Fun with Tink and Giraffe

This year we had a super fun time with fall and Halloween activities. We had our annual Halloween costume party at playgroup this past week. It was a mad house as always, but fun to see all the kids all dressed up. We also took the obligatory annual photo to remember the madness. It is always chaos trying to get the shot and as I was scrolling through them I was wondering why we torture ourselves trying to get everyone to smile. Ah well. You can follow the chaos below.

And then for extra fun, we had some friends over tonight for some chili and cornbread and fixings and then a stroll around the neighborhood. The kids had a fab time, and I actually enjoyed myself too!

Cousins

Jack and Annelise walking to the park with Uncle Chris and Auntie Rubie (they were actually holding hands until I broke out the camera)

One fun thing about being in Cali these last couple weeks was the time that Hadleigh and Annelise got to spend with their cousins Matt and Jack. Actually Annelise is really just beginning to pay attention to other kids, so she did not really care about her cousins, but Hadleigh and Matt were fun to watch. We only overlapped for a couple of days, but they seemed to remember each other right away...one nice thing about my kids getting older is that they remember people!

Hadleigh and Matt (right before he had to leave)

On the way to my parents' house from the airport, Mom mentioned that Matt said he wanted chase Hadleigh around the house. In my head I wondered how that would go over with Hadleigh, and I wondered what she thought of the statement, but I figured we would find out soon enough. We ended up driving up the coast to the house because of course the 405 is a nasty mess these days, and Hadleigh got a little motion sick. I was trying to comfort her, and suggested that as soon as we got to the house she could lie down a rest. And withought missing a beat she said, "but Mama, Matt has to chase me!" OK, apparently she was not feeling THAT bad!

lots of movement from the little ones, you can see Jack is NOT happy about being held

My favorite memory of them together is of Matt and Hadleigh singing "If You Are Happy and You Know It". So cute. They were facing each other, singing back and forth and taking turns saying what they had to do...if you are happy and you know it stomp your feet...scratch your face (?)...bop your head...jump on one leg...so cute. And they were laughing hysterically while they sang. It was the best thing ever.

Matt and Hadleigh

Apparently when Karina told Matt they were leaving (after a weekend of fun), he began to cry. So sweet! Hadleigh does not really get leaving yet, but she definitely asked where Matt was throughout the rest of our stay.

The Girls Take Disney

The girls and I just got back from Cali. Mom celebrated her 60th birthday and we decided, we should fly out and help her par-tay! The whole fam was able to be there, except Dave...sorry dude! After everyone left Mom and I decided to brave Disneyland. It had actually been 9 years since I was last there, and I thought this might be a good opp to take the girls.

We loaded up the girls on a rainy, Wednesday morning and hit the road. Inspite of the rain, we actually made good time to the park (usually rain and Cali drivers = traffic nightmare). It was definitely raining by Cali standards, but was more of a sprinkle by Atl standards. The sun did come out a couple times, but by the end of the afternoon we were more or less wet, and I was happy to have a change of clothes waiting for us in the car. I thought the rain would deter folks from coming out, but no such luck. It was pretty crowded for being a rainy Wednesday in October.

We had a good in any case. THe word was that we better hit the "new" Nemo ride first because the wait tends to be long, and since Hadleigh loves Nemo I thought that would be a good choice. The only problem was that we stopped letting HC watch Nemo because it was too scary and she was having nightmares about sharks. Soo...of course the ride was a little scary, in my opinion, for little kids, and now HC is talking about how she saw a shark, and it was "a little, little scary". Ah well...dumb Disney.

Since neither girl knew many of the characters they were more excited about riding the cars and trains then any of the kiddo rides. We did "It's a Small World" twice, and they just LOVED every minute of that one. As we ate lunch we were within sight of "the flying elephant" (Dumbo) and the carousel. Both Hadleigh and Annelise could harldy contain themselves. We jumped on Dumbo, Mom and Hadleigh in one and me and Annelise in another. Oddly enough it was Annelise who did NOT want to go high, and was happy to get out of the elephant. HC wanted to ride again, but when I asked Annelise, she said, "No".

We jumped on the carousel, and HC was thrilled to find a horse with an orange saddle. We got the girls on horses side by side and everything was fine until the horses began to move. Annelise was crawling off the horse onto my head screaming. Interesting.

We managed to go on a couple other rides before the ultimate meltdown. The girls did fairly well all in all, but they were exhausted when we got home, as was I. Glad we did it. Annelise has a Mickey doll and a Minnie shirt, and HC has a Pooh Bear and a Tinkerbelle shirt to show for their efforts...thanks Nana!

