We are home owners! God has blessed us so much -- so many people really pulled for us and went out of their way to make this happen. We signed the paperwork this evening and now have the keys (and garage door openers!) to our little white house.
We are so blessed. God is GREAT, now and always!
September 30, 2010
September 28, 2010
The Hair Story
*Warning: this is a diaper story and may not be appreciated by those with very squeamish stomachs*
One evening last week My Man and the Boogie and the Phebis and I were all in the living room watching something on television. The Phebis' diaper seemed a little soggy so I decided to change it.
When I opened the tabs I noticed a long hair stuck to her tush.
Now, this is a household of long hair. SIL3 has very long, dark, thick hair. The Boogie's hair is pretty long. Mine is about shoulder length. It stands to reason, then, that with so much long hair floating around, the Phebis gets hold of it fairly often. I am constantly untangling loose hairs from her fingers and picking them off of her clothes.
Therefore I was only slightly surprised to find a long hair inside of a diaper. It must have fallen in when I changed her last.
I tried to wipe it away with a baby wipe. Hmm, it wasn't coming off.
I tried again. Fail.
Weird. It must have been wrapped up the back of her diaper or something. I gave up with the wipe and tried to pull it off with my finger. Nope, still stuck! What in the world?
I looked more closely. Could it be ...? No, no way! It couldn't be! Could it?
It was.
It was coming out of her.
There wasn't anything else in the diaper! It was just wet. But the hair had definitely been on a journey through her gastro-intestinal tract.
I called My Man over to look and he is my witness that I had to pull it the rest of the way out. Probably about half of it was still inside.
I am not even kidding, people.
When I think about it, it kind of makes sense that at some point she would ingest a hair. What I don't understand is how it was partially expelled without anything, um, well, solid to help it along, you know? All I can come up with is that she WAS pretty gassy that night and I guess a couple good bursts of air would be enough to propel out a hair!
So that is the hair story and aren't you glad I wrote about it so you could read it?
One evening last week My Man and the Boogie and the Phebis and I were all in the living room watching something on television. The Phebis' diaper seemed a little soggy so I decided to change it.
When I opened the tabs I noticed a long hair stuck to her tush.
Now, this is a household of long hair. SIL3 has very long, dark, thick hair. The Boogie's hair is pretty long. Mine is about shoulder length. It stands to reason, then, that with so much long hair floating around, the Phebis gets hold of it fairly often. I am constantly untangling loose hairs from her fingers and picking them off of her clothes.
Therefore I was only slightly surprised to find a long hair inside of a diaper. It must have fallen in when I changed her last.
I tried to wipe it away with a baby wipe. Hmm, it wasn't coming off.
I tried again. Fail.
Weird. It must have been wrapped up the back of her diaper or something. I gave up with the wipe and tried to pull it off with my finger. Nope, still stuck! What in the world?
I looked more closely. Could it be ...? No, no way! It couldn't be! Could it?
It was.
It was coming out of her.
There wasn't anything else in the diaper! It was just wet. But the hair had definitely been on a journey through her gastro-intestinal tract.
I called My Man over to look and he is my witness that I had to pull it the rest of the way out. Probably about half of it was still inside.
I am not even kidding, people.
When I think about it, it kind of makes sense that at some point she would ingest a hair. What I don't understand is how it was partially expelled without anything, um, well, solid to help it along, you know? All I can come up with is that she WAS pretty gassy that night and I guess a couple good bursts of air would be enough to propel out a hair!
So that is the hair story and aren't you glad I wrote about it so you could read it?
September 26, 2010
Baby Dedication
Last Sunday we dedicated the Phebis. We do not christen or baptize our babies -- we believe that baptism is a public testimony of salvation, and that salvation is repentance of sin. A tiny baby cannot understand what sin even is, much less repentance.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:15-17
When we dedicate our children it is a public testimony of our desire to raise our children according to God's Word.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:1-4
We dedicated the Boogie when she was just a few weeks old because my mom was here. This time around it kept getting put off until finally we decided we just needed to do it!
Then of course I had to get some pictures of my pretty girls all dressed up.
They surely do like each other a lot!
September 25, 2010
The "P" Word
The Boogie has a new favorite word. It starts with "p". Can you guess what it is?
Anyone?
No, not Poppop (sorry, Poppop.)
Not Pops (sorry, Pops.)
Not Phebis. Or popcorn. Or pony. Or pizza.
Think more ... juvenile-y. Think like a preschooler.
It's POOP.
