Go where God is at work

About a year ago we started attending Hillside Christian Church. We struggled a little with finding a church. Our
priority was a church that preached the Truth of God's Word...the Bible. I also did not want to miss out on being in a church where God was working and their was a passion for Him. Hillside was a great fit. So a year later, God has opened the door for a new Hillside campus to start in Dalhart! It is exciting, and so exciting to be a part of a church that God is working in. My Dad and Terry will begin attending and serving there (they are not starting this church, just being leaders). Robert Ledbetter is heading it up. Eventually they will be watching the same sermon we are hearing. It is Hillside....just in Dalhart. They wanted to reach all the unchurched people in Dalhart in a new way...NOT take people from churches they already attend. This church is trying to reach those that don't go to church anywhere. Now if we go to Dalhart we won't miss church!:)

Here is Robert's summary of why Hillside is bringing a campus and a new church to Dalhart.

"Well, I'm getting better at this.  I guess I would say that HD is a church that is defined by our passion for Jesus and reaching others more than any specific doctrine.  We believe much of what the majority of other churches here believe but we don't want what people know about us to be all caught up in a list of do's and don'ts.  We really would like to leave the politics out of church too.  Our mission is to love God as we lead others to grow with Him.  Pretty simple and straight forward.  We really want to have a contemporary style and stay casual so that anyone would feel at home with us.  We totally realize that loving God is all about grace, not about rules or being something we really aren't.  We all desperately need grace and we want to learn to show others grace without limit.  So that means we don't care what someone has done or what they are struggling with right now, God loves them and so we want to love them too. 
 
As far as why another church... well we hope to reach peole that it seems aren't being reached at all right now.  Did you know that less than 1/5 of Dalhart regularly goes to church anywhere.  In fact if you add up all the seats in all the churhes in Dalhart, you only have room for about 2000 people total.  Add to that how many places can you go in jeans and tee shirts and it be really okay.  It's not that we want to put any other church down, but we just aren't who they are.  We want every church to do well and be very successful, but we know we have to be who God has made us and we think there are others out there that we can reach just being us." 
 

Eleri is 5 months old!

I have completely lost track of how many weeks Eleri is, so I've decided that I will just count her months on the 29th of each month. So today, she is 5 months old! She is really such a joy, but has begun to show a little more of a dramatic side. Eleri loves to smile and laugh. She is ticklish on her chest and little feet. She is moving around by rolling and scooting. Every once and a while she gets a knee up and pushes, but she is not crawling yet, and I'm in NO hurry for her to be crawling. (Mali was crawling at this age). Eleri loves her toys and loves playing with her big sister. Mali doesn't have to be as careful now, so they roll around together and Eleri loves to lay on Mali's tummy. They laugh and laugh at each other. It is so fun to watch. However, there have been more injuries because of this, and Eleri cries and cries and cries each time, poor girl. Eleri also loves to blow raspberries and kick her legs like crazy. She also drools like crazy! Sometimes soaking her tops! She also has the cutest little nose and features. Eric does think she is starting to look more like me, I'm not so sure though. She has moved away from looking exactly like Mali's baby picture, but it may be that she just has a lot less hair than Mali had. Her night sleeping has finally improved. Just a week ago she was waking up so much from about 3-6am, but thankfully that has subsided. She has been sleeping through the night for the most part but waking at 5:30am. She will go back to sleep as long as she doesn't have a dirty diaper. Today though, she did get up at 6am. Naps are still not perfect like I would like, but that is okay as long as she is sleeping through the night. About a week ago, Eleri started screaming at us when she was upset. I tried to get a video of it. It is hilarious, but I don't seem to have much patience with it. Eric and I are a little worried what this means for her when she is 4, or 14. Mali at least never screamed like this! But, we also think she is learning a new level of loud from having big sister around.
We sure love both our girls and have so much joy watching Eleri grow and the sister relationship develop between the two girls.



Here is a 5 month video of Eleri playing with Mali, Jove and of her new "scream"

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Mali's getting married?????

