From the Inside Out

These lyrics were just heavy on my heart so I wanted to share them! I'm actually enjoying some time to pray and praise while both girls are unexpectedly taking simultaneous naps! This is my cry right now, literally:

"A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out"

Eleri update

After three days of antihistamine and a steroid each night, Eleri seems to be doing better. Her "spots" are pretty faded now although a few do pop up each day, but do not spread like they were doing. She has been pretty fussy the last few days and only wanting Momma, a task that I'm so okay with, but that means a neglected big girl and a neglected home. I stayed up late last night cleaning after the girls went to bed, just to be up all morning with Eleri. I thought that I would stop caffeine, but no such luck, it really makes a difference in my ability to function without sleep. Well, I'm not sure I function well, but I function. In the mean time, Eleri is pulling up so well that we had to lower her crib mattress after Eric went to get her from nap and realized she could easily tumble out! So here is a picture!

Eleri is 7 months

Today, Eleri is 7 months old! She is doing quite a lot! Last week, Eleri started pulling up and she has not stopped since. She loves to play on the trampoline by pulling up on it or sitting next to it and patting it and even has tried crawling over it! Anything and everything, including Daddy's head, has made for good resistance to get to her feet. Mali and Eleri are also beginning to be able to play together. Last week, Mali was playing with her Polly Pockets and Eleri kept "attacking" the Polly Pockets. I'm wondering how many Polly Pocket accessories this little girl will put in her mouth. It has been sweet to watch them play together. Eleri continues to adore her big sister and wants to be where Mali is. Eleri is also crawling all over the place and does not stay put for long. Eleri is still so sweet and happy,even despite her latest little sickness. We have had some issues at night and I woke up Friday morning ready to begin letting her cry it out at night, but then discovered her spots, so maybe in 2 weeks when she is better I will return to that. Honestly, I have been so tired that I just end up feeding her. I think Thursday night/morning she ate six times... ridiculous on both our parts! I know she doesn't need to eat during the night but it is an easy solution for this sleep deprived mommy, but the time has come to get tough. Eleri still is growling and making many people laugh! She has started babbling too and it is so sweet to hear! Eleri also survived her first week of football without any problem. She did great last night at the varsity game. We did get new toys down from the attic as Eleri has moved past simple entertainment. I can't believe she is slowly slipping away from the baby stage! She is still as sweet as can be and has blessed our lives tremendously. I'm so thankful for this sweet girl.
I couldn't get Eleri to hold still for pictures, so this is her at 7 months. Eleri weighed 16.73lbs at her appointment yesterday.

Miss Sensitive

Last night, Eleri had a rough night. This morning after her breakfast "peaches", I noticed she had bug bites on her. I called our nurse and she said to bring her in. At the time, I was worried I had made it sound worse than it was, but by our 11:30 appointment I was glad that I had taken her in. Here are pictures of it. She has angioedema multiplias. Some how she came into contact with a foreign substance, but we don't know what. Typically these hives are seen with a virus or allergic reaction to medication, none of which she has had. She has had nothing new at all. The only possiblity was something I mopped with on our wood floor yesterday. Who knows, but the treatment is the same. She will be on an antibiotic and steroid for 2 weeks. Poor poor girl!

The parents

So this family actually has parents that do things too!:) Just kidding, we aren't nearly as exciting but here is an update on us! Eric passed his science teaching certification test this month. I'm really proud of him. He has worked and worked to pass this test. So now he is certified to teach PE (what he is currently teaching), health and science. Eric is also working on his master's in administration to one day become a principal! Football has also started and Eric's teams have gotten off to a great start. 1-0 with a score of 44-22 for the freshman black team and 56-0 for Amarillo High. We are so proud of him!
I'm still working about 7 hours a week. I've picked up a few clients from New Hope again after a six month "maternity leave". I feel like God has opened the doors for these clients and I'm being very selective. I'm not accepting any insurance right now so that I don't have to worry about that mess, private pay only. I'm seeing those clients on the weekends with "forces" Eric to spend time with the girls (those are his words by the way). I'm also still seeing my one client in his home. God has blessed me tremendously through this family and I feel like I'm able to help them and minister to them. One of those blessings, is that we are working on social skills training and Mali is having play dates. So two of the seven hours I work each week, Mali is with me! Hasn't God blessed me???
I think that is it for us!!!:)