Miss Hadleigh Claire is 3 1/2

OK, she is one month older than 3 1/2, but close enough. We have had some great times with the little miss recently. Hadleigh continues to be more and more helpful, which always amazes me. I guess it is surprising to realize how much she can help me these days. She goes to the bathroom completely by herself...YA! She completely dresses herself and can pick out her own clothes, though I still like to supervise at times. She can totally get ready for her nap, including putting on her diaper. And then there is all the stuff she does to help me around the house. She puts all the silverware away, she loves helping me with the wash and with dusting and vacuuming. She can buckle herself into her car seat. The other day when I was getting the girls' lunches ready, I called for them to come to the table. They both climbed into their seats, and then Hadleigh jumped down to help push Annelise's chair up to the table. "There you are, Annelise, " sh exclaimed, "is that too tight?" It was so sweet, and so helpful.

With all the helpfulness comes the constant complaining...will it ever go away? Oi vey! One day, I hope that will be gone because it is hard for me to handle calmly.

Hadleigh LOVES being outside, and is always asking to play on her big wheel, which has been our new fun activity...when it is not raining here in the Atl. She has finally figured out how to use petals...that seemed to be beyond her for a while, but she has it mastered now.

She still loves everything that is mechanical and moves, cars, trucks, planes, etc. I love it. She is a pretty regular kiddo, and not into anything too girly, which is fine with me. I am not a particularly girly girl, so it all works out. Maybe one day I will want to "do" her hair, or some other such thing, but for now I love the fact that I do not even have to brush it in the morning. Yea! Hadleigh also loves animals and bugs. It is fun to go on walks and look for crickets and worms and bees and dogs and cats, and birds. Yesterday she came home with a picture she had drawn at preschool. She told me that it was birds flying over the ocean and stars. It actually looked mostly like what she described, so it was fun to see what she is choosing to draw when she has time.

Of course she also loves her friends at school and playgroup. They have such fun together and it is so sweet to see her caring about them. She is also doing a fabulous job of memorizing the catechism and corresponding verses. We are enjoying family worship time and teaching her songs and truths from the Bible. I am always surprised with what her little mind remembers, it is amazing. We usually go over a cople catechism questions a week and on the second day I asked her, "Who wrote the Bible" and was about to help her repeat the answer when she piped up, "Chosen men who wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit." Wow...I was SHOCKED, and then of course told her she was amazing, because she is. I wish I had a mind like a steel trap! ANd now I hear her up from her nap, so I must run. I love my little Hadleigh girl!

The Elf is 23 Months

I obviously missed my monthly update in September. I really think that Labor Day, schooling beginning and my birthday threw me off entirely. I should continue blaming things like, then it was the CRAZY rain/floods here in the ATL and last week we had a bit of the flu. Swine flu, you ask? Possibly. We did not go to the doctor, but most of my friends seem to indicate that if it is the flu, it is prob the swine flu. Not too worry, it wasn't as bad as all the media hype. I was a bit surprised that when I called our doc he told us not to come in (that is of course unless they started having real issues), but I was happy to not make the trek, besides all he would have done was take a swab and then tell me what kind of flu they had. I'll keep my co-pay to myself thanks. Anyway, the girls are all healthy now, and I am happy to have that behind us.

So, Annelise is 1 month shy of being 2 years old. That is incredible to me! She is such a big girl now. This morning she was counting to 10. What? She knows that A is for Annelise. All of these things I think she has picked up from Hadleigh, because the Lord knows I have not had time to sit down with her and teach her these things. She just picks up things here and there. That is just fine with me. I am not a big teacher, I just want the girls to learn by doing different things.

Annelise has become quite a singer. Now she has been leading our family worship time. She has three that she likes to begin with, "Hallelujah-Praise ye the Lord", "Ho, Ho, Ho, Hosanna", and "Glory Be to the Father." It is super sweet when she begins the songs. I just LOVE it! She also knows what songs we know from memory and when we need our makeshift songbook. She insists we look at the words for some songs.

cooking with Grandma

All is well on the potty-front, and I cannot remember the last time she had an accident. Yea!

She is enjoying nursery and school (which she attneds 1 day a week). When I pick her up she always has a smile on her face, and when I ask her what she did, she exclaims, "FRIENDS!" Today she was talking about someone particular and I could not figure out the name she was using, so I need to look at the roster to see who is in her nursery class.

Yesterday morning I took Annelise for a walk and Dave took Hadleigh to the market. When Hadleigh returned the girls ran to each other and gave each other a big hug. It was super sweet and I am so glad that they feel that way toward each other.