Thursday night I was tucking Mali into bed and she was stalling. Out of no where she says "can I marry Parker?" I just responded, whenever you do get married just marry someone who loves Jesus as much as you do or more. Mali said "Parker does.". (just for a quick background, they were in preschool together. Some of you may know him as Mrs. Scarberry's grandson ). I'm not really sure I'm ready for Mali to enter the marrying/boyfriend phase. There is SO much more to life than boys. But I suppose Parker is a good choice. Although, I think he married at least Kenzie this year in pre-school. He is certainly a ladies man, that loves Jesus!!! Mali had also asked Eric earlier in the day if she could marry Parker, but I had not heard that!

Here is a picture of Parker, Mali and Hallie...he is pretty cute!:)

Annual Review

I recently heard a speaker discussing the transition from working to being a stay at home mom. She commented that there is no data for stay at home moms to measure our job performance. Fortunately I stumbled upon such a review. Yesterday I was asking Mali to tell me what she likes about her daddy, and she said one thing and then quickly said "but I don't like...". First of all, she was in one of those moods, but I also wanted to see what she would say about me. What I'm going to blog in this post is pretty hard to share, the last thing I want to do is be a failure as a parent and I really do not like being vulnerable at all, but I want to share to 1. document it 2. be accountable to changing it, if no one knows then I might not change 3. parenting is hard, but through God's guidance we can make it and have well loved children at the end. So this is what Mali said, and I hope to make a habit of getting an annual review:
What do you like about mommy?:
When you play with me, read to me, that you're thankful for what you get, taking shower/baths together, when you be kind, when you calm down and stop saying ugly words, when I swing and you push me, watching movies like Narnia and Australia, when we have fun and enjoy spring.
Now its time for my rebuttable, or clarification. First of all, I think many times a day, I tell Mali she needs to calm down or that she is using ugly words or has an ugly mouth. Most often, she turns around and says "you're being ugly mommy" and I respond something like this "Mommy is teaching you and I'm being firm." However, I KNOW I need to change this and use sweet/kind words when correcting her or speaking with her after asking her this. I've already seen a huge difference in this and how she responds. When I talk calmly and without frustration to her and just sit with her and maybe hold her hand as I explain to her that I was trying to get Eleri to fall asleep and how she was being too loud, it works so much better than, to be honest, yelling at her to stop being loud! I'm sure I won't always get it right, but I'm trying to lean on the Holy Spirit to enable me to do so. On the other hand, I'm thankful that she enjoys things about me, but at the same time feel guilty because I haven't been doing them as often since Eleri's birth. There is always some reason that I can't push her in the swing or read to her. BUT, we have gotten to take lots of shower/baths together!:)

What don't you like about mommy?
Your sassy mouth, but you're just teaching me.
Going to Sam's

Now, I'm not sure who doesn't like going to Sam's....FREE SAMPLES. But apparently what adults like children don't always appreciate!:) Her other statement goes with what I was saying previously. Our mouths either speak life or death, and I tell her that so often in a day, now its time for me to speak life!!!

Finally, I asked her what she wishes mommy would do:
Have fun and not do anything else
Take me to SeaWorld and Disneytown.

I knew the materialism had to creep in there some where!!!:) And, my big observation is that it is all about spending time with her and focusing on her!

God help me to be a better mom, enable to me be wise and intentional with the time that I have and to give Mali quality time. Give me a mouth that speaks life and help me to calmly handle correction and take the time to sit with her and be sweet. Forgive me where I have failed and push me forward to do better through your power and strength. Thank you for the times that I have made Mali feel loved and for the sweet memories and moments that I had to make deposits of time into her life!

Father's Day 2009

This year was a special year for Eric.... It was his first fathers day as a father of two. Time just seems to sneak up on me lately, and so it probably wasn't the best. Nonetheless, we made him cinnamon rolls and decaf coffee to start and then we went to church and all sat in the cafe. After church, we headed to Lubbock and celebrated there with Fudruckers, fruit and a frigid swim.:). His girls sure love him. Eleri gives him big smiles and cuddles her head up against him and laughs. He is so special and all of our lives are better with his love and care for us.
What Mali loves about her daddy:
when he's nice and kind. Playing golf and when he gives me special treats and that's pretty much it.

