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Preciosa!

First sprinkler run of the season.

Eli "the alligator wrestler"

Silly kids!

Here is a rundown on my peeps (a.k.a. Selah, Eli and Dan)...

Eli is crawling...everywhere!, saying 'mama', and pulling himself up on the coffee table.

Selah is a jumping and climbing monkey, feeling 100% better, one month away from turning 3 years old, and has already began asking her daddy for a doggy. Haha! Hmm...who put that in her head?! ;)

Dan has a goal of doing a 40 mile bike trip this summer. He is working his way up, and so far completed a 25 mile ride earlier in the week.

Sonja is keeping busy with summer program and feeling a little discouraged by the lack of encouragement and abundance of criticism. So, please feel free to throw encouraging comments my way any time.

Baby Be Blessed

One thing I love to get for my children are toys that are out of the ordinary. Toys that aren't made of plastic or the stereotypical Elmo or Dora doll. That is why I am loving these dolls from Baby Be Blessed. They are unique, adorable, and most importantly can be personalized with the child's name and Bible verse. I just ordered three, a doll for Selah, a lion for Eli, and a doll for a friend's adopted daughter from China, Nicole. Their slogan, "Spreading the word of God...one doll at a time." Check it out!

Graduation

Maya may be a big girl but she is very gentle with the kids.

Eli sitting up at 6 1/2 months.

My family, who sacrificed so much so that I could finish my degree.

Selah was so tired after the ceremony.

It took me 7 years to finish, but I did it!!!

He is just so darn cute!

Brother and Sister bonding before nap time.

She is running out of the shot, but I just think she looks pretty.

Since I posted last it has been a whirlwind. Actually I feel like that every time I post something. Anyways, on May 14 I GRADUATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a wonderful evening, and yes I teared up a little as we made our entrance into the auditorium. I am thankful I did not trip while going up onto the stage. Thank you to the family and friends who joined me in celebrating this accomplishment.

I had many plans after graduating. I would read the list of books I wanted to read, but couldn't because I had enough reading for school to do. I did enjoy many of those books, though. Wanted to do scrap booking, but yet again school took priority. Graduating would spur on a season of laziness, that would entail vegging out on the couch while watching movies with my husband. I would actually feel bored for once and love it! But God has different plans. Even before graduation day came He would begin the next chapter in my life; I would go into children's ministry. This is something I was very well trained for at Multnomah, however, I have discovered that applying this knowledge is when real learning takes place. So, being lazy has to wait and my family has to make sacrifices once more. Meaning laundry may not get done as efficiently as it should, Daddy might have to help out a bit more, and mommy is just plain exhausted at the end of the day. But Dan and the kids have been wonderful as I plan for the summer program at our church. I am now less than two weeks away from "The Big Show." I have had wonderful help from the rest of the Children's Ministry Team. It is such an amazing opportunity to be surrounded by 4 women with such a wealth of knowledge and experience in this area of ministry. My friend Jenni has helped quite a bit as well. As the summer progresses I will post more on that.

In other news, mainly Selah and Eli kind of news, we are facing some challenges and excitement. Selah has been having tummy troubles the past 4 months. It is a chronic problem that has required numerous doctors visits and a change in diet. I won't go into too much detail, but please pray for my sweet girl that she does not have to hurt any more. On a more positive note she is going to be 3 years old in 2 months! She has been talking about it the last 2 months on a regular basis. Anytime the mention of birthday comes up she speaks up and says, "My birthday is August 8." She went from wanting a princess party to a Backyardigan's party. So, we will try and transform our yard into a Backyardigan beach playground. Selah has a fondness for dancing, jumping, collecting things, brushing her teeth, and strawberries.

Eli is now 7 months and still my smiley boy! He is about 18 pounds and 28 inches long at this point. He is a good eater, but not so good of sleeper. Although, he is sleeping longer at night, he prefers cat naps during the day. My big boy is sitting up, and almost getting into sitting position by himself. Eli is mobile to some extent, and his method in which he goes about this is quite funny. He gets into the crawling position and kicks off with one foot. He will repeat this until he reaches his desired destination. So, can I say he is crawling, just not in the old fashioned way?