Annelise is a pro on the phone. This is a great skill, and one that HC has not really developed yet. But Annelise LOVES to talk to Dave, and yesterday even talked to Nana with some coaching. She is a great little communicator and is great at answering questions.

Another fun thing is that Annelise is really getting into cooking with me. She wants to get her hands dirty and help me make most everything. I love it (mostly), though it does take longer. We made chicken toes the other day, and Annelise was in charge of stirring the chicken in the cornflakes...she did a great job, my main concern was her touching things with her raw chicken hands...don't touch your mouth!!! Ugh!

Happy October!

October is my favorite month of the year. The weather is awesome, the leaves change colors, we get to open windows and put on pants (not just because it is cold in the ac). And of course, Dave and I got married in October, HAPPY 6th Anniversary!

This month is going to be particularly busy. Dave is going on a flyfishing trip with a buddy, I am taking the girls to Cali for a visit, and lots of things in between. So we needed to go ahead and squeeze in our family fun trip to pick pumpkins this weekend. For the last three years, we have gone to the same farm in north Georgia. It is a small, family farm, so it is not as overwhelming as Burt's Farm. They offer a hayride for $2 and you get to stop and feed the fish in the pond, which is always a big treat for the girls. They have loads of different varieties of pumpkins and are always on hand to answer questions, like what kind makes the best pumpkin pie. I did buy one pie pumpkin, but am also trying a new variety that the owner suggested. She said it is unbelievable...we will see!

I also enjoy it because it is a "small" operation, and we are not surrounded by crowds of folks. I am sure it does get crowded at some point, but not first thing on a Friday morning. Last year we were the first folks there, right at 9am.

It was a fun morning out and the girls really enjoyed every minute.

Cooking

I love to cook, which should be no surprise to anyone who reads this blog. The wonderful thing is that Dave loves to cook too, and he is a GREAT cook. If he ever offers to cook you a meal, cancel all prior engagements because you will not want to miss it.

Even though I enjoy cooking I seem to get burned out occasionally, and about a month ago I hit that place. Ugh. I hate that, since I spend a majority of my days in the kitchen. Anyway, there have been a couple of fun things that we have done that has revived my enthusiasm for cooking.

The first was that my playgroup did a meal swap. What fun! We divided into two groups, and my group had 5 ladies. We each decided on a meal that could be frozen and swapped, so I ended up with 4 new meals in my freezer. Awesome! I have used one meal a week for the past couple of weeks. TOnight, I am cooking the chili bake, and making corn muffins and beans to go along with it. ANd I still have one more meal that I can use next week. It also gave me some fun ideas of things that I like that I rarely if ever make...like jambalaya...yummy.

The second thing I did was join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture...I think?) group. I am super pumped about this. Every week I get to run to a local pick-up place and get a bag of veggies that was picked from a local organic farm the day before. The thing is, actually, I am not so into the organic thing...after doing some research on it...but the local thing I am super pumped about. And of course everything is in season. This past week I picked up some things that I have NEVER cooked with, like mustard greens (I actually did not even know what they were) and eggplants. So, when I got home I started planning my meals for the week, and decided on Baby Lima Bean Soup with Mustard Greens, Peas and Onions Dave made it on Friday. Hello! Yum! He did doctor it a bit, but I think only added another cup of limas and a cube of veg boullion. It was awesome. Tomorrow I am having some little friends come over and help me make Lamb and Eggplant Moussaka.

I have also been making bread, which is a fun little hobby. I need expand my abilities here, but I am enjoying it. OK, the buzzer is going off, I need to check on my corn muffins!

About Belize

I should finish the cheese sauce that I am making for my lentil coriander lasagna tonight. And I should also clean the kitchen from making cookies with the girls yesterday, and then of course there is also the situation of my desk which has blown up since Dave took over it a couple days ago. Scanning massive amount of paperwork and looking through past years of business reports trying to make sense of all the numbers. I might be crazy, but our last accountant did some WEIRD things with our quarterly reports. I swear I could have done a better job with the numbers…and then someone can pay me $175 an hour. Sweet! And you know I am worth every penny. My mom used to say that no one could afford me. I think she was trying to make me feel better when my second year out of college I was still below the poverty line. Ah well, here’s to being young and poor.

SO, while I do have other things to do, I thought I would finally write up a little note about our trip to Belize, yea that was over 6 weeks ago. But, we’ve been busy.

