Pumpkin Party

One of the greatest blessings I had living in England was going each week to a Mother/Toddler group. It was a wonderful time each week to get out of the house, give Tanner some time with other kids, and allowed me to meet some friends who were in the same boat I was. In fact I still miss my toddler group girls! It was such a great blessing, I thought why not start one here – aren’t moms’ needs pretty universal?
So we started one a few weeks ago, and God’s been so good as our numbers have grown each week. I’m so thankful for those of you who have been praying for us each week! Last week, we had a special costume harvest party since costumes are everywhere! We had such a great time, I just had to share how cute these kiddos are! All the kids dressed up, we read “The Pumpkin Patch Parable,” played a number of pumpkin carnival games – pumpkin bowling, ring around the pumpkin, pin the nose on the pumpkin, pumpkin toss, and pumpkin golf. We made pumpkin faces out of triangles and painted pumpkin cookies. We even had face painting!
It was so much fun! Many of the games and face painting were new to the kids, so it was added fun! The one thing I didn’t count on was ALL the kids were out of school this week, so they ALL showed up! Thankfully we had enough for everyone and the older ones were a huge help in running the games and chasing after children!



Who knows how many children and moms we can bless by this little group? We’re praying we will be able to expand into the community and bless the moms and children, as well as build relationships with those moms. We’re also praying for more toys and center stations to add. So I’d appreciate your prayers greatly!
Here's my little pumpkin! My cowboy wouldn't dress the part for his picture ;-)

Buddy

Buddy!
I feel as if we have completely entered a new stage in life, and it’s called FRIENDS! Up until the last month or so, I’ve been number one in my toddler’s life, but that’s all changed with a new little boy moving across the way from us. Now I either can’t seem to keep my little boy home or our somewhat quiet, loud house is now extra noisy with 3 kids and a baby running in, out, and all around (well the baby isn’t quite running yet!) and the screen door banging every 30 seconds.
It’s funny to watch, and also quite a lesson in our depravity! No, you can’t hit your friend, no, you can’t kick him either, give the toy back, you can have that in a minute, let’s practice self-control hands…you get the picture!
Neither boy speaks the other’s language (our friend Amzi speaks both), but they understand each other anyway! The one word, besides, “Yeah,” they use with each other is “Buddy!” How can you help but smile to see these two little boys call out to each other, “Hi Buddy!” The other day, my rambunctious, almost 3 year old, said, “Mommy, I go share my cars with Aji, okay?” Yep! My heart was completely melted.


Buddies


Three Little Monkeys hanging in a tree!

His/Her Ministry

This week while John is roughing it, (Only 2 more days!) I’m getting to put together Powerpoints and class notes for the class he is teaching next week on 1, 2, 3 John. It’s not often that I get to work alongside John and really help with his ministry, especially with all of his recent travels. My ministry is more along the lines chasing after a little Houdini and a lightning fast , crawling, munchkin, cleaning up messes, nursing wounds (and this week there have been more than usual), and about a hundred other things so daddy can work.
So it’s an added bonus to be of use to my hubby in his ministry. My favorite part is sitting down with him and talking about what he’s teaching as we edit and look through his notes. I’ve loved sitting down at night after the kids go to bed and converting his notes into Powerpoint slides and student notes for him to present. What an amazing opportunity to be a part of God’s eternal Word being taught! I love that I get to be ministered to by my husband’s teaching and love for God’s Word, and to be working with him too! Man, I love that guy! I can’t wait to hear how the students are challenged next week in their walk and fellowship with God!

