Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, PA

I think this is the closest to heaven I've experienced - sans the streets of gold - the variety and magnitude of flowers, trees and other plants was most phenomenal! Lilies and hibiscus' the size of Frisbees, an Italian water garden the size of a soccer field, spiky, string, waxy and delicate flowers! Acres and Acres of green, an idea garden, water fountain shows, 30 foot tall carved trees and enormous tree houses! Here are some of my favorite photos!

20 Months

The month of adventure and visits!

Autumn you have been phenomenal this last month! On the first day of your 20th month, daddy, you and I took off on an adventure of a lifetime! We had been in Hawaii and flew to Thailand and Myanmar for 10 days of pure adventure with some good friends... 12 flights, stays in 5 cities and 16257 total miles flown. Our first day was 4 flights and about 23 hours of transit time and you did awesome! We had to go through security 3 times, immigration twice, take buses to the terminals and you just went with the flow. Your favorite activities while we were abroad were the ocean, uncle Ryan, swimming pools, stairs, escalators, putting clothing on and off, movies and walking.

Luckily most places we were accommodated these interests! When we got back to Hawaii we got to spend a couple of days resting on the beach, spending time with Tutu, Uncle, Steve and Marie and then traveling back across the country to see many friends and all of our family. Yes all of them! We arrived yesterday to Washington DC to spend some good time with your Uncle Chad, Aunt Christie and cousin Eric - as it may be a while before we get to see them again.

Firsts this month: 6 word sentence - "Thank you Daddy for the toy." Going to another country, jumping off a diving board (with help), kayaking, getting babysat at a restaurant, sitting on a motorcycle, riding a TukTuk, speaking another language - you learned thank you in Thai - Kop-khun-ka.

Common words/sentences: Different book, different Elmo (movie), where are you?, Hi puppy, Autumn's ______ (could be anything - toy, baby, chair, carseat, food...), More _____(food items, mommy, daddy, other people, swing, slide, play, No_______ (hair, brush, bed, eat...), outside, inside, everybody everybody, change baby, and read book. You grab our leg and say "mommy/daddy play." and drag us toward your toys. You have full conversations as you play but I can't alway understand them. You know your animals now and even say "cock a doo doo." You spontaneously say 'thank you' at appropriate times, and 'sorry' - but not always at the appropriate times. You've started to say "yeah" to things you want! It is so cute... "uhh YEAH" with lots of emotion.

Motor and Growth: I'm not sure how much bigger you have gotten, but your cloths and shoes are no longer fitting. When we got to Colorado we went and got you new shoes and jackets. Nana had taken care of the clothes already! You now wear mostly size 6 shoes and 24 month or 2T clothes. Some of your 18 month old clothes fit, but they won't for much longer. You continue to get faster and more smooth with your running and climbing. Playgrounds, couches, highchairs, steps, benches and anything you can climb on are a lot of fun!

The night we flew back to Seattle from Maui you walked/ran the entire length of the airport and then ran circles around my legs as we waited for the shuttle. You are learning to scoop and kick in the water and tolerate the water in your ears and on your face better. When we played in the pool at the resort in Myanmar you wanted to be under the water. We were trying to teach you that you needed to let us know if you wanted in the pool. I also wanted you to understand that it wasn't good if you stayed under the water too long. You'd slide in and bob and after an uncomfortable amount of time (5 seconds or so) we'd pull you up and you giggle and say more, more, more. Not exactly the desired response, but at least you were learning to hold your breathe.

Your flexibility and adaptability to wherever we happen to be is amazing! You would fall asleep on a bus and end up on a boat and not care! We have tested your flexibility to an upper limit this month – you have not slept in any one place for more than 3 nights. As long as you have momma and daddy and activities – you are mostly happy! We are certain that you had just as few melt downs as if we had just been home the whole time.

Things you love: The ocean, swimming (scoop and kick), bath time, momma's milk and armpit, walking, stairs, dressing your self, undressing your self, putting on momma and daddy's clothes, helping us, puzzles, climbing anything, playing anything with momma and daddy as long as you have our full attention!

You amaze us, make us laugh, stretch our patience, make us so proud and show us love beyond our sweetest dreams! We love you Autumn Bear!!!