Well, that is all for now. I really should get some of that neglected housework done I briefly mentioned above. Too-da-loo for now friends!

Eli is 6 months old!

It is amazing how things change or are different with the second child. With Selah I was constantly looking for the next milestone and it seemed as though time just dragged on. I couldn't wait for her to crawl, talk, or walk. Looking back now, and realizing she is 3 months away from her 3rd birthdy, I understand that time just zooms by. I also realize that the time I have with an immobile baby and unlearned vocabulary is a wonderful thing for the time being. Therefore, I want to slow down and treasure this time I have with Eli as a new baby, I want time to drag a little bit. But it has not granted my request, and now Eli is 6 months old already.

My precious boy brings me so much joy. It is almost inconceivable. Just a small glimps of God's love for us. His smile warms my heart. His cuddles drown out the stress and to-do's that surround me. I love my boy!

Eli now has 4 teeth and prefers to eat rice cereal and any pureed fruit or veggies early in the morning rather than at night. He loves to be held and just someone to talk to him. He sucks his thumb once in a while and is very ticklish. Must get that from his daddy...the ticklish part. Eli still wakes up at night, but has no problem going to sleep by himself without any soothers. That is just a little bit about my big, smiley boy.

An attempt at gardening

A heart shaped rock found in our back yard.

Eli at almost 6 months old.

So we have been busy, as usual. Although, we did make time to plant a garden this last weekend. Hopefully in 2-3 months we will have zucchini, cucumber, carrots, tomato, basil, oregano, and thyme. It's been easy thus far, only because it has been pouring down rain this last week we haven't had to water. Which is where I get forgetful. I can't even remember to water the house plants. They are alive only because I have a fabulous husband who takes care of our indoor and outdoor plants. Selah is pretty excited about it as well. She asks to see the garden every day and still feels that she must water the seeds even though we have had an ample amount of rain. So I let her fill her teacup and pour it onto the dirt anyways. When she gets her mind set on something she has to follow through.

I have mentioned before that she is quite independent. Well today I asked her to go sit on the potty and even handed her the potty stool, that gets carried everywhere. She proceed to grab it from me, go lay it back where it was, and then pick it up to take it to the bathroom. I love the fact that she is independent, and find it humorous the things she does to prove that. Although, I know there will come a day when it will bother me. Namely, when she reaches her teenage years. Ugh! I don't want to think about it yet. Anyways, she is now sleeping in a big girl bed and is doing really well. She seems to get up at least once telling us that she needs to go potty, which is good. Hopefully we can start on being nighttime potty trained. I am amazed at the skill children have in mastering "the stalling game." It is an innate skill that does not need to be learned. Something God created in them to bring humor to our lives...or stress at bedtime. Here is a common conversation between Selah and I once she is tucked in:

I proceed to leave the room...

Selah: Wait! I have to tell you something mommy.

Me: What do you have to tell me sweet heart?

Selah: umm...ummmm...ummm...I don't know!

Then she will talk about something random. Such a little stinker!

She is also using the word 'cool' a lot more and telling me she wants to 'hang out' with me.

Eli is such a cuddle bug and so darn cute! He is getting two more teeth in, this time on the top. He rolls across the floor with increasing speed and is doing fairly well with the solid food. I thought that it would help him possibly go longer than two hours before nursing again, but that hasn't happened. I even followed the advice of the doctor, but to no avail. Eli just likes to eat!

In other news, my graduation ceremony is in two weeks! So excited!!! I will try and get announcements out this weekend. My cousin, a professional photographer, took our pictures and they are so lovely. I should get those tomorrow and they will be sent out with the grad. announcements.