Mali's first week of school

Mali seems to have had a great first week of 5 year old preschool, although she some how turned 15 between drop off and pick up on Tuesday. I asked her about her day and her responses where the following "I'm too tired to talk. I'm too thirsty to talk. Mom, can you please not talk to me." So, my initial reaction was "okay fine" (hey don't judge me I'm working on very little sleep and impulses aren't as guarded) but then thought again and actually replied "well I'm here when you want to talk about it." I do know that they are learning to write their names in lower case letters because I got quite the lecture when I wrote her name in all caps! Mali has been super cute with other things though. She has been really engaging in pretend play. Mali did tell me that she has a new name "Penny" and that I need to call her that! Another cute phrase from her was "I wish there was a girl football team". Mali also started a worship ballet class at Paramount called Doxa. She gets to be in there with her friend Hallie and really enjoys it! Afternoon preschool seems to be working out great for us so far. Eleri is napping in the morning for a good 1 hour to 1.5 hours and Mali and I have been getting in some good quality time. I know that God worked this out. It has been so fun to get ready with Mali, read to her and play with her all while Eleri naps. Mali has been exhausted after this week though and has had some whiney-ness and behavior problems, but she will adjust!

Pulling up?? Already??

I'm thinking that Eleri was soooo bored without big sister around today that she had nothing better to do than PULL UP! I was busy trying to get a shot of her sitting up since she technically isn't doing this (because she is on the go) and look what she did instead? I was so impressed. I had to move the trampoline into her room because I was having horrible visions of her hitting her head on the wood floor!

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Is it really that time of year?

New shoes....check
First homework assignment....check
Supplies....check
Big Dr. Pepper for mommy....check
Today, Mali will start 5 year old preschool. She will go from 12:15 to 3:15pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Taking her to school in the afternoons will be an adjustment, but I'm probably at my worst in the afternoon so better for her to get some good, quality time and instruction. There will be seven other students in her class. I'm excited to see who she makes friends with and all that she learns. So far the only hang up with afternoon class is that I got her ready for the day and she has already tried to change two times, uugh! Anyway, here is a picture of our BIG girl (doesn't she look sooo grown up?) ready to go to five year old preschool! I will update how her first week went on Thursday or Friday!

Paintin' with Puddin'

Wednesday a few of Mali’s preschool classmates came over to celebrate the end of summer with a Messy Day party. Mali wanted to prepare a tea party and I had to gently explain to her that we were going to make a mess. The kids all brought their lunches and after lunch the mess began. Hallie and brother Sawyer, Noah and brother Owen and Mali all went outside to paint with pudding! It did not take Mali long to paint her body and to indulge in the pudding. It was funny to see how each child’s personality came through by playing in the pudding (group therapy idea????:) Just kidding, I’m not sure that would win parents approval). Mali dove right in and got messy, Hallie painted herself but was also the only one to really paint a picture, Owen sort of played on his own with the pudding but really played in the sprinkler. Noah also played alone, but became upset when Mali dumped pudding in his hair and sough revenge. He also really enjoyed the sprinkler. Sawyer did not like the pudding and found other fun things to do. It was also funny to see the division in gender. The boys were squirting everyone with the sprinkler and the girls were sunning themselves! We finished off the fun with rinsing everyone in the sprinkler. Then the kids enjoyed delicious cookies that Hallie’s mom made and cupcakes that Noah’s mom brought. I’m thankful for these friends that enjoyed letting our kids make a mess and just have a great time! Thanks Shonda and Rachael! Now the kids are officially ready for the structure of the school year! We are sad that none of our children will be in the same class this year, but we look forward to playing together any way.