Love, Momma and Daddy

19 months

(A bit late, written on April 8th - but I didn't have time to get all the pictures together for the post then)


Autumn – you are so much fun! Another month has gone by and you continue to grow, learn and develop into a little girl. Physically you’re a little taller, your hair is now long enough to braid and the last of your front 8 teeth is coming in. You continue to be a little go get’er - running more, walking backwards well, easily climbing up on things like furniture and lava rocks, you are starting to try to jump and can easily manage most easy fasteners (ie nothing is safe left down at your level – you will figure out how to open it). Your language continues to blossom – you are using more and more 3-4 word sentences and can label many things from memory. You easily complete the ABC puzzle and ask us to sing you the ABs. When I ask you to find certain letters, you know about 10 of them – Z, S, L, A, B, D, O, P, U, X. You’ve got it down that A is for Autumn and that you are Autumn. It is so cute – we ask ‘who’s Autumn’ and you point to yourself and say “I’m Autumn.” You now know the colors green and purple some of the time and love building structures with the large size legos. You like to listen to us sing and almost always ask for “more sing.” The other day you asked for “Jesus” – to sing Jesus Loves Me and at the table you will ask for “more amen” after we pray ! So precious!

Inspired by a friend - here is a word cloud of your verbal language at 19 months. These are the words you use on your own - as you can repeat almost everything.

The “OCEAN” - Autumn, you love to play in the ocean and it is one of your favorite words! The other day daddy and I took turns playing with you and surfing and when we went to get back in the car, you pouted and protested saying “More Ocean!” We went back to a calmer area to watch the sunset while you kicked around in the sand and in the water. You like to wade, pick up sand and rocks, be held while sizeable wave hit us, watch the hermit crabs, kick and splash, sitting on the surf board or really anything that includes the water. Tutu took us to the Maui Aquarium and you loved getting to see all the sea life – fish, turtles, jelly fish, sea horses and so much more! You went on your first whale watching boat – and although it was hard to be held for that long and you really didn’t see the whales – you had fun. Mommy and Daddy are so excited to see your love for the ocean grow as you are able to enjoy it in different ways the bigger you get – learning to swim, surf, snorkel and all the other fun things!

Favorites – babies and Elmo are still favorites – but not as much as a focus as in past months. You can spot monkeys in stores and books and ask nana to see her monkey puppet on skype. Other favorites include - the ocean, taking cloths and shoes on and off, juice (which is mostly whole milk these days), papaya “paya”, pineapple, rice, cheese, infant car seat carriers (to play in and out of), fasteners, saying no, a yellow sun hat, showers and baths and looking in the mirror. You love to “play” – you will now come grab our leg and pull us toward your room saying “play, play!” This is supper cute, but hard on daddy when he needs work.

Dislikes – being told not to do something, getting into your own carseat to go anywhere – even the ocean, putting on shoes or clothing that you did not help pick out, getting your diaper changed, bug bites – they ‘itch and hurt.’

Most of the time you are pretty sweet – but here are some things that have gotten you in trouble lately. Pulling on the mirror (or anything in the home that we’ve asked you not to touch – computers, space heaters…), sticking things in the toilet, getting on top of the table, screaming in a store because we didn’t get you something you wanted, throwing food on the floor because you are mad it wasn’t what you wanted, touching the trash or recycle and occasionally biting mommy. This month we have had to start implementing firm time outs and you understand. It isn’t very much fun for any of us, but we know that it is what we need to do to teach you right from wrong and obedience.

Autumn we adore you and are having so much fun being your mommy and daddy! Mommy is so happy she is done working full time until August so that we get to play together often! The first day of your next month we leave for our biggest family adventure ever! We are going to meet Todd, Alissa, Liz and Ryan in Thailand and travel to Myanmar! Although we are a bit anxious about many hours on plane rides, sanitation and such things – we are so excited to share our love for far corners of the world with you at a young age!

We love you sooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!

Mommy and Daddy

Phi Phi island is amazing! Hiked to the top of the island and then to a remote beach today - everything I dreamed it to be! (-:

Playtime

Since I don't have internet in the evenings (or really except when we stop at different hot spots - like I'm sitting in the Safeway parking lot loading these).
I've been playing - A new card collection! (-:

Where is our home?

