I’ve written two posts this week. This one is some memories of my great grandma. If you go to the next post, you’ll see pictures from our past week.

My great grandma (Becca’s great great grandma) went home to be with the Lord Monday morning. Great Grandma was 102 and was happily anticipating heaven. She told my parents the last time they visited with her that “the next time I’ll see you will be in heaven.” We were able to visit with my Great Grandma last summer so she could meet her very first great great granddaughter. I’m very thankful we were able to make the trip and make a few memories for Becca to see when she’s older.

I’d like to take a little time to remember my great grandma. Growing up we always visited Great Grandma in the spring to plant tomatoes and other plants in her garden. She would always feed us egg salad sandwiches. At Halloween, my dad would take us trick-or-treating to Great Grandma’s, so we could show her our costumes. She gave out lollypops with smile faces on them. Great Grandma started the Jack Corner Basket at Thanksgiving – she always brought a small gift for everyone at the meal. One year she wrote a story for everyone.

Great Grandma gave great presents. For my birthday one year she gave me her bingo winnings for that year – $65.00. Another year she gave me an old tin chocolate box with her high school ring in it and other keepsakes she saved over time. As my great grandma got older she gave everything of value away. Looking back it was a great way for her to enjoy giving away her possessions.

As an elementary kid, I stayed with Great Grandma once when my parents were away for a few days; she wouldn’t let me wear my socks in bed – she said I needed to air out my feet. My poor feet were cold all night. These are just a few of the memories I have of my great grandma. But one memory that sticks with me from recent years is this: Great Grandma was always proud of her family. When we’d visit her she would repeatedly tell us she had a wonderful family and that God had blessed her with a wonderful family. I hope if I live to my hundreds I will have such a heart of gratefulness to God for my family. I also hope to continue the wonderful heritage of loving the Lord that Great Grandma left us.

Obituary:

Last Thursday we went to the NICU reunion party at Arlington Memorial Hospital. Every year in September, they have a reunion party for their graduates. We were delighted to see Dr. Tisdell and many of Becca’s nurses. It was so fun to “show” Becca off to the people who took care of her during her first three months. I told Becca she was going to make a lot of people happy – and she did. The nurses did a wonderful job with the party – it was a camping theme. Becca absolutely loved the “Big Horsey!” and the activities. We love the NICU staff for all they did for us and Becca. They truly are some of the dearest hearts in Texas. (The nurse who is the “head planner” of these reunions – Toni – recently started a business called Tiny Starts with gift baskets for families of newborns, especially preemies.)

My youngest brother, Joey, visited us at the end of his training at Deloitte University. We enjoyed spending time with him and were glad he was able to extend his trip to visit with us. Becca liked Uncle Joey right away. When we went on a walk after supper she wanted “Joey come.” We’re really proud of all Joey’s accomplishments. He is working for Deloitte as a federal consultant. My little brother living in D.C. – wow.

Our church picnic was on Sunday. Becca enjoyed the playground at church. She got to slide with Dillon and Meaghan. She is also enjoying playing with Amaris at church on Sundays in nursery.

The last picture is of Becca helping me make cookies . . . you can tell which part her enjoyed the best!

Children are truly a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5). Every day Josh and I get to experience this verse in vibrant color. Becca brings so much joy into our home and we’re grateful for each precious day we have with our little girl. My desire is to enjoy each day, not looking forward by wishing for things to come or backward by wishing for things the way they used to be.

Becca has done a few new things this month. Our church had a special service for 9-11. The Bedford Fire Department Honor Guard came to present the flags and they brought their firetruck. Becca was quite pleased to sit on it, and she really wanted me to go inside, but we didn’t think that was a good idea.

This month Becca has also started using her little stool to reach things.

At the beginning of the summer, Becca and I used to go lizard hunting. I promised her that I would someday catch her a lizard. This month I finally caught her one. We walked all the way back to our apartment to show Josh our catch and get his help for pictures. Becca kissed the lizard, but it didn’t turn into a prince.

Becca is now the proud owner of her very own library card. I was getting a little tired of reading the same books over and over again, so two Mondays ago we went to our public library to get some “new” books. Over the next two days I lost count of how many times we read read “All Aboard” — a book about Mr. Bunny’s train ride — and “The Eensy-Weensy Spider” — a book with the familiar song plus 7 new verses.

