Stay Off The Roads--Judah's Driving!

Judah's Poppy and Grandma bought him a remote control race car back when we lived in Reno. At the time, Judah was a bit too young to play with it. He's old enough now and he's having a blast! He's not the best driver, however, so you'd be wise to stay off the roads while Judah's driving!

SNOW!

Winter has officially arrived here in Iowa, despite what the calendar says. We got blasted with our first snow storm last week and ended up with about 8 inches of snow. Judah's been having a great time in it though. He and Steve went sledding on our neighbor's hill (on the other side of our backyard fence) and on our little hill in the backyard. Judah also loves to bundle up and play with his diggers and dump trucks in the backyard and on the deck. He scoops up snow with the diggers and fills up his dump trucks with it. He comes in all rosey-cheeked, wet and cold--ready for a nice cup of hot chocolate, with marshmallows, of course. Cassidy loves the snow, too, and had a great time "sledding" with Steve and Judah.

A Bit Excessive

Typically, Judah is only allowed to sleep with one or two of his fave toys. On this day, for some reason, he managed to persuade either Steve or I to let him sleep with all of his cars (his "friends") for nap time. A bit excessive to say the least! Notice, though, how he has all of them neatly lined up. I'm sorry, Judah, for passing my "everything has to be 'just so'" gene on to you!

Tree Cutting & Decorating Fun!

We are so excited to celebrate our first Christmas in our new house. Although we can't quite top the adventure we had two years ago hiking into the Natl. Forest in Northern California to find and cut the perfect tree, we did find the next best thing here in Iowa. Last Friday we hopped in the Jeep and took a short drive to a cute little tree farm in LeClaire, IA named Trees and Traditions. Their barn is set up to look like a cabin on the inside, complete with woodburning fireplace and an antique sleigh. They also have an antique tractor, which Judah loved "driving." We found the most beautiful tree we've ever had and the price was really great, considering all of the amazing customer service they provided. We would highly recommend this place to anyone in the Quad Cities area.

After finding the perfect tree, we headed to downtown LeClaire, which is an adorable little strip of shops along the Mississippi River. We stopped for a coffee and snack at a cute little coffee shop named Lydia's and had a really great visit with the owner, Ken Bailey. A nice Christian man doing a little soul searching for the direction God wants to take him next. We left feeling refreshed and encouraged knowing that our new friend, Ken, is in God's perfect hands. We'll be praying for you, Ken!

That evening, we put on some classic Christmas tunes, cooked up a junk food feast (pizza rolls, onion rings, chips & guac, chicken wings and shrimp w/cocktail sauce). We sang along while eating and decorating the tree. What a fun tradition! However, I must add that we decided that adding some healthy food to the mix would probably be a good idea in the future...we all had stomachaches!

Thanks, God, for a perfect day spent as a family enjoying your beautiful creation, encouraging our brother in Christ, feasting on your generous provision and preparing to celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus. It just doesn't get any better than that!

It Smells Like...

The other day Steve, Judah and I were getting into the Jeep to run some errands. Steve and Judah had been working in the backyard (where Cassidy "does her business") earlier that morning so the first part of what came out of Judah's mouth as we got settled in the Jeep didn't surprise me.

Judah: It smells like poop.
Steve: WHAT does it smell like???
Judah: Poop. Little teeeeeeny tiny chickmunk (i.e. chipmunk) poop!

Needless to say, we both busted out laughing. Where in the world does he come up with these things???

The Treehouse

Since we moved into our new house in July, we've been working on making the backyard a place where Judah and his friends can safely play. First was the fence--a necessity when you have a dog and an active young boy. Then came the walking path to keep the dirt and mud to a mininum. The latest project has been the foundation for a treehouse. Since our yard has such a big slope in it, we figured the best way to use that space would be to level it via a raised play area. Steve (with Judah's "help") has been working very hard on it over the last several weeks and Phase 1 is now complete. The actual treehouse will be completed in the spring. In the meantime, Judah can enjoy playing on the platform, climbing wall, etc. We'll keep you posted as Phase 2 begins in the Spring. BTW, there will be side railings installed so nobody takes a nosedive off the side.

