Caleb's 2!

This month has flown by! It's been quite busy with homeschooling, playing the piano for church, and grading SATs. And...birthday celebrations, first Caleb's, then Will's. Caleb's favorite gift was his fishing rod. Will loved his homemade sour cream pound cake the best, I think. :-)

Caleb has added 2 words to his vocabulary, "probably" and "actually" and uses them correctly. "Actually, we don't eat sand. We eat snacks." Or "Probably, Daddy can fix it." Yes, son, he probably can. Oh, and he often calls Ella, "young lady." And not in such a nice tone. Hmm, wonder where he learned that? Just the other day, I heard him squeal, "That's mine, young lady!"

Ella's doing great in school. I decided to go through 100 Easy Lessons again and this time I'm more consistent-we do a lesson every day instead of one every week (like we did when she was 4). She's currently on lesson 48-woohoo! We stopped at 50 last time, so I'm excited about passing that milestone soon. Her prize for finishing 1/3 of the lessons was an afternoon at the park with a friend and Chick-Fil-A for lunch. For her next milestone-Lesson 66-she'll get a picnic w/me and Caleb at a local *free* petting zoo. She can't wait! And she's loving Math-U-See! So glad I got this. And I must say I understand math-especially place value-better by teaching her with this method. She's been building and reading 3-digit numbers and Caleb enjoys building w/her manipulatives and putting them in between his toes!

Miss Ella is getting plenty of social interaction with her homeschooling club day classes in town. She's taking an arts/crafts and tea party Bible study class. She also takes ballet and tap on another day. But her most valuable social interaction is precious time with her baby brother. Just the other day, while I was chopping veggies for lentil soup, I observed them out the window. Hand in hand, splashing in a mud puddle and both of them under her princess umbrella. Priceless. She would have so much less time and memories with Caleb were she in traditional school all day long.

And we're all loving our baskets of yummy fruit and veggies since we joined our local CSA. For a while there, I must admit, I was growing weary of eggplants; however, we just cooked some delicious mustard greens and broccoli (no cheese added!) that both children gobbled down. Awesome!

And I've been reading Crazy Love. Wow. Definitely not a book you can read quickly. In fact, I finished a little over half and had to return it to the library, so will have to check it back out again soon to finish it. It has really got me thinking about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It really is all about loving God and serving others. That's it but yet those two commandments are the hardest for me to follow. Why is that? Do I really love Him most? More than anyone else, including my own children? Do I long for His coming? Really and truly long for Him? Am I doing the will of my Father by serving "the least of these"? Do I delight in serving others? Do I see them as God does-treasures created in His own image- or as an annoyance that I must try to fit into my schedule? Truly God has been revealing my selfishness. My heart needs to be cleaned out, renewed, restored. I've been praying Psalm 51 a lot lately, crying out to Him for He alone can rescue.

Beach Memory

Busy Summer!

So many events in the last 3 months! Let's see if I can get them in the correct order. First, Laurance and Kimberly had their 2nd baby boy, Joshua, at home while Jonathan slept. The midwife barely made it in time. Then I met my college roommate in Columbia for a day at Riverbank Zoo. Oh, it was so hot, but it was great to catch up with Sarah and meet her newest addition (she now has 3 girls!). And Ella really enjoyed the lorikeets eating out of her hand. Next, it was off to RI for Charles and Sarah's beautiful wedding. The most touching part was when Charles sang "Yours Forever" to Sarah after she walked down the aisle.  We all enjoyed our rented 2009 Chrysler Town & Country-I could so get used to that-and getting to stop to visit with friends on the way there and back. Ella, of course, loved being a flower girl!



