In Charge

Who is in Charge? I guess I don’t stop too often to think about who is ‘in charge’. We teach Annaka to obey, not because we say so, but because God does. In fact the first thing out of her mouth when she knows she is in trouble is “Obey your Papa and Mama for THIS IS RIGHT” (Yes, she even over emphasizes the ‘this is right’ part sometimes pairing it with waving a pointed finger.)

This morning I found myself chuckling when I heard her telling her imaginary friend to “obey Mama, Papa and Annaka, this is right.” Wow, how quickly she learned to give herself the responsibility of being in charge.

It sent me into a few minutes of reflection about where we are at right now. (Waiting to get our visas and finishing up our to do list.) “Have I appointed myself ‘in charge’?” Even as I sit to write this I have been thinking about what we could possibly do to contact the Consulate to see if we can speed this process along. We have a plane to catch in less than three days, how can I get us to the point we need to be. I guess I will always be learning in one way or another about who is ‘in charge’ and that I can rest in HIS loving arms while watching HIS plan unfold. I am not ‘in charge’ and I don’t care to be. If HE wants us on that plane this week, HE will get us there. All I can do is be ready and have a good attitude either way.

I marvel at how He chooses to teach me lessons I should have learned quite a while ago....maybe that is why he is using my two year old to ‘remind’ me.

Thank you Lord that you are in control, and thank you for refining my heart.

p.s. We got to 'play' with pumpkins the other day...yea for fall!

Girly Girl....

Grandma sent me some high heels, earrings, ring, bracelet....they match my purse:)

I love wearing my earrings.

Enjoying cake and ice cream for Susanna's birthday! Note the spoon in one hand and eating cake and icecream with the other. Who needs utensils.

My new friend Susanna.

P.S. She still has her jewlery on even at dessert.

Random Thoughts

1. I love dryer sheets.....They are the ultimate multi purpose household item. Not only are they handy in the laundry, they will keep bees away. Some mailmen keep them in their pocket. They will also get your tub three shades lighter! Soap scum no more! (Thats my favorite use of them) When I was Pregnant with Annaka I would simply throw in an unused dryer sheet, add a little bit of water and use my swollen foot to clean the tub. (Maybe I should not admit that out loud...)

2. Vera Bradley is wonderful. Not only did she create these amazing purses and accessories, she also designed a box that is almost as much of a treasure! They are snazzy looking, hold cakes well, or hats if you are into that I guess. (Dont know many people who still look for hat boxes but if they are out there this would be for them!)

3. I actually miss high heels.... We have packed and moved and are in the process of moving and I miss my high heels. A hot pink pair and a black pair to be specific. I am sure I wont miss them when walking on the uneven roads where we are headed. I love watching Annaka clomp around in them too!

4. I love tender moments where I can see my daughters gentle heart. I have always prayed over her at bedtime and now she is a big girl and does it some herself. Tonight after I prayed she immediately said "Annaka had fun watering flowers" so I told her that we can thank God for making the flowers. She prayed "Thank you God for flowers". Then when I told her we can thank God for everything He made she replied "God made people". I said yes so we prayed "Than you God for Papa and Mama" then she took off on her own thanking God for everyone staying in the house tonight:)! I melted.

5. I love sunflowers. Annaka bought me a sunflower from Produce Junction the other day. It is looking at me right now. How cheery!

6. I love Produce Junction. Wish there was one in ever area we lived. Ahhhh.

7. Phone ringers have gotten louder. This causes some confusion and some joy. Confusion as when we are in public I have no idea if it is mine, someone I am with, or someone in another isle's phone singing away. Joy as I watch Annaka dance to whatever ring it is:)

8. I have had colored fingers a lot lately. When making a cake I accidentally began to spill the green food coloring. I wanted to 'catch it' before it hit the counter then it got all over my thumb and finger...under the nail...everywhere and stained it green. It remained that way for a few days. Then just as it cleared up my fingers were stained purple from eating bing cherries! I guess it is all for good reason. I just hope Annaka does not try to 'look like mommy' and use markers to maker her own colored.

9. Nutella....need i say more:) Yummy hazelnutty chocolatety goodness....here is evidence that it is good.... (kinda hard to see in the photos but she has it on her eyebrows, chin, ear, cheek, lip, everywhere!)

10. I LOVE BEING A MOM:) I am having so much fun watching Annaka grow up and having the privilege of being her mom!

Transition and PiggyTails

Transition......

There are a handful of people (outside of family) that we meet through life that we wish we could just preserve and have around forever. People that we respect greatly, look up to, and sometimes just don't know how to tell them or express how much they mean to you.

A family left today. Yes that sounds vague, and if anyone knows about all the transition that is in our life right now that may not even seem unusual. We are currently in PA working through a few details for our business and were blessed to be able to be here to say goodbye to some amazing people. They lived in Brazil for many years, ran the office here in PA for 17 years and now are moving to Oregon! They really have been a backbone of this organization and have mentored/impacted many many people along the way. They have done an amazing job, and continue to serve in many ways. Thank you Larry and Vicki for your hard work through the years. Thank you for living your lives as an example to us who are at the beginning of our adult life. (Can I still say that even though I will be turning 30 in less than a year?) You are not only an encouragement to us, but an example we look up to.

