Bluff 2013

We flew from Arkansas to the Bluff for a week of refreshment and ministry appointments. Abby has been talking about going to the Bluff since we left last summer, so despite our exhaustion she was bursting with excitement the whole way there. (We were excited too...just really in need of a shower and a nap!)

The weather was beautiful. The visits with family were sweet. We played lots and enjoyed the lake. Here are a few of the highlights (in no particular order).

Boat rides. Ella had her first boat ride and loved it. At first, she wasn't sure about the life jacket, but once she got used to it she was a little wild child. Abby wanted to drive the boat and when she wasn't at the wheel, she was riding in the front shouting, "G-Diddy, make the boat go FASTER! Can you make the music LOUDER? LOUDER!!!"

Captain Greeley

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Abby and Ella took lots of turns kayaking around the lake and enjoying every minute of it.

Swimming in the lake for the first time

Bath time in Grammy's brand new sink

Lazy mornings

Spending time with Nana

Abby's very first sleepover with Lauren. It was completely spontaneous and initiated by the kids. Abby and Lauren ran up to Joe at sunset and asked if Abby could have a sleepover at Lauren's cottage (two cottages away from us) that night. Abby was ready to explode with excitement at the thought. Of course, we all wondered if she would make it through the night, so we had cell phones by our bed just in case. But, as we expected (she has been begging for a few weeks to have her first sleepover at home and promising she is ready), she didn't skip a beat. She never hesitated and came home the next morning telling us how much fun she had. I have a feeling this will be their first of many! 

saying goodbye the next morning

The girls didn't want to leave each other. 

Playing with Uncle Tommy and his "invisibility glasses".  Tommy convinced Abby that if she put his sunglasses on she would disappear and no one would be able to see her. We all played along and Abby had a magical time.

Where did Ella go?

Snuggles with Uncle John. Ella's hugs melt hearts.

Enjoying a nice meal with everyone at Connelly's

Quality time with Grammy and G-Diddy

Cookies (and every other piece of food in Grammy's kitchen). Ella just loves to eat and she is very vocal about it. She kept us all on our toes making sure we ate every meal right on time. And just in case anyone thought the baby of the family didn't need a chocolate chip cookie, Ella voiced her opinions until we came into the kitchen and found her like this. 

Playing with Mary 

This view seriously takes my breath away every time. 

Spending the afternoon like this...

Making Bluff inspired eagle cookies with Lauren before sunset. There is an eagle that lives at the end of the Bluff, so when I saw this fun dessert in a magazine I knew we had to make it. The girls had fun getting messy and liking their fingers clean of all that sugary frosting. And sunset. Abby looked forward to sunset each day. She made sure we all finished our dinner each night in time to gather at the top of the Bluff and take it all in. 

Her "CHEESE" face.

Greeley. We enjoy some puppy love whenever we are with him. 

Not a highlight...saying goodbye. Highlight: Ella gave G-Diddy an extra long squeeze when we said goodbye. Can you handle all of the sweetness happening in this picture? 

Our annual Bluff family picture

A Walk in the Park

Our perfect sunny summer afternoon (in pictures)

These chairs are the cutest and watching my little girls hang out together in their chairs is even cuter.  

Abby's new 'do

Camp O'Hare

In July, we traveled to Arkansas to attend a ministry conference for three days. It was our first time traveling by plane with both girls. Abby has flown four times in her life: twice to Florida, once to Colorado and this trip to Arkansas. Considering her last trip was when she was two and a half (over a year ago), it is only a faint memory to her, making this trip feel like a "first" all over again. Ella flew once when she was younger, but this was her first trip with her big sister making it all new kinds of exciting.

Flying with a very active one year old (especially one who was not walking) is exhausting. Ella was not interested in sitting if she was not sleeping, which led to lots of squirming and screaming during the first sleepless flight unless Joe was walking her up and down the aisle. Snacks and stickers worked for a little while, but nothing really distracted Ella from the idea that she wanted to be moving. Abby on the other hand is very easy to travel with now. She stays occupied for long periods of time and can really understand the whole experience. It was fun to enjoy the trip with her through her eyes.

