cail on driving

o.k. so which way to the car?????? i found this picture from christmas last year. she looks so little and well how else can i say it here ditzy. uh duh, i know she must have gotten that from her mom and the cuteness from her dad right?!!!! please no comments ;)

high five

well here i am in all my glory. nikki said i needed some pictures of me on here so i thought if i snuck in with one of the babies we could cover two bases at once. i am sure it looks staged in this picture but i was teaching averie to give high fives. babies at this age are a little like puppies. you teach them to sit, roll over, speak, give five!!!! oh well they are a little cuter than puppies and in my opinion a lot more fun! just to let you know she did learn to give five. she put her hand up at dinner tonight for me to give her one. she gives a little giggle in return and thinks she is all that. her personality is really coming out more and more. how fun!!

a child's prayer

you never know how your training and teaching is going to work until you see it in action in your child's life. i think it must be the best feeling in the world to see you child living out something you've tried to live before them. i guess i really didn't see it but i heard it tonight. i was singing and talking with cail as i do before she goes to bed. we were talking about how mommy is sick. she said "pray for mommy". i said that was a good idea so she laid her head on my wheezy chest and began to pray.

 tank ooo da Jesus for da food

mamma feel sick 

mamma feel sick

feel betta soon, betta soon

amen

of course my heart melted and how can i not feel betta after that. God is good for sending those little blessing just when you need them. a friend once sent me a little blessing in the form of an email when averie was just new born. it was from a devotional by nancy leigh demoss. in it she talks about how some seasons in our lives are harder than others and how especially new moms can be exhausted. she shared that the Old Testament name for God, El Shaddai means All-Sufficient One. the hebrew root word Shad means breast. this may sound weird but stick with me here. just as a mom can satisfy her little ones every need, our El Shaddai satisfies our needy hearts. our God is really All Sufficient and can meet whatever need we might have. tonight mine was a little bit more strength and health. my 23 month old daughter thought to pray that for me in her own little way and sent me a little blessing of her own. 

thank you Holy Spirit, thank you All Sufficient one.

Amen 

photo  

bah bah bah bah!!!

averie has been saying ba ba ba ba ba all the time!!! i think it might be because we sing that silly song "i don't want to be a sheep, bah bah bah bah!" and she has lots of little lambs in her bed. she wakes up in the morning singing her cute little song. i'm not sure about why but it sure is cute. i am also sure she says ma ma as well but i could be making that up to make myself feel better. she is making lots and lots of new sounds every day and has gotten really vocal. she is a joy!!

update

o.k. so i know i am meant to be in bed ( i have an ear infection in both ears and am feeling really crummy) but i cannot resist. cail is on her fifth day without a nappy and no troubles. she is sad when we have to put one on for bed. i don't know what just switched on but i'm just along for the ride with this one. she has done it all herself!!! we are very proud of her indeed. go cail!

"stolen" heart

deuteronomy 30:6 (the message) "God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children's hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live."

Lord i pray for you to keep "stealing" my heart like you do and "steal" those of our children as well. amen

thanks rachel for finding that verse!!

potty news

o.k. so i know all of you might not like to know all about our potty tails but just a quick update for those who do!! cail went cold turkey today (well not for nap time) and no accidents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yet. more later

signed, 

excited parents

birthday night out!!!!

wow! we had such a great time last night. i must say seeing a live show beats the movies any night of the week. it was three hours of awe. the music, the dancing, the lights, just what i needed after being sick for two days. it took my mind off the misery and made my birthday the best!!

doing the dishes....... yuck

having two babies at once........ hard work:)

seeing the phantom with josh bowlin......... priceless  

thanks to all those who helped with our babies to give us a night away!!!

Imagine That...: A Tale of Two Hearts...

this is from a friends blog... so refreshing!!!

Imagine That...: A Tale of Two Hearts...

sleeping baby

don't get photos like this often because if they are sleeping i don't go in!! luckily i got cute photos and she stayed asleep.

the snowboard king

think lord of the rings in the winter and you have josh's mount doom ski adventure. these pictures are from the top or nearly the top of mount ruapehu where they filmed mt. doom in lotr. it was a fast and furious trip, four hour drive down, ski till 4 p.m. and four hours back. all in one day!!! he is wiped out, high on adrenaline, and crazy red all over his face. well, all but where is ski goggles were :(). silly guy!!!

