Ellie is Baptized!!

My sweet baby girl was baptized in Jesus'name on February 21st at Cedar Grove UPC in Tupelo, MS!  She, like her other two sisters, was baptized by her daddy.  Eliana (known lovingly as "Ellie" by all her friends and family) is 5 1/2 years old and loves Jesus with all her little heart.  She loves to pray and worship in church and means every bit of it.  Below is a photo snapped just in time about 2 weeks before she was baptized.  She had her little hands raised and was praying so hard in the altar, when another 5 year old came by and lovingly put his hand on her head and began praying for her.  Then, another little girl (8 years old) gently laid her hand on her back and began praying with her as well.  It was one of the most precious things I had ever seen.

She had been telling us for awhile that she wanted to be baptized, but we were waiting until we knew she fully understood it, well, at least as much as a child can comprehend it.  She was so excited when we set the date.  Here are some more photos...

Nothing fills my heart with joy more than seeing my children walking in Truth and putting into action what they have been taught since birth.  I pray that I can have a childlike faith such as theirs and that they will continue to grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  

Ashes, Shoes, and a Toddler...

You know the scene in Cinderella where she's singing while she gracefully washes the massive terrace floor?  There's a place near the end of her song where you see Lucifer, the mean cat, as he comes in to listen to her at first, then he spots the big pile of dirt Cinderella had just swept up and left in a neat pile by the broom.  He gets an evil look on his face and sticks his paw in it, and then proceeds to destroy her beautifully washed floor by jumping around with his dirty paws. 

Well, I kind of felt like Cinderella last night when Rachel rushed in to tell me that Ellie had gotten something (she didn't know what) all over the den.  I walked in and saw mounds of old ashes from the fireplace dumped... not sprinkled, dumped... ALL over the den.  From the clean clothes I had just folded on the couch (which most were then unfolded and on the floor), to her daddy's favorite recliner, to the loveseat, and all in the carpet, there were piles and smears of black ash.  She had apparently figured out that her pink Buster Brown shoes could also double as shovels, so she deiced to play Ellie-the-bulldozer.

Needless to say, we spent the next half hour or so vacuuming and cleaning up.

As I was taking all those freshly washed clothes back to the laundry room, I thought to myself, "This will be one of those stories I will tell her about when she's older and has a mischievous child of her own."  I tried to smile.  Emphasis on the word tried.  She was also quick to say, "Mommy, I sorry.  It was a a-see-dint."  Yeah.  Accident, my foot. 

I just wanted to share this with you fellow parents out there.  And if you have an open fireplace and a bored toddler... well, you may wanna keep it cleaned out really well when it's not in use.  :)

Stinky Business

Forgive me, dear readers; but I had to share one of my proudest mommy moments.  My youngest, Eliana ("Ellie"), just had a major victory.  She finally "stinkied" in the potty for the very first time, lol.  Yes, I am posting this on my blog.  :)  No words of wisdom, no deep thoughts, no lessons learned that can impact my life in a major way today, nothing humorous (other than the fact that I actually posted this).  Just me being me.  I am Mommy.  And I am a proud mommy.  :)  Yay, Ellie!!

A closer look... from Belle's perspective...

A few days ago, I was running some errands around town and Ms. Ellie was strapped in her car seat tagging along with me.  She was a little fretful, so I turned on Pandora (love it!!) and we listened to some cool kids music.  I was singing along with her, and she was smiling in no time.  We went through some Veggie Tales, some Muppets (Mahna Mahna totally rocks, if that song can't make you smile, nothing will!), and then some Disney cartoon theme songs started playing.  The little girl in me has always loved the Disney animated movies and cartoons, especially the classics.  When one of my favorites came on, Beauty and the Beast, I began to sing along with it (word for word, mind you), and it hit me... of all the fairy tales out there, this one could actually be applied to everyday life.  And this is one where I can actually understand the mindset of the girl.  (I always had trouble understanding Cinderella...)

I won't bore you by going through the storyline, I'm assuming most of you already know how it goes.  But I want to share a few things I really like.

Belle loved to read.

I love how she appreciated a good book, and would read it over and over.  I have done that countless times.  There is nothing quite like re-reading a favorite book, where the characters are so familiar and become more like old friends.

She was most definitely a "daddy's girl".

My, oh my, how I can relate to that one!  Now, my Daddy may not be a quirky, chubby, inventor with a white beard (his would be more salt and pepper if he let it grow out), but I can't even begin to express in words how much I am a daddy's girl.  She watched out for him, stood up for him, and risked her own life to find him when he was lost in the woods.

She had a little bit of a temper.

She wasn't your average fairy tale girl character.  She had a little spunk, and it made me like her all the more.  When something wasn't right, she stood up for what she believed in... of course, with grace and poise.  :)  Ever the fair lady, she still had a mind of her own.  But those opinions didn't make her into a brat or someone that was hard to get along with.  It simply added a little spice.  :)

She was somewhat daring and curious, but knew where to draw the line.

