A Place Where Friends and Family Can Be Updated

Hey All! I am back from Snowy MI. We had a blast and Brandon was able to get a lot of studying done. It was a nice pace between visiting friends and family. Sometimes we do not do a lot and others we are jam packed. This visit was a great pace. I even had time to visit with my Grandma for a day and sewed together a play dress and stinkin' cute pants. I am SO EXCITED to get started on other pants, outfits etc now that Grandma has given some direction. :). . . Lots of "oh, well, now THAT makes sense" to which my Grandma would lift an eyebrow and say "it's COMMON sense, Nicole". We're kindred spirits :)

My family is doing well in the Lord. My brother and sister have grown up while I've been away and it is strange to see them as almost-adults. My mom is struggling with getting over some health issues so I am glad I was there to lift some spirits (keep her in your prayers). My Dad finished his book and is looking to publish it soon. Arielle ADORED my family and her cousins. Elly opened up from all the "pass-the-baby" sessions. Getting close to crawling. Hmm, what else? I visited my Aunt's home that just passed away to take a few mementos. Going through the stuff I remembered from childhood really brought it all home. It was good, though. Arielle is speaking better, more often and in sentences. She responded to my sister's "How are you, Arielle" with "I'm fine, Auntie V. How are you?" or when she thought I had chocolate (instead of a carrot) and I told her I had none she said: "Yes, Momma. Chocolate. Chocolate right there in your mouth!" Her father's daughter hopeful for chocolate everywhere :)

Well, I'll write more another time. As it is I've spent a HUGE chunk of time compiling this video and updating picasa. Love to you all and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Another Sabbath finds us happily relaxing on this mandatory you-will-rest day :). Brandon is off reading, the dogs are rough-housing, Arielle still has her sanity and the littlest is sleeping. We were able to relax in bed until close to 9 (a rarity in this house of 6:30 rising or so) and it so far has been a delightfully refreshing day. The simple sweet moments you treasure to remember at a later day when life gets difficult.

Not a whole heap to report. Brandon has been doing a bunch of non-flight work that is required. He was scheduled to fly yesterday but was cancelled. I cannot complain. The Lord continues to draw close as I draw nearer to Him. It is soul satisfying as only He can and I'm asking myself why I let life distract as much as it has. Which is probably why He has mandatory rest-in-Him days and feasts to reflect on your relationship with Him (kind of like a marriage retreat once a year, eh?). ANYWHO say all that to say I'm glad to see the changes in myself coming together. Arielle is doing TONS better. I still don't know what the insanity time-period was so we're chalking it up to that infamous "terrible two's". No matter how diligent and consistent in parenting you are it seems it is human nature to at least give an whole-hearted honest attempt around two years to see if the parents are serious. . . We were and are. Praise the Lord for teaching me patience through it (a continual struggle of mine). She still has her vim and vigor but over-all she is settling down. Desires to help her mommy and daddy still. I have to be ever-so-careful to never brush her attempts aside as it is easy to do. So what if unloading dishes takes a smidge longer - my daughter finds joy in putting the pans away to "Help Mumma". . .Ellia is doing great. Not much to report except her increased awareness of life and her ability to grab it away from you :) Although, I have to report an exciting part: Ellia understands "No" already. True to our parenting philosophy when a child is able to perform one action they are able to perform the opposite. Since Elly has started grabbing at the computer keyboard we've been consistent to squeeze her hand, say no and put it back in her lap. She is frustrated at being thwarted, as anyone would be, but is picking it up. She went to grab for Brandon's bowl of food and he said "no" to which she quickly drew her hands back and looked at him. Woo Hoo! I LOVE watching the growth and understanding develop in our children.

That's all. Enjoy the video.

Not too much to report. Or rather, not enough time to write about miscellaneous-everyday-things. So, nothing big. I did, however, make a video and add photos to picasa for those that were interested. Brandon's out sailing and I figured I would upload video.

Enjoy

Well it's been another weekend. Sometimes I feel like we have two Sabbaths on the weekend. One for God and the other for just plain ol' loafing. Which means not a lot of housework gets done. At least the family's happy, right? :)

Not too much to report, enjoy the short clip. . .

Well, it's been a fairly great week so far. The Lord has truly drawn near as we attempt to draw nearer to Him. . .Arielle still has her moments but I view them as the Lord giving me an opportunity to Bless Him and grow godliness and weed out the ugliness :). . Cheesy as that sounds. Arielle is getting so stinkin' big I cannot believe it. It is surreal to think she was ever Elly 's size. . .Elly can sit up without an assistance besides a blanket to catch her if she tips :). . . I know that just about everyone says that your second is nothing like the first. I cannot believe how true that is. I tickle Elly, Make faces at her and get a whopping nothing besides big, blue eyes and a thoughtful expression. If I did half of the antics to Arielle when she was her age she would've been gasping for breath laughing so hard. Not Elly, she's my peaceful, stoic one. . .On the flip side though she will be staring at something (dogs/arielle/us) and suddenly suck in a mouthful of air and LAUGH like she just witnessed the best played comedy EVER. Crazy kicking, wiggles and a few more laughter will happen and then it's back to the thoughtful expression. She cracks me up. Oh, yeah, and if you take notice of what made her laugh that time it WILL NOT work the next time - FYI. Maybe that'll be an advantage later and I won't have as many passionate ups and whining/depressed downs like I do with Arielle.



