Catching up....JANUARY HIGHLIGHTS

In January we celebrated Annalisa's first birthday (a month late due to the holidays). We kept it small and invited only family and one set of friends.

A few days before Annalisa's party, Josh came down with the stomach flu and also an eye infection. We wondered if we should cancel the party, but the doctor felt that if Josh took his eye medication he should be fine by Sunday and probably over the tummy bug as well.

On the morning of Annalisa's party, we went to church, after which the kids were supposed to nap. Unfortunately, neither kid napped. "What's going on?!?" I thought. "This does not bode well for our 3pm party." Annalisa finally went down right before the guests were due to arrive, and Josh refused his nap altogether, complaining of an ear ache. Finally, Seth decided to take Josh to Urgent Care to get his ear checked out.

Family members began to arrive. I pulled out the food and drinks and tried to keep everyone entertained; however, I realized that some family members couldn't stay long. I felt awful that our guest of honor was sleeping and the others were at the doctor. Nevertheless, the party went on.

Finally, Annalisa woke up. She opened her gifts and ate her food and cake and was in a moderately good mood. I noticed, however, that her eyes were red and I thought to myself, "Uh oh! It looks like Annalisa also has an eye infection."

Some guests had to leave early but others could stay long enough to greet Seth and Josh when they arrived. The kids played and the adults chatted. Josh felt better since he now had his medicine and had napped in the car. (Yep! It was, indeed, an ear infection.)

That night at bedtime, I started to feel really queasy. I wondered if I had eaten something funny. Then, a horrible realization passed over me...I, too, had caught the tummy bug that Josh had battled a few days prior.  Annalisa also threw up that night! I prayed that none of our guests would catch anything.

Fortunately (at least they tell me), they didn't.

                                         Happy Birthday, Baby Girl (with the eye infection)!

Catching Up...DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

I am LONG overdue on writing a blog post. Back in December, we all got really sick. We basically stayed sick for three months- rotating illnesses-and I had no energy or motivation to write.

So, I have decided to play catch up with my updates over the next few blog posts.

Naturally, the highlight of December was....

CHRISTMAS!

This year we DID put up a Christmas tree, but we had to put a baby gate around it to protect Annalisa (and our tree!), so the view was somewhat obscured.

I came up with a family advent activity for every day of the month- small activities that we would do together- and every day, Josh would open up a piece of paper which stated the activity for the day, such as: "Read the Nativity story" or "Watch a Christmas movie and eat popcorn together." We had fun! :)

A few days before Christmas, when all the presents were under the tree, Josh stated, "I want to open my presents NOW. I can't wait! I just can't wait!" Well, we should have listened to him and hid the presents because low and behold, early the next morning, Josh crept downstairs and unwrapped every gift with his name on it (even the one that said "To: Sophia, From: Josh"). Seth and I were livid! We hid his gifts and told him he wasn't allowed to play with them for a a few days after Christmas. (In retrospect, we probably only have ourselves to blame. How did we think a three year old could have so much self-control?)

On Christmas Eve, we told Josh to come and get us on Christmas morning BEFORE going downstairs so that we could all watch him open his gifts and see what Santa had brought him. Once again, however, Josh crept downstairs at about 5:30am, and then tore up the sour room and shouted, "Santa brought me a Spiderman action figure and puzzle!" Again, we were livid. Hadn't he learned? This made for a very unpleasant Christmas morning, as Seth and I scolded Josh for his disobedience.

Fortunately, the day got better! We went to Aunt Tracy and Uncle Chris's house to celebrate with my side of the family, and we all had a great time.

Opening stockings together

Family photo (Josh is clearly not interested in taking photos at this stage!)

Annalisa Turns One!

I can't believe it's been a year since I woke Seth up in the middle of the night suggesting that it might be time to go to the hospital. I had waited so long that we barely made it to the hospital in time for Annalisa was born. She popped out within just a few minutes of arriving at the hospital. No one except the midwife, nurses and myself even made it to the hospital room to witness the birth. It all happened so quickly!