She'll hear a word that sounds like it and say "Poopy? Did you say poopy?" and go off into gales of laughter. She'll replace words in songs (usually Bible songs since that's what she sings all the time) with "poop" and collapse in hysterical giggles. What IS it about that word that kids think is so funny? I don't get it.
MIL is away for a couple of weeks so I've taken a couple of days off work and My Man has taken a couple of afternoons off; SILs 1 and 2 have agreed to keep the Phebis for a couple of afternoons as well while I work. SIL1 had her on Wednesday and took some pictures of her. They turned out so cute!
The Phebis is getting to a fun age. She is very smiley and drooly. She coos and squeals and shrieks and laughs. She likes to be startled sometimes, like if I look away from her for a moment then turn back quickly and say "boo!" It makes her laugh. She is gaining a lot more control of her movement and I noticed this week that when she kicks her legs it is purposeful rather than reflexive. She is rolling a lot, especially during diaper changes, and gets up on her hands and knees and rocks furiously then lunges forward. She loves to be in the walker -- this past week she has started getting around pretty well on the hard floors. We pile toys on the walker tray and she chews on them until they are soaked.
Her sleep has been improving somewhat. For a long time she was going to bed really late at night and nothing we were doing was helping her go to sleep any earlier. She was getting overtired every single evening. I started waking her a little bit earlier every few days in hopes that it would gradually move her bedtime back but it just wasn't working. Then when she got sick I let her sleep as late as she wanted every morning for a few days and surprisingly she started go to sleep earlier at night! Now she is waking during the night to eat one time but sleeping 11-12 hours instead of only 8 or 9. Plus she is MUCH happier during the day and is able to get in the right number of naps. We're still working out the kinks and sometimes we still have a rough night but overall things are much improved. Aaaaand I hope I didn't just jinx myself by writing about it.
We've had some encouraging news about the little white house. We were waiting on a letter from the EPA in order to move forward, and that letter arrived this week. The new oil tank has been installed and the hole from the underground tank has been filled. Some painting needed to be done due (a requirement by the FHA) and My Man went over there on Thursday and today to take care of that. We are hopefully on track to close next Thursday! We are cautiously excited -- we know that things could still fall through. Today while My Man was painting I put the girls in the stroller and walked over there with DiDi. It was exciting to be there and to think that maybe, just maybe, we'll have the keys by this time next week!
Anyone?
No, not Poppop (sorry, Poppop.)
Not Pops (sorry, Pops.)
Not Phebis. Or popcorn. Or pony. Or pizza.
Think more ... juvenile-y. Think like a preschooler.
It's POOP.
She'll hear a word that sounds like it and say "Poopy? Did you say poopy?" and go off into gales of laughter. She'll replace words in songs (usually Bible songs since that's what she sings all the time) with "poop" and collapse in hysterical giggles. What IS it about that word that kids think is so funny? I don't get it.
MIL is away for a couple of weeks so I've taken a couple of days off work and My Man has taken a couple of afternoons off; SILs 1 and 2 have agreed to keep the Phebis for a couple of afternoons as well while I work. SIL1 had her on Wednesday and took some pictures of her. They turned out so cute!
The Phebis is getting to a fun age. She is very smiley and drooly. She coos and squeals and shrieks and laughs. She likes to be startled sometimes, like if I look away from her for a moment then turn back quickly and say "boo!" It makes her laugh. She is gaining a lot more control of her movement and I noticed this week that when she kicks her legs it is purposeful rather than reflexive. She is rolling a lot, especially during diaper changes, and gets up on her hands and knees and rocks furiously then lunges forward. She loves to be in the walker -- this past week she has started getting around pretty well on the hard floors. We pile toys on the walker tray and she chews on them until they are soaked.
Her sleep has been improving somewhat. For a long time she was going to bed really late at night and nothing we were doing was helping her go to sleep any earlier. She was getting overtired every single evening. I started waking her a little bit earlier every few days in hopes that it would gradually move her bedtime back but it just wasn't working. Then when she got sick I let her sleep as late as she wanted every morning for a few days and surprisingly she started go to sleep earlier at night! Now she is waking during the night to eat one time but sleeping 11-12 hours instead of only 8 or 9. Plus she is MUCH happier during the day and is able to get in the right number of naps. We're still working out the kinks and sometimes we still have a rough night but overall things are much improved. Aaaaand I hope I didn't just jinx myself by writing about it.
We've had some encouraging news about the little white house. We were waiting on a letter from the EPA in order to move forward, and that letter arrived this week. The new oil tank has been installed and the hole from the underground tank has been filled. Some painting needed to be done due (a requirement by the FHA) and My Man went over there on Thursday and today to take care of that. We are hopefully on track to close next Thursday! We are cautiously excited -- we know that things could still fall through. Today while My Man was painting I put the girls in the stroller and walked over there with DiDi. It was exciting to be there and to think that maybe, just maybe, we'll have the keys by this time next week!
