Merry CHRISTmas!

The year 2008 has been a year of change for the Meek's. As most of you know, in 2007 and 2008 we helped get Coram Deo church up and running in Reno, NV. Things were (and still are!) going great with Coram Deo and we LOVED being part of it and being in Reno but, by spring 2008, we began to feel God calling us away from Reno. Our giftings had been put to good use laying the foundational structure for the church to grow and we felt God telling us our time there was done. So, as of July, we began packing and preparing to leave Reno. As is always the case, when God closes one door, He opens another. We felt the door He was opening was Teri's hometown area of the Quad Cities in Iowa/Illinois. We made the long drive cross-country to Teri's parents' in Rock Island, IL and have been staying with our gracious hosts since early August. Steve began applying for LOTS of different jobs within the non-profit, higher education and secular realms but has not been contacted to set up even ONE interview! This is said not as a negative reflection of Steve because he has a pretty impressive resume but we just feel that God has been telling us that He has a bigger plan and we need to just trust in Him. We are waiting and trusting that the reason God brought us here to the QC's (aside from being closer to family) will be revealed to us in His perfect timing.

In the meantime, we have been attending Heritage Church's new Bettendorf, IA campus and have begun to really connect there. Steve has been volunteering 20-30 hours a week there as the Children's Ministry HUB (check-in/out, security, etc.) Coordinator while he waits on the job God is preparing for him. He is also working 20 hours a week as a lifeguard at a local fitness center.

Teri has been attending a women's study on Holiness at our church, working out at the fitness center where Steve works, spending time with family, volunteering in the Children's Ministry and, most importantly, being a stay-at-home mom for Judah.

Speaking of Judah, he will be 3 in just a couple of weeks! He is a very active, funny, smart, compassionate and caring little boy. He still loves his cars and has also grown to love trains, stickers, reading, playing with his cousins and helping daddy cook breakfast. He loves going to play with other kids at church and at the gym while mommy works out. He is our pride and joy and constantly makes us laugh. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to raise this precious gift from God.

Well, that about covers it for the Meek's and 2008. No matter what plans God has in store for us in 2009, we know that He loves and cares for us more than we could ever imagine. He cares so much for us that He brought you into our lives at some point in our journey and, for that, we are forever grateful. Don't ever doubt that God loves you infinitely more than you could ever imagine too. After all, He sent His Son to earth as a helpless child in order to bring you eternal peace and happiness in His presence. Today is the day to accept His gift of love and peace through His Son Jesus. After all, that's what CHRISTmas is all about.

Sharing God's Blessings...

This year for Christmas, we decided (both sides of our family) to take some of the money we would normally spend on giving each other gifts and send "gifts" to other families around the world that have greater needs than we do. Even though Steve has been out of full-time work for several months now, we really have lacked for nothing. God is so good to us and we wanted to share some of His blessings. There are so many worthy charitable organizations out there to choose from but we chose Samaritan's Purse. They do tremendous amounts of work around the globe to meet people's basic needs and share the love of Jesus with those who may or may not already know Him. By pooling our money, we were able to purchase a brood of 24 chicks to bring a family food and a source of income, a dairy animal (most likely a goat) to give a family milk/cheese and a source of income and also a water filtration system for a family/community that wouldn't otherwise have safe drinking water. These are all things that we, personally, take for granted each and every day. Giving such small amounts of money to help sustain the health of a family or community is truly humbling and makes me realize how blessed I really am. Thank you, God, for your faithful provision! Merry CHRISTmas!

Thanks Grandma & Poppy

We shot some video of Judah enjoying the musical Christmas card that Steve's parents sent him. Warning--you'll probably never want to listen to Frosty The Snowman ever again after hearing it in this video again and again and again. :)

Misc. Judah Stuff

Over Thanksgiving, my sisters and their families came to visit my parents to celebrate an early Christmas (unfortunately, my brother's family wasn't able to come!). Judah had lots of fun with his cousins, aunts and uncles. Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving time.

1. Judah and some of his cousins are using Uncle Matt for a horse with a little help from Grammy.

2. Judah and Mommy went to the Thanksgiving parade in Davenport, IA. It was COLD!

3-5. Judah went to Panera with Daddy, Grandad, Uncle Brad and Uncle Matt for a guy's breakfast. He had a REALLY BIG hot chocolate and behaved really well according to Daddy.