Holding Down the Fort

John’s in Palawan this week, which is another island in the Philippines. This is the second long trip of three this fall (almost 2/3 of the way done!!!) He’s working with a team running two different camps and a pastor’s conference. As he ’s becoming one with nature and making friends with the mosquitoes (they’re roughing it this week) and sharing the love of Christ, the boys and I are holding down the fort.
Thankfully five days in, we’re doing much better than the last trip! Leighton is sleeping through the night – finally! Tanner is behaving somewhat better this go around, or more likely I have much more patience this time around, because I’m pretty sure every time I turn around he’s doing something wrong! I’m amazed at how much John being gone throws them off.
For the most part, we’ve been having a blast: playing with friends, painting, swimming, singing, having some of the other ladies whose husbands are gone over, and watching movies. But there are always those little things. Tanner has asked me every day if we could go in the car and get daddy off the plane (and get some ice cream and French fries on our way. And today when he fell down, the tears just came and came along with an “I miss my daddy!” Amazingly he perked right up when daddy called during dinner and told him all about how he fell down and hurt himself! Talking to daddy was just what he needed!
Only 3more days! What can we do to welcome daddy home? Hmmmm….

Biker Girl

My husband has been wanting a motorcycle forever, well at least since he moved back to the States for college and then we got married. Well, he finally got his wish! Living out at camp in the Philippines, we needed something to help us get around, and a wonderful supporting church helped us with the funds to purchase a bike. It helps a ton in getting us around camp and quick trips to the store.
You can typically see all four of us riding through camp like this!

You should see us when we head to the pool…picture a huge Lightening MacQueen baby float and towels added to our arms and front of the bike. Don’t worry! We don’t ride off property like this or at all!

And I got to learn how to ride! Okay, so I’m not very good and I’m embarrassingly slow because the sheer power of the bike intimidates me a bit, but hey a girl’s gotta start somewhere! Of course my second time on the bike also added to my bit of apprehension!
There I was, ecstatic over my newfound ability to ride a motorcycle, feeling like I’m on top of the world and relishing John pushing the kids in the stroller while I was blissfully riding the motorcycle – a dream come true! I felt so cool! In fact, I felt so great, when I got back to our house, I decided to turn around and head back to where John and the kids were just to show off a little. This meant I had to turn the bike around again when I got to him so I could head home for the second time – a skill I am still learning and need a LOT, did I mention a LOT of space to perform. So, the inevitable happened, as I was turning around I crashed right into a flower barrel right and messed up the side our brand new bike.
I felt so bad! So bad in fact that I didn’t know what else to do but burst out laughing! I really am sorry, honey! Thanks for taking it so well!
If my own humiliation wasn’t enough, every time my son gets on the bike he announces, “Oh no Daddy, Mommy broke the bike!”
Lessons anyone?

Surrender

It’s been a long hiatus from the blog. I’ve thought so many times of things I wanted to share – we’ve certainly had more happen than I could even possibly go back and chronicle. But, I’m hoping the hiatus is over. And I want to change the name of my little blog. Yes my intention is still to learn to trust the Lord with all my heart and remove the mask we wear in front of people, but the Lord is laying a new word on my heart…this may be an early New Year’s resolution word to sum up my goals for 2012, we’ll see…
Surrender
You know that beautiful hymn, “I Surrender All.” I remember singing it at least one out of every three invitations at church as I was growing up. I’ve always loved it, yet it haunts me still. Do I surrender all?
Part of my reason for not writing is wrapped up in that little word. Sure, a LOT of other stuff has happened too, that if you receive our ministry updates, you know. We left the UK in March, were in the states 3 months, then moved to the Philippines, where we’ve been for the last 4 months and we’ll be until at least April, maybe longer. We’re still praying about that. We moved around a lot until June, and have been learning to adjust to two kids. Then we moved here, where internet access is a bit more, well complicated.
But, the other thing that kept me from sharing was the issue of surrender. We’ve had so many changes, and to be quite honest I’ve been a very reluctant recipient of those changes. I wanted to be joyful and excited to be serving in ministry, but the reality was I was tired, overwhelmed, grieved, upset, angry, and I didn’t know how I could write honestly. As much as I know about the faithfulness of God, I wasn’t really seeing God’s faithfulness, just life’s disappointments.
But, little by little, the Word refreshes and the Holy Spirit mends, prunes, and directs. I know God is faithful, because He has never stopped working in my life, even in my anger, confusion, and hurt. He is faithful because I am the most unlikely missionary, and yet He has given me this opportunity. He is faithful because He patiently pursues my heart until I say, yes. Yes Lord, I will surrender to what You have for me. Come what may. I will rejoice, fix my eyes on You, and trust Your plan.
I surrender all.