September 17, 2010
With A Name Like ...
The other day around noon I was laying on my bed nursing the Phebis to sleep. The Boogie tiptoed in and whispered, "Honey, I'n hungry."
"Okay," I whispered back, "I'll make your lunch in a couple of minutes. What would you like?"
"A san'wich."
"What kind of sandwich?"
"Ummm, peanut butter!"
"Okay, as soon as Phebis goes to sleep I will make you a peanut butter sandwich."
"No," she whispered, "I wanna make it."
"Okay, sure," I replied. I thought she was going to pretend to make it. She disappeared. Soon I heard some suspicious noises from the kitchen: a cabinet closing, a drawer opening, silverware rattling. No one else was home. As soon as I could I ran downstairs and she had pushed a stool over to the counter, gotten a loaf of bread out of an upper cabinet (I think she would have had to climb up on the counter to reach it but I didn't ask because I didn't want to give her any ideas just in case she hadn't) and pulled a fork out of a drawer. Thankfully that was as far as she had gotten! I had her find the peanut butter and I got some strawberry jam out of the fridge. As I spread the jam on the bread she said, "It has to be good."
"Oh, it will be good!" I said cheerfully.
"No, it has to be good!" She said again.
"It will," I assured her. "It's going to be very good."
"No," she insisted, "it HAS to be good! That's what he says!"
What? I was confused. Then I looked at the jam jar. Smucker's. Of course.
I am constantly amazed at all the products she recognizes due to seeing commercials for them ...
"Okay," I whispered back, "I'll make your lunch in a couple of minutes. What would you like?"
"A san'wich."
"What kind of sandwich?"
"Ummm, peanut butter!"
"Okay, as soon as Phebis goes to sleep I will make you a peanut butter sandwich."
"No," she whispered, "I wanna make it."
"Okay, sure," I replied. I thought she was going to pretend to make it. She disappeared. Soon I heard some suspicious noises from the kitchen: a cabinet closing, a drawer opening, silverware rattling. No one else was home. As soon as I could I ran downstairs and she had pushed a stool over to the counter, gotten a loaf of bread out of an upper cabinet (I think she would have had to climb up on the counter to reach it but I didn't ask because I didn't want to give her any ideas just in case she hadn't) and pulled a fork out of a drawer. Thankfully that was as far as she had gotten! I had her find the peanut butter and I got some strawberry jam out of the fridge. As I spread the jam on the bread she said, "It has to be good."
"Oh, it will be good!" I said cheerfully.
"No, it has to be good!" She said again.
"It will," I assured her. "It's going to be very good."
"No," she insisted, "it HAS to be good! That's what he says!"
What? I was confused. Then I looked at the jam jar. Smucker's. Of course.
I am constantly amazed at all the products she recognizes due to seeing commercials for them ...
September 11, 2010
4 Months Old
Today is the Phebis' birthday, sort of. How can this baby be four months old already?
Her one and only gift was a cold from her sister. Lovely. I got one, too, and it's not even my birthday.
This has been a weird week. Monday was Labor Day so My Man and I were both off from work which made it feel like it was Saturday. All day I kept reminding myself to go over my Sunday school lesson for the next day which I thought would be Sunday. So confusing. Then I worked on Tuesday so that felt like Monday. Wednesday night after work My Man and DiDi met me at church and we finished decorating my classroom; Thursday night was the first night of VBS; Friday I worked in the morning instead of the afternoon, just to throw me off a little bit more; Friday evening was the second night of VBS; and this morning finished it all up. I think it went pretty well. The kids seemed to have fun. I did take pictures which I will post later. Tooooo tired ...
Tomorrow really is Sunday which I hope will reset my mental calendar. I also hope the Phebis goes to sleep soon so I can too. I also hope she sleeps better than she did last night. Poor baby can't breathe through her nose.
Question: How's a tiny girl to suck her thumb if she can't breathe through her nose?
Answer: Her mother must sleep sitting up on the couch holding the baby in an upright position which will clear her sinuses enough that she can suck her thumb. The mother will not get much sleep but at least the baby will not cry. Much.
So much for blogging every day. It would have been boring anyway. I recapped the whole week in one paragraph, right?
My Man has been counting calories for about two weeks and has lost five pounds! He is excited and I'm happy for him. His goal is to lose fourteen more pounds ... then set another goal. Baby steps.
