These two...

are just the most precious blessings in my life.

Mr. Fix-It

Handy man in training complete with the would be plumber's crack if he didn't have on a diaper.

Getting Big

I don't post every month about Parker like I do Ellis, but since Parker has done so much growing up lately I wanted to tell you about him.

• He's starting to say more and more. Parker has been a little slower on his expressive language, but he is starting to catch up on that. He's still hard to understand unless you're with him all the time like me.
• He is a little sponge. He soaks up so much of the world around him. Paul and I will notice him do something new, and we look at each other and say, "when did he learn that!"
• He is Mr. Independent. He doesn't want any help and he will let you know it.
• He likes things the stay in order. If something gets out of place, he makes sure it gets back to where it belongs.
• The boy is obsessed with trains. He plays with trains, watches train shows, takes any small objects and lines them up like trains, talks about trains, wears clothes with trains on them, spots trains when we are out and about, and even thanks God for "choo choos" when we say our bed time prayers. It is now my ammunition for good behavior.
• He's discovered that it is fun to jump. He hops around the house. He sneakily tries to jump on the bed. (He has a knot on his head right now because of this.)
• He loves to play in the water. When I'm working in the kitchen, he pulls a chair up to the sink. I fill it with a little bit of water and give him cups, and he is happy for hours. He also loves a bath. He will play in the tub until he's pruny.
• Although he likes to play in water, he can't stand it if his clothes get wet. If he gets just a little blot of water on his clothes, he takes them off. This is not a good thing when he spills a little on himself when we are out in public.
• He continues to be a daddy's boy. Once I weaned that boy, that was it for me. If Paul is home, he is stuck to him like glue.
• He thinks it is so funny when Paul blows his nose, clears his throat, burps, or poots. I think it's a boy thing.
• He likes to get forks, spoons, and knives (don't worry, they're just butter knives) for everyone out of the drawer. Our dishwasher is constantly filled with flatware because he gets out more than what we need.
• He has a sweet tooth just like me. After every meal, he asks for "nandy." He gets quite upset if he doesn't get some.
• He is still a snuggle bug. He loves to cuddle, and you won't ever hear me complain about that.
• He is just the most amazing little boy there could possibly be.

This is Parker watching the trains at Elgin Lights. He would still be there right now watching the trains if we would have let him.

Ellis at 5 Months

One more month and my baby girl will be a half year old. Time just goes too quickly. Along with the quick passage of time, Ellis changes and grows so fast. It's amazing to me how much babies change in the first year of life. So here's the list of Ellis at 5 months.

• She rolled over for the first time front to back at 5 months and one day. I didn't have time to get the camera. She was having some tummy time, and I was doing something with Parker. I looked over at her and she was on her side and then quickly rolled onto her back.
• She celebrated her first Christmas. Most of the present opening times she was asleep. As much as a 5 month old can, I think she enjoyed her first Christmas. 
• She really starting to enjoy her toys. They catch her attention and she grabs them. Depending on the toy, it goes to her mouth.
• She laughs such a cute little laugh when you play games with her like getting her belly or peek-a-boo.
• She likes her bed. We figured this out over Christmas. She woke up over and over again while we were away. When we got home, she went to sleep and slept all night without a peep.
• She has some beautiful blue eyes. They have gotten lighter since birth. I'm pretty sure they are going to stay blue. She definately has her daddy's eyes.
• She holds herself up really well. She can't sit up completely on her own yet, but she's on her way there.
• She loves to make (I hate to say this) pooting noises with her mouth. She will do it over and over again. Sometimes she ends up making bubbles with her mouth which makes Parker really excited.
• She still has no hair, and what hair she has is light. Bless her heart, she gets it honest. I didn't get hair until I was around 2, and Parker at 2 years 5 months has yet to have his first hair cut.
• She just absolutely the cutest thing in the world. I maybe just a little bias. 

How Did That Happen?

I finally got around to unloading the dishwasher today. Some of the slots were totally void of flatware. For some reason, we used a lot of big and little forks and most were in the dishwasher clean, waiting to be put in their proper place. Some were used after the dishwasher was loaded and were waiting to be loaded, and some had been in that clean load and then pulled out of there to be used because there were no forks in the drawer. I've been trying to be better about unloading the dishwasher after it's finished, but this time I hadn't.
I'll admit it. Sometimes I'm lazy. Sometimes I'm a lousy housekeeper. Sometimes I'm just distracted by nursing a 4 month old while keeping a 2 year old from completely destroying the house. I'm no longer ashamed of that. I read in A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God that the only thing I have to be ashamed of is my sin. Since not keeping a house in perfectly pristine order is not a sin, then I can't be ashamed. Anyway, I digress.
As I was saying, the flatware slots were empty of the flatware, but I noticed that in those slots were food crumbs. Yes, food crumbs. Now, someone please tell me how food crumbs get into the slots where I put CLEAN, fresh out of the diswasher flatware? It remains a mystery to me.

