It has been 16 long days and nights without Charles here. Don't get me wrong a little time away makes the heart grow fond but 16 days of planning a major conference without him here has definitely made me appreciate things about him that I feel I took for granted....and I'm ready for him to come home and pick up where he left.
After I put the girls to bed which is a long drawn out process first of convincing Aleia that the Sun went to sleep so now it is her turn to go to sleep and when the Sun wakes up then she can get up. Then there is PJ time, go potty, wash the hands, brush the teeth, tell a story, say our prayers and ABC'S, oh yeah and a small drink since she's always so Fursty (thirsty) before bed. Luckily the baby just needs changed and fed then tucked in....after the whole process you would think I would take a shower and go to bed, but no I find myself with late night blues, missing Charles, missing America, missing my family and friends. I go all day I guess with the noise and business then when it is quite I no longer have that to distract me.
I find the friendships that I have made through my blog have been such a lift to my spirit and encouragement to me. When I am feeling the late night blues I tend to come down stairs and check my blog....thanks to all of you I find that when I am lonely a little story of yours help me feel less isolated and blue.
I think the appalling response to Aleia's "BUT MAMA" fixed the problem but now she has figured another way of trying my patients and that is "CUZ MOM", she just decided well if "BUT" is not longer acceptable then "CUZ" sounds like a pretty nice alternative.....very smart little girl:-)
Update on Charles-Philippines
1. Arrived safely
2. Ate Pig Brains/Intestines
3. Sleeping in a tent
4. 103 degrees @ 7 p.m
5. Finally showered/shaved after 4 days
6. Has not had to pay for anything (Hallelujah)
7. Ate his first delicious meal on Wednesday night
8. Dove with over 30 sharks (CRAZY MAN)
9. Awesome crusade service last night
10. He can't wait to come home
We miss him and can't wait until he arrives safely home on Sunday. Please continue to pray for his safety and health....Thank you all!
We are in yet another little stage with our almost 4 year old. She has recently learned how to negotiate with phrases such as "but Mom, I'm not tired", "but Mom, I'm not hungry", "but Mom, I didn't do it".....I am sure all of you Mothers have gone through this one or are going to go through it soon.Yesterday I put a stop to the "BUT MAMA" thing, out of frustration my quickest response was "Aleia I don't want to here "but" before another statement again, and she of course said BUT WHY;-) and I said because we set on our butts....hahahaha I don't even know where that came from but I started laughing so hard and so did she, she said "Mama your hilarious".
Why doesn't parenting come with a learning guide to help you with all the right come backs to the question WHY???
If we were to have a boy, I'm not sure he would look as much like his Daddy as this little girl does, she really needs a bow on that head at all time:-)
Monday Charles got home from Spain, he was very tired so the girls and I let him rest most of the day.
Tuesday morning we had a busy day of shopping for Charles trip to the Philippines, picking up dry cleaning, getting the car clean, Packing, and last but not least we in- rolled Aleia for Pre-School.
Charles left early Wednesday morning for the Philippines, he arrived in Taiwan for his 36 hour lay over and should be in the Philippines by Saturday Evening.
He was able to enjoy a delicious steak at Out Back Steak house...that little stinker:-) We were able to see him and talk to him on Skype last night and the girls loved it.
Please be in prayer for Charles during this crusade, for his safety, health and for the Lord to move mighty in the services.
Brienna's newest discovery is that she can climb the steps in our home. Thankfully she has only tried to take Baby Steps, one at a time. I am sure she is right around the corner to figuring that she can climb more then that, when she does I am sure my hands will be full.
Brie Brie loves to clap and smile at everything, her newest word is "Down" and "A-e-ya" for Aleia, it is so cute, she will crawl as fast as she can through the house saying "A-e-ya, A-e-ya"....Just look at those thighs.
She is a joy and is learning so much. She loves little pieces of Chicken, bread, and banana. The most challenging thing about her right now is that she pulls every one's hair and still does not sleep through the night. It is adorable when I say "do you want to go night-night" she will shake her head no and do the sign for it also:-) She does not like to SLEEP!, I think she is afraid she will miss something....Yep, we've got a social bug on our hands:-)
We have a full schedule of events coming up very soon. They are as follows:
1. Easter Sunday (dress girls in their new Easter dresses, open baskets, have service, dinner, take a walk, put girls to bed, and clean up the house from the weekend)
2. Charles arrives home from Spain Monday the 13th at 10:30 a.m
3. Tuesday the 14th at 9 a.m Aleia has an interview at her pre-school, they want to see how much German she knows before they enroll her for September.
