuddle bug and has trained us to hold her a lot esp while she naps... it's fun now but we're working on untraining that, mom and dad can't do that forever!
I was hoping to get the green light on taking her out atleast every once in a while, but no. It was good for me to hear it all over again. April really isnt that far away and church isnt going anywhere, we just miss it more than we can express. Bill and I have each gone once on our own and I start singing again in feb so that I can be part of a church ministry again. I'm very excited!
The Lord has really been teaching us to perserve and have patience through this stage in our lives.
James 5:10&11
10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Phil 4:12 know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Now we havent mastered this by any means, we just look to this verse a lot right now.

Row Eyes

2007-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

2007-12-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

One more very cute christmas photo this time of the whalen girls!
you gotta love the crossed eyes on Olive

Merry Christmas ~ Love The Whalens

2007-12-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

Elf Yours!

2007-12-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Since this is the latest craze....I went and did it. My family has been Elf'ed.

See here:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1569352329

Fun Whalen Pics

2007-12-15T16:18:00.000-08:00

Cute Kid Story!!!

2007-12-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

I thought that this was really quite funny! Rowan is hilarious and has such a funny sense of humor. Checkitout!

Hi Bill,

How are my sweeties doing this morning? I so enjoy having them over.
I forgot to tell you one cute Rowan story. She was writing with a pen on paper at the kitchen table. Dad saw that she was starting to write on her hand and said "No don't write on yourself".
She gave him a look with her head down then was pulling at her sleeves. We realized that she had already written on her other hand and was trying to hide it by pulling her sleeves over it. We found that quite amazing. Goes into my cute kid file.

Mom

New Pic Site

2007-11-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

I created a Picasa Pic site with more pictures of Olive and the kids.

Here it is: http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen

clarification

2007-11-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

Finally I get to do a post on this blog of ours. Its been a crazy 2 wks, but everyone is doing great. The transition will take time and once we get done with the initial post c section and new baby appointments I think that we will be ready to really hunker down. I do want to clarify what we mean by entering a time of quarantine. We love kids and we love visitors however until the holidays are over we are going to limit our visitors to adults only. Once the holidays are over I would love to start setting up play dates with healthy kids and moms over here once/twice a month at least! Healthy is no green snot, runny noses, lung coughs, fever, diarrhea, sore throats, blah blah and I'm not a doc and so if you call and ask me to diagnose your child's symptoms I will just err on the side of caution and say no. We sound super anal I'm sure but who in our situation would risk their child being hospitalized all over again. Ive been asked by a few people why we cant get her around illnesses to boost her immune system, sorry but that's not how it works. She was a very sick baby and with her lungs and the trauma they have been through she doesn't have strength or immune system that could do that, she'd just get really sick and have no energy to recoup which is not a good thing.
We have also been asked if the Doc botched the c section since I lost so much blood and had to have a transfusion. No they did not botch the c section, some people are just more prone to bleeding during surgery and I am one of those people. We just didn't know that I was a bleeder because this is the first major surgery that Ive ever had. Normal iron levels in your blood are like 12-15 and I was told once you get low usually under 9 they like to do a transfusion, anything 5 and under is really bad and organs start to shut down and you could die, its just not a good thing. I was a 5.8 and so I totally trust the decision we made for me to get blood. Its really not as creepy as it sounds and I have a new found respect for people who donate their blood.
I hope this clears up some of the Q's you all have.
thank you so much for your prayers and phone calls. I have to say that the Lord is so great and faithful to us. I have so many verses that I would love to share with you all but will save that for another post since this one is so long. We really love you all and ask that you not forget us esp since we wont be at church (a sad subject for us) so please keep in touch. We will get better at calling and reaching out once we get into a routine instead of chaos management :-)

OLIVE IS HOME TODAY!!!

2007-11-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

Olive came home today and is happily napping! She has been doing her feedings really really well this week and took the ride home well.

I sent out a email a few days ago to look for help this week. Thank you for those to responded saying that they would be happy to help out. I will be emailing or calling people to setup helpers. The unfortunate thing about a premie baby is that we cannot have anyone over that have been sick and that have kids (since they carry everything even when they aren't sick).

The discharge papers actually stated that we are not to bring her around large groups of people who may have any type of sicknesses until April. April is when RSV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_syncytial_virus) is less of a threat to infants. Infants who contract RSV are at serious risk of deeper infection and in some cases death. RSV is very dangerous in infants like Olive who are born with breathing difficulties and underdeveloped lungs at birth.

Thanks again for your prayers!!!

