Category Archives: Uncategorized

Deputation & a Rangers Game

Jensen's Prayer Card March 2013DSC_0298DSC_0299As we prepare to leave Texas, we’ve been presenting our ministry to our friends. Last Saturday we had a missions presentation for a group of folks we know in the area. Our church let us use one of their buildings for the event. One of our dear friends at the church, an older woman, offered to coordinate the refreshments. I cannot tell you how much this encouraged and blessed me. We enjoyed seeing many of our friends from our former church.

If you haven’t seen our ministry website yet, here’s a link: jarai-in-cambodia.org  We’re praising the Lord for supplying 20% of our needed monthly support already.

DSC_0276DSC_0309We’ve also been having people over our home to say goodbye. We’re so blessed to have so many good friends in Texas.

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2013-04-30 0032013-04-30 010Tuesday night Josh and I went to a Rangers game. I’ve always wanted to go a Rangers game. Actually, I’ve wanted to visit the stadium ever since my family drove by it when I was about 13. We enjoyed the game: Chicago White Sox Vs. Texas Rangers. We got to see 3 home runs and we’re glad that the Rangers won 10-6.

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Happy 11-Month Birthday to our Little Man!

DSC_0233DSC_0057DSC_0273Our little man learned a lot this month. He is now officially crawling and is fast. He always makes a beeline for the front door if it’s left open and loves crawling outside. He’s pulling himself up on everything. His “new” trick is to pull himself up in his bed and throw his zebra out. Then he cries because he misses his zebra. This seems to be his new nap-time game.

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DSC_0287DSC_0286Isaiah loves “riding” Becca’s bike. The past two days we spent a lot of time riding on the grass. Isaiah also loves playing the piano. He seems to be inclined to music. He’s not saying any words. . .except maybe “no no”, which sounds like “whoa-whoa.”

Isaiah also loves to eat – even dirt! He was pretty upset when I tried to get the dirt out of his mouth.

Isaiah continues to be a happy cute little boy and we’re so thankful God gave him to us.

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Picnics, Picnics, & More Picnics

2013-04-14 0022013-04-14 0182013-04-14 007Several weeks ago we traded Becca’s nap time for “rest time.” Rest time lasts for one hour. Before rest time Becca chooses a huge pile of books and then reads them in bed while listening to a story. When the hour is over I come in with a snack and read a few of the books to Becca. About three weeks ago Becca began listening to Anne of Green Gables (Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre). She loves the story. It’s so neat to share that love with my daughter. I told her that one day Mommy and Becca will have a special movie night and start watching the movie.

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2013-04-14 0252013-04-14 026One day Becca started talking about the picnic we were going to have on Sunday. For a few days before Sunday she talked and talked about it. I realized that it was from Anne. So that Sunday after church, Becca and I got dressed up, did our hair in Anne braids, and had our first picnic of spring. This was the beginning of many picnics. Since the weather has been so nice lately, we’ve been able to go out for a picnic several times each week. Josh has been able to join us on the days we’ve had supper picnics.

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DSC_0150DSC_0165One day our picnic activity included flying a kite. Becca did a great job keeping our kite in the air. She was loving it!

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DSC_0184DSC_0182Another day we splashed in the puddle after our picnic. This was the same day we went to the fountains in the late afternoon and enjoyed running through them. Even Isaiah got in on the fun, though he wasn’t very happy when the fountains first turned on!

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DSC_0243DSC_0226Lately our picnics have been near the creek, and Becca has found a “tree house” to play in (two trees growing close together). We enjoy spotting our turtle friends each time we’re out, and we got to chase some ducks the other day. We are blessed to live right next to campus and have access to all the paths, grass, and trees.

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Dissertation acknowledgments

A few minutes ago I submitted the final draft of my dissertation to the division of Graduate Studies at UT Arlington. Apart from any formatting problems I’m asked to fix, I am officially done with the dissertation. I reproduce below what I regard as the most interesting (and perhaps important!) part of the dissertation, the acknowledgments. In particular, this is the part of the acknowledgments where I thank my family.

