Birthday Fun

Happy Birthday, Marc! from Christina Patient on Vimeo.

Sending out some birthday wishes for Grampa!

Dinner And a Movie

I wish I could say that I was going out with Steve tonight, but the truth is I've seen less of him than usual this week.  Tonight is no exception.  He's taking care of details for Minister's Retreat which will be next Mon. - Wed.  The beautiful silver lining to these long days is that we'll all be together for this retreat, which is held at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio.  We love the indoor water park, play area and rooms; and I love seeing friends and being part of this totally refreshing time! 

As for the dinner and a movie, this is as close as it's gonna get:

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili 

Surprisingly, this has become a favorite for the Patients.  At least the two of us who don't mind a bowl full of veggies.

And now our entertainment of the day (which I'm going to count as a movie, because it's a five minute spin-off of a movie).  This was sent to me from one of my sweet Kids' Church kiddos who has become an email buddy :)  Blake loves laughing at "Smat."

Scrat's Continental Crack-Up

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Today started with a flurry of activity then dipped to a disappointing low.  I got a call this morning saying that the rental agency we're using would be bringing someone by to view our house at 2:30 pm.  That news sent me into a whirlwind of cleaning that would have impressed Mr. Belvedere himself.  Between scrubbing and straightening, I uttered many phrases such as, "I just cleaned that!" and  "STOP!  Do not dump those blocks again."  By 2 o'clock things were looking good, so we waited.  We waited in our pristine environment for two and a half hours to find out that the guy never showed up at the rental office.  Awesome.

Well, once we knew it was safe to behave normally again (i.e. make forts out of blankets in the middle of the living room), I decided we needed something fun to improve morale.  So paper boats it was.

Makin' some boats

It really works!

Creating the storm that sent them all to their watery demise.

Bibliophilia

I hope to instill in Blake a love for reading. That experience of getting lost in a book - the way the pages feel, and how the old bindings smell sweet - it's mesmerizing.  Plus, Mom and Dad have always said I got into a lot less trouble once I could read to myself...  With this in mind, Steve and I are on a mission to make reading fun for Blake!

The Wooster Library Children's Section

The children's area of our library has so many fun features.  Would be great inspiration for a Children's Church or Nursery :)

Hitting up the Curious George section, of course.

During story time, he heard a tale about a white dog who ended up covered in colorful spots.  He was telling me where the dog got each spot (Orange juice stain, grass stain, etc...).  I love this age :)

Hide 'n' Seek

It's time for a test of your wits and eyesight.  Can you find the two year old hiding in this picture?

He is so pleased with this new hiding spot :)






Surprise!  Thankfully we are still at the stage in which he gives you an answer when you ask "Where are you hiding?"  "In here, Mommy!"   It will be a whole new kind of game once he realizes you can make the parents panic if you hide while being perfectly still and quiet.

Signature 2011

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."   I John 1:5-7

Early last Friday morning I packed up the Toyota and headed to Toledo.  I was on my way to help out with Signature, a Christian conference for teen/college girls.  On a side note, I immensely enjoyed the two and a half hour drive in the car alone!  Can't think of the last time I made a drive like that solo.  No one-handed searching for dropped toys, handing out snacks, or songs about animals...just peace!

The event was centered around the verses above.  Through worship, preaching and small group discussion the girls were encouraged to allow the light of God's Word to expose the lies they have been believing.  The truth can be painful, but it brings about great freedom.  It was a beautiful time in God's presence, and challenged me as well.

I had a great time reconnecting with friends from around the state, and visiting with the girls from Evangel in Wooster.  It is so true that serving God is not a burden, but a life-giving privilege.  I had a blast! 

After driving home, this time rockin' out to my favorite music, I was so happy to see my noisy, messy, silly little boy!  He was so excited to give me a big hug!  And Steve was the best!  He had picked up pizza, cleaned the house, readied Blake for bed and then listened to me chatter on about the weekend.  What a great guy I have!

Man's Best Friend

We still haven't bought the poor boy a dog, so he's resorted to being his own furry friend!  But I can't imagine having a cuter pooch running around the house.  This has been the activity of choice since we returned home from the Library Story Time.  We spent a good hour and a half playing in the children's section and listening to Miss Meg read books about winter clothes.  Very appropriate for this cold, rainy day.

A Curious George Kind of Day

I know, you're thinking, "Isn't every day a Curious George kind of day?"  Yes, but today we have fully immersed ourselves in the life of Blake's favorite little monkey.  After watching two episodes, reading two books, and playing an assortment of George inspired games on pbskids.com, I think we've earned our PhD in George-ology.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

My silly guys in the snow!

Steve is excitedly awaiting the day when Blake can leave the sledding behind, and become a snow boarding prodigy.

I'm nicknaming him "The Snowplow."

Since Nathan is doing an internship at Kent State, he's close enough to come for a visit.  I love having all the guys together at our house!  Last year we borrowed inner-tubes from the church for our sledding needs.  This year - cardboard!  We may be cheap, but we still have fun :)

Christmas 2010

Click here to view these pictures larger

Grandma's First Flight

Grandma's First Flight from Christina Patient on Vimeo.

You will need to enter a password to see this video.  The password is: "christina".   Hopefully, you can all remember that!  It is very digitally, but I'm hoping to get this figured out for the future.  Enjoy!

Everything Is An Experiment

I once read a quote from Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.  It stated "everything is an experiment."  The quote referred to a value held by his staff.  When it comes to programs, events, traditions - the things a church can be so busy with - they believed everything should be an experiment.  This attitude gives them the freedom to try new things without the fear of failure.  They keep the good and ditch the bad.

What a great attitude for new adventures in life!  This blog is a bit of an experiment, an effort to better connect our family for now.  I'm hoping I can learn to post pictures and videos with ease, and keep you updated on Blake's latest developments.

So here goes nothing!  (and lets hope this experiment will not involve explosions)