Stepping back and watching my little girl grow up.

As much as I have intended to be more consistent in taking the kids out on one on one dates...I have failed. This is an area I want to work harder at. Since I have a hard time doing things half-hearted, I tend to just not do something if I can't make it fantastic. So in the spirit of resisting the urge to have planned out a fantastic evening with clues to a special location...I just asked Tally as we were cleaning up the dinner dishes if she wanted to go out with me.

We headed over to a local book store and got a special hot cocoa and settled down to just talk. About all kinds of girly things and about nothing in particular. I just wanted to keep the doors of communication open. As our little ones grow up, I think we need to be even MORE intentional in our time with them.

We read a book together and used it as a tool to pave the way for more detailed talks to come. I just loved Tally's response to the whole thing. She is so mature and wise. At one point we were talking about finding appropriate people to go to if you need help or have questions. And it was her idea to talk to a grown up, she thought it would be better than seeking out a peer, since someone older might have already gone through the same circumstance and have better advice.
In the end I bought her a nice journal and gave it to her to use as a prayer journal. I shared that there will be times that others won't be there for her. Or worse yet, I will respond to her emotional needs the wrong way. But I reminded her that God is always there. Always listening. Always caring. She can use this journal to write down her thoughts and share them with God when she is struggling with something.

balloon animals

Just had to share these cute balloon animals that were decoration at our adoption shower. They were just too cute. Of course we loved that they were African animals.



The girls got a little balloon animal kit from a friend this weekend at the shower (click the peapod to see that post). Tally wanted to learn to make the basic balloon animal. She carefully followed the instructions and was the first in the family to figure it out.I was really impressed with her determination on this one. I also found it interesting that she learned by either reading the instructions or having them read to her. Not looking at the pictures. I am always fascinated how children learn.
She isn't quite up to making those cool animals at the top, but she is having fun learning something new. I just love when my kids can do something that I can't do. And sad to say, the day will quickly come where they are teaching me things, instead of me always being the teacher.

movie party

As you can imagine we are a little busy around here and I am just now getting to posting some pics from Tally's birthday. My oldest turned 11 this month and we had a great time celebrating her and the precious girl that God is allowing her to become.

One of the things that we prayed for before we moved last year was that God would supply us with friends. We have learned to make quick connections and we really do have dear friends spread all over the United States. I believe that God has brought some precious girls for my kids to connect with for this season of their lives.

For Tally's birthday we decided to invite some girls over for pizza and a movie. In order to make it easy and enjoyable for all, the girls had their pizza on the back deck while Chuck and I stayed inside. We were trying to give them a little space to giggle and have fun with out us hovering.
We then quickly sang to Tally, opened gifts and got ready for the movie.
We gave the girls each a baggie with 5 tokens and they could use those to pay for goodies at the snack stand. I thought this would help ration out the sweets. Popcorn was free, but each candy was one token. Some girls spent their tokens right away, and some made them last.
Then it was off to the theater. We had a curtain up in the doorway and we had moved all of the furniture around to make for optimal viewing for the kids. Our movie was Horton Hears a Who. Chuck had also rigged surround sound so it was nice and loud just like the theater.
We gathered bean bag chairs and dish chairs and there was lots of room to lounge. Chuck and I sat on the other side of the curtain and watched from the kitchen. Again, we wanted to give the girls a little space. I can tell they are growing up. It is so different from the birthday parties that require lots of games and work. The movie was the entertainment.
I have to say, it was one of the easier parties I have thrown. The kids all loved it, the parents had an evening to themselves and it was a supervised evening of fun. I am just about ready to have another movie night.

Did I ever tell you that Tally wrote a book?

Yes...that is right she wrote a book this summer (when she was still 10) and we put it up on a blog so she could share it with her friends. Feel free to read it to your kids or let them read it themselves. If you do, please leave her a comment and let her know that you have read it.

Go HERE for the The Mystery of the Scratchy Pipe.

I started the best job in the world....

11 years ago today. I am so grateful for my precious Tally and all that she is. Today we celebrate her eleventh birthday and the life that God blessed us with. September first has always been a special date for us. It was the day I met Chuck in Bible College. It was the day we became parents. And we are eager to see how God allows this day to be another significant date for our family.

Happy Birthday to my dear daughter. May God continue to draw you close to Him and may it be a fantastic year.

Introducing my "tween" girls

It's official. We have entered the tween stage. This was a big week here in the peapod. My little sweet peas are growing up. No longer little girls. They now understand what it means to suffer for beauty (well not just for beauty for the betterment of their mouth's health).