I was sick all last week, so having “new” books to read was helpful. One morning we spent a long time reading in our bed. Becca wanted to read there instead of the couch.

I’m sure we’ll have some more new experiences this month . . . life is full of fun and excitement here in Texas!

One of the neat things about starting a family is starting family traditions/practices. I want our family to be rich with traditions – not only holiday traditions but also daily family traditions. Here’s a few of the regular family traditions/practices we have right now.

Something Josh and I started when we were first married is Friday night Date Night. We reserve Friday nights to be together without school work or other distractions (like taking phone calls). Now that we’ve been blessed with Becca we have Family/Date night. When the weather is nice we typically go to a park. Then after Becca goes to bed, Josh and I play games or read together. This past Friday, we visited a park that we found about a year ago. A year makes a huge difference when it comes to playing with your baby at a park!

A practice (we hope it turns into a tradition) that we’ve recently started is lunch, dinner, and bedtime Bible reading. After thinking about all the books we read together in a year (just a chapter at a time) we decided to add chapters of the Bible into the mix. We’re reading one chapter from the Old Testament after we eat lunch and dinner, and we’re reading one chapter from the New Testament before we go to bed. So far, we’re both enjoying this new practice, and it’s been a good way to start teaching Becca to sit and listen to Daddy read the Bible.

After Becca was born, we decided to memorize hymns. We are currently working on Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted. So far we have learned the following hymns: Lord Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor; God Moves in a Mysterious Way; Praise, my Soul, the King of Heaven; O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus; Be Still my Soul; Be Thou My Vision; All Creatures of Our God and King; A Mighty Fortress is Our God; Come Thou Fount; Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence; What is the World to Me?; Praise to the Lord; Come We that Love the Lord; My Jesus Fair; He Who Would Valiant Be; Come Christians Join to Sing; Break Thou the Bread of Life; I Run to Christ; Rejoice, the Lord is King!; and Jesus, Lover of My Soul. Our practice is to sing the hymns we’ve memorized while we drive to church on Sunday mornings. We also sing a couple verses of the hymn we’re working on each night before we eat dinner.

After reading a chapter entitled “Mealtime Prayers with the Pipers” from Piper’s book, Pierced by the Word, Josh decided to write mealtime prayers for our family. This was part of my anniversary gift. We have the morning prayer memorized, and we’re working on the noon and evening prayers.

We end the day (well, Becca’s day) with a bedtime ritual. While Becca drinks her bottle of milk, she sits in my lap while Josh reads a Bible story to her (from The Jesus Storybook Bible or The Big Picture Story Bible). Then we sing “Goodnight, Our God is Watching Over You” (something my parents — especially my dad — would sing to me when I was little), then we pray for Becca and tell her “Daddy loves you, and Mommy loves you, but most of all, Jesus loves you” (another tradition from my parents).

Slides. Several weeks ago, the thought of going down a tube slide by herself invoked fear in our little girl’s heart. I could not get her to go down them without me, which meant I ended up with bruises and missing skin from trying to have a toddler on my lap and go down a tube slide. I’ll admit it, tube slides are scary. There’s a lot of uncertainty looking down from the top. It’s dark! What if I get hurt? What if I flip over? What if . . .  Poor Becca couldn’t see the end from the top where she stood . . . it was just a dark tunnel of uncertainty that made her afraid to do anything except sit up at the top and run the opposite direction whenever Mommy called for her to come down. Becca didn’t realize that Mommy was waiting for her at the end of the slide. She didn’t realize that I was climbing halfway up the slide to help her come down. She was afraid.

This week, something changed. Becca went down the tube slides all by herself over and over and over again. She loved it. She came down head-first and then transitioned to feet-first on her tummy. She now loves slides. We went to the water play park for the last time last week (the water shuts off on Labor Day) and Becca wasn’t overly interested in getting wet – she wanted to slide. She knows Mommy is at the end of the slide. She knows now that sometimes Mommy meets her halfway up the slide to help her come down.