I think in some ways it is hard to sum up how the trip was. It was very different from every other mission trip I have ever been on for many reasons. The first reason is that we went alone, as a family. We were not with a team, so there was not that crazy, energy, excited that bounces off everyone. I think that is not a bad thing, and it is not always realistic to life. Like, when do you ever spend every waking moment with 6 other individuals for a week, doing something that is purposeful in a unique environment? It is just not reality. I do a lot of really unique and purposeful things everyday (good grief, I am a Mom) and I rarely do them with 6-10 other people who are pumped to be there. It might be fun if I did…but actually after day 3 I would probably be irritated.

So, in some ways for me, while we were in fact in another country, what I did everyday was not any different than what I do everyday. Of course, I do not normally spend hours smothering my children in sun block, Burt’s Bees (insect repellent), and powder before we walk outside to sweat to death, and swat off mosquitoes. I know, you think I am speaking of August in Atlanta, but I assure you…Atlanta has nothing on Belize. There were definitely adventures to be had…like staring into the refrigerator and trying to figure out how to make meals from scratch with only 2 pans and a cook top. Things got really creative and that was loads of fun.

The clinic in Patchakan is on a great piece of land, probably a couple acres on the main road in the village. Behind the clinic there is a lot of green space and shade and two little house, one blue and one yellow. We stayed in the blue house which had a screened in porch, 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and nice kitchen/living room area. It was had 2 working fans. Nice. I LOVE fans. The girls and I spent most of our mornings in the house, or out in the yard chasing the random cats and chickens, or being chased by some rabid geese. When it got too hot or we were tired of the mosquitoes it was back inside to read, play blocks, or play on cushions and mattresses. The nice thing is the girls were so young they are pretty good travelers. They knew we were in Belize, but it did not really affect our routine. I keep saying, goodness having two girls this age is hard no matter if I am in Atlanta or in Belize, so I might as well go to Belize!

Dave began working in the clinic in the morning. He was able to do a lot of preventative work, which he was really happy about. It’s a bummer to go somewhere and only pull out people’s teeth. It was encouraging to know that these folks actually want their teeth and that there is a chance to help educate them on better cleaning practices. The clinic services a mostly Mayan population which while not destitute were certainly too poor to go to a dentist in town. It is kind of the same idea as non-profit health clinics here in the states, like Good Samaritan. The clinic is Christian and is run by Belizean staff. They have a chaplain, an administrator, nurses, the whole works. We took our lunches with the clinic staff which was fun for me and the girls. Annelise LOVED the clinic administrator, Pamela, and called her “Lalela”. Everyday after lunch Pamela would take Annelise outside to pet the cat and play. It was a nice break for all of us. Hadleigh was too shy to go most days.

Since the clinic was yards away from our house, and because there was only one dental chair Dave had a light schedule and was able to come back to the house between patients to check on us. He was always finished at 4 and then we had the rest of the evening to ourselves.

We had a special blessing while we were in Patchakan. Two other teams of folks were also in the village with MTW that week. One team from Houston, and one from Yazoo City, MS were there to do some light construction work and then they ran a Vacation Bible School in the afternoon. The church was 4 blocks away from the clinic, so in the afternoon I walked the girls down to the church to participate in the VBS. It was great fun for them to have some time to interact with the Belizean children. This was one of the things that we desire for them, and it was awesome to see how the Lord worked out some of these little details for us. What a blessing. By the end of the week, even Hadleigh had made a couple of friends. On the last day they walked hand in hand into the church for the last song and prayer. What fun!

The final blessing for me was that the MTW missionaries and the clinic staff seemed to truly understand why we would want to come as a family and really encouraged us in our desire to continue these trips. Sometimes I think we were crazy to go to Belize with our girls, but when I look at the big picture I know what the Lord has put on our hearts, and so we must continue to work toward that. It was just nice for me to have people affirm us, and encourage us to continue. It is important, and valuable. We want to experience God’s church all throughout God’s world and we want to do it as a family. And that is not weird, although sometime I think it is.

We were blessed and challenged by the believers in Patchakan, and I look forward to going back soon. Maybe when it is not so hot! Thanks to everyone who made it possible.

New Windows...What to Do

In honor of all the efforts to be green, we are getting new windows. Actually I care nothing about being green...or rather, I was green LONG before it was cool. I remember being in elementary school and sorting through cans and bottles and magazines and boxes and newspaper. Then after we sorted everything we would lug it down to the local recycle place and they would pay you 1 penny/can or something like that. We always watched how much water we used because we lived in California, but this was all even before being green became cool there. I suppose we were green because my mom grew up on a farm, and that is REALLY green. OK, enough about that.