                                                                   Annalisa- 2 days old

Now, Annalisa is a year old. She is a beautiful little girl with an incredibly sweet and mild demeanor. She doesn't cry or complain unless she is very tired or hungry. She adores Josh, and can't wait to see him in the morning when she wakes up. Josh is very good with Annalisa. He is a loving, kind, and thoughtful older brother.

Here they are opening Annalisa's birthday present:

So, what can Annalisa do at age 1?

- She speed-crawls and she loves playing "chase." She smiles and squeals with delight when you chase her and she tries to "run" away as fast as she can.

- She climbs up the stairs all by herself.

- She pulls herself up to a standing position and cruises along the furniture (mostly if she really wants something out of her reach). She walks with the help of the alligator clacker (baby walker) or while holding someone's hands, but she doesn't seem confident or interested in walking on her own yet.

- She says "ma ma ma ma" and "da da da da" and lots of other baby babble. She also tries to sing a lot. Most impressively, she loves to sing the alphabet song, and she actually says, "A B C D" (or sometimes she mixes up the letters).

- She LOVES music! As soon a song starts to play, she makes a clicking sound with her tongue (to the beat of the music) and then starts to sway back and forth.

- She uses some baby sign language: milk, all done, more, eat, drink....

- She plays peekaboo, claps her hands and waves bye bye.

- She has 4 teeth (two upper and two lower) and she eats lots of finger foods: fish, eggs, ham, bread, pancakes, fruit, veggies, and more. She likes to feed herself (even with a spoon), but meal time is a VERY messy affair!

- She knows exactly how to open the baby gate (which button to push), but, fortunately, she can't open it yet. Here are some pictures to show you what I mean:

                                                   Ah ha! I can stand up to reach the gate!

                                                 Hmm... I wonder what this button does...?

                                                  Oh! This must be how I open it!

                                                     Look at me! I can (almost) escape...:)

Annalisa is curious about the world around her, and she loves to touch and explore everything.

Josh's new obsession- SPIDERMAN

What is it about boys and superheroes?

Josh has never seen a single Spiderman episode, and yet he is obsessed with Spiderman.

(Of course, his obsessions seem to change on an almost weekly basis: first it was Super Why! Then it was Buzz Lightyear. The superhero-obsession, however, seems to have lasted longer than the others.)

Josh even begged me to learn the Spiderman theme song so that I could teach it to him. So, I went on YouTube and we watched the introduction to the 1967 Cartoon; then, we downloaded the lyrics and learned the song. Yep! I can sing you every word in that 3-verse song.

So, lately that is our play time- we make believe that I'm the "bad guy" and Josh is Spiderman (or occasionally, he's Batman or Superman). He either spins his web to capture me, or, more often than not, he "pows" me, and I fall on the ground and we re-enact this scene over and over again....!

(Can you see why I love having outings or play dates with other kids?) :)

Dress-Up Fun

Josh is at the stage where he LOVES to dress up and play make-believe. He would do this fantasy play all day long if he could. The first words out of his mouth the moment he wakes us up (at 5:30!)  in the morning are, "May I please wear my Buzz Lightyear costume?" Then, we proceed to act out Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 over and over again. (We've recently borrowed all three movies, all of which are great movies- fun for both kids and adults!)

For Halloween, Josh actually wore TWO costumes. During the day, at preschool, he dressed up as his beloved Buzz Lightyear:

In the evening, Josh went trick-or-treating with his friend, Sean. He wore his "Super Why!" costume (based on an educational PBS cartoon that teaches kids how to read). This costume was half-borrowed and half-assembled by Grandma Terry:

                                                                            

 Prior to Halloween, I saw an adorable firefighter costume at Costco, but when I brought it home, Josh refused to put it on because it didn't "fit right." (He went through a clothing-refusal stage for a few months where he refused to wear nearly any outfit he owned. It drove me bananas, and thankfully, it appears to have mostly subsided....) One day, out of the blue, he said, "I want to wear my fire fighter costume. Hallelujah!
Here's the result:
(Do you recognize the boots, Grandma Kiki?)