Tally got braces and Tissy got a retainer. We knew this was coming. It wasn't a surprise, but yet I am not sure I was ready for this. Not just financially, but emotionally. My girls look so mature and grown up. I am not ready for them to grow up. I have enjoyed every stage and I am determined to enjoy this tween stage too. I think if I embrace it with positivity, it will help them adjust to all the changes that are going on.
Here is Tally's sweet little mouth. Not only are we dealing with an "over jet" but lots of crazy positioning of teeth. Most of that is from a mouth injury from when she fell as a 3 year old. Talk about consequences.
One of the things for me that has been hard to accept, is her smile will never bee the same. I have loved that front tooth that has it's own special way of presenting itself. I love her just how she is. She has been so excited about getting braces. She understands it is a big deal and costs a lot of money and that she must be very responsible. She will get the head gear to go with it in a few weeks. I bet that will be another adjustment for her. =(Here she is afterward. She got a free ice cream from Baskin Robins as a special treat from the orthodontist. Only soft foods for a few days. That and lots of pain meds. Click on the picture to see it larger to see those beautiful teeth. Her bands are orange and pink.
Here is Tissy with her new retainer. She recently had a baby tooth removed (the filling fell out and it wasn't worth replacing) and in order to maintain the open space for the adult tooth we decided to go with the retainer. It will not only hold that space open (her mouth is tiny and has significant crowding) it will also prevent her from digging her teeth up into the roof of her mouth. She too has the over jet that Tally has. She sounds just adorable with her retainer. All lispy and cute. Not to mention she looks as cute as can be.

So there you have it. My two tween girls. And I guess that means I am not the young mom anymore with little kids. We are all learning to cope with this in our own ways. And I am learning to let them grow up.

THE WALL

When I mentioned earlier that Tally got to the top of the rock wall at camp the other day I didn't have pictures to show how tall it really is. On the last day of camp, I wanted to get some pictures of her next to it and express how proud I am of her.

I don't know the height of this, but when I had her stand next to it for a picture, she looked so small and fail. I love that she tried something new and dug down deep and found some determination to get all the way to the top. Let's be honest, I am not sure I could have done it. As you walk up close to it, it seems a little overwhelming.


Needless to say, I think I under estimate my kids. They often exceed my expectations.

Way to go Tally !!!!

Almost forgot to mention the balay team. Both the girls loved being part of the balay team (the ones that encourage you on and hold the ropes). What a neat lesson in life, to have your friends around you to spur you on to keep going. They also help you find the right place to put your foot and where to step. I hope my kids continue to find those "balay" kind of friends.

Summer day...good book...beautiful spot...

I am so very grateful for God's protection

Just a quick praise to our amazing heavenly Father for His protection on my family today. We were busy working out in the front yard planting trees on this fantastic spring day and a freak odd almost accident happened. We heard a bump and a scrape and a car jumped the curb and was headed right toward Tally, who was sitting on the grass reading a book. This driver drove right through our yard with no awareness of what was going on, not realizing that she was just a few feet from running over our child. Now mind you, our neighborhood's speed limit is 20 miles an hour, so it is a quiet area, but slow speed limit or not, it doesn't take much for accidents to happen.

After chasing down the driver, we discovered that she fell asleep at the wheel and was totally unaware of what was happening. Thankfully everyone was safe and no harm was done. I have been thanking God all afternoon for His protection. We pray every day that God would keep our children safe and today, I was able to see His power in action.

Tally to the rescue

We were putting up some shelves last night and we couldn't find a level. Good thing Tally is our fix it girl. We were able to use some of her tools to get the job done. Tally got this tool kit when we were working on redoing our last house (she asked for it for Christmas). We spent so much time at Lowes and working on our place. When we were house hunting this time around we weren't looking for a handy man special. We had just done that last year. It takes a lot of time (and money) and we are looking forward to doing different things as a family.

My is she tall !!!

I just looked over to the window where my girls had their noses pressed against the glass (it is starting to snow) and thought to myself..."My is she tall". Speaking of Tally of course. She has always been tall and she obviously comes from some tall genes. But I think she is growing an inch a month. She just seems so TALL and grown up. Last time she was measured she was 5 ' 3". This is a 10 year old. I have adult friends that aren't that tall. And if you chart that (HERE) she is higher than the 95%. (Well, she always has been off the charts).

I wonder how tall she will be. I am guessing around 6 feet. And I can only imagine, she will not only be tall, but beautiful. For some reason, when I just saw her looking out the window it took me by surprise. Such a blessing watching her grow.

simply stated

I found this tonight in Tally's night time devotional book that she does. It says just how I feel tonight too. Simply waiting on God to answer.

Mall Hunt Birthday Fun!!

We had a great time celebrating Tally's 10th birthday in an unusual way. A party is the norm for us and this year, it was just too much for me to pull off (I have a hard time doing a small scale party ~ I tend to go all out and create more work than necessary for myself). Knowing that about myself and with the traveling out of town to see Chuck and all the guests we have had lately, we decided to do a Mall Hunt Birthday.