So, our house is old, which is cool, I like old houses. But we are trying to make everything more efficient, so earlier this year we put in some new insulation which was SUPER cool. And now, the new project is new windows. Our current ones are 40 years old, and last winter we felt a steady breeze through many of them (even after Dave weather stripped everything). So, yea, we need new windows.

The problem is that getting new windows seems to open a huge can of worms because there are all these options. So, now we are trying to determine what kind of windows we should get based upon what we think we want our house to look like in the future... So here's your chance to weigh in. The trim on the house needs to go, so we want to paint the trim/gutters, but are not sure what color. Thoughts? And then based upon that, what color should our outside windows be? Gray? Black? White? Cream? There are like 20 colors to choose from.

I think we are going to have to hire a professional, but if you have an opinion we would LOVE to hear it. Help!

Summer Fun

I just wrote a long post that vanished into thin air. So, here are a couple pictures of our August happenings. We put off all errands for the month and I took lots of time to spend with the girls. We had lots of fun outings to the zoo (where we finally discovered the birdcage...isn't that the best? the girls LOVED it wach time we went), the pool, the park, playdates, and our last fun day was to Krispy Kreme...the one downtown where you can watch the donuts being made. Yummy!

School!

Today both of my girls began school! I was so pleased that when I dropped them off they both ran happily into their classroom without even a sniffle or a look back. Of course, Hadleigh has been waiting for school to begin ever since it ended last May! But I was surprised that little Annelise was so eager to run into her class. Great news for me!

Hadleigh Begins 3 Preschool

They both have small classes this year with just 5 students in each class. I am so happy about the size and think they will both have great fun with their teachers and other classmates. And of course I get my first real weekly break since having children! I have gotten SO much accomplished in just two hours. Of course, now I am taking a little break to post the pictures from this morning. YOu can see pictures of Hadleigh's last two first days of school here. I was shocked to see how little she looks compared to Annelise.

Annelise Begins Parents Morning Out

Miss Hadleigh Claire Poops

For those of you who have been following our poop saga with Hadleigh, I have good news. Our little crazy withholder has been making great progress recently. For the past two weeks, Hadleigh has pooped everyday. That is a huge milestone for her, since she used to poop once or twice a week. Not only has she pooped everyday, but those poops have been in the potty. I cannot believe that she is finally doing it. I set out this summer to really work on this issue with her, and I feel like we have conquered a lot. I am so proud of her.

If all that wasn't awesome enough, we had another break-through today. In the middle of lunch, she jumped up from the table and said, "I have to go poop" and ran to the bathroom and pooped. She did it without us being there, and she did it of her own free will.

This whole summer I have been trying to schedule her poops to come right after lunch and before her nap. Everyday after lunch she will spend some time on the potty and I have read to her. We have read Winnie the Pooh, Pooh Corner, Cappyboppy, Milly Molly Mandy, and are now working on Mary Poppins. She has ony recently gone willinging, and today she did it on her own. What a big girl.

I really hope this whole withholding thing is over for us...it has been really difficult to deal with overall. I think we are making good progress. Yea!

Jesus Whispers

I know I need to write more about our trip to Belize, but I have a book club meeting this Saturday for "Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and I have to finish it! So hopefully next week I can spend some time writing. Until then, I wanted to post this song. We sang it last week in worship and I have been singing it ever since. It is from one of my fav cd's Red Mountain Church's "Gadsby Project". Love it! I continue to be a hymn loving girl...there sure are plenty of dumb ones out there with ridiculous theology...not much better than some of the "Jesus is my boyfriend" worship songs...but there are also some awesome ones...I obviously only like the awesome ones, and this is one of the good ones.

Lamb of God, we fall before thee,
Humbly trusting in thy cross;
That alone be all our glory;
All things else are vain and loss.

Thee we own a perfect Savior,
Only source of all that's good:
Every grace and every favor
Comes to us through Jesus' blood

Refrain:
Jesus whispers this sweet sentence,
"Son, thy sins are all forgiven."
Faith He gives us to believe,
Hearing ears and seeing eyes.

When we live on Jesus' merit
Then we worship God aright,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Then we savingly unite.

Hear the whole conclusion of it;
Great or good, whate'er we call,
God or King or Priest or Prophet,
Jesus Christ is All in All.

Sisters

I love having two girls. They love each other and have so much fun together. I never had a sister, so this is all new territory for me, but it is sweet to watch them take care of each other.