[…]

Thanks to my parents for life, for education, for faith. You sacrificed to pay for my excellent Christian schooling. You taught me to discern between things that matter less and things that matter more. You taught me to think critically without being doomed to a life of skepticism. You supported me throughout my BA and MA work. And you encouraged and helped me through these last six years of PhD work. To my sisters and their families, thank you for your love and words of encouragement, as well as the gift cards for Amazon and Papa Johns.

To my daughter Rebecca Grace (our cancer survivor!): you are a sweet and beautiful little girl. During the last three years, while I’ve tried to master a few small corners of Jarai grammar, you have acquired a remarkable mastery of English (in addition to memorizing long passages from the Gospel of Luke, lots of catechism questions and answers, just about every song you’ve heard, and all the things Mommy and Daddy think they said too quietly for you to hear). Thanks for keeping Mommy company and playing with Isaiah every day while I’m away “writing my dissertation.” And to Isaiah Emil, I’m so glad you’ll have no memories of Daddy’s dissertation era. Someday, you’ll wonder what that big black book is that we use as a doorstop: you’ll pick it up, perhaps, and read this paragraph. If you think language is cool, keep reading. If not, please put the book back down so the door doesn’t slam shut.

To my wife: thank you so much. When we moved to Texas, it was you who got a full-time job while I went to school. You’re the one who now stays home with our kids while I write and work. You’re the one who keeps us all fed and makes our home a wonderful place to be. You’re my hero. I am inspired by the persistence you showed in writing and defending your own dissertation in the midst of so many life changes: our marriage, a move to Texas, your work as a public school teacher, and the premature birth of Becca at 27 weeks—any one of these might have been justification for giving up. But you kept working, even through the emotional and physical drain of a miscarriage. Thank you for your faithful love and companionship. Being your husband is a high honor and great joy. I love you.

And finally, to the one from whom all blessings flow, I offer these borrowed words of thanks:

Thee, God, I come from, to thee go,
All day long I like fountain flow
From thy hand out, swayed about
Mote-like in thy mighty glow.

What I know of thee I bless,
As acknowledging thy stress
On my being and as seeing
Something of thy holiness.

— Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gift Ideas for Little Kids. . .

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I’m several weeks behind in posting picture – we’ve been having lots of nice weather days hence many opportunities to take pictures. The following pictures were taken in March.

DSC_0753DSC_0761Have you ever gone to get a gift for a toddler and then realized you’ve forgotten what toddlers like? I have . . . Hmmmm, what does an 18-month-old like to play with? I don’t remember!  Because of this, I’ve determined to keep as list of the things my children enjoy at certain ages so I can use the list as a help when I’m trying to get gifts for children long after when I’m in the midst of certain age ranges. (Josh told me to share my random incomplete list, so here goes.)

These ideas are based on things/activities we’ve noticed that our kiddos enjoy.

2013-03-11 0092013-03-11 008Books! Books! Books! I cannot stress this enough. Books are a wonderful gift to any child. . .a gift that also gives to the parents and other siblings too. Becca loves books. She’s been given all sorts of gifts, including technology, but books are always the thing she goes back to. I’m finding Isaiah likes books too. He’ll sit and flip through our board books for quite a while. So when in doubt – buy books for the children in your lives.

DSC_0756DSC_0754The pictures I’m sharing are events related to books we’ve read. Becca loved making a gingerbread man after we read The Gingerbread Man (above to the left). One of the authors we enjoy is Jan Brett – great stories and beautiful art. Our library is stocked with Jan Brett books.  One of Becca’s favorite Brett books is Hedgie’s Surprise. It’s about a chicken named Henny trying to keep her eggs from the Tomten who eats them every morning. We got the books from the library and then Becca’s Grandma Jensen gave her the book. Last month we had our dinners for eight church meal at the Gamblins. Bob and Martha have chickens in their backyard. Becca absolutely loved chasing “Henny” all around the yard. And she was thrilled to be able to hold Henny.

DSC_0765DSC_0741Detour here: We’ve loved getting to know people from our church during our time with dinners for eight.  It’s been such a neat way to fellowship with people from church on a monthly basis. We’re really going to miss our church in Arlington.