Ok, so she went to the "forbidden" side of the West Wing in the castle early on.  You gotta give her a little credit for curiosity.  But when she was found out, she apologized, and I don't recall her going back there until the Beast took her there himself to show her the mirror to help find her father.

She saw something beautiful in the Beast, even though he hated himself.

This is my favorite thing about her.  She fell in love with the Beast before he turned back into Prince Charming.  In fact, when she fell in love with him, she didn't know who he really was, nor did she know that he would ever change back! 

 

There was a hideous face instead of a perfect one, yet she looked at him lovingly.  There was anger, bitterness, and a horrible temper to deal with, yet she was kind and patient with him.  

 

  It didn't take a lot to win her heart... only a library... 

He found out her passion for reading (two points for him asking around and trying to find out what pleased her!), and gave her the enormous, massive library in hopes of winning her heart... and boy, did it ever work.  But even before that time, she had already begun to like him.  The gift was just icing on the cake.
 

He truly let her go... and she came back.

 

Ok, this is the mushy part of my heart showing here, but wow.  A lot can be said about true love letting go.  And even more about true love coming back.

Don't worry, dear readers.  I do not live in a fairy tale dream world, I know this is simply a made up story.  But all I wanted to do in this post was speak what's on my mind.  If you know me at all, you know that I love to find life lessons in unlikely places.  Well, here ya go... some lessons learned...

• Challenge yourself to find something beautiful in those who hate themselves.  

• Try not to focus on the ugly things staring you in the face, but look deep into the heart.  There's something beautiful in just about everyone. 

• Make someone happy, someone who would have otherwise never been happy if not for your kindness.

• Enrich a lonely, forgotten life.  (If you don't know where to look, start in your local nursing home.  As a nurse, I can guarantee you'll find someone there.) 

• Give someone else the benefit of a deeper, closer look.  Who knows... someone may have done the same thing for you.

 So, thank you Ellie.  Thank you for being fretful in the car with mommy.  It's because of your being fussy that this blog post was even created.  Hopefully, your tears can somehow, in some way, help dry the tears of someone else. 

What color is your nostril?

What an adventure.  Raising... chasing... rescuing... a toddler.  There is nothing, nay, not one single thing, this child can't get into, or out of.  She amazes me.  Anytime the house falls silent, I begin to worry, because I know her mischievous, curious mind and busy, chubby hands have combined forces to create a pending disaster.  There is no taste she will not sample, whether  humanly edible or not.  There is no texture she will not touch.  She will attempt to open that which should remain closed, close that which should not be shut, eat that which should be buried... you get the idea.  Her right nostril is an interesting shade of blue today.  Why, you ask?  Perhaps she thought the tip of the marker might feel soothing inside her nose.  Maybe she thought her sinuses needed a makeover.  Or maybe it's the ever popular thought that seems to cross her mind, "Oh look... something that doesn't belong in my face, let's change that!"  The low window in my den is painted with her slobber smudges and sticky hand prints, (I DO clean this child regularly, she just can't stay that way!) and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love my Ellie-Belle.  My bright-eyed beauty.  My daily source of new gray hairs and constant laughs.  

Christmas Dance

Ellie in Papaw's Santa hat, dancing to Josh Groban...

Breathing it all in

Ever have one of those moments during your day that you just need to take a long, cleansing, deep breath in... and let it back out...? I do quite often. This morning I was trying to teach Rachel (my soon to be 7 year old) a new consonant digraph, explain why we don't have Christmas in the summertime to my 5 year old, and calm my sleepy, cranky, crying 16 month old whom I am desperately trying to change her morning nap routine. I needed one of those breaths. So... I announced "break time" for the school girls and went into the den where Ellie was simply throwing a fit. I sat down on the floor, scooped her up in my arms, cleaned her pitiful little nose, and just rocked her, taking in that much needed deep breath. And that's when I breathed in the sweetest smell in the whole wide world. It was a mixture of juice, waffles with syrup, bananas and cheerios... the remnants of her breakfast. She immediately calmed down and started breathing softly, then she started whispering something unintelligible to me that I wish I could understand, and I just leaned my head over onto hers and breathed it all in. And the thought occurred to me, sometimes we need to just stop and smell the syrup.

Say cheese!

If you've never had family pictures taken... outside... with three sleepy, cranky children who have missed their routine naps... you've not lived!! :) It was definitely an experience, and I want to thank Amanda Permenter for doing such a great job with us. She is a young photographer who has just started seriously taking pics. She was infinitely patient with us. Hats off to you, girl! I wanted to post a few of my favorite pics, but if any of you would like to see the complete album, you can check it out on my Facebook page.

This is one of all of us. Here we have Del's mother, Leslie, and his two grandmothers, Lucille Taylor (Leslie's mom) AKA "Bikkie", and Yvonne Meskimen (Terry's mom).