From Whom All Blessings Flow

I just wanted to take some time to praise God “from whom all blessings flow”. Two years ago, was my D&C. I haven’t memorialized this day or held on to, it is really just a day BUT I did want to just really praise God for how faithful He has been to us in those two years. Two years ago, I had NO idea what the future would hold for us with my molar pregnancy diagnosis, and I had in mind the worst that could happen. However, God did care for us during that time. Even though it was a difficult time, should I not accept difficult from God if I so readily accept blessings? Because truth be told MANY blessings came from that difficulty. Sweet Eleri Cate is one of those blessings. She is such a treasure to us, and I do not take it lightly that she is part of our family! So, Thank You GOD for healing my body and for blessing us with another child, among many other things!

Love this face

Eleri has started to make the cutest face!!! She scrunches up her eyes and laughs! I love it and just had to capture her sweetness! She also has started really babbling. Eleri says "ya ya ya ya"! I think "dada" won't be faraway. Another cute Eleri move is her bear crawl. I guess this is what she has found to work the best on wood flooring! I've been trying to capture it in a picture, and got her almost in her bear crawl.

Ouray

This weekend, we took a some what impromptu trip to Ouray with Brandon. Brandon wanted to go down to be in the mountains and I wanted my grandma to be able to meet Eleri. The trip actually went really well. Both girls did great in the car on the way down there. There were a few meltdowns on Mali's end on the way back, but overall there were no significant problems. I certainly didn't have a moment that I thought "why did I do this?" Brandon was very patient with us and we had some really good talks. It was nice to have the open road before us, a sleeping baby and Mali watching a video. We don't really get to just talk any more because of the my occupation with my girls (I wouldn't trade it though), so it was nice to talk. Friday it drizzled most of the day, but we enjoyed playing with Grammie, Aunt Zina and Great Grandma. Aunt Zina bought the girls toys that they loved! Grammie attempted to x-ray Mali's teeth but no luck there. I was hoping to save ourselves money! However, my mom did think she had some problems!:( Uugh! Saturday was a nicer day so we hiked up to Cascade Falls. Mali and Grammie climbed up to the cave together. Then we ate lunch at the Buen Tiempo, one of my "must eat" places in Ouray. We enjoyed the mountain breeze on the patio as we ate. After lunch, everyone napped, and then we went to Baby Bathtubs. I was sad that it was just little puddles of water, I guess that is what happens when you go in August. After our little hike, we left Eleri with Grammie, and Mali and I went on a date to get ice cream at the Candy Shoppe. After walking all the way up there (this is at the top of the hill in Ouray), it was closed! I felt like nothing was working out. We ran into Uncle Brandon, so he drove us back to the deli and we enjoyed out ice cream together. Sunday morning, Eleri and I were awakened at 5am by a bear trying to get into my Grandma's trash cans outside. It was only a small bear and pretty rare to see. I think that is the first time I've actually seen a bear at my grandma's. We finished our trip off with brunch at the Bon Ton. We had a good time. I wish I had better pictures, but only have my phone right now. I can't wait to get a camera again, I'm lost without one!

Wonderful Friends

Last week, we took a girls trip to Lubbock to visit our friends. It was really quick, and as usual, I didn't have enough time to see everyone I wanted to.
But we did get to see Emily, Brooklyn and Blakely Farmer. Emily's girls are so cute and precious. Emily was nice enough to host us and all of our Happy Meals at her beautiful house! The big kids played outside and the baby girls (Blake and Eleri) rolled on the floor! Emily and I worked together at Buckner and Mali and I "watched" Brooklyn when Emily returned to seeing clients. It was so fun to see Brooklyn all grown up!