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How could I post without a picture.....

Here are two pictures of Annaka's Prli.tee.s as she pronounces them. (Like Pretties but with an added L in the middle there) She wants to wear them all the time! So fun now that she FINALLY has enough hair to put up!

P.P.S. As I was typing this I eye-witnessed Annaka sleepwalking! I had to stop myself as I began to laugh out loud! She kind of rolled to the top corner of the twin mattress, stood up to her feet, and walked in circles around the room. I walked over, picked her up and she plopped her head down on my shoulder. As soon as I put her back down in her bed she rolled over and was asleep.

:) Should have thought quick and taken a photo!

2nd Birthday

Oh boy! I think the second birthday is harder on moms than the first! When they turn one we are still experiencing a 'first'...but this time she knew exactly what to do! Been there, done that, lets eat cake. (*by the way, Vera Bradley boxes work great as cake boxes)



What fun! Annaka turned two and mom got two tries at making (and not dropping) her cake! :) Her first birthday party was with some friends from church at South Lake Park. She loves "Bob and Larry" so we had a Bob and Larry cake, cookies and color sheets. When we got to the park, the cake box fell on the top so the cake scrunched toward the top...swishing upward. Sadly, we did not get any good pictures before the 'incident'.


Yep, there you can see the two cake parts seporated and all the icing is pretty crinkled. Oh well, at least she still knew who they were. :) We made way toooo many cookies and ended up eating them the entire week after!


I think this is the only year we will get away with this, but we told everyone not to bring her any presents. We are moving and dont have room for new toys right now. That tactic may not work so well with a seven year old, but for her second birthday she knows no difference. She had her friends and cake there. The two most important! :)

One of her best friends, Jeremiah, brought her some flowers. It was so sweet! He gave them to her and then they kept hugging. We had our photographer and friend Jonathan take some photos of them together. They may come in handy in a slide show in about 25 years. :)


Oh, and because of the short attention span of the nearly/newley two year olds we also had bubbles. No, they were not green or red bubbles or with Bob or Larry shaped wands...Im not that good at birthday parties yet...but they held the attention of the little ones for a little while.


And then came "my minnie cake!!!!" as Annaka often squeels. Anything that slightly reminds her of Minnie or cake or birthday and she is asking for it:)



I love this photo....as Annaka was blowing out the candles, here is sweet Mel in the background 'helping':)! I know we all tend to open our mouths when trying to spoon feed babies, and smile for people when we see them getting their photos taken.

Note the birthday blower in her hand above, then see below. She had fun blowing the noisemakers even though they did not make any noise.

Family gave her gifts to take with us. Things we asked for as we knew she would grow with them as we travel. One was this little 'laptop' so she can be like mommy and papa.

So intense!

We had fun, she turned two, mission accomplished:)

Hmmm

Hmmm, I think Annaka is a little too interested in the sheep and goats! We had a blast at the zoo with our friends The Chasteens. All the photos we got were of Annaka and these animals though:(

Then she was done with the smelly sheep and goats!

Tutu with Attitude

Ballerina in training....

Check out this attitude....

This one is not quite attitude, but I love the tippy toes:)

Hope your having a good day:)

Mama's Little Helper

Annaka loves to help with EVERYTHING!

Last week we made cookies.......
and today I found Annaka with all the glass bangles she could find on her arms!


Fun days!

Missing Papa, the zoo, and a talkative (almost) two year old...

Papa is away. Annaka is just now getting to the age where she really notices and it affects her (behavior) that one of us is away. We thought he might like some pictures to see while he is away this week:) We love you Papa!

Day at the Zoo! Meemaw came to visit the week after Easter and we had so much fun! One day we got to play at the Zoo!

She was not afraid of any animal!

MeeMaw is so much fun!

Watchin' with Papa.

Cheese....

Creative Personality may be a great way to explain our little spitfire. She has an opinion on everything and loves girly things! Especially my shoes! This is how she walked around around all evening. In two left shoes...and a night gown dress.

...and if you take off those two left shoes, this is what you will find....

...painted toes that match mommy's

And, talkative may be an understatement. Annaka is getting creative in how she uses her language to get to her chosen point. The other day when attempting to take a nap, (for over an hour and a half) she decided to use every excuse she could think of to not fall asleep.
-"Mommy, potty"
-"Bug!...Mommy, Bug!"
- "Owie, Annaka needs banbaid (bandaid)"
-"Gink, Please" (Drink please)
-"Grandma, what doing?"
-"Mommy, where are you?"
-"Mommy, up please"
-"Brenda, where are you?"
-"Hold you mommy"
-"Helwwo? Mommy...hewwoooo?"
-"Bath....an bath mommy" (Something she has not wanted anything to do with for the past two weeks)

Just to name eleven. One would think that after the first um, three, she may give up and finally drift off to sleep. Nope. I finally got her out of bed because it got too close to dinner and then she would not be able to sleep at night. As long as she has some 'quiet time' I am ok....but does it count as 'quiet time' if she is talking the whole time?








btw....I have gotten so excited about this super couponing thing....I got all of these items (worth $121.10) for only $3.78!!!!

I have no idea why my webcam mirrors every photo it takes....