O Tannanbaum

our new tile floor in the bano

got a new pooper that is taller and is a nice ride.

a baby wreath made out of diapers and toys for little Ruthie from a mom in Kim's class.


All the boys bible study groups built these letters out of 2x4's and wrapped them in lights and stuck them on the roof of the HUB. "Dad, you taught me everything I need to know about Exterior Lumination"- Clark Griswald


Kimmie Gibler dressed up the Bungalo for the coming of Christ.

The Legacy

My glorious nephew "mr. benners" woofing down his first birthday cake. His passion and commitment to the culinary arts brings a tear to my eye. This young man will carry the Namtart Banner with Pride!

My Red HOT SMOKIN' Pregnant Wife

(i'm a little concerned that our unborn child is 8 inches away from a 400 degree oven. But Kim looks real nice like checkin' that corn bread...dont' she?

Kim has begun building "pillow fortresses" at night so she can get comfortable. Jake and I used to do the same thing when we were little...and then it turned into "KING OF THE BED" and one of us would fly of the bed onto the floor....i don't think Kim is interested in playing this game.....yet.

Thanksgiving Coon Feast

This past week I went down towards Shallote,NC for a Deer Hunt, Coon Hunt and Bluegrass pickin' at a friend hunting camp. Doing the "Lord's Work" has caused me to be resourceful in terms of feeding the family. This thanksgiving we will have Coon Souffle and Mint Julip Coon Croquettes. The boys tell me that coon meat will be good for our baby girl who is due in March. Rumor has it that rapid coon intake will give our baby some shiny hair and dark circles around her eyes so that she doesn't need to apply mascara.

(i'll put some pictures of Kim and the Pooch on the blog this week)
happy thanksgving;
God is Good,
nate

It's a TRUDY!!!

Here is a picture of Trudy's "undercarriage"....turns out Darryl didn't have a weenie!

Trudy chillin' in her momma's belly.

Kim and I as Poppa Smurf and Smurfette at our annual 5 Dolla' Prom for the youth group. Next year we will paint Trudy blue and she can be a smurfling.

Barbarian Weekend

Every year I get together with the guys that I meet with each tuesday morning for our BARBARIAN WEEKEND. This year instead of heading to the OBX, we went to N.Topsail Island and rented a huge house on the sound and 50yds from the beach. We eat, surf, fish,play rummikub,sit in hottubs and we talk about Jesus. Eddie Stuart, David Massey and I got into a huge "pod?" of shrimp and threw our castnets for 3 hours. Needless to say...we ate lots of shrimp that night. Here is one of the Redfish from the weekend that i caught under a dock on live mullet.

KIM REPORT- Kim has almost completely stopped barfing and she is feeling much better. Little Darryl Wayne is 4 months old (womb age) and we find out the Darryl is a HE/SHE in a week. Kim looks pretty with her little poochy-pooch. Now I don't feel so guilty about my poochy-pooch when mommy has one too!

"Deb gone Wild"

For those of you who don't know my mother, she is a simple
preacher's wife who has recently been uprooted from the
Ozark mountains to the bright lights of Hollywood. She used
to buy her smocks at TJ Maxx and her decorations at Big Lots..
but now Deb has gone Wild. She's hanging out with movies stars
and painting the town red while Dad try's to preach the word.

Deb has tickets to go see Dancing with the stars this week.

Here's a picture of Deb at the "spa" getting ready for Sunday church meetin'.

ERNESTO

Over the past six years living on the east coast, 2 things always happen when a big Tropical Storm/Hurricane gets near....1) We come down to Wrightsville Beach to stay with the Rippy's..watch the storm...eat lots of food...play games..and tie up the boats on the pier etc. #2) Jim Cantore gets swept along the beach on the Weather Channel near Wilmington and every friend or relative we have ever met , calls to ask us if we are alive or not and when are they going to put us in a FEMA trailer.

I LOVE IT.

