The Eternal Purpose of God

"The eternal purpose of God is to call out from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation, a multitude redeemed by the blood of His Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, over whom He will crown His Son, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, King of kings and Lord of lords forever.

This is the passion of the heart of God that cannot be quenched, the obsession of His mind that cannot be denied, the vision of His eye that cannot grow dim, and the destination to which He has committed His omnipotent, immutable, eternal being: a destination He will not abandon." (Darrell Champlin)

Eight years ago, I really was not crazy about having to memorize this, but I can still quote it almost perfectly. :-) This popped into my head recently, and I've been taking the time to actually ponder what it says. Way back when, I was so busy memorizing it that I didn't really take the time to really think about the words that I was memorizing. Now I'm doing just that, and I think I like it. In fact, I think I love it which is why I'm dedicating a post to it.

Thank you, Dr. Champlin for making us recite "The Eternal Purpose of God" every day until it was drilled so far into my head that eight years later it still comes to mind when I hear even a small phrase or word from it.

Collin's Own Special Language

Collin is at such a fun (and exasperating!) stage. He talks all the time! (He gets that from his father - haha). Seriously, I was trying to explain to him today that he would get so much more playing done (and I would get more work done) if he didn't feel the need to report EVERY little thing to me.

I can understand most of what Collin says, but most other people need a translator. Below are some keys to understanding Collin's language (Collinian, maybe?)

• Bob = anyone with a hard hat
  
• cake mu-nin = cupcake
  
• Daddy's toy = any tool
  
• haircut = scissors
• handles = sandals
• heebo = hair bow
• hungries = any restaurant or place with a lot of tables
• make-a-ball = his silly putty
• minn = cinnamon (Every morning we make oatmeal for breakfast, and he tells me, "Need oats. Need sugar. Need minn. Need water."
  
• monster = penguins (We have a Backyardigans episode about a soccer monster to thank for this one).
  
• the need-cook-it = the microwave
• playdoh = cookie cutter
• special juice = any red juice
• stroller bike = the bike trailer
  
• tiger = his toy lizard (Try as I might, I cannot convince him it's not a tiger).
• truck shoes = rollerblades
• tunnel _______ = anything you can go through and/or under (tunnel table, tunnel chair, tunnel trees, etc)
• wee-wees = fishies

I'll leave you with a few things that Collin has said lately that put a smile on my face:

• When Jenna pulled herself up on a toy, "Mommy, she's so big!!"
• When Jenna fell down, "Oh, child" (said while shaking his head)
• "No books, Mommy. Want read Thomas story on Kindle."
• Holding up his white crayon that wouldn't write on white paper: "Mommy, my color broken. Need new one. Please."
• Speaking about his cousins: "Cole has head. Carter? He not have head."
• He asks, "Where'd that come from?" about everything.
• When his shoes were getting too small: "My toes stuck!"
• My personal favorite Trying to convince Jenna she didn't want to play with his bike: "Jenna, no bike. Too pretty ride bikes. Need ride in stroller bike." Where does he get this stuff?!?

How did my baby boy go from this.....

...to this so quickly?

Adventure Number Next: Gardening

For the first time, we get to enjoy summer with a yard. It's little, but at least it's a yard. We have a sliver (seriously, it's 2' x 8' at best) of yard in between our patio and fence that really is not usable for much, so I suggested to Matt that we plant a few things there. Hence, the beginning of the garden.

I don't know if it was loving the idea of having an outdoor project or wanting to give me my heart's desire (probably a little bit of both, actually), but Matt embraced the idea of a garden and threw himself into the preparations. Since he's at hardware and home improvement stores pretty much daily, he picked up a few things that we might need for our garden. He also did all the hard work of digging up the ground. Then all four of us trekked to Ace Hardware and bought the plants and a few more supplies.

We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, parsley, and basil. Matt also bought me a Topsy Turvy strawberry plant that we have yet to hang. I'm not usually good with keeping plants alive, but I'm hoping something besides weeds grows. Unfortunately, patience is not my strong suit, and it already seems like it's been a long time and nothing has happened. (In reality, it's only been 4 days. :-))

The finished product

Collin loved helping with the garden - mostly for the playing in dirt aspect.

Before we put the fence up, Collin asked to play with "the house". Sure, son, if you want to be confined to a 2'x2' space while Mommy is trying to get stuff done, that is fine with me. Of course, he wanted Jenna to be in the house with him. Both of them stayed in there happily for a good fifteen minutes.

I love Jenna's face in this one.

Jenna was so sweet and happy playing in the grass while we worked on the garden.

A Boy and His Dog(s)

We have a fifth member of the family who accompanies us everywhere. He is Collin's best friend Doggie (or Doggy depending on who you ask). Over the last year, Doggie has been Collin's constant companion. Wherever Collin went, Doggie came along tucked under his arm.

Doggie does everything Collin does:

Swinging at the park

Playing at the playground

Chilling on Grandpa's sailboat

Climbing the slide

Caroling in the Christmas parade

Freezing on a hayride

Meeting baby sister

Sliding at BouncU

Riding in the bike trailer

After Doggie spends his days enjoying all of life's adventures with Collin, he spends most nights and nap times serving as Collin's pillow.

Last week, Collin left his doggie an hour away at his Grammy's house. In order to avoid a crisis at bedtime, Matt took the kids to IKEA to buy a new doggie. Collin was happy with his new friend, but definitely missed his old one. After a few days, we were able to get the old one back, and Collin is thrilled to have two doggies now - New Doggie and 'Nother One Doggie.

The "new doggie"and the "nother one doggie."
Can you tell which one is which? :-)

In case you were curious, Collin still favors the old one even though he's pretty crazy about both.