Twenty-Eight Months Old

It's been quite a month, in a lot of ways.  Weatherwise, Cooper got to experience his first snow.  It was kind of a rip-off, really.  It was just a dusting and too cold in the morning (19 degrees) to go out and play in it anyway.  Then the sun came out and melted it all.  At least we went out for a little while and walked around in it, though.  He didn't like getting it on his shoes. ( :

We've had some nice weather too.  We go to a nearby park and play every chance we get (that is my dad pushing Cooper in the swing).  One day we went to the lake for a while.

For those days that aren't so nice, a church not too far from us has a nice indoor playground that is free and open to the community.  It is 5 stories high, and for the first time, last time we went, Cooper ventured all the way to the top.

My mom came over one night for a post-Christmas gingerbread man decorating session. Cooper had fun decorating it with her, and then we all had fun eating it!

Here he is in his hoodie, which Don's mom made for him.  I LOVE it and am sad that he will probably have outgrown it by next year.

We've stayed fairly healthy, though Cooper had a cold that apparently led to a minor respiratory tract infection, which he had to be on antibiotics for.

We're starting to see some signs of spring -- daffodils blooming and our yard is going to need to be mowed before too long.  I'm going to try to have a garden this year.  I'll need to get started plowing it up pretty soon.  We can't rule out more cold weather, though (and I'm still kind of secretly hoping that we'll get a better, but short-lived, snow, so Cooper can play in it for real).

Cooper is growing and changing every day.  When I look at pictures from even just a few weeks ago, I can see a huge difference.  It's bittersweet; I want him to grow up, but a part of me wants to hold on to his babyness too.  All I can do is treasure each day, and I am trying to do just that.

Twenty-Seven Months

The twos are an interesting time.  Some days I know exactly why they call them the "terrible twos," and some days I love them.  Yes, this age can be challenging, but it is also fun.  Cooper and I are communicating!  He's talking more and more every day and, while I can't always understand what he is saying, we're making progress.  He's learning so fast too!  It amazes me from day to day what he has picked up.

He's big into music right now.  He loves the keyboard he got for Christmas, and is also interested in other types of instruments.  (The mini drum set is at a drum store, and the man with the guitar is a friend at church.)

Interestingly, he seems to love written music too.  I have four hymnals that he gets out nearly every day and carries around, opening them up to various pages or sometimes bringing them to me, wanting me to sing a song or play it on his keyboard.  His favorite hymn is "Good Christian Men Rejoice."  I have never known that to be ANYBODY's favorite hymn, but I guess that's what makes us all unique!  He learned it on one of his videos.

I haven't taken too many pictures this month because he REFUSES to smile for, or even look at, the camera.  Oh well.

As for the rest of us, we're plugging along.  I'm always glad when we're through January; it's my least favorite month.  February at least brings some hope of springtime, though, I'll have to say, we've had a pretty mild winter so far.  I'm kind of bummed because we didn't have any real snow last year or this year, so Cooper has never gotten to play in it before.  We may have some yet, though.  I'm holding out hope for ONE good one.  That's all.  I'll be done after that.

I had the flu a couple of weeks ago, but other than that (and Don's little incident in December), we've all stayed pretty healthy so far.  Hopefully that trend will continue.

All in all, we're doing well.  Life is good, and we have much to be thankful for.

Kindle Fire

I am behind the times.  I admit it.  And I don’t care all that much, but I at least want to be able to communicate with people and know what they are talking about.  And until recently, I didn’t even know what an “app” was.

So, we had a little extra money, and I decided I would step up a bit.  Not all the way to a Smart Phone or an I-Pad, but a tablet of some sort.  I did a survey on Facebook asking which one I should buy for the money I had ($200 or less) and the response was unanimous: Kindle Fire.

I wasn’t sure how much I would use it.  But at least I could learn what an app was.

So I got one.  And I like it.  I’m still learning what all I can do.  I never thought I would want one to read books on, but it IS nice to be able to check books out from the library from the comfort of my home, without dragging a 2-year-old in and out just to go pick one up.  There are a lot of free books available from Amazon too.  The disadvantages are that you can’t share them with anyone else without giving up your Kindle while they read it, and I think my eyes get tired a little faster than from reading a book.  A good thing, though, is that I can lie in bed and read in the dark without disturbing Don (perhaps that's what's hurting my eyes?).

I can use it as a computer, though it’s not quite as easy to navigate as my laptop.  I can check my e-mail or Facebook or look anything up on the Internet, but, of course, it doesn’t have a keyboard.  You have to peck at the one that appears on the screen, which is kind of a pain.  Also, the screen is significantly smaller, but if you turn it sideways, the images get a little larger.  It is much easier to transport than my laptop, though, so I will probably take it with me when I travel.

Cooper has practically taken it over.  I have found a number of fun and educational things he can do on it, such as “coloring” (with his finger), playing a piano keyboard or drums, and some age-appropriate games, so it’s a good thing to take with me when I will need to entertain him (doctor’s waiting rooms, etc.)

I had to learn the difference between “3G” and “Wi-Fi.”  3G means you can use it anywhere but have to pay a monthly fee, like with a Smart Phone and some tablets, but Wi-Fi, which is what a Kindle Fire is, means you have to have a wireless Internet connection, so I can’t access the Internet everywhere.  However, the books and many of the other things get downloaded, so I don’t need an Internet connection to use them after I initially install them.

I kind of wanted it to have a camera so I could Skype on it.  Some tablets do, but alas, Kindle Fire does not.  Oh well.  I have one on my laptop which I have never even used anyway.

Two accessories I am glad I purchased are a cover for it and a charger.  It just comes with a cord that you have to hook up to another computer, but for a little extra you can get a charger you can plug into the wall.  I have to charge it every 1-2 days, depending on how much I use it.