Soon after we got back, Jeff and Emily finally had their little baby girl, Lydia Aven.  She was able to be delivered at the birthing center on the last day possible before Emily would have had to be induced! Next, came Ella's 4th b-day and then Charles and Sarah came here to visit w/the family after their honeymoon. There was the 4th picnic, having lots of playdates w/Karanena and Gracie (yay, I have a friend in town who is not a relative!) and then my b-day. The summer won't be officially over for us until we go on our annual beach trip (3 nights to Surfside) in a few weeks. When we get back, it'll probably be time to close up the pool (sigh) and then I suppose it will be back to the treadmill for exercise. However,  I have located a Pilates instructor in the area who gives lessons at her home. I really want to try that out-we'll see. 

My little man has 4 full teeth and 3 half ones. Confused? So are we. His first 4 came in fine by 6 months, but the next 3 started coming in around 7.5  months and are still only halfway in. In fact since 8 months, they've been at the same spot and now Caleb is fast approaching 11 months old. Not sure if something's wrong. Usually it only takes teeth 2-3 weeks to come in once they break through. I'm actually taking him to the dentist this week just so he can get a quick peek and see what he thinks. Not that there's anything that they could really do about it right now, but if it puts my mind at ease, then it's worth the trip. 

Our Ella Belle has started taking dance! She actually did gymnastics this summer and is now taking ballet and tap and loves it! Just last night she put on a show in the kitchen for us. "And a tap, and a tap, and a tap, tap, tap!" She's just too cute. She said she likes tap better than ballet because "I can be loud in tap!" And of course, our sweetie is now 4! She had a princess pool party complete w/a princess castle cake. It was a homemade cake and worth saying the $40 I would've paid to buy a similar one, but let's just say you could tell it was homemade. :-) Ella was still so proud of it and that made everything okay. The kids enjoyed swimming, decorating their crowns, and waving their paper towel holders wands.







It was a great b-day party, but Will and I decided that for Ella's next one, we're taking the year off! It was just too much planning and stress, and I didn't get to really enjoy the day, so we're having her 5th b-day party at the lake at my parent's house. Pressure off me, yay!

Caleb is standing and cruising now. Actually he's been pulling up on things and cruising for several months now, but just in the last couple of weeks he can get to a standing position all on his own and push his walker around. I'm sure by his first birthday (how can that be coming up already?), he'll be walking. And Caleb loves to clap, for himself or others. When we were swimming the other day, Ella jumped off the diving board and I yelled, "Good job, Ella!" Immediately, Icee began clapping for her in his float. He's such a sweetheart! I was just telling my dear friend Sarah (who is due in Feb!) how I used to wonder how I'd be as a mom to a boy-I didn't even have brothers growing up to help me adjust to having a boy in the house. I even thought nursing a son might be weird. I know that's a crazy thing to think, but I did wonder about it. And then just as soon as I met him, it was as natural as could be. Not just nursing him, but loving him, getting to know him and providing for his needs. He is really my little man now. I love him to pieces and could not imagine my life without him. 



Caleb likes watching deer videos w/his daddy. He says "Duh, Duh, Duh!" when he sees the deer. However, that is also now his word for any creature-such as our dogs and cats, or Ella's Raggedy Ann doll. He gets so excited and pumps his arms up and down, "Duh! Duh!"  This morning, he said it while he was on our bed.  I couldn't figure out why he was saying it. Then I realized he was looking at Will's deer picture; as soon as I put him on the floor, he crawled over to the chest of drawers so he could see it better. He then wanted me to lift him up to give him a closer look.  Aww, just like his Daddy. I'm sure he'll be out in the woods by the time he's 2!



Ella's already asked Will about going out this year but it's just too hot to take her. He did get a hunting blind though and now that he has permission to hunt in the woods behind our house (yay!!!), she'll be accompanying him when the weather turns a little colder.  Just last night when we were coming home from Ma-ma's, a big buck ran across the dirt road in front of our car. "Did you see that, Ella?" "No, Daddy." Later she said, "Daddy, what I was thinking was (she loves saying that phrase), you should have had your bow so you could get him!" 