Life as a Toddler

I'm quickly learning that life with a toddler is never very predictable! And I think he may be on the floor more than he is on his feet. Sometimes that means endless hours of playing with his cars, trains, or planes. Sometimes that means flat-out tantrum style (he's a bit of a drama "king" ?). And it definitely means falling down...a LOT!

So the other day, we made it to Kid's Club and we made it 10 minutes when John brought Tanner in gushing blood from his mouth. A kid had bumped into him and he had bitten his lip, although the actual bite mark took me a full 5 mun. to find do to the copious amounts of blood. We made a trip to see the doctor to make sure everything was okay. Two questions:
- Why is it that your child will scream and cry uncontrollably until you pull into the doctor's office, then gleefully walk in and cry when you have to leave the toys. Do they not realize how bad this makes their parents look?
- Second, why is it that when you have a big trip coming up, your kids get hurt or sick? Thankfully his big lip is almost healed and we didn't have anything to do! But the irony of this situation does not go unnoticed since we were at the doctor about 10 days before our trip to England with a gushing wound (that one required stitches!)

Just to top off his already swollen, bruised lip, the next day our graceful little toddler fell down the stairs and whacked his forehead on the wall. Now he is sporting a bruise and knot on his head! Ah Boys! (I was going to get a picture, but alas the camera is already packed! You'll just have to imagine!)

And I have to share one of the sweetest moment I have enjoyed as a Mom to this point . The other morning I came downstairs to be greeted by Tanner running up to me saying "Mommy, I love you!" complete with the biggest hug! Man, I love that kid!

Every blessing

Coming into full-time ministry, I had dreams of being very involved in teaching and discipling, but as a mom one of my biggest ministries is taking care of our two little treasures so John is free to minister. It's a bit different of a picture than what I had pictured being in full-time ministry, but a necessity and truly a joy. But it often means I don't get to build relationships with many of the kids or the conversations I may begin get interrupted as I chase a rambunctious two-year old around the building or soothe a crying baby.
This past week, we helped run a mission, which is similar to Vacation Bible School, at one of local churches. We work at this church every Thursday, helping with their Kid's Club, so we do know a lot of the kids. So we got to go nightly and help! This week I was prepared - three cheers for Veggie Tales and a Baby Bjorn! I could mostly help armed with those two key items! One of my prayers for the week had been to have a chance to talk to one special little girl. She had made a comment about not wanting to hear about God the very first day that just broke my heart and I wanted so badly to share God's love with her. To be honest, I didn't really expect an answer to my prayer, I just couldn't see how I'd have the time to talk to her about the Lord and watch the kids. Oh ME of little faith!
Thursday night she was one of the kids who responded to the gospel, and I was able to share with her about the Lord. The Lord truly blessed me beyond my expectations. I got to talk to her one on one, as well as two other little girls. After that, her cousin started asking me all sorts of questions about God. I was able to talk to him about the Lord and share truth with him. My heart broke when all four told me that they have no Bibles at home.
I share this with you not to boast of myself. The opportunity presented itself easily and while I had been looking for an opportunity to talk especially to this one little girl, I really wasn't fully expecting God's answer - to my shame! But, I'm so humbled that God did allow me to share His amazing love with these kids. I'm so thankful for an opportunity to work at this mission! And I'm so blessed that He does indeed answer prayer! And I'm praising Him that those kids heard the gospel Thursday night!

Valentine's Fun!

It's a few days late, but I had so much fun with Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share! Usually, I don't get too much into Valentine's Day, but this year I thought I'd (cheaply) embrace it just to make it a somewhat special day! Plus we had lunch guests, so we had to make it a little special for them too!
I'm not the most creative person, but I'm great at stealing, I mean borrowing ideas from creative people ;-)
So here's some of our Valentine's Fun!

Centerpiece


Hubby's Valentine ;-) Cheesy I know!



Tanner's "Love Hunt" which I completely forgot to do until yesterday! But he loved it nonetheless! He followed pictures to each room to find his mini coloring book! He was so excited about finding the hearts!