Well I will leave it at that. Next months budget needs to be determined. For those of you who struggle with debt, as most people do, we recommend taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. It has helped us pay off our car, credit card, and student loan debt all before I graduated. It takes discipline, namely changing spending habits, but it is so worth it.

Well as Tigger says, "TTFN!" Ta Ta For Now!

I love to cook!

I thoroughly enjoy cooking! I really didn't realize that I had such a fondness until I got married and had to cook for Dan and I. Then after Selah was born and she started eating solid food I had the privilege of making homemade baby food for her, and now I am doing the same for Eli (I will try and post pictures soon). I was also just asked to help cater an event at our church. So excited for that opportunity!

I like knowing that my family is getting tasty and nutritious food. One of my favorite blogs to read is all about healthy cooking. And what I mean by healthy is not eating all raw vegetables, rather using fresh ingredients and limit the use of salt, fats, and processed foods. Check it out here. It is called Finding Joy in My Kitchen. We have made several of her recipes and have yet to find one we did not like. Here are a few we really like:

Lasagna Soup

Smothered Aussie Chicken

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Mint Oreo Crunch

Have fun recipe surfing!

My babies

I love Selah and Eli's unique personalities. I just wanted to take a moment and write about them so that they can look back and read what they were like as children through my eyes.

My Selah is a clever girl and has proven to be quite independent. If something isn't working for her she keeps at it for a while. Very persistent and a good problem solver. She has a very caring nature. Loves to share with everyone. When she is down to her last bite of ice cream or chocolate treat she insists on sharing it with one of us. She is also a little comedian and loves to be tickled. One thing she has been doing lately is trying to nurse her baby dolls. However, she puts them right at her belly button! So cute! Selah is usually not the cuddly type, but I am thankful for those spontaneous hugs, kisses, and eskimo kisses that she increasingly gives throughout the day. One thing she does like to do a lot is hold my hand.

Selah also seems to have inherited Dan's musical abilities. She often takes the tune to another song and makes up new words. She also loves to dance, use glitter glue, and anything that is pink. Her and I went on a Mommy-Selah date last week, and one thing we always do together is go to Coldstone Creamery. We always share a small scoop of pink ice cream (Strawberry), one mix in (she picked gummy bears last time), and white cream (whipped cream) or chocolate sauce on top.

My sweet girl, I am so happy that God has allowed me to be your mommy. Your smiles, giggles, dancing, and running around bring a smile to my face. I love your humor, talking with you after Papoose and Children's church, and the little ways you surprise me with something new you learned. You are a beautiful and unique creation of God. I love you so very much, Selah! (a.k.a, Bub, Monkey, Se Se, Se J, Cutie Cutes, and Preciosa)

My Eli is now 5 months old! He has had many firsts lately. Today he had his first taste of brown rice cereal. He liked it! He would whimper when I wasn't giving it to him fast enough. At the end there was a minimal amount of rice on his bib. Selah even helped feed him. She wanted to try it, but immediately had a look of disgust on her face. I'm not sure if it was the rice cereal or the breast milk it was mixed with. He is getting his first tooth on the bottom, and has discovered his feet. They are just so fun to grab and put into his mouth. Eli, although he is young, has already proven to be quite the ladies man. The ladies, young and old, just flock to him. Could it be the blue eyes? They are quite dazzling! Could it be the smiles? Who doesn't love a big grin like his?!

Eli has such an easy going, laid back personality. He is quite content no matter where he is at. Whether he is rocking out during the music portion of worship on Sunday mornings or having quiet time with mommy in the evenings. He has plenty of smiles for whoever is holding him, until he gets tired. Very rarely does he fuss when he is tired. Instead he rubs his eyes and has a glazed over look on his face.

My precious son, you are a wonderful and adorable gift from God. I love the smiles you give me whether I am sitting across the room from you or getting you out of your crib in the morning. You are just so darn cute I just can't help but give you ooies and kisses! Your relaxed nature is a breath of fresh air from the busyness that surrounds us. I love you, Eli (a.k.a, cutie bug)