And I've been teaching Ella how to read using the How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We're on Lesson 11 now and she is already reading "me, am, see, sat, mat," etc. She can write the words too. I'm so proud of her! 





Oh, and re: extreme couponing which I referenced in my last post; I'll just say, if you're at all interested in saving some money off your groceries/dipes, etc., go to www.southernsavers.com. All the info you need is there. In a nutshell, CVS is great because of their Extra Care Bucks. A few weeks ago, they had a deal where if you bought Pampers for $9.99 you got $5.00 in ECB. There was also a $1.50 off manufacturer coupon. So basically you paid $3.49 for a jumbo bag of diapers, which is much cheaper than even the Parent's Choice diapers at Wal-Mart. Just last week, I went to CVS and spent $1 (after the ECB) for 3 Aveeno sunscreen products.  Rite-Aid does single check rebates, instead of ECB. A couple weeks ago, I got Will two 45-count Zyrtec bottles for free at Rite-Aid. Grocery-wise, I save much more by shopping at Bi-lo than I ever did at Wal-mart. The key is to buy the buy one get one free products (you can just buy one-it rings up half off) and then use a coupon on top of that (coupons double up to .60 at Bi-lo). I got Will a 4-pack of Yoplait yogurts for 5 cents!  It does take some time to get it all organized, and I'm still trying to simplify things, but I think I've found a new hobby! I just don't want it to get all consuming!

Well, that's all I have time for now. Who knows when I'll post again. This seems to be turning into a quarterly blog. And Facebook is not much better. Oh well, I guess occasional updates are better than never blogging/updating at all. 

 Here's a video of Caleb making some cute sounds.

Valentine's Day Treat

Will came home from work Saturday to tell me Jim had called him on his cell. Since Jim and Abbie were in Sumter visiting family, they were going to stop by on their way back to Florence to visit us. My first reaction, "Are you crazy?" "This house is a wreck!" But thankfully we had an hour to prepare, and Will cleaned while I nursed the baby, took a shower (I had gone 2 days without one!), and dressed in something other than sweats.

We had a wonderful time w/Jim, Abbie, Sam and Faith. It was the first time Abbie had seen Caleb; I hadn't seen her or the kids since Sam's party. Faith has grown so much-I think she looks just like her mama w/those big, brown eyes. And her hair is getting longer; it looks like it will be curly. It was so fun watching the kiddos play together. I wish I had a video of Abbie doing ring-around-the-rosie w/them or playing "We're going on a bear hunt." And Ella loved running around the den whenever Sam shouted "Ready, Set, Go!" and then coming to an abrupt halt when he yelled, "Stop!" Later that night I used this to teach her "Red Light, Green Light" and am planning on playing this often to tire her out!



Caleb is still congested; we all were sick but we're better. It'll be 3 weeks tomorrow for him. Poor guy-I know it would help if he could just blow it all out. As it is, I'm using the bulb syringe, and of course he hates that. Please pray he'll be able to breathe properly soon. Last time we went to the doctor it was $95 for them to say, "It's a viral infection (i.e. cold); there's nothing you can do for a baby but suction." Um, thanks. He's not running a fever and is still eating well though he continues to sleep a lot between feedings. And since I wrote last, Caleb had a first-he can now roll over! And our big boy is now over 18 pounds! We also have a new nickname for him; "Wide-mouthed Frog" because this is how you'll see him most of the day



And here's a couple more of my favorite pics!

Peek-a-boo!


My Little Tigers!

Unique

We were delighted to have some snow yesterday at our house! We got a dusting, about 1" but it was enough to make Ella squeal with delight! Right after breakfast we went out and helped her make a tiny snowman. The snow wouldn't pack very well because it was so powdery, but Ella was happy w/it.
She even threw her first snowballs! But after awhile, when I'd give her one to throw at me or Will, she'd say, "No, you throw it at me!" and hand it back to me. Funny girl!