When asked, “If you could parent your daughters all over again, what would you do differently?” Carolyn Mahaney answered, “I wish I had trusted God more.” She writes, “For every fearful peek into the future, I wish I had looked to Christ instead. For each imaginary trouble conjured up, I wish I had recalled the specific, unfailing faithfulness of God. In place of dismay and dread, I wish I had exhibited hope and joy. I wish I had approached mothering like the preacher Charles Spurgeon approached his job: ‘forecasting victory, not foreboding defeat” (Girl Talk, 2005, pg.65).

Motherhood  for me can be like standing up at the top of a tube slide. There’s so much uncertainty – there’s so many “what if’s.” After Becca’s premature birth and then even more so after our miscarriage, I struggled with fear. What if something happens to Becca? What if she falls down the stairs when we’re visiting our parents? What if we lose another baby? What if something happens to Josh? Carolyn Mahaney’s words are a reminder to me that I can be just like a little one at the top of the slide. It’s dark. I don’t know what the end is like. But God is there. He knows all about the slide – the turns, the speed, the ending. He’ll even climb up halfway to help me come down. When I trust that my heavenly Father knows all about what each slide holds for me, the fears of motherhood give way to joy in Christ. Trusting God is far better than living in fear and in the “what if’s.” It makes sliding something I want to do “again and again.”

Another thing Becca is really enjoying is tents. She loves being in our homemade tents. We build her tents all over the place. Josh makes her a special one in our bedroom – in the dark – and they use the electric lantern. It’s really fun to hear them play together. The tents usually end up pretty crowded, as Becca likes to bring in her animal friends.

This week at the park, there was a stray duck on the basketball courts. I’m not sure who enjoyed the Cheerios more, Becca or the duck!

One thing people tend to comment on when they visit our home is the number of books we own. One of the things Josh and I started in the first year of marriage was reading to each other. Each Sunday we read a chapter of a book focused on the home. We also read through a book in our morning devotional time together. Josh reads fiction to me in the evenings, as time allows. We try to get a chapter in each night. We’re currently reading through N. D. Wilson’s 100 Cupboards Series (ht to J. Farmer) and enjoying it immensely. We love the we read together so much–it’s a great thing to share in marriage.

Here’s a list of the books we read in 2010 and the ones we’ve read so far this year. It’s amazing how much you material you can cover when only reading a chapter or less a day.

Books Read in 2010
(You’ll notice in 2010 my solo reading was nonexistent . . . dissertation and Becca!)

Fiction:

NonFiction:

Books Read in 2011

Fiction:

Nonfiction:

Josh and I are not the only readers in our home. Becca loves books. Of all the gifts she’s received, books seem to be her favorite “toy” (besides all her animal friends, who are becoming more and more important!). We read with Becca multiple times a day. She does a great job filling in words for me, and it’s a lot of fun.

Becca’s favorite book is the Jesus Storybook Bible. Becca and I read from it each morning as she drinks her bottle of milk. We usually read from it 1 or 2 more times during the day. (The picture on the left shows some of Becca’s favorite Bible stories.)

Becca’s second favorite book is about Hanukkah. We read it over and over again. It’s so cute to hear her say “Hanukkah” (something like, hah-nah-nah-nah). Becca’s motivation for wearing pony tails in her hair is that it matches the girl in the Hanukkah book. Most of the books Becca likes are rather short, but recently I have been reading her The Little Engine That Could” a lot. She likes the voices of the different characters.

One other thing to share about. Becca is doing well with her potty training. She keeps a dry diaper as long as I take her to the potty often enough. She rarely tells me she has to go potty and if I ask her if she wants to go, she usually says “ah-ti-ti-ti” (= no thank you). We use stickers to reward Becca – one for a dry diaper and one for going potty (chocolate is now only used for special occasions). I started this by making a sticker chart for Becca. However, one day Josh let her put her reward stickers on his laptop. This started the apartment-wide sticker chart. Now Becca puts her reward stickers all over our home. It’s really cute and well worth it. (The picture on the left shows how many diapers Becca used in 2 weeks. It’s the first time we’ve been able to go 2 weeks before washing the diapers.)

