He Gave (And She Gave)

We attended our Christmas Eve service at WFC tonight. It was a wonderful service, and the theme of the message was simply that He gave. God gave us His one and only son, Jesus, as the best gift that we can receive this Christmas season.

But the preschool kiddos also sang before the start of the service tonight. And Lydia gave quite a show as you can see from the attached video. I will warn you that it is a long video, but Lydia certainly gave the audience quite a few laughs. She definitely has a personality all her own and has no fear of being on stage or in front of people.

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season! Enjoy!



NOTE: If the above video does not load well, please click on this link to view the video on YouTube. Thanks!

Christmas Quotables

Again, I apologize for my long delay in posting any new material on the blog. But I had a story that I thought that I should share.

Lydia went to spend two days with Grandpa John and Grandma Becky in Hiawatha. She left on Sunday, and we picked her up on Monday evening. On Sunday, she got to go to "big church" as she called it. She usually goes to her own class at our regular church, but at Grandma and Grandpa's church, she got to go into the church service with all of the adults.

During the church service, they have a children's message. I have been told that Lydia joined the other kiddos fairly willingly at the front of the church. When the pastor asked the children why the Advent candle for that day was pink, Lydia immediately spoke up and said "because my dress is pink."

This response did not surprise me at all - Lydia LOVES anything pink! But the pastor then explained the real reason why the candle was pink and even let Lydia help to light the pink candle.

Yesterday morning as I was helping Lydia get ready, she asked if I knew that she got to light the pink candle at big church in Hiawatha. I told her that I had heard that. I asked her why the candle was pink. I fully expected her to give me the same reason that she gave the pastor on Sunday.

But she surprised me by answering that the candle was pink because it meant joy (which is correct). I asked her why the candle meant joy and her precious 3-year old response was, "Because Santa has joy when he brings me presents from Baby Jesus."

I love that little girl, and how her mind tries to work everything out!

Happy Halloween

 
Ghouls
 
Just Want To
 
Have Fun

Happy Halloween 2009! I thought that I would share a couple of pictures of the girls in their Halloween costumes. We have had a fun week celebrating. Lydia had a small Halloween party at her Children's Day Out program on Tuesday, and we got to sing all sorts of fun Halloween-themed songs at our Kindermusik class on Thursday morning. Then, we all dressed up (Brian and I included) to go to a costume party last night. And tonight, we rounded out the celebrating with a little bit of "trick or treating." It was pretty funny to listen to Lydia go up to each door and proudly announce "Twick or Tweat." I mean really - how can you ever turn down candy to a beautiful little Cinderella princess? Hannah got the most enjoyment from seeing if she could literally eat the candy and the wrapper all at the same time! She was not too pleased that we made her wait until we got back to the house to enjoy a few pieces of candy before bed.

I can't believe that tomorrow will be November already. This fall seems to be going by so fast - perhaps because it hasn't really felt like fall here! Maybe it won't really feel like winter either - well, I can always hope! Also, you might notice the guards that Lydia has on her thumbs in the first picture. Those are actually Thumb Guards that are designed to help her stop sucking her thumb. She has to wear them 24/7 for four weeks. We put them on for the first time on Monday afternoon and so far, so good. Let's hope her habit is officially broken by Thanksgiving. We will certainly be giving thanks that day if that is the case!

Pumpkin Fever

Since yesterday was such a beautiful day (but very windy), we decided to take advantage of the nice weather before it is gone again. After church, we went to grab donuts and then headed to the pumpkin patch for our annual search for the perfect pumpkin. We have gone to different pumpkin patches each of the last three years. Brian and I were actually commenting this year that neither of us had gone to pumpkin patches when we were kids - do you think this is a new trend?

Anyway, we tried out a pumpkin patch near Lawrence called Schaake's Pumpkin Patch . The best part is that admission was free and the hayride out to the pumpkin patches was free as well. So, we hitched a ride on the first hayride that we found and went to find our perfect pumpkins. We have learned from past years that having to carry around huge pumpkins for the rest of the time at the pumpkin patch is not our idea of a great time so we told each of the girls that they could pick out a pumpkin that they could carry - that theory actually worked out pretty well!

As you can tell from the pictures, I think we actually had more fun playing with the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch than we did actually picking the ones we brought home. Lydia also got to try out the pumpkin slingshot, we all attempted the hay bale maze, and the girls ended our trip with getting candy corn painted on their faces. All in all a great fall day!

 

Do you think I can carry this one? At least it has a handle!

 

Hannah - do you think this one is still alive? I don't hear a heartbeat!

 

This one is just my size!

 

A photo with Daddy with three of the four pumpkins that we came home with!

Dad - Stop That

Not sure what I love more, the picture above or the story below.

Teachable moments for dad.
Balancing playing ignorant vs. making Lydia cry!
I was shaving this morning and Lydia came in and said "Stop that, I need to ask you a question."
So I dutifully did and came to the computer where she looked on the screen and said...."Dad there is an Ark, but no dinosaurs in the Ark. That is pretty funny, but WHY is that?