Well, not too much beyond that beyond my soap box rants that I am biting my tongue over regarding different situations I've been faced with lately. :)

Oh, Picasaweb was updated as well. .

Here's a Video - it's been awhile so I thought I'd throw a one together - nothing crazy this time.

First, let me say that my maternal grandmother is the best seamstress I know. I am not quite sure how I would even be able to convey the deep love, history and great expanse of knowledge this one women possesses in the field of sewing. That said, I am sure a good chunk of my artistic/creative skills come from her and that there is hope for my sewing skills if I have even an ounce of her genes. I would love to be able to make my own pattern for any ideas for clothes I might have. I KNOW that that will only come about through practicing, practicing and oh yeah - practicing. So, eager to see what my 'first attempts' beyond blankets comes out to be as well as to get beyond my first "Duh!" moments I set out last night to make my husband a pair of pajama pants. I hope you find the account amusing. . .

Grandma, if you're reading this, let me first say I thought of you when I was in "the zone" and finally thought to look up and ask what time it was. Found out I had worked well past the 9:30pm (2130) time when I usually wake/feed Elly. . matter of fact it was 10:20. I figured she was already asleep and I'll just keep going because I'm "so close" to being done. . .she finally woke up at 11:50 wondering where mommy was.

Ok, so this is what I learned from my first attempt:

1)The project always seems simpler than it is.
2)70's men (it was my grandma's old pattern) must be built differently.
3)Don't make your own changes to a pattern you've never tried before.
4)Even though it is a pattern I probably SHOULD measure my husband to see how it would fit on him
5)Never ever say "I'll be done soon" to the husband because it may soon become a "boy crying wolf" situation and he'll no longer believe you.
6)Only say "I'll be done soon" when you are on the last seam - only 4 more things can slow you down at that point - tops. okay, maybe more. . .
7)If the thought "Oh, I'll just make it work like this. . ." crosses your mind - that's great for experimentation but not for a professional look.
8)When making pants for Brandon to remember to account for his heritage evident in his "island man" rear. . . that's all I'm going to say about that . . . .

All in all, they are functional at the most and still super comfy soft BUT definitely do not fit the way my husband would like. Humorous lessons aside I did learn tricks/fine tuning through experimentation. Different ways to attack seaming, choosing different stitches, aligning the material, cutting the material, laying flat the seams and a few other things on when not to cut corners. Oh, this creative-free-thinking mind will have to make room for measurments, ironing and pins if I want it done right and be long lasting.

Thread: 5.00
Material: 4.50
Scissors: 20.00
The memory of my first attempt at sewing clothes: priceless

Next: A playdress for Arielle with matching leggings. I already learned a lesson with that one: Do NOT order the pattern for download online because it OBVIOUSLY (didn't think about this) will not have the tracing pattern with it. Which means, for those who "may" have thought the deal too good to pass up on downloading, that you have to look at the pattern explanation and pictures to try and figure out the tracings. . . .guess what I'll be doing this evening

I forgot to post a thought. .

Brandon and I often watch clips/sermons etc on GodTube. We came across an interesting character. I won't expound on why he was an 'interesting' person but he had some neat points. We clicked on him because of video title and ended up being surprised at his reasoning. Anyway, one point of his that I wanted to share is how God shortening our lifetime in the Flood was a gift. The man's point was it shortened our Sinning experience but for me it hit differently. I don't know about you but I often think "why does the Lord have us live so long if this is not what we were made for? Why doesn't He just shorten our lives and take us home?" Well, according to this thought, He already did. It's called the Flood and shortening our lives to 120 years. Against the backdrop of eternity or even Methusaleh's 900 years 80 or 120 years is basically just enough time for all personalities/walks of life to make their decison. Also, by default, to help others' to a simliar conclusion. Then it's done. God honors your decision and that's it. No second lives or chances, just the 120 you've been given. I've never thought of it in that light. . . The time at an airport can seem long but really is quite short. Essentially we all show up and wait. Some sit and read, others talk and still others are bent to use even those few moments in their life for a purpose. We all have to choose which flight to take - Hopefully it's the one going up instead of down. Short, Quick, Decide and Go. It is a small paradigm shift but for me it was big since I often have the "why not take us now?" thought. Essentially, He does. It's just the difference in a few short years, possibly decades - which is fractions of seconds in the scheme of things. Not even, because you can't break down eternity. Life's short. Make your choice and live it fully for it's purpose: Bringing God Glory and helping as many onto the right departing flight as possible.

I hope you like the changes on the page :) I was procrastinating and thought I would spend my time updating this page. Not that I believe anyone outside my immediate family and *immediate* friends sees it - still it's fun.

So, Today is the last day of the Feast of Trumpets and Brandon had to work right smack-dab in the middle of it. :( . . The Lord has allowed Brandon to have the other days we've requested off so far so I"m not sure what the difference of today is. It isn't for lack of prayer and petition :). I'm working on the 'rejoicing' part still as it is commanded.