As I enjoyed the snow falling down, some snowflakes landed on my gloves and jacket. Have you ever really studied one? Each one was so tiny, yet so intricate, detailed, and of course, unique. I could have stared at them all day-each one was so beautiful and different. I tried in vain to capture one with my camera.

Seeing the snowflakes reminded me of how each one of us is intricately designed by God for a unique purpose. Of course, ultimately all of us have the same purpose-to glorify God by loving Him and our neighbor. But He also has specific tasks for each of us based on our personalities and talents. I'm still asking Him to clarify mine. All I know right now is that I am to be a godly Mom to two wonderful children and a godly wife to my loving husband. And I'm still very much a work in progress.

Beach Trip

We just returned from a wonderful mini-vacation (3 nights) to Surfside Beach. We planned our trip in order to be there the same time as the Fisher family whom we met last year. Ella and Casey had a ball together. Casey celebrated her 3rd birthday while we were there, and Ella was thrilled to go to her party. And Leigh, Casey's mom, is expecting her 2nd as well. She's due in January and Casey's getting a baby brother.

Here's a short video of them doing "Ring around the Rosie." Sorry for the noise in the background (I guess it's the wind/waves or just a bad videographer :-)) ,but if you listen closely, you can hear them singing. Oh, and you'll need to scroll down and pause the music first, so you can hear the video.



It was just wonderful for me to watch Ella run and play on the beach. It was important for me that we do this for her as this will be her last vacation getting all the attention-occasionally it's good to spoil your child. :-)

And yes, I was praying the whole time, "Lord, please don't let me go into labor," especially considering I had to walk 3 flights of stairs to get to our condo. Great exercise, just not when you're so close to delivery. And Will said I got some interesting looks as we took walks down the beach. I'm sure people were expecting me to double over in pain at any moment, but all went well and baby's still safe inside. :-)

Oh, by the way, I got my hair cut short. I knew I would do it when the baby came, so I figured I might as well get it done now when I had a little more time to decide on the cut and style. The choice? A layered bob. I was supposed to leave the salon looking just like Katie Holmes...okay, so no stylist can work magic. And my hair is rather wind-blown in the beach pictures, so you'll just have to wait to see what it really looks like. :-) Overall, I'm pleased though, and it's pretty easy to style, which is always a plus.

Oh, and here's my belly shot at 36 weeks.

The Perfect Place to Give Birth

Will and I went to the mountains for a babymoon last weekend. It was our first time leaving Ella for 2 nights. And yes, it was harder on me than her. Especially considering that the mountain cabin is so well-equipped for kids-there are toys, books, swings, and even a huge playhouse. So, everywhere I looked, I kept thinking, "Ella would love playing with this or reading this."

There was only one time during the trip that I was glad she wasn't there. And that was when we took our "hike" to the waterfall. Actually there's a new path directly from the mountain cabin so you don't have to go through Aunt Joan and Uncle Will's yard, and it is more of a hike-especially when you're very pregnant (34 weeks). Upon arriving there and sitting on a huge rock, I felt such calm. And I was thankful there wasn't a 3-year-old vying for my attention. As I listened to the water cascading down and talked to my littlest one, I couldn't help thinking, "This would be the perfect place to give birth." When I voiced it to Will, he actually said, "You're right-how can we make this work?" Hmm...."Aunt Barbara, Uncle Langdon, can I camp out in your cabin for a few weeks-I'm planning on giving birth at the waterfall." Somehow I don't think it would fly. And I certainly won't be able to drive 5 hours once I'm in labor to birth there. So it was just a dream. A wonderful birthing dream. I just couldn't imagine feeling any pain if I was in such beautiful surroundings and hearing the falls. But I'm sure that's a dream too. I'm sure there would still be pain, though probably quite lessened. Instead, I suppose we'll settle for listening to a CD which has waterfalls and ocean sounds. :-)