On Tuesday, the girls and I went to Dalhart to celebrate with Papa and Grandpa. We met Papa (Eric's dad) for break and got him a breakfast burrito. Eleri was throwing quite the fit when we got there, but warmed up soon to her Papa's arms. Mali had fun sitting and eating with Papa and talking with him.
What Mali loves about Papa: when he's thankful for what I give him.


After break, we went to visit Grandpa (my dad). We brought him Coca Cola's in a bottle just like his mom used to do for his dad when he was a kid. Mali was excited that she got to have one too! Mali and Grandpa got to play and play and Eleri fell asleep in Grandpa's arms. We ate lunch and then headed back to Amarillo.
What Mali loves about Grandpa: when we play

Her little heart

So I'm posting using my phone so this post may not be that great and will likely have "corrections" made by my phone that don't make any sense.
We had Eleri's follow up cardiology appointment today in Lubbock. The appointment went well and her cardiologist isn't concerned. She does still have both issues with her heart but neither are worrisome and both are improving. We will go back in one year.
I am wondering what God's purpose is through this. I had prayed for complete healing and believed in this too. So I've been thinking about what the results mean. And, I think that it means that God's answers are not human answers. God still delighted in our prayers and delighted in bringing healing to Eleri the way He wanted it done. God's ways are not mans, and this is so true in this case. Just to clarify, I'm not angry, upset, hurt...anything at God, I just felt that it was worth pondering the why!:)
On another note, both the doctor and her husband said that Eleri made their day with her smiles. Mali used to get those comments too it makes me so excited to see my babies loving people and serving a greater purpose!!!!

On our visit to Lubbock we were able to visit Elly on her 1 year birthday and see Katy and Jeromy too, and we loved it. We also got to meet little Mailey Williams for the first time. And we had some quick hugs with Sara Giles. I loved seeing everyone. Of course we missed seeing the Dallas family, but are thankful they allowed us to stay at their house. We also drove past our old house. It looked horrible, there were weeds every where and my special flower garden was full of weeds!:(

I can't do it all

After nearly 5 months with two girls, I've come to the realization that I can't do it all. Not even close! Every time I try, I fail miserably. Some times I come to this point with tears, with relief and most often exhaustion. I'm not sure how adding one child who doesn't even dirty dishes has added to me loading and unloading the dishwasher five times a day, every day, but it has and I'm there. I know that I can't do it all and will never be able to do it all, but I know and trust that God can do it all, or at least I remind myself of this truth. Sometimes that means that God gives me sustaining energy to get the tasks done, or answers my prayers for my time to be multiplied and my hands to be quick in the tasks that are before me. Sometimes that means that He washes me with His peace and assurance that I don't have to do it and my heart rests in peace as I play with my girls and teach them new things while the clean laundry piles higher and higher. I remember years ago meeting with a wonderful, godly woman who had an unmade bed, piles of clean clothes on the couch a passionate relationship with Jesus and well loved children. I say that I didn't judge those things, because I really didn't, but I didn't understand how one didn't have time for ALL of those things to be completed! I GET IT!! Oh do I get it and have become it, only I'm not sure that I can claim to match her passion for Jesus and love for my children. I remember the days that my co-workers gave me a hard time about how picked up and spotless my house was, and that seems like another person, an alter ego that existed long long ago. Now I've become the woman with food particles sprayed on my white cabinets from who knows when, because to be honest, I ignore it because there are so many other tasks to be completed, that matter more. I'm the woman with piles of clean laundry and I think "at least they're all clean". Not too big of a deal for me and the girls, but for the guy that can stand wrinkled clothes...it's a big deal!:) And, by the end of the day, it is not even close to apparent that I have picked up and cleaned Mali's room at least two times, unloaded the dishwasher, emptied the sink, made tea that is now empty, picked up the front room three times, changed six diapers, nursed my sweet baby six times, handled a few meltdowns, said no and stood my ground, spelled my name, Eric's name, Eleri's name and other words throughout the day, gave out hundreds of smiles, touches, hugs and kisses to my girls, fed the dogs twice, yelled at the dogs twice, got dressed, got Mali dressed in cute matching clothes, asked Mali to put her four different changes of outfits on hangers or in the dirty clothes, got Eleri dressed two times after spit up, prayed for patience, prayed for strength, prayed for God to sustain me, prayed for God to infiltrate me...and I could go on. I wouldn't trade it and am so thankful, but I'm so overwhelmed and though I've realized I can't do it all and know with all my heart God can, I don't know how to balance it all. When is it okay to leave things undone? What battles do I pick? How does my house get clean...okay I'll take presentable. How do I handle the constant mess of Mali's room even though I've already picked it up or in some way motivated Mali to get it picked up just to have it trashed in minutes? Is it okay that Mali vacuumed her room herself and got clothes from the washer to the dryer?:) How do I manage my home? How do we survive, and survive well, creating a happy home environment that every one likes to be a part of?
I just had to get this out, this post has been working around in my mind for weeks!

