Arrival

Last night was rough, as I was putting N to bed she woke up and didn't want to go back to sleep :(. After I finally got her back to sleep, I was so tired I got sick :((. By the time I finally got to bed, it was two! And then the girls got up before eight. On a bright note, we successfully used cloth diapers through thde night - ie, NO POO OR PEE EXPLOSIONS :)). Now to figure out long trips and cloth diapering.....

Yesterday, as Natalia was sitting on my lap, she wiggled and flopped herself around until she got into the position she wanted:

Yep, both my girls love technology.

Leilani made a fort out of pillows:

And I played with my stash of diapers, well, really, I just put the inserts in so diapering would be easier.

My diaper stash :) - I now have 19 covers :)

I'm all packed for Florida, except the things I need to wash or we're wearing. I'm trying to pack as light as I can, which is difficult, because everytime I pick up anything, I think, "what if we need this? what if after we get there, I discover I left (fill in the blank)?" I'm a chronic over-packer, so this packing light thing is really hard for me.

Today, Leilani decided it was important that we pick ALL the flowers, so as to remember how beautiful they were. Not incredibly sure about her logic, but she did pick every single flower. And since we're getting ready to go to Florida and they were all gonna die while we were gone, I thought "why not?"

She wasnted to decorate Natalia in the Moby with them :)

She quickly reclaimed them

And from there, she tossed them on the couch *grin*. It was fun while it lasted

Dad arrived today around 2:30. Leilani was just a little excited to see him! She ran around in circles, jumped on the couch and did a couple somersaults. *grin* Natalia just stared, first at PawPaw, then at me. Typical baby :).

Tomorrow we're going to pack the car, Jeremy gets back Sunday, and we're taking off pretty much right after he gets back. Off on another adventure!

Thankful Thursday

- my moby! I know I put this one on here alot, but seriously, it's a lifesaver in nearly every way; it keeps Natalia close to me, nearly eliminates unwanted contact, gives Natalia a sense of security, and allows me to get things done :)

- co-sleeping, I love knowing my girls are safe and sleeping soundly with me. Especially while my dh is gone! Plus, I love that my body feels when Natalia's starting to root around - neither of us has to really wake up, we just nurse lying down :)

- Leilani's learning a bit about geometry on starfall.com. Not only is she learning, but it gives me a chance to read - that is, if Natalia's asleep :).

- Leilani loved VBS last week

- I got to take a few walks thanks to VBS last week :)

- Leilani's doing learning to read again, and we're getting lots more done :)

- I'm nearly all packed for our trip to FL!!!!

- for playing on the bed this morning: I'd put Natalia on her tummy on me and she'd roll off to one side or the other, and Leilani'd laugh and say "do it again!"....we played for a good 15 minutes and it wore Natalia out :)

Wordless Wednesday

Something New

Yes, I'll admit it, I'm a Pinterest-aholic :) But I find some great ideas on there! And I try to do them. As a matter of fact, that's what we did today - I found a great idea called a Calming Jar and went to this site to find how to make it. We went to WalMart to get the clear glue and glitter (and some snacks for our trip). I wound up getting Leilani a new game for her Leapster that she won't get until we're on the road, and a glow worm for Natalia.

After we got home, we put the jar together fairly quickly. Now, I just hope it works!

Learning to Read

Today has been focused on learning to read. Saturday, Sunday and today we've done two lessons each day from the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I have this week all planned out - we'll just see if it goes the way I'm hoping :). Each day we'll do one big cleaning project and one big packing for Florida project. I'm also trying to eat through everything in the refrigerator, so I don't waste money or food.

We did lots of school, got the living room all shiny and cleaned, and started prepping for our trip. Then, in the interest of not wasting food, I roasted up a bunch of vegetables that were going to go bad soon, blended them all together in my vitamix, boiled some noodles and had delicious pasta :) I did make some vegan faux parm - just pulse 1/3 cup of nuts in the blender until nice and powdery, mix in 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Tightly covered, it will keep in the fridge for about 3 weeks. Not that any of mine has ever lasted that long :).

I put Natalia in her Bumbo seat and she played for a little bit. I put the tray on and some toys on there. I think, though, that Natalia was more interested in leaning to the side and chewing on the tray than anything else.

