B-Day fun

So yesterday was my birthday but Ab and I decided to celebrate it on Saturday. It was a blast. We got some pizza with all our kids at our local pizza joint and then went back to our place for chocolate cake(that I made from scratch) and drinks. It was a good time being able to hang out with friends and let our kids run around the house and play together. I just wanted to say thanks. Thank you to all the people who made my birthday a good time. Anyway I am truely grateful to have the friends that I do. You all mean a lot to me and I love ya'll.

p.s. I have been trying for the longest time to find a GreenBay Packers khaki baseball hat. If any of you know where I could buy one let me know

Happenings

I know its been a while but if you read our family blog I explained that laziness plus 2 kids under the age of two = not very many blog entries. Anyway the biggest thing that has happend to me personally is my latest surgery to the family jewels. Thats right I had a vasectomy. No more kids for the McBride's! I love the two we have but no more. I can't believe I actually went through with it but I sucked it up and got it done. It was the least I could do for my wife and probably pales in comparison to giving birth to two kids. I don't know how women do it but I am proud of my wife for having two children! My procedure was not bad really. I know some of you dudes out there are cringing at the thought of a searing hot cauterizing surgical blade cutting one of your most precious places but it didn't hurt much. I even watched the whole thing! With the drugs and numbing shot they give you, I didn't feel a thing and recovery was not bad either. Just a week or so of taking it easy and in a few months I will be sterile. I know this may seem a little too personal for some of you but we are all friends and I really don't care what people think of my nuts anyway.
Other than that life is good. The kids are great. Hannah is growing fast and laughs, coos and smiles all the time and love watching her big brother play. Sam is learing new things everyday it seems like. He almost has his ABC's mastered and he can count from 2-10. For some reason he doesn't like 1. He knows most of his colors, shapes and he is learing to identify musical instruments. I think his favorite is the Sax.
Also one of my friends book tagged me with this book list thing. So if you read books you might find this interesting. I am a pretty frequent reader and I am into the whole political thriller/adventure genre of books.

1. One book that changed your life.
The Bible. I kept thinking about this question but the Bible is the only book that truely fits.
"Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller is a book that has changed my view on life. It is a great read about spirituality and the journey of growing closer to God.

2. One book you've read more than once.
"Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" By Jim Cymbala.
Awesome book about the power of prayer and the beginnings of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island.
Other than The Bible any book by Vince Flynn or Clive Cussler.

4. One book that made you laugh.
"Trojan Odessey" by Clive Cussler with Dirk Pitt as the main character.

5. One book that made you cry.
"Consent to Kill" by Vince Flynn.
Almost made me cry when I read the final chapter.

6. One book you wish had been written.
"The story of my life" by Tim McBride

7. One book you wish had never been written.
"The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown
I thought the book was weak and unbelievable. I have read much better in the adventure/thriller genre.

8. One book you're currently reading.
"Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller
He is incredible and I highly reccomend it!

9. One book you've been meaning to read.
"Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell.
One of my good friends keeps telling me I have to read it.

10. Now tag 5 people.
Muzik316, Jeanne M., Nick C., Josh Golackson, Loren M.

I'm back

I am still alive. I just wanted to let ya'll know that I am still around. It has been a busy last few months with the addition of Hannah to our family. But it has been wonderful having two kids. Sam absolutely loves his little sister and Hannah is just starting to enter the smiling and cooing stage. Today is officially my second day of running daddy day-care. I worked my old job of building houses while Abby was on maternity leave and now I am back to doing the dad thing again. Its a lot different this time around having to care for two instead of one. If you think one kid is a lot of work try having two. I love them both so much though. I also posted some pictures of Hannah trying to smile and an older picture of Sam when he was younger but it is still cute. Thats aboutall I have time for now. Crying children are calling now so I must go. More to come later.

Sam has things to say

Written by Tim's secretary - (Doshadora) Aunt Kelly has taught me a good noise. I hit my sticks it is fun.

We went to the animal place. The monkeys are funny, like my dad.

I fed the goose, but it liked my fingers better.

Aunt Kelly and Grandma took me to the park. I showed them what a good climber I am. A.K. taught me some holds on the climbing rock.

Dad and I cruised the beach. Mom is nervous and excited. I'm not sure I get this whole baby thing, but grandma says I'll understand tomorrow. Mom and dad are leaving me way before the sun comes up, but I don't mind cause I really like my Aunt Kelly.

life

So the little boy has pink eye. It has been a tough few days around the McBride household. Sam has nasty snot running off his face and a case of pink eye. And we are less than a week away from the birth of number 2. So as you can guess I have been a little busy, tired and I hate to admit it, crabby. It's so hard to be in a good mood when Sam is whining all day long because he doesn't feel good and Abby is pretty much relegated to the couch when she gets home because working takes a lot out her this far into the pregnancy. It sure is hard to be the servant that Christ has asked us to be. I know that I must put the needs of others before mine but sometimes I just don't do that. I really need to be there for my wife and son and be able to serve them with a joyful heart. I guess that is my prayer, to be able to love my wife and help and serve her in anyway that she needs. I guess I shouldn't complain because the discomfort that she is going through and will go through during the birth far outways my current state of stress. The awesome thing that I can turn to is the Lord Jesus. He is my rock and my salvation and with him anything can be accomplished. That is the thought I will leave you with.