During the day while Joe and I were at the conference, Abby and Ella stayed with a sweet babysitter who they loved. They enjoyed exploring the hotel, playing games, doing crafts in our suite and swimming. In the evenings, we would go to dinner as a family and explore the area a bit.

exploring a park in downtown Little Rock 

When we were in Arkansas, Uncle Cory had surgery on his knee. Abby made him a card and asked me to send him the picture of it. She wanted to get him his message while he was recovering in the hospital and not a day later. :)

Our trip home was a memorable one. It was scheduled to start with a 12:30 flight out of Arkansas connecting through Chicago to Syracuse. Well, the airplane we were scheduled to fly on had mechanical problems and our one hour wait turned into a five hour wait. During that time, we learned that we would not make it to Syracuse that day because there were no more available connections. The girls were tired from not having a nap and being in the airport all day. The airline told us they would provide a hotel room (and meal vouchers) for us if we flew to Chicago that day and continued to Syracuse the next morning, so we boarded the plane at six.

She waited so patiently for her airplane to be fixed.

When we got to Chicago, we planned to grab dinner and head to a hotel room where we could curl up and get a good night's sleep, but God had other plans for us. At 8:30, with an exhausted toddler on my hip and a chatty three year old by my side, the airline agent informed us that she would not be able to find us a hotel room because THERE WAS NOT ONE HOTEL ROOM AVAILABLE IN ALL OF CHICAGO. She had to be exaggerating, right? I mean Chicago is a big city and the airline assured us AND I HAD A ONE AND THREE YEAR OLD WHO NEEDED TO SLEEP. She wasn't exaggerating. Joe called the local hotels. There was nothing. We even tried to get a rental car to drive through the night to Syracuse, but there were none available. God had other plans for us. We had no choice, but to gather our girls, go back through security, get two very large Starbucks coffees and find the cots the airline had set up for 200 people who were stranded at O'Hare.

Here's the thing. If you told me I would be sleeping in an airport with my two little kids, I would have thought you were crazy.  I cried when I realized that was what we had to do, but God had other plans for us. I'm not sure of all the reasons why things happened the way they did that night, God does though and I'm okay with that.

Here are some things I learned/was reminded of during our night at Camp O'Hare:

1. God had other plans for us that night and they weren't easy, but He brought us through as a family and cared for us. We were closer as a result of the stress we overcame together and the laughs we had in the middle of the night.

2.  As we gathered our cots and set up our beds for the night, Abby looked up at me with a smile one her face and said, "Mommy, we can pretend we are camping. This is kind of like camping. Look up! All of those lights are like lots and lots of stars." And like that my loads of frustrations from the day melted away and I was able to find some joy in the midst of the madness. That is also when Joe affectionately named our 'campsite', Camp O'Hare. I was in awe of how unaffected Abby was by the fact that we were sleeping in the strange surroundings. She had her family with her, Mommy rubbing her back and she knew she was safe. She had all she needed to feel safe and secure. It was a beautiful reminder to me of what it looks like to rest in the security and safety God, my Heavenly Father, provides for me as his child...always. Oh Lord, help me to have the faith of a child!

3. We were taken out of our comfort zone and had next to nothing with us. We were cold and without a place to stay. As I lay on the cots watching my girls sleep and watching the sea of people trying to get some sleep around me, God unexpectedly overwhelmed my heart with compassion and gratitude. Compassion for those people who have nothing and spend every night in homeless shelters and gratitude for the comforts we enjoy everyday..the reality that our situation would be over in the morning. For a night, I felt what it would be like to sleep in a "shelter" with my little kids and in those hours my heart broke for parents throughout the world who wouldn't have a home to go to in the morning.

4. Ella finally fell asleep at 12:30 after doing many laps around the empty airport. Joe and I didn't really sleep as we took turns watching our kids. We were emotionally and physically tired, but God sustained us. We made it through. And though it felt like a terrible inconvenience to us for so many reasons, only God knows why we were not supposed to get on that airplane and why we were not able to get a rental car that night...only God knows why he wanted us at Camp O'Hare that night and God is always good, so I can trust Him.