 

Other gift ideas:

DSC_07521) Craft items – play dough, paint, pom pom balls, eyes, glitter, craft sets, markers, crayons, stickers, etc. Most moms can’t just go out and stock a craft cabinet. Becca loves to make things – she loves to paint and get messy. And a great thing about craft gifts is that they can be used and then discarded!

2) Imagination gifts – blocks (got to have them, and lots!), plastic animals (Becca has several Little People animals and plays with them regularly), cars, puzzles, kitchen and play food, magnetic alphabet letters and number, Magna Doodle, wooden train, etc. These are gifts that help the children use their imaginations. With the exception of the puzzles, these don’t have to be used for one thing – they can help with all sorts of adventures throughout the day.  A word about stuffed animals – I know some parents are particular about having too many stuffed animals in their homes. Becca loves her animals and would have a room-full if she could. One helpful gift idea is to give a stuffed animal that goes with a book.

DSC_07503) Outdoor Fun – chalk, bubbles, balls, kites, water balloons, and squirt guns.

A word about technology – currently Becca has 4 different types of alphabet related computer-like toys. Though they were interesting at first, she doesn’t really pay much attention to them now. Her Babar books are way more exciting. I’m finding at her age, things with batteries are cool for a short while and then they cease to be interesting. I’m guessing this is because they are limited in their function. And another word of advice: wrap the gifts, if only with tissue paper. If the gift has multiple parts, take them out of the packaging and wrap them all (well, maybe not a set of 100 crayons…): unwrapping the gift is one of the best parts for toddlers.

2012-09-26So – there’s my rather random list of gift ideas for toddlers. I guess I would include Isaiah (a 10-month-old) in this list – he also loves books, blocks, plastic animals, bubbles, play food, etc. I haven’t tried many craft items with him yet. . .I’m sure he’d love eating them!

There’s at least one other list I’d like to record for myself: gifts/helps for young mothers (and maybe another for families going through stressful times). But we’ll see if I ever get to that. We’ve been having a week full of picnicking and being outside. . . who wants to blog when you can spend time with the family!

Birthday & Bear Picnic

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DSC_1229DSC_1230Friday evening we celebrated Josh’s 32nd birthday. We had a good time of fellowship with Stephen & Kristen Ryland.

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2013-04-10 0062013-04-10 005Sunday Flopsie had surgery. Our dear pastor’s wife offered to re-stuff Flopsie for Becca. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile. Flopsie can now hold his head up again! A big thank you to Kathy for doing this for us!

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Saturday we went to Arlington Library’s Teddy Bear Picnic & Parade (see comparison pictures from last year). The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed being outside.

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Easter Celebrations 2013

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DSC_1028DSC_1015We had a lovely Resurrection Weekend. Saturday night we made Easter Story cookies. Sunday after church we had dinner with the Walton and O’Neill families. We were honored that the Waltons included us in their Easter celebration (a very good reminder to look out for people who don’t have family in the area and invite them into your home for holiday meals). In the evening we decorated and hid Easter eggs. We ended the day by having egg salad sandwiches for dinner.

Easter Story Cookies:

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Easter Gifts & Clothes: Becca wore my old dress. It has a bell in the petticoat. I remember being so excited when I got to wear it. I had a new dress too – first time in years (thanks Dad for the LE giftcard). (We didn’t make the boys endure a photo-shoot. We gave Isaiah raisins for Easter – in case you were worried about him being left out.)

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Easter Eggs

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Happy Birthday to my #1 Man!

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Happy 32nd birthday to my dear sweet husband! Thank you for being my best friend – for pointing me to Christ – for serving and valuing our family – for marrying me before you finished your Ph.D. – for wanting to have kids before you finished your Ph.D – for always being on my team – for being a wonderful Daddy to our children – for wanting more children – for being fun – for washing the dishes – for making the bed every morning – for taking out the trash – for loving me – for laughing with me – for wanting to go to Cambodia – for making our lives so adventurous – for so much more. Happy birthday to the most wonderful man in the world. We love you!