It is kind of scary due to the raw power of the ocean and a hurricane ...but there is something pretty fun about it as well Tonight we have had over 11 inches of rain and it's supposed to get to 15 inches. We have had gusts of wind tonight over 75mph. The ocean is super high at low tide (not good....when high tide comes and we get a 5 ft surge...piers,docks, and boats are toast) and having said all that....this is mild.

It's a good excuse to come down here and eat some local shrimp,okra, brussels, and cornbread.

We'll keep you posted!

Kim is still getting sick quite often, but she is being a real trooper. Cousin Timm came down 2 days ago with his www.roadtripmcdonalds.com crew and we had a good time. Youth group stuff started big last week and we had more kids there and in SS than I had ever seen.

To God be the Glory great things He hath done-
nate

FRUITY

I felt a little artsyfartsy one day at the Rippy's
house and decided to take photos of
their fruit. The name of this photo is
"fruitopian galaxy". It tells me that I can be
bumpy like a lemon peel or distant like a
tomato on a ledge.....yet I still am
worth something. Maybe bananas don't taste as
good in a salad like a tomato, but that
banana is VITAL to "nanner pudding".
We all have our place in the galaxy,
hence the name "fruitopian galaxy"

Nancy and I dressed up for the annual
6th grade "Wakey Wakey" event.
I am featured here in a pink, cashmire
"ONESY" with attatched footsies at the bottom.

Darryll Wayne Stratman's 1st photo shoot

Got Daddy's lips and beard.
Got Momma's head.

The Girly Doctor

(this is not ours...but it is a 9week old lil' feller)

Kim and I went to the girly doctor today, which was more painful for me than it was for Kim. Every man in that place was as nervous as I was. I was doing ok until we walked in the room to wait on the Doc...and there they were......the dreaded stirrups. Googily Moogily they gave me the willies....but I hunkered down and took one for the team.
When things got too intense for me I went back into the lobby to wait on Kim. The nurse ran and got me because they found the baby's heartbeat which sounded like a rabbit's heart. It was a pretty neat experience and it has finally sunk in that Kim has a living gift from God inside of her.

This is the first of many stories about the birth of "Darryl Wayne Stratman".

God is Good
nate

Mommy don't feel good

This is one of the many pieces of art
we have hung recently in our new youth

building, The Hub. This is a 4ft tall, glazed
canvas photo on a box frame. This head of
Christ is an actual clay sculpture that sits
in our main building and was made by a man
in about one hour with clay from his backyard.

Go to www.foldier.blogspot.com for the rest of the stuff.

Mommy Report-
Kim has been feeling pretty bad every day.
She is being a trooper through all of this.
Keep her in your prayers.

Peeved about Ricky Blobby

Dang
Shoot

Saw Talladega Nights last night on the opening night.(that's a ton of nights)
What a let down. I was so jacked up to watch some Ricky Bobby and it didn't deliver.
There were a couple of funny parts...but those were all on the trailers and previews I have been watching for 8 months. Wait till it comes out on DVD!!!
..while i'm not a prude or wound tight...I do question the PG-13 rating on this flick...
some of the humor was definitely "R'ish".

under construction,
young nathan

Quit Hatin' !!!

I have recieved many comments that Kim doesn't have any pictures on our bloggy thing or that I put random pics of large Asian men in tu-tu's or militant groundhogs.
#1- Kim hates Cameras #2- Kim thinks that if her picture is on the site that someone will steal her identity.

so...............
I am posting a picture from 2 years ago for tha' hatas!
ps... Kim is about 7 or 8 weeks pregnant and we have discussed several names: Darryl, Jimmy, Angel Dawn, and Cougar.
She isn't barfing....but feels a lil' queezy!
Keep her in your prayers.
word to ya momma,
the namtarts

There's a bun in the OVEN!

Take Cover!! Protect Yourselves!!

The Stratmans have PROCREATED!

Our guess is that little Fritter/Darryl will
step foot in mid-march.

Kim is feeling so-so and I'm eating for 2!
Keep us in your prayers.

