"Ma"

Today is the first time that I heard Matthew calling for me - by name and not the usual grunting/whining. I was in the bedroom and I heard his little voice calling, "Ma, Ma" down the hall. I loved it!!

It's not gonna happen

Trying to sit on the balloons and pop them like Daddy. Didn't happen - but we were preparing ourselves for it :o)

Two years old!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!! You're two years old now! We are so thankful for you and love you so much!

Foods to avoid.......not what you think

I browsed through some blogs and - yikes - this was interesting!

Cookies for G'ma and G'pa

That's because we wouldn't be able to share these cookies with anyone outside our immediate family. Consider the fact that Matthew felt responsible for quality control on the frosting and the candies - as you can see. ;o)

I'm also sharing Matthew's "new pose" when asked to smile - I don't know where that came from. Such a silly boy!

Thank you, Daylight Savings Time

The one good thing to come out of getting dark sooooo early? Getting to look at Christmas lights with Matthew. His bedtime is around 7 - so, the fact that it's dark, dark, dark by 5:30 is actually good!

I know this picture is dark, but it's the only way to see the lights around Mark and Matthew. We went out to the marina to see the lights. A lot of the yachts are decorated. Where Mark is standing is the beginning of the long - cold and windy -walk down to the yachts. It was really neat!

My little Colts fan cooks

Mr. Penguin

Early birthday

Since we leave for Indiana the day after Matthew's second birthday, we decided to give him his gift early - a little kitchen. With all of those parts - I thought it would take half the night to get it all put together. Thankfully, with Mark's help, it took only an hour and a half and very little frustration.

It's not as big as the one he played with at our pastor's house - but, this one goes with our budget - and he loved it! Now, we just have to teach him to clean up after himself in the kitchen :o)

Tis the season

We had the great delight to watch a full length movie with Matthew tonight. This was the first full lenth movie that we have attempted. The Polar Express was on; although I don't espouse the messege of Santa, I knew Matthew would love the train (and wouldn't understand the meaning of the movie at 23 months of age)! I popped popcorn - the old fashioned way on the stove - and the three of us watched the movie. It was such a treat!

Giving honor

This season naturally lends itself to thinking about what you are thankful to God for. With that in mind, I thought that I would write an brief entry about the two most influential people in my life - my parents.

My dad, as everyone knows, is the quiet one. But Dad knows a lot about a lot of things! He can fix anything or build anything. As for people, Dad sees the needs around him and is quick to attend to them. He always shows attention to the ones that most people will overlook.

My mom, as everyone knows, is not the quiet one ;o). Mom doesn't know a stranger and she remembers everyone. Mom shares out of her abundant garden and kitchen. She is always quick to remember the sovereignty of God in situations.

Mom and Dad, you have been through many trials and tribulations throughout your lives and through them all, you have been strengthened in your love for God and each other. You have been a great example of service and sacrifice; if God would develop even half the character that you possess, I would be happy.

I love you both so much!

Glasses

Habakkuk

I thought that I would post a link to some free downloads. At the Sovereign Grace Ministries website, you can download free sermons among other things. You should get the downloads by clicking on "Audio Messages".

At some point, they did a three part series on the book of Habakkuk. Jeff Pursewell, Josh Harris and CJ Mahaney delievered these powerful messages on how to respond when your circumstances don't seem to measure up to your understanding of God - whether you are suffering or going through a hard season of life for whatever reason. I bring this up because I was listening to these again as I was going for my walk this morning.

I also share this because this sermon sereies was just one of the instrumental things that God used to help me get a better perspective on life. I hope that they will be a challenge and an encouragement to you, too!

Free John Piper download in November

For those who like the book Desiring God - here is a free download!!! Enjoy!!

Tigger

For our reverse trick or treating - we kept it a bit simpler. Matthew gave out bags of peanuts and candy corn. He did enjoy it more than last year :o)

What she said!

A dear friend is lending me this book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called Choosing Gratitude:Your Journey to Joy. How excited was I when I saw Carolyn McCully's latest blog entry!?

The Zoo

Mark and I decided to make a family membership to the Little Rock Zoo our family Christmas gift this year. For a reasonable price, the three of us can now go any time we want to this coming year. This zoo is a nice size for little ones. It's also great knowing that we can go and and just look for a few animals and then leave if we want to instead of feeling like we have to stay all day to get our money's worth.
As you can see, Matthew enjoyed it!

I should probably feel sorry for Mackey - but, he tends to linger around Matthew, so he must not be too bothered by it.

Big D

Thanks to my parents, Mark and I had a wonderful time in Dallas by ourselves over Mark's Fall Break! We got a lot of walking in and it was fun to be able to jog together in the mornings - there was a great park right across from our hotel.

We discovered a great frozen yogurt shop! It's called Orange Cup YUMMY

Mark did a great job of picking the hotel! He knew I would enjoy staying in a funky loft hotel - something that we couldn't do as easily with the little one.

Cool Dudes!

"New" toys from my cousins!!!

Can you tell how much I LOVE them??!! Thanks, Jared and Josh(and Casey)

I can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa!!!