Of course we got to see the Dallas Family. Mali enjoyed swimming with her friends. Zach and Calyn are awesome little fishies. Beth and I even got some time to visit in between all of the craziness. Beth made us all dinner and we were able to visit with Melissa, Makenna, Tracen, and baby Mailey that evening.
We took the kids to Krispy Kreme to enjoy some donuts, then to play off all of the sugar, and then finally to the Mud Room. This seems to some how be a tradition, but I'm starting to look forward to the day with just the moms can go without the kids. I made a tile of Eleri's foot prints and Mali painted a butterfly, which I'm sure once it is fired will be a brown mess...but fun.
After our self induced craziness, we met Sara Giles and her new fiance:) for lunch at McCallister's. We certainly inducted them into their engagement with a load of craziness....8 children in a packed McCallister's. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures with Sara since I only had my phone and not a camera! I'm so happy for Sara. It has been neat to see the journey God has brought her on to meet this man and to become his wife!! Way to trust God Sara, you are an example to all of us!:)

Oh Mali

I thought I needed a little update on Mali. She is really doing good, just as smart as can be...sometimes that is great and sometimes it is challenging. Mali is pretending to speak Spanish and it is pretty entertaining. Uncle Brandon says that we need to expose her to as much Spanish as possible right now!:) The "Lizzy" doll that he gave her that speaks Spanish is coming in really handy right now. Mali loves to play. I've really enjoyed watching her play and giving her the gift of free time during the summer. We've been swimming a lot at the Town Club and playing on the big slide up at Paramount Baptist with her preschool friends. Mali absolutely adores her daddy! She wants to be just like him, even down to sleeping only in shorts! I've tried to explain to her that little girls don't do that, but I love watching how she admires her daddy.
On the other hand, we have been engaged in battle. Over the last few weeks, Mali has decided to go to battle with us. I'm determined to win, not in a bad way, but I really hope that if we establish ourselves as the authority right now, then maybe she won't challenge us as much in the future, and if she does she does, but right now I think it is vital that Eric and I establish our authority with her. After going to bed at night for four years with very little problems, suddenly we have been fighting nightly battles with her. She wants to sleep in our room. That is a big no no in my book, however we have let it slide on occasion when we've been so tired from having a new baby, hence the battle. This girl, once you give in ONE TIME, it is an expectation and battle after that. I have known this from the beginning and been strong enough to mostly avoid it, but then a baby came along! Some nights she has been disciplined over and over to no avail. Other nights she has been bribed, and she has even "complied" just for me to end up stepping on her when I get up with Eleri! Last night she went to her own bed and then ended up on the couch. Our other new battle has been eating. She has decided that she wants to have something different at dinner than what I have prepared for our family (never a healthy substitute I might add). This is also something on my list that is worth battling over. I never have fought her on how much she eats, but she will be served what the rest of us eat. On and off there has been some whiny-ness about eating what I make, but now it has become a battle. I'm determined to win, and hoping to get enough sleep to stay determined.
I love her so much! I love her beautiful blue eyes and sweet smile, I love that God made her strong-willed....He knows the future and He created her this way. I love that she is witty and funny, just like her Daddy. I love that she is asking questions and learning about Jesus. I love that she wants to be good, but it is just so tough! I love watching her relationship with her Uncle Brandon. I love the moments when she is a sweet, big sister. I am so proud of her heart to be a friend to every child! I love her love her love her, but because of her I know that when I AM WEAK HE IS STRONG!

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Eleri is on the move

This weekend, Eleri started moving from room to room. There is no stopping her now! She starting following me out of the room and also her sister. And, apparently, I had my iPhone upside down recording, oops!

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Eleri's 6 month stats

Eleri had her 6 month appointment today. She weighs 16lbs 2oz (slightly above the 50th percentile), is 27 inches long (90th percentile), and her head is 41cm (25th percentile). Mali outweighed Eleri by about a pound at this age, but their length is the same! I'm so so thankful for healthy girls!

We saw a sub-doctor today. She said that Eleri's heart was really quiet. Her feet (turned in from being breech) looked great and that she was really strong and happy.