Miss Hadleigh Claire is 3.5

This past month with Hadleigh Claire was certainly interesting. With the girls I sometimes feel like we have 2 good months and then 1 BAD month. Actually with HC, I think we were on a really good roll of like 3 good months, so I should not complain when things get a little crazy around here. It just always leaves me at somewhat of a loss...what happened tto my sweet girl? Why does she want to make me so angry? Why can she not follow simple instructions? Why is she time after time choosing disobedience when she knows the consequences with be the same?

So, anyway, this last month was a bit rough, but it looks like we have emerged on the other end, so we are all happy and getting along much better.

Here are some positive things that have come out of her using her independence. One day we were in Belize and Annelise had an accident. I rushed her to the bathroom, and when I returned, Hadleigh declared that she had cleaned up the mess. She had pulled a chair over to the counter, grabbed the paper towels, and cleaned up the pee on the floor. What a sweet, caring and helpful little girl! And seemingly she is always willing to help me with whatever task I am doing. She loves doing laundry, putting away the silverware, changing sheets, etc. I think I need to find some more jobs for her, and more creative ways of letting her help me.

While in Belize I certainly saw her cautious nature. She always wanted me to be within an arm's reach, but she also wanted to be in all the action. And I could see within her this real desire to be part of what was going on...she just did not want to do it without me. For example when we went to the church for VBS, she wanted to go play with the other kids, and she just had a huge smile on her face as she watched them play, but she couldn't get up the nerve to go over with them. One of the days I took her into the middle of the action and we started playing with a frisbee. In a matter of seconds there were several other kids around who not only wanted to play frisbee with me, but also with Hadleigh. And she just LOVED that. After a little while I was able to sit down and she continued to play with her new friends. So sweet.

HC loves reading, and I truly LOVE that. One night we went over to some friends house for dinner. They did not have any children, but they had a shelf of children's books. As soon as we walked in, HC went straight for the shelf and literally sat there all night. I could spend hours reading to her. We have read Winnie the Pooh several times, chapter after chapter she will sit and listen. I took her to the library last week and she was in heaven. We picked out several fun new books for her to read. I think next time I want to get Mary Poppins, she loves the movie and I think she would enjoy the book.

Speaking of movies, we have been watching a couple musicals lately. Of course she loves Mary Poppins, and I checked out Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for her last week. The best part was during the big fight scene I asked her what was happening, and she said, "Oh they are just dancing Mama!" OK, if you think so!

Another thing she wants to do a lot is "read about God". We read about God a lot, which is fun. I love reading from her two little storybook Bibles and then reading her the real story from the Bible. She knows which stories are in which book...like we can read about Naaman in the Jesus Storybook Bible, but we can read about Nicodemus in the other one. We continue to work on our verses. She has so many memorized now that I need to start writing them down on 3x5 cards so that I can remember the different ones. This week we started working our way through "Big Truths for Little Kids" which goes through a catechism. At first I thought it was the Westminster Shorter, but then I just realized, it must just be a generic catechism for children (well, I suppose the Shorter Catechism was for children, but in any case). Anyway, we'll see how this goes. My thought is to go through one chapter a week, memorize the questions and answers and memorize the scripture that goes along with it (the scripture is the proof text for the answers). Hadleigh actually knows all the answers from this first chapter, which includes, Who made you, etc, but she doesn't know the verse, Isaiah 40.28, "Do you not know, have you not heard the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom." I have been looking for a more organized way to teach her things, so this seems to fit it. The hymn that we are singing this week is Father Long Before Creation, whic is a great hymn redone by Andrew Osenga. I also want to become more diligent at teaching her to pray, so I am going to get a little box that has pictures in it, pictures of people that we will pray for. We'll see if that works. I think that since we have been taking this little break from specific ministry at church I have been pouring more effort to organize myself at home and with the girls. This is probably a good thing, and I am enjoying being more intentional with my time with them.

OK, what else can I say about my little girl? She is so big. I love learning more things about her, even though it sometimes pushes me near the edge. Sometimes it is good to be pushed to the edge and to Christ to give me wisdom as a mama. Sometimes I realize her behavior is truly just foolish, and sometimes I realize she just needs me to speak a soft word. It is hard to distinguish...and there are times I have no desire to speak a soft word, or to look to anything outside myself for the answer. But it is good to know that I do not know everything, but there is much wisdom that can come if I spend time praying for her and asking God to show me what to do. Novel idea, I know. I look forward to many more month of being her Mama.

Broccoli Salad

I cannot remember if I have mentioned this before, but a few months ago we started experimenting with vegetarian recipes. This past spring Dave applied to up his life and disability insurance, and we thought for a month before they came to run his blood work we would eat meatless...well at least I would cook meatless and then we would eat meat when we ate out. Dave was up for the challenge and I was anxious to see if his cholesterol would be lower without the meat (at the beginning of the year we cut out butter and went to skim milk, so I am sure that has helped as well).