Cowboy Up!

Judah dressed as a cowboy for his preschool Fall party and for the Block Party Heritage Church had to wrap up its 1st Annual Pumpkin Patch. He was quite the cool dude! He's standing with his friend, Olivia, who was a cowgirl and also with his twin cousins, Will & Maddie, in the last two photos.

More Judah-isms

The other day Judah kept coming up with some hilarious one-liners. He had me cracking up all day. Here are the top three.

#1
We walked into a coffee shop to get a snack for Judah while Steve was next door at the bike store. After getting a chocolate chip cookie, Judah went over to sit on a couch to eat. As he and I sat across from each other on opposite couches, he said to me (very matter-of-factly), "So, what do you have planned for tonight?"

#2
Judah and I were just about to go out to the Jeep. We were heading to the end-of-season party for Team Tri-Fit (Steve's triathlon team). Judah looks at me and says, "We'd better head out. We don't want to hit traffic."

#3
As we drove home from the Team Tri-Fit party, Judah says to me from the back seat..."Mom, let's talk about how much we love each other. I'll go first." "Mom, I love you all the way to the moon and back." (This line is from one of our all time favorite books, GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU.)

I love my little guy so much!

Who Is Turkey???

For the first couple of months of preschool, Judah would occasionally come home and tell me that they went and saw "turkey" that day. I would try to ask him what/who he meant but I could never get a straight answer. Finally, one day Judah said they had gone to see "turkey" again and when I looked in his bring-home folder, I finally had my answer. Inside his folder was an invitation to Friendship Day (see previous post) at the church. It was signed by Pastor Gerke. :)

As a side note, when I shook the pastor's hand at Friendship Sunday, I ALMOST called him Pastor Turkey! Oops!

A Star Is Born!

The church that Judah's preschool is affiliated with had Friendship Sunday a few weeks ago and Judah's class was invited to sing a few songs for the congregation. Out of the 12 kids in the class, only 3 showed up. Add to that the fact that those three all had stage fright and you get a pretty amusing show. Judah had some nice dance moves for all three songs. As soon as the music would start, he'd start dancing. When the music shut off, he stopped. Pretty funny.

Fun With Chalk

Judah and I enjoyed a beautiful afternoon making some sidewalk chalk art one day last week. Nothing that will be auctioned off at Sotheby's for millions but fun stuff, nonetheless. Unlike in Reno where rain is a rarity, here in the Midwest, sidewalk chalk art doesn't last long. We got rain the next day and it all washed away. I guess beauty really is fleeting, as it says in Proverbs 31. It's also in the eye of the chalk-holder. Ha Ha

Supersize Me!

Judah loves pancakes. Especially when they have M&M's or chocolate chips in them--who wouldn't?! The other day, Judah requested pancakes for breakfast and he wanted one as big as the skillet. So Steve not only made a huge pancake for Judah but he also put it on a huge plate (platter), gave him a huge (serving) fork and a huge mug full of hot chocolate. Now that's the kind of service you just don't get at the drive-through!

Another "Boofy" Day

Today was a rainy, overcast, gloomy day. As Judah and I were driving home from playing in the play area at the mall, I heard Judah say from the back seat, "Thank you God for another boofy (beautiful) day." I giggled outloud and told Judah that he was cute.

Judah: Why did you say that, Mommy?
Teri: Because most people would not say that today is a beautiful day since it is rainy and the sun isn't shining.
Judah: But Mommy, the sun is shining. It's just behind the clouds.

What a great lesson Judah shared with me today. Even though things aren't always perfect and the way I want them to be, the SON is always shining behind the scenes. Thanks, Judah, for letting God use you to teach me a valuable lesson today. I needed that.