Valentines for friends!

And last but not least - dessert! John's not a huge chocolate fan, but loves white chocolate! And it's super easy! Here's the recipe White Chocolate Mousse.

The Bride

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
Rev. 19:7-9
Think of a bride...no bride fears or lives in oblivion to her wedding day. She counts down the days, the hours, the minutes. It's all she talks about, well that and her hubby to be. She cannot wait until she can spend the rest of her life with her groom, and she's been planning this moment her entire life. Every detail must be perfect and hours upon hours go into preparing for the wedding. No bride forgets to buy a dress, or can't recall the day, comes looking less than her best, forgets to invite her friends and family, or decides to simply show up without any kind of plan.
If we are truly the bride of Christ, then shouldn't we be the same way in looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb and eternity with Christ? Shouldn't we be talking about our future "groom," preparing for that day, dreaming of that day, spending our time and money on that day? And as wonderful as our wedding day was or will be here on earth, this wedding will far surpass it...Through the blood of Christ, we, the church, have become His perfect, blameless, beautiful Bride to enjoy eternity with Him! Let's stop and think on that today and rejoice, hope, anticipate, and dream of that day!

*** My beautiful sister taken by Kristin Partin

No Saying No!

Yes, these words actually came out of my mouth! Another phrase to add to my growing list of things I can't believe I've ever said to my child!

We are certainly NOT parenting experts, in fact, we are pretty new to this whole parenting thing, especially as each day brings new challenges and doubts, and we seem to know less and less. I mean, I've never had a two year old before, and I'm starting to see why they call it the "Terrible Two's." I am forever wondering if I am being too hard, not consistent enough, if I crushed his spirit, if I'm acting out of frustration or anger, did I misread the situation, is there a bigger problem than what I'm seeing and on and on...

Most recently our challenge has been Tanner emphatically telling us "No!" when he doesn't like or want something or when we ask him to do something. It isn't a nice sounding no, although he keeps saying "Nice" as well, equally as hateful sounding I might add! Obviously he's heard the word "no" many times over the last two years of his life, but now comes time to teach him it is not acceptable to tell Mommy and Daddy no. So yes, the other night I said "no, saying no!" We burst out laughing at the absurdity of the statement, parallel to smacking your child's hand for hitting, yelling at him to not yell, or impatiently telling him to be patient, we started to rethink .

God has blessed us with a strong-willed child who goes through great lengths to get his way or have control over situations. Many times we are scrambling to figure out how best to teach him self-control, obedience, and ultimately about God's plan for us. Here's a few things we are learning:
- We need to plan how to handle situations BEFORE they happen (what we are going to say, what discipline course to take, etc.) otherwise we find ourselves reacting more than being intentional and consistent.
- We need to communicate our "plans" with each other. I know this seems logical, but we are constantly forgetting to tell each other how we've handled a particular situation, and then it is confusing
- Sometimes everyone needs a time-out or an alone break!
- What works one day may or may not work the next
- Parenting is WAY harder than it looks before kids! And that sweet innocent, little newborn will talk one day and will not always be the sweetest thing in the world and is FAR from innocent!

But then you get those glimpses of pure sweetness. This morning after a VERY long, tearful, disobedient morning, and being sent to his room, Tanner was much quieter than he should be. He had taken his blanket out of his crib, gotten his paci off the dresser, laid on the floor, and fell asleep! I must say after his 5 min. snooze he was remarkably happy!

What have you learned from parenting?

