Hodge Podge

It's been a long time since I've posted so here's a bit of a hodge podge about what I've been doing, what I'm learning, etc.

First of all, we're still loving being here in Columbus, although I'm looking forward to spring when more people are out and about and we can go on walks together. The fabulous thing about where we live is that we're close to so much we can walk in the winter too because it's just two blocks to the cafe, a block to the dentist, three blocks to Donato's Pizza ( a great benefit!), and so on.

The church plant...hmmm, well church planting is an adventure. It's one thing to read about it being one and another to experience it first hand. But let me be clear, we do not regret our decision to church plant and we are here for the long haul (Lord-willing of course!) One of the things we've been discouraged by is how resistant some believers are toward church planting. It's partially not their fault. It's something they've never done, they don't know much about it, and so it's scary to them. That makes sense. But ignorance is not bliss! Read up, my friends, and see how the Lord is using church planting across the world in AMAZING ways! Anyway, Nick and I wrote a blog in response to the negative feelings many have toward church planting, and it's posted on our church's website if you want to check it out.

One of the hard things about living in a low-kid population area is that poor Viola currently has few playmates. It's really sad. We find ourselves taking her to the play place at the mall just to interact with some other kiddos. This is also an area we need prayer in, for both us and Viola, that we would meet some more families with kids somehow. So far my attempts to find a playgroup nearby have failed, so that has been discouraging. But alas, the Lord is good and I know He'll provide in this area in His perfect timing.

Speaking of sweet Viola, she's just amazing. Despite having few playmates now, when she is around other kids, she plays really well and is really sweet, patient and aware of those around her. She does amazing things every day. We discovered the other day she can count to 5, and this is something we haven't directly been trying to teach her. She's also solidifying her recognition of colors, and she about has red, blue, yellow, and green down pat, thanks to Playdoh. Another way she's surprised us is that she's catching on to potty training and has used the potty about ten times or so. How cool is that?! She's great, not just because she's a genius (sorry I'm in beaming, bragging mama mode!) but she's also so playful,ornery, and affectionate too. One of her favorite things to do now is "feed" her little sister (who's in utero) crackers and give her water and milk to drink by holding these things up to my ever-bulging tum.

One of the awesome things Viola's also doing now is she's taking super-long naps which means I get to be more productive than normal, which is why I got to write this blog. So there's my hodge podge. I think next time I'll be writing about prayer because the Lord's been teaching Nick and I a lot about it through planting the church.