Bob

Elisabeth has a new friend...

Bob the Tomato

from Veggie Tales. Her favorite episode is about Bob going on a vacation. Through part of the video, his friends ask,

"Where'd Bob go?"*

So all day long Elisabeth has been walking around the house with hands palm up, shoulders slightly raised, head turning left, then right, as if searching, asking,

"Where'd Bob go?"*

It's really quite humorous to hear a two year old say "Bob" so clearly and seriously. And she will literally search for him as if fully expecting him to turn up around the next corner. Brian and I were teasing her on our way home from church tonight as she searched the car for Bob, and asked her if she liked Larry the Cucumber since she has been so smitten with Bob the Tomato. With out missing a beat, she looked at us and stated very matter-of-fact,

"I like Bob."

Brian and I immediately started laughing at such a big answer from a tiny girl. We had no idea she knew how to express herself in such a way...and with such surety and confidence. She gave us a good laugh and blessed us to be able to see more of her personality unfold.

"I like Bob. Where'd Bob go?* Where is he?"

She's a ham with a big heart and a joyfulness that's contagious...and, tonight, before we knew it, we found that joy spilling out of our hearts as we laughed along with her and joined in on her search for Bob...

*Elisabeth refreshed my memory this morning as she searched for Bob around the house, saying "Where'd Bob go?" instead of "Where's Bob?" as was previously posted. Just wanted to clear that up!

Open House

I was hoping to have this posted before our open house, but getting ready for it proved to be quite time consuming.

Brian's school has a housing fair every year for the incoming class. This year we decided to be a participant in the housing fair with a table set up with information on the house.


We had a couple of information sheets propped up on the table with Brian's laptop up and running for people to view the link to the pictures of the house.


We also had flyers for people to take with them that had a map on the back taking them from the school to our house.

So...how did it go? Was it a success? Well...we had a whopping one person come by...that's right one person! So, does that make it a flop? Not when the one person absolutely loves it! She is an incoming student who is looking for a house for her dad to buy that she can share with a roommate. As she was leaving she said she was going to call her dad to have him come look at it this next weekend when he will be in town. She said she loves it and wouldn't change anything about it. She was googly eyed as she looked around and wanted to be sure that not many people knew about it yet (we have only advertised with Brian's school...we bought it from a former student, and wanted to let the incoming students know about it first since it's so close to the school). Brian kept saying, "All we need is one person." So, indeed, all we may need is one person. We would be most grateful for your prayers. Many other people took flyers at the housing fair and may not have been able to come today due to other events going on after it. The girl that came to look at it came straight from the housing fair to our house because she said she had to see it. Now we just wait and see what the Lord has. We have another girl coming to see it Monday morning and a guy called yesterday to inquire about it, so we will see what happens! Oh, the waiting game! What fun!

We worked so hard to get the house ready and now that it is in prime condition, we are caught between truly wanting to sell it and hoping we can stay here to enjoy it. What do think? Looks pretty good, right?!


So why are we selling? Well, Brian is going to be gone almost all fall doing interview rotations at potential residency locations. He'll be rotating at hospitals in

(maybe...I'm hoping...just to get the chance to visit our dear friends!)

We would love to sell the house so that Elisabeth and I can go with him. Otherwise, she and I will stay here and Brian will be gone for about four months. We cannot afford to keep the house and travel with him. We would rather travel around the US living out a hotels for a few months than be without Brian. But we leave it all in the Lord's hands.

For now, I'm off on a date with my husband! It has been a looooooooooong time since we've been able to go out!! He just finished his surgery rotation (by the way, he's decided to pursue Orthopedic Surgery) and has the weekend off! Woohoo!

Please keep our house situation in your prayers...we prefer to stay together as a family and know that the Lord knows that. Whatever comes of it, we know it is for a reason and will be to grow us closer to Him and to each other. We can't argue with that!

Happy Birthday Nanna!

