Sick Days

 Fever

Vomit

Yucky Diapers

Sleepy

Cranky

Needy

Extra Hugs

Rocking

Snuggling

ELMO

Singing

Naps

Recovery

A Hair-Don't

Adeline's hair is so awesome these days, it deserves a post of it's own. 

Her mullet is especially pronounced after taking out her pigtails. 

Just look at that party-in-the-back!

Don't call Child Services. We don't let her go out in public looking like this. 

A Yes-Woman

Adeline's new favorite word is "yeah" and she loves to nod her head. She is so agreeable! On the way home from picking her up, I interviewed her.

Me: Were you a good girl today?
A: Yeah.

Me: Did you eat your vegetables?
A: Yeaaaaaah.

Me: Should we go home and see Grandma?
A: (quickly) Yeah!

Me: Mommy misses Daddy. Do you miss Daddy?
A: Yeaaaaah.

Me: Should we give him hugs and kisses when he gets home?
A: (quickly) Yeah!
Me: Good. Let's do that.
A: Yeah.

Prayers for Gerrit and Haiti

In the wee hours tomorrow morning, my Gerrit will be leaving for a week-long missions trip to Haiti. 

The organization World Wide Village sponsors a children's home in Haiti. The children are either orphaned or have been left at the home by their parents out of necessity. There are 50 children and only 2 adult caregivers. They have had to cook meals for these kids over an open fire, but the group Gerrit is going down with will be helping to install a stove for them that our church raised money for. 

The kids also have very few toys and very little adult interaction. (Last year, the team built a playground for them). The team will be bringing down a few toys and will be showering the kids with attention. 

The children's home also has a damaged security wall. This is a major safety concern because the children there are provided with food everyday, whereas others in the community are not. 

Pray for those dear kids.

Pray for safety and health for the team.

Pray that the kids and staff at the home would know the love Christ has for them. 

Adeline and I are going to miss Gerrit this week. But I'm so proud of him for being open to what God wants him to do. 

The Latest and Greatest of Adeline Rose

Bleh, I've been a terrible blogger. But here I am to give you the updates on our sassy little lady. Though she is not yet 2, she has hit something terrible in the behavior department of her brain. She's quite generous with her tantrums. She's like a hormonal teenager. I am open to lending her out to those who need to provide practical birth control to teenage relatives. 

In brighter news, she is learning how to clean up her messes. She can wipe her hands and face. She even got down on the floor to wipe up the crayon art she left for us in the kitchen.
 She has also enjoyed supervised art. She LOVES to be messy, whether with paint or food. She's not picky about the medium, as long as the end result is a disaster.

 We don't put on too many TV programs for her. Usually she ignores them after 5 minutes anyway. But there are times when she completely zones in and we know we may need to turn the TV off. 

 Adeline is a woman of flare. She knows what she likes. 

 Right now, she likes her toddler bed. It all happened very suddenly. One night she woke up crying with what sounded like fear. Gerrit put her in her toddler bed and she stayed there all night. Amazing. But there have been times since then that she has walked out to the living room after an hour of sleep and scared the daylights out of me. 

Addie has a boyish energy. Everything (including us) is a jungle gym. She loves to wrestle and climb. She literally runs laps around us. 

But she also has a tender side. One of her first words was "baby" and now she likes to "feed" them and hug them. And tonight when I was putting lotion on her, she started rubbing my arms too. 

She has always been a chatterbox, but now she is amazing us with new words each day. Her favorite phrase is still "Wassat?" She's a curious little bug and loves to learn.

And she repeats much of what we say now! Which is endearing and a good reminder to think before I speak! 

Adeline encompasses our daily lesson in patience and selflessness. But she is also a source of much joy in each day as well. And she's pretty darn cute, to boot!

I Am Not a Pinford Wife

Remember that film, "The Stepford Wives" with all the fake, perfect women masquerading as real women?

I think that's what my Pinterest account has become. 

Now, don't get me wrong. This is not a Pinterest problem. 

This is a ME problem.

And what I am about to show you is NOT a cry for help.

This is not a "Before and After" project.

This is REAL LIFE.

This ridiculously large and organized living room is not mine.

This is my living room and what it looks like on a daily basis.

This is not what our dinner this evening looked like.

This is what our dinner looked like.

This is a dream kitchen.

This is my real kitchen, certainly not every night. But tonight, yes.

And contrary to the pictures you see, I have found and used some great, realistic tips from Pinterest.  

 But I have also spent hours coveting other women's craftiness. 

I have made idols out of ideas. 

 I have ogled at others' organization skills.

And there is always an idea more clever than the last.

There is usually a cuter outfit to be seen on the next page.

And look! There's an adorable, athletic family posing in a garden of fairies!

I have been hoarding images of what society (myself included) is telling me I should value.

But God wants the exact opposite from me!

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

Matthew 6:19:21

My heart has been storing up the wrong kind of treasure lately. As a baby step, I am cutting myself off from Pinterest for a week. My hope is that instead of perusing for pins, I will spend that time on things of more value in REAL life and on the eternal treasures. 

And here are some real people now, in our real living room. 

 Can you believe this isn't a professional, airbrushed photo?

Autumn is for Orchards: Part 2

As is tradition, for our friend Maria's birthday each year, we go to an apple orchard. 

She chose a new-to-us orchard this year and it was quite lovely.

Last year, it was about 80+ degrees. It was somewhat nippier this time around.

Adeline and Delia are SO ready for some orchard fun.

Birthday girl Maria! with Delia and Adam. 

Adam was actually trying to look awkward and ended up looking more normal than usual. :)

If you couldn't tell from our faces, we were struggling to take a semi-decent family picture. My hair was static-y; Adeline was hating her life; and Gerrit....actually looks very nice. Well done, babe.

And then this was happening. Autumn carolers! Everywhere we went--there they were! 

I was tolerating them when we began, but then they started a caroling version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." If there's anything I hate more than a Lady Gaga song, it's an off-key a Capella version of one.

Our last hoorah at the orchard was the store (where I bought apples to make a delicious pie). 

The girls took it all in. 

"Delia, look over there!"

"Now over there."

"No, Addie, look right here."

"No. No.No. Let's just hold hands for a while."

"Fine."

Good times were had by all, even during choral performances. And Maria was celebrated in true Autumn fashion.