Shank and Sierra

We have been keeping Sierra for Brandon while he is in India/Nepal and as any parent knows, siblings cause more destruction together. While Sierra has been staying with us the have destroyed the following:
Three of my potted plants
Sprinker
Adirondack chair
Swimming pool
My white pants (actually they just need washed)
Eric's grill cover
Devoured several pieces of firewood
Dug holes
Fence posts
Water bowl
Can of bug spray
And several other small items

Crazy HUGE puppies!!

Our little artist!

Mali just drew this and I HAD to share it because it was sooo adorable...see if you can figure it out














It is a picture of Mr. Steve (Steve Kersh the news/weather man, as Mali said) on the right and then Daddy playing golf (See the golf club!!!!) and a flag on the grass. The other day she asked Eric, if you put on the flag is that winning??:) And she drew herself up at the top!:)

Tortillas!!! Ole!!!

Today Mali and I made tortillas from scratch. We were out of tortillas and a few days from pay day so I decided to get creative. It was a lot of fun and not hard at all. They were pretty good, although not as thick and good as Rosa's. I look forward to experimenting more and perfecting the art of tortilla making and making them for our family Taco Tuesday! Eric didn't think I could do it so I'm anxious for him to try them to see what he thinks. They turned out good, a little more crispy, but hey, they are from scratch, I'm not sure I can achieve the machine made texture! And, its certainly not as convenient as grabbing $1.26 tortillas off the shelf!
Anyway, here is the recipe since a few people asked for it! I found it in "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I substituted 1/2 cup regular flour for whole wheat flour)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons lard, butter or canola or other neutral oil (I used Crisco to make it a little healthier and want to experiment with olive oil too)
About 1/2 cup warm water

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl or food processor. Pulse in the fat or cut it in with knives
2. add water slowly just until dough forms a ball. Knead on a lightly floured surface, 4-5 minutes by hand
3. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and let it sit in refrigerator for a few hours.
4. Divide dough into 6 pieces, press each piece into a disk and then roll it out as thin as possible
5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. One at a time, cook tortillas on the griddle until brown spots begin to appear; turn and cook the other side.

Cereal for Eleri

Last night we started Eleri on cereal. I wasn't in any hurry, but Eric wanted the best for his little baby girl. So we started last night. She did pretty good, but pushed a lot out with her tongue, no surprises there. Eric did decide that her bib would just get in the way and took it off which led to a very messy baby covered in streams of sloppy cereal. The funniest part had to be when she knocked the bowl out of Eric's hands and it got all over him. He freaked out and immediately had to clean himself because he said it was disgusting because I mixed in breast milk. After the fact, I realized how complicated life is going to get now. I will have a messy baby, messy floor, messy high chair to clean up. This is why I wasn't in a hurry!:) We even let Mali feed Eleri and she did really good.

