Oh, how things change...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

This used to be a holiday I dreaded. Although I love my mom dearly, it was always a time when my own lack of children was especially poignant to me. Last year was technically my first Mother's Day with children, but as many of you know I was in the midst of my VEEEERY difficult pregnancy. At the time, it was just another day of barfing, dehydration, and a myriad of other miseries.

This year was different, though. I was healthy and I was able to really fully appreciate my two beautiful princesses. To top it off, we dedicated Selah in the evening service. (Pictures and hopefully a video clip to follow once I take the time to upload them...) Elianna even made me an adorable, hand-decorated flower pot at the mall, complete with a snapdragon in it. (And she even managed not to kill it before she gave it to me!!!) I just can't believe how quickly my life has changed. When in the midst of the adoption, we were hoping to have a baby by Christmas of 2005 (which we did - we brought Elianna home in August). If we had only known we would have TWO babies by Christmas of 2006!!! Life never turns out the way we plan. You know what? I like it better that way!

Reflections

Not For Sale!!!

I'm a little late uploading these pictures from our yard sale, but they're too cute to pass up...

First Sippy Cup!

*DISCLAIMER*
This is my first time including a video link, and I can't figure out how to flip it. So YES, the first video is sideways. Also, no laughing at my nasally voice. I can't help it - it always sounds like that on recordings!!!!
*END DISCLAIMER*

Well, we were sure surprised!!! Selah acts like you are trying to force poison down her throat if you offer her a bottle... but when we offered her a sippy cup for the first time, she took to the cup right away! It was just lukewarm water, but she was growling like a tiger cub when she couldn't figure out how to get more water out. She spent a long time just gnawing on the cup, and she needed help tipping it up. On the second video, you can hear the way she growls. She does this all the time when she is frustrated - it's so funny to hear someone so pretty make such a scary noise!







Here are the video links:

First Sippy Cup


Growling Baby

Loving Our New "Fingset"

I was initially hesitant about getting a play structure so early, thinking Elianna may be a bit too young for it. Boy, was I wrong! That is the first thing out of her mouth in the morning, and we have to pry her off of it at night. She can climb the rock wall now, is ALL about the slide, but first place hands down is the "fing." (The "swing," to those who don't speak Eliannese). She will demand Anna Duckies until your arms go into muscle failure. Selah, obviously, prefers the swing only by default. We tried to introduce her to the rock wall and slide, but then figured maybe she should master crawling first.

ABOUT THE BAND-AID:
I know many people probably think we have just tattooed a picture of a bandage to Elianna's forehead, since it has been in just about every picture of her face for almost TWO MONTHS now. Let me explain - she got a bug bite that was about the size of a pin prick. She scratched and scratched until it scabbed. Then, she scratched and scratched some more. Needless to say, I went to get her up from nap and her face was covered in blood. So, we put a bandage on it till it was healed... or so we thought. Apparently it wasn't healed enough, and she soon scratched another hole in her head. This cycle continues - it will nearly heal, and she will either get the bandage off or someone will forget to put it on at bedtime. (She only scratches it in bed.) The last episode was at the "Barn Raisin' BBQ." Papa Vella got her up from nap, and again her face was covered in blood. This is VERY frustrating, but the doctor said this is normal. She recently took a tumble off our porch and scratched her arm up, and lately that wound has been the victim of her incessant scratching. Maybe her head will actually get to heal, but I am dreading the scars she is giving herself.

ANYWAY, now that we have that cleared up, here are the pictures!