A Visit From Honolulu

I wish I could say that we had the privilege of traveling to Honolulu to see Steve's sister, Karla, and her family but, unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Maybe someday. However, Karla, her husband Don, and their beautiful kids Lily and Jack came to Steve's parents' in Indiana and we were blessed enough to spend a few days with them. Lily is 3 and Jack is 1 and Judah had a great time playing with both of them. Karla and Don look great, too, and it had been waaaaaay too long since we had last seen them. Hopefully, it won't be so long between visits next time.

Judah, Jack and Lily snuggling up in the wagon.

Karla and Jack, Mary Lou (Steve's Mom), Mary Lou's sister Ruth & Judah

Don and Lily

Judah holding a watermelon he helped Grandma and Poppy plant this Spring.

A Quick Stop In The Windy City

We decided to spend half a day in Chicago--my (Teri's) old stompin' grounds--on our way over to visit Steve's family in northern indiana earlier this month. In the several years that I lived in and around Chicago, I never once visited Shedd Aquarium so now that Judah was old enough to enjoy it, we decided to check it out. A bonus was that the day we chose to go was FREE ADMISSION day!! Woo Hoo Thank you, God! We had a fun couple of hours at the aquarium and then headed to E. 57th St. for lunch at The Medici on 57th. The Medici is a restaurant that I used to work for when I lived in Chicago and the location of this particular Medici is where my apartment used to be. I lived in the upstairs while they gutted the downstairs to move the restaurant in. So the Medici has a special place in my heart and their food is delish, too. It is located in the heart of the University of Chicago campus--a little oasis surrounded by sketchville. At the Medici they encourage you to leave your mark anywhere you can find a spot. The photos show me and Judah doing just that. What a FUN day we had!

Maquoketa Caves

I'm a little behind in posting (so what's new?), sorry. In September, we took a short roadtrip to Maquoketa Caves, which is just up the road in Maquoketa, Iowa. We were pleasantly surprised at the caves and rock formations that this little Iowa State Park has to offer. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit to this little park that's situated smack dab in the middle of Iowa farmland. By the way, Judah was FEARLESS and led the way--with his trusty flashlight--through the darkest of caves and walkways. He'd say, "Come on Mom and Dad, follow me!"

Group Hug!

The other day, Steve and I were having what I would call a "lively" discussion. Judah came in the room and put his finger to his lips and started saying, "shhhh" every time one of us would try to say something. I assured Judah that Mommy and Daddy were NOT arguing and that everything was just fine. Immediately afterward, Judah said, "I have an idea, GROUP HUG!" We both cracked up and, yes, we did have a group hug. :)

Judah Starts Preschool!

Judah began attending Noah's Ark Christian Preschool this fall and he loves it. He has two special friends there named Madison and Mackenzie. He calls them "My two girls." The school is just a 10 minute walk from our house so we have fun exploring on our way to and from school when the weather permits. Sometimes Cassidy even comes with us!

One of Our Favorite Things To Do

One of our favorite things to do on Saturday mornings is go to the Farmer's Market in Downtown Davenport, Iowa. We often ride our bikes there, which takes us along the bike path on the Mississippi River. Beautiful! Below are some pictures from a couple of our visits to the Farmer's Market. The first two photos are on a glass walkway that crosses River Drive and looks out over the river. Judah loves to play on the playground at the Market as you can see. There is often a guy there who makes balloon "thingies" for the kids. Judah is sporting a "Britney Spears" mic and two sword-like shapes. I think one of them is actually supposed to be either a flower or a wand of some sort. I think he found those two on the ground. We don't let anything go to waste in the Meek family! :) Lastly, I wanted to share a short video of Judah enjoying some live music at the Market. The trio are playing Django Reinhardt, who is one of my favorites! Judah just plopped down in front of them--right in an area that people walk--and sat there listening quietly for a good 10 minutes. The funny thing is that, once Judah sat down and listened, lots of other people stopped what they were doing and stood there (and some even sat!) listening too. Judah's our little trend setter.