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Sun, Surf, Sand....San Diego

This past week we traveled to San Diego for our first family of four vacation. The trip was okay, but I want to start with what each of our favorite parts were, lest I sound ungrateful. Also, I have about 400 pictures I took and I can't include those all here, so each favorite has a picture to go along with it :
Eric:
Playing 18 holes of golf at Torrey Pines Golf Course

Mali:
She enjoyed touching the star fish and sea cucumber at the aquarium and playing in the ocean and finding sea shells

Me:
Watching Mali have so much fun in the ocean. Relaxing under the umbrella on the bay while Mali played and played.

Eleri:
We aren't really sure, she cried and fussed more than normal. Probably being held constantly, but I think that got old.


Day 1:
We arrived in San Diego. Our flights were great and we never de-planed. The girls did amazing and even the flight attendants commented on what great girls we have, asking if Eleri ever cries. Which we replied "not really", but were soon to learn that she does cry! We spent a great amount of time at the rental car place to be given a compact car. As we were walking out the guy said "I can tell you right now your stuff isn't going to fit". And sure enough, it was almost like one of those future cars...no trunk, so we had to upgrade. The guy asked us what we drove and I told him and he asked "wouldn't you be more comfortable in an SUV?" Eric and I laughed and said, "yes, but we aren't going to get one". We finally headed to the zoo with the help of our GPS. We had planned on eating at the zoo, but were really hungry, it was about 2pm Central time and we had not had lunch. We decided to stop some where on the way but once we found a place, we couldn't find parking. So, we headed on to the zoo and walked as fast as we could to get to eat. The views were great, but the food was mediocre and over priced, of course. We were incredibly hungry and a little grumpy! Then we were off to the see the animals. To sum it up, we didn't read our tickets, and made poor choices! We expended almost all of our energy and Mali's attention on the primates only to become so tired we took the sky tram and then hopped on the express bus to finish seeing the zoo. We didn't see about 1/4 of the zoo, but then walked to see the Panda's before we left. Mali had been asking to leave for a while at this point. The only thing we happened to do right was watch 8 Macaws be released to fly across the front of the zoo. That was pretty neat. Mali liked the flamingos and the snakes, which really really surprised me. Eleri did great, just hanging out in the sling. I fed her once while we ate and another time right before we saw the pandas.
After the zoo, we headed to our hotel. We were so thankful to have our GPS with us. The hotel was perfect and we actually ended up being upgraded to a suite. We faced the bay, but our view was blocked by another row of rooms, but we didn't mind. Our hotel was right on Mission Bay and was so lush and relaxing. Mali loved seeing all the birds and ducks that lived on the grounds. We were pretty tired, and hungry again, so we went to eat at Gringo's Cantina. We had expected to eat as cheap and light as possible, like at beach front booths. We sat outside on the patio and were warmed by outdoor fire pits. It was nice, but Eleri was very fussy and cried more than we have ever heard her cry and fuss. After dinner, we spent some time by the bay that night and Mali picked up sea shells. We called it a night at about 10pm our time and were all so exhausted after beginning the day at 5am.