It’s true! Though the weather will probably remain hot, the “summer” as we’ve known it officially ends this week. UTA starts classes today, and even though Josh won’t be taking classes, it means that his work as a research assistant now begins. Public schools in the area started on Monday. Last week we took Nancy and Michael to the water play park. We wanted them to enjoy some water fun before school started for them.

The past two Tuesdays we’ve gotten together with our Chinese neighbors. We met them about a month ago, when we took a gift to their new baby girl. Tuesday of last week we went over to their home for Chinese food, and Tuesday of this week we had them over to our home for dinner. We’ve enjoyed getting to know them. Their stay in the States is for three months; they return to China at the end of next month.

We’ve especially enjoyed the extra time with Josh this summer. Even though he’s been busy with research and working, it was nice to have a break from official school responsibilities. From the looks of things, Josh is going to have a full plate as the department chair’s research assistant this year. We’re extremely grateful for the work (and financial aid) the Lord has provided for Josh’s schooling. We’re praying that Josh can complete his degree by the end of Summer 2012.

We love you!

Since moving to our new apartment, we have made friends with our neighbors. I love the fact that we’re out of UTA housing and are now surrounded by families who are friendly and are ready and willing to invite us in if we stop by to say hi. This past week, we’ve enjoyed getting to know our next-door neighbors (Michael, 11; Nancy, 10; and Karen, 4). Most of the summer they (and their mother) were in Egypt visiting their family, but now they’re back for the school year.

Michael and Nancy have started taking piano lessons from me on Mondays. They love coming over, and they all love playing with Becca. It’s so cute to hear Becca call their names. A week ago Wednesday, we took the family to play in the fountains. All had a great time, and Becca enjoyed having other kids in the fountains with her. We’re grateful for the opportunity to get to know our neighbors and to show them Christ.

Speaking of friends, Becca is becoming more and more attached to her animal friends. Flopsie I, II, & III are very important playmates, and Rockco has become a good friend ever since he started being involved in obedience training. I’m finding that it’s hard to keep up with Becca and 4 friends. The other night I had 4 little mouths full of teeth to brush. Fortunately, they were all cooperative.

Last week, Josh was in Raleigh for another week of Jarai research. He met with 6  Jarai speakers from Vietnam and recorded stories and collected language data from them. During his trip, Josh stayed with Lap’s family. Saturday there was a cultural event displaying different aspects of the Jarai culture. If you’re interested in seeing a sample of Josh’s work, here’s a link.

Becca and I stayed home in Texas during Josh’s trip. We survived without Josh but were very glad when he came home to us. Below are some pictures of one of the projects I work on while Josh was away. This was an idea I heard about from a friend. I “built” these in my room first, and then transferred them to Becca’s room. Materials: construction paper, scissors, sticky tack, colored pencil, pictures, and clear contact paper. Hopefully, this will help Becca “get to know” her extended family members.

This week Josh gave me my birthday present from last year. It’s a project he’s been working on since last year, and it arrived on Friday. It’s our first “blog book” (The Jensen Dimension 2008-2009), a collection of all our posts from the first year and a half of the blog. It’s something I asked Josh for, knowing it would take a lot of work, especially with the quality of work he likes to do. Josh did a great job designing the book. We love it!

This week a leaking pipe was repaired. Two weeks ago we had noticed water coming down the wall in the bathroom. We also found that the floor of our bedroom closet on the other side of the wall was soaked. The upstairs water problem was fixed (the tub hadn’t be calked), but the closet floor continued to collect water. So there had been two different problems. We figured out that the pipe taking water up to our shower head had a hole in it. Nice to have that fixed. It worked out that the upstairs water problem helped reveal our shower leak. We’re still waiting for the hole in the closet to be repaired and the carpet padding to be replaced . . . which is no big deal as long as it’s leak free!

Becca loves washing dishes. The other day I let her play in the sink after we were done. She still fits!

Last Thursday night we had a sleepover at the Countryman’s home, so Aaron and Heather could have a night away. We had a good time with all the kids. It’s good practice for having a big family.

First this Month:

A man told Josh if I hadn’t been introduced as his (Josh’s) wife, he (the man) would have thought I was Josh’s daughter!