Why I've become a hermit

This week, John's been gone to Scotland, so it's been me and the boys alone for a few days! On Monday, we kept our normal schedule and went to toddler group (literally a 5 min. walk with a two year old!), which was a WELCOME distraction after Leighton had screamed all morning! On Tuesday, we had friends over to play. So today, I thought I'd be a good mom and get us out for some fun!
I always hear that SAHM need to get out of the house to be motivated and how kids need to get outside, and I'm a fan, although you wouldn't know it these past 6 weeks or so. It is quite a feat to take the two out on my own especially without a double stroller. But today was the day! It's been so nice all week, I thought a trip to the park would be great...so off we went!
Well, the nice weather was gone today...it was FREEZING and very windy! Tanner started the toddler whine/cry after only minutes. He lasted about 10 min. on the playground. But I was prepared...bring on the Winter Gardens. The Winter Gardens are right at the end of the park, and it is warm, there are huge fish to see, and a place to sit! So off we went again, to find out it was CLOSED! Randomly, it was closed for staff training (how much training does one need to sit at the info desk
I wonder?)
But, I was nonplussed...there is a grocery store/cafe right across the street. I figured we could get warm and have drink and check out the store while we were there. So we walked, actually I was walking, Tanner was being dragged sobbing to the store. And we found...It was closed too for restocking! Seriously! It was 10:45 on a Wed. morning - what in the world?
I resorted to dragging a screaming toddler to the mall, where we sat down and ate a very expensive cookie and hot chocolate, checked out the toy store, and visited the grocery store for some treats to welcome home daddy!
This is why I'm thinking life as a hermit for the next few years may be better suited :) At least the hot chocolate was delicious!

Letting Go

"Reducing our accomplishments to nothing or disowning our hopes and dreams is not easy. But it is essential. We need to accept Jesus' accomplishments and believe in His hopes and dreams for us."

What are your hopes and dreams? We grow up dreaming and planning. One of my childhood dreams was to be an Olympic gymnast. Nevermind the fact that I had only taken a few classes, I was just sure that just given the opportunity, I would be a prodigy. Of course, this was not the case. I was also quite determined to be a pediatrician, but that too was just a dream. In fact, very few of my hopes and dreams have happened exactly as I had planned.

It's hard to disown our accomplishments and live in our weaknesses, boasting in God's strength and equally hard to DISOWN our hopes, our dreams. It's difficult to trust and believe in the Lord's dreams for us, especially when it means letting go of things that we've longed for, or when the path He's chosen is painful or hard, or when we just can't see what His dreams for us are at the time.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare [peace] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

But the more we love God, the more we trust Him and truly desire His dreams for our lives, because His dreams for our lives result in bringing Him glory, result in eternal rewards, and are always for our good.

Toilet Training Tales

I know I just posted about Tanner and the potty, but this is just too good to pass up! Don't worry there are no embarrassing videos this time! But...

HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

So today is day three of "hard-core" potty training, meaning we've gone pantsless since Tuesday, including our outings in public. And I admit last night I thought, "Why am I doing this? He's just barely two and I just don't think he's ready!"
Day one we had a few "hits" but that was mostly because he would sit on his potty while watching Mickey. I mean you'd go too if you sat there for so long! But, I chalked it up as him learning!
Day two, yesterday, we didn't make it to the potty at all! In fact, he didn't even like the potty. We also had multiple accidents! We went through four pairs of pants while we were out and about! Thus, last night I was thinking FORGET THIS!
But, I decided to persevere - they say it takes a 3 days to a week and we hadn't even made it that far yet! But just as I was tempted to say, my sweet toddler wasn't quite getting the whole potty thing...oh how they prove you wrong!
Today, we tried again, and when I saw him making a particular face I urged him to go to his potty! Much to my surprise, he went!!!! CHEERS! A Treat! A Potty dance!
Well, my little stinker was thrilled! He proceeded to then wee on the potty - 8 times in a row (in about 5 min.!) Why? He figured out how to force himself to go and kept on going little bits to win his "treat!" What do you do when you've promised the child a treat if he went on the potty? He was delighted! Each time he would gleefully jump up and announce, "Gucky!" (Yucky would be the translation) and ask for his treat. Thankfully, he didn't seem to realize the treats kept getting smaller as we broke them in half ;-)
We weren't quite accident free all day, but it's looking promising...
Who was it that said something to the effect give me an army of two year olds and I can take over the world?

Don't be jealous!

OK I know I'm bragging a bit, but I just have to tell you one of the best parts about living here in the UK!

Are you ready?

I'm telling you - those of you with kids or busy with your job or really hate Walmart are going to be jealous!

Are you ready?

GROCERY DELIVERY!