Lazy Spring Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day for us. Brian had been on call the night before and came home around 11:00am. Thankfully he had gotten some sleep while he was at the hospital, so he didn't need to spend the whole day sleeping. The weather was AMAZING, the temperature around 75 degrees!! Brian and Elisabeth spent a lot of time playing outside after lunch and then both took a siesta...Elisabeth in her room, Brian in the hammock. I took advantage of the situation and had a little "me-time"! After they woke up, it was my turn to read and relax in the hammock for a bit while Brian watched Elisabeth for me inside. The gentle breeze and singing birds lulled me to sleep after a while. It was a glorious day and such a blessing to be together. Although we don't get them often, we love lazy days like this!

The things parents will do for their kids...

If you are a parent, you will certainly appreciate this. If you aren't, you should at least get a good laugh...

Elisabeth and I had an afternoon of favorites planned (the library and the park) so we were looking forward to getting out of the house today. After loading up on some new movies and books from the library, we headed to the park. I've been trying to work out more, so we parked a mile away from the park so I could run there. We parked and I loaded Elisabeth up into the jogging stroller with snacks, water, and her favorite (stuffed) kitty cat. I normally tell her to leave her kitty cat in the car, but for some reason today I let her hold it while I took my jog. Now mind you that Elisabeth is thoroughly attached to this kitty cat...she carries it proudly, tucked just under her arm as her constant companion through her every endeavor.

So we get to the park after a nice run and upon getting her out of the jogging stroller, I notice that kitty cat is no where in sight! My heart drops, because I know how much she loves this cat and I have no clue where it is! I look at her and ask frantically, "Elisabeth! Where is your kitty cat?!" She looks at me, returns the frantic look, and says in a sad, whining voice, "Kitty cat? Kitty cat?" I thought she might start crying, but thankfully she remembered that we were at the park and her mind moved on to swings, slides, and rocks. We were meeting a friend there with her little boy, so upon seeing her I told her what had just happened. I then asked if she would watch Elisabeth while I ran back the way we had come to see if I could find it. She completely understood, said yes, and I was on my way to find Kitty Cat. So I ran (well, I may have walked a little...I'm working on getting back into shape! But I had good motivation to run most of the way!) back the full mile to our car, and not once did I spot her beloved. I was sick at my stomach thinking of how crushed she would be and how she would probably cry herself to sleep because she didn't have her Kitty Cat. As I got to the car, I thought, "Oh, I'll just drive back to the park..." but then realized that I had left my keys with my friend at the park...a mile away! So I ran (most of the way) back to the park, deciding to go a different way, to get there faster and to have a different view.

I rounded a corner onto a street that we had run down to get to the park, and as I did, I saw a small white lump in the middle of the sidewalk (apparently the first time I ran by looking for the cat, I was on the other side of the street). It all happened in slow motion...I'm thinking, "Could it be the cat?! Please be the cat!!" And my heart rate picks up, as does my pace... I'm getting closer and closer, thinking "Please let it be the cat, please let it be the cat!!" I get close enough to see that it is, lean down to pick it up, hug it to my chest as I dance around in a circle, before holding it the air yelling, "Yes!! I found the cat!!" Okay, actually none of that happened...I only thought, "Thank You!", breathed a HUGE sigh of relief, and quietly scooped up the cat to continue running back to the park. I'm sure I had a satisfied smile on my face though! I ran triumphantly back to the park to proudly show Elisabeth that I had saved the day, and while she was excited to see her Kitty Cat, her attention soon turned to my water bottle...and that's all she cared about the rest of the time we were at the park! And after our wonderful time at the park with my friend and her son, we still had another mile to go back to the car! Now to you distance runners (you know who you are...I am so envious of you!) this may not seem like a big deal, but to these legs, four miles is a BIG deal! Four miles!! I ran four miles to save a stuffed animal!! Oh, how I love my daughter!!


My mom has assured me that she will someday make Elisabeth aware of my trek to save her beloved Kitty Cat! Elisabeth will better appreciate hearing of her mom's sacrifice if it comes from someone else...If I tell her when she old enough to understand, I'm sure she'll just think I'm lame! I never understood why my mom did the things she used to do for us. Now that I'm a mom I understand.

The things parents will do for their kids...

I'm a Winner!