Primary is going fabulous. The Lord has allowed Brandon to get amazing scores on his graded SIMS and flights so far. They are graded 1 - 5. 3 being your standard "Pass" with nothing spectacular. God has given Brandon 5's and 4's which is unusual at this point. 5's mean basically it was 'perfect'. One instructor was so impressed he actually printed out Brandon's results to keep! This really can only be because of God, though. Brandon and I frequently remark that it has to be since Brandon doesn't near put in the time or stress the world says is needed because we're applying the lessons learned in College. Basically it's God first, family second and then the work place (even as much as he loves physics and flying). Not that he DOESN't put effort in - he truly does. It's just when he's at work he'll go 100% keeping an eye out for where God might need him and then he comes home. When he's home, he's home. Some days he'll study at home simply because it's nicer than going in to study on base but it definitley is less than 50% of the time. . . The Lord has honored his efforts to not get sucked in - just as He did in College when we as a family first learned this balancing act. I am proud of Brandon for his efforts. Efforts towards not being sucked into the worrying and over-working pitfall that is Primary for so many and when he is home he really is home with us in mind and heart as well. . . That aside Brandon is a little confused in how come there isn't as much of a 'ministry' opportunity here as there usually is. Although we are thinking it is because of this whole Time-Balance thing along with a newborn. God might be cutting him a break and/or telling him to enjoy a season of relaxing with family instead of multiple friendships that are a challenge to his faith and an opportunity to witness. Not for lack of trying, mind you. Just nothing has panned out.
-I, on the other hand, have seemed to be hit with a lot of chances to witness. Some I've shirked - much to my shame - and others I've grasped and fumbled my out-of-practice-relying-on-God self through. . . Mainly it has been with Christine, our neighbor. She's been a good friend to me and one with a lot of questions. Some I've not had the answer to and had to come back. Keep her and I in your prayers - the flesh has so many excuses and twists to give.
-Brandon found out/read that "meditate on God's Word" means "to mutter" as in a verbal response throughout the day. Not too surprising since much of the prayers and such in the bible the literal word has a spoken connotation attatched with it. So he and I decided to do such a thing. We're taking a few verses each day and 'muttering' them as we remember. I tell you what, the 15th time around or so creates a different angle of thinking from the first cursory reading! We're taking Genesis and attempting to memorize as we mutter. We figure if young jewish boys can do it - why not us? The Creation is one wild event, let me tell you. . .
-Arielle has been fabulous as long as we are intentional to feed her heart attention. Unfortunately some days she feels she needs more than can be physically given. Those days are hard for both her and I but they happen. I still am attempting to figure out a schedule that works for all of us. Often that is hard with a husband whose schedule you do not know until 5 pm the night before - sometimes later. I shouldn't complain too much though - not many see their husband as much as the Navy allows me to. At this point in his Navy Career at least. I'm sure it's made up later in Deployments and Underways. Anywho Arielle continues to add words to her vocabulary and it's fun to try and get her to repeat things. She also is getting big. We've been checking craigslist and the stores for some fall/winter clothing as the season has changed
-Ellia is about 13 lbs and 25 and 1/2 inches long. It's the first time I've really measured her in awhile and it makes her in the 10th percentile for weight. That's a drop from her first month of life. It has me a mite worried but then again I've never denied her eating and actually am feeding her more at night than I was with Arielle at this time. In fact, with what we do with our version of "schdeuling" i'm often offering her feedings even before she whines to eat. I'll keep my eye on it and maybe - finally - take her to the doctor. It's just always such a hassle. I'll probably try and nurse her in a quieter area and see if she'll nurse longer without doggies, phones and an older sister distracting her curious mind. We'll see, sometimes that's just not possible. She'll still do a rudimentary crawl on all fours with her head balancing as she scoots. It's funny - I've been trying to get a pic but been in the wrong place usually to do so.
-Dogs (this is for you cai) they are still around. Sam is a model pup while Solo is often in his kennel or under a glaring eye. He is figuring it all out but taking a long time. I don't know that I would EVER get another puppy. I think 10 mos worked perfect for SAM. . . or maybe I just would never get another Kennel puppy like Solo who was never taught to go outside to go potty. . .at this point, though, Solo is Arielle's primary playmate. They will play together upwards of an hour wrestling together.

Ok, So I know it's been awhile. .. ok, so a really long 'while' - but here's the scoop for those that are curious. . .

-Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement have come and gone with their usual 'kick in the pants' to get our spiritual walks in gear and on the straight and narrow. Feast of Tabernacles is up and coming and we are thinking about going camping for that. No matter what we end up planning on it should be fun.

-Brandon has had 5 flights in a plane and 4 in a SIM (which are graded events and feel like flights because they are just as long as flights and use the same cockpit) The flights ROCKED in his estimation and only seem to fuel his passion. The SIMs have been stressful but rewarding both in knowledge and grading. Praise the Lord for that because it can definitely have gone differently according to the world's standards and what other pilots have said. 3 more SIMs and he'll be back in the air and getting closer and closer to being on a consistent track towards his Solo Flight. Brandon thinks it's awesome and incredible that he actually gets paid to do this.