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Happy 10-month Birthday Sai-Zai!

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DSC_1049DSC_1034A very happy 10-month birthday to our happy little man! Isaiah is now army-crawling all over the place. He knows how to get up on his knees but hasn’t figured out how to get those little knees moving yet. This past week Isaiah learned how to sit up all by himself. . .a technique he likes to employ when I put him down for a nap.

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DSC_0917DSC_1146Isaiah loves to feed himself. He sometimes gets a little discontent when we try to fed him. He LOVES raisins! He also loves to feed himself tiny objects off the floor. This boy is an expert at finding tiny objects.

Congrats to My Man!!!!

So proud of my man for passing his dissertation defense today! Thank you for praying. We thank the Lord for being with Josh throughout this process.

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The Structure of Clauses and Noun Phrases in Jarai
Joshua Jensen
Friday March 29, 2013
10:00AM, Trimble Hall 200

Abstract:
In this dissertation I aim to provide a syntactic account for the three regions of the Jarai clause (the operator domain, the inflectional domain, and the theta domain) and for several elements in the noun phrase. Major topics in the discussion of the clause include wh-questions (which can take three forms: wh-in-situ, wh-fronting, and wh-pseudocleft), unaccusatives, and serial verbs. My investigation in the noun phrase includes coverage of classifiers, number marking, and quantifiers.

Visit to the West Coast

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Please pray for Josh as he defends his dissertation Friday, March 29, at 10 AM Central Time.

DSC_0600DSC_0603Last week (March 17-20) we participated in a missions conference at Westside Baptist Church in Eugene, Oregon. We were invited by the church’s assistant pastor, Nathan Damm, a former classmate of Josh’s. Nathan invited us after reading our article in the EMU newsletter. Josh taught Sunday School, prayed in the second morning service, and gave our missions presentation Wednesday night. We also sang in both Sunday morning services and the Wednesday evening service, as well as led junior church Sunday night.

DSC_0584DSC_0588The church gave us a warm welcome. We enjoyed fellowshipping with the people in the church as well as the other missionaries invited to the conference. We enjoyed several meals with families in the church. It was a great way to kick start our deputation journey. We thank God for a good missions conference, safe travels, good health, new friends, and for helping both kids do great.

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DSC_0581DSC_0718We stayed with family (pictured above) for a week while in Eugene. Josh’s grandmother’s cousin, we call her “Aunt” Jan, lives in Eugene, where her husband, “Uncle” Mike, pastors a church. Aunt Jan made us truly feel like her home was our home. It was an ideal situation. The Friday before the conference we went to Sweet Home, OR, to visit with the Andereggs (friends of the Jensen family; picture to the left). Saturday night Aunt Jan had a family get together where we met some other second and third cousins (picture to the right). Wednesday afternoon I taught a music class for the after-school program at Uncle Mike’s church.

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DSC_0609Friday eveningDSC_0618 we drove to the coast. It was my first time to see the Pacific Ocean. I was really hoping to see a sunset, but the weather did not cooperate. Becca was excited about putting her feet into the water until the ice cold water touched her feet – then she cried and ran away. She refused to go back until she realized that her mommy didn’t want to put her feet in the cold water. After that Becca was thrilled to drag me down the beach! And she proceeded to ask over and over again to go in the water!

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DSC_0619DSC_0622Two funny Becca stories: Right after Josh prayed in the Sunday morning service Becca said loudly, “but I want to pray for a little sister!” Anytime we pray she always asks to pray about a little sister. She just couldn’t understand why this couldn’t happen in the church service. I was able to convince Becca to pray quietly for a little sister. In the same service, Becca was sitting with the children to go out for Jr. church and got a hymnal to sing with the congregation.  She couldn’t understand why the children’s workers took it away from her (they don’t let the kids use hymnals since they usually drop them) – Becca burst into tears, loudly exclaiming that she needed a hymnal to sing! Fortunately I had positioned myself in the pew directly behind her and just lifted her over the pew and into my lap so she could sing with a hymnal.

Future Mommying. . .

