The Poulette Family in Mexico

When free isn’t free

Dennis — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:48:47 +0000

This morning, I decided to spend a little time with boy #1 and take him to the free movie at the theater. Happy Feet was showing, so I thought it would be fun to hang out with him. Little did I know that this excursion would cost me $100.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I must have run over a gigantic piece of metal, and it stuck into the tire. I could hear it hitting the ground as I drove to find a spot. It wasn’t a nail. No, it was much larger than that. But I wasn’t going to let it ruin my time with Nathan.

We went into the theater and bought popcorn. The small popcorn and coke was $9. Happy Feet started a little late, and the boy asked me if we could go bye-bye about an hour into it. Since it cost us nothing to get in, we left early.

I tried to go to the mall to see if the Sears could fix my tire cheaply, but they wanted $89 to put on a new tire. Then, I went to the Goodyear place, and they wanted $94. So, I finally went to a trusted tire guy, and it cost $78 for a new tire.

Janell came to meet us (it was me and Nathan by ourselves), and we went to McDonald’s for lunch ($9). Finally, the car was finished, and we went home.

The free movie wasn’t really free. It cost us an entire morning and about $100. Next time, we’ll just go to the park.

A Lesson about Grace

Dennis — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:32:41 +0000

Yesterday, we had t-ball practice. It was hot, the kids were tired, and hardly anybody really wanted to be running around in the heat playing tball. Even though Nathan has made significant progress in his skills, yesterday was not a great day for him at practice.

Before I continue, you have to understand that I always ~~bribe~~ reward him with a Slurpee after t-ball practice if he’s a good boy.

Unfortunately, yesterday, he was in rare form, hitting other people and generally disobeying. He wasn’t horrible, but he wasn’t obeying with all of his heart and soul and mind, either.

So, we got into the car after practice, and I asked him if he thought he deserved a Slurpee. I asked what he had done during practice, and then I asked him to tell me if he thought he should get a Slurpee or not. He said he didn’t deserve one but he really wanted one. I agreed with him that he didn’t deserve it.

I stopped at the 7-eleven anyway. As we were getting out of the car, I told Nathan he didn’t deserve a Slurpee, and he busted out in tears, saying, “But I really want one.” He thought he wasn’t going to get one. I told him that sometimes we get stuff we don’t deserve.

I resisted teaching him more about the concept of grace, because I’m not sure how much he really understand, but it’s exactly that kind of love that the Father has for us. He gives us things we don’t deserve all the time. It’s His grace that is amazing. It is His love for us despite our lack of love for Him that makes Him a great God.

I hope that Nathan learned something from our little trip to 7-Eleven, and I hope he will understand more about our gracious God in the future.

Ben’s first day

Dennis — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:25:47 +0000

Here’s some more video of Ben’s first day. It’s a montage of clips from the first 24 hours of our time at the hospital. Enjoy!

Watch the video on Blip.

A Little Pterodactyl

Dennis — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:26:21 +0000

Let the posting of pictures and videos of our second child begin. He’s a good little boy, so far, and he likes to do his impersonation of a pterodactyl or veloceraptor.

He’s been super good, considering he’s been stuck in the foot numerous times by the doctors so they can take blood from him. Hopefully, that will stop soon.

Everything is changing

Dennis — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:35:28 +0000

We brought Benjamin home yesterday, and for the first time, I realized again how much things change when you have a new addition to the family.

All of our relationships are changing, but things are especially changing for Nathan. He’s used to being the only child. Now he’s a big brother. He has to compete for attention, and no matter what we do to include him and pay attention to him, he is going to be looking for attention from his mommy, daddy, and grandparents.

He’s doing well as a big brother, as you can see by the pictures. But, please pray for us as we work through this time of transition. Thanks.

Benjamin is here!!

Dennis — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:13:18 +0000

This morning I woke up to Janell telling me that her water had broken. It was 5:30 in the morning. We rapidly got everything together, hopped in the car, and went to the hospital. The crazy day had just begun.

Arriving at the hospital at 6:15, they started checking her out to make sure that she was in labor. She certainly was. The problem was that the baby was breech. They wanted to do a c-section, but he didn’t want to wait for that. He was born at 7:10 with no c-section.

So, Benjamin Joseph was born on July 14, 2008, at 7:10, weighing in at an even 6 pounds and measuring 19 inches long. Mom and baby are doing fine.

Here are some pictures. Video will be coming soon.

What a Difference

Dennis — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:04:35 +0000

Last night we played a make-up game of t-ball because the first game of the season was rained out. There were only a few kids there, so we played four on three. Nathan loved it, and he did so good, too. It was like t-ball finally clicked for him.

Today was a normal game, and he did great in the field, too. He chased down the ball and threw it to first base. He’s doing really well.

Here’s a video of him hitting and running.

Nathan’s Home Run from Dennis on Vimeo.

Starfield - I Will Go

Dennis — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:12:15 +0000

I downloaded this song for free from iTunes, and the first time I heard it, I was in an airplane going to Cuba to teach the last intensive course of a three year program. It absolutely touched a chord with where I am in my life. Listen to the lyrics. Right now, it’s my prayer.

Watch it on Youtube.

St. Pete Times and Serving the Servants

Dennis — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:57:37 +0000

Recently, the St. Petersburg Times ran an article on D&D Missionary Homes, a great ministry in St. Pete that provides housing, clothing, and other things to missionaries who are visiting the United States again.

D&D exists to “serve the servants” and operates on donations from individuals and churches in order to do so. They have furnished houses, a place for missionaries to shop for clothes (for free), and basically provide a home away from home for those who minister overseas.

Unfortunately, although they provided a phone number, the St. Pete Times didn’t link to the D&D missionary homes website in their article, so here is the link to D&D missionary homes. Be sure to check them out and donate if you want to support their ministry.

Here’s the St. Petersburg Times article.
Here’s the D&D Missionary Homes website.

Have you heard of any other ministries like this one?

Sparklers!

Dennis — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:24:45 +0000

I wanted to make sure we had some fun on 4th of July this year, so I went to the fireworks store (yes, there is an actual store) and bought some sparklers.

It took Nathan some time to get the idea that it wouldn’t burn him, and after a while, he wanted to hold one, too. So, we took some video of us playing with the sparklers.

Watch the video at Blip.tv.