6. Mommy, Daddy & partially hidden Judah typically eat at Happy Joe's Pizza on Sunday nights before we go help out at church. Judah told us after the picture was taken that he had hidden behind Mommy. :)

Judah-isms

Judah has several things that he does regularly and I managed to snap a couple of pictures to share 2 of those Judah-isms with you. First of all, ever since Judah moved into his big boy bed, he has to have the 3 stuffed animals that he sleeps with in their proper places. Blackie and Pooh have to be in the top left corner and Hunny Bunny snuggles with Judah--typically on the right side of the pillow. Aside from each of them having their proper place, they all have to be laying FACE DOWN. They ARE sleeping after all! :)

Another thing that Judah has been doing since we've been staying at my parents' house is to load up one of the doll strollers with cars and push it around. My mom dubbed it "the boy stroller" since it is usually filled to overflowing with cars. Here is a picture of Judah with his boy stroller and a "trumpet" he fashioned out of a paper towel tube.

So long, Bob

I am sad to say that this week we said goodbye to our dear friend, "Bob." Bob has been there through the thick and thin and he's always managed to protect Judah from everything that came his way. Yes, Judah has decided that he is too big a boy now and that he no longer needs Bob's services... For those of you who have never had the privilege of meeting Bob, I'm sorry. He will be missed.

Okay, enough silliness. Bob is Judah's long-sleeved full-coverage bib. When Judah first got this set of bibs, he couldn't say the word, Bib. Instead he called it Bob, and the name stuck. Bob is still around but Judah doesn't feel he needs to use Bob any more and I would have to say I agree with him. Judah's eating skills have much improved and he really doesn't make much of a mess any more. He also has decided that he doesn't need his booster chair anymore so I guess our little boy is growing up.

Hey, Girl!

Last night I took Judah out to get a new winter coat (he never needed much more than a fleece pullover in Reno but the Midwest winter has officially hit and it's COLD!). After our purchase, I took him to Chik-Fil-A for a bite to eat and to play in the jungle gym area they have. After dinner, he ran into the play area and accidentally "grazed" into a little girl who was already playing in there. There was no harm done but I wanted to turn it into a teaching moment. So, as Judah ran back out to me, right after he bumped into the girl, I asked him if he told her sorry and asked if she was okay. He said, "It was an accident." I told him that I knew he didn't mean to run into her but that it's always nice to say you're sorry and to ask if the other person is alright. He said, "Okay." and then promptly ran into the play area to say he was sorry. Of course the little girl was oblivious to any of this and had started to climb back up the jungle gym. Judah was hot on her heels yelling, "Hey! Hey, girl! Sorry!" He made me proud and gave me (and the girl's parents) a good laugh as he chased after her to make things right.

Celebrating the Harvest

Instead of celebrating Halloween, we have chosen to teach Judah about celebrating God's provision by recognizing and celebrating the Harvest. So on Halloween night, we threw a Harvest Party at Mom and Dad's house for Judah and his cousins. Dad shared a teaching from the Bible on how the Israelites came together for various festivals to praise God for His provision and how, in the New Testament, Jesus talked about the role that we, as Believers, have in the Harvest. The kids all sat very quietly and attentively for the teaching, which is amazing considering that the oldest is 6! After the lesson, we decorated pumpkins and had some pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting, carmel apples and hot apple cider. I think a fun time was had by all, including the adults.

PHOTOS: Here are the kids decorating their pumpkins, Judah getting creative with a pom-pom and showing off his masterpiece, Uncle Matt and Will getting creative with pipecleaners, the kids proudly displaying their decorated pumpkins and Steve apprently paying homage to Burning Man??? (Reno, NV may have Burning Man but Rock Island, IL has Pipecleaner Man!)

Playing Catch-up

Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of new stuff on the blog lately. Where do I begin? Life has been busy but pretty low-key if that makes sense. Steve has been volunteering at our new church helping them get their Children's Ministry check-in "HUB" up and running. He's also lifeguarding at a local fitness center. We are still waiting to see what God has in store for us for full-time work for Steve. He is faithful and we know He will continue to provide. My Mom and Dad have and continue to be very gracious and generous hosts to us as we wait on God's plan to unfold. Thanks a million, Mom & Dad! Judah and I are doing well too. We go to the fitness center four days a week so mommy can workout and Judah plays with other kids in their childcare center. He loves going to the gym and always asks if we're going to the gym anytime we leave the house. Mommy loves getting to workout without having to feel rushed and guilty too. :) It's good for the body and soul! We also go to a women's Bible study once a week at church and Judah enjoys playing with the other kids there too. Well, I will try to give you some highlights of our last month via photos, videos and commentary...


