Happy 18-month Birthday, Philip!

Our little bundle of joy has reached the year and a half mark. I would think this has bumped him up into the full-fledge toddler phase of life. It is such a joy and wonder to watch him throughout the day as he is learning new things virtually all the time. I'll ask him to do something just wondering what he will do. It floors me when he does just what I've asked because I'm amazed at how smart such a little brain can be. The other day I told him to go put his sandals away. He picked them up walked straight to his room, pulled out the bottom drawer of his changing table and tried to stick them inside. That is his shoe drawer!! Yeah, Philip! After getting the sandals inside, he then pulled out two other shoes -- not matching! However, I want to encourage his independence when it's displayed in positive ways so we put the shoes on. He would only be walking around the house in them for a while so why not. (see above photo) In this world of international crises and just day to day letdowns, I praise God throughout my day for this little miracle He brought into our home.

Prayers for our church

I would ask any fellow Christians to please be in prayer for my church. We've gone through some recent changes in the staff and now the rumor mill has begun working overtime. It's such a horrible thing to see a body of believers (you at least hope they all truly know the Lord but it's doubtful) begin to kick each other while they are down. The Lord brought a verse to me this week which is fitting.

"The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly." Proverbs 15:14

It is my prayer that Christ would bind Satan from our church and its people. God is the ultimate power and I must remind myself also that "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). Great things for the kingdom can come from any crisis. Nevertheless, it's hard to know people you love are going through difficult times.

Paul and Kellie's wedding

Matthew's cousins Mollie and Paul have always been close as they are just 12 months apart in age! God worked it out that Mollie would get married and six weeks later would come Paul's big day. We celebrated their upcoming nuptials at a shower on July 2. Seemed like deja vu as Mollie and her then-fiance Michael's shower was just a few months ago at the same place with virtually the same people.

This past Saturday, Matthew, Ruth Ann, Philip and I headed down the highway toward Camden, SC. The wedding would be in a tiny town called Bethune, but Camden had the closest Fairfield Inn (Michael works for Fairfield). We arrived at the hotel at 11:30am as I was hoping Philip could get a long nap before the 5:00pm wedding. It didn't work out quite as planned and he only slept for an hour. However, the afternoon was still great as our dear friends Steve, Tracy, Vassar and Mathis met us at the hotel to hang out before the wedding. Steve was the youth pastor of our church from 2000 until 2004. Our families grew really close during those years. I hope to always remain friends no matter the miles between us!!

Paul and Kellie's wedding was in a small, country church but the ceremony could not have been better. Everyone looked great, especially Kellie of course. Paul sweetly teared up while saying his vows causing the rest of us to cry too. Kellie being an upcoming kindergarten teacher said her vows in a clear, loud voice. They lit the unity candle while one of the groomsmen played the piano and sang a song penned by Paul. He's such a romantic guy. Paul actually put together a surprise scrapbook for Kellie which he gave to her the night before the wedding. The wedding ended as weddings usually do with the groom kissing his bride. What I later found out from Mollie was that Paul and Kellie's kiss at the altar was their FIRST kiss... EVER!! And it was a good kiss. I was amazed and in awe of their level of self control and dedication to God and each other. I'll just say Matthew and I kissed plenty before getting married so I have all the more respect for Paul and Kellie. If that level of love and commitment carries on into their wedding (which I'm sure it will), they will have a long and happy marriage.

The reception was one of the most fun I have attended in a long time. It was inside a very old, small, non-air conditioned building, but filled with talking, laughing, dancing and eating. Philip held up well for only having an hour nap. He enjoyed strawberries, watermelon, cantelope and chicken nuggets for dinner plus made a new best friend: the DJ! The man was nice and held Philip up to look at and play with all the buttons and knobs on his sound system. He even held the microphone to Philip's mouth so he could sing during one of the songs. The DJ was great overall as he conducted the bridal party in a scavenger hunt among the guests, had the groomsmen perform a rockettes kicking line, and played funny song snippits (i.e. "Did I Shave My Legs for This?" just as Paul was reaching for Kellie's garder). We sent them off under a shower of birdseed (memories, Lori?) and watched them drive off in Paul's big blue and white pick-up truck! They headed down to Charleston for a few days and today were to drive on to Orlando to visit Disney World.



The couple dances their first dance to "At Last" by Etta James.



Paul dances with his mom, Elise, to "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago.

Mollie and Michael look on, happy to have the memories of being the bride and groom but I think content to not have the spotlight this time.



Kellie and Paul beside the cake.


Steve, Tracy, me and Matthew. Let's make sure it's not a year before we see each other again, ok? :)




Philip and I with Vassar.




Philip and I with Mathis.


Philip had a mini-internship as the soundman's apprentice. Anyone who lets Philip play with technical equipment is an instant friend!