Tally was given clues to different stores along with a map of the mall and she had to go find the store. Sometimes her clue included money (a $10 since she is 10). Then at the store, she could pick out a gift. With the money she got, she was had the option of staying with in her budget (anything she didn't spend she could keep). If she wanted to spend more than the $10, she could dip into her other birthday money that she had gotten from grandparents.













Her clues lead her to a book store to pick out books. She got her 2 favorite Magic Tree House books. 2 for under ten bucks, not bad.

Both girls also got to pick out new t-shirts from the Disney store (compliments of Aunt Susi).

A unusual stop for us...the gumball machines.This clue included quarters for the gumball machines. We all sampled the sugar overload.











Both of the girls had been looking forward to new Webkinz. Their accounts were about to expire. Considering the hours of fun you can get for a ten dollar toy, not a bad investment. On this clue, Tissy was also included in being aloud to pick a Lil' Kinz.










The biggest highlight of the day was a trip to Libby Lou. We have never been to this little girl make-over salon. Oh, my, were we in for a surprise. If you are unfamiliar with this place check out the web site HERE. Both of the girls were able to get the basic package which includes a hair do, nails, and a bag full of glittery girly goodies.



















To be totally honest...this place felt like it went against everything that I stand for. It was really fun for the girls and I am so glad that a place like this is such a treat for them (we hardly even go to the mall). But this salon has this atmosphere of trying to make your little girls older than they are. While we were waiting there was a party of preschool age girls all dressed up and dolled up and working these dance moves out in the middle of the mall for their parents to video tape. Somehow it seemed unnatural and slightly creepy.












OK, off my soap box (which I am sure I offended someone out there with my opinion rant in the previous paragraph). It was fun to watch the girls get their hair done in these fancy up-dos. I watched carefully to see if I could recreate the hair style at home (by the way...I can). Both Chuck (being the only Dad in the salon) and my sister Susan (who has 3 boys) were good sports. The music was pretty loud in there and we were glad when it was time to move on to the next stop in the Mall Hunt.

After lunch in the food court and a treat at Cinabon, we were just about done and ready to head home. The girls spent most of their birthday money on Calico Critters (a very sweet toy ~post to come later).This was a huge hit and they have been playing with them ever since. One last stop at Clair's for new necklaces (big sis and little sis ones). Tally said this was her favorite birthday and Tissy was hoping that she could also have a Mall Hunt birthday (um, maybe when she turns 10 ~ I need time to recover). All in all, it was a really easy way to have the celebration seem really special to Tally and be easy on me for planning. What surprised me was how tired we all were from walking around the mall for 4 hours. It was like breathing a sigh of relief when we drove "back out into the country" to head home. (Can you tell I am not a shopper???)

Now my dear sweet Tally is TEN (part 3)

Well, like I said before it was 10 years ago that Tally was born. Today is her actual birthday. I have really enjoyed thinking back on the experience of having her and finally becoming a Mom. 10 years ago I was a different person too. I have changed and grown with all that I have been able to experience. At times I wish that I could do it again (I think I am a better Mom now than I was then).

I wanted to finish off the little story of our transition into parenthood. We had a rough start (I think many people do). Think about all the training you get to learn to drive and yet they let just about anyone go home from the hospital with a baby (with no training or license required). Due to the breech position, Tally had congenital hip dysplasia. Her hips had not formed all the way and within a day of her being born, we were given the different options of what the form of treatment would be. We were fortunate that the harness that she was given to wear did work (rather than casts or surgery). She wore that harness for 3 months. It was hard to care for her (we couldn't take it off and give her a bath at all). She seemed to be pretty fussy with not being able to kick and squirm. Hard to tell how much of it was from the harness. We were very thankful that things were easily corrected. Though at the time, it seemed like such a difficult situation to handle (oh we were so young).

Another issue we had was with feeding. Breastfeeding never was easy. After struggling with nursing and Tally not gaining weight her first month, I ended up seeing a lactation consultant. Tally just wasn't drawing anything out on her own. I used an SNS (tube system) to feed her and I pumped every time I fed her to have enough for the next feeding. It was very difficult and quite the ordeal. Again, not exactly how I had it all planned. I learned to be flexible and put my child's needs above my own ideas and plans.

I believe that my experiences have formed who I am today. I understand that children are a gift and to be treasured. I am so thankful that I have had the privilege to be a mom. What a blessing. And now my dear sweet Tally is ten. How grateful I am to be part of her life.

