End of January???

I can't believe it's already the end of January. Didn't we just celebrate Christmas yesterday? It's scary how fast time flies. We are just about to wrap up a block at school already. That means projects and finals Wednesday. So Thursday we will get two new classes. I'm starting to get a little anxious because this means that the baby will come soon. We had a doctor's appointment Wednesday and all is well. We now visit the doctor every 2 weeks until March...then EVERY week! Yikes! I feel as if we are ready for her though. Hopefully God's not preparing us to have her early! Let's switch subjects...

Budgets! How many of you are on budgets? BJ and I have been blessed with knowing how important budgets are even before we got married. We were able to start our marriage with no debt, and then live by the "envelope system" every month...staying within our means. For us, it has been awesome! We simply have decided how much we make, then we split our money into different categories such as food, entertainment, auto, insurance, housing, medical, etc. You use cash for everything and when your envolope is empty...you're done until the end of the month! It sounds scary, but it has been so great. We don't hardly fight about money because it's either there, or it's not! I've been so encouraged lately to see how others in my family are using budgets! I would encourage each one of you to sit down, think about how much money you make monthly, and set a budget! A good book to help with this is "Money Matters" by Larry Burkett. I know it doesn't sound that much fun, but it's totally worth it. If you would like to ask us any questions about how to get started...we'd love to help out in any way. We are re-familiarizing ourselves with the whole system because we are down one job and have a new one on the way. I'll have to let you know how cutting $300 a month and adding a baby goes! But, we know that God provides and we feel it is so important to live within our means.

Please be praying for us! And seriously, let us know your comments!

Good news...

Thanks to my brother Bert, I now have fixed the settings on our blog...
now ANYONE can comment on our blog!! It will not ask you to sign in to weird account or anything. Amazing. So, give it a try--leave a comment for us; we would love it!!

Blogs...

A thought just came to me...there could be several of you "BJill's Big Adventure" fans out there that have blogs of their own. So, we'd like to know...so we can stay updated on your life too! I realize that many of you have had trouble commenting on our blogs (I still don't have an answer for you). But if you can comment, please tell us your blog address. If you can't comment, write me an email or facebook me! Our email address is BJillSanders@gmail.com.

P.S-We do have Erica and Sofia's!

I hope you all have a great weekend! We don't have much planned, EXCEPT...we might go tour the Sprecher factory in Milwaukee. Most of you have probably never heard of Sprecher, but it's a brewing company here in Wisconsin that has yes beer, but the best Cherry cola, cream soda, and root beer that you could ever imagine! Trust me. In fact...for the next 2 years, anyone who comes and visits us...I will buy you one of the seven soda flavors of Sprecher!!!! (sorry, I won't buy you beer!) Think about it!!! It could be well worth it. We'll have to let you know if we go, and of course add pictures!

http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/

Is anybody out there?

Hey peeps, check out this picture... Jill and I hope that one day God will send us to the uttermost parts of the earth...

In case you are wondering what I am doing right now, I am looking at my wife's big, pregnant belly. Wow, she just told me that tomorrow she will be 29 weeks along! That means Olivia will be here in 10 weeks!!! Ahhh!

Alright, see ya out there,

BJ... or as they called me in India, "Vijay!? You are Indian?!"

Watch me grow!!!

Weeks 10, 13, 16, 19, 20, 24, 27, 28

Dispensation!

Today was a great day! We were able to return to our church in Wisconsin, after being away for about a month for break. It's great to be back on our regular schedule. We went to lunch with some friends at a pretty good Mexican restaurant. For all of you who know about my love for eating, and especially my love for Mexican food, we have finally found a decent place to eat. Next, I did my reading for classes tomorrow...which I will expand on in a minute. The night is ending though on a a great, great note...We got free leftovers from the cafeteria (chicken casserole, grapes, and corn dogs!) and Olivia is kicking up a storm! It's so neat just to be able to see it! Sorry mom if you're reading this...I know it's very "all over the place".

Okay...dispensation! This is a subject that we have started discussing in our classes here at New Tribes Bible. We are learning that when we're studying the Bible, we have to realize how to rightly divide the word of truth. Meaning, God has given different commands to different people at different times all through the Word of God. We know that the entire bible from Genesis to Revelation is inspired (God breathed). It is ALL inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. The thing we need to remember when studying the Bible is to rightly divide it. You could pretty much take an argument and back in up with scripture to prove a point. But of course, we would be taking it out of context. We need to be careful that we are understanding what God is saying, who He's saying it to, and how/if it applies to us.

The example our article gave was a new believer in Christ was studying about Adam and Eve and found that God allowed them to eat fruit, grain, but no meat. So this new believer thought he now had to be a vegetarian. If he stopped his research on the subject there, he would think it's a sin to eat meat. Later he went on to learn about Noah. God changed His instructions after the flood and told him to eat anything bird or beast or any living creature. Next, he read about Moses, who talked about eating clean and unclean animals. So now he has to be careful of what kind of animals he eats! Last, he went on to read about Paul saying in Eph. 3:2 that all animals, birds, and seafood are allowed to be eaten as food.