Before we went to the mountains, Will had a conference in Alabama and we went with him. We were able to see Letisha, Daniel, and their 5 kids and it was such fun. Ella especially loved the Birmingham Zoo. "I saw a baby raffe and baby zebra," she'll tell you. But I think the kids had the most fun with the monkeys-I never tire of their antics either. And Ella did so well with Joshua and Caleb-usually she's terrified of older boys. Joshua would hold her hand and she went happily along. When she sees his picture now, she'll ask, "What's his name 'gain?" I'll tell her and then she'll say, "He's oldest." At their house, Ella enjoyed the steps the most-so now I know-our next house will be a 2-story and I'll have an automatic built-in toy for the kiddos. :-)







On the way back from Alabama we stayed a night with Em and Jeff. And of course Ella enjoyed seeing Benjamin and now can't stop telling everyone how he's walking now. "But sometimes he falls down, but that's otay." :-) We had a wonderful visit to Tribble Mill Park. Ella asks about going there all the time now. And she so enjoyed reading All the Place to Love to Benjamin.






This pic is blurry but I think it's so cute. As if Benjamin is saying, "Eh? Read a little louder, Ella."


Before the Alabama trip my dad, his fiancee, Marna, Marcelo and their 4 kids came up to see our house for the first time. Here's some cute pics from that visit.

Kaitlyn looks more and more like Marna, I think.


Ice cream and summertime-what could be better?


Dad and Nancy


As far as baby goes, I'm fine but just really tired and have been pretty much the whole pregnancy-so much for that boost of energy you're supposed to get during the
2nd trimester. I suppose being 4 years older and having a toddler to look after has something to do with it. I found out a few appointments ago that my blood sugar is high and hemoglobin very low (a 9-I was a 14 at 20 weeks). So, I'm watching even more carefully my sugar intake-so hard to do!, especially when I need to cut out most fruits too-and taking some food-based iron supplements. At my last visit I was up to a 10.9 for my hemoglobin but I really can't tell a difference in my energy level. I'm hoping I will have a great energy boost after the baby's born-ha!

We're still deciding on names-let's see, we've narrowed it down to 4 boy names and about 15 girl names. That's actually good-if you could have only seen my list when I started. Hopefully, in the next few weeks I can narrow the girls' names down some more and then when the baby comes, we'll just have a few to decide upon based on how the baby looks. Hmm, not sure how that will go. When Ella came out, she was quite purple, screaming very loudly and rather funny looking :-); I don't think based on that I would have decided on Ella had it not already been chosen.

Thank you all for your prayers as we prepare for our newest arrival.

Family Reunion

Here are some pics from the get-together at the Mill. Will and I came late and stayed for just a couple hours as we were still getting over our sickness. Even though it wiped us out, we're glad we got to go. It was our last chance to see Dayton, Erin, and their kids before they left, and we got to visit w/Em, Jeff, and Benjamin one more time.

Also, including a couple pics of Chuck and Sarah when they came over for supper a few days later.

A Birthday Bash

Ella rarely sees either of my sisters' children. In fact, this is the first time she's seen Marna's 4 kids since August! This is mostly due to the fact that they were in Mexico over Christmas and when they returned, 2 them got chicken pox, followed by the flu.

So, I defintely wanted to make it down for Dylan and Kaitlyn's combined birthday party. Kaitlyn was turning 2 and Dylan had just turned 7. And wouldn't you know it, Ella and Kaitlyn are the same size, even though Ella will be 3 next month.

It took awhile, but by the end, Ella and Kaitlyn were giving each other hugs and kisses. And jumping on the trampoline together. And playing in the sandbox. And splashing on the pool steps. It was WAY too cold to actually get in and go swimming. This was 2 weeks ago and the water *may* have been 74 degrees. Of course, Marna's boys got in. I just think boys can do cold better than girls can. But Dylan did put on his flannel PJ's after getting out, though he insisted it was NOT because he was cold.