So, all-in-all, I’d say if, like me, you just want to join the 21^st Century, it’s a good place to start.  I think it’s something I’ll use more and more, as I learn more of its capabilities.  I believe it was a worthwhile purchase.  And most importantly, now I know what an app is.

A Blessed Christmas

I enjoyed Christmas more this year than I have in the past.  I think this was mostly due to Cooper.  It is much more fun to share Christmas with a child, and now he is old enough to be excited about it, though he still doesn't completely "get it."

A lot of people asked us if we were doing the Santa Claus thing.  No.  We read him books about Santa Claus, but told him they were just stories.  We gave him gifts, but didn't try to pretend they were from Santa.  I'm not judging other parents who do things differently; that's just the way we decided to handle it.

We're also trying to keep the focus on Jesus and not on materialism.  Even though he got gifts, we didn't really play that part up beforehand.  We talked about Jesus' birthday.  As it got close, I told him that Jesus is so important, that we all get presents for His birthday.

I intended for it to be small, but we ended up getting him quite a bit.  The poor boy just wanted to play with the presents he opened, but no, we would take one away from him and shove another one at him to open.  Oh well.

My brother and his family weren't able to come, but we invited a couple from church (the lady who introduced Don and me) over for brunch, along with my parents.  It was kind of quiet, but nice, really.

Don has been off for about 3 weeks and, other than spending a night in the hospital just before Christmas after passing out in church (another story for another day, but he's fine now), we've been enjoying all the extra time we've had together.  It's going to be hard on Cooper and me as well as Don when he has to go back to work, but I guess we'll adjust.

Happy New Year to all of you.  May 2013 be a year full of blessings.

Twenty-Six Months Old

Wow, long time/no blog!  It's been a busy month.

We went to Michigan to visit with Don's family for Thanksgiving.  Cooper had a good time hanging out with his cousins.

While there we had a belated celebration of Don's parents' 50th anniversary.

Cooper sang in the children's program at Community Bible Study.  His teacher had to hold on to him the whole time so he wouldn't run away.

We put up our Christmas tree and began getting ready for Christmas.

We went to a birthday party for Jesus.

We went Christmas caroling in our neighborhood.  Cooper and I are on the far left (he's in a stroller).

So, as you can see, we've been doing a lot of celebrating various things.  It's been a fun month.  I am looking forward to Christmas more this year than I have in the past because Cooper is excited.  We are trying to play down the materialistic aspect of it, but still . . .

This month also brought a brief stay in the hospital for Don after he passed out twice last week.  Hopefully that problem has been resolved though.  It hasn't happened again this week, which is a good sign.

Merry Christmas to all of my blog readers!

Twenty-Five Months Old

Time marches on.  And it seems like it's marching faster all the time.

"They grow up fast," everyone tells me.  "Enjoy every day."  And I do.  Though, of course, some are easier to enjoy than others.

We have had a lot of nice weather this month, and Cooper and I have tried to spend as much time as possible outside, whether in our yard, at the park, taking a walk, or wherever . . .

We've been to visit the neighbor's chickens,

"mowed" the lawn,

or just sat around.

He is putting words together more and more, learning his colors, letters, numbers and shapes.  He remembers and repeats pretty much everything he hears, so Don and I have to be careful not only of what we say, but also try to control what he sees on TV and hears in public.

We can't control everything, though, and that's why we spend a lot of time in prayer, for ourselves as parents and for God's protective hand on Cooper.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for so many things, and high on my list is the privilege of being Cooper's mom.  I sure do love that little guy!

The Aftermath

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “  Isaiah 55:8

I was shocked.  Stunned.  NO WAY could America have elected Obama AGAIN!  NO! WAY!  And how will we survive four more years?  What will become of this country??

Since then I have had a little time to mull it all over.  And I have talked to other well-informed Christians who are not depressed about it all.  And I have questioned why.

What am I putting my faith in?

Was I putting my faith in Mitt Romney, that he could undo the damage that I perceive Barack Obama has done and thus save our country? 

Or was it in the Republican party?  Even though I wasn’t thrilled with Romney as a choice, I was sure that any Republican could do a better job than Obama!  After all, Republicans know what’s right.

Maybe it was in the American people.  I can sort of see the logic people had in electing Obama four years ago.  They were ready for change, and he promised to bring it.  They were willing to give him a chance.  And indeed he has brought change, but it has all been negative, in my opinion.  We’re much further in debt, prices are rising, and the future of our healthcare is at stake.  Socialism threatens to rob us of our freedom.  I believed the American people would see all that and make the logical choice: to remove Obama from office before he does any more damage.  Just vote him out, like they have done with bad presidents in the past.

Guess what?  All of these people have failed me in what I thought they should do. 

So what do I have left?

Oh yeah.  God.  The One who never fails.  The One who others I know are putting their hope in, those people who have remarkable peace about all of this.

I didn’t forget Him altogether.  I did pray daily about this election for months, believing that He would answer my prayer by putting a good Republican in office, and that would be His means of saving our country.  Of course.  It was logical.

But my way of thinking is not always God’s way of thinking.  I don’t know what His way of thinking is.  I don’t know how He can be using all of this to work all things together “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  But He is.  He may be using this to discipline us as a country.  Can anybody claim we don’t need  or deserve that?  Or He may be using it to protect us from something worse that we may never even know about.  Maybe it is to teach us or bring us to revival.  Or maybe all of the above.

Thankfully, God IS in control.  Thankfully He has a plan.  But He does give us a role: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  II Chronicles 7:14.

Our vote has been cast.  And if you’re like me, you didn’t win.  Thank goodness God is in control.  Let’s bow before Him and plead with Him to heal our broken land.