Bedtime Routine

After four months we have finally found the bedtime routine that works for the girls.

Mama gets Aleia dressed in her Pj's, then while Mama gets Brienna in her night cloths Aleia goes potty, washes her hands and we brush her bugs away...then it's story and prayer time with Daddy.

He normally tells one story, they pray and then say her ABC"s, count, sing and she 99% of the time suckers him into telling one more story.

Every story has a Dinosaur named "Dino", a Butterfly named "Twinkle", a Shark named "Toothie", a Lady Bug named "Lilly", and a Frog named "Ribbit" oh and a very hungry Crocodile who's name is yet to be discovered. It is amazing how each story starts and ends...most nights I have to remind Charles that we want her to be able to sleep peacefully with no nightmares, you can imagine how a story can get pretty scary for a 3 year old with a crocodile, a dino and a shark:-)

Our Bedtime routine has already given us so many great memories, the sweetness of hearing Brienna coo and Aleia tell her Daddy about her day is just priceless. Bedtime is a process for all households but a routine sure does make it much easier.

Charles Angels

With 3 girls around the house there is a lot of talking, crying and sweetness which keeps Charles busy and on his toes.

Each morning Charles is awakened by his 3 angels to greet him in asking for something. Mommy asking him to take the trash out, his eldest asking him to get up, get dressed so we can go somewhere and last but not least his baby asking him with her sweet baby blues to stay in bed and cuddle just a little longer.

Not trying to put words in his mouth but we think he's pretty proud of having a house full of girls and we are proud of being his 3 angels.

Little Chef

Our little princess is full of creativity, talents, questions, and has the most amazing imagination for a 3 year old you have ever seen. It is so entertaining to watch her play with her toys. There are times when she is a nurse giving medicine to a sick baby, a pilot flying into Africa to rescue the lost animals, a cashier charging us for groceries but today she was our "little chef". She prepared a delicious meal for her baby doll named "Shaunda" oh yes and tomorrow the babies name could change to "Abla" it just all depends on what mood MISS ALEIA is in.

Our little lady is learning how to do so many new things as each day passes. She brings so much laughter and joy into our home and there is never a silent moment as long as she is around.

Have you ever over heard your children playing and just had to giggle? Having small children is a challenge but the season of them being so dependent and noisy is but a short one... we must treasure & enjoy the moments while they last for they will be gone before we know it.

Exploring new foods

Since Aleia started to eat real food she has always been a bit particular in what she eats and how it is arranged on her plate...she is her Daddy's girl through and through.

This morning I told her I had a surprise and I made her French toast, cut it up in little squares and let her dip it in the yummy syrup that Sis. Ritchey sent to us from the states. It was a success and I have a feeling we will be having a lot more French toast in the days to come.

Aleia's eating habits consist of:
* yogurt
* pop corn
* cereal
* bananas
* apples
* pizza
* p & j
* chicken nuggets, fries & BBQ
* noodles
* broccoli
* french toast
* drinks water (ONLY)

These are the options I am privileged in serving her on a daily basis, it gets hard at times but we are exploring new foods each day.

How do you get your children to eat a more balanced meal?

Two "N" Blue

When the mail man came to the door Aleia yelled "oh it's from my Mom in America & it's all for me. Mimi sent the girls these matching adorable dresses. I thought I'd be a Mom not to dress my girls alike but now that they are both here, I find so much fun in dressing them alike as often as I can. Aleia loves it when her baby sister matches her too. Sunday morning I dressed them in the matching blue princess dresses and Aleia said "look Mom, two "N" blue", that made me know she was proud and excited not only to be wearing the dress but also to be matching her little best friend. Thank you Mimi, we love you and miss you...Your two 'N" blue.

We'll Miss Tyler

Tyler Ritchey was our aimer in Austria for 3 1/2 months and in that short time we grew such an attachment to him. Watching him say good bye to the church was such a sad moment. The next morning when it was time to take him to the air port I told him I didn't like good byes so that I would just see him soon.

He blessed the church in so many ways, to teaching, preaching, doing our church website which you can view at www.thecoa.at, to doing the visitor welcome packets, sound booth and power point, to just being a great godly example to Aleia, Brienna and to the whole church.

He blessed us all in a tremendous way. We look forward to hearing about the great things he is doing in Florida. Aleia has already asked for him 100 times today......We'll miss Tyler & do hope that we see him soon.

Embracing Culture

The Church in Vienna is represented by many cultures which adds color, variety and excitement to our services and congregation. I was so excited when the ladies honored me by presenting me with a beautiful African dress. On Sunday I wore it with confidence and pride.

To see the smiles on their faces when I came in gave me such joy...I am so happy to embrace the cultures that the Lord has given to the church of Austria, and I thank the ladies for involving me in their traditions.

Daddy's home...

Aleia and Brienna were so excited to have their Daddy back from his 13 day Missions trip to Malawi, Africa. This was his 2nd trip to this particular part of Africa and he has committed to 4 more years of helping with the crusade team.

Each trip is life changing and I am so thankful that the Lord has given him the opportunity to travel and minister to so many people in so many different countries.

We loved hearing all the great stories and seeing the pictures Charles took. Aleia's favorite thing was watching the videos of her Daddy just feet from lions, tigers, zebras and a huge rhino...she said "Daddy your amazing". Brienna just kept smiling every time her Daddy spoke to her, she has stole his heart for sure. As you all know he was in Africa for our 14 year Anniversary, so when he returned to Austria he had a dozen roses, a set of bath and body lotions, a beautiful watch and most importantly a people magazine ALL FOR ME....what a sweet hubby. We're so glad he's finally back, safe and well.

Adriatic Sea.....

Charles loves to dive...he was excited when we needed to go to Croatia to get a stamp in our pass port because this meant one thing and one thing only, that he was getting a dive in. That is ALL we heard for 6 hours, "I'M GOING DIVING"!!! It was his first time to dive in the Adriatic Sea. He said it was clear, peaceful and so beautiful and even though he didn't see much, he still enjoyed his dive. Now he is just waiting for Aleia to get big enough so she can go diving too. That is one thing I can not make myself do....so I will leave that hobby to him and I'll just scrapebook the memories.

Two bundles of joy.....

My two bundles of joy, oh how sweet they are, with their smiles so precious, and their hair so soft....don't we all wish we could bottle the memories that seem to pass by so quickly, the sweet smell and sound of my two bundles of joy.

 Brienna has recently  found her two new best friends, their names are hand and  fist (lol) it seems she might be cutting some teeth.  She is also acting very interested in rolling over but Mommy is content with her staying right where she is. She is our little chubby lover baby.

Aleia's new word is "incredible" and I am no longer her mommy but her "sweet heart".  Her new interest is cinderella but her favorite thing of all is a nice bed time story full of lambs and dinosaurs told by the most favorite person in her little world (daddy)!