Our little life is fun but different. I get looks of confusion every time new people we meet try to figure out where we live.
Here is a typical conversation -
Other Person: "So, where are you from?"
Me: "Well, we came from Colorado and have a house there we are renting out."
Them: "So you will go back there?"
Me: "Someday, but not for a while."
Them: "So then where are you going?"
This is where I hesitate - it sounds too dreamy or something. Like I'm being prideful or boasting - but I want to be honest too. But I certainly feel spoiled that the honest truth does sound dreamy.
Me: "We'll we are going to Hawaii and South East Asia before we spend the summer back in Colorado with family."
Them: "So you will move back to Colorado?"
Me: "Kind of, were just there for the summer and then going back to Hawaii for the school year for me to work in the schools. Our goal is to live in Colorado and Hawaii."
Them: "That sounds nice. Why do you want to be all over the place?"
Me: "Partly because we enjoy traveling and partly because that is how we've figured out how to make our finances work."

Of course the answer to the last question is quite a bit more complicated, travel and finances kind of sums it up. Seems strange that traveling around can be more financially stable than not? I guess it is mostly true - but it is also true that we could buckle down, try to find jobs somewhere and be stationary. But then we'd loose all our flexibility - one location, Aaron possibly being salary and working 50-60 hours a week and little vacation time. So we must choose between stationary, stable and committed or flexible but somewhat unknown. Right now it is taking both of us to make things work for insurance and finances. Aaron can work from anywhere and has been really blessed with plenty of work for his business. I can find contract or PRN work almost anywhere and make more money doing that kind of work. More money for less time is very appealing at this stage in life. So right now we are choosing flexible and adventurous over stationary. We really feel our hearts belong in two places - Colorado and Hawaii, but to make this possible we have to be a fair bit more flexible.

Although it is a bit of a crazy life and certainly strange and very foreign to most people - it is a life we like. Everyday I'm very thankful that Autumn goes with the flow and is happy where ever we are! The best thing about the little adventure we started at Christmas time, is that everywhere we have been and will be going includes really great friends and family! Sharing life and experiences with those you love is really what life is all about! Well, second to following what Christ has for us! We are excited to see how God will use our flexibility in this life to serve Him. We do not have a clear picture or calling, but are ready to follow what he lays before us each step of the way.

It will be interesting how this life will turn out and where home will eventually be! What will we do for school for our children? What will work look like when we fall into more of a pattern of living in both places? Where will we live? Will we try to buy a home in both places? Time will tell our story!

Christchurch Update

Christchurch has a special place in my heart. During a semester abroad in 2003, I lived about 10 miles outside of the city - but we spent a lot if time in town at the park, at coffee shops, shopping and such. It is such a beautiful city with truly lovely people. Seeing the City Center in rubble breaks my heart. I still have several friends that live in and around Christchurch - all of which are okay. Please continue to pray for the city - here is an email sent today by my friends that live just outside of the city.


Here's an update on the current situation in Christchurch, and our part in it. It is two weeks yesterday since the earthquake struck, and very obviously it is still a very big part of everyone's life here. Aftershocks are continuing on a more or less regular basis, and some of these have been fairly strong, with an occasional one up to about 5.0. After the first quake in September more than 5,000 aftershocks were recorded so I guess we are in for quite a few more yet. While most do no damage, they are nevertheless unnerving and emotionally draining.
We escaped lightly from the quake. This time round we had more damage than in September, with some movement of the house, cracks (mostly hairline) in both outside and inside walls, and doors not shutting. The concrete area in front of the garage also has a few new cracks. Our biggest problem was a burst water main pipe into the house. This prevented us from having a continual supply of water, but we could turn it on for short periods to have a quick shower or do some washing or flush the toilets. This has now been fixed so we're back to normal in this regard, though still boil all drinking water. Our electric power and sewerage system were unaffected.

Tim's house on the other side of town (Avondale) is a mess. It has multiple serious cracks and still has no power, water or sewerage. 98% of the city has power and water and about 80% has sewerage so his is right in the middle of the wrong place. There was also a lot of liquefaction (sand and silt coming up through the ground) in that part of the city and it took a couple of days to wheelbarrow it from his property onto the road, from where it was later removed by the city council. At this stage Tim is still living in his home while he awaits assessment by structural engineers. I would not be surprised if the house is deemed not repairable.

At the moment the death toll stands at 166, but this is expected to rise to nearer 200. Several of these were overseas students who were studying in a language college that collapsed. An estimated 800 buildings in the Central Business District are flattened or so badly damaged that they will have to be demolished. The centre of the city will remain out of action for several months. While there is a lot of work to be done before final decisions are made, many houses will have to be demolished as well. Currently they think about 10,000 will be involved.