So did I tell her those things don't exist anymore and crush a 3 year-old or just play ignorant? I chose the latter. But I loved the picture that I received through e-mail so much that I posted it as my wallpaper on my computer...hence how she saw the picture.

As a side note, all credit to the artist Regan for capturing this great perspective.

Concentration

I apologize for the posts this week since they don't have any pictures. But I love sharing stories about the girls too!

I told Brian a few days ago that Hannah has developed a new future career possibility. I think that she would be a great labor and delivery nurse. She has this new habit of pursing her lips together and breathing like they teach you to during childbirth classes. It is quite hilarious!

And it really only happens when she is doing a task that requires concentration. When she is focusing on something or trying really hard to finish something, she will purse her lips together and start deep breathing. It is really funny!

And Brian got to see it in action last night at dinner. She was trying to use her silverware to eat her food, and she started breathing like that. He looked at her like she was crazy! Lydia immediately started laughing hysterically which soon led all of us to be laughing together! It was quite a sight!

So, if you ever see Hannah breathing like she is in the middle of intense labor, don't worry. She is just concentrating! :)

And She Lives Happily Ever After

Well - today marked the end of another era for Lydia. This morning, Brian had gotten up about 5:30 a.m. when Lydia said that she needed to go to the bathroom. He took her to the bathroom and then put her back in bed. I am not convinced that she ever went back to sleep.

When I went in to her room to get her about 7:30 a.m., the first thing Lydia said to me was, "Mommy - I don't want to be Goldilocks anymore." I questioned her a little about this, and she proceeded to tell me that she didn't want me to be Mama Bear, or Daddy to be Papa Bear, or Hannah to be Baby Bear either. She said that she was done "playing the Three Bears" (her words - not mine).

I have to admit I was surprised and a little doubtful about her honesty. But she then asked to go into our room to talk to Daddy. I heard her go into our bathroom and apologize to him for calling him Papa Bear instead of Daddy. When I asked Lydia what Brian had said when she apologized, she said, "Daddy said there was no reason to be sorry." How cute!

But I was surprised when Lydia continued to insist all day today that she is done being Goldilocks. I really do think that she is serious. She corrected Brian once when he called her Goldilocks saying "My name isn't Goldilocks anymore - it is Lydia." Actually, Brian is sad about the whole situation. I think it just goes to show how quickly she is growing up. And he told me that he didn't want Lydia to lose her playfulness and imaginative spirit.

Not to worry Daddy. For those of you that are around Lydia, you should know that she thinks she has a sister AND a brother. She has (on more than one occasion) over the past three weeks told other people that she has a sister named Hannah and a brother named Chase. When I have tried to correct her and tell her that she has a cousin named Chase, she immediately says "There are two Chase's - my brother AND my cousin!" And no - there is no announcement forthcoming. She just really thinks that she has a brother! :)

And she also has two make believe cousins. Brian thinks that their names are Buby and Ruby, but I have to admit that their names change frequently. Their names always end in -by, but they can be Ruby and Ruby, Duby and Ruby, Buby and Buby, etc. And she references them frequently. She says that she loves playing with them and going to their house. She also says that their mom makes the BEST food - I guess she doesn't care for my cooking. And in case you were curious, they ARE twins!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that the Goldilocks phase of Lydia's life has apparently ended and now I can't wait to see what the next adventure is that we embark on with her. May Goldilocks live happily ever after (at least until Hannah picks her fairy tale of choice)! :)

Cowgirl Birthday

It is hard to believe that Lydia is officially three years old! We had a wonderful weekend full of birthday fun. We started off the weekend with a trip to Deanna Rose Farmstead for an "almost" birthday party as Lydia referred to it with Lydia's friends. There were 11 kiddos there, and it was a lot of fun. We were able to walk through all of the farm together - stopping to feed the animals, going down the barn slide, playing on the playground, seeing Pippi the cow, and riding the ponies.

 

 

You have to be three years old to ride the ponies so this was Lydia's first opportunity. At first, she seemed a little unsure, but by the end, she was smiling! I hope she doesn't expect to ride a pony every time that we go to the farm! :) We then went back to our corral for cupcakes - the cupcakes were made by Aunt Brooke, and they were wonderful! They even had a red sparkly cowgirl boot on top to match our western cowgirl theme! But I think the highlight of the farm birthday party was the wagon ride that we ended the morning with. Lydia had a lot of fun!



We were also lucky that Aunt Brooke, Uncle Chris, Parker, and Brecken could come up and spend time with us this weekend. They stayed here on Saturday evening so the girls had all of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to play together. It is so much fun to see them interact. My favorite was getting ready for church on Sunday morning and listening to the conversations between Lydia and Parker as they were lying in bed together. They were truly priceless little exchanges!