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DSC_0818DSC_0820Becca is going to be a wonderful mommy someday. She’s great at nursing her babies while reading. She knows how to do library story time. She also knows all about airplane safety. The other day I found her on the couch with Flopsie and Eva. All three had cups over their mouths. When I asked Becca what she was doing, she said that they were doing that because they couldn’t breathe on the airplane. (Guess she was paying good attention when we flew at Christmas.)

DSC_0816DSC_0683DSC_0669Recently I’ve been thinking about “future mommying.” The mommy I am today is setting the foundation for the mommy I’ll be for many years to come. The ways I talk with Becca and listen to her talk are laying a foundation for our life-long communication. I have to have a picture of what our parent/adult-child relationship should look like. . .  I can’t have the mindset of just getting through the “little years” and working on that relationship when they are older. I must intentionally work during these little years to lay a foundation for the future mommy I want to be.  Just some thoughts . . . come over for some coffee and we can chat some more.

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Sowing & Reaping. . .

DSC_0659DSC_0642DSC_0644Recently when Josh and I were walking, I made the comment “you reap what you sow.” Josh noticed Becca was listening and asked her if she knew what that meant. We then took a moment to talk about planting seeds and reaping a harvest: “when we plant a lettuce seed does a watermelon grow? Do apple seeds grow into grass?” etc. A little while later Becca asked for some apple seeds. We cut an apple open and Becca hurried off to plant the seeds in “her garden.” Then she asked if she could get an apple out of the fridge. A few minutes later I went into Becca’s “bear garden” to see the apple she was reaping from her sowing.

DSC_0647DSC_0705DSC_0699We are teaching Becca the books of the Old Testament using hand motions for each book. She is a fast learner, and it’s prompted a lot of good conversations about the OT. So far we’re up to Obadiah. These pictures are of Becca trying to teach Isaiah the OT books.

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DSC_0811DSC_0812Last week Isaiah made his first venture out of the living room. I watched him go to the doorway and just stare into the unexplored territory. His first stop was the bathroom. Since then Isaiah has turned into a speedy little explorer. It’s so cute to see him move all about the house. Watch out world (and Becca)!

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A Beautiful Day in March

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DSC_0730DSC_0714Monday’s high was 86 degrees. We took advantage of the lovely weather and spent most of our non-nap-time outside. In the morning we went to a park and in the late afternoon we walked over to see Josh at school. Isaiah loved riding the swing.

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DSC_04822013-02-22Please pray for Josh as he works on his dissertation. Josh’s defense is scheduled for March 29th. As you can see from the collage on the right, Becca is trying to help Josh with his defense facial expressions.

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Last week we visited with Dad J during his layover in DFW. Lord willing the next time we see Dad will be for Josh’s graduation!

Happy 9-Month Birthday, Sai Zai!

DSC_0618Isaiah&mommyDSC_0414Happy 9-months to our precious little boy (19lbs & 10oz, 27.27in long). Sai Zai is a little jokester – he loves putting hair rubber bands in his mouth and then grinning up at me. He loves vigorously shaking his head back and forth. Isaiah now babbles: mamama, dadada, bababa, t-t-t-t, and he makes kissing noises. He is moving little by little across the floor. I’m expecting him to take off any day now.

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Goodbye Wedding Crystal . . .

DSC_0497DSC_0436DSC_0445Last week I dropped off a load of things at the Arlington Pregnancy Center’s Resale store. It was a box containing different unused kitchenwares we received as wedding gifts. They were things I’ve kept “just in case” we ever moved into a bigger home or in case the Lord led us to stay in the States instead of going overseas. I’ve pulled these things out several times to give away, but I just haven’t been able to do it. Last month I pulled them out and put them in a box under our table, and they sat there for a while just in case I had second thoughts. Friday I finally got around to donating them.

DSC_0453DSC_0416I never thought I’d get sentimental about moving to another country and not having what we picture as the “normal” American home, but there’s a little something somewhere inside me that did. Goodbye crystal bowls and fancy dishes . . . you wouldn’t feel at home with us and we wouldn’t feel at home with you. The Lord is calling us to go to Cambodia and with delight and excitement we prepare to go.