Recently, one of our faithful readers responded to my post about helping children overcome their fear of fireworks.  Our dear reader included two $10 bills in a birthday card to me, along with a request for the next steps for firework enjoyment lessons. I’m sure she won’t mind letting others benefit from her contribution.

It is important to note that these steps are not necessarily sequential. Depending on one’s learning style, different technique might be employed. It is possible that only one step will be needed or that completing all these steps will just leave you (and your mommie!) frazzled. Feel free to pick and choose what you use. And a last warning . . . be prepared to have a lot of fun, especially if you’re a young child! Oh yeah, and take time for snacks!

STEP 1: Hide and be really quiet –> then jump up and yell BOOM! really loudly

STEP 2: Use drum sticks and pots to make loud firework noises!

STEP 3: After making sufficient loud unexpected noises, put on proper safety gear. A helmet, protective pants, and a nose guard are essential. Other items can be added as seen fit.

STEP 4: Learn to recognize colors; firework color identification can enhance your observation of the show.

STEP 5: Purchase a snazzy, LOUD, red sports car and enjoy driving fast. An occasional backfire will aid in helping you overcome your fear of loud unexpected noises.

STEP 6: Visit a space center and ride on a rocket. This will make the noise fireworks make seem small in comparison.

STEP 7: Ride on a model firecracker!

STEP 8: Learn how to escape quickly in case of a fireworks-related emergency. Jumping over your stroller and climbing through your chair are both very useful skills to have.

STEP 9: Learn to stick out your tongue at the fireworks and say, “I’m not afraid of you! My mommy said she’ll protect me.” (Make sure that you only stick your tongue out at the fireworks and not other people!)

STEP 10: If all else fails, talk with your friends and get their ideas. If all else fails, perhaps just watch the fireworks on TV with the sound muted.

Hope this was worth paying for, Grandma H! Thanks for enjoying our blog. Come and visit and we’ll give you some more personalized tips!

Firsts this week:

• Mommie: Making yogurt in the crockpot.
• Mommie: Using a dehydrator to make dried apples and bananas.
• Becca: Skipping her nap and just playing in her bed!

Four years ago today the man of my dreams asked me to be his wife. Thank you, my darling, for choosing me to be your wife! I adore you!

One of my strong desires as a wife and mommy is to instill in the heart of Becca a deep love for her daddy. Parenting is not a competition for getting our children to like us better than our spouse . . . to be the favorite parent. We are to esteem others better than ourselves, and I feel it is important for our children to see this between their daddy and mommy. As a wife and mommy, my love for my husband and the way I treat him and talk of him to others has an impact on Becca. I want Becca to adore her daddy like I do. And Lord willing, I want Becca to someday honor her husband in the same way: I want to pass that legacy along to her.

So, how do I instill a heart of love for Daddy in Becca’s heart? Right now we do simple things. We cheer for Daddy when he’s coming home. We practice running to the door and giving him a hug and kiss when he comes home. We talk about how Daddy is great. And most importantly, even right now, I try to always speak positive words about Daddy to Becca. That means I must control my tongue and watch my words and tone. How easy it would be to share with my child (even a 20 month year old) irritations against my husband. And what does it matter right now — she doesn’t understand! But yet it does matter right now; I’m setting up patterns for my life. I desire that Becca will never hear me speak negatively about Josh. This is my prayer.

Speaking of honoring Daddy, my dear husband was extremely sweet to me for my birthday. Wednesday night after church, he made me a little plate of fruit and whipped cream and gave me some gifts. Thursday night he took me to my favorite restaurant — Josh’s restaurant — and made me a delicious meal, including a Brown Derby birthday cake. Josh also made me a watermelon fruit basket.

Friday we went shopping for my present, a nice chair. I’ve wanted one for Becca’s room for reading and cuddling. We found a great chair at the Salvation Army Store – for a great price. The chair is in great shape and is a perfect fit for Becca’s room. It was also issued (notice tag in picture) on July 20, 1994, so we decided that it must have been meant for me since it was issued on my birthday. Yes, I have the sweetest husband in the world!

Sunday afternoon we normally do something as a family. This week we played in the fountain and in the UTA fine arts building. Becca enjoyed sticking her head under the waterfall and loved playing in the lockers. We’re grateful for the family God has blessed us with and for the time we have to enjoy each other.

