Griffin at 2 & 1/2

My baby boy is over 2 & 1/2 years old now. Wow how time flies! Overall, we have loved this stage with Griffin. He is a wonderful talker and says the funniest things. Until this week, fits were pretty rare and he was a pretty obedient child. This past week has been a bit rough ;-) ha! But he is a toddler and it is to be expected. Here are the things I want to remember about this age:

- Griffin and Daddy have cute little fights over calling me their "babe". Mr.Pate calls me babe, so Griffin will say, "no she's my babe" or "I'm kissing you're babe daddy". Too cute.
- When he is telling a story Griffin repeatedly says "and so"... It's funny.
- I say seriously quite a bit in a day. So Griffin says it too, only he leaves off the "ly" and he just ends up saying "serious". Ha!
- A few weeks ago, Griffin declared that one of our youth was his girlfriend. I told him he cannot have a girlfriend until he is 20. So he will now tell everyone "no girlfriends till I twenty". Too cute!
- Each night when we pray Griffin prays and thanks God for tickling and tackling! Ha.
- He loves loves loves to dance.
- Favorite shows: Sesame Street, bear stein bears, movies, big red on you tube
- Favorite movies: Madagascar 2, toy story 3, wreck it Ralph, open season 2
- He is a candy monster. He loves loves loves candy and will even call himself a candy monster. (We are not really one of those withhold the sugar families, ha.)
- Loves to "write". Give him a pen and paper and he is happy as a lark.
- He still doesn't say most "sp" and "sc" sounds. So it's still a pot instead of spot and choolbus instead of school bus. Still cracks me up.
- We started playing games with him and he is pretty good! We play hi ho cherry-o, candy land, go fish, hungry hungry hippo, and Jenga. We are a game loving family so this makes me soo happy. I don't want to wish the time away by any means, but I do look forward to when our family is old enough to have Friday night family game nights.
- He loves to help us cook or bake. And he does really well as a helper too.
- He still doesn't sleep great. We go through a month of great sleep then a month of horrid sleep and repeat. Someday.










































































































































- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

But He gives more grace (the ramblings of a forgiven sinner)

Lately The Lord has been reminding me about who I've been and yet what He has still allowed me to do. I daily get the privilege to invest in amazing youth girls, and very often college and twenty something's too. The funny thing is I have been at this ministry so long now that I seem more like "the church lady" than I do the promiscuous, manipulative, feisty girl I grew up being to these people I minister too.

I am constantly trying to share my story and how God has worked in my life with them. I share my mistakes and try to be very real and exposed. I am always trying to save them from the heartache, pain and damage sin can have on us.

These past few weeks I have just been completely taken back with awe and humility over the Lords grace to me. I sat at a lock in with my youth girls and heard their stories of how they have grown and how they are striving to fall more in Love with Jesus. I have gotten to see these journeys lived out the last six years. Wow. Me.

For those of you who don't know me well and don't know my story, let me briefly explain. I became a Christian in high school. Before then and even after then, boys have always been my struggle. I found my identity an worth in relationships. And I constantly felt that to receive their love or attention I had to be sexy. I had to connect with them "intimately". I only "went all the way" with one boy, but I did many things that make me blush to think of now with others.

"But He gives more grace..." James 4:6

Slowly and surely The Lord transformed me. He restored me and gave me a new identity and new worth. He have me standards. Praise Him!

I was sitting with my college best friends the other night. The Lord blessed me with such amazing girls during college who pushed me to know and follow Christ. What a blessing. Everyone of them has a much different back story than I do. I realized I am the only one of them who did not save myself for marriage. That's my story, and I can't change it.

But it was a reminder to me that no matter my age, the consequences of my sin will always be a reality for me. I am not condemned and The Lord has redeemed my sin in an amazing way. I have a validity to counsel girls who are struggling with purity in a way none of my friends do. But I will still carry the consequences with me. I don't get the pure story. Sin does that. It robs.

"But He gives more grace..."

I have an amazing, godly, pure husband that I do not deserve. Yet The Lord saw it fitting to bless me with him. I have a ministry that humbles me daily. Thank you Jesus.

But what's my point?

One, how gracious is our God?!! He restores. And if you need to be restored, he makes all things new. Believe that.

Two, if you haven't taken a path of impurity yet, don't! Realize that it will follow you your whole earthly life. Forgiveness is there, but consequences are too. Adam and Eve were able to continue talking to God, but they were never able to go back to the way it was before. Period.

"His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Last Sunday was Mr.Pate's birthday (and Uncle D, Uncle Shelly and Papaw!). Once again, we had a crazy week leading up to his birthday (see last years post here). Mr.Pate worked like 80 hours for Servpro last week due to all the frozen and busted pipes in town! We also had some frozen pipes and limited water, so it was just crazy around here.

The boys went to Louisville for Saturday and Sunday to celebrate with everyone (I had already committed to a girls weekend so I couldn't join them).

Monday night we headed to Shogun for our yearly celebration with the Broadys and Porters. It's fun to see how much my kid has grown throughout these three years. Our first year he wasn't even born, then he was just an infant still breastfeeding, and last year he was a tentative toddler. This year the kid ate a ton and talked even more. We have been blessed with such a sweet and hilarious child.


































- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

The Return

Today I returned to work after a 3 week break. Yep, WKU staff got a 3 week paid holiday. Blessed beyond measure.

But...

Man oh man is it hard to return to work when you have had so much time at home. Griffin and I had really gotten in a groove. I am pretty much a hermit, so it is very easy for me to hunker down and not want to leave. Especially when it is freezing outside!! I so cherish these past three weeks with my little guy.

We prepared for Christmas, and he even helped me wrap some presents.






Peeps came and visited us...


We played with all of our Christmas presents...











And learned to play several games! He is actually pretty good at them
too.











He helped me cook scrambled eggs and muffins. He loved helping in the kitchen, and it was nice to have the time to let him. I am gonna have to start making Saturdays a cook together day.





We laid in his bed and read most days. Such sweet sweet moments. He would randomly kiss my forehead and make me want to cry!






Going to work today wasn't bad. I have an amazing job and am incredibly blessed. But the thing I loved most about being home was being able to take our time. There was no rushing. And I realized how much that seemed to affect griffin in a positive way.

There were no tantrums in the mornings, instead we cuddled and watched movies and talked. There were no major fights to take naps, instead there were sweet stories read and hugs given and talks of our plans after nap. There was just a sweet time of me getting to meet Griffin right where he is at, and laugh doing it. This kid is hilarious and sweet and so darn cute. I knew all of these things about him, but getting to slow down and really take it all in has been priceless.

Another amazing perk of being off was lunches with Mr.Pate. He mostly eats lunch at home now that he works for Servpro, and this week that meant visiting us!

I am thankful for the time I got, and thankful I have a job to go back to. But I'll always cherish this break and the quality time that came with it. .-)

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone