Have I Not Commanded you be Strong and Courageous?

I did something today that I have wanted to do most of post-pubescent life, but have been too scared to even consider seriously. And now, this post is going to get kinda icky:
 You see, friends, I have a mole. I actually have several "beauty marks" that decorate my face and neck. But this one mole I'm referring to is a monster of a massive mole that has always (thank God) been hidden in my hairline. My mother/hairstylist and I un-affectionately call it "Moley". (Of all people, she has to put up with it the most because she does my hair.) Moley is the type of mole that is very raised and feel-able if, say, you're my husband who is sweetly playing with my hair. (Stephan hasn't touched my scalp since). Moley is gross. Moley is yucky. Moley is the bane of my existence. Moley is gone.
                      Hallelujah!
   Earlier this month, I scheduled an appointment with my dermatologist to get one of my cute little beauty marks checked out and possibly removed. When I went in today, the doctor took one look and said, "I can have that off in seconds". In my head, I'm thinking, "ask about the head-mole! ask about the head mole!" So, I asked her to look at it as well. She looked it over and said the same thing. This astounded me. I've always assumed that A) it would be a kind of complex procedure to remove that big 'ol sucker and B) that they would have to shave a portion of my head to do it, hence, the reasons for my fear of getting it looked at. Long story somewhat shorter, two shots and two minutes later, I walked out of there feeling like a new woman. With the naked eye, one would never be able to notice any difference, but I feel...clean? Purer? Something along those lines.  Now I get to wait two weeks to hear the results of the biopsy. Tonight, I think I'll ask Stephan to play with my hair. :)
   
      Yes I did just dedicate an entire blog post to a scalp-mole.

Praise Jesus!

Hallelujah brothas and sistas!

Now I'm preaching to the choir.
I experienced the healing, cleansing power of God through prayer and reading the Word once again today. I woke up about 5:00 this morning after dreaming a terrible, horrible, bad bad dream. It was the kind of dream that made me sick to my stomach and so very angry that I wanted to hit Stephan really really hard when I woke up, even though he did absolutely nothing wrong. Instead, I prayed. I prayed and I prayed and I sang hymns and praise songs and then, I took myself to the couch and read from the Psalms. Soon, thank the Lord, the aftermath of dreaming such a twisted dream vanished, and was replaced by peace. Stephan woke me up on the couch a bit later and I told him that I loved him. My day has been blessed since then.
      Well, friends, this weekend, I learned how to pole dance a bit. (I went to a friend's lingerie party. It was fun!) It was all in good fun, as I can't really imagine or see myself being too terribly "sexy" with a baby bump. And I bruised my arm while attempting one of the moves. I'll stick to my day job, I guess.
    Now, I really want a hot, relaxing bath. But are baths really worth it? I'm still debating that one.

     Blessings and peace to you, readers!

My Son is Getting Massive!

I sometimes go to the store without a list when I only have a few items to buy. Every time, before I go, I think to myself, "I can remember these three things". And every time, without fail, I forget one or more of the items I need. For instance, today, I desperately needed diapers, tissues, and razors. I came home with plenty of diapers and tissues, as well as a few groceries for Noah and dinner and stuff, but I forgot the thing I needed the most; razors. Sorry, Husband, you'll be snuggling with Sasquatch once again tonight.
   On another related note; my mother, in all her glorious kindness, bought a few more articles of clothing for Boogie Boy while at Sam's club yesterday. I am so grateful, because Noah does indeed need more sleepers and bigger sizes, but when I took the gifted clothes home and laid them out, I almost laughed. They're huge!

  These are the massive 24 month and 2T sleepers and pants that mom bought for Noah. No, my mom didn't buy the wrong sizes. These are the sizes that Noah will soon be wearing. He's already rocking some 24 month outfits and a pair of 2T shorts. The reason I think they're so big is because they are and they are the sizes my son needs for his clothes to fit and therefore, my son is so big!

Noah was happy to see his new duds.

He yanked 'em right down so he could try them on.

   Depending on what next Thursday's sonogram shows, I might soon be fishing through tubs and tubs of tine, newborn and 0-3 month clothes. Clothes that barely fit a tiny, newborn Noah when we first brought him home. Now, he's a monster in 2T and he wont stop growing! I think I might cry.
    I thank God, though, that Noah is the beast of a boy that he is. I thank God because every night, Stephan and I pray that God would continue to watch over Noah and help him grow big and strong. I can never deny that God answers prayers now, 'cause He's certainly hearing and answering ours. Hopefully, He's working the same kind of grace and prayer-answering for Du Toit Deux.
    Blessing a grace on all of you, my dear readers!

Gum has healing properties.

A glorious Tuesday to you, fair readers!
Yesterday, I drove from Dallas to Richmond and then home to Tyler, all in one day and all by myself. No gps. This is probably no big deal at all to the majority of you faithful readers, but for me, it was a soul-searching, faith building, life edifying experience. You see, I hate hate hate driving on the interstate. Or on busy highways. Sometimes, I even stick to the slow lane in Tyler because I don't want to change lanes. (Especially if it is raining outside.) Merging, exits, high speeds, they scare me. So when I woke up Monday morning, I prayed. I prayed into the car and as I was driving and I didn't stop praying until I reached my destination safe and sound. Then I praised God for carrying me and Noah safely home. I sometimes wonder if God gets a kick out of how panicky His children get over silly things. If so, He was laughing pretty hard yesterday.
    Now, friends, since I am having one of those days where lots of simple tasks that I do everyday are being upsetting and difficult for me, (such as walking, typing, opening wrappers, etc...) I am going to nap as Noah is napping so that hopefully, when I wake, my hands and feet will work properly again.
     Tonight, since it's easy and doesn't require a lot of hand-eye coordination, I think I'll make baked potatoes for dinner.
     I love my husband.
     I love being pregnant.
    Okay, I'm done. Peace, friends!

Tis late

No it's not. It's almost 9:00. Ever since I had Noah, I have viewed any time later than 8:00 too late to go and do anything. It doesn't help that my beddy-bye time is somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30. If I'm up past 10:30, I am a grouch.
    Stephan, on the other hand, is a night owl. At this very moment, he is about to go running. Most nights, he tucks me in and stays in bed long enough for me to fall asleep, then goes into the living room and does who knows what for another hour or two. I know this is true because I clean his messes in the morning.
   Good thing I'm such a pleasant morning person.

And it wasn't even Laundry Day.

Not to much has happened since Tuesday, friends. Noah's been snotty and teething for days, so we've stayed in the relative safety of our home until he is 100% again. I'm actually kind of glad, because I'm not in a writing mood right now. Instead, pictures!

Noah's new thing is to climb. He likes to climb into/on top of everything and anything. In the above pictures, he is in his toy box.

 Here, Noah has climbed into the dryer.

 He likes the door closed while he's in there. For privacy, I guess.

 See how cool laundry machines can be when you're small, Mom?

 Here, you can tell how snotty and drooly Noah has been lately. I can't keep up and I ran out of tissues today.

 Final resting pose. Yes, he's in there. I almost got a picture of his little fingers under the door tugging it shut.
    That is all. Enjoy your weekends, readers!

Sale, sale, Puppies for Sale!

Friends, You have not seen cute yet.

  Okay, now you have seen cute.
This is one of three adorable, snugly, sweet, poodle puppies that are up for grabs at the ridiculously good price of $50 each. All three are girls and all three are pure bred poodles. The reason for their cheap price tag is that their mother, a teacup poodle, is a registered pure breed with papers, but their father, also a pure breed teacup poodle, doesn't have his papers, so these little pups are unregistered.

As you can see, they're great with kids

Noah loves them. He gives them kisses.

    There are three different colors to chose from: apricot (a strawberry blond color), cream, and pure white. The cream colored female is the smallest. (And the sweetest in my opinion). If you're interested in taking home one of these precious puppies, contact Barbara Florey at mbflorey@wildblue.net or on her cell phone at (903) 571-7703.
    I am Colette Du Toit, and I approve this message.

pasketti

I made spaghetti for din-din. I'm actually tired of spaghetti, but we're running a bit low on groceries and I had the necessary ingredients for spaghetti, so spaghetti it was. My husband loves me enough to eat it without complaint and tell me it was delicious. He's a good man.
   Now I want Life cereal.
To my dear, sweet friend Emily Evans: shout out!
I'm trying to sew a modest little piece of fabric to the top of a cute dress of mine, but I can't remember how to work my sewing machine right. Well, I do know how to work it for the most part, but the one part of the machine that confuses me, the bobbin, ran out of thread and needed to be replenished. I got the thread on the bobbin spool, but now I can't remember how Ashley Johnson got the bobbin to thread through the machine. If only I was as wise and intuitive as Ashley...
    The Skinners are back out of Texas, but only for a month! They shall return soon enough. Then, we shall rejoice!
    I really want cereal now. 
   I'm going to go get cereal. I'll try to post pictures in my next post. Something exciting might happen.

Nobody puts Baby in a corner!

Stephan and I have decided that, from now on, for the most part, we would like to leave Noah with a sitter/Bebe and Papa whenever we have a Sunday School social. It's not that we don't love our precious and highly entertaining baby boy, it's just that he is so energetic, either Stephan or I have to spend a good portion of our time chasing him around instead of enjoying our friends.
    Anyways, last night was another joyfully fun social. Lots of the usuals were there, including the Luhrs, whom I love so very much. Karen is by far my favorite friend in the world. But also, I got to meet a new couple who just started attending Sylvania. And not only did Stephan and I get to make new friends, Noah made a new best bud!

This was fun, but didn't last long. They were quite loud.

    Little Wyatt is 18 months. He and Noah hit it off, especially when they found out they could play hide and seek behind the curtains in the Boone's living room.

blond hair and blue eyes are so in right now.

  Well, friends, it is Saturday. Tonight, Noah's going to spend the evening with his Papa. No Bebe, just Papa. I think he's excited. And in closing; more words of encouragement:
     "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word."            2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.
 

pictury in Jesus!

What dinner is like nowadays

 Friends, readers, fellow stay-at-home mothers who follow my blog; I enjoyed yesterday. As the Skinners are/were in town for a week, we decided it would be fun and appropriate to have a good, old-fashioned Skinner/Johnson/Du Toit get together.
   Please understand, I have lots of friends that I love dearly. I never seek to show favoritism or anything of the sort amongst the women and men that God has placed in my and Stephan's life who we both love and cherish dearly. The reason a small get-together like the one we had yesterday was so special is because the Skinners and the Johnson's were the first "couple-friends" Stephan and I made after we got married. We have been friends with them the longest and we used to have fun get-together like the one yesterday a lot. Since the Skinners are moving back we will soon get to enjoy everybody's company like in the olden days! Only there are three pretty noticeable differences:

Lauren's all, "sup?"

   Instead of couples, now we're families! And a few of the biggest differences having a child makes are:
         1.) Photos are tougher to take. Getting all the babies to hold still/smile/stop crying/stop hitting Aubrey was a pickle!
         2.) Event are shorter. That's the only drawback to having babies this far. By 8 at the latest, babies were ready for sleep-sleep and made it very clear to all adults there that they felt that way. Wise parents with children at more advanced ages than ours tell us that that changes for the better as the kids get older. (whew!)
        3.) I wish to rephrase my first statement: posed pictures are tougher to take. One of the more entertaining things about having several babies at one event is the plethora of candid photo opportunities that come out of no where! (as you all may have gathered by the amount of pictures of my and other peoples' babies on my blog). Of course, nobody had their camera ready for what would have been the cutest picture ever in the world: At one point, Lydia, who was standing next to Noah, randomly and without parental prompting, bent down to give Noah a kiss. Noah, in turn, lifted his face to return the kiss. Aubrey, Ashley, my mother and I all started howling and clapping like we had just witnessed an adorable miracle. We made Lydia cry. Noah smiled. (He seems to like attention.)
    In closing, I say this: God has blessed Stephan and I with many things, all of which we don't deserve in the least, but one of my favorite blessings, one that has made a huge, positive influence on my life and my walk with my Lord, are these and all my friends. Thank You, God! And thank you, friends, for being my friends! 

Ain't we precious?

Noah has closed himself in his room again. That never bodes well.

Oh Victory in Jesus! My Savior forever!

  Yes, friends, victory indeed. Victory over sin and death, all thanks to a wonderful, merciful savior.
Words of encouragement. You're welcome.

This past weekend was a doozy. We spent Saturday night at Ouma and Oupa's for the first time in a long time. Since Noah was born, I believe. Saturday night, Oupa and Ouma prepared one of their bountiful feasts and fed several friends and family members. Noah was thrilled to see his grandparents, but I'm certain that, by far, his favorite part of the night was when daddy let him run, fully clothed, through the sprinkler that was running nearby.

Our little water baby entertained the crowed for a few minutes there. Then we ate ribs, bbq chicken, a South African dish that I have never seen or tasted before, grilled garlic bread, salad, and delicious desserts. After all was said and done, Noah slept like a champ in his pack 'n play.
    The next day, Noah got to explore the farm!

Baby goats! they were the size of house cats.

Momma goat.

Noah loved the goats. Beats the stupid petting zoo any day.

I loved the goats, too!

  Noah also rode his little four-wheeler around and checked out the chickens. Of course, I didn't have my camera when a chicken pecked at his little fingers. Noah was so confused as to why a noisy "bah-bah" would attack his hand.

And then, friends, the moment that is similar to the moment that we're all still waiting for: the Skinners have moved out of Missouri!

It's like they never left.
Of course, they're not here for keepsies yet. K-Skinner's got one more rotation in Oklahoma before they can officially be Texans again. But for one glorious week, we gets to pretend like their absence never happened and we both magically have one-year olds and we didn't miss a thing in between. To celebrate, Aubrey and I let the daddys watch over the napping babies while we went to get pedicures!

(You can't see it in the picture above, but Aubrey's pedicure-ist was the only one wearing rubber gloves.)

Today, Monday, nothing big is planned. Noah and I are be-boppin' around the house and Daddy's working. So, friends, I leave off with a cheerful "good morning!"

Stages

Friends, I am an old married lady.
I say this because I have been married for four blessed, wonderful years. Every week, nay, every day, I love my husband more and more.

  "Why do you sound like you're complaining then, Colette?"
Good question, faithful readers. And no, I am not complaining. I am simply noting and wondering over the way that life comes and goes in stages. For example: last week, a best friend of mine from high school got engaged to her sweetheart of 2 years. Yesterday, my dear, sweet cousin, Kayla, Got asked the same question and now she, too, is engaged. I am so happy for both of them! Now, they enter into that stage of life that I myself experienced and enjoyed thoroughly 4+ years ago. It's the "soon-to-be-married" stage that involves excitement, drama (both good and bad), anticipation, joy, happiness, that ooey-gooey kind of lovey-dovey feeling that all soon-to-be and newlyweds feel, and even a tad to a lot of stress. I remember it so well. It was a simpler time, and yet I thought life could never be fuller. My world revolved around wedding preparation. I loved that time, and until I die or grow senile, I will treasure that stage of life in my heart. I wish all that happiness on my friend and my cousin.

    But now, friends, I'm in a new stage in life. Since prepping for and then saying our "I do's", Stephan and I, together, have passed through a few life stages. There was the newlywed stage (also called the honeymoon stage"), in which we lived in our sweet little apartment and tried very hard to never ever fight. Then there was the happy married couple stage; wherein we really learned what married life is like, what works, what doesn't work, and also, we made lots of good, Christian couple-friends, all while living in our haunted rent house. After that was the new home-owner stage, (a big step up responsibility-wise), and then, the parenting stage.

Little-bitty Noah baby!

  Right now, Stephan and I are happily dwelling in the parenting stage of life. It started with months of wishing and praying, followed by months of pregnancy and preparing, and then there was a new, even bigger load of responsibility placed in our arms, bundled snugly in a blankie. We have embraced this stage of life. With the support of our families and those previously mentioned friends of ours, we have flourished as a fledgling family. And now, we prepare for the addition of another baby and the start of a new stage in life: the family of four stage.
     I look back with sighs and smiles at the past stages in life. And thus far I've very much enjoyed reliving the wedding-stage with my engaged friend, Mechelle. But it is with prayer and excitement that I press onward, cherishing and learning from the past while preparing and embracing the future.

The future involves teaching Noah how to swiffer and clean the floors...

...and properly sort and do the laundry.

So, future Mrs. Lyon and future Mrs. Varnell, soak up every minute of this wonderful stage in life that ya'll are now facing. Abuse the power those rings give you. (But don't get crazy.) And most of all, congratulations and God bless you mightily! Ya'll have so very much to look forward to.

Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun

I have a few pictures that really have no connected story to them, save for the fact that they all involve Noah.

 Bebe and Papa got Noah a "cozy coupe". Noah freaking loves it! He's become an expert at honking the little, squeaky horn, turning the loud, cranky key, and getting in and out of his car in numerous fashions: backwards, sideways, tummy first...

"yeah, ladies, this is my ride. It pretty cool, or whatever."

 And then, if you turn your back for two seconds to get ready in the morning, be sure to listen closely. If your baby is being quite, be suspicious, 'cause something is wrong. For instance, he could be chugging his daddy's leftover strawberry Powerade zero, effectively spilling most of it down his front and on the floor.

"ain't I a stinker?"

Noah got an impromptu bath this morning, thanks to his thirst for electrolytes.

    And finally, brethren and sisteren, a lovely exhortation from Paul that I read this morning whilst Bible studying:
      "We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See the no on repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."   1 Thessalonians 5:14-18  

brief

This post shall be brief. No pictures, just chatting. Noah's awake and Stephan's asleep trying to sweat out some sickness or another, so I'm enjoying a quick moment of reprieve while Noah makes his trucks go "vrrvrrrrvrrrr" on the fireplace.
   My friend Mechelle's engaged. I am so excited and happy for her! She and her future husband were clearly meant for each other, so my friends and I have been waiting for the question to get popped for quite a while.
   I mopped this morning. And vacuumed. And dusted. And did the dishes. You know, the usual housewife routine. And yet, my house still looks thoroughly lived-in.
    I found out this morning, upon checking my e-mail, that this month's bunco game is at my house. This Thursday. Gosh, I'm glad I checked my email today. Now I have a bit of a heads up. I've got prizes to by, desserts/snacks to make, deep cleaning to do... I'll be fine.
    Skinner-get-here countdown: 5 days!
   I think I'll warm up a nice pot of soup for dinner tonight. Soup's good for sick husbands, right? And I can't hardly eat anything after 4:00 anyways. Yes, soup seems like a good idea.
    Friends, my God is so good. I could never talk enough about how good He is and how much He loves His own. That does not, though, negate the fact that He is also just. Lots of people seem to overlook the just, jealous, wrathful side of God in favor of a god that overlooks sin because He's too good to punish anyone. That's not really the God of the Bible, folks. If you don't believe me, don't take my word for it, check yourself.
      Noah's tired of playing by himself. He's at my side demanding my attention now. I have to go love on him, because I love him.
    I guess this wasn't too brief...