DSC_0470Friday night we had some friends over for dinner – Ankur, Neetu, & Rohan Jain. We met this family last fall while walking around campus. Ankur is on the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering faculty at UTA. Neetu and I usually get together a few times a month for the kids to play.

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2013-02-252013-02-21Becca and Isaiah have had some fun moments of interaction this week. Becca loves climbing in Isaiah’s pack-n-play (her old bed). She fills it up with her animals. The other day she didn’t want me watching them. I saw later that while closing her eyes and counting Becca would push her doll into Isaiah’s reach then scold him for taking her. She said something like, “You shouldn’t have Sadie . . .number 1….number 2….” Poor little guy!

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DSC_0531DSC_0545Sunday night Becca decided Isaiah needed some toys to play with. I think she took out all our board books and opened them up for him to see. He got bored and moved to an open space in our living room. Sweet Becca quickly moved all the books over to his new spot.

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St. Valentine’s Day

DSC_0253A special thanks to our Valentine’s Day meal photographer, Rebecca Jensen. She did a great job with our photo session, and we especially loved the little noises she made to get us to smile.

DSC_0202DSC_0206By 5:30PM on Valentine’s Day I decided that the day was officially a disaster! Nothing had gone as planned. Isaiah was screaming and refused to go down at his normal bedtime. Becca was whining about supper. I had just been outside picking up after the dogs (yuck!). (We were dogsitting — more about that at the end.) Josh was going to be working late at school. PLUS it seemed like everybody on fb was having cute Valentine’s Day parties with their families . . . we hadn’t even made a single Valentine. Mommy Failure Alert!! My solution was to hide in the pantry and eat some of the cookies the O’Neils left us for house sitting. I know . . . it seems so silly to even think that way.

2013-02-14DSC_0224The main “disaster” of the day was my attitude. I wasn’t  happy about house sitting the dogs. My pride was hurt that I couldn’t “compete” with all the other fun moms on fb. I didn’t want to deal with cranky children. What I had to do was stop, confess my sin, and pray for help and patience. (Something I need to do more often!) So we started over. . . I gave Becca her probiotics in a red cup with cranberry juice and told her it was Valentine’s day punch. We made heart pizzas and she got to open her present, a map-of-the-world-placemat (Becca has been really interested in maps lately).

2013-02-141DSC_0221After dinner Becca and I played and Josh texted that he had a surprise. He came home early with roses and a steak dinner for me (I couldn’t eat the pizza since it had cheese on it – milk products bother Isaiah). My sweet husband. He decided to cheer me up and come home a little early. Valentine’s day ended much better than it started. I’m thankful for the help God gave me to change my attitude about the day.

2013-02-152013-02-151Friday night Josh made us a delicious Valentine’s meal of fried catfish, green beans, and sweet potatoes [Amy helped with the veggies so we could eat before 9pm! -Josh]. Add to that the sparkling blueberry grape juice and mint melts and you have a wonderful dinner. Even though I’d already fed Becca dinner, she decided that she was hungry again and got to join in.

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2013-02-18 0052013-02-18 008Isaiah had his 9 month (a little early) well check on Valentine’s Day (hence the evening crankiness). He weighs 19lbs and 10oz and is 27.27in long. According to the growth charts he is the “perfect” baby averaging around the 50%.

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2013-02-18DSC_0303We house-/dog-sat for our pastor for a week. Amber and Piper are inside dogs with schedules. At first it was almost like having extra kids for the week. Both kids enjoyed the dogs. We got to practice being grandparents . . . I’m sure we gave those dogs way more dogs treats than their parents usually do!

A Week in February

DSC_0127Thursday evening we got together with the Kahlers. Leon and Nick were kind to drive all the way to our place and bring the food. We enjoyed the time visiting with our friends.

DSC_0149DSC_01502013-02-11Isaiah finally figured out that he can roll over while in bed. For some reason, whenever he was in the bassinet part of the pack-n-play he didn’t roll over — until this week when he did, and was quite pleased with himself. I decided it was time to take the bassinet part down. (Becca and I were making beans when this happened, hence the apron and bean mustache.)

