Works of God: God ALWAYS Provides

God has always provided for us. Sometimes, however, he provides just enough to keep us on our knees. Last week was such a week. Matt did not have a lot of work. (We did get a lot of extra family time in, though :-), and Matt was also able to use the time to get some stuff done for Vacation Bible School at our church). So far this week, however, Matt was contacted for jobs or estimates by FOUR new customers - and it's only Monday!!

While I'm thankful that God has provided for us yet again, I'm also so very thankful that He lets us go through uncertain times in order to show Himself powerful and to draw us closer to Himself.

Collin is 2 1/2!

My sweet baby boy is two and half today. I intended on making cookies or something today, but the day kind of got away from me, so we took him to McDonald's for ice cream tonight.

Here are a few of his favorite things lately:

• "Two minutes" - His new stalling tactic is "two minutes to play".
• Rita's Water Ice - He asks for it all the time.
• Huggles - An extra snuggly hug, I think "huggles" is one of my new favorite things, too.
• Talking to Jenna - Every day he tells me multiple times, "I want to talk it to Jenna." They love to "talk" and play together
  
• Checking on Jenna - "Mommy, I need to check it on Jenna."
• Swinging from anything and everything - Yesterday he swung on a bar at the playground. No big deal, he does that all the time; but this time he swung out over nothing and the bar was over 6 ft high. It freaked his mom out a bit, but he loved it.
• Measuring - In an effort to be like his daddy, he carries a tape measure with him and measures stuff all day long.
  

I took these pictures this weekend. He's definitely turned into a kid and is not a baby anymore.

1st Annual Catan Cup

To celebrate Matt turning 28, we hosted our 1st Annual Settlers of Catan Tournament. Eight friends joined us for dinner, cake and ice-cream, three rounds of Settlers, and a chance to win the first place trophy that came with a $10 Wawa card.

PRELIMINARY ROUNDS:
During the first two rounds, we had three games going on at once. We limited these games to 35 minutes. After the first 35-minute game, we switched around the boards and who was playing who for the second round. We added up each person's scores from the two timed games to determine who would make it to the championship game.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
The four players with the highest scores were to move onto the championship game. Unfortunately, one of the top four had to work early the next morning and could not stay to play in the championship, so lucky number 5 got to take his place. Of the four highest scores, the player who had accumulated the most points in the first two rounds got to pick her position (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) in the championship game. Then the second highest scorer picked her position, etc. The championship board was set-up by someone not involved in the game, and the game was played with the standard rules to ten points.

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
In addition to a trophy for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and Wawa card for 1st and 2nd, all participants voted on a losership - um, I mean sportsmanship - award. To no one's surprise, nobody voted for any of the top three scorers (poor losers, we say). We were all pretty much surprised, though, at who actually won the sportsmanship award, because well, he's not really known for being a great sport. :-)

The preliminary rounds

Breaking for cake (I'll do another post about the cake later)

The birthday boy was not turning two, but I didn't really have room on the cake for 28 candles. That's what happens when you get old.

The super-official scoreboard, the Wawa cards, and the trophies


The championship game board

The top four players and one cheerleader (clockwise from top: me, Tammy, Matt, Melinda, Rob who was cheering Melinda on and "helping" her)


Awards "ceremony"
Left to right:
Me - 1st place, Tammy - 2nd place, Matt - 3rd place, Rick - "sportsmanship"

Many thanks to everybody who came and made the 1st Annual Catan Cup a success. Everybody else, there's always next year. :-)

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.

Milestones

In the past week, my kids have reached a few milestones. We like to celebrate the little things (monthiversaries, half birthdays, etc) in our family, and I think these steps might require a little celebration of sorts. Perhaps a cake or some cupcakes are in our very near future.

First milestone this week: We took the guardrail off Collin's bed. He had started playing with it during naps and bedtime, so it was time for it to go. For the first couple of nights, we put couch cushions on the floor by his bed, but he didn't need them.

Second milestone: We had to lower Jenna's bed. She's been pulling herself up in her crib, so we had to lower the mattress a little bit. From the looks of it, we will be lowering it all the way in the very near future.
Third milestone: Collin got his first bike. We picked this bike up at a yardsale this afternoon. As soon as he saw it at the yard sale, he yelled, "It's Collin's bike! Need Daddy get Collin's bike!" We decided to give it to him right away, since his birthday isn't until December. He LOVES his bike, and I'm thankful for yardsales!
Every milestone is bittersweet. Each one marks the beginning of new exciting things to come, but it also means that my babies are growing up too fast. I'm so thankful to live in a time when I can capture each stage and every little milestone on camera.

Works of God Monday

When I was in college, a time was set aside every Monday in chapel for students to share testimonies of how God had worked in their lives recently. Five years later, I still take the time almost every Monday to reflect on the works of God in my life, and now I've decided to share them with you.

Today I have been reflecting on these blessings:

• God has provided consistent work for Matt - The first quarter of the year is typically a slow time of year for anyone in Matt's work, but he has not had one day without work in 2011. In fact, on several occasions He provided work for Matt and another person. In addition to Matt's work, the Lord has provided me with consistent tutoring work since the beginning of the year. It's such a blessing to be able to work without leaving my kids.
  
• God has placed us in a great church - Finding a good church was extremely important to us when we moved in September. About a year before we moved, Matt started listening to the sermons posted on RBC's website while he drove to his jobs. I would also listen to them occasionally (usually when Matt said, "Hey, I heard this really great sermon the other day. You should listen to it.") When we realized we would be moving in the area of RBC, we decided to visit. We already knew the preaching was great, but we wanted to see what the place was really like. To make a long story not quite so long, we found a church family that we wanted to be a part of and have been part of RBC ever since. We are so thankful for God's clear direction in this important decision.
• God has given us Christian neighbors whose kids are the same ages as Collin and Jenna - Even though we moved six months ago, we haven't spent a lot of time outside getting to know our neighbors yet. Today, I was able to get out with the kids and enjoy the beautiful weather. While at the playground, I met some of our neighbors for the first time. Even though I just met them this morning, we quickly discovered not only the bond we have in our kids being the same ages, but also the bond we have in Christ. I was so encouraged by my conversation with sisters in Christ this morning.
  

What about you? How has God been working in your life lately? I'd love to hear (read) about it!