PS - I've created some Picasa Web Albums. You can see the pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/williamjaywhalen

UPDATE - No Oxygen, No Warmer Bed and Feedings

2007-11-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

So the doctors have told us that there are 3 requirements for Olive to come home. Here they are:

1) No more oxygen or needing help breathing
2) No more warmer bed and into a bassonet/crib
3) Feeding regularly from mom and then feeding from a bottle

On Saturday of this past weekend, Olive was taken off oxygen all together and she has been free of any breathing help since then and doing well. On Sunday morning at 3am they dressed her and moved her into a crib. She also was freed of her lines (she had various monitoring devices hooked up to her through her belly button, hooked up to her foot and other leads for heart monitoring etc.

Finally, she has been attempting feedings since Sunday evening. They are feeding her through a tube in her nose approx 60ml (2 oz). She started nursing at about 8ml and then as of tonight (Wednesday night) she successfully drank a full feeding from mom...or about 60ml or 2oz. Next step....learn to master bottle feeding if the nursing goes well consistently.
We have tons to be thankful for obviously on this Thanksgiving. Our nurses awsome help, God's faithfulness, everyones prayers and Olive's health.

Please continue to pray for healthyness since both Rowan and I have come down with colds this week. I haven't seen my baby girl for 3 days! We also are going to be entering a season of shelter...since the doctors and nurses have recommended that we make sure not to expose Olive to any types of sicknesses if at all possible. This includes church activities...childcare...even taking her to Target.

Please pray as we try and understand how we need to change and modify our lives through this time.

They are still a little concerned about her biliruben (jondaunce) and her weight loss...she didn't eat or poop for almost a week...so it slowed things down a bit.

UPDATE: No more C-PAP!

2007-11-17T05:51:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was a really good day. On Thursday night they did a echo scan...almost like a ultrasound. This showed that both the blood vessel and her blood pressure over the lungs were perfectly fine.

They took off Olive's CPAP for a camula (not sure if I'm spelling it right). This is just a normal nose tube that adults get when they get oxygen. See pics below for examples. She was really comfortable with this on...the CPAP was really restricting.

As of this morning, she was down to 24% oxygen in her tubes. She needs to get down to 21% (room level) and once she is stable she can come off the oxygen.
She still is not tolerating feedings terribly well...so please PRAY that she will start loving the food and absorb everything that they give her.

Status Update about Olive

2007-11-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

Olive was doing extremely well last night and this morning and then she took a small turn for the worse.

She basically wasn't getting as much oxygen into her blood stream as she needed.

There are 2 options:

1) There is a valve that closes and re-routes blood to the lungs when babies are born. They think that this valve might not have closed since she is a premature baby. This is common in premature babies and they basically give her some motrin to close the valve and stabilize her.

2) If her blood pressure around her lungs is high...then they likely need to put her back n the ventilator to stabilize her breathing. IF she needs some special medicine gas that could help her more...they could have to transfer her to the University hospital in Minneapolis. The doctor said that this is very unlikely, but isn't a zero percent chance.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PRAY ABOUT THIS!

Mommy Pics Holding Olive

2007-11-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

Erin got to hold Olive today for the first time after 48 hours of her life. Olive LOVED being held by mommy. She was quite fussy while Erin and I were sitting in the nursury next to her. She was very grunty and kept knocking off her CPAP device from her nose since she was so squirmy.

Mom held her and she calmed right down. See below for pics!

MORE PICS!

2007-11-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here's some cute closeup shots. They finally gave her a pink bow. She's CUUUTTTEE!

UPDATE: 2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

2007-11-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. The Special Care Nursury said that typically in lung cases you see 2 steps forward and 1 step backward. She was taken off the ventilator for about 2 hours today and was put back on the C-Pap (nose delivered air pressure) at about 1:15pm. This is just to make sure that she isn't as labored breathing without anything.

Some people have asked when we get to take her home. I don't really know the timeline, but I guess expecting her to be home by her due date would be a major plus. She's doing quite well currently, but the next round of struggles will be training her how to feed from mom and a bottle.

I think we'll likely have her home earlier than our original due date of December 5th....but please please please, even if it is a quick subtle prayer, say a prayer that her recovery would be VERY quick recovery and that she would bounce quickly into the swing of things. Pray that we will have her home within the next few weeks.

Thanks for your prayers. I'll continue to update this site...but please offer your help (especially if you stay home etc) to come over when I have to go back to work. Thanks!!!!

UPDATE - Olive Naomi Whalen

2007-11-13T09:36:00.001-08:00

So Olive was taken off the ventilator this morning at 11:15am. She is breathing on her own and is doing quite well.

Here's some pics of her without tape on her face! You can see her face!!!! We think she kinda looks like Row Row...?

HEADS UP: Please pray for Erin. She needs a blood transfusion to get her Hemaglobin back up and to feel a bit better. She lost about 1,000ml of blood in the c-section. She is a little nervous about the transfusion, but sounds like that everything is going to be great with it.