Yesterday we did some crafts, Leilani thoroughly enjoyed that, we read about Samson and watched VeggieTales, some of our favorites :)

Pictures from yesterday and today:

A Rambling Look at My Thoughts

I know this is an old post from my previous blog back in March, but sometimes I like to revisit the past, remember where I was and see where I'm going


Warning: a bit rambly and introspective :)

I've been feeling guilty lately and have been unable to figure out why. After reading another blog, it hit me - I've been feeling guilt because of the way I was raised, that certain things were "wrong" just because they were. Such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and other fantasy genre books. Also, I've been feeling guilty over the way I'm raising Leilani, and plan to raise Natalia. Now, there really is nothing wrong with the way I'm raising my child, just guilt because it's not the way I was raised so therefore it's "wrong". It's a misplaced guilt, since I'm doing nothing wrong. After all, reading Narnia to my daugher is just fine, since I'm the one reading it to her, answering all her questions and explaining things as we go. And I do think it's helping her understand God and the sacrifice He made for us. I've explained that Aslan is a picture of Jesus and the White Witch is a picture of satan. There's clear dilineation between good and evil, right and wrong. But, growing up, I was never allowed to read Narnia since it had magic, witches, fairy tale creatures and talking animals. Consequently, I've felt like a "bad mom" reading this to my four-year-old. I've also felt a bit guilty because I've let my daughter watch things my mother never would have approved of, as not being "age-appropriate". However, my daughter is rather mature, very curious, and capable of not only understanding but not being "scared" by these movies. (the movie I'm specifically thinking of here is Jesus:He Lived Among Us by Voice of the Martyrs.) The movie is animated, but deals directly with the bloodiness that surrounded Jesus' birth (ie, Herod ordered all boys 2 yrs and under killed to try to keep Jesus from taking his throne) all the way to Jesus being betrayed by Judas Iscariot (and him subsequently taking his life), the movie shows Peter cutting off the guards ear and Jesus putting it back on and healing it. Jesus is shown being beaten (it's not terribly bloody, but still there) and the crown of thorns being placed upon His head. Then the nails are shown being driven into His hand and feet. My daughter has not only NOT had nightmares from this, but I think her understanding of Jesus' life and sacrifice for our sins is heightened. Why I feel guilty about this I don't know, well, maybe I do. After all, growing up I was never allowed to watch or read things like this, therefore, by letting my daughter do so I'm being a "bad" parent, even though I'm not. Sorry for the rambling nature of this post, but I hope that it can help someone else who may be dealing with something similar :)

I later followed that post with this one:

As I was laying in bed last night, unable to sleep since I can't get comfortable, thoughts started running through my head. Thoughts about God and living a truly Christian life. After all, if I believe every word in the Bible is true, why am I not living like it? Why do I sometimes ignore parts of His Word? If I truly believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God, how can I say that the Law is no longer relevant (not that I've said it in words, but in actions)? If I believe things in the Bible to be literal, how can I just, in a way, ignore whole books of it? After all, Jesus didn't come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (IE, He is the only One capable of keeping every aspect of it, that's why He is our sacrificial Lamb). After a lot of soul searching last night, I came to the conclusion that if I want to truly "walk the walk" I need to make sure that I'm taking the WHOLE of God's Word! Not just "here and there" but ALL of it!!! Obviously, I shouldn't become so focused on the Law that I lose sight of the mercy and grace that God extends to us (but nor should I become so focused on His mercy and grace that I lose sight of the Law, without the Law, we have no way of knowing that we have sinned!). His mercy and grace are apparent throughout all of Scripture, starting in the Garden of Eden when He killed the animal as a sacrifice to cover Adam and Eve's sin. Also, I must hate sin, because God is a Holy God and cannot look upon sin. This is why He gave us the Law, to show His Holiness and our need for Him. I need to make sure that when Leilani misbehaves I don't treat it lightly, but remind her that this is the reason Jesus had to come to earth to die - I do generally try to do this, but as I get tired, I sometimes let it slip, something I really cannot afford to do. God treats ALL sin as terrible, if I want my daughter to grow up to love, trust and obey God, I have to train her from NOW so that she sees WHO God is, HOW God is and desires to belong to Him. If I don't truly walk in the way of God, how can I expect her to? How can I expect her to love, trust and obey God if I'm not fully doing so? How can I hold her to a standard of behaviour when I'm not holding myself to that standard? Lately, I've not been living fully for God, but for self. I've not been as worried about Leilani's eternal soul, but about temporal comforts, which have NO lasting value. Oh, I've "gone through the motions" and everything looked good on the outside, but inside, I was far from God. Last night, He showed me this. Last night, as I couldn't sleep, I prayed. I cried out to God to help me come back to Him. God truly answers prayers!!! He forgives!!! And, He gives second (and third, fourth, fifth, etc) chances!!! He is far more merciful than I deserve, far better to me than I deserve! After all, He saved me from my sins and the second death! He gives me life here and now, that I might glorify Him. He's given me a precious trust (my daughter) to raise up for Him, which I can ONLY do with His help! I need to fully trust God, rely on Him and live ONLY for Him!

Anyway, I hope, that by revisiting the past, someone can benefit. I know it often pulls me up short and gets me back on track!

God Bless!

Day in Pictures