Many thousands of residents have left the city, mostly on a temporary basis though some have permanently relocated. About 500 university students have gone to Australia to do their first term or semester of studies. Some schools have reopened, some are awaiting repair, and others will need to be replaced. This has caused huge problems regarding schooling. Some students have been relocated to schools that are open, other schools are sharing facilities with one school using the premises in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Many businesses have been lost and about 9,000 people have lost their jobs. Several churches were also destroyed.

While many are understandably traumatized by the events, the people generally are in good heart. There has been tremendous pulling together to get done what needs to be done. Several thousand students mobilised and took their spades and wheelbarrows to remove liquefaction from people's properties. Churches and other groups are daily providing thousands of meals for those without power or water. And many people from around the country are also helping in many ways. Providing free accommodation for those who need a break away, fund raising, etc.

You will doubtless have seen much of what has happened on TV. I understand that, as is to be expected, the most dramatic of pictures and scenes are the ones that have been given the greatest prominence. While these are true, life continues, though in a rather different and more restricted way. We will get over it, however long that might take, but in the meantime we appreciate your continued concern and prayers.

Here is a rather dramatic photo taken of the city just moments after the earthquake struck.

1 and a half!

Wow! Autumn you are one and a half and time is not slowing down! We have had a fun month - your last one living on the Palouse. We moved out of the Farm house and back in with the Watsons. We spent a weekend in the mountains and lakes of Northern Idaho and you and mommy drove to Olympia to see our friends Oli, Laine and Kevin. You were a trooper - we were in the car for 6 1/2 hours, sat at the shipping dock for 2 hours, in the airport for another 2 and flew back and you never shed a tear. We stopped in south Seattle and walked around the mall and ate at the Rain Forest Cafe! You loved all the monkeys and birds up in the trees and got to sit next to the fish tank for dinner.

In general your life is pretty similar to last month except that we have been sick the last week and so you have spent extra time with mommy. You have spent many days playing with Kaitlin and Mara and really missed them while they were out of town for the weekend. I told you they'd be back on Sunday and when they got here you excitedly said "Mar back!" Hopefully you will get well soon and be able to play with them again before we move.

The TV: You continue to love Elmo - no other monster or character catches your eye quite like Elmo. We have been letting you watch your Elmo movie more often and you seem to really be able to follow what is going on. You have also become interested in watching the TV when we are watching something as well, which you never used to do. It is interesting to hear what you have to say about it. Daddy was watching Karate Kid and you kept saying eye, eye when the little girl and boy were shown. Below you are holding the $2 Elmo we scored at the goodwill.


New Skills: Your interest of the month has been clothing. Taking it on, off, doing zippers, snaps ... One morning instead of waking and crying you took your pajamas and diaper off. You really like working the zippers on your jamies and jackets and want to be able to start them. Last week I was trying to get you dressed and you took your clothes to the step, sat down and tried to put them on yourself. You would not let me help you. You were able to string your legs into the holes, but finally accepted my help to pull them up. The shirt - well, we just left it off for a while because you couldn't get it on and wouldn't let me help. One of the babies has a dress on and you've been unsnapping it, removing it and then asking me to put it "back on."
You've mastered your 26 piece letter puzzle. It totally amazes me that you are able to locate where all the letters go and you can also pick up many letters and know which picture goes with it. If you pick up the M you say milk, W you say wagon, L you say lion... I'm not quite sure what is next for puzzles as I think the next step is large set in jig saw pieces - maybe we'll give it a whirl just to see!

Language: You continue to explode with your vocabulary. We were at the store and you label things as we walk by them - bread, apple, cado (avocado), sawbeay (strawberry) ... it was so cute. You talk in 2-4 word sentences and try to repeat us all day. You also went through a strong 'no' week. Saying 'no' to everything - it was usually a fairly nice no, but we are glad it has worn off a bit. You said "I lub you" for the first time on Valentines and say"baby lub," which is what I call you. You enjoy saying "bye bye and night night" to everything.

Sleeping: You went through a couple week streak of taking 3-4 hour naps most days, but now you have a cold and napping has become a challenge again. It is also fairly common that you will play with your books and babies in your crib 30-60 minutes before falling asleep. You are sleeping most of the way through the night again, only occasionally do you need cuddles around 4am and then will sleep until 6:30 or 7:30.

Autumn you are such a joy and adventurous spirit! We love watching you figure out this world! This next couple of months you are going to see so many new things - we will be traveling to Maui, Big Island, Thailand, Myanmar, Oahu and Molokai!! We can't wait to enjoy the beaches, ocean waves, new foods and good friends with you!