 

 

Then, on Sunday afternoon, we had another birthday party with just family. We just had it here at our house, and it was very relaxed! Aunt Brooke made an amazing gingerbread house (Lydia's request for the type of cake that she wanted). However, Lydia did not want to eat it at the party. We are planning on digging into the gingerbread house tonight! But we did eat another birthday cake that Aunt Brooke made and opened presents. The kiddos enjoyed playing outside since it was a beautiful day! All in all, the weekend was perfect!

The Stats

Well - I felt as though I needed to update you all on our activities over the past week. Last week was kind of crazy as we were getting everything ready for Lydia's birthday party. We had Lydia's last appointment with our Parents as Teachers representative, Jamie. That was actually a little sad for me - Jamie has been a wonderful resource for me to bounce ideas off of, and she has shared lots of wisdom with me over the last three years. We will definitely miss her!

Then, we had all of our regular activities during the week as well as a trip to Pittsburg, Kansas thrown in for me on Thursday! Needless to say, by Friday I was exhausted! But we also had Lydia's three-year wellness check with Dr. Martin on Friday morning. I had been preparing Lydia for the fact that she would be getting the seasonal flu vaccine at this appointment (i.e., a "shot"). She seemed fairly prepared for this when we went to the appointment.

She did great at the appointment. She followed all of Dr. Martin's instructions and her statistics were as follows:

Height - 38 1/4" (70% percentile)
Weight - 33 1/2 pounds (77% percentile).

Dr. Martin said that she looked great, and she was happy to hear that Lydia is a good eater (as though she couldn't tell from her statistics)! :) But when it came time for the flu shot, things changed a little. Hannah was scheduled to get her flu shot as well. Lydia went first. When the nurse gave her the shot, she immediately tried to pull away and then started crying. Then, it was Hannah's turn. The nurse gave Hannah the shot, and she didn't make a sound. She just sat there as though that was no big deal! When Lydia saw that, she definitely stopped crying! :)

Another funny Lydia story from last week. We were sitting at dinner on Thursday night, and I made the comment that I thought I was going crazy. I mean really - I had a crazy week! Well, Lydia immediately responded with "Is Mommy loco?" Loco means crazy in Spanish - I don't think they teach that word on Dora, but she had obviously heard it somewhere. When we realized that she understood what I was saying, Brian asked her if Mommy was crazy. She said no. Then, he asked her if he was crazy. Again, she said no. Finally, he asked her if Hannah was crazy. Once again, she said no. Then, he asked her if she knew anyone who was crazy. She immediately said yes. When Brian asked her who that was, she smiled brightly and said "Copper." Amen to that one! She definitely has our family dynamics figured out!

Like Mother Like Daughter

You might be surprised about who this blog post is actually about. Ever since Lydia was small, we saw those personality traits that seem to define everything that the birth order books define - the firstborn! In many ways, Lydia certainly takes after me. She tends to be a bit of a perfectionist and fiercely independent. She thrives on routine and likes to know what is coming next.

When Hannah was born, I knew that we had a completely different package on our hands. As a baby, she was very laid back. In fact, her personality seemed to be much more in line with Brian's. However, as Hannah has gotten older, and her personality has emerged even more, she has started portraying some new traits that have surprised both Brian and I. As I have described before, Hannah can make a mess out of absolutely anything in a matter of seconds. But, what I have rarely blogged about is how persistent she is with cleaning everything up.

 

When I ask Lydia to help pick up her toys, she will usually help, but I can also tell that she is definitely dragging her feet about helping. When I say pick up now, Hannah will usually make a bee line for whatever the task at hand is and dig right in. She loves order and having everything in its place (much like her Mommy)!

In fact, the other day, Hannah had a couple of her play pieces of food in her hand as we were leaving one of our bedrooms. I picked Hannah up and told her that we had to put the food away before we left the room. She quickly shook her head no so I carried her over to the plastic tubs where we store the food and asked her to drop the food into them. The first piece went into the tub without an issue. The second piece however, didn't actually make it into the tub. It landed on the floor outside. At that point, I didn't care, and I began to carry Hannah out of the room. But before we even made it to the door, Hannah said her word for down, and she was very insistent about it. She immediately walked back over to the tub, picked up the piece of food outside of it, and put it into the tub. Then, she picked up the plastic lid and put it on top. Once she was satisfied that everything was appropriately in its place, she followed me back to the door. I have to admit that I was surprised!

 

But we got the biggest laugh about Hannah on Friday night. Brian had taken both girls outside while I finished some preparations for dinner. He came back into the house and told me that I had to come back outside. Our neighbors have a large cottonwood tree whose branches hang over our fence. Thus, during this time of year, we have a lot of leaves to rake. Well, Hannah had found the many leaves and had made up her mind that they belonged back on our neighbor's side of the fence. She began putting them back through the slats of the fence by the handfuls. She is quite a character! And honestly, I think she would have put every single leaf back over had we let her!