. And, the pedi said Eleri had bumpy gums MAYBE that is the reason for fussiness!:)

2009 Sandie Football Schedule

Here is the football schedule for this year, I thought it would be easier this way. Sorry it is crooked, for some reason that is the only way it would all come out! If you click on the schedule then you can print it for your self.

**Eric is the head 9th grade football coach, if you want to come to "his" games!

Cousins and Corn Picking

We spent Sunday in Dalhart to put up sweet corn. Sunday morning, the guys all went out to the farms and picked the corn. The rest of us all took jobs including shucking, cooking, cutting, and bagging. Every one was there to help, even all of the cousins. My dad said that he learned all of what we were doing from his mom! That made me happy to be carrying on such a generational tradition, and to have a piece of my grandma in the tradition. Even Eleri "shucked" and Jove entertained us while we cut and bagged. It was a really good family time. All of the cousins were there together and even went to visit Big Nana (Terry's mom) in the nursing home. Here are several pictures from the day. Jove and Eleri "played" together too. Jove is 3 1/2 months old and Eleri is 6 months.

Eric's new love

Eric loves Shank, that is all I can say. He loves that dog! Too bad football season is interfering with training him. Eleri also enjoys Shank. I put her in her exercauser and open the back door so they can stare at each other. Shank is turning out to be a pretty good, yet huge, dog. He is 4 months old now.

Farmer's Market

Saturday we all went to the Farmer's Market. We had fun, well Mali did whine that it was cold for a few minutes, but over all it was fun. We bought cantaloupe, zucchini, some white squash, yellow squash, green beans, green chilies, and a flower. After we got home, I made lots of baby food and zucchini bread. The bread didn't turn out as great as my friend Rachel's, but there is always next time. Here is a picture of our spread and happy as can be Mali!:)

The most important decision

I wanted to blog about this so that I have these sweet, special moments documented. Because, really this is the most important decision our girls will make. In the last few months, Mali has begun to ask lots of questions about Jesus and what it means to ask Him "into her heart." We talk about how if Jesus isn't in our heart, our hearts are "ugly". I've done my best, or at least I hope, to explain what I can, while veering away from cliche, "Christian" terminology and really stick with Truth from Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Mali has had some fear that if she asks Jesus to live in her heart then she will die. I hope that we've talked through that enough though. The other day, Mali saw a picture of Nana being baptized in the Jordan River so we talked about baptisms. She also was able to see a few baptisms when she has gone to church with us. Anyway, that night she asked me when she would get to be baptized. I do not believe so much that this is a one time decision, but a daily, even hourly, choice to walk with Jesus and choose His path over her own path. She has also been wanting to "play out" the empty tomb and Jesus not being there. All of my play therapist friends understand the importance of this too. Mali will pretend to be the angel at the tomb and has me pretend to be a woman at the tomb looking for Jesus. Sometimes, Mali also pretends to be Jesus. That could be an entirely different post. Mali is not there yet, or at least I don't know that she truly grasps it, but the wonderful thing to know is that seeds are being planted all around her and she is interested! Most often it is when we are sitting down to eat lunch or breakfast (another reason why sitting down at meals is soooo important for families). I feel so inadequate and wonder if my relationship and love for Jesus really does show through to her, or just the ugliness in my heart; but I have prayed since I found out I was pregnant with Mali that she walk with God all the days of her life. And since I'm blogging about this, I also want to celebrate the decision of her best friends, Zach and Calyn, as they did ask Jesus "into their hearts" and have gone in front of their church to share their decision. So, any advice from you seasoned moms out there is also greatly appreciated. I've decided that I definitely need to be more intentional in having a daily time with her that we read scripture. But as my good friend Carrie reminded me, accepting Jesus as our Savior is all related to seeing our need for a Savior. We laughed at how we constantly fail as mom's and we surely can teach our children to turn to Christ because we can't do it and desperately need a Savior!:)

Eleri is up on all fours...and video to prove it

Here is a video montage of Eleri's latest accomplishments!

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