The point of this article...?!?! Be sure that we are applying God's instructions for us today, and not God's instructions to someone living in another dispensation! Just a little "food"...for thought!

Settling in?!?!

During Christmas break, we heard of how horrible of bloggers we are because we don't update it very often. We felt as if we were getting better until this week! So our apologies go out! After the long trek back to Wisconsin, we moved into our new apartment (pictures below) and then headed to the Wisconsin Dells for vacation. To make a long story short...we've been super busy!

The Dells were great! It was a great time for BJ and me to get away before classes and baby come! We took Olivia on her first waterslide at the indoor water park! We have to start her off right!

We love..love..love our new apartment! It's pretty much the same as our last apartment, but now we have an added room...and everything is super nice! We even have a little spot for Olivia!

School has started back again! We love our classes, and just being back on campus! This semester, we are taking Hermeneutics II, Theology, and Prophets class. I think we'll love it! We also have met a few new couples that are incoming freshmen. Our neighbors, Mandy and Jeremy, are really cool! They are actually from Arkansas. We've been spending a lot of time with them and showing them around. Well, I am going to wrap this up for today...but we promise to try hard on updating more frequently! Have a blessed day!!

Top 10!

Well, I found myself having some extra time this afternoon...because of Mother Nature! Our plans, which don't always turn out the way we plan, had a change in direction. We had planned to get up this, after packing our car to the brim last night, and head to St. Louis. When I jumped out of bed to do my morning routine (bathroom! Olivia pushes really hard on my bladder in the morning!), I noticed a blanket of snow covering Rob and Michelle's neighborhood.

Because of the occurrence that happened while driving on Christmas Eve (blizzards the whole way), we promised ourselves that we wouldn't do that again. The roads are supposed to be bad all the way to Joplin all day. So, sorry Aunt Becky, Uncle Chris, Alex, Mackenzey, Salem, Drew, Kelsey, and Layla...we will not be coming to St. Louis today. We have decided to actually enjoy the snow from indoors, instead of cursing at it!

Now, on to my randomness...I have been asked on several occasions for a list of my favorite restaurants in Norman...since I have eaten at all of them! So here is your request Misty, and all the others out there dying to know what you might be missing out on! (P.S-there might be more than 10! I get excited about Norman food!)

Italian:
Victorias-located on campus corner, very authentic!
Othello's-again, located on campus corner! Very yummy! I saw Bob Stoops there! But that had nothing to do with why it is my favorite!

Mexcian:
Teds-Obviously...I would even go to say that it is the best one in Oklahoma...I've tried them all!
La Luna-located on campus corner. Their cheese dip, salsa, tortillas, and Pollo Verde is to die for! It almost seems healthier than most Mexican foods!
Mama Vecca (pardon the spelling)-a great place to go if Ted's is too busy. It's located behind Walmart. We were very impressed with the food...and of course the salsa. That's what makes a Mexican restaurant to me!
Tarahumaras-located on Porter street. They are very speedy and yummy. You can even watch the cooks make your food on their tv screens! Make sure you don't split something there...or you could be charged more than an entree!

Asian:
Sweet Basil-located in historic main. Everything has been really yummy, but the yellow curry stands out to me! They are a bit pricey, so we usually split or take half home for leftovers!
PadThai-located on Jenkins, right by the stadium. It started out as a whole in the wall, but it has recently been updated and the food is still yummy. Obviously, I order the Padthai. It's a delightful bowl of noodles, with peanut sauce, chicken, and limes!
T.E.A Cafe-2 locations: Campus corner (not open on Sundays) and 12th and Alameda (open on Sundays!) This became one of our top favorites in Norman. Their pots of hot tea is so warming in the winter, and their milk teas with boboa is a treat in the summer! Not to mention, their food is awesome at such a low price! We get the box lunches that comes with orange chicken, spring roll, soup, cheese wanton, brown rice, and garlic cabbage. They are great about substituting the anything...I always substitute the tofu soup for an extra spring roll!!! Please, try it out!!!

Pizza:
Hideaway-located on campus corner. We don't go here a lot, but the pizza really is great and it's really fun to go on game days...if you don't have tickets!
New York Pizza and Pasta-Great, authentic pizza for cheap! Their pasta is awesome too! I would go at lunch and get their lunch specials. Also note....their house salad dressing is really good!

Sandwich places:
Cafe Plaid- located on Boyd street in campus corner. Great sandwiches, great pasta, coffee, and great soup. We like that it's a buffet style, so you don't have to leave a tip! Best dining experience in Norman!!!
Penny Hills-Located on Main and Hal Muldrow. It's kind of a hidden place, but their subs are delicious...plus, it's a sooner fan's heaven! Every inch is covered in OU decorations...the toilet even has long horn in the bottom!
Pita Pit-Located on Boyd street in campus corner. They are open super late and have expanded their location. I get chicken, ham, pineapple, and teriyaki sauce in a pita. You should definitely try it!

Extras:
Slim Chickens- located on Classen, in between Lindsey and Hwy 9. Their chicken, dipping sauce, and sweet tea is greasy and yummy!
PawPaw's hot dogs-really yummy hot dogs. They make everything in a little trailer. It used to be located in the Big Lots parking lot, but we haven't found it lately :(