So you may notice something a little different about the way my blog design looks... Remember how I said I was indecisive and would be changing my blog design pretty much endlessly? Well, I stumbled upon Scoop Blog Design by Beth not too long ago and fell in love with the modern blog design. The only problem is that Beth's designs are not free (but very affordable!) and we are on a very tight budget. While Brian already thinks I am obsessed with blogging (mine and reading every one else's) it probably wouldn't be a smart idea to spend what little money we do have on something that only I care about...really, I know none of you care! But I do, and I am thoroughly excited...because Scoop had a little contest to give away free blog makeovers to 3 lucky* winners...and I entered...and for the first time in my life...I WON!!! I've never won anything!! And while this is probably insignificant to the few people who are reading this, I can't tell you how excited I am! Not only do I have a new, modern look, but it is one that I had a hand in designing...that's right, I don't have be indecisive about which free layout I should choose that I had no part in designing. It fits me perfectly! And in case you don't know me that well, I love design! I love architecture and interior design. I love symmetry and balance in design. I love beautiful, bright colors.

Let me know what you think! Also, head over here to check out more of Beth's work .

Thank you Beth! I am so grateful!!

*I happen to think that God cares enough about me to bless me with this tiny little gift! Thank You!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Elisabeth!

Happy 2nd Birthday Elisabeth!
We love you more than you'll ever know!

Diva in the Making?

What does it take for one to be classified as a diva?

1) Always wear lots of bling.


2) Act like you want the paparazzi to keep their distance, even though you love the attention.


3) Always wear the latest fashions and have more pairs of shoes than you can count (even if it's only to 3).


4) Pose in the most flattering positions.


5) Always carry a purse bigger than a small child.


6) Have a chauffer.


While many of these apply to Elisabeth, she is still a tough little girl at heart who just wants to play and get into everything!


She loves her girly things, but also loves getting boo boos...actually she loves bandaids!


Let's hope we don't have a diva on our hands!

BooBoo

It's funny how the Lord goes about to teach us things sometimes. I have been reading a wonderful book, called A Woman After God's Own Heart, by Elizabeth George, and I have found the Lord challenging me in many areas of my life. I am so excited to allow Him to refine me to be the woman and mother that He has called me to be. I feel like He has brought me to such a wonderful place in the past several months and I am so grateful.

Let me give you an example of His refining...

So the other night after Elisabeth had had her bath (actually it was a shower...she loves to take a shower in our bathroom...it's basically like playing in the rain for her!), she was standing in our closet (before I had put her diaper on) and she began to pee on the floor. Of course Brian thought it's hilarious, but I happen to be a germ-o-phobe and like everything to be clean and neat and orderly. Well, this was none of those and I could feel the anxiety physically flooding in! I didn't want to scold her, because we are about to seriously begin potty training and I don't want her to think that going to the bathroom is a bad thing. Anyway, as the whole incident was happening, I found myself not wanting to be anxious, but wanting to be someone who could find joy in every situation. Maybe not laugh it up, like Brian, but I realized that it's just pee, it can be cleaned, and in the whole scope of life, it really isn't a big deal. I don't want to let satan win in those moments. I want to set a good example for our daughter, that although it's not the ideal situation, it's not the end of the world and worth being upset for any length of time afterward. So I asked the Lord to help me have that lightheartedness and ability to roll with the punches. It has been my prayer that even though our life is stressful and uncommon (with Brian's hectic schedule), I can be one to say, "Despite all that we are going through, our time as a family is far too precious to let satan steal even a minute from us! Our house is going to be a true sanctuary and place of peace and joy and love!" And not only do I want to say that, but I want to truly do that! And part of doing that is starting with the small things...like pee on the floor.

So, you know how you pray for things? And you have faith that the Lord will help you and change you to be as you (and He) desire? Well, the Lord is faithful and gave me my chance to try to be lighthearted when things don't go as I always want them to...when things are not clean and neat and orderly...And He truly has a sense of humor!