Olive Naomi Whalen

2007-11-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Introducing the arrival of the next Whalen to the world! Olive Naomi Whalen was delivered via C-Section at 3:44pm today at Fairview Ridges Hospital. It was a little bit of a needed procedure since baby was doing cartwheels (she was breach, head down, breach and then sideways). The doctors thought it would be safer to take her even with risks of lung development not being 100% so that Erin wouldn't be contracting for the next 3 weeks (just like the past five days).

Please pray for the following:

1) Fast and speedy recovery for Erin

2) Lung development for baby

Olive is considered premature and she is in the Special Care Nursery here at the hospital. Her lungs are considered under-developed so she has a tube down her throat into her lungs. This tube both helps the doctors monitor her oxygen levels, administer medicine to speed the development and assist with the amount of pressure that is being placed into her lungs. They said that this is very much expected and she is looking like a typical 36-37 week old baby.

That's all that is going on at this point...so please stay tuned for more updates. We should know in the next 24 to 48 hours how her lungs are doing.

Picture 1: This was immediately after delivery. They brought her out of the surgery room where Erin had her C-Section and they had a tube down her throat to assist with breathing. This was just a precaution so that they didn't have her crashing prior to getting into the Special Care Nursury.

Picture 2: You can see a sort of breathing mask over top of Olive's nose. This is called a C-Pap. It basically flows air thorugh her nose to force oxygen into her system.

Pictures 3 and 4: This is the oxygen setup that Olive is currently attached to. They determined that the C-Pap wasn't providing enough pressure to make her use her full lung capacity. They also did a X-Ray of her lungs and determined that they still had some gunk inside and needed that removed. Basically, they had to sedate her a bit, put a tube down her throat, administer some medication to speed up her lung development and monitor her oxygen levels. She is currently VERY stable with this, but this was probably the scariest part of today since she did need to be sedated breifly. Picture number 4 is the full setup that she has....monitors and all.

Picture 5: Momma in the hospital. She's feeling very good considering having a 5 inch cut across her stomach/abdomen. In this picture she is snuggling with one of Rowan's favorite blankets...she loves these since they smell like Row Row.

New Camera - Canon Digital SLR

2007-11-11T22:38:00.000-08:00

I just got a new Canon 30D digital SLR camera. I've been taking lots of pics! Here's a few of the kiddies:

Whalen's in October

2007-10-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

So this month we went to Leesburg, Virginia with both kids on a airplane, Erin caught pneumonia and we visited a apple orchard south of the Twin Cities to pick apples and get some fun pics of the kids. See here for details:

You go God!

2007-09-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

Romans 13:1-7 (New Living Translation)

Respect for Authority Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. 2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. 3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. 4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. 5 So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.
6 Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.

Apparently God has now figured out that the only way to get through to Americans is to respond directly and legally...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/09/20/suing.god.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

The Many Expressions of Dan...

2007-09-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Dan Rollins...international man of mystery and fantastical expression. What do they mean!?!?! Here's what I think...

SPIDER!

Oh Man! That was SOUR!

PFFFFFFT!

I Sharded after the last picture...

And...another PFFFT...no Shard.

YER GOIN DOWN!

Alfa Uber Schnitzle...(imagine Dan doing a German voice...)

9/11 Remember

2007-09-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours from The Rock sent a email out to remember 9/11. Her son, now 10 (then 4), drew this picture...which from a 4 year olds mind is a pretty amazing representation and perspective.

I think it's quite amazing that even though children live sheltered lives from this type of reality...they still are VERY in touch with reality.

Here's to Christ leading the way to everyones salvation. Serve somebody today so that they know why we're all here.

ARRRRRRRGGGGGG!

2007-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

New Whalen Kid Pics!

2007-08-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

Just thought it would be good to get some new family pics on here...it's been a while since I threw new pics of the childs on the blog. Number 3 is coming December 5th.

Religion is a Lie.

2007-08-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Titus 3:9-11 says: "Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These kinds of things are useless and a waste of time. If anyone is causing divisions amojng you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with that person. For people like that have turned away from the truth. They are sinning, and they condemn themselves.

These days...too many people get bogged down in church and God being about entertainment, beliefs of specific man made dogma and details that really shouldn't matter in our faith. You shouldn't leave a church because of a man made direction of not liking the pastor. You need to fully give yourself to God and have a personal relationship with him...stop being a "transplant" Christian and going from one location to another trying to be "filled" by men that cannot accomplish what God has in store for us.

We're not in this for religion...but rather to experience what God has planned for our lives.

Check out a website that was created by a friend of mine...it states what I've said above possibly more elegantly.

http://www.religionisalie.com

Please comment about what you think about this topic...