So Long Ordinary

My sister sent a little picture frame craft project for Brooklyn. When we finally got it out and did the project, Brooklyn had so much fun creating and painting her own picture frame. I'm pretty sure she is a better artist than I am and I am absolutely positive that she has passed up her father in artistic skill. I love the sweet innocence of a child. So many possibilities. She could be anything she wants to be. Today, probably a great artist.

It has been a pretty slow week. Which I'm not really complaining about because now I can say that things are, for the most part, caught up - woo hoo! Here's a bit of what is happening: Brooklyn and I are well again, though still with residual coughing and stuffy noses. Maddie never got sick (go breastfeeding immunities!) and Sean has somehow managed to stay well too. In a couple of weeks, Brooklyn will start preschool. She is beside herself with the excitement and can't stop talking about it. I know it will be very good for her and I both! The rain is back in full force. Kinda homey, actually. We're looking forward to the re-population of the missionary community here in Shell. A lot of people were gone for summer furloughs and, well, it has been pretty quiet around here. I'm looking forward to starting back up with our ladies Bible study and to a little more routine to life. Maddie refuses to crawl, even though she can. She doesn't need to crawl, thoug...

" My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask Him to strengthen you by His Spirit - not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength - that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in. And I ask Him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:14-19 The Message I'm feeling much, much better now. I don't have a lot of time to be blogging and I really need to get to bed. Just wanted to let all you concerned folks out there know that I'm done with my languishing! That was one humdinger of a cold! Later this week I hope to post some pictures of the girls. Don't expect too much from me this week as I try to c...

So I thought I was better....NOT! I have been languishing all around the house today. I felt so much better yesterday but today I'm worse off than ever. Must be some kind of tricky, devious bug that makes you think you are better before it really kicks in. I just haven't been sick like this in a very long time. And I'm being pretty wimpy about it, too. This cold has now settled in my chest. It hurts to cough, sneeze, blow my nose, or even talk. I've got an achey body, glazed over eyes, a ridiculously sore throat, and well...I'm miserable! I was looking forward to going to church this morning but realized as I was showering up that I was in no shape to leave the house. I've managed to watch a movie or two, take at least 6 hours' worth of naps, and finish a book. Nothing else. I can't wait to get better. Luckily, Brooklyn hasn't been nearly as bad off as I am (so far) and Maddie is staying healthy. Sean has been very patient and kind. I...

Mmmrrrphh. So tired. Maddie didn't sleep well last night...and neither did the rest of us. All four of us were up for over two and a half hours. Her screaming and crying probably woke up the whole neighborhood. I had a hard time settling her down; everything I tried just made her holler that much louder! I'm guessing she's cutting a new tooth...again. Poor baby. Brooklyn and I are a little sick but better than we were yesterday. We haven't had colds in a very long time - must have picked something up in Quito. Thankfully, Maddie doesn't seem to be sick. She was very fussy last night but didn't show any cold symptoms. She did this same sort of thing last weekend when she cut her third tooth. Could she be working on the fourth already?! Whatever the reason, I hope she lets us get some rest today! I feel like a zombie. Must. Find. Coffee.

It must have been the long weekend in the city but I'm really struggling to catch up on housework and laundry these days! It just ain't happening. * sigh* There is so much to do. And I just haven't done much of it. But maybe it isn't all laziness...I'll confess I'm hard on myself when it comes to what I did or did not accomplish; and maybe my priorities need to fall in different places anyway. Clean house vs. Cheerful Kids and Clutter While I haven't finished the laundry, I have spent some time with my girls...just being . That is hard for me, knowing I have a mountain of laundry taking over half of my bedroom - but it's so worth it just to be with my girls. Brooklyn and I painted our nails, Maddie and I played peek-a-boo, Brooklyn and I worked on her sticker book, Maddie showed me how she can scoot from one end of the house to the other in a matter of seconds, Brooklyn and I danced in the kitchen, Maddie cuddled in my arms just content to be held...

Well, we're finally back home after quite a while in Quito. It was a nice time - except for having to say good-bye to my Mom...ugh. I hate saying good-bye when loved ones leave. It is definetely my least favorite part about being a missionary far from home and family. Yuck, yuck and double yuck. After taking Mom to the airport early Sunday morning we did have a nice time in Quito. I've said before what a luxury Quito seems compared to Shell and I'll say it again: Quito is so fancy, sophisticated, civilized, clean (relatively speaking, of course,) and modern! We had a list of things to get done - some special shopping items, dentist appointments, car repairs - and we were able to get it all done. We didn't stay at the MAF apartment but at the HCJB Guesthouse since the apartment was already being used. The accomodations at the guesthouse are more similar to a hotel - we even had breakfast and coffee waiting for us in the mornings! What really sold us on the guest...