The funniest moment was one evening when Dave arrived home to find me putting together Shepherd's Pie. "Lamb or beef?" he exclaimed. When I turned and excitedely responded "kidney beans" his face fell. The dish was fairly yummy, but afterwards he mentioned that he would prefer his shepherd's pie to have meat...ok...anyone have a good meat filled sp recipe?

Anyway, after Dave's tests this spring we took a bit of a meatless break and then jumped back into it a bit this summer. We aren't vegetarians...oh we like meat too much, we are just trying to eat less of it. Some weeks I succeed more than others. In any case, this summer we have perfected our version of Oriental Salad. Ya know, the great old Betty Crocker cookbook? There is a yummy recipe in there for Oriental Salad, but it is made with coleslaw. I am sorry, but cabbage is just roughage in my book...nothing horribly nutritious in that, but after stealing a number of ideas from a bunch of varying recipes, Dave is happy with the turn out, and so am I...and so was my playgroup when I made it for them a couple months ago. So here is the recipe...special thanks for Amy for the broccoli idea and Kathy for the sesame seeds idea, and Betty Crocker for the dressing!

1 bag of Broccoli slaw (the stalks of broccoli have been shredded and it looks just like coleslaw, only it is done with broccoli...yummy, and super good for you! In my store it is in a bag above the whole broccoli)
1/4 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. sesame seeds
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
4 green onions, chopped
1 pkg Top Ramen Oriental Flavor Noodles
2 T. butter/margarine/olive oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. white vinegar
1 T. sesame oil

Chop green onions, and mix in bowl with the broccoli slaw, set aside. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Stir in seasoning packet from ramen mix. Break block of noodles into bite-size pieces over skillet (I usually smash the noodles while they are still in the wrapping); stir into butter mixture. Cook 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in almonds and sunflower seeds and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir in sesame seeds and cook until everything is golden brown; remove from heat. Mix sugar, vinegar and sesame oil together until sugar has dissolved. Add noodle mixture and dressing to other ingredients and toss. I also think it tastes better after it has chilled and the flavors all mix together.

Dave and I will eat this for dinner, and there will not be anything leftover. Yummy!

The Elf is 21 Months

Little Annelise is becoming such a big girl. She is talking up a storm, though a lot of it is not understandable to folks outside our family, but she can communicate exactly what she wants. My favorite part of all her words is when she sings. Her favorite songs to sing are anything with "Hallelujah". One of these days I will get it on video, but usually if we make a big deal of it she will stop singing. During our family worship times we sing a lot of "HoHoHo Hosanna" and "Praise Ye The Lord" so that she can get all her Hallelujahs in.

Of course I love to see the girls together in action, and Annelise is just desperate to do everything that HC is doing. Annelise doesn't even want to be awake if HC is not awake too. That makes the afternoon hard because Annelise is usually up for an hour before HC wakes up from her nap. But as soon as she hears HC rumble around she is up the stairs in a flash calling for her the whole time.

Annelise has started calling herself "Anna". I figure it is easier for her to say than Annelise, but I do look forward to when she can say her whole name. For now, she can use the abbreviated version. On occassion we will call her Anna too, but I try to stick with the full Annelise.

Poor Annelise is right in between ages of children at playgroup. She is a year or more younger than the oldest ones and a year or more older than the youngest ones. She is great at hanging with the big kids, but I am looking forward to her being in a Parent's Morning Out one morning a week this fall and hope that she will enjoy playing with kiddos her own age. There will be two other little girls from our church in her class, so I hope they will all be great friends.

Annelise loves baby dolls, which is super fun. Of course she loves everything that HC loves, trucks, planes, trains, and helicopters too. She does a great plane sounds which is super fun, but I am also happy that she is finding things that she enjoys. Who knows, maybe she will be my girly girl...or not. Either way.

Oooo. A potty update. She is doing great! What can I say, she is amazing. She still has some accidents but that would happen to any newcomer to potty training. She poops and pees and is just a natural. I am so excited, and just glad to have this come easy to her.

She continues to be a super sweet girl. She is very loving and affectionate. She always has a kiss and hug for you, and is becoming a great back scratcher. Yesterday I was suffering from food poisoning, and everytime I ran to the bathroom, Annelise was right beside me rubbing my back. So sweet! Not that I really wanted someone touching me, but she is a very sweet girl, and very loving and affectionate.