I guess it just goes to show that actions of the people that you spend time with really do influence what you do and don't do. I just didn't think about that when it came to my kiddos! :)

 

Gift of the Tongue

We are studying the book of Genesis this year in my Community Bible Study group. So far, I have really enjoyed this study, and I am already anticipating getting to know the women in my core group even better. We have only completed our in-depth study of the first three chapters of Genesis, but one of the items that has really impacted me is the power and majesty of our Creator!

One of the most powerful aspects for me is how God literally spoke our entire universe into being. At the beginning of Genesis, the six days of creation begin by stating, "And God said..." I had never before thought of the powerfulness of this statement. God spoke everything into creation - isn't that amazing?

But the other item that has really resonated with me are the attributes that God has given to each of us. Obviously, I knew that God had formed each of us "in His own image." So, I knew about our physical similarities with God. However, I had never spent a lot of time considering the attributes that God had given us. The biggest attribute that has been on my mind has been the power of our tongue. Just as God created everything with His words, He has also given us the power of the tongue. Although other animals have tongues, none has the ability to communicate like we do.

That fact has definitely given me reason to ponder our gift of the tongue. God has also given us the ability to create and/or destroy with our spoken words. My prayer over the past two weeks has been for God to increase my awareness of my words. I really want to be known for my ability to encourage others and to build others up. I know how quickly I tend to open my mouth and speak (especially during those especially long silences when things tend to get uncomfortable). And usually, I end up saying something that I regret.

May we each remember the power of our words and commit to using them to encourage others. If God used His words to create our universe, can I not honor Him with the words that I use?

Pirate Pizazz

 

 

Can you tell which little gal is our neat one?

We have had a birthday-filled day. We have a lot of September birthdays in our family. Our nephew, Chase, will turn one year old on Tuesday, and my sister, Molly, will turn 30! So Tuesday will definitely be a celebratory day. But today, we went to Chase's birthday party. It was a pirate-themed affair which the girls loved. Lydia really enjoyed the treasure hunt and all of the pirate gear! But the best part of the party were the cupcakes. We decided that red frosting and a one-year old who loves to eat just don't mix well! Hannah literally rivaled the birthday boy for who was the messiest after their cake-devouring fun! At least she still knows how to smile through it all! Now the question is how long the red tint on her hands and face will last! :)

As we were running errands this morning before the party, Lydia kept asking if there would be cake at Chase's birthday party. We assured her that there would be cake there (and we knew it would be spectacular with Aunt Brooke creating it). As she kept talking about the cake, we asked Lydia if she understood why we were going to the party. Her quote of the day, "Yes Mommy - to help Chase eat his cake." You can tell where her priorities lie. We told her that we were actually going to the party to help Chase celebrate his birthday and that cake was just an added benefit! She matter-of-factly said, "Well you can't have a party without cake." I wonder where she learned that from! :)

Tonight, Brian and I went to a surprise 30th birthday party for one of his fraternity brothers from K-State. It was nice to see some familiar faces as well as meet some new people. And it was a great date night for Brian and I! Here's to all of the September birthdays!

Charlotte's Web

I have been trying to exercise on a more regular basis for the past few weeks. It has proven to be a wonderful experience - a little time to myself and a new perspective on each day when I get home. I have been exercising in the mornings and for anyone who knows me, I am not an early riser! So, it usually takes some effort for me to get up and get going but once I am outside in the beautiful morning air, I am usually ready to go.

This past week, I woke up and walked outside one morning anticipating the time just before sunrise that I have become accustomed to. However, I was greeted with a large and heavy blanket of fog. As I began to run, I have to admit that I started getting a little frustrated with God. He knows that I like to see what is coming next so that I can make it to the next point on my walk/run each morning. Seeing what is in front of me can really be my motivating factor (i.e., I just need to make it to that next hill)! But this particular morning, the fog was too dense for that to happen.

So, I continued to run with no forseeable end in sight. And then I got to the point in my run where I enter into a local park. As I began to run through the park, I noticed something spectacular. I began to see spider web after spider web. They were beautiful and exquisite masterpieces, and they were everywhere. I felt as though God had placed them there that morning just for me. As I try to exercise almost every day, I began to wonder if I had simply missed all of these during the previous mornings. And then I realized something even more profound. Although God had blocked my view of my next point along my run that morning, He had given me an even better gift - each individual spider web.

As I began to ponder this thought on the remainder of my run, I began to realize that our lives are very similar. Although we all like to see what is coming ahead, God can sometimes block our view. And we can rant and rave at God about why He is doing this to us, but usually, if we just take the time to focus on the here and now, God will reveal something even better that we would have missed otherwise. God is a big picture guy, and although we all tend to think that we know what is just over the next hill, God really knows. And He may block our view for a reason - so we take time to stop and enjoy the beautiful masterpieces that He has placed along our paths.