-I'm doing great. I have been doing a bible study called "no other gods" and either I am in the right place in my life to read it right now or it is just that good. Probably a little of both. Basically it has challenged me to take a look at my life and get at the root of things I put before God. It's not necessarily another "priority" book which is nice. Other than that it is has been going well. Trying to get in the schedule and groove of school and other fun things but that's why we're struggling with it now when Arielle's 2 instead of 3 or 4.

-Arielle has lost her mind more often than not. That's been a struggle. She still is - at her core - sweet and helpful. Yet whining, testing and generally low tolerance to that which annoys her often gets the best of her. It is great that the Lord makes them otherwise stinkin' cute because it would make raising her quite difficult. . . Other than the now and again seasons of attitude she is adorable. Starting to Mimic. Like when we're in the car listening to music and I start to do my ridiculous dancing she'll copy my moves. TOO FUNNY. She also loves to help still no matter her attitude. She can be whining and I can mention helping me in someway and she'll get excited.

-Ellia is getting SO big. Interacts more and more. Lately she finds our dogs and anything they do more than hilarious. She will watch them contentedly for a long time. ANYTHING Arielle does with her (besides the discovery hair-pulls and face pokes) is always fun or funny. Arielle has always been able to get a big grin from her. She can sit up on her own for awhile - although not for extended periods of time. She can roll no problem from her front to her back and now and again from her back to her front. OH! She can do a rudimentary CRAWL!!! It's amazing. She can balance herself on all fours right now and can alternate pushing off of her knees. Granted, her face and arms are disjointed as she pushes herself forward from the knees but she can definitely slowly get from one place to another. She kind of looks like a slug when she does it.

Thats all for now

Sorry it has been awhile. I've been increasingly involved with that Military Wives BibleStudy and the time I have I've been catching up with my girls or the housework. Add in a husband with an unusual schedule and other things fall by the wayside. SO, here's an update!

-Brandon had his first flight in a T-34c airplane. .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-34_Mentor . . .You've probably seen them in WWII movies. Because that's how old they are! :). . .They are really neat planes though and capable of some cool aerobatics. This first flight, however, was simply getting him used to flying again and pointing out this area's common landmarks for flight plans etc. Outside of throwing up twice, he was stoked by the experience. Said it was just a bit different from a cessna . He is currently waiting for his second flight since his on-wing (instructor) has been on leave or taking care of farther-along-students. They will give him a refresher flight in the meantime so all pilots only go so far in between flying.

-I am doing fabulous. I hit a rough patch a few days ago due to a tough night with both girls and random unneeded alarms. The longest stint of sleep at one time was probably only an hour that night. I have done very well (praise the Lord) thus far on little sleep but if more is taken I'm completely exhausted. Couple that with the thought that I have a whole day of diaperless baby, nursing baby, diapering the elder child, feeding the elder child, amusing the elder child, cooking and housework - I was a bit overwhelmed. It was one of those "Wow, there really is no break. It's not like a job where I can just stop. No matter how I feel I still have all these responsibilities". . . SO I broke down that morning (call it a way over-due baby blues?) and my sweet husband said that if I don't take a nap when they nap he will be upset and to not worry about housework etc. Just relax and play. So I did for two days and it is amazing how refreshing that was. I went horseback riding twice, read a bit of a book, played with the girls etc. Friday came around and I had to definitely hustle to catch up on housework before Sabbath- but it was well worth it.

-Arielle is at that super-cute and sometimes mildly-annoying toddler stage. I am still amazed by how obedient and sweet she is. She has her moments (who doesn't?) but overall "Yes, mom's" or "I help!!" abounds. I also experienced - for the first time - her helping actually helped. Well, wait. Maybe not. When I take laundry out to the garage she often trails me and picks up all those loose socks and such that drop behind - which is always nice. Anyway, I was folding laundry at our table when she runs up and says her usual "Momma, I help!". At which point I hoist her up into a chair, show her how to fold the cloth diapers and let her have at 'em. Imagine my surprise when she folded them correctly and stacked it off to the side!!! I have a video but (again) Movie Maker is on the fritz. I think we seriously just need to buy a new one. Arielle still loves Elly and enjoys "pushing her" in the jumper. She says her name now when she soothes her. . Sounds like "Is aw-righ, Eh-wee". . .

