I am
literally lying on the floor in the dark in Caroline and Claire’s room as I
write this. I have been trying to get these two goof balls to sleep in
the same room together at night for a while now…let’s just say, for nicety
sake, that it isn’t working out as easily as I had hoped. I feel if I were the
captain of the USS Enterprise I would log this day something like this,
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| Claire Mohawk |
“Captain’s
log stardate 572013. I have taken a more dramatic approach in my attempt
to bond these two very different species together for cohabitation. My
assignment here on planet Claroline was thought to be a simple and basic kind
of mission. I had planned to have my ship home and docked by now. I
believe my success in the past has hindered this current mission rather than
help it. Planet Ellorgan was very easy to integrate. The two
different species there though more different than the ones here had more of a
gentle nature. These two, though quite appealing to the eyes, can do much
damage to the ears. As I take this log the Claireisess are doing their
evening ceremony of howling at the stars above. I believe the
Carolinights find this most aggravating for they keep trying to communicate
with loud whispers that still make no sense to this captain. My endeavor to
teach the Carolinights our home planet’s language has proved to be very
difficult. They prefer to communicate with repeated hand gestures and one
syllable sounds. … I am growing weaker now.... I do not think this
night will hold the results I or my co-captain were hoping. It is time to
call in the troops and remove the Claireisess before the Carolinights do
serious damage to this carefully planned mission. Perhaps Log 582013 will yield
more promising results.”
I gave up and
put Claire back in her pack-n-play in the downstairs room. She
immediately stopped crying and snuggled up to her blanket and closed her
eyes…seriously? At least I am off duty now and can have a glass of
wine!
The Breed
family is finally enjoying some beautiful springish days! It seems that
there is at least half of our family outside at all times during the
afternoons. I went from wiping snow and water off my floors to wiping up
mud and mud and a little more mud! My precious little girls get dirtier
than all the little boys that live around us put together! Morgan’s favorite
pass time right now is digging for worms! She even brought one to church
in a coffee cup! I guess the worm needed Jesus or something. All to
say, we love the turn of season here!
Emmaus Road
Church has been an up and running “officially” for four to five weeks now!! It
feels very natural and I find myself treating this church like any other one I’ve
ever attended; you know, arriving late, my kids crying during the service,
letting Morgan run up to the front during the announcements to ask the pastor
for a pen (ok, that did happen but it wasn’t ok with me), giving Claire my
finished communion cup to keep her quiet and leaving at least one item a week
there, usually a headband or something. Yes, I would say we are feeling quite at
home at our new church. There is one very different thing however, I
totally have the hots for the head pastor of this church...hehehe!
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| Ava before moving to Missouri |
Ellie has had
an especially sad couple of days. She had to say goodbye to her best
friend who moved to Missouri yesterday. Ava and Ellie were so cute
together. They had the same interests and love of imagination fueled
activities. This usually resulted in many a mess, but their excitement
made it all worth it…sort-of. We will miss Ava and her family very much.
On another note, Ellie will be heading off to Kanakuk next month with her
cousin Sara! They will be traveling with Daniel’s parents who are volunteering
at Kids Across American. Ellie will be following in her daddy’s footsteps!
Daniel was a camper at Kanakuk for eight years and worked there for four.
Morgan took
up dancing a month ago and LOVES IT! She is so cute and I must say a natural!
She is doing ballet now, but wants to try out “fast dancing” next time she
says! She continues to hone her artistic abilities during her scheduled art
center time at school each day, so much so that I pull out five to ten pieces
of “art work” from her backpack every day! Clearly, watching The Lorax didn’t have any impression on
her.
Speaking of The Lorax, this slightly annoying movie
continues to be Caroline’s favorite daily TV time pick of choice. She
gets time in the morning after the girls have gone to school to watch a show.
For the last month she has been picking this movie every day! She doesn’t
get to actually finish it…ever, but still points to it with GREAT enthusiasm.
Her favorite scene is the marshmallow scene. She calls me in from where
ever I am to watch it with her and makes her famous “Oh my!” face! She
has just discovered the power of the word “No!” a few weeks ago…all I have to
say is, “Oh no…wait….no, don’t say “no” to Mommy…” ahhhh! How do you correct
this! I know you’re going to hate me for this, but El and Morg never said
“no” to us…I know…I am so overdue! She has been getting a time out for every
first offense and a flick on the cheek for the 2nd to 100th
offense that follows. The other day she said “no” to Claire and actually
groaned, “Awww” in a very defeated voice, hung her head and walked slowly to
the stairs where she put herself in a timeout! I was laughing so hard I had to
get it together before I went to talk to her.
 |
| Caroline Having Some Fun |
Claire will
be 10 months is two days! I can hardly believe it! She is so cute it
kills me! We have finally figured out what has been wrong with her for
the last six months! She has a severe dairy allergy! I had switched
to sow formula when I suspected this, but that made no difference. Out of
desperation I had switched to coconut milk. This seemed to help a little,
but she was still very fussy and would only eat one or two bites of her baby
food before pushing it away and crying. It seemed her tummy was always
hurting. We switched pediatricians for insurance reasons the girls new doctor, Dr.
Meyer, is amazing! She listened to me and suggested a new formula that is for
babies struggling with milk and sow based formula. The big downside is
that it is $30 for a 12.9 oz can…yikes! Dr. Meyer was able to get us a
free case of it! God blessed us with this amazing new doctor! Little
Claire has been a new women since the switch! We dropped off some chocolate
sauce for Dr. Meyer today as a thank you.
Daniel and I
are holding strong…or trying to. We knew the change of Daniel preaching every
week would be an adjustment for us. It
certainly has been and is continuing to be. I am trying to be patient knowing
his is basically running this thing on his own, but on Saturday afternoon when
all the kids are home and I am the only adult available because he is hard at
work on Sunday’s sermon…well, it is hard for me to think sweet thoughts. You
can tell yourself over and over that there will be an adjustment time, but when
you are both drained and empty those kind of pep talks don’t help at all. Monday is turning out to be our “refuel” day,
but this is not natural for me because it’s a start of a new week for me. Please pray for us on these huge kind of
adjustments and pray for your own pastors and their families. The weekends are not times of rest for
us.
Well, I must
close out I am getting rather weary, but I have to tell you one more thing…no,
we aren’t having any more babies. I started a rowing class at the Fox
Valley Rowing Club! I am SO EXCITED!!! I get to do something for just me
that I have wanted to do for years, but there just wasn’t enough water in
CO! I will keep you updated on how awesome it is!
May the Lord
bless you this spring time with renewed growth in body and spirit!
Erin