Fun in the Son 2006

On stage at Jekyll Isand as Johnny Sparkle and Chuck
in our nightly show "Matinee". The fog machine
was working overtime this particular night.
Our morning characters were Laser and Gemini
in "Fitszercise".
Here is the group. Kim is in the front row
2nd from the right.

Rex Kwon Do

My friend Pete who lives in Frisco,CO snapped this picture of
a Rex and Starla at a 4th of July party.
I had to steal this from his blog because
i literally wet my pants looking at "Rex".

While I firmly believe God loves us all
and calls us to accept one another,
He also gave us friends and family to speak TRUTH
in our lives.
But my hat is off to this man!

Keep on Rockin' in the Free world brotha'!
Any fella who has the confidence to sport
Jordache jeans up to his Belly Button,

Rock a Kentucky Waterfall haircut,

while wearing Tevas is A OK in my book!

In the words of Lee Greenwood, "I'm proud to be an American"

The Great Escape!

the beloved Mud Pit

I was rockin' a Feaux Hawk while shaving a Mo' Hawk
some of my Middle School Posse

Studmuffin part Deux

I think i see Four Pack o' Abs
Dear Jesus, I wanna thank you for my Smokin' Hot wife!

I just returned from the Great Escape in Cleveland Tn with 50 of our middle school students and leaders. Kim and I head out for Myrtle Beach and Jekyll Island "Fun in the Son" camps this month as well. As you can see, I just learned how to link to other websites....dang I'm sharp. I have a "faux hawk" haircut, which is a distant relative to the Mo-hawk. I figure I can rock a dew like this one more time until I join the hairclub for men. I found an old wedding picture of Kim and I as well as a highschool pic that shows my breathtaking physique.
I'll put more pictures on the site in a few weeks from all of our summer travels....until then i have a seminary class to finish and flounder to catch.
In the words of a special North Carolinian, the Nature Boy Ric Flair-
" You can fly in Jet Planes, You can ride in Limosines, but to BE THE MAN, you gotta BEAT THE MAN, and I'm the hottest thing going......Diamonds are Forever and so is Ric Flair-
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
-
uncle nate

Football Studmuffin'

Found this stunning picture of me on my friend Holly's website.

This face use to strike fear into the hearts of my opponents.

Falcon Pride!

random confession

Ok....so this is a random and awkward picture....but I'm feeling a bit random and awkward myself....so I guess "if the piano plays.....strum it!"

Summer hits and it seems my reason, thought, and small amount of structure in my life has flown out the window. I don't know what day it is.....my calendar confuses me...and I find myself asking the question "now what was I doing?" as I meander around the church building. I believe I have inherrited this trait from my wonderful father. I can picture the Gar right now....staring at the snack cabinet and swaying from the left to the right....then the right to the left as he tossed Cheez-its into his mouth. There is no doubt that his brain was spinning at Mach 3.....and the box of Cheez-its just happened to be the frequent victim. I see this Gar-trait in me...except I don't like Cheez-its that much......My "cheez-its" happen to be Dog the Bounty Hunter, The Deadliest Catch and Inked. While there is little educational or spiritual value in any of these programs....I find myself drawn to them at the end of a long day like a 9 year old longs for a pixie stick. God help me...God help Kim...God help us all.

( This has been a random confession)

Ash-Vegas

Kim and I are headed to Asheville to see
her sister Pam and her hubby Charlie.
Hopefully we'll get the chance to camp out one of
the nights we are up there. You've gotta'

love the great state of North Cackalackie...

we got mountains, beach, farmland and the big city.

The HUB

hub (h b)n.
A center of activity or interest; a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination.

This is the new logo for our new building
for our Student Ministry. Nothing fancy, but it fits the definition and purpose.

La Casa de Namtart

This is the Psycho Confedrate Jasmine that is taking over our yard.
It is quite "ODI-FER-US"
Wanted you to see my "beloved" couch where I do
most of my "field" research to study the ever changing teenage culture...
i.e Reality T.V, Dog the Bounty Hunter, The Deadliest Catch etc..