GENERAL STUFF












Here are a couple pictures of Judah. One is with his cousin Will on a playground slide. The other is Judah driving a "fengine" at the local Family Museum. Thirdly, you'll get a chuckle out of the video of Steve pulling Judah around my parents' back yard in a little wagon. That's Cassidy's cable/leash that he has around his waist pulling the wagon.

PLAYING "DONALDS"
One of the things Judah and his cousins like to play is McDonald's drive-through. It can be played just about anywhere but the place it works best is out on the deck. The kids ride the bigwheels around the patio swing and stop on one side to place their order then drive around to the other side to pick up their order. This video shows Judah and his twin cousins Will and Maddie playing "Donalds" (as Judah calls it).

DISHING THE DIRT WITH GRAMMY
Judah loves helping his Grammy and Grandad with projects around the house and outside. If there's dirt involved, he's even more excited about helping! Here he's dishing the dirt with Grammy in her flower garden.

Sure, I'd Love To

One of Judah's latest things is to say, "I don't have to" when I ask him to do something. They DO grow out of these phases don't they?! The other day, I asked him to do something and he said, "No, I don't have to" to me. I told him that it wasn't nice for him to say that and what I'd really love to hear him say instead was, "Sure, I'd love to." Of course I was half joking when I said that to him but, deep down, every mom wants to hear that kind of cooperative response from their child. So, on Sunday we were walking across the parking lot to church and I was fumbling with my Bible and trying to put something away in my purse while holding Judah's hand. When we got to the sidewalk, I asked Judah if he could please hold my Bible for me so I could zip my purse. He responded with a very sincere, "Sure, I'd love to." He has said it several times since then and it warms my heart every time. Not bad for a 2-year old little guy!

Baking "Kookies" With Grammy

Judah and Grammy baked some Halloween "kookies" (as Judah says) the other day to take to my parents' next door neighbors. He always wants to help his daddy cook breakfast so we may have a budding chef on our hands. :)

The Pumpkin Farm

Last Saturday Steve, Judah and I headed out to a farm/pumpkin patch about 20 minutes from my parents' house. It's located in Alpha, IL which is where my mom's parents used to live. I have some wonderful memories from my early childhood there. Anyway, we went out to search for some pumpkins to decorate and to let Judah experience some things from the farm. It was a beautiful crisp fall day and we all had a blast. We fed some animals in the petting zoo, found our way into and out of a corn maze, jumped in a bounce house, picked out some pumpkins and other "fall" things including some apple cider and pumpkin butter--YUM! We also rode on the Cow Train, which is this crazy contraption that looks like 10 cows all linked together and pulled by a Gator that is then driven through the pumpkin patch and woods by some lunatic with a crazy yellow wig. What a bumpy and fun trip that was! Judah wasn't really sure what to think of it at first but Mommy and Daddy were having so much fun that he eventually started to like it too. We rounded out the fun day with a stop at a local winery for some lunch. I love Fall in the midwest!

Biopsy Update on our Furry Girl

Praise the Lord, the biopsy on Cassidy's tumor was...not cancerous. She is recovering well but has been sportin' the cone once again due to some scratching. It's been quite sad (albeit humorous) watching her scrape her cone on the walls, catch it on everything, get stuck in small spaces, etc. but it will help her heal faster so it's for the best. We figure she MUST be feeling better because she's starting to "counter surf" again looking for food. Ahhhh, labs, they live and die by their stomachs! Gotta love 'em! :) Thanks for your prayers and concern.

Update on Cassidy

Well Cassidy is home and recovering nicely from her "tumor" removal surgery. We won't have the biopsy results for several more days to know whether it is malignant or not but she is feeling much better. She really hasn't been bothering with her sutures so we're not making her wear her elizabethan collar but we did put it on her for a few hours after she got home to be sure she wouldn't tear the stitches out. She cried and whined so much that we took it off and have just kept an eye on her. Steve did manage to snap a couple of pictures of her though...for the ol' scrapbook. :)

A Little Excitement With Our Furry "Child"