Lord, help me to recognize and enjoy the beauty that you put in front of me each day and to enjoy each moment, Knowing that You see the next hill or valley long before I do and that You know the path that is best for me.

Game Days

We have had a really wonderful Labor Day weekend! But to sum it up, it was all about experiencing different games. On Friday night, we decided to venture to Mill Valley High School to experience our first high school football game in our school district! It was definitely an eye-opening experience! With the amount of thighs and cleavage that I saw from the high school girls, I decided I could wait about 14 years to deal with all of that! But we did enjoy cheering the Jaguars on (although it wasn't to a victory)!

Then, Grandma Becky and Grandpa John had two extra tickets to the K-State vs. UMass college football game on Saturday evening. Lydia and Daddy took them up on their offer to join them at the game! It was really Lydia's first K-State football game that she could participate in. Since I have many wonderful memories of eating hot dogs in that same football stadium when I was little, I was so excited for Lydia to really experience the game! But when I went to football games, we were lucky if there were 500 fans in the stadium not the 50,750 that were there to watch Coach Snyder make his comeback on Saturday night! Luckily, Lydia was able to see the Cats record their first victory of the season! She looked really cute in her little K-State T-shirt and matching purple bow!

On Sunday, we only watched a little football on TV! But it was nice to relax at home! Today, we took Lydia and Hannah to Kaufman Stadium to see the Royals take on the L.A. Angels. The Royals were 0-9 against the Angels headed into this game, but they actually pulled off a victory today! It was a gorgeous day so we packed a lunch and went to the stadium a little early to enjoy the kid's playground before the game. A woman saw us eating at a picnic table and was nice enough to give us two free passes to ride the carousel and to play at the Little K. Lydia and Hannah both loved the carousel - Lydia picked a giraffe to ride on and Hannah (by default) picked a beautiful pony covered in flowers. Lydia didn't want to get off the carousel when the ride was over. But Lydia also got to go and experience the Little K. The kiddos each get a turn to hit a couple of balls and run the bases on a miniature field. Brian said that when Lydia picked up the bat, she immediately held it as though she were a left-handed batter. Then, she went to the left-side of the plate and actually hit a couple of balls. I guess that we have a lefty on our hands!

I am attaching a few pictures of the weekend festivities for you to enjoy! Have a wonderful week!

Lydia checking out the action at the K-State game through Grandma's binoculars!
Hannah hanging out at home with Mommy before we listened to the K-State game (glad we had something to smile about at the end of the game)!

 

Lydia showing off her "lefty" tendencies at the Little K!

 

Family picture outside of Kaufman Stadium before the Royals game began!

 

Worker Bee

 

Brian reminded me this morning about how different Hannah's personality is from Lydia's. Hannah was a very laid-back baby. She was great just accompanying Lydia and I on our many adventures and was very adaptable. I think that her personality has somewhat changed since then. She can still be very laid back about almost anything except for food! :) But now, if she really wants something, she will definitely babble at you until you go and get it for her. In fact, almost every afternoon when Hannah wakes up from her nap, she will immediately go into the kitchen cabinet where I keep extra sippy cups, get the one that she prefers, and bring it to me. And if I don't act fast enough, she will grab my hand and help me into the kitchen where she points at the automatic water dispenser on the refrigerator. The girl definitely knows what she wants!

But the other interesting difference between the girls is their level of activity. Lydia is perfectly content to play with one activity for a long length of time and just relax in front of the TV (I know - I am a terrible mom). However, Hannah has absolutely no interest in sitting still for any length of time. She is certainly our busy bee. She moves from one activity to another without missing a beat. She rarely sits down (except when she is really tired). It is not unusual to see Hannah move from playing with a toy in the living room to removing every item from a kitchen cabinet to climbing up the stairs and sliding back down within a 5 minute time frame. Brian often calls her his little "worker bee." If she keeps this up, she will lose that "chubby baby" look in no time! Hopefully, the adorable chubby cheeks remain!

Goldilocks

As many of you know, my mom LOVES books! Therefore, we have bookshelves full of books (mostly children's books at this point) on every level of our house and in both of the girls' bedrooms.

For Lydia's first Christmas, my mom and my sister, Molly, gave her "Goldilocks and The Three Bears." Now, of course, they selected the version that they liked with the utmost care and had to actually order a used copy of the book from the Chelmsford Public Library in Chelmsford, MA. The author of this particular version is Lorinda Bryan Cauley in case you are curious.