Biggest Hugs and Kisses,
Mommy and Daddy

Too Many Details...

Details - so many details... Although I complain none that we are getting to travel all over, even with a toddler - my brain stays up at night spinning through the details and trying to work them out. What paperwork do I need to ship our car, which car seat should I take where, will our passports get back from the Embassy of Myanmar in time, how can we have our computers in Kona but not take them to SE Asia when we will not be returning to Kona, what stuff should we leave where, how will I get to the airport when I drop off the car, what has been paid for and what has not, where will we be each night and how are we getting there, will the new noise that the mechanic can't figure out in the car we are shipping on Sunday please go away, when are we going to have time to do our taxes . . .

We will be living out of 2 rolling suitcases and a diaper bag for 45 days. I'm so ready for the warmth and adventure and I'm also ready to have my brain take a break from so many details. We have 17 more days here in Pullman, 9 more days working at the nursing home. I'm ready to only have Autumn and my part time job of planning life - not my full time job and the other 2. I'm maybe getting a bit tired and cranky (-:

Haiti

This is a blog on Haiti that I follow - here is a powerful post on children who are thriving!
http://brittanyinhaiti.blogspot.com/2011/02/one-year-later.html

Take Offs and Touch Downs

This is evidence of the craziness that is about to begin! We will be traveling partly for business and mostly for pleasure starting here soon. Oahu to Bangkok is on Frequent Flier miles. Starting Feb 28 Autumn and I drive to Tacoma and then fly back from Seattle to Pullman. In Mid-March we start our tour of Hawaii and Asia from 'Pullman to Maui via Seattle,' 'Maui to Kona,' 'Kona to Bangkok via Oahu, Tokyo and Beijing,' 'Bangkok to Krabi,' 'Krabi to Yangon via Bangkok,' 'Yangon to N. Myanmar and back to Yangon,' 'Yangon to Bangkok,' 'Bangkok to Oahu via Tokyo,' Oahu to Molokai for a day and then on to Maui,' 'Maui to Pullman via Seattle'. In Late April we drive to Colorado and then go visit family in Baltimore in Mid May.

Opps... I had said 23 but it is only 22 take offs and landings!

17 Months

Baby girl - you are looking more like a little girl everyday! This has been a fun month full of physical growth and huge gains in your vocabulary and other skills! Everyday we are amazed by what you understand and the things you can do.

A typical week - you spend 2-3 days a week with Aunty Kaitlin and Mara, Mommy has you Wednesdays and weekends and Daddy plays with you 1-2 days a week. Mommy and Daddy are working a lot right now.

The first half of the month we were living with the Watson's and now we are staying with a nice family on a farm outside of town for 4 weeks. You really enjoy all of them - including their puppy Buddy and Kitty! You are still a champ when it comes to transitions - you really enjoy yourself and exploring where ever you are.


This month your language exploded - you repeat everything and are able to tell us many things. I can't even begin to list your new words because there are too many. You really love us reading to you and you have more patience to let us read the pages before you need to turn them. Your over all patience and ability to wait has improved as well. When we ask you to - you can say "help please" "good night" "thank you" and many other 2 word phrases. Your other new interest is puzzles. About a month ago you did your first set in puzzle totally independently and so I bought you a 26 piece alphabet puzzle thinking it would be challenge for months. Today you put in about 10 of the letters by yourself and totally amazed me! You can have so much fun entertaining yourself. After you were done with dinner tonight, you went into the living room and played with your toys until we were done as well. After diner you brought all the letters from the puzzle and slid them through a tiny crack in the doors one at a time - and then sent them all back into the living room under the door! You do have an agenda!

You have a new love as well - although babies are still a hot item - your love for Elmo grows! So funny of all the characters - why Elmo? Uncle Phil got you a Elmo video and you enjoy the occasional treat of getting to watching it! In addition to watching Elmo, you love to Skype with your grandparents and watch the videos I made of your first year. The computer just became even more appealing - you run up to it thinking someone might be there to talk back to you!