Our little abode on Barnett Ave.

The "Man Shack" that has been converted into a Shabby Shiek "Chick Shack" with Cathedral Shabby birdhouses that have no birds, a shabby window that serves no funtcional purpose and a random star.....shabby as well.

...weekend at Gloria's part Deux

Casa du Guthrie (featuring my crazy looking rental car)

This is my darling little Kimberly posing on some nice brown-shag carpet.

Circa 1979

A week at Glo and Al's house

This is Gloria's good friend "Worth", which is short for Worthless.

The infamous Griggs is seen here on Grandpa's computer checking his stocks and mutual funds
Grandma Glo with Kentie.

Brother-in law "jakers"

This is Jacob Madison Guthrie , Kim's only brother. This brave soul has endured the drama of having three sisters and still he doesn't utter a word. So now I have two brother's named Jake, one with 2 legs and one with 4. Both "Jakers" in my life are sensitive and a bit gamey...but still loved by all.

The Wreck

After youth group last night I was taking one of our students home and was stopped at a stop light when a man hit me from the rear at 40mph or faster. When I got out of the car I noticed that his car was totalled and he was throwing objects out of his car and into the weeds. It was obvious that this 60 year old man was drunk. When the cops came they found empty liquour bottles as well as a pistol that they believe was his.
Kim came down and sat with me as they hauled this man off in cuffs to the city jail.

Many things have been running through my mind; i'm grateful nodody was hurt, I'm concerned about this man and his addiction, I could have been killed, He could have run through the stop sign if I wasn't there and killed someone else, Drinking and Driving makes me ill and is inexcuseable.

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

New World Record

...after a presentation about global missions, my small group of middles school boys crammed in "Big Red" and headed for the 31 flavors of joy at Baskin-Robbins. Headbanging the entire way and entertaining looks from people staring at us wondering why an Adult-bearded man in a huge truck is bouncing around like he's 14 with 6 other middles schoolers....and to this day that remains a good question. Anywho, we stormed into the Ice Cream parlor and my crew of "squirrells" headed directly for the freezer bin full of frozen birthday cakes. We purchased an 18 dollar, cookies and cream stuffed b-day cake with cute little flowers on top, and then headed to the back of Big Red...armed with 20+ pink spoons. I started the stop watch on my phone....and with at time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds....we destroyed a rather large birthday cake. I was proud to be their leader...and proud to be a part of this accomplishment. We left Baskin Robbins that day walking a little taller and feeling a little sicker....but we did it....we ate the cake!!
To God be the Glory great things He hath done!
nathan

Confirmation Weekend

This is a picture of most of our 8th grade confirmation class
on a mission trip to Charlotte. We look a little rough because
this was taken at 8:00am.

Dearest Family and Friends

I would like to take this time to encourage friends and family to get one of these free bloggy things. My parents still "hunt and peck" when they type and they look at the "thumbnail pics" of their grandson, not realizing they can enlarge them with a simple "click, click....but even the MIGHTY GAR-COKE and his bride can handle this. WARNING- this is semi-addictive if you like fonts, changing colors of borders, or uploading pictures.

hugs and kisses,
nathan

Super Park 10 Keystone, CO

unreal. (pete took this)

Easter in Frisco

The Mrs. and I flew out to Frisco, Colorado to see our freinds Katie and Pete Artemenko near Breckenridge and Keystone. Katie is pregnant with a little boy named Willie. I attempted to sprint to the top of the mountain in this picture but became winded due to the altitude..i'll try again in the morning. Going to Easter worship and Katie and Pete's church in Dillon in the morning. Found out that the change in altitude can cause an increase in gastro activity..commonly called the "alti-toots" of which I have been diagnosed.
All that being said, we visited a neat mountain church for a Good Friday service and was refreshed to have no other obligation but to worship. It was a simple church and a simple service. A great reminder that the "bells and whistles" are just that..bells and whistles.

He is risen...have a great Easter!
Nate and Kim