Anyway, Lydia had not really been that interested in the book until the past six months. Since then, Goldilocks has really become an obsession! In fact, most days, Lydia insists that she be called Goldilocks. It works out perfectly in her world because Brian is Papa Bear, I am Mama Bear, and Hannah is Baby Bear. She loves it! However, Goldilocks can also try my patience as she now insists that she doesn't have to follow the rules at our house because she lives at a different house in the woods! :)

Another funny story is that yesterday when we were at school, her new teacher introduced herself and told Lydia that her name started with a "B." To which Lydia immediately responded, "My Daddy's name starts with a 'B'." But when the teacher asked what her dad's name was, Lydia matter-of-factly responded, "Papa Bear"! Nice Lydia! And then to add to the story, her teacher from last year came by and said "Hi, Lydia!" To which Lydia again responded, "My name isn't Lydia - it is Goldilocks." We will see how long this trend continues! Oh to understand the mind and imagination of a two-year old!

And making their debut, the new Baby Bear and Goldilocks!

Batteries Not Included

This morning, I took Lydia to her "school" to visit her Children's Day Out teachers for this year. On the way to school, Hannah and Lydia were sitting in their respective car seats. It is not at all unusual to hear Lydia start doing something that makes Hannah giggle and pretty soon they are both laughing - Lydia to get the giggle reaction from Hannah and Hannah laughing at how silly her older sister is.

This is exactly the scenario that was occurring this morning. I was giggling under my breath at both of them. But pretty soon, I noticed that Hannah was unusually quiet in the backseat. Nothing was wrong - she was just sitting looking out the window. Lydia kept repeating, "Hannah - laugh! Please laugh!" or "Hannah - why aren't you laughing?" Obviously, the tactic that Lydia had been using was no longer working.

Then, Lydia said, "Mom - Hannah won't laugh anymore." I told her that Hannah probably didn't think whatever she was doing was funny anymore. Lydia pondered that for a minute before responding, "Mom - I think Hannah just needs new batteries." Oh - the mind and creativity of a two-year old. I emphatically told her that with the speed that Hannah can effectively undo a kitchen cabinet, she certainly didn't need new batteries! :)

Lydia did great in her classroom - she is definitely going to be one of the more talkative ones in the class. No big surprise there! Hope that you all have a great week!

Summer Update

UPDATED: I need to give credit where credit is due. The pictures in this post were taken by my cousin, Kerry. She is an amazing photographer and has quite the talent for capturing the best moments. Thanks Kerry for the wonderful memories!

Well - I have to apologize for the extended summer vacation that I took from the blog world. Not to worry - I have been keeping up quite extensively on everyone else's blogs. Just not updating our own! So, I decided that with school starting back up and us trying to settle into our fall schedule, I would also try to get back into blog updates. If nothing else, so that you can see and enjoy updated photos of our family.

Our big event for this summer was my brother's wedding. He married Kindra, a welcome addition to our family, on August 8th. What a fun event without a dull moment! :) As you can see from the pictures, a great time was had by all! And in case you are curious, Lydia was the flower girl! She did a wonderful job but truth be told, Hannah was a little jealous that she couldn't join in the fun!


Lydia and Grace walking back down the aisle hand in hand after the ceremony.


Hannah having a great time with Daddy at the reception.


Lydia and Grandma Becky at the reception.


Hannah showing her pearly whites.


Lydia showing off her silly face with my cousin, Steffanee.

Also, just as another update, Hannah took her first steps on July 31st. She has now officially transitioned to being more of a walker than a crawler! I think that our world is about to get rocked! She is definitely our little tornado (but at least she is a happy one). We hope that you are all getting back in the swing of things as we prepare for fall! Enjoy!

Girlfriends in God

Well - yesterday I provided a recap from one of my favorite speakers at the Women of Faith conference this weekend. But I also had the pleasure of attending the conference with a wonderful girlfriend of mine. It was so refreshing to sit and be able to make eye contact with someone else and just talk (rather than chasing a two-year old around, cutting up food into tiny bits and pieces, etc.).

Tonya and I have known each other for several years through various church activities. But I think that we took our friendship to a new level this weekend. We were able to share parts of our lives that neither of us was aware of previously. It was nice to be able to open up and share freely about our own life experiences. I think the one thing that I took away from our weekend together was realizing that being vulnerable and open with others is so key to developing healthy, meaningful relationships.

Too often, I put up barriers because I fear being judged or let down by someone else. What I am slowly coming to realize is that when we are open and honest about our life struggles, we allow others the opportunity to come alongside and support us through those times. Will we never be hurt? No - there absolutely will be those who break our trust or gossip behind our back about our struggles. However, I believe that we will only be able to see the best in people if we give them the opportunity to help us along the way.

I have learned over the past two years that being open and honest about issues that I am dealing with has also helped me to minister to others. When I had a miscarriage 3 1/2 years ago, I had no one to turn to with questions about what to expect, what to do next, how to cope, etc. But, with God's help, I have learned that my openness and honesty about my experience has allowed me to help others in the same situation.

Although I don't yearn to experience difficult times in my life, my prayer is that I will continually use those experiences to first of all, be vulnerable and open with others about my struggles and secondly, be open and willing to minister to others in similar circumstances.

Thank you Lord for girlfriends and for Your grace - may I continue to show more and more of it to others each day!