Firsts this week:

• first time to have her toenails painted
• given her first pair of earrings (by our neighbors, who just returned from spending the summer with their family in Egypt)

For the first 10 days of July, we had the opportunity to vacation at the Woods’ home. The Woods (a family from our church) asked us to house sit for them, and we decided it would be our summer vacation. Our vacation home came with a wonderful pool, a grandfather clock, stairs for Becca to climb, games, books, a house-wide sound system, and a Vitamix. And it was only a 45-minute drive from our home.

We agreed that it was the perfect vacation. It was the first time since our honeymoon to get away for an extended period of time (just the 2/3 of us). Usually when we travel we’re visiting family (which we love), but it means we spend less time together than normal. This was one of those vacations where we got to relax, spend extra time together as a family, and we weren’t tired when we got home (and it was very cost efficient!). We’re thankful to the Woods for thinking of us and to the Lord for providing this treat for us.

One of the nice things about our vacation was that Josh was still able to work on his research, so he didn’t have to feel guilty about not getting work done and wasn’t overwhelmed with work to catch up on when we got home. Josh worked on research he enjoyed, swam with us in the afternoons, and spent each evening with me having fun . . . games (Mancala, Cathedral, etc.), movies (Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Persuasion, and Finding Bobby Fischer), food, and books (The Silver Chair and The Last Battle). Josh also bought us ice pop molds and surprised us with homemade yummy ice pops on Friday.

Becca, too, loved our vacation home. The Woods have grandchildren, so the house was very kid friendly. Becca loved the pool and went swimming twice a day. She always asked to see one of us jump off the diving board. Becca loved climbing the stairs and playing with the toys. She loved hearing the grandfather clock chime every 15 minutes. She even liked using the potty. It was the perfect place for her to spend 10 days.

Even though we were on vacation, we still celebrated Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A (as we did last year). I took a trip to the Good Will and bought white t-shirts for Josh and me and found a child’s skirt for Becca. A trip to Hobby Lobby completed my costume search – paint and ribbon. Josh and I painted our shirts and I turned the skirt into a dress for Becca (our vacation home also come with a sewing machine). We had fun making the costumes and enjoyed our free meals for our effort. I’m also convinced we have the cutest little calf out there!

We also took some videos this week of Becca doing nursery rhymes with me. Here’s “Hey Diddle Diddle.”

To celebrate our 3rd year wedding anniversary, Josh and I went to Dallas for a night. It was our first extended time away from Becca since she came home from the NICU. We missed Becca, but it was good to spend some time together without any other responsibilities. Meridith and the Lutz family watched Becca during our time away, and Becca did great! I didn’t do too good at winning any games, but I’ve already won the best prize – Josh!

We were in the pool for about 4 hours for the 4th of July. The pictures on the left show Becca jumping in. We decided the skip the 4th of July fireworks this year. Becca is to the point where she is afraid of loud noises, and we decided it would be better to skip the trauma this year and give her a better experience next year. I’ll soon be starting firework enjoyment lessons….step 1: hide and be really quiet –> then jump up and yell BOOM! really loudly (that’s a free step; if you want the other steps to helping your children enjoy fireworks, please send $10 to our address).

Tuesday, we had some special visitors; Jeremy McMorris and Ben Fetteroff stopped by on their drive to CA. We enjoyed our visit with them.

Our summer is going great. Becca and I are enjoying pools, parks, and playing. Josh continues to analyze the data he collected on his trip to NC.

Thursday two weeks ago, Josh left for a 12-day research trip in Raleigh, NC. Josh and Lap (one of his Jarai consultants) spent their time gathering language data from the Jarai that live there. Josh and Lap were able to stay with Lap’s parents. Becca and I didn’t want to spent all our time alone at home, so we took a week visit to PA to be with my family. We had a late-night flight on Friday and didn’t get to my parents’ home until 2:30am. Becca was wonderful on the flights – a ball of energy!

Saturday we visited with Emily. She was participating in a two-week CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) summer missionary training camp. We spent time with her during her free time in between training weeks.

Monday we went to NJ and visited with my Grandma and Uncle John and many other Sutter family members. Uncle John made Becca her very own milkshake – she loved it!