Friday evening, as we put Judah down for the night, we noticed that our yellow lab, Cassidy, was panting a lot and her stomach looked really bloated. Over the next couple of hours I kept a close eye on her and began to worry that it was something a bit more serious than a little "gas problem." I got online to read about bloating in dogs and quickly found out that bloat in dogs is pretty much lethal unless caught early enough. Basically, the stomach twists and blocks the entry and exit of food, water, gas, etc. So, after making a call to the emergency animal hospital, we loaded Cassidy into the Jeep and headed across the Mississippi to the vet. After a quick exam and some x-rays the vet came out to tell us that Cassidy had what they call "food bloat." Thankfully, food bloat is not lethal, just really uncomfortable. The x-rays showed us that Cassidy's stomach was 4-5 times its normal size due to an enormous amount of food! I guess she must have been feeling like most of us feel after Thanksgiving dinner! :) The vet gave Cassidy some medication that caused her to "expel" the contents of her stomach so that she would at least be more comfortable. We left the vet scratching our heads and wondering how in the world she could have ingested so much food since we give her controlled portions. After returning home to my parents house, Steve remembered that Cassidy had accidentally gotten left in the garage for a few minutes...where her tub of food is located. Suddenly, we had our answer. She had somehow managed to pop the lid of her food tub open and ate and ate and ate...
She probably would have kept eating if the tub had not been nearly empty when she began. Thank God for small miracles! Cassidy is doing fine but is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning to remove a rapidly-growing growth on her face. I know she's "just a dog" but please pray that the growth would be benign and/or not have spread if it is malignant. Thanks for your prayers!

Giving God the Glory

As most of you know, we've been trying to get our Bloomington, IN house on the market for a couple of months now. However, as in most things in life, God's timing and plan was different than my own. Once our realtor got our house on the market (it is rented to IU students and we listed it as a residential investment property), it sold in less than a week! In this housing market, I truly believe that God's hand was involved in the quick sale of our house. The investor wanted a quick sale too so I'm sure we'll be closing on it in the next couple of weeks. God is so faithful!

Videos...As Promised

Okay, here are a couple of videos for you. The first was actually shot before we left Reno (notice the scraped up nose from his wipeout at Emerald Bay that I mentioned in a previous post). Judah has begun to take up singing a bit so I captured a little ditty on film for your viewing pleasure. The second video is of Steve, Judah and Judah's cousins riding big wheels around my parents' deck.

Judah and His Cousins

Here are a few pictures of Judah with some of his cousins during his first couple of weeks here in Illinois. He is having so much fun playing with them a couple of times each week. I've also included a photo of Judah and I on the train at the local zoo. Fun!

We're Baaaaaack!

Okay, so we're back to blogging after a month-long "bloggus interruptus". We hope that you'll forgive our time off. It's been a crazy month of packing, moving from Reno to Illinois and trying to get a bit settled at our temporary home in Rock Island...Teri's wonderful and gracious parents' house.

Anyway, to get you up to speed...

For the last month before we actually left Reno, we tried to do as much fun stuff as we could before we left the mountains. One awesome day was spent driving around Lake Tahoe and spending some time at Emerald Bay. We'd never hiked down to the bay before so we were glad we had the opportunity to do so before we left. It is absolutely gorgeous! I've attached a couple of pictures for you. Steve was even able to don his wetsuit and swim out to the island in the bay (shhhh, the sign says no swimming!). Judah did get a bit zealous in running down one particularly steep section of the paved trail down to the bay and managed to do a face plant that scraped his nose and face up pretty good. Other than that, we had a great time and we thank God for creating a place as beautiful and majestic as Lake Tahoe for us to enjoy.

After a month of packing, saying many sad goodbyes and wrapping things up in Reno, we loaded up our Jeep with Judah and our dog Cassidy and hit the road for our looooong trip home to Illinois (via Oregon--a place we've both always wanted to see). The California and Oregon coastline is truly a sight to behold. We were in awe of our amazing Creator as we looked at the vastness of it all.

Our friend, Laura McCoid (a fellow midwesterner!), was our gracious host during our stay in Eugene, Oregon. We had so much fun hanging out with her again after not having seen her for more than 3 years. Steve was so excited to be able to get out on the U of O Track and Field running track. I've included a picture of Steve and Judah on the track and them in front of a picture of the legendary track star Steve Prefontaine. We wandered the U of O campus and ate at Tracktown Pizza, a local fave. On our drive home from pizza, Laura and I got to laughing and carrying on so Judah piped up from the backseat and told us to "Calm down!" Of course that made us laugh even harder so Judah then had to tell us, "That's 'nough!" He had us laughing so hard that I could hardly see the road through the tears in my eyes and I think I heard a snort or two from Laura. Good times! Cassidy also got to wrestle and chase squirrels with her old friend, Horton, so she had a great time in Eugene too. Thanks Laura and Horton!

Our trip home was long, fun (for the most part) and, thankfully, uneventful. We camped a couple of times along the way, stopped for ice cream occasionally and tried to take in every detail of our beautiful country. Judah and Cassidy were real troopers and are two of the best travelers we could ask for. Below are a few miscellaneous photos from our trip. Note: Don't be alarmed, Judah's arms didn't get stretched out. :) He was wearing daddy's shirt since all of his warm clothes got wet on the beach and he needed to stay warm while we camped. The shirt sleeves kept coming unrolled and he just looked adorable with those super long sleeves dragging the ground.