A Grand New Day

I had the privilege of attending the Women of Faith conference this weekend in Kansas City with a girlfriend of mine. The conference was really amazing - the theme this year was "A Grand New Day." Not only was it full of powerful praise and worship music, God-centered teaching, but it helped me to get a fresh perspective.

One of my favorite speakers was Patsy Clairmont. She is a tiny little thing, but she packs a powerful punch. She is so easy to listen to, and she has a way of making the word of God come alive for me. Her word pictures have really stayed with me even after the conference was over.

She related a story about her grandson this past Christmas season. She had Christmas trees set up all around her house but none of them had been decorated. When Noah walked into their living room, the largest Christmas tree was set up there. His reaction was one of awe. When Noah went home that night, he kept nagging his mom because he wanted to go back to his grandmother (Patsy's) house the next day to help her decorate the tree. His mom finally relented, and Noah went to help Patsy and her husband decorate the Christmas tree in their living room.

As most children do, Noah decorated the entire section of the Christmas tree that was at his eye level. He even placed ornaments on top of ornaments. As Patsy explained, when Noah left that day, she spent the next three days re-decorating the Christmas tree to even all of the ornaments out. When Noah returned to their house a few days later, he walked into the living room, and exclaimed, "I didn't know I had done all of that."

As Patsy went on to explain, when we are in the midst of the laundry, the dishes, the diapers, the appointments, the responsibilities, and the day-to-day tasks, sometimes we get so caught up in looking at the eye level ornaments that we miss the bigger picture. Her point was that that some day, we will be able to step back and say "Wow - I did all of that?!" That was such an encouragement to me. I DO tend to get so caught up in the details that I miss the big picture of what my primary role is - to raise two little girls into women who love Christ as their Savior and love others!

And to take Patsy's analogy one step further, she said that she envisioned that when we stand before the throne of God, it will be much the same. We will see all of that we have done for His kingdom, and we will say "Wow - I did all of that?!" I pray that is the legacy that I leave, not only for my children but for those whose lives I come into contact with.

More about the conference tomorrow! For now, I leave you with a verse - "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 Hope you have a great night!

Sledding in March!

We got about 4 inches of snow this weekend which gave my brother in law and I the opportunity to take my nephew (Blake) and Lydia sledding on Sunday afternoon. Against our better judgement, we sent them down the hill on their own and together. Amazingly they did really well and as an added bonus appeared to love the thrill. Topped off by a natural snow cone and some hot chocolate we seemed to have a successful Sunday afternoon. Props to Aunt Brooke on the hot chocolate...

Have a great day.

Brian

Innocence of Children

This was a conversation that Lydia and I had today in the car on the way to her Children's Day Out program:

L: Why is it bright outside?
E: Because the sun is shining today.

L: Where is the moon?
E: It comes out at night.

L: Oh - who made the sun and moon?
E: Who do you think made the sun and moon?

L: God (I was very impressed at this point)!
After a little thought, she added:
L: And He made the stars too - they are yellow! I love God!

And I love Lydia's simple view of the world. Sometimes I get so caught up in the details of life that I miss the bigger picture. Thankfully, children don't. Lydia truly gets it - now I pray that I would acknowledge God in all of the simple things in life that I too often take for granted.

Have a great day!

ELMO and friends

I (B) had the chance to take Lydia to see Sesame Street's Elmo live performance at the Sprint Center last Saturday. We picked up Liam (and his dad) then headed to Elmo's "House" as Lydia called it. They both really seemed to enjoy the show although Lydia said she wanted to go home as soon as it started because it was loud. I suppose she won't be the front row rock concert type...

To The Beach

Today in Kansas City, it is freezing. The high today was something like 36 degrees. However, we hit that at sunrise this morning. Ever since then, the temperature has been dropping significantly and with the wind, it really feels bone-chilling cold. As we were leaving Bible Study this morning, I kept commenting to Lydia about how cold it was and how we had to hurry to get in the car. Once we were all settled in the car, I told Lydia that we were going home. As only Lydia can, she promptly told me:

"No Mommy, no home." I asked her where she wanted to go instead. And she looked at me very seriously and said, "The beach." Of course, I was totally shocked because I don't know that I have ever taught Lydia about the beach. But I immediately agreed with her that I wished we could go to the beach as well. Well, to a two year old, that is permission! She kept excitedly saying, "Beach, beach, beach" all the way home! Too bad that she doesn't understand that going to the beach would involve a long plane trip. Maybe we can imaginge a beach trip together when she wakes up from her nap!

 

This is a picture of Lydia from Saturday morning. Grandpa and Grandma Howard bought Lydia and Hannah a big rocking horse for Christmas. It is now a permanent fixture in our living room. Lydia is enjoying it more and more every day. Here she is enjoying posing for a picture with her new friend. We have been encouraging her to name the horse but as of now, he or she remains unnamed. We will see what name she comes up with! Also, just another side note: in order to properly ride her horse, Lydia has to be decked out in her cowgirl gear including her new red cowgirl boots from Uncle Griff and her cowgirl hat. She is quite the sight!