Day 2:
We woke up early, or rather Eleri woke up, ready to eat at 6am Central time but 4am Pacific time. She did fall asleep for about another hour. So we got up and headed to the beach bright and early. It was very nice and peaceful. We drank coffee while Mali played and played in the waves. She had a great time! Eric held her hand as they played in the waves. However, we were planning to just stop at the beach and not play necessarily, so I had put Mali in her clothes for the day and not her bathing suit. She had a blast though and as any mother knows, that is true joy; watching your kids experience such fun! At one point, she got knocked down by a wave, and the clothes were history! We came back to our hotel (which was about a half block from Pacific Beach) and changed Mali and headed to La Jolla. We went to the Scripps Aquarium and really enjoyed looking at the fish. Mali enjoyed the hands on tide pool where she got to touch a sea cucumber and a starfish. The view was beautiful too! We got to explore and then watch the shark feeding. At the shark feeding, school kids on a field trip crowded us out and were pretty rude! Another disappointment! Eric said he was going to write a letter to school because as an educator it upset him. It was time to drop Eric off at Torrey Pines for his tee time and the girls and I headed in to La Jolla village to eat and explore the coves and see the seals. The place I had planned on eating, didn't work out because it didn't have the best seating for me to be able to feed Eleri or for me to not stress out with Mali being too close to the edge, another disappointment, but we ate gourmet pizza instead in a very inconspicuous corner over looking the ocean. I changed the girls into bathing suites. After walking about 3 blocks down hill to the coves, a woman told us that we needed to drive to the seals because it was too far to walk. I had us walking because I was afraid of not finding a parking space and had one up hill. So, we walked back up the hill and a set of steep stairs, and I loaded the girls back up and endured Eleri's cries while we headed to the cove that the seals were at. After unloading again, we found that there were no seals...they were all out swimming and eating. We walked down some steep steps to a neighboring cove for Mali to play. She only played about 5 minutes in the water because she kept running out far and I couldn't stay beside her. We took a beautiful drive back to our hotel and then really enjoyed the afternoon between feedings at the bay. As soon as we came back to the bay after I fed Eleri and re-applied sunscreen to the girls, there were two boys playing at the water. I looked over and one boy had his pants down. His mom ran over to him, but just stood beside him as he made a perfect arc of pee into the water! I was furious and almost just broke down and cried. I did say very loudly "are you kidding me???" and looked around at the other guests enjoying the beach. No one said anything. Then I thought, "maybe they are foreign", but no, no accent and perfect english. I was so appalled, and angry because it ruined our time. I made Mali gather shells for about 30 minutes, hoping that the nasty little boys urine was pulled out to sea by then! Other than that, it was so peaceful and just the right temperature on the beach. Mali gathered shells and played and played and built sandcastles. I did feel bad that I couldn't really sit out there and help her because I had to keep Eleri in the shade and held. But, I did get to just sit back in the chair, under the umbrella, and hold Eleri while she slept and watch Mali enjoy herself. We drove back to pick Eric up and the girls just crashed in the car! After getting Eric, we drove down by the coves so he could see it. Both girls were asleep and of course, the seals were back. Mali woke up but didn't want to get out of the car to see them! We decided to eat right away so we wouldn't be starving and asked our hotel staff where to get tacos on the beach (something we had planned on doing). They sent us to World Famous, where the food was good and the view was great, but $1 shrimp tacos were only in the bar! But, Eric gave a sob story and got tacos and I had scallops. It was actually fairly relaxing and nice to eat on time and see the beach at the same time. Then we went out to the beach and played in the waves some more. Mali got pretty wet and was pretty cold, so we called it a night!

Day 3:
We woke up early (4am again!) and headed to the beach...actually maybe I should start saying Eleri and I, because Eric and Mali slept in a little longer. Both days we got a "you're already headed to the beach?" in the elevator which I replied "we are on central time". We packed up and then headed to the beach for coffee on the beach. It was really nice. Mali played for a little while before we had to head back to get ready for the airport and we took some last pictures. Eleri was actually awake for this beach excursion so I made sure to get pictures of her. I'm thinking that one day when she is old enough to look at pictures she is going to wonder where she was!!!:) We made a stop for tacos...finally! We had fish tacos that were pretty good and fresh. Checking in at the airport was a little hectic, but we made it with out any problems. Our flights were great and we didn't de-plane and only stopped one time on the way back in Denver. As soon as we landed, the flights to Denver (where we had come from) and Dallas were all delayed. We were so thankful we made it back without any problems. I ran to get the car, but forgot my wallet so I had to haul Eleri and myself back into the airport to get my wallet and we all just walked to the car together. The wind/dust storm hit as we were packing our stuff in the car. We spent the night unloading and unpacking. We were so thankful to be home.