And I had to thank my sister for making more work for me. As soon as Ella saw Kaitlyn's brightly colored Dora cake, she exclaimed, "Mommy, I want that cake for my birthday, too." Now I have to try to duplicate that. I've made a vow to make all of my children's cakes. Not that I'm much of a cake baker, but it's something special I get to do once a year, so why not? And I always loved my mom's cakes. In fact, I still remember one year (I think I was turning 16) when my mom's cake flopped, so she ran out to buy one. I took one bite of it and knew it wasn't homemade. Thus, my mom was forced to bring out the falling-apart-cake and *that* was the one that got eaten!

Enjoy the sweet pics.

Swim Time!

We went swimming today for the first time this year! Let's see...it only took me 20 minutes to get all the way in. Will, of course, just dived right in. But he made me feel better when, after catching his breath, he said, "Wow, it *is* cold." Yeah, that's why I'm going in
s-l-o-w-l-y. Ella only "swam" for part of the time. She had her floaties on but has not gotten the swim motion down and when you're not swimming, you, of course, get cold even more quickly. So then she became our lifeguard. Will wrapped her in towels and put her on a chair right by the steps. After being prompted on what a lifeguard might say, she began shouting things to us like, "No horseplaying!"

I so enjoyed swimming some laps but finally had to get out because I just had to go the bathroom. And you can't get back in the water after you go pee. Okay, maybe it's just me but having to pull a wet bathing suit back up is just not fun. And besides, it was time to eat. And did I mention the water was cold?
77 degrees to be exact.

But still we enjoyed ourselves.
And we're looking forward to going again soon.
Perhaps tomorrow?

Fish Fry!

Will had a grand time at the mill fishing today. Ella and Laurance went w/him this afternoon and Ella caught her first fish! She helped reel the bream in and Will said she was so excited! Will also caught yellow perch, crappie, and tons more bream.

When they got home, I went out to get Ella and she was fast asleep in her car seat. I tried to gently get her out without waking her and cradled her in my arms. No such luck. She woke up and asked, "Where's Uncle Laurance?"
"He's right there, helping Daddy clean the fish."
She turned to see them and then quickly looked back at me.
"Listen," she said, completely serious, as she grabbed my chin and turned it towards her. "Wanna tell you a story."
"Wanna clean fish by myself when I'm 16."

"Okay, sweetie."

Hope this makes you smile as much as it did me; enjoy your weekend!

Easter at the Lake

Saturday after the reunion, we went to the lake to spend the night w/my mom and step-dad. Ella had been looking forward to it for weeks. We went to church w/them on Sunday (I'm so excited they have a church they both enjoy going to!) and heard a wonderful cantata about our risen Christ.

During the service they also had a movie playing of Christ's ministry, and it just amazed me that when it came time for His crucifixion, no one spoke up for Him. He had healed so many, yet, everyone continued to shout "Release, Barabbas." For some reason, I had never thought about this before. Will and I talked about it later and he said he was thinking the same thing, but we had to remember that this was in Jerusalem and most of His ministry had been in surrounding cities. Word also traveled slowly in those days-it wasn't like everyone knew right away that He was being crucified. And of course I know this was God's divine plan. Even if people had tried to intervene, it would have proven useless. It just makes me more grateful for my Savior. He knew when He was healing all those people and especially when he was teaching his disciples, that they would all desert him, yet he did it anyway. And He suffered alone there for me. Unfathomable love.

Mom cooked a wonderful meal for us-ham, butterbeans (cooked in fatback-absolutely delicious but glad I don't eat that way everyday!), corn, mashed potatoes, rolls, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yum! Then we dyed and hid eggs and Ella had the best time.
Now you hide them, Mommy. Now Daddy. Now Grandma and Grandpa.
Sometimes she wanted to hide them with us. :-) Once she even hid them from me-in one spot-all lined up in a perfect row.