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2013-02-12DSC_0174Tuesday we went to the Science Museum – it’s nice to have a membership. Becca missed her nap, and I was once again reminded that she still needs an afternoon nap. Our evening was filled with several meltdowns – the price of having a fun afternoon.

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DSC_0157A few Becca quotes from the past months:

“I like this one. I’ve been wanting to use it all my life. But now I found it.” Becca’s response when given her washcloth with a frog on it.

“Who are you? Are you the Son of God? Are you the Holy Spirit?” Random question to Josh.

DSC_0162“I’m not a sinner right now. I’m not disobeying.”

Sounds perfect for my life.”

“I said ‘God can do all His holy will,’ so I got candy.” Referring to answering catechism questions in Sunday School.

When talking with Becca about a disobedience issue, I asked if she wanted to pray and ask God’s forgiveness. I was surprised when she answered yes instead of her usual no. She went on to mumble a very fast prayer. When I asked her if she asked God to forgive her for disobeying she smiled and said: “Didn’t you hear what I said? Dear God I pray you would give Bella (her cousin) a ugly heart instead of a new heart.” So she still has some spiritual progress to make.

Tickets to Cambodia, Daddy Daughter Date, and the Science Museum….

DSC_0045DSC_0027DSC_0021Our biggest news is that we purchased tickets to visit Cambodia in June. It all started last Wednesday when I was perusing ticket prices and found some really good deals. Saturday morning we finalized our purchase. Purchasing the tickets means that our time in Texas will soon be coming to an end – we have less than 4 months left.

 

DSC_0065DSC_0055Saturday night Josh took Becca to Chick-fil-A’s Valentine’s Daddy Daughter Date (reservations required). Not only is my man a wonderful husband . . . he’s also a fantastic daddy!

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DSC_0092DSC_0088Monday morning I decided to take the kiddos to the Fort Worth Science Museum (thank you Ishams for the membership). I didn’t know the Fort Worth Stock Show was happening. We took advantage of our free admission (a benefit of being museum members) and walked around the buildings to look at the animals. Becca got tired of walking so I let her ride in the stroller – both kids thought that was great. (Know anyone who is selling a used double stroller?) [Update: we found one on Craigslist! Hopefully we’ll get it tomorrow morning!]

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Happy 8-Month Birthday, Sia-Zia!

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2012-01-19 0102012-01-19 021Hard to believe that our little man will be one year old in 4 months! At 8 months, Isaiah continues to be one of the happiest baby boys in the world.  He typically goes to bed around 6 until I wake him up for his pre-bed feeding, and then he sleeps until about 6:30 in the morning. He naps between every feeding. He loves eating sweet potatoes and would eat them every day lunch and supper if I let him.

2012-01-21 0202012-01-13 002Isaiah’s two bottom teeth came in around Christmas time. The teething process didn’t seem to have any negative effects on him.

Our little man was sick the third week in January. He had a fever for three days and wasn’t his happy self the rest of the week. But even then he enjoyed playing with his new toy from Christmas.

Isaiah continues to do well with going to the potty about twice each day. A few times this past week during meal times I’ve wondered what’s wrong with him. . . food just doesn’t seem to be satisfying. Then I put him on the potty and think “Oh, he wanted to go potty. . . how was I supposed to know!”

DSC_00022012-01-13 005Two weeks ago Isaiah started saying “dadadadada.” This week he started saying “mamamamama.” He also makes repetitive kissing sounds. (He loves his frog from Uncle Dan & Aunt Isabelle – picture to the right. The other night I had trouble making out Isaiah’s head since he had pulled the frog over himself.)

People are always asking about crawling. . .no crawling or scooting yet, [Or algebra! I’m so disappointed! -Josh] which makes things easier for me and calmer for Becca.

scans2012-11-304At Christmas we looked at Josh’s baby pictures to see if Isaiah looks like him . . . no. Later I was showing Becca my baby book and was shocked to open it up and see Isaiah!

2012 - Mom's Camera2I was teaching Becca how to wrestle the other day. We thought we’d let Isaiah in on the action . . . .

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