Our journey

Friday, May 30, 2008

Little warm and fuzzies

Ryan's warm and fuzzies...




...okay, they are my warm and fuzzies too.



I'm happy to say that things are slowly starting to feel more and more familiar. The morning smells radiating from the bakeries are starting to smell good as I walk to the bus and even tempt me to stop in at times. When we came home from our last trip our house felt a little like home. I've stopped in on my neighbor a few times and she's starting to learn that I don't like injecting my daughter with sugar so she gave her fruit instead of cake (yea!!)

Last Saturday I went to the grocery store where there is actually a parking lot so I can take the car and buy a lot of stuff (warm and fuzzy #1). As I was walking around the store I spied some bottles of lemon-lime and orange Gatorade in the sport bottles (warm and fuzzy #2). I didn't buy them because there was no price tag and I am pretty sure they would cost more than I am willing to spend without a specific order from Ryan. I made a pass down the imported food aisle just to keep it real (warm and fuzzy #3)--saw campbell's soup for almost $4, salsa for about $7 and other fun things. Ryan and I were going to the movies that afternoon so I bought some peanut m&ms (which can't be bought everywhere, warm and fuzzy #4) for a movie snack. As I stepped up to the check out I knew that I knew the first thing that the cashier would say to me (warm & fuzzy #5)...its the same thing they say at Randall's and Kroger, well not exact. "Carrefor kartınız var mı?" Of course I have my Carrefor savings card, so I get it out of my purse to prepare for the question. The greater thing about this is that my language ability has nothing to do with this one...I just know what he's going to ask for! As the person in front of me was finishing up and the lines were getting longer, one of the clerks came and starting bagging groceries (warm and fuzzy #6). Generally we have to bag our own groceries as they cashier scans them. For those of you that shop like me, this is frustrating because I like to watch the prices as the items are scanned to make sure I am paying what I thought I was paying for the item and because I like to get excited if I am getting a good deal. However, when I'm hurrying to bag all of my groceries, I don't get to watch the prices.

Today I thank the Lord for the little warm and fuzzies He gives.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Helper Girl!


Last Thursday morning I was in the kitchen cooking. Selah was playing in the living room. I noticed her run in to and out of the kitchen and then didn't hear anything for a few seconds. Wondering what she was up to, I called her name and she didn't come running. As I walked into the living room to check on her I noticed a kitchen towel on the floor. My eyes found Selah with a cup of yogurt in one hand, a spoon in the other and yogurt all over her face, hands and the floor. I asked what she had been doing as I took the cup out of her hands. It seemed as if the yogurt had been rubbed into the carpet and then the light bulb went on in my head. The towel was laying on the mess of yogurt and Selah had probably spilled the yogurt as she pulled the cup off of the table. She ran into the kitchen to get a towel to clean up the mess and tried to clean it up, but instead rubbed the yogurt into the carpet. She continued her cleaning efforts as she bent over the yogurt soaked carpet and tried to scrape it with her spoon.

I wish I had gotten a picture because it was too cute. I was a little frustrated but mostly proud of how smart our little girl is proving to be. I appreciate her effort to try to clean up the mess. She has also tried to put keys in the locks, opens the front door and has started showing interest in puzzles and shorting shapes. She helps mommy with the dishes, some cooking and will help us put things back where they go (for about 5 seconds).

Yesterday we went out to the islands with our house group and enjoyed a beautiful view and nice time with our church. Selah got to ride a horse, not for the first or second time, but for the 3rd time. Her first time was a few months ago with Ryan. Last week my babysitter told me that there was a horse at the park that day letting kids ride for free, so they took advantage.

We're heading out of town again this week. Hopefully we'll have some good stories when we get back.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

First Day at the Beach

Her first day at the beach was at none other than the Black Sea. It took her about 1.5 hours to get used to the whole idea of sand, but she really enjoyed it after that. The water is still a little cold, so we'll work on easing her into that.
We dug a little baby pool where the water warmed up, so she liked that. Mommy and Daddy are a little sunburned, but Selah, came home unscathed--though I think she did eat a little sand.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Where have we been??


We spent last week in a town about a 5-hour drive from our city. A group of brothers and sisters from Virginia came with us. They did a great job of meeting people and learning a lot about the culture of some of the people living in that city. Selah warmed up to them really quick and they were a tremendous help in easing my burden of chasing her all over the place as we traveled around to different places. It was so evident that they loved the Lord, so we were definitely blessed in many ways. We were really encouraged by being in a group of people that will sing with us and bring some American culture to us!

This man is responsible for feeding Selah her first Kit Kat bar. :(


On the way home from the city we stopped in a city that is probably at least 2000 years old. The city wall is still pretty much in-tact and there is an old church were some important decisions in the history of the church were made. I talked Ryan into buying me a beautifully hand-painted vase and big plate.

Just before we left town, we had a national friend and her daughter stay with us for a week. It feels crazy to have another child around and I was honestly ready for a break when they left. We continue to have guests staying in our spare room--God has blessed us with much so we desire to be generous with what He has given us. I'm thinking of naming our home...Laura's Bed and Breakfast. I'm sure I could come up with a better name.
Also, I decided it was time to wean Selah from her pacifier about 3 weeks ago. So, I cut the tips off of 2 of them and sent her to nap. She fussed for about 15 minutes then went to sleep. She did well that night as well and only fussed for 20 minutes. But as she was fussing I began to think of the implications of pacifier weaning for my summer. We are going to be traveling A LOT and traveling isn't the funnest thing for my energetic toddler. In the end, I decided that I AM not ready to leave the pacifier behind quite yet. So, I went out and bought a new one. Hope she lets go as easily the second time!