Happy First Birthday Luke!

YES! Luke had his very first Birthday! And after taking him into our home on April Fool’s Day we have been praying that his adoption would be final in time for his birthday…. well… we are excited to let you know that his adoption certificate and final adoption papers arrived just DAYS before his birthday, so God does answer prayer! “Mom” and “Dad” are no longer terms of hope… they are our new reality. Enjoy these birthday pics. Luke with his grandma, they are only 90 years apart in age!Here is Luke about to recieve his first Birthday Cake made lovingly by mom. (yes, he is dressed as as rodent again) First time having sugar! He seemed hesitant. What is this stuff? Checking his cute self out in the back of the Mikey balloon. Look at all those presents! Yes, spoiled already! Which one should I open first? Ah ha! I get this ribbon thing! Luke’s Micky Mouse Cake! (read his expression: “Get me OUT of this rodent outfit!”) Daddy did the blowing for Luke, but no need to make a wish, Luke IS the wish come true! This cake stuff isn’t bad! But he left plenty behind… we’re in…

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2006 – A Year of Dramatic Change

2006. Wow.   There is no way to summarize last year. 2006 contained more change than any year I’ve ever experienced. 2006 was a year that was filled with the happiest and yet the hardest times in my entire life. When we look back we tend to want to focus on the worst… and yet, even in the midst of extremely difficult times, it is good to remember that God never fails to bring joy in the midst of suffering… if we take the time to look.I started this blog, PastorKarl.com, in April of 2005 when I went on sabbatical in order to chronicle my adventures during those fantastic six weeks, but I’m so glad the habit stuck. Any time I am down and wondering where is (or where was) God, I can simply click through the archives of my blog and am flooded with memories of great times and great memories, super friends and special kids, especially when I miss most of what was once my daily life. Indeed, 2006 brought a lot of changes, and at times, more than I could handle, and I failed miserably in keeping on top of everything, and yet in that brokeness God…

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God’s Favorite State

With the exception of Yosemite and Alaska*, Colorado is my favorite place on earth. (Yosemite and Alaska each go in their own category as there is no comparing to either of them!) So we are enjoying Christmas in Colorado Springs, and a White Christmas at that! Took this picture out the window of van while driving, and used Mac to touch up. (um, yeah added words too, they weren’t already in the sky!) Luke, keeping warm in chilly Colorado. Luke, still working on his crawling. He has backwards down, still working on forward! Went out to dinner, showed Luke how yummy Cheerios are! Historic Moment: Luke has his FIRST CHEERIO! Soon he is downing a whole little bowl, down on the floor that is. Gave Luke an orange thinking he would recoil, instead, he loved it and chomped on it! Luke’s favorite dinner game, peek-a-boo, or “Help Keep America Looking Beautiful” Just a cute picture of baby sleeping…. before… and after! It’s was a beautiful thing… Mountain Dew in a Frosty Mug! WOW! Discovered A&W carries MD, so I asked if I could have it in a frozen mug, they said no one ever asked for that before…. a new…

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State-of-the-Art Toilet Seats!

Do you hate cleaning the toilet? Does your toilet have those yucky places where it is just to hard too clean so you either wait and see if your spouse will do it or avoid it all together? Well, there is GOOD NEWS! Due to advances in modern toilet seat technology there is now a brand new state-of-the-art toilet seat that snaps off for easy cleaning! Its called the Preferred Easy Clean toilet seat. As I was sharing my joy of this discovery with my blog-hero he assured me this was blog-able, so send any complaints directly to him. With that disclaimer, here is the wonderful news for all you husbands out there who hate to clean toilets…. or just never do. HERE ARE EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTALLING YOUR VERY OWN Preferred Easy Clean TOILET SEAT COVER. (Available at Home Depot) STEP ONE: Get up the courage to to actually get down on your knees near the toilet. This may take a few days (weeks even) but eventually you have to do it. Just focus on all the wife-points you will get for making her job of cleaning toilets easier. Look at it as an investment in your…

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Luke’s Big Day in Court!

YES – it is true, Sara and I are now the proud Mom and Dad of Luke Given Bastian! This was one looooooooooooooong day! I am so exhausted as I sit here after midnight to type, BUT we had so many people praying for us, and I got soooo many e-mails asking how it went that I just have to tell the story before I go to bed. Not that I could sleep now anyway, I am so excited! Here is the story of Luke’s Adoption Day, of course, with pictures! We will be printing out all the e-mails we have gotten and putting them in a book for Luke to read someday so he can see just how many people all over the country we praying for him during his adoption! What a blessing you all have been to him! (e-mail Luke link) Served by a Sherif? Face a Judge? What did I do?!?! Here is Luke this morning, wide eyed, when I explained to him that we would be traveling downtown Chicago today and that he would be served by a Sherif and then appear before a judge! It was a COLD day and our day took us…

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