4. Tuesday the 14th at 3:30 p.m both girls have a doctors appointment, Aleia has a check up on her bronical asthma and Brienna has one more vaccination and then no more until she is 18 months.
5. Tuesday the 14th from 5-8 Amber will watch the girls while Charles and I go on a date.
6. Wednesday 15th Charles leaves for the Philippians to preach a conference and will arrive back home on the 26th of April.
7. From now until the 30th of April the church, our staff and I will be preparing for the up coming conference we will be hosting here at the headquarters church for approximately 450 people. We have around 12 countries that will be represented at this meeting. Our guest speaker will be Rev. Lee Stoneking and we are looking forward to his arrival and ministry.
We have a full month a head of us, and are trying to stay focused and on schedule day by day....Balance is the word we use A LOT in our home:-) it isn't an easy thing but we strive to have Balance in everything we do, it is an on going effort.
What is your schedule like for the next few weeks? Busy or not much at all.
Long awaited answer for Guess who?
#1 and #4 baby is Brienna Grace better known as "Boo Bear"
#2 and #3 baby is Aleia Calais better known as "Allie Cat"
Most of you were right on Aleia being #3 but it was only a lucky guess because I used the same car seat for both babies:-)lol!
They looked so much a like until Brienna was 8 weeks, then she started to get her own distinct look and as you see now they both are completely contrasting of one another.
Although when Brienna is sleeping she looks just like Aleia did at this age.
We actually just had to have a little set down with Aleia to explain that it was a good thing they are so different, that God made them both very unique and they are both super special in their own ways and that Mama and Daddy love them both so VERY much.
My Aunt Karen and Uncle Robert recently Adopted Whitney Olivia Wilson, (WOW)!
She has already proven to be such a blessing to the family and has brought such joy to my Mom during this transition and adjustment of being away from her own Grand-babies in Michigan.
Whitney was in foster care and was treated like nothing more then a crumb on the floor.
When my Aunt and Uncle heard that there was a little girl available to be adopted they instantly put in for her. They are both in there 50's but have always longed for a baby of their own and this door just simply opened for them. They were told that she had extreme disability's but that did not matter to them. They never even saw a picture of her before applying to adopt her.
During the adoption process the foster parents changed their minds and actually wanted to adopt her themselves which to me for the government to have allowed this or even considered letting them have her was ridiculous. As we all began to pray the doors opened even the more for my Aunt and Uncle.
After a long process they are finally the proud parents of Whitney Olivia Wilson,(WOW)! The doctors say she has improved by leaps and bounds since she has been with them and they can't wait for more improvements on Whitney's weight gain, walking, eye site and hearing. She can now take baby steps, pull herself up, does many words in sign language and has already proven that she is not totally deaf. She is a miracle and has brought so much joy, life and personality into our family. She is a perfect match for my MOM....full of spunk:-) & not to mention so cute.
My Mom, better known as Aleia and Brienna's Memaw, is adjusting to her new home. My Dad and I were able to make her room very comfortable, we even had enough space to make her a little sitting area to drink coffee in the morning in case she needed some private time away from Grandma and Uncle Todd.
Memaw loved it that she was able to see Aleia and Brienna in November and in February, it always breaks her heart to know she isn't able to be apart of every tooth breaking through, every step they take, word they say, and all the other first they do in these young ages they are both in.
It was great that Aleia was able to talk to Memaw on Skype last Monday, they both thought that was so cool and it is an awesome way to keep the girls familiar with all the family.
Aleia loves Alex, she got to spend a little time with him and his girl friend Meagan while we were in the states.
He is so good with Aleia. He understands when she needs space and understands just how far he can pester her.
It was great that yesterday she was able to talk to him and told him all about her Dora Super babies video.
We miss Alex terribly, he was able to help us so much last Summer and now that the Summer months are approaching we can't help but wish he was able to come back. He made such a lasting impression on our girls, our family, the country and on the church. We would rejoice at the first mention that he was going to come back to Vienna.