That growth spurt we were hoping for happened! Your shirts are getting to short and you now weight 21 1/2 pounds! Favorite foods - berries, pasta, rice, organic mac and cheese, juice (whole milk/juice), avocado, yogurt, cheese, pizza, cheese straws, peanut butter, peanut butter crackers, kiwi, oranges, apple sauce, olives

Sleeping - you have become a power napper! One Sunday you even took a 3 hour nap! We love it! At night you do okay - but still occasionally wake up 1x needing cuddles before falling back asleep. Since we hop around so much right now I always go check on you if you are crying at night and let you know we are here. About once a week you really fight going to bed with screaming, but eventually fall asleep. Sometimes a pep talk after a few minutes of crying will settle you down to fall asleep peacefully. Lately when it is time for bed you stall by asking to 'eat, eat, eat.' I will take you down for yogurt or avocado before your bedtime story and song. I really don't think you are hungry and just stalling bedtime - but it is more calories!

Time out - we started implementing time outs this month. Although you are a very well behaved little girl, you do occasionally take thing from Mara or disobey and short time outs seem to work to let you know what behavior is not okay.

About a week ago your 5th grade friend was playing with you and came in saying you need to go potty? Then you came in too and said 'potty' - so I took you in and you peed on the potty! So far it has been a one time occurrence, but maybe a glimpse into the near future I hope. I'm also trying to teach you to pinch your nose when you poop to let us know that we need to change you, as right now you don't let us know and don't stink - which is not so good on your skin )-:

Baby Girl - we are so so so proud of you and love you so so so so much! You are so much fun, full of spunk and energy! One more month and you will be a one and a half year old! Totally crazy!

Hugs and Kisses -
Momma and Daddy

And a special thank you to my Iphone photographer! (-:

Parenting

After discussing parenting tonight - I continue to ponder and pray about my roll as a mother. Up until the last few months, my roll has been to love and care. Showing Autumn she can trust me to care for all of her basic needs. It is a wonderful thing, easy to enjoy simply pouring out love and soaking in cuddles. Then the will... first it was a look, "the don't you dare take that from me" look. Then the stiff body protesting getting into the carseat, the yelling, then the tantrum, now the "no, no, no!"

This parenting thing is tough and I know it has only just begun. I'll be honest, my mind already jumps to the future and dreads the teen years. (I've dreaded parenting the teen years since I was a teen) Then my mind jumps back to the present - how can I help Autumn be safe, honest, caring, compassionate, loving, faithful... She understands nearly everything I say now, but her ability to follow through, go against her own desires and obey is very very difficult. She has my personality - she is strong willed and curious. Safety is far from her first priority (since she is far too young to predict or understand many consequences) and she is so mobile. Yesterday she got my mascara off the counter and put it on (daddy got to clean that one up - sorry). The other day she fell off the edge of the couch reaching for a desired item. I can tell her a 100+ times not to touch the buttons on the room heaters and she forgets I'm in the room and starts pushing the buttons and startles when I get after her. Ahh........

I say this not because I think she is a bad kiddo, but because I'm realizing that setting boundaries and expectations is so hard and she is going to explore, push and learn. Being 100% consistent is so important, yet impossible. Keeping her safe is difficult. I try hard - but I'm merely practicing, I haven't done this before. We will butt heads and I will make mistakes.

My hope is that we come out in 18 years relatively un-scared - both physically and emotionally. That she becomes a God fearing, loving, compassionate, honest, caring member of society. That I learn and grow in love, patience, and peace.

Children have the ability to bring joy unspeakable and pain deeper than the sea. They will make us proud to call them our own. They will make poor choices that will bring tears and sadness. Lord help us in this journey - we need you foremost.

My Parenting Prayer -
Lord build my faith so you will be the focus of our family.
Lord help me to give you credit for all things so my children see you around them.
Lord help us to be honest so we can meet each others needs.
Lord teach us how you love so that we may love each other more wholly.
Help me to be kind and firm in my discipline so my children will know right from wrong.
Lord help me grant grace and patience- to my children as they learn and for myself when I make mistakes.
Help me to learn, love, laugh and become the parent you want me to be. Amen.

Why I Love Blogging

Blogging: A blog (a blend of the term web log)^[1] is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

To me blogging is both the creation of my own online journal and the reading of others. My own blog is a way for me to journal about my life for my own record, keep family up to date and interact with my friends.

Additionally, almost every night I come to blogger.com to check and see if anyone has written a post I'd be interested in. Most of the blogs I follow are friends, but I also follow a couple of missionaries and other topical blogs that interest me. Through written updates, pictures and video clips I maintain contact and get to know my friends in a way that is otherwise not possible. I'm often encouraged in my walk with Christ from others posts and am able to pray for needs that I may have otherwise not known about! I also learn new things about parenting, crafts, cooking or what ever happens to be on other people's minds. Like tonight I learned about how cutting diary has helped several mommies significantly reduce the fussiness of their babies and read a verse on God's comfort that is very applicable in my life right now too.