Budget...Ugh!

Most people cringe when they hear the word budget because they feel like it is some type of restraint. I like the idea of having a budget. Since money is tight, I want to make sure we spend it wisely, and a budget helps. However, I still cringe when I hear the word budget just because I don't like creating one. The process of making a budget is what I hate. I don't mind the living by a budget part.
For all of our 5+ married years, Paul and I have probably created 6,529 different budget plans and have yet to really stick to living by any one of them. That is about to change. It has to change. Since money is tight, we are going to have to be dilligent and be good managers of what God has entrusted to us.
This time around we are taking a different approach, the one we should have taken all along. God's will for our lives is to bring Him glory. Everything we do should be an act of worship to God. All that we own by the world's definition of ownership really doesn't belong to us. It is all His. He doesn't owe us anything. So, why haven't we consulted God in how to manage what is rightfully His? So many times we just sat down and logically created a budget. We'd punch some numbers in, and with the little we were working with, it never seemed to work out right. (It is truly by the Lord's blessing that we are not in debt up to our eyeballs. I don't know how He did it, but He has taken care of us financially when it seemed impossible. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!) A few days later, the budget might as well have been in the trash because we weren't really using it.
Again I ask, why haven't we consulted God in how to manage what is His? That will be the difference this time around. We are giving our budget over to God. We are seeking His wisdom (James 1:5). We are asking for God to transform us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). I know this means that we are going to have to make some major changes in how we think and live, but I know that we will be better off.
I just want to add that creating a budget is not about finding security in money. I struggle with that. I'm learning to find my complete security in Christ. Creating a budget will help us to be better stewards of what we have been given, and therefore, we will be able to better invest in the Kingdom work of Christ.
I'm putting this out there not to bore you to death but for accountability purposes. I know this won't be easy. So, if you would like, pray for us as we create the budget. Pray that Paul and I will be of like mind with Christ. Pray that God will reveal areas that we haven't surrendered to Him. Pray that God will give us the strength to surrender all to Him. Pray that our minds will be focused on things of eternity and that we will view our "possessions" as avenues to invest in those eternal things.

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for who I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:7-8 (Go read that chapter. It's good stuff. Seriously, go read it.)

Simple Christmas

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, celebrating the birth of my Savior is one of the most exciting times of the year.  However, for many Christians, and for non-believers as well, Christmas tends to be a stressful time of year. I am determined that not be true for our family. The American Dream has stolen the joy of celebrating the miraculous birth of our Savior who laid aside his rights as God and became flesh in order to provide the way for salvation to a helpless and hopeless, fallen world. It makes me mad how Christians get mad over stores selling "Holiday trees" or only saying "Happy Holidays," but they are no different from the rest of the world in their Christmas celebrations except for the fact that the post "I'm keeping Christ in CHRISTmas" to their facebook statuses.
Through what God has been teaching me, there were somethings I wanted to change about our Christmas celebrations this year.
1. Celebrate Advent. I'm not talking about the kind where you open a little box or envelope and get some piece of candy or other trinket. I'm talking about the kind where you emphasize the "coming" (which is what Advent means) of the Savior both in flesh as a little baby and His triumpant return. I'm a little behind on this one. I want to create a banner with an envelope for each letter of "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" (I know that it is 25 letters, but one extra won't hurt.) I'm going to put a verse with a special corresponding activity for each envelope.
2. Cut down on the gift giving. I just feel guilty getting more stuff when I already have so much, and all the people to whom I would give gifts are in the same boat. Let's face it. Even most of the poor in America have way more than we really need.  Our family decided that we would only get gifts for the children and use the money we would have spent on ourselves to bless those who are in need.

We are doing this in addition to some of the things we are already doing like we give only 3 gifts to our children. We don't do the whole Santa thing. (To read more about this, read last year's post )
With all this, Christmas feels a lot more simple, more real, more pure. I know there is more we can do to focus our minds are the truth of Christmas, so I'll just keep praying that the Lord continue to make the changes in me that He needs to in order to do that.

Colors

Me: What color is my jacket?
Parker: geeen!
Me: What color is my shirt?
Parker: ite
Me: No, it's pink
Parker then lifts up my shirt and points to my belly.
Parker: ite
Me: Yes, my belly is white.


Yes, my belly has not seen the light of day since I was a teenager. It is pretty white.