5. I will never choose to fly American Airlines again if I can help it. Not because they had mechanical problems, but because their customer service and internal communications were really poor. Not to mention the fact that my luggage has gotten lost EVERY time I've flown with them. So no more AA. I've always been more of a JetBlue girl myself anyway. ;)

So our family experienced two firsts on this trip: camping and camping in an airport. Which leads me to...

6. We better make a plan to take our girls camping (something I really have no desire to do in a real pop a tent and get lots of bug bites way) because Abby was able to compare a night sleeping among 200 other people at the airport under flourescent lights to the magical experience of camping in the great outdoors. It might be time to correct this potential parenting mishap.

Do I want to do it again? No thanks. I'd rather pop a tent and get lots of bug bites while roasting marshmallows over an open fire, BUT I'm thankful for the reminders and family memory. I know it is one we will laugh about for a long long time (especially next time we are passing through terminal H at Camp O'Hare).

Snapshots and Quotables

Ella's favorite thing to do is brush her teeth. She would seriously brush her teeth all day long if we let her. (which I'm actually liking the idea of more and more since her latest fascination is eating dirt!) She crawls into the bathroom and squeals until someone helps her get her toothbrush in hand.

cutie pie. 

Abby loves to be "cozy and snuggly" in her bed. We walked in one night to find her fast asleep and snuggled up like this:

Ella likes to help with the chores. OR look really cute while I do chores.

Did I mention Ella climbs on any and everything she possibly can? She thinks she's pretty much the coolest while she is doing it too.

Abby and I recently met up for a girls' night out with one of my closest friends and her future stepdaughter. We grabbed some dinner and then went shopping. Abby enjoyed her time with the grown-up girls and loved every minute of looking at fun accessories. When I tried to move her on to the next part of the store, she would say, "Wait, Mommy PULEEEASSE! I haven't tried everything on yet!" I love this new season where she is old enough to stay up a little later and go on dates with mom!

Ella also loves to climb anything she can outside, including the big slide. She can almost get to the top without any help and often gets up farther than I would like before I can run over to her. Yesterday, I turned around for a minute and then found her almost at the top of the slide's ladder.

Lately, we have been talking with Abby about what it means to be thankful. Mealtimes have become more of a struggle with complaints about what we are eating or how much she has to eat. So, as we talk about our many blessings from the Lord and responding in thankfulness, we've shared a glimpse of the reality that exists all around the world (and in our own city) that there are so many with no food or little choices. In the moment that night, I wasn't sure how much of it made sense to her, but I was motivated to pray. I prayed that God would help all of us truly understand the depth of what we have to be grateful for and give us hearts of compassion for those who are struggling, especially those who don't know Jesus.  That night, God showered me in His grace by allowing me to overhear Abby's prayers. It was one of those moments as a mom when God allowed me to see a glimmer of how He is moving within the hearts of our family. My heart overflowed with thankfulness as I heard:

"Father, I pray for the little kids in the world who don't have food. Mommy said some people only have white rice to eat. God, can you please give them food? Thanks for all the food I have. Thank you for the day. And the breeze. And the sun. Please help the other kids. Ok, thanks.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

Every minute of teaching and sharing (including the discipline) are worth it. Those moments may be challenging and trying on our patience, but they are worth it. There is nothing better or more powerful that I could be doing with my time. Because at the end of the day, it's God who multiplies the works of our hands. It is God who draws hearts to himself. It is God who opens our eyes to the truth. Lord, thank you for ways you work in hearts and transform lives with your love!

Ella: One Year Old

My little Ella,

You're one year old! You are 19 pounds 15 ounces (53%) and 29.5 inches long (63%). Your head is in the 86 percentile. You are wearing 12-18 month clothing, size three diapers and size four shoes.  You have seven teeth and they are now really visible when you smile...making your smile all new kinds of cute.

Your most favorite foods are blueberries and corn, but you eat everything with such passion and enjoyment it is rare to see you reject anything. Other favorites include strawberries, pears, watermelon, oranges, noodles and english muffins with creamcheese. We've made the switch. No more nursing. You are enjoying your whole milk in a sippy cup.