Look At Me

 

This is a picture of Hannah from last Friday. This is pretty typical of Hannah - she is such a good-natured child. She always has a very easy smile, and she loves to sit up to see all of her surroundings. She turned nine months old on Sunday - hard to believe! Last Friday, we had her nine month old appointment with Dr. Martin. Her statistics are as follows:

Weight - 19 pounds, 2 ounces - 50th percentile
Length - 29 1/4" - 75th percentile

As you will notice in the picture, Hannah still doesn't have a single tooth. As Dr. Martin was quick to point out, she will probably get six at once - her top four and bottom two. Yeah - I can't wait for that to start! :) Also, Dr. Martin seemed somewhat concerned that Hannah was not crawling yet. That wasn't even something that I was concerned about before we went to the appointment. But of course, afterwards, my "mom" defenses went up, and I have been thinking about it since then (i.e., should I be paying more attention to Hannah, do I not put her on her tummy enough, and on, and on).

But I have come to this realization. It is definitely our job to be an advocate for our children. I want to get Hannah the help that she needs (if she truly needs it). However, it is also our job to know our children best (better than even their pediatrician). At this point, I am not concerned about Hannah not crawling. She is a very laid back little girl and anything that she wants is quickly brought to her by her big sister. So, God is teaching me through this that everything will happen in His time - He knows Hannah better than I ever will. And He designed her exactly as she is. And as a good friend of mine said, no one will be asking when Hannah is in kindergarten when she learned to crawl, walk, etc. Amen! :)

Crushed Spirit

I (Brian) generally don't write much on the blog, but I came across this blog entry from Dan Miller (author of 48 Days to the Work You Love) in his weekly e-mail from 48Days.com. Not a commercial for his service/book, just for the words written below the stars. Even without a crushed spirit, these are great suggestions for living our lives.

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Recently I saw a 61 yr-old gentleman who lost his job back in May of last year. Whenever a long period of time has passed without a job I always suspect more life issues to be lurking in the sidelines. (Yes, even in this economy.) This was confirmed once again. He told me his wife left him four months ago, his daughter (“the joy of my life”) got married and moved away five months ago, his investments are now worth less than half what they were 3 years ago, He had worked for the same company for 36 years and then they let him go with a small severance package, he’s unconnected at his church and feels “rejected on all sides.” He made the last monthly payment three weeks ago on his dream house that now must be sold to settle the divorce and he’ll likely move into an apartment in town.

Where do we go from here? Proverbs 18:14 tells us “A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” Or in the Living Bible it says “what hope is left?”

Each area of our lives requires that we are making deposits of success. Even tiny withdrawals with no replacement deposits will lead to bankruptcy in relationships, physically, spiritually, and socially as well as in jobs and finances. I know that in crisis the area of most pain gets most of our attention. But often it is by making extra deposits in other areas that a person can springboard back to success in even the most critical ones.

My advice:
Set aside time for vigorous physical exercise. Walk 3 miles each day – it will help wash away anger and stimulate positive creativity. Smile while you walk -- and notice all birds, trees and children.


Seek out a Godly mentor. Much of the success of AA has been in having another person to call in the lowest times. Don’t isolate yourself. Maintain strong family and friend relstionships.


Reduce TV watching and instead read or listen to inspirational material at least 2 hours daily.


Volunteer for a worthy cause. Helping someone else in need is a great way to ease the inward pain.


Forgive everyone in your life. Make peace with your past. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.


Get a job – even if it’s not your dream job or a great career move. Deliver pizzas or work in the garden department at Home Depot – to get moving in a positive direction while you continue to build for long term success. Yesterday’s Nashville Tennessean lists 1814 jobs – and we know that listed jobs represent only about 12% of what’s available at any given time; thus there are over 15,000 positions waiting to be filled in this average sized city.


At the end of each day, complete these two sentences:
"Today I am thankful for......"
"Today my most significant accomplishment was......."

Victory

I wanted to post a quick message about a new blog that I have added to My Blog List. In order to curb off questions that anyone might have, the blog's name is Victory over Sexual Abuse. This blog in no way suggests that I have ever had to suffer the trauma of sexual abuse. However, one of my girlfriends has unfortunately suffered through sexual abuse in her life.

She has started a ministry at our church called Victory over Sexual Abuse (VOSA). She has devoted herself to helping other victims of abuse and helping others to be aware of proactive ways that they can help to prevent abuse from occurring. God has certainly brought beauty from the ashes in her life. As she is very much aware of, a person cannot have an effective ministry without being wholly vulnerable. I applaud her for sharing her story so openly in the hopes of helping other men and women who have been affected in one way or another by sexual abuse.