I love my Annelise.

I Am an Overachiever

Maybe it is because I am a first born child, I am not sure, but whatever the case may be there can be no doubt that I am an overachiever. OK, not the kind of overachiever that decides to bike up a 90% grade incline in Colorado. Or the kind that decides to run a marathon or even the kind that works out everyday. I never cared about being successful and ridiculously rich, so not that kind either. When we applied for life insurance a couple years back our financial advisor said that while if Dave died we needed to have enough insurance to cover his salary, if I died we just needed enough to cover services. Yea, that is me. My first job out of college I made $9/hour. It is probably also fitting that my last job before Hadleigh was born I made $9/hour...oh wait I think I did make it up to $9.60...ah the joys of being a contractor for the Army.

So, in any case, there are some areas of my life that I have realized I am an overachiever. I have realized that the fun thing about being an ENFP (well besides the fact that word on the street has it that Jesus was an ENFP) is that not only do I have tons of energy (supposedly), but I have a high tolerance for chaos (so they tell me), I can multi-task like no ones business (hmmm) AND I can put on a great show with all my tricks as if it was absolutely no problem and I never sweat doing it either!

Bring on the move from across the world, being jobless for 6 months, having two children under 2, buying a house and moving yet again, all the while hosting a community group at my home and serving on a ministry team at church. No problem, and if that wasn't good enough for you, there is so much more. I can scrub my floors everyday while keeping the rest of my house immaculate, and clip coupons while I am changing a diaper. Do you want more? How about spending hours reading Martin Lutheer's Bondage of the Will, while simultaneously doing a "not-so-easy to mostly difficult" sudoku puzzle. And on the side I'll watch your baby, cook you a meal, listen to you cry about a lost boyfriend or job or whatever you want to tell me about. OH yea, and did I mention that I am an expert in payroll, insurance shopping, will-making, and bank account changes and investing for retirement and college savings. Bring it on!

I am certainly tired and the thing is I am not even done yet. Let's also paint the walls in our home...no let's tear down the walls in our home and map out a schedule to catechize the girls, and not only should I be teaching them scripture and hymns and the Westminster Catechism, I better also be reading the classics to them, now I have to find out what the classics are.

Anyway, this is all a rant because last night I was too tired to sleep, so I got up at midnight to come downstairs and google "circle time with preschoolers". I am not even sure what circle time is, but I am certain I should be doing it with my girls. SO I sat up and researched different ideas and then found some good book lists for not only teaching them scripture, but for also reading to them good literature...move over Sandra Boynton (don't you love Moo Baa LaLaLa?). So today I am bone tired, and thinking through, should I really attempt to implement this whole circle time idea, and if so, should I consider not doing all the other things that I have been thinking about doing this fall? Like cleaning my house and going to play with refugees and their children?

The thing is I am not really stressed, I am just so ADD that I cannot decide what is important and what is not. I want to do all these things well, and the reality is I cannot. If I choose to make you a meal I will likely yell at my girls before I have dropped it off. And I will probably leave the dishes for Dave to do when he gets home. And though my house MIGHT be clean when you pop over to tell me about your woes, it was because I put the girls in front of a video.

So, now I will continue to wrestle with how to be totally me...while also being slightly responsible. How can I care about all the things in my head, while truly caring for the ones that I am directly in charge of? And what does it truly mean to take care of my girls anyway? Some moms provide wonderfully calm, tranquil, beautiful, clean homes to live in...I drag my girls to Belize to play, sweat and get heat rash all over their poor little bodies.

I am sure this is a common struggle for moms. We are told we can do it all, but it is just not true. At some point I have to decide what I care about and what I don't. I know one thing, I'll be happy to have you over to my unclean, undusted house, and listen to your woes, that is by far my favorite thing to do and I hope I never get too busy to do that.

Things We Love

We just returned from our first family mission trip to Belize. We had a great time and I will post more pictures and stories later, but I wanted to post some pictures of things that we LOVE/things that we could not have lived without this week.

Pamela or "Lela" as Annelise liked to call her. She took great care of us while we were in Belize.
Hairbands...Hadleigh and I usually had 6 in our hair and Annelise had 8.

Xiabe Country Club and Golf Club...wish we would have discovered this before Friday!

The Truck...and The Cat, both provided much entertainment.

New friends at VBS

Fans.

Burt's Bees Insect Repellent, all natural and safe for children.

Screens that mostly cover the windows

Baby powder that take some of the itch out of heat rash, and keep really hot, sweaty skin dry

Did I mention fans, and mostly fans that run.
That is all I have for now, but more to come!