-Another reason I haven't posted is I went Diaperless Baby with Ellia. If you are curious - here's a link to the book I used: http://www.natural-wisdom.com/ and here's a link to a website regarding it. http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/ . . I have been planning on doing this for awhile figuring if I fail I am no worse off than where I otherwise would be: using diapers. Lo and behold this works and without the watched-peeing-craziness I thought it would be. Imagine that - a centuries old practice works in modern America! Elly does not wear diapers now unless we are out on the town. Even then, if she signals me, I will try to offer her a chance to eliminate. (Yes Brandon has read her signals and taken her successfully to the Bathroom - yay daddy!) Elly has loved not having diapers on, I have loved not spending money on the diapers and enjoyed seeing her face register pleasure at "mom finally getting it". This whole system (uncomplicated, really) works on the premise newborns tell you when they have to eliminate - just like they tell you when they're hungry or otherwise. Now that I've done this and seen it in action begs the question of why we assume they can't or don't know their elimination needs. By putting them in diapers they eventually stop listening to their bodies and obey the training of just going in their pants whenever. Then we need to retrain them when they are older to not do this. Theory aside, in practice I basically have a waterproof swatch of material under her most times (not as much any more) and when she signals me I take her to the toilet and offer her a chance to eliminate. When she does I make a cue sound (like Pavlov's dog). She is to the point where if I make a cue sound she'll go if she is able. This practice (especially at first) is a fair amount of timing as well. I know her rhythms and that she'll have to go such-and-such a time after nursing. It is not watching a pot boil. I just keep an ear out if she is on the floor or in the jumper type of thing. WHEW! Anyways, it's been an pleasantly surprising adventure. Helps the environment, Elly will not have to be retrained later, Helps our wallet and brings her and I closer. . . .what's that, you ask? What about the diapered 2+year old? What does she think? Oh, let me tell you. I think she will never be potty trained. She loves her diapers and applauds mommy and Elly for "pottying" but takes no interest herself. Actually offers us candy for going on the potty. Ah well. You live as you learn and I cannot unlearn these past 2 years with her in diapers. I would definitely do diaperfree with her. As it stands, I simply have to bide my time and wait until she can grasp the knowledge that all this time we taught her to go in her pants is actually not the correct mind frame. . . .

Oh, I also am planning to buy an Ergo Baby Carrier. I mention it becaue I am SUPER excited about that. I love our sling but I hate the fact that it hinders the range of one arm. This carrier is completely made out of collapsible cloth, allows the baby to feel you directly, be held in a sitting position so it is best for their spine (unlike others that hold 'em up between the legs), can be on your hip, front or back, works for infants on up to 45 lbs (for reference Arielle is 25+ lbs) and is built so the weight is being held around your waist/hips instead of your back and neck and last but not least: you have free range of both arms. Sound too good to be true?? Go ahead, try to find any returns or bad reviews. They are very few and far between.

Ok, well, that's it.

Oh! I was able to fix Movie Maker - here's the latest video.

-I met at a playground a lovely young woman who turns out to be a military christian wife. She invited me to a military wives bible study and I fell in love with it. I've been busy with the bible study, a possible facilitator for a bible study, a brunch and had friends over for dinner. Hence no pics or updates. Today is a day of play with the kids and for myself so I actually won't be posting pics just yet or writing too much. If you ever want the fun details you can always call :). The Lord is moving and it is always good to see/be apart of that movement.
-Brandon is in his 3rd week of Primary. Doing great but itching to fly. He may not fly the T-34 (naval propellar airplane) until a few more weeks, although it may be sooner than that.
-Arielle has been sick but a trooper. She's had it for a week and at the end of kicking it. She is such a sweet girl and has not been giving me that many issues. Hopefully the "terrible 2's" won't really be visiting in our house. Although we may have had an early version of that a few months ago when she was testing EVERYTHING. . I'm glad to be past that.
-Ellia is wonderful albeit a very shy baby. She was terribly upset when we first went to the bible study since there are a TON of women there. I thought it might just be the noise level. It wasn't. I went the next time and at that point there were only 4 people or so and she still acted overwhelmed. I had to work to get 'her eyes back on me' to see that all was ok. Get this, though: We had a couple and their young child over for dinner the other night. She was sleeping when they arrived. I nursed her when she woke up and came back to the table. She was facing away from our guests. I turned her around to sit in my lap and she SCREAMED as if I hurt her somehow. I quickly turned her to look at me and to see where the blood from my nail scratching her was. . . found nothing. odd. I turned her around and she HOLLERED. . .wow. that's all I have to say. You would think in her own home, held my mommy, daddy on one side and Arielle on the other would make her not so bothered by the new people but you would be wrong.

-Brandon is still enjoying Primary and simulation work. He'll fly sometime in the next few weeks.

-I recently found out that I will be able to taxi one of the aircraft sometime in September. THAT will be interesting. I should also be able to watch him perform his acrobatic solo in a few months. I am SUPER excited to see that.

-The girls are well. Growing bigger every day. You'll see in the video how strong Ellia is getting.

-I am going to try out a Military Wives bible study tomorrow. . .we'll see how that goes.

Enjoy the video - it's a short one.

-Brandon started Primary this week. Very exciting and he can hardly wait to get up in the air in a few weeks. No more cessna flying for his training! They warned him the ground school and flights are all gruelling. In fact, they warned him that they will tear apart your flying skills in a debrief for over an hour , nonstop, after your first flight.
-With Brandon at work we are blissfully normal and in a schedule again. I am starting to "school" Arielle. I still need to sit down and create a log of what we do and set out "lesson plans/ideas". Arielle has LOVED it so far. Some things she's not so interested in and we don't push it.
-Elly is grand. Starting to coo and blossom into a smile when she sees you looking at her. Is starting to sleep through the night (10 - 6:30 or so). I'm keeping the mid-night feeding, however, for a little while later.
-I am doing fabulous. Feeling great with the schedule and accomplishing/staying on top of so much.
-Sorry no video. For reference, it took me almost 2 HOURS to upload, compile, sift through, and paste pictures on Picasaweb. Naptime is too precious to do that too often. Makes my eyes watery looking at the screen so long and my legs tighten up from sitting that long. Not used to it! Since I have some video already uploaded, I'll attempt to make a video soon. As it is I only have an hour left of nap to do my personal mommy things.
-I haven't seen or talked to Christine or Crystal since I last wrote. I hope to catch up with Christine tomorrow or so.