I'll post more soon, including some video but wanted to (FINALLY) get an update on our trip and some pictures up for everyone to check out. Sorry for the long hiatus!

A Big Day

Today is a big day for us. It was our last day serving at our church, Coram Deo. For the last year and a half Steve has served as the Families Pastor and I have been the Communications Coordinator. It has been an amazing experience for both of us and we love our church family so much that it will leave a huge hole in our hearts when we finally pull out of Reno for good this week. These past three years in Reno have been an adventure of a lifetime for us. First at Outlook Christian Church then at Coram Deo. We hope that God has been able to use us in some small way to be a blessing to others and bring people closer to Him. In just a few short days Steve, Judah and I will pack all of our earthly belongings into a moving truck and drive away from here. We will take a part of Reno and all the people we've met with us. Thank you, God, for giving us such an amazing opportunity to serve You and the people of Reno. We are blessed!

Today is also my 40th birthday. I can hardly believe that both Steve and I are 40, which is an age that used to seem sooooooo OLD to me just a few short years ago. I don't feel old though. I feel like I am just beginning to hit my stride and I'm excited about the future. We're having the time of our lives, regardless of what age we are. I know God has lots of adventures still planned for us and I, for one, am ready for what lies ahead.

Feelin' Good

Judah's language skills are getting better all of the time. Of course his word usage isn't always quite right but he keeps us laughing with some of the funny things he says. One of his latest phrases makes me smile every time he says it. An example of how he uses this phrase is below but he uses it in several other ways too.

Mommy: "Judah, are you hungry?"
Judah: "No thank you, me feel good."

He also uses this phrase in the negative to say that he doesn't feel good.

Judah: "No me tummy feel good."

A Shameless Plug...

Tomorrow, Saturday July 19th from 7am-11am we are having a yard sale at our house with several other families. It will be huge! We're trying to downsize as much as we can before our big cross-country move so, if you're in the market for some furniture, home improvement items, kids stuff, clothes, lawn mower, dog house, grill, etc. please stop by our house tomorrow morning and check out what we've got. 1615 Cattlemen Ct. Reno

A Chip Off The Old Block

Today Judah told Steve that he wanted to go to the coffee shop. That's our boy! We couldn't be more proud! :)

Saying Goodbye

Our 3 years in Reno have been AMAZING! (as Judah would say) A big reason why is because God has placed such great friends in our lives. Many people stand out in our minds but we've had so much fun with three couples in particular (we've been friends for nearly the entire 3 years). We are very sad to say goodbye to our "South Gang" friends. They've watched Judah grow from a baby to a walkin', talkin', animated little boy and we've had some really great times with them. We'll miss getting to watch their new babies grow (Mikaela and Hanna are both expecting!). We had one last get together with the gang a couple weeks ago and we took a group photo to remember everyone by. We'll miss each of you so much! Thanks for the wonderful memories. LtoR: Steve, Teri, Heath, Mikaela, Judah, Dillon, Hanna, Michael, Christa

Lake Pyramid

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. The big move from Reno to Illinois happens in just over 3 weeks and my days seem to be filled with packing and move preparation. Hope you enjoy the video of our day at Lake Pyramid (a big lake in the middle of nowhere where you can see pelicans and dry, arrid mountains all around you--all on a Paiute Indian Reservation just north of Reno).

Hazy Skies Over Reno

They say there are 800+ wildfires burning in different parts of Northern California right now. Yesterday we began to smell the smoke and see the smoky haze in Reno. Today it's even worse. In fact, you can't even see more than a faint outline of most of the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the west side of Reno the smoke is so bad. They're encouraging people to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid breathing the smoky air and it probably won't get any better until Thursday or later. Please pray for rain in the areas affected by the fires, for the firefighters and for the people and animals directly affected by the fires and thick smoke in California. It looks to be another record-breaking year of fires in CA/NV. (photo is of smoke from a fire near Watsonville, CA about 90 miles south of San Francisco)

Judah's Latest Adventures

Judah has had a full month of "firsts". He's gone to his daddy's first Triathlon where he jumped in a bounce house and went camping for the first time. He's gone to the movie theater for his first theater experience (he did great!) and watched Kung Fu Panda. He's seen emus up close and personal. He's gone to his first swim lessons. He's also tried on his dad's shirt all by himself and gone to see a professional criterium bike race in Truckee, CA. He's been a very busy little man.