While we were in PA, Uncle Joey came home from D.C. to visit with us. Becca warmed up to him, once she realized he would let her play with his phone and computer.

During our stay, my dad got out a drum and cymbal for Becca to play. She loved it! Also during the week, Mom and I worked on some wall hangings for Becca’s room. My mom is the sewing genius; I was just the “factory worker” sewing straight lines, etc. If it were completely up to me, the product wouldn’t have been half as nice. I’m really pleased with what we made and how it brightens up Becca’s room!

We had a great time with my parents! They treated us royally. It was nice to spend time with them without a large number of people around. We kept pretty busy the days when we were there. My dad kept the fridge stocked with my favorite pickles (I’m starting Becca on them too!), made sure we always had a lot to eat (late night fried chicken and Chinese food), and bought tiny ice cream cones for Becca (seriously, they were the size of my thumb!).

But being without Josh for 12 days was dreadful! 12 hours is bad enough, but 12 days! This was the longest we’ve been apart since marriage and I’m not looking forward to the next research trip! I cannot express how delighted we were to have Josh come home Monday evening! It’s good to have my man back!

Today we celebrate three wonderful years of marriage. God has blessed me with the most amazing husband in the world. Darling, thank you so much for choosing me to be your wife. I am honored by your love and so delighted that I am your wife. You are the perfect husband and you show me Christ in so many ways.

Over the past three years, we’ve been through much, and in the midst of every situation, you have shown a servant’s heart as you lead our home toward Christ. Thank you for all you do for our family. Thank you for encouraging me when I’m down, holding me when I cry, being crazy with me, being a wonderful Daddy to Becca, being so romantic….for being my man. Thank you for loving me! I love you with all my heart!

This week we had an unexpected surprise…we got to meet Becca’s newest cousin, Colette Elisse Sutter. Becca absolutely loved meeting Colette. Colette turns 7 weeks this Friday. Becca really wanted to hold Colette, but she was a little nervous at first. We also had a mini impromptu Sutter reunion. It was good to spend some time with family. I love the pictures of my grandma’s and Becca’s blue eyes.

Josh is having a profitable week of research. He’s been able to work with several Jarai speakers and is working on recording, translating, and analyzing Jarai stories. He’s also using the extra time with Jarai speakers to learn more Jarai. On Sunday he went to a special Jarai picnic for a group of Catholic Jarai. He heard the traditional gongs played at a picnic in a park and heard a Jarai Catholic priest speak.

Becce continues to be her very fun self! She’s sporting a new hairdo and is actually not pulling it out! She enjoyed playing the piano with Uncle Sam. A big thanks to Sam for the beautiful pictures he took during our visit with them.

I’ve been terrible about taking pictures this week. Part of this has to do with the fact that it’s not easy to take pictures when you’re wet. We’ve been enjoying the apartment pool and the water play area at the park. We’re so blessed to have access to water activities so close by. I’m completely enjoying being a mommy this summer. I can run in the fountains and play in the pool and no one gives me a second look — I’m just a mommy playing with her toddler. I get to have loads of fun without feeling guilty about other things that need to be done, since I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing . . . taking care of my baby. What a lovely gift God has given me this summer.

Don’t worry, Josh hasn’t been lost in the shuffle of his girls’ summer play. He’s happy that his girls are happy in the sun, and we’re always delighted when he can join us. Josh continues to spend much of his time gathering data from his Jarai consultants. We’re hoping that this summer will give him the bulk of the data he needs to write his dissertation.

Friday, we had our neighbor over for lunch. Friday evening, we enjoyed dinner with the Woods. Saturday, we had one of Josh’s Jarai consultants and his wife over for lunch. Sorry, no pictures; entertaining and watching Becca make grabbing the camera a distant idea in my mind. I did however, take a few pictures in the nursery on Sunday.

Yesterday at The Levitt Pavilion, we saw the Lannaya West African Drum and Dance Ensemble. Becca enjoyed the drumming, especially since I had just given her a drum lesson that morning. She needs a little work on her stick technique. Most of all, Becca loved the fountains. She walked in among them for the first time . . . brave little girl.