Lastly, we went on a very relaxing boat ride and Ella fell asleep in my arms (kind of tricky since she had a life jacket on-poor thing-she could hardley move w/out rolling off!). I even took a brief nap as well. And Will said again as we were driving home how much he'd love to live there. Of course, he'd be out fishing everyday.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebration as well-we definitely have reason to rejoice, for "He is not here; He has risen just as He said."

Cousins

Ella and Jonathan (he turned 9 months yesterday) had a grand time Saturday. Kimberly and I took them both in the wagon for awhile, but Ella got out after only a short ride and opted to walk with us. She said Jonathan was "too heavy" leaning on her. (He's 19 lbs; she's 26).

Christmas Highlights

Christmas Eve, Will & I celebrated our 8th anniversary at home w/our precious daughter. For Christmas, Laurance & Kimberly gave us a gift card to Logan's and an offer to keep Ella so we could celebrate later by ourselves. How sweet!

Christmas morning, Ella was so excited to find her presents under the tree! When opening each one, she'd gasp in amazement. And this year, she could actually unwrap the gifts herself. Ella received her beloved Katie and Emma books, a Radio flyer wagon, and Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls. We got the ATW wagon w/the wood stake sides and it does wonderfully on our dirt road. She also received many other items from her relatives-enough to last her for several years, I think.

After a great breakfast, we left for our trip to the lake to have Christmas dinner w/Mom & Ken. Ella was also able to see her Mema for a little while and my sisters Karen & Donna, and Donna's 3 kids. Kenny & I took Ella for a short ride in Kenny's garden wagon and she loved it. Mom read her Dimity Duck and Kenny read her Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale (both highly recommended). One of the gifts Ella got from her Ganma and Ganpa was a dry erase board. She drew an "E" on it all by herself and of course I have the pic to prove it. :-) My other sister Marna went to Mexico to visit her husband's family, so we're having a late Christmas get together for her this coming weekend. That's when I'll see my dad too.

When we arrived back home, I greatly enjoyed making Christmas cookies w/my Little Helper. She helped me roll the dough, cut the shapes, and put the sprinkles on (her favorite part). And I loved seeing the flour on her sleeves and face.

We had our get together at Mama's on Friday night and I know Mom enjoyed having her newest grandson there. Mama got her waffle iron and Ella got a play-doh set from Mama-yay! She's been playing w/it every day! Laurance & Emily entertained us w/music and all the kiddos were great. Some even took naps (not mine, of course.)

Now I interrupt this Christmas summary to let you in on Ella's latest "conversations."

Ella: "Mandy tickles, tickled arm, right arm."
Me: "She tickled your right arm?" "Which one is that?"
And she pointed to the correct one.

Me: (To chickens), "Night-night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
Me: (To dogs) "Night-Night."
Ella continues: "Sleep tight."
(Thinking hard about what comes next)
"Bugs get you!"

Ella's prayers every night: Granpa, Granma (she's says this twice, so I'm assuming it's to cover both sets?), Mama, Taylor, Laura, Play Play-doh...and just recently, "Broder, Sister" :-)

Ella was amazingly gentle w/her cousin "Ben-jin" which gives me great hope for when we have another one. She handed her Aunt "Em-ly" wipes and diapers and lovingly patted Benjamin's head.

It was wonderfully refreshing to spend time w/Em and Jeff-I just wish we lived closer to each other. After they left, Will & I said that if they do ever move to NC, we may just have to join them. Em and I have even more in common now that we're both Moms, and it was so nice to hear someone else say, "Yes, I've thought that, done that too, etc." And they read more books than anyone I know. It's just refreshing to be around people who are not only constantly learning but also putting into practice things they've learned and who you know are truly seeking to glorify God. I greatly respect my sister-in-law and her hubby-they're friends first, relatives second. We can discuss anything and everything-there aren't many people with whom that comes naturally. And of course, as Em says, we can also be complete dorks around each other. :-)

Today, my maid of honor and her hubby left after spending one night w/us. It was so wonderful to catch up w/her and she also sharpens me as "iron sharpeneth iron." But of course that doesn't always feel good. It's much easier, isn't it, when someone just agrees w/you rather than telling you that you're wrong about something and/or you need to change something. As her hubby said, "God never said it was going to feel good to be changed into His image. Iron sharpening iron, gold being refined in the fire, the clay being fashioned by the potter's hands. Those aren't things that feel good, but they are necessary if we're to grow more like Christ."