Love you all!

-Brandon indeed starts Primary Flight School on Monday. We're excited and keep us in your prayers regarding balance.
-Keep our horseback riding neighbor in your prayers. She had a 30+ minute long conversation with Brandon regarding our faith. She apparently had friends who believed like us with some differences. Those differences made her walk away from the 'church' and basically decide if that's the way it is she doesn't want to believe. Long story. She made the comment the other day, however, that she feels God put me/us in her life for a reason. She finds it interesting that she walks away from the beliefs of her friends, moves here (for other reasons obviously) and ends up befriending those of the same/similar beliefs. Her name is Christine.
-Another woman my age named Crystal (another horsewoman I met on a ride) is, by her own admission, a baby Christian and is in some ways still searching. She invited me to her kids birthday party today and we're hoping to go. I had to get back home so Brandon could go to Synagogue and since we were on horses I couldn't get the info. Hopefully I can get ahold of her.
-My tooth feels infected and we don't have dental coverage. PLEASE keep us in your prayers. Hopefully between the many prayers, tooth brushing, nixing sugars, mouth swishing, and garlic eating we can get it under control.

Ok, so I am following a friend's lead on this one. I figure the majority of people who come to this site come for the photos and not for the words. Therefore I have a place just for pictures without the blogging. That'll be easier for me and cleaner cut. Check back here for periodical videos or family updates.

Photos are now located at: http://picasaweb.google.com/NicoleHelene83

-We're waiting to hear if Brandon indeed classes up next week still.
-I've been able to horseback ride twice this week (thanks Brandon!) which also enabled me to witness regarding my faith and witness to another regarding Torah. Praise the Lord!
-The girls are well and marvelous. Right now at least. I had a difficult day a little while ago with being overwhelmed. They come and go.
-The dogs have fleas which makes me SOO grateful for tile floor and the fact we don't really allow them on our carpet and that they have designated sleeping spots. Always something :).

No, I didn't color my hair. Yes,
Arielle's hair is naturally crazy.


Up to no good.


Here's the latest:

-Brandon's class up date for Primary was pushed back one week to August 4th. Come back in a week to see if it actually happens :).





-Hmm. Well, thats about it. Exciting, I know. Everything else is regular talk: both girls are growing and I am doing well. Although with Brandon being home it isn't always condusive to getting things done. Both for him or myself. It is fun though.

We DID go to Gulf Shores Waterville which ended up being a mildly overrated waterpark. Arielle had fun and I enjoyed getting out of the house for a whole day. Brandon enjoyed going down a few of the water rides and performing physics experiments. For example a certain position in the tube should yield the most G force or increase the speed. You know, what normal people do :). That's why I love him. Elly was totally fine up until we got home. She had a meltdown. I don't know if I ate something or didn't drink enough water but she was certainly unhappy and inconsolable for a spell. Poor Babe. A dirty diaper later and she was back to her smiley self. . . I say all that to say: I have no pictures or evidence of our travels. We brought the camera, we just never used it. I was with Arielle and Brandon's horrible about filming. When Brandon took Arielle I was off with Elly to feed her. We DID have fun, though.

It's back to the last few days of loafing. Not too much going on. We did talk about the Book of Enoch on our walk today. (we decided we were too lazy to do our customary run.) That led to some interesting discussion and thoughts regarding its concepts and how Scripture actually backs it - so far at least. The Lord is amazing and it breaks our brain to think of how's, whys etc regarding Creation.

That said, it was recently Arielle's birthday (in case you didn't read the earlier post). My mom (in law) reminded me about the fun tradition of measuring a 2 year old's height to predict how tall she'll end up being. Using said method Arielle will be a slightly above average 5'7". . . basically between Brandon and I.

Love You All.

Umm, should we be worried?
Those eyes don't seem sane.



My little baby doll, still so small.



Arielle uses a ribbon to fall asleep.
Often it is in unusual places.


Working hard to catch up
to Arielle.


Today Ellia is 2 months. Unbelievable. Otherwise there is nothing new to report on. Unless, of course, you want to hear the exciting details about loafing. Tomorrow is a day for adventure somewhere on the Gulf Coast. It is to be sort of a "last hurrah" before Brandon starts school. It should be fun.

Love.

Like Mother Like Daughter, Eh?



Her eyes are holdin' blue and they look
the same as my baby pictures



My dear husband lookin' tough.



I have no words.


I just want to say how blessed I am for the family I have and the life I lead. I figured I would write it down now to remind me later amidst the inevitable tears and tantrums.

