friends of ours welcomed their sweet bitty girl a little earlier than most. little miss scarlette vonne weighs in at a little less than two pounds. while most mamas are able to cuddle their bundles and complain about poopy diapers, kayla and jeff rejoice over the few moments they're able to touch their baby with just a single finger and shout praises over every small bowel movement-- that is no small feat in their daughter's life.
even before she was born, haven has been praying for her tiny friend. when we pull up kayla's blog each day to see any new updates, haven declares "there's scarlette!". i'm not sure why i feel so connected to kayla, maybe because of past infertility or our unique entrances into motherhood; BUT i do know it is God who compels our family to pray so fervently for scarlette and her parents. would you stop here to join us in praying for them? yes, you and yes, right now. :)
you can head over HERE to read kayla's fabulous blog and keep updated with her sweet scarlette. kayla, i wish i could be there to hug your neck and make you dinner. know that your whole family constantly fills our family's thoughts and God is good to use the most random things to prompt us to pray for your sweet girl. we entrust you to our Might God, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, and Everlasting Father.
i cried on the phone with my mom last night. over what to make for thanksgiving this year. we weren't in an arguement, and i wasn't emotionally torn between martha's or paula's recipes. i was broken. am broken. over how rich we are. not like 'gold encrusted mercedes' rich-- like running-water, extra-food-goes-bad-in-my-fridge rich. a year ago i spent a week in kenya where water must be carried home regardless if you are frail or pregnant or to small not to spill and days pass. between. meals.
i am so thankful. i am so blessed. i am so undeserving.
if you are reading this, you are too-- blessed and undeserving. but you must choose to be thankful. full of thanks. and next week, if you live in the US, you'll celebrate thanksgiving, but you must choose to give thanks. to GIVE thanks. my hope is that we'll be intentional about our giving-- recognizing from Whom all things have been given. realizing just how much He's given us. remembering those who have less and fulfilling God's heart to love them as we love ourselves.
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. -Ps 57:9
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -Jm 1:17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. -Jn 3:16
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' -Mt 22:37-39
is it picassos or picassoes, i wonder. well, we're not going to be sought out for our color technique or brush strokes anytime soon, so i guess we've got some time to figure it out! thanks oma-the-great and papa for the coloring books-- we're still filling them up with our beautiful colors!! everyday we're moving a little further from baby and a lot more towards big girl. you can't really see, but h has some pretty cool big-girl braids in her hair. and this kiddo can talk circles around you! our current thing is telling jokes-- the big one this week is identifying everyone as either 'girl' or 'boy'. she does a pretty good job, but loves to call daddy a 'girl' and then laughs and laughs.
this is second year picking apples with our bestest bud. this year was way more successful (read, we picked more than two apples) and sooo fun! we're regulars at the farm during the summer months and haven loves running around in the fields, driving the tractors, and feeding the farm animals. mom really loves these apple cider slushie thingies that are so. yummy.
sorry we've been mia for a bit-- it's been a wild summer. here's some pics from today's trip to the playground. this is my first attempt at beads in haven's hair and i have to admit i'm pretty proud! she loves to swing them around and hear them clickity clack.
All to Jesus I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. All to Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now. All to Jesus I surrender; Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power; Let Thy blessing fall on me. All to Jesus I surrender; Now I feel the sacred flame. Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name! -Van DeVenter, 1896
haven's oma and grandad came to visit for easter-- she calls them both 'moe-ma' most of the time. we had a great time doing a lot of nothing, eating cake, jumping at hopscotch, watching princess and the frog, coloring in jumbo books, and swimming at the moe-mas hotel pool!
haven came downstairs from her nap with her easter dress in tow. she's been asking to wear it for a couple days now. it's a princess dress of course. (*who teaches little girls to be princesses by the way? love it) so, in a world where she hears 'no' so many more times than 'yes' -- we went with her plans. over the top of her existing outfit no less. to play in the dirt. because, really-- what else is a princess to do in her beautiful gown? :)
ps- please excuse our hair style--we're in between do's today.