I know we will look back on this trip with joy and thankfulness, there were just a lot of disappointing moments. It wasn't so much that it was hard, because I expected that, but I think that our expectations weren't met and really just things didn't go so smoothly. However, I imagine Mali never even noticed and had fun anyway, and that is a successful trip to me. We learned a lot about what not to do and what to do next time. So if you are planning a trip to San Diego, I will gladly give you suggestions! I'm glad to be home and don't really want to go anywhere for a while!:) Overall, it was great though to just have new experiences. I think part of adjusting to being a family of four for me is adjusting to traveling and going on trips. Before, I got to spend a lot of time with Mali helping her and pointing things out and enjoying it with her, but this time it wasn't all that easy. No big deal though, I'm excited about the things that we get to show BOTH girls! Eric plan on going back one day with both girls. (Each year, we use our tax return to take a family vacation, Eric said he thinks that is what the child tax credit is for:))

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And here is a slide show of some of our pictures, the best ones are on Facebook, so look at those if you are interested!

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Eleri's stats

Eleri had her 4 month well check today, and two shots, poor girl. She definitely screamed, but was soothed pretty easily! Eleri is healthy and great. We will go to see the cardiologist on June 22nd to check on her heart health.
She weighs 13 lbs 11 ounces
She is 24 1/4 inches tall
and her head circumference is 40cm

This puts her average for weight and above average (75th percentile) for height. She is as tall as an average 6 month old! Watch out Claire McCullough!:) I looked back at Mali's stats and Mali was a little heavier but same height, actually only 24 inches, but there is a margin for error.

For all the moms

If you can take the few minutes ( I think 16 total) to listen to these podcasts, please do. One thing I do love about the iPhone is listening to the Focus on the Family podcasts. These were two encouraging podcasts that I just had to share. I have read this book "Tender Mercies for the Mother's Soul" too, and HIGHLY recommend it, but reading isn't as do-able as just listening right now for me at least!

So follow this link, then search for March 24th and 26th and download these podcasts titled God's Tender Care for Moms (there are two parts)
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?LatestDaily=1

A few of Eleri's favorite things

Here are a few of Eleri's favorite things recently:
Her feet
Putting her feet in her mouth
Her hands in her mouth
Her sister
Laughing
Screaming (joyfully)
Eating, and fast!
Being held
Playing with toys, especially her babydoll, poodle and ball
Splashing in the bath
Smiling at everyone
Giving big smiles to Daddy
Her reflection
Kicking her feet like crazy

Not her favorite things:
Sleeping through the night
Napping for longer than 45 minutes at a time

And here is a video montage of her favorite things. We go tomorrow for her 4 month well check (finally) and shots! I will try and post about her stats.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Grandpa

We are going to be on vacation for Grandpa's birthday, so we celebrated a week early by taking him to eat. He chose Schlotsky's. We had a great visit with him and the girls were both very sweet.

Just Mali

Here are some pictures of Mali! I was prepared to blog about how great and sweet she was, but now I find myself frazzled because she keeps coming out of her room during "room time" and not obeying!!! So, it might take a little more effort now!:)
Really she has been doing great this week. I think the extra time to just play together has helped. She asks me to play with her all the time now. But what happens is the following: she spends so much time preparing to play and then it is time to either feed Eleri or put Eleri down. This reminds me exactly of Eric. I just dive right in, but Eric has all these little steps to accomplish just to get to the main task! We have been laughing at this! (see shed project that did not take 1 hour but 36!!!:)) Back to Mali, when we do get to play, she has me pretend to be the voice of one of her dolls and she actually does the playing. I'm not going to divulge what she plays, I'm still trying to analyze and process what she is playing out, but it seems to be developmentally appropriate!:) Mali also likes to make lists. She ask us things such as what our favorite thing to do or what we need from the grocery store and "writes" it down. She also loves to write things out. Mali asks me how to spell something and she writes down the letter. Yesterday in the car, she asked me to tell her how to write Wemereimer Chocolate Lab Mix!!! We didn't get through it by the time her attention span wore off. Mali is also doing great with Eleri and really likes to make her laugh. Another favorite recent thing of Mali's is to match me. Poor girl! So one of the pictures is of us matching as well as I could pull it off! Our relationship has definitely improved and she actually does like me know. I'm trying to get the balance down, not sure I have yet, but we are managing and adjusting.