So to those of you who are in my blog world - thank you - I appreciate all of you! We are in this journey of life together!! (-:

Chai Gingerbread Bars

I made these tonight and they are heavenly!! From a friend of mines food blog: http://mytabletheirtable.blogspot.com

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 tsp of allspice

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp of ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp of Chai tea leaves (about 3 tea bags worth)

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup of butter, softened

1 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

2 whole eggs

1 tsp of vanilla

1/4 cup of molasses

1 TBS of fresh ginger, minced

1/2 cup of golden raisins

Sift together the flour, allspice, cinnamon, ground ginger, tea leaves, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed. Add in the molasses, vanilla, and ginger. Combine until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add in the flour mixture. Once combined, add in the raisins. Grease a 9"x13" baking pan (I like to use the paper from the butter). Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake at 350degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack completely before cutting. These bars are best cold, honestly! Enjoy!

More Fat Please!

For most of my life I have tried to figure out how to shop for low fat foods. Although I have always fed Autumn high fat foods, her weight gain had been minimal between 12-15 months and we have been trying to figure out how to add calories to her diet! After cruising the grocery store and reading up, these are the things we have tried to add to her wholesome diet!

She will not drink milk - so after several attempts of adding coco, vanilla, warming it... I thought I would try adding half and half to her orange juice that she loves! White juice was born - she downs it no problem and sometimes I've even been adding heavy cream instead of 1/2 and 1/2. I tried it - it tastes like a creamsicle.
Half and Half - 1 Tablespoon = 20 calories, 1.73 g fat
Heavy Cream - 1 Tablespoon = 51 calories, 5.5 g fat

Butter - on anything!! Mixed in the pasta, added to eggs, on toast, in potatoes, on vegies

Coconut butter is a tasty treat I found at the food Coop here. 1 Tablespoon = 57 calories, 5 g fat I add it to peanut butter on toast or mix in warm oatmeal.

Peanut butter - goes on crackers, on toast, in applesauce, in yogurt - anything really! 1 Tablespoon = 94 calories, 8 g fat

Higher Fat Yogurts -
Greek Gods Pomegranate - 6oz = 230 calories, 17 g fat
Dannon naturals plain yogurt - 8oz = 160 calories, 8 g fat (reasonably priced at Walmart)
Fage Total Greek Yogurt - 8 oz = 300 calories, 23 g fat

I feed her yogurt plain, with applesauce, and in oatmeal.

Cheese - on whole grain pasta, plain, on crackers, cream cheese, cottage cheese... I've even caved and started feeding her natural mac and cheese. She loves it! Aaron made it with 1/2 and 1/2 instead of milk.

Confessions of an obsessive mother: I've had to break some of my rules to increase her diet - mostly in the area of sugar. Up until 3 weeks ago I had tried not to feed her anything with processed sugar, not even cane sugar - only plain yogurt, no sweet treats (cookies, ice cream...). She had plenty of fructose and other sugars found naturally in fruits and vegetables. The flavored yogurts I'm now feeding her, have cane sugar in them and because she has started asking for them when we are eating them, I let her have bites of cookies/ice cream every now and then. I still plan to keep her sugar intake as small as possible, but am trying to be less neurotic about it. I had also decided I didn't want her having processed crackers - and found that rice cakes and veggie straws had way fewer and more natural ingredients. However in the quest to up the calories - I'm now feeding her cheddar whales and ritz crackers as well.

16 months

Sweet Girl! Another month has slip by and you continue to be the joy of our lives! Much has changed in our life as a family and you just roll with the punches! In the last month we packed up our house in Loveland, celebrated your 2nd Christmas and traveled to Washington state to live for a short time. Your daddy and granddad drove our cars and you and I flew on an airplane from Aspen. You hardly noticed all the change as each day the house became more and more empty. As long as there were some toys or tubberware or boxes to play with you were happy.
We moved out on the 23rd and spent 2 nights with the Grandma and Papa and then with the Lyon's enjoying Christmas! You got lots of fun toys - and even screamed in excitement when you opened a learning turtle from Grandma and Papa and the baby from Heather and Todd. You are busy busy busy - playing with this, hiding that, asking for "dat" and running around! Christmas afternoon we drove to Nana and Papa's for a relaxed Christmas evening and more spoilage! The next day Great Grandpa and Grandma came to visit and spend time with you.
We are now in a new place and you have adjust well. I would even say you have a better routine here, which is nice! You now take a mid-morning nap and then sometimes another one before dinner. Other than mommy having to wake you up to feed you before work, you are sleeping at night like a champ! The Watson's are generously sharing their home with us for a few weeks and then we will be with another family for 5 weeks. While mommy is working full time, Daddy has you 2 days a week and you spend 2 days with Kaitlin and Mara! We are so blessed that you are happy where ever we are!