10 Years Ago: Part 2

OK...sorry to leave you all hanging. I knew that I wouldn't have enough time to finish the story and it is a little fun to have a continuation. So I quickly checked into the hospital and they first asked for a urine sample. I was given a cup and I tried to get one. I told the nurse that it was all brown coming out. She quickly told me to forget it and get up on that table so they could take a peek. They determined that the "brown stuff" was meconium and we needed to figure out what was going on. They pulled in a machine and did a quick ultra sound. As you can imagine, they began to sound a little panicky about the baby.

The ultrasound proved that the baby was in a frank breech position. I had no idea that the baby was head up. We all decided that it was best to proceed with a c-section. The baby was starting to appear a little distressed and it was best to quickly stop labor and do an emergency c-section. I had never once even thought that I would have one. I had prepared for labor not surgery. I had taken the classes. I had emotionally geared myself up for the pain and the experience of a natural birth. And yet, that is not how it unfolded.***You can see from the picture that Tally's head was the last to come out. Hope the "real life picture isn't too much for my readers.***

After a quick spinal, I was in the OR and my doctor, whom I had really come to trust, was there to perform the surgery. Chuck was able to be by my side and I was awake and alert to feel the tugging and the pulling of the delivery. Of course I was thrilled and surprised that the baby was a girl. And a big girl at that. 10 pounds 22 inches and the most beautiful round head (no cone shape here). Tally Janae was born with in an hour of arriving in the hospital that morning. Her name was chosen with thoughtful consideration. Tally (short for Talitha from Mark 5) which means little girl. Janae means God has responded. Her name fits her perfectly. We had prayed for the blessings of a child for years and we were so glad that we were blessed with her. And God did respond with a little girl.

As for the beginning of life with a new born...well that will be next (part 3 and I promise that will be all). We didn't have the easiest start. There were some complications of that breech position that I had never even heard of until we were discussing things with an orthopedic surgeon. You would think that I have learned about having things all planned out...somehow my plans rarely transpire (good thing I can trust God for all the details in life).

A glimpse of a great study

I wanted to share what a blessing it has been for the girls and I to be part of a Precepts study at a local church. Not only am I completely blessed each week with my study in Daniel, I am so thankful to be part of Tally's study in the book of John. Tally is the youngest child in the class full of homeschool kids and she loves going each week. Chuck and I have helped her with the homework each week and it has been such a joy to open scripture with her and be part of this process of spiritual growth.

It is fitting that we are studying the crucifixion of Christ (as Easter is soon approaching). She understands, as a result of the study, what Christ went through on the cross for us. She was grieved to the point of tears one night in how terrible He was treated. She was so eager to read the next chapter and find out what happened.

This style of study gets these little ones learning at such a young age. To study for themselves and create a habit of time with God each day. I wanted to leave you with a page of her story board drawings from John 19.

Enjoying the ride

I was reminded by a friend to just enjoy the ride. I remember telling that to Tally when she was little and we were driving up the mountains in California. "Just enjoy the ride." She was tired and uncomfortable and wanted to get out of her car-seat. She was missing the beautiful drive. The huge trees and wildlife along the way and she didn't understand that we were just a few miles from our destination, a cabin on the lake. She started to cry and said, "I am not enjoying the ride."

Somehow, I am doing the same thing. God knows where I am going and he is gently nudging me to "Enjoy the ride." I read this next passage this morning and wanted to share it. I got this from biblegateway.com . This is from Psalm 119, The Message version.

33-40 God, teach me lessons for living
so I can stay the course.
Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—
my whole life one long, obedient response.
Guide me down the road of your commandments;
I love traveling this freeway!
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom,
and not for piling up loot.
Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets,
invigorate me on the pilgrim way.
Affirm your promises to me—
promises made to all who fear you.
Deflect the harsh words of my critics—
but what you say is always so good.
See how hungry I am for your counsel;
preserve my life through your righteous ways!

Growing Up

It seems like my kids are growing up right before my very eyes. You know what I mean. You have a moment where you see them from a different perspective and realize that they are not as little as you think they are. For some strange reason I still think of my kids as little, you know, like 4 and 5. Maybe that is because that is how old they were when we moved the last time.

Yesterday I had a moment when I realized they are growing up. We needed some shoes for Tally and we were hitting the clearance rack at a local department store. The largest size in kids shoes were 4 and they were too small. We got her size 6 in ladies sandals. And that is because the 5 was too small. Did you get what I just said??? I got my 3rd grader an adult size shoe. Wow.

They are still sweet and tender at heart even though they are out growing the little girls sizes, they still love to play pretend and dress up and oh how they love their American Girl Dolls. I desire the preserve the innocent little girl stage as they appropriately mature in to young ladies. Maybe that is why Tally got so many doll clothes for her birthday. =)

Catching Up...

Now that I am getting the hang of this, I want to catch you up on some pics. Tally had her 9th birthday just a few weeks ago and here she is at her bowling party.