The Lord really has answered so many prayers in my short life and truly made my cup to overflow. I have a husband who loves the Lord and to do His bidding. Who still dotes on -and has eyes only for- me 3+ years later and will help out in just about all facets of parenting when he is able (including diapers, ladies!) Granted a lot of the playing around we've been doing and the sense of slow-living will soon change come the 28th. Still, it's nice while it lasts. The Lord has blessed me with two absolutely gorgeous and intelligent children. Arielle cracks us up with her sidelong looks, surprise sentences and thoughts. Elly sleeps well at night. Although she stays up for a spell after her 9:30pm and 4:00am feeding she will smile/laugh herself back to sleep. (Often I fall asleep before she does) How fun is that??? Talk about in love with life and secure in our family. I'm so glad the Lord saw fit to give us another happy child. I personally am doing well: losing weight since my husband has been pushing us hard in work-outs, Coming up with some neat ministry ideas (just have to put feet to them), Neighbors who care enough to bring gifts for my kids, cooking new recipes that haven't flopped (whew!), generally close to my Messiah and well. . . blessed :).

Not to mention seeing the Lord work in a mighty way over the weekend. My mom is pregnant again (Lisa for those who were confused) and the doctors thought she might have had an ectopic pregnancy. Many heartfelt prayers later we find out the baby is healthy, strong and Mom's nausea or other nagging symptoms have flown the coop or lessened to boot. God is GOOD and I am SOOO excited to meet my new little brother or sister in a few months!!

The video is random footage that should make you smile. Arielle is her usual self and filled with antics. The footage with Elly was taken around 10:10pm at night after her feeding. Usually she goes back to sleep but lately she hasn't. Not that she complains. In fact, as you'll see, she just wiggles and smiles. For those who wondered: No, she can't see me - I stayed out of view to see what she was doing.

Love You All and as always: Enjoy

Arielle is doing fabulous. Treats Elly like she's always been a part of the family. No mutinies or uprisings from her :). If Elly starts to fuss Arielle will run run run from the other room and start cooing "You're alright. You're ok" It's pretty endearing. She is growing leaps and pounds intelligently. Every time we turn around it seems and ask a question jokingly - she actually answers it correctly! Bizarre to hear her try and hold a conversation with you as well. It's so much fun (if you take out the tantrums of course :)) Oh! We did try potty training but found out, indeed, that "they are not ready until they are ready". Not one to do pointless endeavors we decided to stop forcing the issue and allow her to develop communication skills and understanding a bit more before we try again.





Ellia is now 7 weeks and is growing more aware of herself and surrounds at an increasing speed. She is a bit more quiet than Arielle was but that much more of a cuddler as well. She is laid back and willing to go along the ride of the Rodgers Family antics but will be quick to let you know when she's had her limit of slings, car seats and strollers. At which point you simply wrap her up and put her close to your skin and she's like "Ahhhh, ok. It's all good". She still loves to practice standing (I have yet to video tape that) and 'working out' as we call it. Much more physically adept than Arielle was at this age (Arielle was more social). We have no worries about neck control anymore which is always a fun stage to pass by :).
She is solidly on her schedule and has yet to show herself as one of the babies that eats more frequently during growth spurts (like Arielle did) she simply eats more during feeding time. THAT was a pleasant surprise to come across, as we obviously would feed her if she asked for it sooner. She just doesn't. Elly just started the past two nights sleeping for 6 hour stretches and I cannot tell you how delicious that is to experience again. Although my body still wakes up when she used to eat. We're hoping it stays this way - although it is definitely not unusual if she stops and starts this trend a few times before making it a true habit.







As for the rest of the family: All is well. Brandon will class up to Primary Flight school on July 28th. In the mean time he is at home loafing with us trying not to give to much a mind that school starts up soon. He basically calls a number every morning and says his name for mustering and has one mandatory day in the week to physically show up on base. It's pretty nice to have him around to play with before the craziness starts. Arielle is VERY much a Daddy's girl right now and cannot get enough of his rough housing, cuddles and book reading. Which, of course, tickles Brandon. I can't say we've done a whole lot of big important things. Brandon went kayaking 32 miles; I plan to go kayaking this weekend; horseback ride next week (hopefully); running every morning; watching more tv than we should (we just got DVR cable); working on puzzle books; nursing nursing nursing; feeding Arielle again and again and again; having company over; budgets - you know, the regular stuff.

Well that's all for now. I pray the Lord is working mightily in your life. Love, The Rodgers


The video is basically a video over the past two days - mainly dealing with the gifts from Mimi, Papa, Grammy & Papa Bear, Mommy and Daddy for her birthday. (we should have filmed shoving that plastic pool in the back of the minivan.) Thank you all for the gifts, Arielle loved them. (She sleeps with the bear, mom)

Sad to say I have a ton of video of the girls but none of the computers are firewire compatible -which is the cord I have with me to download from the camcorder. These images come from Grammy Bear's camera -which we haven't been using a ton. Hence, again, no Arielle. Really, she's fussed over and loved on probably more than Elly but she's too fast for the camera and my videos aren't downloadable right now! It's too funny, though, the coincidence that this is the second post without her.

Otherwise, things here are going well. Brandon will arrive in a few days and I am SOO excited to see him again. Elly is going to be a month old this week and has settled into a wonderful rhythm and schedule. She's also plumping up quite a bit - which is strange for me to see compared to her willow-o-wisp of a sister. She sleeps from about 8pm - 7am with my alarms waking us both for feedings. She only bawls for obvious reasons - diaper changes in the middle of the night, baths, change her playing position if it's been awhile etc. There are a few times of "What do you think is wrong?" but few and far between. The Lord has given us another amazing blessing in this beautiful, bright-eyed happy little girl. Speaking of our first blessing, she is doing well. A little whinier lately that I was attributing to testing the limits only to find out that she was working on a molar. . . Boy, did I feel bad when I found out that. The principal of obedience still stands but I definitley would've been more understanding and cuddled with her more. Oh well, she's none the worse for wear and laughs just as much - you live, you learn.