And lastly, a Boogie story. Yesterday morning she came into the bathroom while I was getting ready for work.
"Did you have a nice sleep?" I asked her. "Did you have some dreams?"
"Yes," she said, "I dreamed about God. And the sun comed up and God waked me up. And the germs got me and I sneezed and God said 'Cover with your elbow' but I didn't and then I turned on the light and God said 'Turn off the light for Phebis' so I did. That's just what I did."
Her one and only gift was a cold from her sister. Lovely. I got one, too, and it's not even my birthday.
This has been a weird week. Monday was Labor Day so My Man and I were both off from work which made it feel like it was Saturday. All day I kept reminding myself to go over my Sunday school lesson for the next day which I thought would be Sunday. So confusing. Then I worked on Tuesday so that felt like Monday. Wednesday night after work My Man and DiDi met me at church and we finished decorating my classroom; Thursday night was the first night of VBS; Friday I worked in the morning instead of the afternoon, just to throw me off a little bit more; Friday evening was the second night of VBS; and this morning finished it all up. I think it went pretty well. The kids seemed to have fun. I did take pictures which I will post later. Tooooo tired ...
Tomorrow really is Sunday which I hope will reset my mental calendar. I also hope the Phebis goes to sleep soon so I can too. I also hope she sleeps better than she did last night. Poor baby can't breathe through her nose.
Question: How's a tiny girl to suck her thumb if she can't breathe through her nose?
Answer: Her mother must sleep sitting up on the couch holding the baby in an upright position which will clear her sinuses enough that she can suck her thumb. The mother will not get much sleep but at least the baby will not cry. Much.
So much for blogging every day. It would have been boring anyway. I recapped the whole week in one paragraph, right?
My Man has been counting calories for about two weeks and has lost five pounds! He is excited and I'm happy for him. His goal is to lose fourteen more pounds ... then set another goal. Baby steps.
And lastly, a Boogie story. Yesterday morning she came into the bathroom while I was getting ready for work.
"Did you have a nice sleep?" I asked her. "Did you have some dreams?"
"Yes," she said, "I dreamed about God. And the sun comed up and God waked me up. And the germs got me and I sneezed and God said 'Cover with your elbow' but I didn't and then I turned on the light and God said 'Turn off the light for Phebis' so I did. That's just what I did."
September 5, 2010
Changing Leaves
August turned to September and literally overnight I started seeing changing leaves everywhere. I do mean overnight, because one day I drove down a stretch of road and the trees were green, and the next day one tree was brilliantly red. It seems so early this year ... I really hoped our summer would last just a teeeeeeny bit longer. The nights have been cool and the last couple of days have been lovely.
I had hopes of blogging every day this month and already missed a day! So how about this: I will post every weekday and any weekend blogging will be a bonus. That seems like a good plan.
Yesterday My Man worked in the morning and then we met Mr. B and Miss A for lunch. We haven't seen them since right before Christmas. I really ought to change them to Mr. and Mrs. B since they are married now. Oh well. We met them at Chili's and as we were walking in the Boogie wanted to know, "Why's that big pepper on the roof?"
It was fun to have lunch and catch up.
This morning was my turn to sing a special in church. I practiced during the week with the Boogie and we sang "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam." She sang out nice and clear and her little voice was so sweet and I got all choked up and could hardly sing. My Man led a congregational hymn right afterward and he was all choked up and could hardly sing. What is it about your children doing things like that that makes you cry? To my regret I did not even think to take the camera and have someone take a video. For the record she sings "Jesus wants me for a sunBEAN" although I do not think it was noticeable to anyone except me.
She found a guitar stand in the rooms we are occupying here at 52. She opens it up, lays a burpie over it, stands on a stool behind the stand as if it's a microphone and says, "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! It's time for the show!" and proceeds to perform song after song for me or the Phebis or her imaginary friends.
One of the Phebis' toys is a stuffed caterpillar that plays music (or as the Boogie says, a callapater that plays use-mic.) It plays a few bars from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik which the Boogie sings and hums all the time and makes up words to.
Her favorite stories right now are "The Three Bears" which she pretty much knows by heart and can tell to us, and "Three Little Pigs." Unrelated to that (I think), the other day she informed me that she was going to hibernate for the winter.
The Phebis' motor skills are improving. She can grasp a small toy and bring it to her mouth to chew on. She tries to suck her thumb while she eats which I find to be hilarious.
This week is vacation Bible school. Because summer is over and real school has started or is starting this week, we are having an abbreviated version of Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday morning. This year I am teaching for the first time. Tomorrow with DiDi's help I will work on decorating my classroom. I'm not very creative so I'm hoping that it turns out okay. Good or bad I will post pictures afterward!
