Josh & Shana

We have relocated to the same blog address. No one should be able to still get this feed... I don't think anyway. If you're still getting this go here: www.stringerhousehold.blogspot.com and re-subscribe. Thanks!

Check out our new video. We had a nice walk in the snow yesterday and some sledding today. Thanks to Shane and Jess Sander for babysitting Truett for a few minutes and letting us borrow the sleds. It was a nice date for us.



We're supposed to get a few more inches on Sunday. Craziness.

Well, we got about 6-8 inches of snow today - depending on who you ask. Either way it was a nice snow. We're supposed get another inch or so tonight along with 20-30mph winds and temperatures in the low teens. Hopefully we'll keep power this year and the roads won't get too bad.

Anyway, here are some pictures in no particular order...

Our Top Three Super Bowl Commercials:

Oh well. P.C. wins out. Congrats to the Saints. They earned it.

I figured, just before the game starts, I'd throw my prediction out there for the Super Bowl. I'm looking forward to actually watching a really good football game regardless of who wins. However, I just can't bring myself to root for the Saints. I know. I know. It seems un-P.C. and maybe un-American (because the city of N.O. "deserves" a Super Bowl win) to root against them but they whooped the Falcons twice this year. I've never liked the Saints and I actually d0 like the Colts. I'd also like to see Peyton Manning get another ring. I think he's probably the best QB of all time and another ring would add to that idea. I like the story of New Orleans. It would make a great documentary or something about hope and joy for the city, but I just think the Colts are a better team. Not a much better team. But a better team.

So, not that it matters to me a whole lot, but I'm thinking
Colts 37 Saints 31

The score looks close, but I don't think it will be that close. The Colts will be up by a few touchdowns and then the Saints will make a comeback, but in the end, I'll go with Peyton and the Colts to win it in Miami, where snow isn't on the ground.

By the way, we're supposed to get 6 inches of snow on Tuesday. Yay.

I was talking to a friend the other day about contests. Man it would be nice to win some free stuff at contests. Well, here is my first attempt. I read about this blog on my friend Jennifer's blog. It is the Modest Mom Shop. A very cute name. Well, they are giving away a free clothing item. There are some really cute skirts. I really like them, I will let you know if I win something. You should check it out if you would like to enter to win, although I am sure that will narrow my chances.

I think everybody needs some.


Shana and I are big goober Toby Mac fans. I think I've explained on here before my love for music. I think I'm pretty eclectic when it comes to my choices for music. Its probably surprising to some. But, judging by what I've heard from this album, "City on our Knees," "Showstopper," and now this background song "Tonight," sounds like a winner. Can't wait. Thanks mom and dad for the iTunes gift card for Christmas. Nice how that works out.

Here are the load of books I have for this semester. Some of these I read for my J-term class a few weeks ago. The best so far.... "How To Read A Book." You should check it out if you're much of a reader and have a hard time with speed and retention (like me).
My classes this semester:
Greek (online w/Dr. Pennington)
N.T. Theology (Tom Schreiner...he wrote the big red book with the same title as my class as well as being the editor of the NT portion of the ESV Study Bible)
Systematic Theology III (Russell Moore)
Hermeneutics (Jim "the human cross-reference" Hamilton)

Its hard to not be really overly proud of where I go to school. I think when I graduate I'll not have really realized the greatness of the professors here so I try to take in as much as I can while I am here. Other Southern grads will commiserate I'm sure.


And now for the snow. Last week I posted something about us "Expecting Again." Well this is what I meant. Yes, I know what it sounded like. THAT WAS THE POINT! Ha! Anyway here are pictures from the morning walk with Zoe. She loves the snow. As do I.

Our apartments.


And now for my favorite four legged girl:

I care nothing for the Florida Gators (unless they're playing UGA). However, I do care about the Gospel and I think Tim Tebow does too. Read this.

Ok, I got a hot piece of information yesterday from a friend while working up at the seminary. Talking about saving money, which is a hot topic around here, a friend suggested Christian Healthcare Ministries and Medi-Share for healthcare choices. We are currently on the Seminarian plan with the school. Well, these plans are non-profit christian organizations. Has anybody used or currently using these companies for health insurance? If we were to switch over to one of them, if approved, we could save tons of money. Any feedback anybody has would be much appreciated.

I've been meaning to make this post for a while. Its a little glimpse into what I do. Most people know that I cut meat but I don't think anyone really knows how it works. Over Christmas I worked a few overnight shifts to get ready for Christmas Eve Eve and Christmas Eve. All I did was cut, trim, and tie tenderloins and standing rib roasts. I don't remember the exact totals but it was a few hundred of each. So, here's a look into my "tent-making" job.

The tools of the trade:
6" boning knife, 10" cutting knife, and a sharpening steel. The key to doing the job correctly and efficiently is having sharp knives all the time. A dull knife leads to cut fingers and a tired hand.


These next two pictures are all of the the cases of Angus and Hereford beef tenderloins and roasts that we went through.... in two days! That's a lot of bovine.



This year we also got some USDA Prime Tenderloins (Filet Mignon). Super expensive yet very rewarding to cut. This is the Ferrari of the meat world. These things pretty much just melt in your mouth.


This is how I operate. I line up about 12 of these babies and work in an assembly line fashion. Trim all of the fat off one by one and then come back and tie them up....


....like this.



These are the rib roasts. Some people call them Prime Rib or Bone-in Ribeye Roast. All the same. This is my favorite piece of meat. They weigh about 17lbs each. Don't get freaked out if/when you ever buy one just because they are big. They're really easy to cook.


This is what one looks like after we trim it. Trim it? But there's still a ton of fat on there right? Yep. The fat is where the flavor is. You can cut it off when you serve it but that stuff just melts over the meat while it cooks *drool*. The butcher twine is to hold the bones on the meat. We cut the bones almost all the way off - partly with the saw and partly with the knife - so that when you serve it you can just clip the strings off and have a boneless roast to slice. You get all the flavor from the fat and the bones without the hassle.


Here's 20 something of these things. These were just the Angus orders for Christmas Eve. I had another cart like this loaded up with the Hereford Beef. We would then cut these down into whatever size the customer ordered (3 bones, 5 bones, etc.). These 20 probably covered about 75 orders. (Notice my radio. Hey, it gets boring in that cold room by yourself for 10 hours).


Anyway, that's what I do. 3 years ago (yep. 3 years I've been doing this) I never would have imagined myself as a butcher. The Lord has amazing ways of doing what He does. If I never learned how to do this I'm not sure how we'd be paying for school right now. So anyway, I just "celebrated" my 3 year anniversary at The Fresh Market. I really enjoy the "work" part of what I do and I like to think I do it pretty well - at least I try to. The Lord has used the Fresh Market to teach me a lot about myself and the gigantic world of lost people that are around us. I'm thankful to the Lord that he has taught me how to "make tents." I'll do it as long as I need to - but truth be told, I'll be glad to move on - one day.

*Disclaimer: no cows were harmed in the taking of these pictures. They were already dead.*