Some "Finging" Pictures

Elianna AKA Superwoman

Climbing the Rock Wall

The Most Important Thing

I was just over at Jen's blog, and in her latest post she reminded me that as a Christian mother, our foremost goal for our children is to help them to know the Lord. This is not easy, because of the very nature of our faith. It is not something that can be forced on someone, it must be embraced. Trying to indoctrinate your child will often just push them away from your faith. Instead, you must try to create a hunger for the Lord within them, so that they will of their own free will seek the Lord. Chad and I both know that our deeply personal relationship with the Lord has transformed our lives. I wish there was a magic pill we could give our children so that they, too, can have this experience, but unfortunately it's not that easy! As Jen wrote, every once in a while, though, you see something that gives you hope that your child is developing not only a vague awareness of a supernatural being, but a truly personal relationship with God. I have always been very open about praying and reading my Bible in front of Elianna. I never made her do it, just let her see me doing it. One day a couple months ago we were having a particularly trying day, and Chad was working late. (This always seems to happen on the rough days!!!) I was getting a tension headache, so I leaned forward, putting my forehead in my hand, and grumbled, "I just wish Daddy would get home!" Elianna watched me thoughtfully. Then, she folded her little hands, bowed her head, and said, "bmgmbfd...Daddy...bmjgfmbg.. come ohm!" Between the gibberish, I heard her ask for Daddy to come home. (She said it "ohm.") I realized that when I put my head down, she had thought I was praying!! This was the first time she had initiated any kind of prayer on her own, outside of mealtimes. Since then, she also asks to "Pay" (pray) at night when she goes to bed. Chad rarely has to prompt her, since she has a whole list of people and places she wants to pray for. We only hope and pray that she will continue in her search for God until the day she comes to know him as her personal Lord and Savior. Of course, we have dreams and ambitions for our children to excel in every other area of their life (socially, academically, etc...) But this is, to us anyway, the most important thing of all.

Food for Thought?

Well, Elianna left a book too close to Selah today, and Selah, quite literally, devoured it! As you can see, she was overcome with remorse... (Actually she was crying because I was taking pictures instead of paying attention to her.)

Elianna's Mysterious Rash

Okay, I can only have a post with a topic like that while she's little... On Sunday, Elianna had a small red patch on her cheek, which by the afternoon had spread to her arms and legs! It almost looks like red goosebumps, with the ones on her face being a little redder and puffier. We kept her home from church Sunday, since at first I suspected roseola. Chad went on-line and came up with a variety of interesting diagnoses, which is all you can do on a weekend if you don't want to pay $75 for an urgent care visit. We have cruddy health insurance, so we are just waiting this one out. It doesn't itch, and she is showing no other signs of discomfort or allergic reaction, not counting her runny nose which has been perpetual for the last week. She has really been into picking flowers lately, as my pathetic row of decapitated tulips will attest to, and during the yard sale she was getting very adventurous in her quest for new and exciting floral specimens. She fortunately managed to avoid the poison ivy, but who knows what other manner of irritating foliage she must have rubbed against.

So, yet another mystery we can't solve!

We're back!

WOW!!! I am so incredibly glad that yard sale is over. It ended up very big and tons of work... but don't they all? The good news is I made enough to buy the patio furniture we've needed for 5 years now, the bad news is we spent about that much having a tree removed!

On a side note, that was a much more emotionally difficult procedure than I expected it to be. Although the tree was encroaching on our house, is a junk tree that is terribly ugly, and is in the way of the addition we are hoping to build next year, there's just something inherently wrong with watching something older than me (probably older than my parents) being chopped to pieces and mulched to bits in a matter of a couple hours. I was nearly in tears!!! Okay, enough girly emotional stuff. In all practicality, our house is a spacious 700 sq feet, which is fine for a childless couple but NOT WORKING for a family of four. We do not have a dining area, and there is nowhere for a table and chairs. An addition is our only option, since moving in this housing market is NOT a good idea. SOOO, long story short, the tree had to go eventually, and there was a crew working down the street. They offered us a great deal, since they were already out here, and next thing I knew our tree was being chopped. Do I still get my patio furniture? We're still negotiating that...

Anyway, I'm glad it's over. We always say every yard sale is our last one, but every year I have another one. I guess they're kind of like kids. Every one is your last, but you secretly always want just one more!

Yard Sale!!!!

Today was the first day of our yard sale, and I am whooped. Aunt Rene is here, as well as my Mom... so naturally there is plenty of junk to go around!! Elianna is just in 7th Heaven with all this cool stuff to get into and destroy, uh, I mean explore. Selah just wants to be held, although she loves her new swing. Naturally, with all the chaos, I probably won't get on to post much this weekend. Just wanted to let my diligent watchers know why we're MIA!

Oh, one funny new Elianna-ism. We were playing outside a couple days ago, and Elianna kept BEGGING for "Anna Ducky." I was totally lost. I had no clue who or what Anna Ducky was, and Elianna just kept pleading, "Anna Ducky, Mommy. Pweeeeze Anna Ducky." I was afraid this was never going to be solved until she told me "Daddy Anna Ducky on fing!" Soooo... what would she want on her swing that sounded like "Anna Ducky" and she learned from her father? An "Under Doggy," of course!