I cheese of my own making

So, apart from homemade yogurt - which is super easy and cheap once you think about how much yogurt you'll get out of one box of nonfat dry milk(which isn't cheap), I've decided to try my hand at homemade cheese!

This recipe seems easy enough. I decided for my first attempt to use just a half gallon of milk. If I do a full gallon, I will have to buy a bigger strainer. It's looking good so far, all that is left is the hour long wait in the strainer. I'm anticipating almost 6 cups of whey and will try to make the ricotta cheese that's mentioned in one of the comments below the recipe.

Forgive me and my camera for the lighting issue. The first picture is after I had just added the vinegar. The second one was after I had just added the salt. I plan to add some garlic to this batch and use it to make pizza this week.

I figured that whole milk being $1.87 for a half gallon is a pretty good deal for some fresh, yummy cheese.

before and after this latest haircut

He looks like such a big boy!!

New music

I think we'll be buying this at some point for Matthew(and his Mommy) :o)

Be more specific, please.

We have this Veggie Tales CD of kid Sunday school songs that Matthew loves. We play it at least once a day. He loves to dance to the music and I'm teaching him the motions to the songs. We do "Zaccheus", "The B-I-B-L-E", and, of course, "This Little Light of Mine", among others.

What I noticed today was that during the verse that goes "...don't let Satan blow it out, I'm gonna let it shine....", our little boy holds his finger up to his nose and blows his nose instead of his lips! Every time! It is too funny to watch - I'm just thankful that he doesn't have a cold right now! And I guess I'm going to have to be a little more specific in teaching him the motions! :o)

busy mornings

Workin' on the farm and making smoothies!

Baby food

I thought that this was an interesting post on processed baby food. Matthew is way past all of this --- it makes me thankful that he didn't get too much of the stuff in jars. However, I am not judging those who have made the choice to go this route and I am certainly aware that millions of babies grow up to be happy, healthy children after eating processed baby food. Like I said, I just found it interesting.

The playdough project

I decided it was time to try out playdough with Matthew! I found these homemade recipes and have just put the cooked flour one in the fridge. I had read on one site where the mom added some vanilla to the dough so it would smell good(instead of no smell at all). I added most of a bottle of lemon flavoring. I took a tiny taste - assuming that Matthew would be doing the same at some point - and it tasted like a salty lemon. I wish that I had had some food coloring - but I didn't. I chose the cooked recipe because it supposed to last for several months in an airtight container in the fridge - which is a lot longer(several months longer) than the uncooked versions. It was really easy to make.

We'll see how Matthew likes it this afternoon! I'm so excited!! :o)

The Growing Tree

So, I'm either really early for Christmas or I'm really late for last. Unfortunately, it is the latter. I had this idea last year in the midst of all of the holiday busyness, each year I hope to have him add his hand prints for as many years that fit onto the tree. I traced his hands last January and finally got around to putting this all together this week.

Slowing down

I really appreciate this post! This is one of the blogs that I frequent.

Moving away from everything that I had come to know for so many years has certainly made it easier on my schedule. However, between working, being a mother to a 20 month old and wife to a busy husband, I still struggle with remembering what's important. This was a good rebuke for me. I hope that you find it refreshing, too!

Stella turns 100k

My beloved Rav 4 (aka Stella) turned over 100,000 miles this past weekend! I love my Rav; she has been very good to me! She has been to Texas and Pennsylvania and everywhere in between.

For her birthday, she is getting new tires. :o)

Daydreaming about peanut butter

With Matthew's 20 month date coming up, I can't help but daydream about all of the peanut butter he'll be eating in a little over four months. I really don't anticipate any allergies - he's had so many accidental exposures to nuts this past four or five months I really think he'll be fine.

With that said, however, I do realize that all of my excitement is conitingent on whether or not MTE decides to give pb a chance. I'm trying to prepare myself for him finding this source of protein even more revolting than chicken, beef, pork, cheese(apart from pizza) and eggs. Counting down the months.........

Yee Haw!

I had been waiting for Matthew to grow into being able to ride his rocking horse. He had been close for a while. When we got back from vacation, funny enough, this was one of the first toys that he rediscovered and he fits on it perfectly. He really enjoys it, so, we moved it out to the living room with all of his hundreds of other toys :o).

The rocking horse holds a special place in my heart. My grandfather made it for my neice when she was born(19 years ago) and then was painstakingly restored by my brother and given to us last summer. It's really beautiful and I'm so happy that MTE is enjoying it!

We've been back from vacation almost two weeks, now! I feel like we're almost back to "normal". I think once Mark starts back for the semester and is gone 7-4 - then it will be our normal again. Don't get me wrong, it's nice having him around - I can work out, sleep in a little later or go to the store with more freedom - it's just not the routine.

Matthew has really grown this summer! I haven't measured him, but the shoes that we bought in July for Fall fit him perfectly right now - yikes. Thank goodness for the consignment sales coming up - I've already bought a great pair of winter Stride Rite shoes for $3.75!

He's funny and sweet - definitely has a mind of his own - and lets us know. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be Matthew's mom!

New York City, July 2009