Mom and I are enjoying a great week. Sean blogged about our trip to Tiwaeno. I was so blessed to get to do that! I can't believe we've been here for over a year and I just barely got to see what my husband does every day. I hadn't been in a small plane for over two years either - since I grew up going in small planes with my Daddy, going for an airplane ride has a very homey feel to it...I forgot how much fun it is! I can't quite find the words to describe how I felt or how grateful I was to have the experience - and to share it with my mom and children too! Overwhelmingly wonderful. That's all there is to it. On a much less profound level - I'm just thrilled that Mom and I were able to finish making curtains for our living room, guest room, dining room and kitchen. Mom did most of the sewing and it all looks so good. I did a few of the smaller curtains and had fun with it - maybe I'm not so terrible after all. Mom and I did fight my sewing machin...

Everybody needs a little Mommy Time. That is exactly what I'm getting this week! It has been so wonderful to have my mommy here. We've just talked and talked and talked. And we've laughed ourselves silly. Today Mom helped me get started making curtains for our living room. We have them pin basted and ready to sew and they look so nice! I never would have been able to get this done without Mom's help. I'd like to get the dining room and our bedroom done while she's here to help too...we'll see about that. Here's a quote from our day... Me, measuring the window: "Okay, we've got 23 plus 51.....that's, ummm, thirty-four !" Mom, shaking her head and laughing at me: "Oh, Becca. Try fifty-four ." Long pause, sound of gears grinding, smell of smoke ..... sudden laughter together: "Seventy-four!" The apple does not fall far from the tree here, folks. No blonde jokes, thank you very much.

We're off to Quito this morning to pick up my mom at the airport. I'm so excited I can hardly sit still!! I miss my mom something terrible and haven't seen her since February (not bad, really, considering how far away I am and in comparison to other missionaries I know who haven't seen their families for years). We don't really have anything special planned for her week here - other than to just be together . I just can't wait! Gotta go pack. Should be back Sunday night!

Maddie is at such a fun age - 10 months old already! She is now getting her second tooth. Man, is she cute! She's also starting to interact with us more - giving us slobbery wet kisses, leaning in to touch foreheads, giggling and trying to make us giggle. She still isn't crawling but she gets around just fine. She can stay up on her hands and knees for a long time but can't make things move. So instead, she just gets herself sitting on her bottom again and scoots with one leg in front and the other in back. It seems to work fine for her!

This has been a busy week and I've been meaning to post pictures of Brooklyn's birthday: Here she is first thing in the morning. We hadn't really been telling her that her birthday was coming up so she was in awe when we started singing to her. Her usual morning routine is to grab her cup of juice and then cuddle on the couch with her blankie watching cartoons for a while. It takes some time before she wants any social interaction in the mornings. We generally let her be until she's been awake for 30 minutes or so; she was a little surprised when we both stopped our own morning routines and sat down beside her to start singing "Happy Birthday" before we even turned her cartoons on! This picture sort of captures that initial look - eyes wide, head cocked to the side, mouth open. For her birthday, Brooklyn got a brand new shiny red bike. We haven't had time to get any pictures of her on it yet. We went to Puyo that evening after Sean finished up at t...

Today - I can't believe it - Brooklyn turns four years old! Wow. It wasn't that long ago that I was holding that precious little bundle feeling complete awe (and a touch of fear) as I looked down at my firstborn. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life! And now my little baby is so grown up. She just gets more and more fun to have around every day. Her sense of humor keeps Sean and I in stitches, her honest attitude keeps us humble, and her sweet hugs and kisses keep me going all day long! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROO KLYN! This afternoon we're taking a special trip to Puyo to buy her a brand new bike. Her first ever! We'll follow the first bike lesson with Brooklyn's requested meal of beans and rice and a tasty pink cake!

We spent the weekend in Baños to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We had a great weekend...and it's been a great marriage! The girls came with us and we found an inexpensive place to stay the night. We ate "American" hamburgers, savored incredible breakfasts, drank lots of coffee, and made a stop at a very fancy Spa resort for awesome gourmet food for a special anniversary lunch. We did some exploring of the town of Baños and also went on a long drive exploring the surrounding area. We played some slap-jack with Brooklyn, made animals out of play-dough, took long naps, read in hammocks, bought stocking caps (we got cold), walked in the rain, and laughed ourselves silly. We needed the break and we just had a wonderful time being our little family of four. Ironically, we didn't get any good shots of just Sean and I on our 7th anniversary...Brooklyn took some silly ones of us but she had us laughing so hard at her antics that the resulting pictures just aren...