Everybody, get down!!


Back at the hotel that night, I had gotten Philip's bath water drawn as we were going to give him a bath, put him to bed (Ruth Ann didn't mind staying in the hotel) and Matthew and I were going out to the pool with everyone else. Guess Philip wanted to swim too as he flipped into the bathtub. He has started trying to reach the water at home before I put him in. He tried to do it there, but with the tubside being lower, when he leaned in, he flipped in!! I was terrified to turn around (thank the Lord I was standing right there) and see my baby floating head first upside down in the tub. He was in for less than a second, but still made my heart skip a beat!!

So Long for Now, Skinner Family!

My dear friend and Minister of Music Bryan felt God's call on his life to move on from our church. This past weekend, he and his family drove to New Orleans, LA to begin a new chapter in their lives. They have been a very special family to us. I worked with Bryan for two years while I was church secretary, Matthew and I attended two youth choir tour trips with him, Ruth Ann has been close friends with his wife Angi who was also Philip's Sunday School teacher. Their three children, Heather (14), Jonathan (11), and Anna Grace (4) are great kids. Heather was in my room on our recent beach trip. We love them a lot and might just have to take Bryan up on his offer to for us to come visit New Orleans one day.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure and fun of keeping their youngest, Anna Grace, for the day as the movers were coming to clear out their house. Philip was so excited when she arrived. Anna Grace seemed to be glad too until Philip started trying to climb on her. She's used to being the smallest and wasn't sure about all that. We went "swimming" in our neighbor Jessie's pool to get out of the house. Soon it was me, Jessie, and Roz (another neighbor friend) and five little ones trying to share a little pool. Reminded me why God has not called me into the daycare business!



Filling up the pool!



Getting cool.



Enjoying the water with Amaria, Roz's granddaughter.

A "Hollywild" Birthday Party

My long-term blog readers might remember Philip's first trip to Hollywild Animal Park when he was 8 months old. Well, he got to return last weekend and had much more fun this time!! He actually knows which animals are which and even some of their sounds. This is such a cute age. Our friend Anna who lives across the street invited Philip to her 4th birthday party which was at Hollywild. Jaina (also 4) who lives next door to Anna was invited too. Unfortunately Jaina's parents were unable to go but we happily volunteered to take her with Philip. They agreed and for several hours, Matthew and I were suddenly the parents of two children. We had a great day together. Jaina had Philip laughing in the back seat almost the entire ride to Hollywild. It was neat having a fully communicative child for a change. I do look forward to future days of real conversations with Philip, but once they start, they don't stop (or so I've been told!).


The birthday girl Anna gets ready to blow out her candles while Jaina looks on.


Philip waits for a bite of birthday cake. Such a great way to do a party as the park provided the cake, ice cream and decorations!


Philip and Jaina enjoy the safari bus ride. We had old bread with which to feed the animals.


The deer are fearless when it comes to the buses. They just know buses mean food!!


Philip feeds a baby goat. Funny... just six months ago he was drinking from a bottle!


We had the added bonus of seeing the only albino buffalo in America. It looks like a calf now, but one day will be a really different looking buffalo.

Our 4th of July

Yesterday was a great day. Matthew was off from work which is always a fun treat in the middle of the week. We began the day by going to our friend Kim's house to join her for a swim. Philip "swam" several times there last summer, but I wasn't sure how he'd do this time. Never fear, Daddy's here! Matthew had Philip quickly reacquainted with the water and both were having a great time. It was a little scarier dunking him under water. Last summer, he was so little we really could just bob him down and up. He would come up and just smack his lips and open his eyes wide. Now that he weighs a good bit more, you have to really push him down (sounds cruel, but he's not afraid!). Here are some photos.















After coming home and all of us taking long afternoon naps, we headed to our friend Kristie's house. She lives across the street from her parents whose lot backs up to a big, beautiful lake!! This was the third (at least) year we've spent the 4th at Kristie's lake party. We got there at 4:15pm and just enjoyed fellowshiping with our friends and watching the kids play. It's fun thinking last year Philip was one of the "babies", but now he can be included in the "kids". We walked down to the lake. It was cute but nerve-wracking watching Philip walk around on the dock. He wanted to climb up into the pontoon boat tied to it because he saw its steering wheel. What he didn't see was the foot of water separating the dock and boat. If we weren't there, he most certainly would have run right off the side. The perils of toddlerhood. Around 7:00pm, we ate hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and dip. By 9:00pm, it was fireworks time. We love going to Kristie's because not only do we see the fireworks our friends are sending up from her parents' dock, but we can see all the other fireworks people around the lake are shooting off too. Last year, 5-month-old Philip managed to sleep straight through them all. I knew that wouldn't happen this year. He did stay awake and loved it. Not three minutes down the road driving home, his little head was slumped over and he was sawwing logs.