A huge smile stretched from ear to ear recently when I was speaking at our church back home. Giving an update to the congregation I posted Addison's picture up on the PowerPoint screen. Out of the corner of my eye I caught her little face about ten pews back and to the right. What I saw brought the classic "double take". There was addie grinning and waving fanatically to me. I couldn't help but stop what I was saying and tell everyone to look at my little daughter. Talk about melting Daddy's heart! Later Les told me that Addie was actually looking at the folks in the pews behind her when she suddenly twisted around and leaned forward at the sound of my voice. No doubt a little event in life I never want to forget.

Parenting Epiphanies Learned the Hard Way! (Paperback)
By Jim & Les McCulley

Price: $9.99 and eligible for FREE Super Duper Sweet Shipping

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Book Description: Complete newbie parents, Jim & Les McCulley outline the lessons that they've learned as new parents. They write from everyday experiences and are always gleaning more knowledge from their baby expert Addison Avery. Whether you're a veteran parent or just starting out like Jim & Les, you're sure to find a giggle on every page. Take a look at a couple sample lessons:

Excerpts from Chapter 9: Bath Time Follies

Lesson #1046 - When all else fails, always rely on common sense! For instance, do not remove your daughter's diaper and hold her on your hip while filling her baby bath tub with water. The end result is inevitable. Yes, you will soon be standing in a pool of warm baby pee.

Lesson #1047 - Recently Jim faced the formidable task of assessing and prioritizing clean up after Hurricane Addie hit the McCulley Kitchen. She has perfected the art of splashing water. After such a scenario, it is clearly time to move baby bath time from the kitchen sink to the real bathtub. Such a move will undoubtedly prevent further damage in days and months to come.

We wanted to share some video from The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus - VideoBook. These are the three sections covering the Passion of Christ. We thank the Lord for His Sacrifice as we remember all that He endured this weekend some 2000 years ago!

Do I hear wedding bells? Yes, I do! Cari is getting married! Yippee!

Cari is kind of like the sister I never had. We've known each other since we met at Sunday school when we were 3 years old, and the Lord has seen fit to keep us close over all these years.

She called Sunday to tell me that Jeremy had proposed. I'm sure she could have done without my hooting and hollering, but at least she knew I was excited for her, right? Cari is such an amazing girl and will make a fabulous wife. Jeremy has done good, good, good!

Just to emphasize how lucky Jeremy is, let me tell you what type of gal Cari is. When speaking of Cari, my mom always says, "I can't believe someone hasn't snatched her up yet. I always assumed she would be the first out of all you girls to get married." And Jim has said, "Cari is really cool, and she has a servant's heart. She's going to be a wonderful wife someday."

We've heard great things about Jeremy and are looking forward to meeting him soon. Congrats you two!

P.S. We love you Dupree!!

...is the number of diapers I used to change in one week's time during the early months of mommy hood.

...is the number of diapers I now get to change over a period of two weeks!  And obviously, it only gets better from here out.  Umm, until baby #2 I suppose. Hmmm...

...is approximately the number of ounces I drink in an eight hour period in an effort to stay hydrated for nursing.  Coincidently, 56 ounces (7 cups) is also the amount of coffee Jim guzzles in an eight hour period.  Just kidding, that only happens on days that end in Y.

...times 2 is probably close to the number of smiles we get from Addie in a single day!! However, for the record Jim is convinced the number must be twice this.

...is how old I will be if I double my age come August.  Wow, am I already half way there?

...is how much it costs in Canadian dollars to fill up our Jeep with gas unless we manage to get as close to empty as possible, and then it's closer to $70. 

...minus 4 is the number of fence posts that my dad took out of the ground many years ago. (This is an inside joke about Ricky P. courtesy of David F.!)

...kilobytes per second is the speed we used to have to connect to the Internet.  Oh, how did we function?

...is the number of weeks out of the year that one could potentially expect a snow storm in Canada.  Yes, that's right; every week of the year is fair game here!

...is the number of men who signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.

...is the number of consecutive games in which Joe DiMaggio had a base hit in 1941, still a record.

...is the number of times the word "Yeah" is used by R.E.M. in the song Man on the Moon.

Addie loves her cereal but peas are a different story. Can you blame her? That pureed green pasty stuff smells and looks awful. I’ve told her the real deal is much better. Fresh peas are great but this jarred stuff is for the birds. Here's how it went down...and back up:

Step 1: Analyze and sniff the green gook...

Step 2: Sample the green gook...maybe it's not as bad as it smells

Step 3: Prepare to permanently remove the green gook from mouth...it is actually worse than it smells!

Family & Friends,

In February, Addison and I accompanied Jim to Florida where he attended 3 days of web marketing training that he found to be very helpful. Jim also spoke at a Missions Fest here in Alberta to a group of 60 or so individuals that attended his seminar titled “How to Navigate Postmodernism in Today’s Spiritual Wilderness.” The session went very well, and Jim received some encouraging feedback such as the following email from someone who now wants to attend GoodSeed’s TERM training in April:

"I attended the seminar by Jim McCulley, and really appreciated the things he shared about syncretism and the importance of presenting the Gospel in a very clear way....I was encouraged to attend the seminar so I could find out more about how to share my faith in our postmodern culture. I look forward to learning more."

Over the past 3 years Jim has been involved with many different kinds of creative projects and has spent countless hours mapping out "big picture" ideas for GoodSeed's branding and web ministry. As of this month Jim is focusing his full attention on developing phase one of the GoodSeed website. It’s coming along well, and the potential outreach opportunities online are very exciting! Ultimately the site will be the home to at least 4 international online stores each containing up to 60 products. Please pray for creativity, stamina, and encouragement for Jim as he tackles this huge website.

This just in! Jim and I have been approved for permanent residence status in Canada. The timing is perfect as our 3 year work visas expire in June.

Addison is 5 months old now and learning new things every day. She has quite the personality and is full of smiles. Her latest accomplishment is learning to sit up on her own. She is such a joy to us!

For those of you in the Lubbock or Denver area, we will be coming home during the month of May. We hope to catch up with as many of you as possible!

"stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel." (Phil 1:27)

Joyfully His,
Jim, Les, & Addison