A swimming celebration

The moving company came for our stuff today. So much of the morning was spent with trying to finalize all the details. After they left and we had a quick bite to eat, we thought we would celebrate another step forward with some swimming. Our friends have a pool on the roof of their apartment building and they had invited us to swim anytime. Even though it was "women's swim time" we went, willing to get out if other swimmers arrived. The only other swimmers that came were 2 little boys, their mother totally covered. So they were fine with our mixed group staying. This was Elli's first real experience swimming. The water was a little chilly and she was a little hesitant. Ethan, however, LOVED it!



We hadn't swam since last July, so at first Ethan wanted Dad close by. But by the end he was jumping off the side all by himself, no spotter. It was a fun way to get out of the house and be excited for one step closer to our new home!

Heart lessons from the Island of Sodor

Ethan loves Thomas the Tank Engine. We have pound (cause everything these days is measured by weight) of wooden track and a good variety of trains. We even have several Thomas books to give life and personality to the little toys he plays with. In light of my last blog, I thought it was a fitting time to share what has been "puffing" through my heart lately.

A couple nights ago I overheard Austin reading Ethan a Thomas story and I thought to myself, "the engines sure whine a lot. I can't remember many stories where they were happy with what Sir Topham Hatt asked them to do." And as the thought passed through my mind the still small voice asked "are you happy with what I've asked?" It's been something I've been wrestling with and pondering and I guess Thomas just cemented it all the more.

So I kept thinking through the Thomas analogy. In many of the stories Sir Topham Hatt tasks the trains with something to do. If he really wants them to do their job he'll use the caviot of being a "really useful engine." Sometimes the engines agree to the task and the detours come from outside circumstances. But often times the engines don't like what they've been asked to do and don't even think it is being "a really useful engine." So they give in to whinning, complaining, etc. through the process. They may have finished the task by the story's end, but they have displayed far less character than that of a useful engine.

I've been challenged to see in my own heart how circumstancial my contentment can be. When I'm not motivated by the task, it is easy to give way to grumbling and complaining. And even if deemed a "really useful engine," a bad taste in ones mouth remains when the process was done in whining. I could carry the analogy further, but those are some of the heart lessons learned from the Island of Sodor.

Making it work

We are so grateful for our little one bedroom apartment. For this season it has been what we have needed; giving us some space to process and be family. All the closeness however has brought on some new "techniques" for making life work. Our typical morning routine these days:
4:45 a.m. a VERY loud call to prayer
4:50 a.m. Elli wakes up frustrated with the VERY loud call to prayer
4:52 a.m. Mom gets Elli settled back down
5-5:10 a.m. 2 VERY large planes skim over our apartment. Elli stirs again, frustrated, but quiets back down.
5:20 a.m. a repeat of the VERY loud call to prayer
5:25 a.m. Elli is now officially sick of it. She nurses and is back fast asleep, much happier with life.
6:00 a.m. the alarm goes off (followed by several snoozes) :)
between 5:50-6:10 a.m. Ethan wakes up, comes to the edge of our bed "Mommy, I want to watch cartoons" (his current DVD is Lion King 1 1/2)
6:15 a.m. Lion King is running on Mom's computer and I've sucessfully snuck through the bedroom to the kitchen to make some coffee
6:30 a.m. Sitting down to have a quiet time

But in the picture you see a pair of bright orange ear plugs. The coffee helps me make it after the series of wake-ups with Elli. The ear plugs . . . they help keep Lion King out so I can try and get more Jesus in. :)

An Update on our plumping endeavors

Elli was sick most of last week; running high fever and not wanting to eat anything. Those are the days when I really miss nursing throughout the day, cause at least then I know shes hydrated and is well nourished. So the week fast has set us back in our weight gain efforts. And I'd really like her a little plumper before we move to a region with greater incidents of diarrhea, etc.

2 days ago Elli also dropped a small casserole dish on her toe (from the second self). To console her, one of the guys in the office brought her an ice cream sandwich to "ice her toe." We thought we'd give it a try, and she has since eaten 2 whole ice cream sandwiches.

Following a trip to the dentist, Austin and I stumbled upon a "Buy 6 get 6 free" deal at Dunkin Donuts (conveniently right across the street from the dentist). We figured 6 donuts would make great compensation for our babysitters and would be a breakfast for our champions. Ethan is also reaping the benefits of Mission Plumpify.

Mommy and Daddy however are on Mission Minimize. So it was another bowl of oatmeal!

She's talking!

After a brief skype talk with my mom (Gogo), Elli didn't want to stop talking. We found our web cam and were trying to use it. It ended up that the kids just talked to themselves the whole time, but it sure got Elli talking. So she's got "Gogo" down. If you listen closely, she may even be saying "I don't know" and "where are you?" But she spent much of the remainder of the evening walking around the house looking for Gogo.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Fridays are the Holy day here. So that also means it is more appropriate than on other days for families, mainly the women of the family, to be out in public. It was a windy day, so a perfect afternoon for a kite flying adventure. And in a little shop next door to our apartment we found a kite for less than $1. Only more reason to go.

And Ethan LOVED it!

Elli enjoyed the sand and sharing her smiles with all that passed by. This family of 3 women accompanied by a male family member is typical of what we see! It's crazy for me to think of what my children are coming to identify as "normal;" definitely a broader definition than their parents at their ages.

A great family afternoon!

Snack Time

It is so fun for me to see my kiddos do the same kind of things, without knowing each other has done it. Granted Ethan was 9 months in this picture and Elli is 13, but they both are such sharers. Unique is so many ways, but yet similar in others!