Now, Josh has developed a superhero obsession; first it was with Batman and most recently it is with Spiderman (and, no, he has not seen any of the cartoons). Here he is playing dress-up with his friends from my MOPS group:

Even Annalisa got in on the dress-up action for Halloween. Here she is, dressed as little ladybug:

Isn't dressing up so much fun??

A Way to Make Breakfast More Fun and Interesting

When you have a three year old, it helps to try to make food fun. Breakfast isn't usually a problem with Josh, but he tends to always request "granola."

This morning, I decided to make pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin butter (from Trader Joe's), scrambled eggs, fruit, and a sprinkle of granola. The picture above was Josh's breakfast (which he ate in record time!), and the picture below was my plate.

See how much more fun that is than a plain old bowl of granola...!

Keep Your Eyes Lifted Up

For the past several weeks, I have found myself mired in the slimy pit of depression and hopelessness. I have not had the emotional energy to write a blog entry. Nor did I want to depress my (few) blog readers. Moreover, when I experience these negative emotions, I have a tendency to ruminate and obsess- and then to spiral downward.

I don't know how many of you believe in spiritual attack, but Seth and I found ourselves absolutely bombarded with struggles just after Seth decided to contribute 10% of his business proceeds to Charity Water in order to build a freshwater well in Rwanda. Coincidence? Call it one if you like. But, we don't think so. Satan loves to destroy a good thing.

After a record month (in August), business came to a screeching halt. The phone lines were quiet. Some clients were difficult. Repairs were needed on the van. Gas prices rose. Bills bills bills. And not enough money to pay them.

Admittedly, I have always struggled to embrace this cleaning business. It has never provided enough money. There are no health benefits. There's no retirement fund. No paid vacation days. No sick days. No stability. I confess that I have been far too critical and not nearly as supportive or helpful as I should be. I think my criticism comes out of a place of fear, frustration, and helplessness. I can't offer much (financial) assistance right now since jobs in my professional field have dried up. What I earn from some entry level job will not begin to cover childcare costs (not to mention the mental, physical and emotional it would take on me to try to balance full-time work with being a full-time mom).

In addition to our financial challenges, we have had other struggles as well. No one is getting enough sleep or rest in our home. (I, for one, haven't had a decent night's sleep in over a year!) We have all been cranky and on edge. The kids have been incredibly challenging: Annalisa because of her sleep issues, and Josh...well...because he's three. Seth and I do not ever have date nights. Romance, fun and laughter went out out the door long ago. Seth and I are both lousy and self-care (with the exception of working out regularly). I could go on and on...but, you get the picture.

So, with the weight of the world upon my shoulders, I found myself looking down. Down into my slimy pit....then climbing inside. Rather than looking up to the Lord for help and lifting my arms so that He could pull me out of the abyss.

After about three or four weeks of feeling miserable and wanting nothing more than to run away, I decided to start looking up and also reaching out for help and support.

Our small group is studying the Psalms right now, and our study is based on the pastor's sermon series. I love the Psalms. They are so real. So accessible. King David had some pretty major struggles. His sins were egregious. He literally had to fear for his life. But, he also emanated joy and his praise was sincere. He trusted that God would lift him out of the pit and restore his hope.

The following (Psalm 121) is one of my favorite psalms (though there are so many good ones!). It reminds me to keep my eyes lifted up and to have faith in God. He is faithful and cares about us. My trials are temporary but my hope is eternal. This is how it goes:

"I lift my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from harm- he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forever more."

Even though we are still dealing with some of these challenges and we are not yet out of the woods, my perspective has changed. I have become more hopeful, more proactive, and more centered on God. I am not mired in despair as I was a few weeks ago.

I wanted to share this experience in order to be an encouragement to you.  If you're ever feeling or lost or hopeless, keep your eyes lifted up. God loves you and cares about you. He wants to restore your hope and your joy. I think that sometimes, when we're in the thick of it, we need to remind each other of this truth.