A Few Random Pictures that Illustrate Our Week

It has been a rough few days around the Collins household. Austin, my MIL Becky who was visiting, and myself all got sick with a stomach bug Saturday night. Austin and I have gotten a little better every day and thankfully Becky felt better on Monday when she had to fly home but then Zach got sick in the middle of Monday night. He stayed home yesterday but was able to go back to work today. I am feeling mostly better and spent today trying to bring some semblance of order back to my home, although I am now exhausted from the effort.

Austin has been in a remarkably good mood the past few days, despite his illness. He enjoyed his time with Gran a lot.

I made these cookies Saturday night. They are delicious. I haven't eaten a single one since then! If that's not proof that I'm not feeling well, I don't know what is.

This is what happens to your laundry when your whole family gets sick. No joke, I bet I have changed Austin's clothes a dozen times in the last two days. I think I did about half of these loads today. More laundry fun tomorrow!

This is for all you SoCal folks who keep taunting me with your "I'm really enjoying the 80 degree weather" Facebook status updates. (I love you all!) Do YOU have icicles like that? Didn't think so. Anyway, as you can see, we've had a wee bit of snow around here. Too bad I didn't aim the camera a bit more to the left...you'd see the thermometer on our back porch reading about 10 degrees when I stepped outside to take the picture.

Thoughts from Joshua

Search the Scriptures is taking me through Joshua right now. This morning I read chapter 7, which tells how Israel was defeated at Ai because a man called Achan had, against God's instructions, taken plunder from Jericho. One man's sin affected the entire nation. Because of his actions, Achan and his household were stoned to death and their bodies burned.

Now this is one of those Old Testament stories that often makes me think, "wow, pretty harsh punishment for a few little mistakes." But the study questions asked me to read these two passages

But he was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

The combination of all these passages of Scripture really brought home the meaning of Romans 6:23--"For the wages of sin is death." Someone always dies for sin. Our holy God can't overlook sin. Achan died for his own sin. But we don't have to because Christ died instead. Wow.

Zach pointed out that people often accuse God of being inconsistent, a harsh punisher in the Old Testament and a God of love in the New Testament. But instead these passages show that God's standards have not changed: sin deserves death. And just like Achan, there are many today who will die for their own sin because they would not come to God on His terms.

Using Time Wisely

Zach went back to school today, so I am trying to get back to our regular routine around here. I have let household work slide a bit while he was off, and of course it was nice to have another parent around to share in playing with Austin, changing diapers, feeding him, etc. But now it's back to full-time mommy responsibility.


Ironically, this transition is coming on the heels of two things that tempt me to waste significant amounts of time: I joined Facebook about a week ago and we bought a Wii on Friday. So to help ensure that I use at least part of my time wisely, I joined the 5 AM club today as advocated by the Girltalkers. The idea is that you get up early so you first have time to spend with God and second have time to serve your husband and children. 5:15 is actually the rising time I settled on that would work for our family.

So how did it go? Pretty well, I'd say. I don't really have trouble getting up early as long as I go to bed at a reasonable hour (meaning resisting the temptation to play Wii until 11 PM). I got up at 5:15, started making coffee, made Zach's lunch while the coffee was brewing...and then I heard Austin's little voice at 5:30. He has been waking up early most mornings and I think the blame is squarely on me and Zach. During Zach's vacation I started feeding Austin if he woke up early and putting him back to bed (or letting him doze in our bed) so we could all get more sleep. Now I am trying to break Austin of that and get him to sleep until at least 6:30. But this morning he cried on and off until 6:20 (10 minutes before I was going to rescue him from his misery), at which time he fell asleep until 7:30! So although my quiet time was not so quiet, I was able to have it and also shower, eat breakfast, and get a few little things done before Austin woke up. Hopefully Austin will get the idea and sleep a little longer as the week goes on, but not bad for a start.

Latest videos and pictures

Austin loves to be pushed around on his bulldozer. He will actually push off with his feet if given the chance, but his balance isn't good enough to ride around on his own.

Austin has gotten quite vocal of late. "Ba-ba-ba" is definitely his favorite word, but he occasionally makes some "pa," "ma," or "da" sounds. He is also very helpful with the laundry.

Our happy little guy...

For all the P and P fans out there

I know a decent chunk of my readership are fans of Pride and Prejudice; a decent chunk are also members of Facebook. And since I joined Facebook only yesterday, it seems a most wonderful coincidence that I found this link today, and I just can't resist sharing. So here you go: Pride and Prejudice, the Facebook news feed version. It had me laughing out loud.

New Year, and Reflections on the Old

Wow, is 2008 over already? It seems like such a short time since I was welcoming 2008 and marveling that it was finally the year in which I would become a parent. To say that life changed this year would be an understatement. I understand now how caring for a newborn can take every minute of your day, even though on the surface feeding, diapering, and napping doesn't sound like so much. I understand now that "sleeping through the night" is a relative term. I understand now that burp cloths are a girl's best friend...and cheap shirts that can afford to get spit up on. I understand how selfish I really am, but how God gives grace to overcome that. I understand the joy of seeing your child smile for the first time. I am starting to understand the awesomeness of the responsibility of introducing Austin to God.


Here at the end of Austin's first calendar year, I want to say a special thank you to all my mommy friends, especially all you girls out west that I haven't seen in so long. The phone calls, emails, and blog comments encouraged me so much and have helped me through some really tough times. I am so blessed by your friendship and wisdom.


I thought it would be fun to do a little photo retrospective to see just how much Austin has changed in the 267 days since he joined our family. Amazing, is all I can say after looking at these pics myself.