I had hopes of blogging every day this month and already missed a day! So how about this: I will post every weekday and any weekend blogging will be a bonus. That seems like a good plan.
Yesterday My Man worked in the morning and then we met Mr. B and Miss A for lunch. We haven't seen them since right before Christmas. I really ought to change them to Mr. and Mrs. B since they are married now. Oh well. We met them at Chili's and as we were walking in the Boogie wanted to know, "Why's that big pepper on the roof?"
This morning was my turn to sing a special in church. I practiced during the week with the Boogie and we sang "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam." She sang out nice and clear and her little voice was so sweet and I got all choked up and could hardly sing. My Man led a congregational hymn right afterward and he was all choked up and could hardly sing. What is it about your children doing things like that that makes you cry? To my regret I did not even think to take the camera and have someone take a video. For the record she sings "Jesus wants me for a sunBEAN" although I do not think it was noticeable to anyone except me.
She found a guitar stand in the rooms we are occupying here at 52. She opens it up, lays a burpie over it, stands on a stool behind the stand as if it's a microphone and says, "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! It's time for the show!" and proceeds to perform song after song for me or the Phebis or her imaginary friends.
One of the Phebis' toys is a stuffed caterpillar that plays music (or as the Boogie says, a callapater that plays use-mic.) It plays a few bars from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik which the Boogie sings and hums all the time and makes up words to.
Her favorite stories right now are "The Three Bears" which she pretty much knows by heart and can tell to us, and "Three Little Pigs." Unrelated to that (I think), the other day she informed me that she was going to hibernate for the winter.
The Phebis' motor skills are improving. She can grasp a small toy and bring it to her mouth to chew on. She tries to suck her thumb while she eats which I find to be hilarious.
This week is vacation Bible school. Because summer is over and real school has started or is starting this week, we are having an abbreviated version of Thursday and Friday nights and Saturday morning. This year I am teaching for the first time. Tomorrow with DiDi's help I will work on decorating my classroom. I'm not very creative so I'm hoping that it turns out okay. Good or bad I will post pictures afterward!
September 3, 2010
Nighttime
The house is quiet. All are asleep or close to sleeping, except for the baby and me.
We sit together in the rocking chair. She rests in the crook of my arm and gazes at my face. When I look down at her she smiles suddenly,
eyes lighting up,
the corners of her mouth pulled up into soft round baby cheeks. Delighted to have me all to herself she begins to talk, lips pursed and tongue thrusting out, trying for new sounds. She wriggles and arches her back and I put her up on my shoulder where she chews on my bathrobe and drools down my arm. She is getting sleepy and starts to fuss so I turn off the light and cradle her and we rock
back and forth
back and forth
back and forth
and the light from the street coming in through the windows passes over her face as she squirms and her thumb finds its way into her mouth. Her eyelids are heavy and droop further, further, further
as her small body relaxes into mine and then she is still,
breathing quietly,
asleep.
And I rock her a just a bit longer because she will not be this small for long ... she will not always want to be held ... she will soon learn to find her own way into dreamland
without me.
September 2, 2010
Thursday
Nothing special about today.
Actually, it's payday! That's always special.
I'm typing with one hand while holding the Phebis with the other. It's taking forever to type this way.
That makes me thankful for two working, usable hands!
I took both girls shopping today for VBS craft supplies and other things. We were in and out of the car a lot. They both did fantastically. Is that a word? Even the Phebis didn't protest at being in her car seat for a couple of hours straight.
What did parents do before infant carrier car seats?
I remember the car seat my siblings used. Maybe I used it too. It was vinyl-covered and smelled funny ... vinyley. So comfy, I'm sure. Car seats have come a long way.
The Phebis is very drooly. I hope that does not mean that teeth are impending, like impending doom.
I hope that she decides to go to sleep soon ...
Actually, it's payday! That's always special.
I'm typing with one hand while holding the Phebis with the other. It's taking forever to type this way.
That makes me thankful for two working, usable hands!
I took both girls shopping today for VBS craft supplies and other things. We were in and out of the car a lot. They both did fantastically. Is that a word? Even the Phebis didn't protest at being in her car seat for a couple of hours straight.
What did parents do before infant carrier car seats?
I remember the car seat my siblings used. Maybe I used it too. It was vinyl-covered and smelled funny ... vinyley. So comfy, I'm sure. Car seats have come a long way.
The Phebis is very drooly. I hope that does not mean that teeth are impending, like impending doom.
I hope that she decides to go to sleep soon ...
September 1, 2010
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