That's right! Each week we have groceries delivered right to our door! It's brilliant and amazing! For a small fee (especially when you choose a Tues. or Wed. night from 8-10 for delivery!) the grocery store (and this is almost ALL grocery stores from cheaper to more expensive( will deliver your groceries! For us, it's the same price as it would be for us to drive to the store!
How does it work? I pick my delivery slot (the cheapest one), then I pick my groceries online. They even save all of my old orders, so I can reorder things I use weekly! If there is something that they are out of, they bring me a replacement for the same price or cheaper - and they ask me if I want to keep it!
It's all paid for online and no tips! They bring in the bags (they'll even take my old bags to recycle!) and we're done!
What if I forget something? We do live within walking distance to a small grocery store that we can get most things - it just doesn't cater to a big, weekly grocery shop.
The best parts - no dragging two kids to the store, no impulsive buying (I can see my cost as I add things), no fighting other carts through aisles that are too small, no searching the shelves for the product I just can't find, did I mention not having to drag two kids to the store????

Ahhh it's amazing! I'm spoiled... But, I need to go - my delivery for the week is here ;-)

New Year's Resolutions - uhh check the date!

INTENTIONAL

Intentionally seeking the Lord. Intentionally loving. Intentionally parenting. Intentionally reaching out. Intentional.

That's the word I've chosen for 2011. I confess it's not a word that suddenly came to me just before January 1st when thinking of New Year's Resolutions. It's a word that I've been "chewing" on since last year. But this year, I want it to define my year.

I want this word to shape the goals and resolutions I make this year. You see, I'm launching into my goals today, yes I know it's January 10th (it's just the 1st with a zero added ;-)) But I decided to take some time to think a bit more about the goals I wanted to make and with my mom's visit and putting away Christmas, I felt like today was the best day to start! Oh, and it's a Monday, and my schedule loving self likes things starting on Mondays - it's like a new beginning each week! And I know some of you are against resolutions for various reasons, but I like the idea of a fresh start, a new beginning, and new challenge! So...here are my resolutions!

- I want to intentionally read the Bible daily and share what God is teaching me with others! Women Living Well has a great resource for doing this!
- I want to intentionally love my husband, so I'm going to plan a date each month for him. I'm on the hunt for some great "At Home" dates that do not include watching TV in a comatose state until we can respectfully go to bed (it's just not right to crawl in bed the same time as our toddler!) Need some cute, fun ideas - check out The Dating Divas!
- I want to intentionally parent - this includes potty training (YIKES!) and taking the time to teach them the WORD. I'm amazed at how much Tanner can retain, and I want to intentionally tap into that.
- I want to intentionally exercise at least twice a week. This is a low number that I hope to raise, but I also want to be realistic with my time, energy, and chasing a toddler around the house.
- Finally, I want to intentionally reach out to lost people. I've really struggled in how to do this, especially staying at home so much of the time. For now, I'm trying to love, meet, and share Christ with my neighbors by sharing food with them. It's a way to talk to them and I love to cook! So, I'm aiming for once a week to share food with one of our neighbors!

So there you go! January 10th - New Year's Resolutions launched! Hopefully by the end of 2011, I will be able to say I was truly INTENTIONAL!

What will you do for a treat?

We are beginning the arduous process of potty training. Well, more accurately, we're starting the process without feeling too pressured! Tanner's been interested in sitting on the potty fully clothed, so we thought we'd give it a proper try. Our dilemma was he wouldn't sit on the potty very long or he'd get upset about it, so we introduced treats. And this boy loves his treats!
Today, he acted so interested, we bit the bullet and let him go pantsless to help him out. After one treat for sitting on the potty, we told him he'd have to go "pee pee" on the potty to get any more treats.
The child sat on the potty for 20 min., but to no avail! The video is at the end of our sitting. Notice how he tries to look to see if he peed! Right after we finished he got up and looked where I've been keeping the treats and the stinker found one I had missed. Then he proceeded to go on the floor about 5 min. later! Oh well, we're a work in progress!

DISCLAIMER: Ignore the no make-up and gross hair on me at the beginning of this!