tonight at dinner i explained to hae that we were having 'hot soup' for dinner. be careful. blow. it's hot.
she responded, 'mmmmmmm, rat poop'. with gusto. no sarcasm. she's two. and jon's out of town.
oh dear. it was as clear as a bell.
here are my options... A- our two year old who parrots everything we say stumbled on a couple consonants B- our kiddo enjoys delicacies i know nothing of C- my cooking has gotten even worse, this is highly unlikely as there's not much room for anything but improvement, but there's always the surprise dinner that reinvents the meaning of 'worst of the worst'.
i'm crossing my fingers for A, but fearful for C aye, oh.
here's hoping your dinner was better than ours tonight, but filled with just as many giggles! :)
i can NOT even begin to fathom where the last two years have wandered off to-- when i see pictures of haven just days old, it feels like yesterday and an eternity ago all at the same time!
she is our sweetest joy and keeps us on our toes these days. her little personality emerges more and more, and we love who she is growing in to being.
over the last year, haven has...
:: got a stamp in her passport
:: traveled to the caribbean
:: relaxed at the beach
:: visited the magic kingdom and became memorized by all things 'princess'
:: traveled to visit all of her grandparents and great-grandparents
:: cemented her fear of the doctor's office
:: made little friendships in spite of a sad track record of sharing (we're getting better and better though!)
things she is saying all the time these days...
:: help me please
:: alright! you did it!
:: nice!
:: no thank you
:: love you
:: bye y'all
:: i hold you
:: mmm, good chicken
:: (gasp) oh, no!
:: wait, shhh, patient
things that make two really fun...
:: she has the best sense of direction and knows where each of her friends live, the library, and which grocery store has the cart-cars to ride in
:: the way she sings the alphabet song, twinkle twinkle, where is thumpkin, happy birthday
:: she pretends like she's asleep and waits for you to tickle her awake
:: greeting everyone where ever we go-- i'm pretty sure she's made a couple people's day this way
:: singing along to the radio-- we're making our listening choices wisely these days :)
:: sleeping on the floor by her door and absolutely not in her bed
:: bubbles, stickers, and snacks
:: saying 'mmmmmm!' whenever we pass mcdonalds (whups)
:: grabbing hands and saying 'amen' when we pray
:: shaking it off when she falls down
:: playing pretend
:: dancing and singing with daddy
:: covering her eyes when snow is falling
:: her desire to have her name written and a fish drawn every time she sees a pen
reasons why people call it 'terrible'...
:: huge tantrums for little problems
:: screaming 'ow!' in the middle of the library; all screaming in public when surrounded by people who seem to have never had children who were two once
:: getting weighed and measured and everything after at the doctor's office
:: NOOOOOOO!!!
:: waking up grouchy-- not always, thank God!
:: no more naps
we're really proud/thankful of...
:: her counting to ten
:: a gentle spirit
:: a joyful laugh
:: her love of snuggling
:: her hair is growing! (this is huge!) :)
:: a teachable spirit-- most of the time
:: she likes to eat everything
:: her helpfulness-- she throws away trash after dinner, puts her toys back, and empties the silverware from the dishwasher
she's just starting to...
:: be able to put on clothes
:: spell her name
:: put three or more words together
:: do easy puzzles
:: love books
:: notice/identify colors
:: say 'love you' and give hugs and kisses on her own
all we can think is wow. two years goes by way too fast when there's a tiny person involved. we are blown away by God's goodness in creating this family.
this is haven with one of her favorite friends in the world. they've been pals since before either could walk and are about a month apart in age. until we get the sharing thing down, they have a love/hate relationship. but really, they just crack each other up all the time. the first picture is pre-kiss, the last shows these two just after i caught them pretend-snoring. the middle are a very funny story h was telling. it was long. and funny. and about a horse. but that's all i got.
in other haven stories, she's been working on a coloring page from the church nursery displaying the wisemen bringing gifts to toddler jesus on mary's lap. haven is pretty determined it's 'mo-ma' (oma). we also had to take the yellow marker away because it kept ending up in her nose. go figure. :)
