Dan has been attending physical therapy for a bulging disk in his lower back. It looks as though he won't need surgery, because they caught it early enough. However, he may not be able to ride his bike as a means of commuting to work. We'll just have to wait and see. He is doing tremendously better!
I went on a women's retreat this last weekend with 20 ladies from my church. It was a blast! Such a great time bonding and laughing with on another, and feeling rejuvenated. Excellent housing accommodations, not to mention that the food was cooked for us and we did not have to do the dishes. We had several fun activities that our fearless leader, Susan, planned over the course of the weekend. One of which required my team of ladies to create a ball gown for me out of toilet paper. Another placed me in a fashion show, modeling a "seersucker dress." I had to creatively attach suckers to a dress I had. I won second place! In the midst of the silliness we had a lovely speaker who spent the weekend with us. She has an incredibly story, and although I cannot relate to her story of loss, her message was still very applicable. I look forward to next year's retreat!
It was a little difficult being away from the kids. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. No one to dress, but myself. No one to feed, but myself. A hot meal in fact! No potty breaks for Selah, no diaper changes for Eli. No crying, no whining! But no fear, I quickly found something to do. I started reading a great book called "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan.
Despite my children's ability to drive me crazy some days, I am feeling overwhelmed by their cuteness and seeing their natural abilities shine through lately. Just today Selah decided to talk and then echo after her statement. Selah: "Mommy, what are you doing?" (in a much quieter voice) "doing...doing." She did this for quite sometime. Of course, my laughter always encourages her silliness and she proceeds to do it more. Selah is also beginning to tell me what she wants to be when she grows up. So far she has wanted to be a doctor, flutist, builder, teacher, and elephant caretaker. Although, she wants a penguin for a pet. So, I'm not sure if an elephant caretaker and penguin owner would coincide. She is also a great joke teller. Well, her jokes don't really make sense, but the fact that she comes up with random "knock-knock" or "why did the chicken cross the road" jokes is hilarious.
So far, I work at home with Selah on preschool work. She is beginning to write letters, and can easily draw circles, squares, triangles, and the beginnings of a stick person. Although, I am a little leery revealing my daughters intellectual abilities because of a recent event. A mom at the park made a comment recently that her two year old was beginning to write letters, and maybe I need to make more of an effort to get Selah up to par, so to speak. Why do other moms have to be so rude? Is it really worth it? Are we not supposed to join ranks and support one another as we journey on as mothers? I don't really concern myself with how Selah measures up to other children. I see that she is progressing very well and is the smartest girl in the world to me. She is a creative, gentle, kind, deep thinking individual.
Eli's personality is the complete opposite of his sisters. He has this gleam in his eye, letting me know that his curiosity and mischievousness most likely will get the best of him. And one day get his big sister in trouble as they go on adventures. Much to my dismay he climbs...everything. Or at least attempts to climb everything. The other day he kept trying to climb the kitchen cabinets to grab a cookie off of the counter. He couldn't quite reach them, so he goes and grabs his stool. Scoots it into the kitchen and up to the counter to grab the object of his affection. I am incredibly impressed by his abilities, but boy does he wear me out! Oy! He is such a happy boy, though! I love that his smiles come easily. He doesn't say too much, but has demonstrated that he understands much more than his limited vocabulary. He is fascinated by body parts and knows where about 7 are. He also loves animals, eating, going outside, playing patty-cake, basketball, bath time, and having diaper parties with sister (meaning they grab all of the diapers out of the basket and throw them into the air). Oh I should mention that he LOVES to dance. As soon as he hears music, even if he is strapped into his car seat, he immediately starts dancing. Sometimes he doesn't even need music, it's just this innate need to express his joy through dance. How would I describe him? Curious, jovial, and a thinker.
There is a little blip of what is happening in the Newcomer house.