She already does an amazing job of pushing with her legs and shimmying a bit. It's amazing how fast they grow.


Elly and her Papa Bear. Elly's working on neck control. . doing really well.



We've been having a lot of thunderstorms here . . which often equals gorgeous sunsets. This is one of them, taken from the Rodgers' porch.



The following is a link taking you to a video someone made of Brandon's API class that he just graduated from. If you want to see what he's been doing - click on the link. If it doesn't work - copy and paste. The website is pretty safe except that at times the two ads are advertising some dark video games. Simply hit the refresh button and it will change the ads. Sorry, I can't figure out any other way of showing you the video since it is such a large file.

http://files.filefront.com/API+Class+0829wmv/;10653647;/fileinfo.html

It's crazy to think that this is what he did every day. What a stud. Oh yeah, if you want to play a version of "Where's Waldo" - see how many times you can spot Brandon. We've counted three so far with some questionables.

That's all. Love to you.

Last Wednesday Elly had her well baby check up and is doing wonderful. She was Born 7 lbs 13 oz - lost the expected lb and by her appt had gained to be 8 1/2 lbs . . she was born 20 3/4 inches and gained an inch by her appt. Her height puts her in the 75 - 95 percentile and her weight puts her in the 50 - 75 percentile. She still eats like a champ, has a belly already, is smiling more and more, and is trying her hardest to hold her head erect.

Arielle is still loving being a big sister. Talking and mimicking up a storm and seems like such a big girl in cmparison. I have no idea her stats :)

Sorry that I haven't uploaded pictures from my video. It does not connect to her laptop so I have to go figure out if it will connect to her hardrive upstairs. Besides that, we were busy yesterday. Sunday June 08 at 0920 or so we were on our way to church with the In-Laws (the girls and I) when a car ran through a stop sign. We were going 45 mph and she was doing about 50 when we T-boned her passenger side. From there we flew to the side and hit a telephone pole. All in our van, besides myself, were wearing seat belts. No one lost conciousness and - miraculously - no one was seriously hurt. We are praising the Lord that we walked way as unscathed as we did. Dad refused care and said he was alright. Mom had contusions from the seat belt. I have bumps and bruises - but it could have been so much worse. Arielle has some slight bruising on each side of her neck from the seat harness - the ordeal scared her more than anything. Elly peeped an eye open from her nap when the dust settled and went back to bed. The passenger in the other car had glass abrasions and cuts from her window and the driver was fine. . . We all went to the hospital to make sure all was well. We were cleared a little while later and went home. . .


So, wear your seatbelt.

Love to you all and I'll try to get the video camera up again.





The wonderful couple who rescued us from the hospital :)
Eugene


Karen

Hey all, I'll try and upload some video etc tomorrow. For those that are curious - we arrived today after two days of travel. The girls were absolutely wonderful during all that travel. Elly ate and slept the whole time. The only periods she fussed even a bit was when she was trying to sleep and the pacifier fell out and. . well, thats about it. Arielle whined now and again but it was mainly because she wanted at least some attention. Often I became lost in a book and left her to entertain herself - hard to imagine I know. . . Otherwise we watched Milo and Otis and I got peeved while we watched the PETA sponsored (so it seems) Black Beauty. Milo and Otis cracks me up though. . . that was before 'no animals were harmed in the making of this film' and instead said "animals were closely monitered during the making of this film' . . how else to you justify the safety of tossing a kitten off of a cliff into the sea??? Yes, this was before CGI and was in fact a real cat.

Thats all for now, off to feed Elly and sleep.

Love to you all.

Today we are getting ready (Mom and Dad Rodgers and I) to start driving to their house in GR, MI. It'll be interesting to say the least :). I'll be sure to videotape some of the festivities with a toddler and newborn. Seriously, though, I don't expect too much of an issue. Arielle is easily amused and the new baby sleeps most of the time.

How long I plan to be in GR and where I go depends on when Brandon gets here and how long he stays. Flying by the seat of our pants is how we're running this show. Can't make too many plans with all the unknowns.

This video is of Ellia. No pictures or videos of Arielle this time. I'll be sure to post some of her the next time.



This video was taken when our landlords were over for dinner, that's whose voice you hear talking to me in the background.

Love you all and talk to you soon!

2nd week of life for Ellia
2nd week of fun for Arielle

We decided it was high time for some family photos. So, we took the video camera out front and captured some nice pictures. Yes, we can turn them into hard-copied glossies. Read the bottom. If you are totally confused, simply tell us and we'll do it ourselves and send you some.

For those of you that look at these and want a copy sent to your email, let me know. Once a picture is downloaded into your computer you can actually send the jpg.file to Walmart via the internet to have them turned into actual pictures. Simply pick them up the next time you go.

Love to you all!