Though you are not walking yet, you are showing lots of interest. You have taken a step or two on your own, but have been learning to stand up for longer periods of time without holding on to anything. You love to push the baby stroller and walk with it. It's only a matter of time now. I wonder if when you start walking, you might stop climbing as much. Wishful thinking, but I highly doubt it based on the exhilarated smile on your face when you get to the top. Mommy is becoming quite the spotter. You climb on any table, chair, bed, couch, ladder or slide you can and you do not give up easily. Just the other day, I turned around for a minute and you had climbed to the top of the playground ladder. I am going to go ahead and predict you will most likely be the child that climbs out of her crib as soon as you decide it is too restricting.

Until about two months ago, you were moving and exploring so much, you showed little interest in books or videos of any kind. More recently, that seems to be changing and I love seeing your eyes light up when you sit to hear a story (though it is still only a few minutes) or when you see Elmo dance and sing across the screen. It's a whole new world you have yet to really explore. Right now, your favorite book is Dear Zoo and your favorite TV show is either Barney or Elmo, but like I said you barely sit still long enough to care.

You love to sing with us. Some favorite songs are Elmo's song (La La La La), Old Macdonald, Pat-a-Cake and the Fresh Beat theme song. You are very expressive using sign language and lots of new words (dada, mama, baba, nana, night night, bye, hi, cheese, duck, woof woof, baby, amen).

You would brush your teeth all day long if I let you. Though you love to play, most age appropriate toys do not hold your interest for long because you are determined to be playing with whatever Abby is playing with. If Abby is coloring, you want to be coloring. If Abby is practicing her letters on the dry erase board, you sneak behind us to find a dry erase marker in the bag and you bring it over to join in. However, your most recent favorite toy discoveries are the stacking rings, your new smart phone and the laundry basket. You love to play in the sandbox, water table or on the swings with your sister. If someone goes outside without you, you follow them to the door and stand at the screen shouting for them to come back and get you. If you are in the sandbox and Abby decides to go on the swings, you crawl as fast as you can to get to your swing too. I'd say your favorite places to be are either outside, in Abby's room, the playroom, climbing on the stairs or in the bathroom rifling through the tampon drawer (which your sister so lovingly refers to as playing with "the sticks").

When we ask you what a doggy says, you pant wildly with your tongue hanging out of your mouth. You love shoes and talking on your cell phone. When you hear my phone ring, you will pick up anything next to you, put it to your ear and say "Hiiiiiii".  If you are in the same room as me and I am wrapping up a conversation on the phone, you start saying bye before I do because you understand that it is about to happen. Amazes me every time.

This month, you experienced some firsts: traveling on an airplane to Little Rock with your sister, sleeping in the Chicago airport (a story for another day), taking your first boat ride and playing in the lake at the Bluff.

On your actual birthday, we spent lots of the day playing together at home. You practiced walking with the baby stroller and really started to get the hang of it. (Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpIlgCsrZ-w)  Then, you decided you had had enough of being the "grown up", threw the baby out of the stroller and sat in it yourself. No question who the baby in this family is.

"I may be one, but let's not be confused...I'm still the baby in this family!"

baby

Grammy and G-Diddy arrived later in the afternoon to celebrate your birthday with us. You opened some gifts and then Grammy and G-Diddy took us all out to Joe's Crab Shack for a birthday dinner. The waitstaff even came over and sang to you and you loved every minute of it. :)

loving your new Big Bird puppet

the next morning Abby enjoyed the perks of having G-Diddy to snuggle with for a show

Your personality lights up the room making everyone laugh. Your smile is contagious, especially now that you scrunch up your nose, point at any camera/ cellphone and say CHEEEEEESE all the time. I can't say enough to express what a precious little girl you are. We are blessed more and more each day as we learn the special ways God has created you. You are his beautiful masterpiece! Daddy and I pray daily that you would trust in Jesus and follow Him at an early age learning how to minister to others through these beautifully unique gifts He has given you.

We love you Bells-ca-bells! Happy Birthday to you!