One struggle Will and I have been having is w/church. Basically we don't have one yet. And visiting is getting old. I'm reading The Purpose Driven Life right now and just finished the "Place to Belong" chapter. That's so what we want and so what we don't have. God designed us for fellowship and we're not getting it. My problem is looking for the perfect church, though now I'd settle for a church which had 70% of what I'm looking for. But as Rick Warrren says in his book,

"God wants you to love real people, not ideal people. You can spend a lifetime searching for the perfect church, but you will never find it. You are called to love imperfect sinners, just as God does."

So now Will & I are actually praying together about the church God would have us in and trusting that He will direct us soon because afterall He desires it. As Sarah said, "It's amazing how much time we spend talking about our problems to each other, but we don't spend even half that time praying about them to God."

So, the best Christmas presents I received this year were several brain facials from my dear family & friends. I'm very thankful.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well and...Happy New Year!

The Best Thanksgiving

We had such a glorious time yesterday. It was our first Thanksgiving where we had family over and it was wonderful. We figured that if we're going to be cooking turkey anyway, we might as well have others over to share it with us. And for the first time, we actually live close enough for family to take us up on the offer. Mom, Dad, Mama, Laurance, Kimberly, and Jonathan joined us for a delicious Thanksgiving feast. What a treat! Ma-Ma had been telling us for weeks now that she wanted to see our new place, and we're so glad she was feeling up to the trip. We made turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, and brownies; Kimberly brought delicious green bean casserole, and Mom brought yummy sweet potato and squash casserole, as well as potato salad and pecan pie. We did the turkey in a bag for the first time and thought it was our best one-much more moist than our previous 2 years. And it was our first attempt at making homemade mashed potatoes w/the skins left on-we used the red potatoes and it turned out great. Our hopes of making a homemade pumpkin pie (using a small sugar pumpkin) were dashed due to time constraints, but we're hoping to attempt it this weekend.

During dinner, Mom broke out singing a couple songs including "I'll fly away" and we all joined in. I think that was my favorite part; a spontaneous, joy-filled family sing-a-long. And I loved not having to feel like I had to impress-they saw our bare walls and sparse furniture and still thought we had a lovely place. Ella gobbled up Mama's attention, especially when she fed her ice cream, and she thoroughly enjoyed Mom pushing her on her swing and Kimberly's chasing her all over the yard. "Imly, Chase Ella!" she'd say over and over. Jonathan was a little angel-he even got a nap in and we all managed to just barely fit around our table (though we did move it into the dining room to have a bit more room). Will showed off his new toys (I mean farm equipment)-namely his 1962 red Massey Ferguson tractor, disk harrow, bush hog, and trailer (all bought used and for a great price), and Dad advised us on starting our own Pick-Your-Own garden for next year. :-)

They all left around 4:30 and then Will, Ella, and I hung out on the hammock for some snuggle time and even had Mandy and Marlo join us. Until Marlo breathed too heavily in Will's face-then they had to snuggle together some place else. And yesterday was a 1st for our little girl. She petted both dogs on her own and she repeated it today. So maybe my goal of her not running away if the animals get too close will be accomplished afterall. We ended our day by watching We are Marshall. Speaking of movies, a recent favorite of ours is Amazing Grace,the true story of William Wilberforce and his tireless fight to end British slave trade.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. Indeed, we have much to be thankful for. Children who delight us, family and friends who encourage us, spouses who continue to love us, and our Savior, who loves us most of all.