cail on potty training

cail came running up to me at church yesterday and said wees wees!!! i quickly stopped my conversation and ran her to the toilet. she waited until seated on the potty and with a surprised look on her face said wees, and then i heard the wonderful sound of tinkles in the toilet. if that was not exciting enough when we got in the car for our ten minute drive home she said wees! i asked her is she could hold it, thinking she probably would not understand or be able to but, lo and behold after running to the toilet at home she did wees again!!!!!  a bought her a pair of panties while she was having her nap and cannot wait to use them today!!! 

vibrant beauty

God! let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways, the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways! search high and low, scan skies and land. you'll find nothing and no one quite like God. the holy angels are in awe before him. he looms immense and august over everyone around him.....you put the arrogant ocean in its place and calm its waves when they turn unruly.....blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of God. delighted, they dance all day long; they know who you are, what you do-they can't keep it quiet! your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us.... from psalm 89 (the message)

soakin' up the sun

averie chillin' in wellington, soaking up the sun!

cail on fashion

when given the choice of what to wear.....

it was a warm summery day!!! and yes there is no nappy.

para-dy-da

it's pics like this that make me think i might want to take up this sport. 

then i see this....what you have to run off of. then my real personality (the scardy cat) comes out and i don't. 

paragliding has been one of josh's new hobbies here in new zealand. cail like to call it a para-dy-da. she loves watching the videos and i just know she will be up there with him as soon as she can!!!

lil sis

this is my beautiful sis alison jolene and her horse dreamer. she's a fun sister and we cannot wait for her to take the girls riding when we get back to the states. she always has wanted a horses. i say props to her for following her dream and finding her dreamer. ali is one of the inspirations for cail grayce and averie mae being so close in age. my sis and i were always close friends. i always say we were the best of friends and the worst of enemies as kids. we have braved a lot of storms together and watched a lot of rainbows. she is really special to me. love you heaps sis!!!  

new blog, new look

a big thanks to jonathan read!!! the amazing graphic designer who redesigned my blog. he has changed a boring old page into a fun, flash look that inspires me to write even more. some of you may not know the read's. they are one really great family that we have made friends with over the last few years. they have three beautiful girls that are really neat to hang out with. dione has been a wonderful friend and has helped out heaps with the girls. she has also helped me gain a good perspective on what it means to be a mom and why this job is the greatest. she is a good cook, and so creative with her knitting and crafts. she teaches her girls that life is hard and mistakes will be made but you can still stand strong in Christ and set a good example to the world around you.  jonathan, besides being an amazing artist is a good friend. he will always make you laugh and be there whenever you need him (even till 4 in the morning playing xbox!). if you don't know the read's you are missing out on some fun, some fellowship, and some cool friends!!! thanks again for your time jonathan!

'other'

this picture is for those of you who might not love hearing about babies all the time (i promise there will be some 'other' things once in a while. although 'babies' are about all i do these days) we were on holiday up north and i saw this church. had to take a hike up the hill and take this photo. realized a minute later there was a service in progress, snuck away quickly, and just have to laugh when i see the picture. 

fathers

"fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

Ephesians 6:4

so, having a nearly two year old has got me thinking about this verse lately. everything seems to exasperate (1. to make very angry or impatient; annoy greatly. 2. to increase intensity of) her these days. it doesn't take much and she is on the floor arm and legs flying, making noise none of us would have thought could come from such a beautiful little girl. what happens to them at these moments and what they are really thinking we will never know but how we cope with them we can talk about. 

i guess the first part about not exasperating makes me think about her personality. maybe she just doesn't like certain things. things like tomatoes, putting clothes on and having the windows down in the car. i don't like peas or carrots very well and i really don't like cleaning the shower. although as an adult i try not to throw myself on the floor as much as she does, it does make me stop and think about her and her little personality. am i exasperating her when i force her to do something she really doesn't like? please feel free to comment here with advice help or funny stories of your own. 

the second part about training and instruction makes me think about how some of those thing she doesn't like to do maybe have to be forced just because they are important to life and living. (i.e., cleaning the shower, yuck!)  again feel free to comment! 

one last point, josh was not trying to exasperate her in this picture. she just really needed a nap and was on her way shortly after the photo was taken. thought it was cute though!

piggy averie

we had fun the other day dressing up and playing with "piggy averie". i remember when a friend from chapel pike wesleyan once said she thought babies should always be dressed up like at halloween. i agree now!!!  i really love my job as a mom and all the fun i get to have with my babes. hope you have as much fun looking at piggy averie as we did playing with her!

cail on coffee

cail is deciding whether or not she likes coffee shops and what she thinks about fluffys. a fluffy is a drink made of soy milk and lots of steam. like the name implies there is mostly lots of fluff and not much milk. cail seems to like them though. what a grown up girl having her own special drink while mom and dad have coffee.