You had your 15 month check up - not our best visit. The doctor is worried that you are not gaining enough weight and you had an ear infection and had to be put on antibiotics. You had not showed any signs of sore ears - so I'm glad that we happened to be going to the doctor's office. We are not worried about your weight and expect you will have another growth spurt soon! We are also trying to boost your diet with more calories. You now drink 'white juice' (heavy cream and Orange Juice), we add butter, coconut butter and cheese to everything! You ate so much before that it is amazing that you are still hanging out at around 18 pounds - avocados, full fat Greek yogurt and cheese ... lots of food for a busy girl! Keep up the good work - you like most of the food we give you!


Firsts: First train ride (Glenwood Springs to Denver on the Amtrak), first time playing outside in your snowsuit, first time allowed eating treats like bites of cookies and a bite of ice cream, first time on antibiotics (which you loved thank goodness - but after the last dose you got hives, so just like mommy - no penicillin for you!), first time feeding Llamas (with Kaitlin and Mara).


Words! Many new words including bart (barette), butt (button), eat, nun (done), side, tutl (turtle), kiki (kiwi), shoes (which sounds like juice), no, dat (that), Mama (Mara), Elmo (super clear!), buk (book), cheese, kitty, eye, dee (diaper), kiss, dun (down), nada(banana), dow (door),baat (bath), own (phone), ion (Lion), beep (sheep), tee(teeth) .. and others!

Things you love - babies are still at the top of the list, but since moving, Elmo is a new favorite - yesterday in the car you said "Momma?" I said "Yes Autumn," you said "Elmo!" You love to play with your shoes - the third day we were here you took all your socks and shoes and put them on the 2nd stair. You like order - you fix the rugs if they are flipped up. You LOVE Mara's booster seat - for some reason it is far superior to your own. You also love juice and luckily your white juice too!!! You love to knock on daddy's office door! You love the bath - you splish and splash and blow bubbles.


Current interests: Babies, Elmo and Cookie Monster, electronics - remotes, phones, anything with buttons, a foam elmo book, scribbling, swinging, observing, running, being tickled, shoes, climbing, Mara's high chair.

Difficulties this month - you are cutting like 6 teeth (including 3 first molars) and although you are not supper fussy you started biting me )-: You lean into kiss or give goobers and then chomp chomp. You have also continued to become more opinionated about things and throw an occasional fit about things like not wanting to get dressed, or when you get into things you should not be getting into and we remove you, and other not so fun moments. You are also having a hard time sharing - you want everything Mara has in her hands - slowly you are learning to ask please and give her things to play with. You also get pretty jealous if daddy or I are holding baby Mara, but you are getting better.

Although we have hard moments, you are one amazing and wonderful girl! You are learning and picking things up so quickly - watching you grow up is so much fun! We love you very much and are so proud to be your momma and daddy!!!!

Nursing Home

Well, I just finished my first 4 day in a row stretch of working since June 2009. It wasn't bad - my job is very rewarding even though it is hard work. For another 9 weeks I will be at a SNF (nursing home) in Colfax helping elderly people gain independence.

Hardest Moments of the last 7 days:
Having Autumn cry at the door as I leave and then peer out the windows to watch me drive away.
Having Autumn scream Mommy at the top of her lungs when I hand her off to Aaron at O dark thirty in the morning and have to leave.
Today having my client with a neurological disorder cry because he no longer is well enough to live with his wife or care for himself.
Watching clients decline in function or give up.
Foul odors.

Best Moments (at work):
Being asked to be the primary OT by a family and then the mom said - "if you'd have been here 2 months ago he'd already be doing all these things."
Conversations with clients about their families and lives.
Being told I look 16 by a funny woman (-:
Watching clients gain independence and confidence in order to return home.