Manamana

We went to our neighbors' house on Memorial Day for some fellowship and ribs with the BEST barbeque sauce on the face of this earth (for the ribs, not the fellowship). Jonah and James had a great time being entertained by this clip that will bring back memories for people like us who grew up watching the Muppets. My sons crack up at the same things that made me laugh as a kid, and their laughter is one of the best blessings of being their mom (in addition to the aforementioned barbeque sauce, which, in retrospect, has nothing to do with motherhood). Take a look see...Click here to see it

Ouch!

Jack and Jedidiah got their first round of shots today. Mom and Dad were surprised that they didn't cry louder. Jack has been a bit more clingy tonight but overall they are recovering well.

Sunday they will make their first trip to church. Yeah!

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday at 7:05 p.m. Jedidiah and Jack were officially two months old.

Happy Birthday boys!

En Guard!

Just this morning -

Jonah: Mommy, where did the babies [Jack and Jedidiah] come from?
Josephine: From my tummy.
Jonah: How did they get them out?
Josephine: They cut my tummy and took them out.
Jonah: What did they use to open you up? A sword?

Happy Mother's Day!

The Virtuous Wife

10 Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
15 She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
25 Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all."
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31: 10-31

I have found a virtuous wife. Happy Mother's Day honey. You are blessing to us. Your value is beyond gold, diamonds or rubies. Thanks for demonstrating God's love to us every day.

Love,

The Riggs Boys

Investing Time in Our Children

After more than five years I can attest to the great value of having my wife home full-time and would not change a thing. Her daily sacrifices result in blessings for me and the boys. Sure, we could have made much more money but the Lord has enabled us to live on a teacher's salary with two boys. I have no doubt He will continue to provide for us now that we have four boys.

On Mother's Day please consider an excerpt from today's sermon at Calvary Chapel Pasadena and a recent article that illustrates the value of stay-at-home moms.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Stay-Home Mother: Time Invested in Her Children

-She will spend 17 hours a day with the child. In the first year, she will spend 3,000+ hours with the child.

-In the first 12 years, she will spend 40,000+ hours with the child.
-Between ages of 13 and 18, she will spend 4 hours a day, for a total of 2,000 hours during those years.

During those 18 years, she will spend 42,000+ hours with the child (instead of 6,000+ as a working woman--7 times more.)

(Calvary Chapel Pasadena)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Value of stay-at-home moms rises

WALTHAM, Mass. -- The cost of paying a stay-at-home mom for all the work she does is on the rise.

Salary.com says if they got paid, stay-at-home moms would pull down $134,121 this year - a raise of $2,650 from last year’s theoretical salary.

Salary-dot-com has put together a list of job titles that best matched a stay-at-home mom’s definition of the work she does. Among them, in the order of hours spent per week, are housekeeper, day care center teacher and cook.

Job titles new to the list this year include psychologist, laundry machine operator and computer operator.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed."

Acorns to Oaks Musical

We are so proud of Jonah! He sang his heart out tonight in the Sonrise I.S.P. production entitled "Acorns to Oaks". After many weeks of rehearsals and one performance this week at Sonrise Christian School, Jonah, his buddy Ezra and about 40 other children sang in the choir while a young cast performed. We brought the twins and I just loved watching Jonah. Though he barely opened his mouth to sing, you could see that he was really concentrating and doing his best. Then I realized - This is our boy. Our "Mr. Guy" is growing up before our eyes.

We know that many adults worked together to make this happen. In fact, we have heard that one person did an exceptional job backstage (Way to go Tracy!). So thanks to everyone who made this musical possible. It was wonderful! We are looking forward to tomorrow's final performance. I hope the cast party doesn't keep Jonah out too late.

Grass-O

I got to speak Spanish today. I studied Spanish Literature in college and I got to use my "skillz" (or as they say in Spanish, "ehskillz") NOT to translate some academic paper, or a novel, or even a letter. I translated a conversation between my husband and the gardener Luis. With simple words like "cada semana" (every week), "cesped" (grass), and "cortar" (to cut), I saved Justin from extreme pantomiming of someone mowing tall grass down to short grass. He was also spared of putting the suffix -O after every word to make it sound like Spanish ("can you-O cut-O the grass-O every week-O? How much-O will it cost-O?"). So since Luis only had a look of confusion on his face twice, I assume our front lawn will be mowed every week and the backyard mowed every other week as requested. Either that or I've promised the gardener thousands of dollars to turn on the sprinklers. We'll see ("vamos a ver").
I want to learn French. Or Latin. And how to play the guitar.

What Do You Get When You Mix...

two month-old twins, a preschooler, a stubborn toddler, a wiener-dog, Nana and two tired parents? A fun trip to Picture People in Arcadia. We started prepping to leave at 7:00 a.m., barely got out the door by 9:35 and arrived just after 10. Despite being a bit guilty walking a non seeing-eye dog through the mall, we eventually made it to Picture People. Five seconds before the photo session, James decided to fall off the play train into the glass window. Now for those of you who don't know James doesn't like to smile in pictures unless all the planets are aligned, the humidity is exactly 42% and a crew of 15 people are around to make him laugh. So smashing his face against the glass probably wouldn't help make this experience "picture perfect".

Needless to say, after 2000 pictures everyone (even Inky) managed to crack a smile. The best we got from James was a half smile with arms crossed. But he did get a balloon so as far as he is concerned it was a good day.

So roughly 6 hours later we arrived back home, cracked open the minivan, and let all the kids just spill out into the house.

But it was worth it - We got some great pictures of Nana with Inky, Jonah and James. Happy Mother's Day Mom! I have so much more respect for you now.

A Star is Born

After many rehearsals Jonah performed in his first musical entitled "Acorns to Oaks". He is one of the youngest (and quietest) members of the choir. I was a bit apprehensive about this performance since the two rehearsals I had attended began with Jonah crying and included very little singing on his part. But I was pleasantly suprised. He did a wonderful job and so did the rest of the cast.

There is something very special about live performances especially when children are involved. The two official performances are this Friday and Saturday. I hope the cast party doesn't keep Jonah out too late.

You might need an abacus

In the last month my family has increased by 50% and the number of my sons has increased by 100% - that translates into my family of 4 turning into a family of 6. This means that there are only 2 vacant spaces left in the minivan. And it means there are no vacant spaces left at the dinner table. And it means I have as many children as my parents had. And it means that of my dad's eight grandchildren, half of them are OURS.

Raising Four Boys

Hello everyone,

Josephine and I are excited to unveil our first family blog to chronicle the many adventures of training up our boys in the Lord. Stop by anytime to get updates on the boys as well as a glimpse into our blessed (albeit sleep-deprived) life.

God Bless,

Justin