Daughter update and Sam Pictures

Sam at our Church's Easter Egg Hunt


I already posted this in our family blog but for those of you who only read my blog and not our McBride family blog, I thought I would share the latest news with ya'll. Yesterday we learned that we are going to have our daughter on April 26th or shortly thereafter. Dr. Tilghman, Abby's OB/GYN, wants to induce labor wednesday morning two weeks from today. No real reason other than he likes to have things done on his schedule. And Abby is cool with that because she has been wanting to get this baby out for quite awhile now. Don't get me wrong, Dr. Tilgman is a great and well respected doctor especially when it comes to emergency and high-risk births. I think he just likes being in control of when babies he delivers are born so he won't have to get up in the middle of the night to deliver them. So to make a long story short, we are having our daughter in roughly two weeks and I couldn't be any happier. It is going to be so much fun having a little newborn again. I can't wait! But I am sure I will be singing a different tune in about a month. We just hope Sam does ok with the new baby that will be added to our family. I think he is young enought that it shouldn't take to long for him to adjust. He doesn't seem to like it when Abby holds our friend's newborn but then again at times he doesn't really care. We will just have wait and see and remember that he still needs as much attention and love and the newborn will need. I will put pics up of the baby as soon as we get them. For those of you that are interested, the picture above is Sam at our church's Easter egg hunt. Thats it for now, more to come later.

Employment for Timmy

I got a job! Prayer answered!! To refresh ya'll, while Abby is on maternity leave I needed to find work in order to make up for the income that we are going to lose by her not being able to work. I'm going to go back to my old job building houses. I gave my old boss a call. He and I had great conversation and to make a long story short he said he would love to have me work for him for the summer. As much as it is going to suck working outside in Florida in the summertime, I am stoked to have gotten my job back so easily. So May 1st, I will be outside with my shirt off getting tan helping to finish up the 14,000 sqft monster of a house they are working on! Amen!

-Foreign Missions- God's plan for my life or not?

The big thought that is overwhelming me lately is what to do about the future. For the longest time I felt the call to foreign missions. As you all probably know, that is where Abby and I met, on a 7 week mission trip to a very large and extremely populated communist country in East Asia. I think you are all smart enough to figure out what country it is with out me having to say it, for the protection of missionaries that may be there. Anyway Ab and I met when we were serving the Lord and it has always be something that I have wanted to continue to do. The problem is, I don't really know how God wants us to serve him. I wish discerning God's will for our lives was an easy thing. But in my experience it hasn't been. I would still love to be a foreign missionary but I just don't know where or when or for that fact what organization to serve in. I know some of you might be saying that maybe missions is not part of God's plan for us because of all the unanswered questions and the lack of direction that we are feeling. But I truly believe that all of us who are believers in Christ and have a relationship with Jesus Christ are called to serve the Lord. It can't be anymore clear than Matthew28:19 in which Christ commands us to" go and make disciples of all nations". I know there are many ways to serve the Lord. But if there are two people such as Abby and I who are willing to share the love and truth of Christ to those who have not been given the opportunity to hear it, then why would God want us to do anything else. I don't know? That's my question.
What I do know is that personally I don't think at this moment I am ready to be a missionary. There is still alot of work to be done in the heart of Tim McBride. Lately I have been in a lot of thought about this subject and I am trying diligently to become the man God desires for me to be. That means daily investing my time and energy into growing closer and more intimite with God. If you know me well, which I am sure most of you do, you know this has been a struggle for me. But I can't begin to tell you the excitement and passion I have had for the Lord lately. My heart sometimes feels like it going to beat out my chest when I think about all the amazing ways that I can continue to grow closer to God. I just pray that this passion is not short lived and that it is something that will always be with me and a part of my faith in God. Passion for the Lord and passion for the lost. May those be the two things that consume my life!
Anyway, sorry for the long rambling thoughts that I have just shared with you but it's something I needed to get off my heart and into words. Peace.

Future

Ok, I know its been awhile. Alright I admit it's been along time since I have written here. Life has been a little crazy and, if you know me well, I have been a little lazy. Anyway...right now the thing that is happening in the McBride family is the upcoming birth of our daughter Hannah hopefully in early May. Its been busy but a lot of fun getting ready for her. We have began turning Sam's old room into her nursery. Which involves a lot of painting and stenciling flowers. Thankfully my wife did the flowers and I didn't have to! We have also been trying get the things we need for a newborn girl such as pink clothes and newborn diapers. We also won our first auction on Ebay which was a Baby Bjorn carrier. It's probably the most comfortable and best made infant carrier on the market and will be heavily used by Abby while she chases Sam around the house.
The most pressing issue for right now is trying to find a job while Abby is on maternity leave. I thought I had something lined up but it fell through and now I am on the search for employment. I am really bummed thought because I don't want to have to go through the whole hiring process for just a two or three month job. All the work here in Panama city seems to be labor and entrylevel work which does not pay very much. I guess my biggest issue is pride. I need to understand that I am not above any kind of work and that any job is an honorable job in God's eyes as long as I work hard and portray the characteristis that a Godly man would show. What ever job I get I need to be honest, respectful and hardworking so that I can share Christ's love without contradiction. I guess I just need prayer that God will provide the right job for me and that our needs will be met while Abby is on maternity leave. I am putting my trust in God that we will make it through the times ahead.

On my own

Hey, its me and I have my own blog now. Abby and I decided that the mcbridefamily blog should be for the family and for family news not just for me to write my thoughts. So here I am with my own blog and freedom to say what I please. I hope to write in this blog frequently and we will write in the family blog probably once or twice a week or so. The picture to the left I stole "borrowed" from my friend Dan's blog. Actually it his picture that he took of a candle. The dude has some talent when it comes to photography. He just starting out but I have seen some of his work and he has an eye for great pictures. I really don't know what else to say right now. Sam is napping and later we are going to go to the park to enjoy the sun and the 75 degree temps that we have here in sunny FL. And tomorrow one of Sam's little buddies, Brandt, is turning two. He's having a party and a local park and it should be a blast. All of us Dads are going to throw the ole pig skin around and act like kids. I can't wait. Anyway thats it for now. More to come later.