Elisabeth was reading some books we had gotten from the library earlier that day and has had a fondness for a book called Boo Boo about a blue duck. So she was carrying it around the house saying, "BooBoo! BooBoo!" everywhere she went. But after a minute I noticed that all was quite and I could no longer hear her. Silence from Elisabeth is usually not good, so I started searching for her, Brian right behind me. We found her in her bathroom in the dark saying, "Uh oh!". I flipped on the light and Elisabeth was holding BooBoo in the toilet!!! Brian, again, immediately started laughing and said, "That is a boo boo!", to which he started rolling in the hallway to his hilarious joke (I say that with sarcasm)! I, on the other hand, felt the anxiety come rushing in! I, frustrated, thrust the book at Brian for him to go clean up (it is a library book after all) and I gave Elisabeth a bath because I cannot stand the fact that she had toilet water all over her. Brian stated that it was clean toilet water (still laughing, mind you...and this normally gives me more anxiety), but my feeling is that if it's in the toilet, it's never clean. I was giving her a bath (I wasn't in the best mood at this point) when I remembered that I asked the Lord to help me to let moments like this just roll off my back. I gritted my teeth and pursed my lips, and thought, "Darn! It was a test, and I failed!" I felt that piercing feeling in my heart that comes from a moment of conviction. But I also felt a peace that I was able to recognize that this was just a way for the Lord to remind me of my prayer and that He is in fact at work in my life in this area. I felt hopeful that He is changing me.

And He has given me other moments since then to allow me the opportunity to win the "test." I have found myself stopping and taking a deep breath and thinking of how I can turn things into a positive experience. What can I teach Elisabeth about what has just happened? What can I learn from this? And I am learning that life is only stressful if I allow it to be. I can either allow God to show me what it is He wants me to learn and do or I can let satan win. Those are my only choices. And I think it's a pretty good lesson to learn.

After all, most things in life are just a boo boo.

Catching Up

For Christmas this year my dad surprised us with a refurbished computer because ours is SO INCREDIBLY SLOW. Two months later I have finally transferred all of our files over and hooked up the new computer! And how wonderful it is to have a computer that will do what I intend it to do when I intend it to do it! I have had so many things I have wanted to write and so many pictures I have wanted to post, but I have not had the patience to wait on a computer that will not function properly. I started a post that had a zillion pictures of all that we have been doing lately, but I think the only ones who would appreciate that would be me and the grandmothers...so grandmothers, I will email you all of the pictures soon! Instead, I just thought I would put a few of the fun day we had about a month ago when we actually got some real winter weather. It sleeted at the end of January and left a beautiful blanket of white all over our yard. Elisabeth loved every second of it...

Waiting for Mommy to go outside...






After about 20 minutes or so I thought a moment to defrost was in order...But apparently,



the world...


had...


ended!!!



But after she realized we were just taking a break and we headed outside, all was right in her world again.

I happen to LOVE everything about winter! The celebration of Christ's birth, the decorations, the lights, the music (I start listening to Christmas music around September!!), the frigid air, the bundling up, the warm drinks, the wonderful memories of Vermont at Christmas, and multiple viewings of White Christmas (which just happens to be my favorite movie). I couldn't help but want to sing, "Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow! It won't be long before we'll all be there with snooo-oooow!" It's from the movie...my sisters get it! Anyway, it was a fun day for us and it was so fun to see her excitement. Despite the fact that we were both numb, Elisabeth would have stayed outside all day if I had let her. It was a nice diversion from the ordinary. Too bad that's all we got. I'm secretly hoping that we end up moving somewhere with lots of snow!

On a more recent note, Elisabeth has been getting ready for warmer weather...

My friend, Selorm (pronounced Say-loam...Elisabeth called her Yoam), came by to visit a couple of days ago. Elisabeth loved her and her sunglasses, as you can see. Selorm is pregnant with her first baby...a girl, due this summer. So we got to talk all things baby, which is always fun! Her husband is in Brian's class, so we've known her throughout our time here. I was feeling kind of down on Wednesday, just doing the same old, same old, when Selorm called out of the blue. She was a ray of sunshine to my gloomy day and I was so grateful to have her over. She is full of life and laughter and that was just what I needed that day!

I will do my best to keep you updated more often, although most of the time we aren't doing much exciting...

We're usually just cooking...

and cleaning...

"Vacuuming" with one of the attachments to the vacuum cleaner.

and running errands...

Making an important phone call...probably to Russ...she's always "on the phone" with Russ!

Literally looking for her keys!

and taking care of babies...






Okay, so I couldn't help myself with all the pictures! But there aren't nearly as many as I was planning to post! Thanks again for the computer, Dad. I'm a pretty patient person, but our old computer was ridiculous! This one is amazingly fast and I am so grateful!