And my girls... ohhhh, my girls...

It's simply amazing to sit and look at pictures of them. I'm with them everyday, and in doing so, I sometimes miss how fast they're growing up, if that makes any sense. What living dolls! (ok, so maybe I'm just a tiny bit biased...)

Rachel was a bit dramatic in her sleepiness, wanting to go to different locations, getting "things" in her eyes from the wind... but she eventually warmed up to the idea and got into the rest of the afternoon shoot.

Their individual personalities really shine through in some of these pics. Especially the "prissy shot" of Jordan, lol. She really got into the posing when it was just her.

Ellie just wanted to be left alone to explore the strange, grassy, muddy world around her... at this very moment I'm trying to get those lovely stains out of the leggings she was wearing... which I'm beginning to believe will be a vain second attempt...

All in all, it was a good afternoon. Thanks so much to Mamoo for setting this up! Too bad Daddy was away at work, involved in some training. That just means we'll have to get some more with him later. :)

My growing girls

This has been a week of accomplishments with my girls! Ellie is cruising right along holding furniture and trying to pull herself up on the couch and the bed. She's doing more "monkey walking", as I call it, where she bends herself into an A position with her hands and feet with her little bottom in the air and walks. Surely it won't be much longer before she takes those first steps alone. Her track record has been about 3 months behind her sisters with all things mobile (sitting, crawling, standing, ect.), so hopefully we're about there. According to her Pediatrician and Chiropractor, she's just fine, only taking her time and doing things her way. Along with the added independence has come much protesting and shrieking whenever something doesn't go her way. She is letting the world know her opinion, and learning that the louder one's voice is, the more attention you usually get.

Jordan is a swimmer! I watched yesterday as she called out, "Mama, watch!" and she took off like a little brown fish (she has a gorgeous tan) across Mamoo's pool. When she reached the other side, she said with a huge smile and bright eyes, "I didn't drown!" She can already swim under water and float on her back, too. What a relief it is knowing that two of my three girls can not only keep their head above the water but can also get to where they need to go. Thank you, Mamoo!

And my Rachel... my big girl... she was filled with the precious gift of the Holy Ghost last Sunday night at West Pontotoc Pentecostal Church! Unfortunately, I wasn't there. But I'm told she began crying and speaking in an Heavenly language with her little hands raised in her Mamoo's arms. Her Daddy will hopefully baptize her very soon. She told him last night at bedtime prayers that she wanted him to baptize her. When we were asking her about baptism and talking about it all, she related the story of the leper "going to the muddy river and his boo boo's getting all clean". Her daddy said that was actually a good comparison. :) Even though she can't fully explain the depths of what all baptism in Jesus' name is about (can any of us, really?), she understands enough to get the Holy Ghost; and she understands the need for it. I look forward to this event greatly and will post pics soon! (Oh, and she can also ride a bike quite well without training wheels!)

What a wonderful feeling to sit back and watch my girls grow. What an even better feeling knowing they will continue to grow in beauty and grace in the light of God's sunshine.

Twinkie Taste

Yesterday, Ellie was given her first Twinkie (courtesy of Papa). I love to watch her facial expressions as she tries something new. With the very first bite, her little eyes lit up and she continuously smiled throughout the entire experience. When it was all devoured, she had Twinkie goo from her head to her toes. And even Sarah, Mamoo and Papaw's Dachshund named after the Mrs. Palin, enjoyed the few crumbs that Ellie so generously dropped onto the floor around her highchair during her delightful repast. Now, I can't say the salty Japanese soup she tasted last night was met with the same enthusiasm as the Twinkie affair. But, she was still willing to give it a try. I am enjoying these days tremendously where she will taste anything and everything that she is offered. (But not so much the things that aren't offered but still find their way in her mouth such as paper.) There's nothing quite like sharing new experiences with someone who appreciates them so much. I hope to continue sharing new things in her life and look forward to a lifetime of her beautiful smiles.

Well...

I could go many different routes with this picture.  I guess the saying is true, "A picture is worth a thousand words".  There are a few that come to mind with this one, lol.  The fact of the matter is, though, she was out of my site for mere minutes, and I walked in the room with my phone in my hand and captured one of those moments in life that can take your breath away...literally.  Thankfully, her guardian angle was working overtime today and I got in there just in time before anything could happen.  This child is going to keep me on my toes, no doubt.  Rachel was a cautious baby, she got into things like any curious toddler, but all in all, she was not much of a daredevil.  Jordan was a bit more of an explorer but still didn't like to get her hands dirty, so to speak.  Ellie is... well... Eliana.  If she can get into it, she will.  If it's not a toy, she will play with it.  If it's not edible, she will try to eat it.  If it's dead, she'll pick it up.  Ever heard of kids who will get a new toy, throw it to the side and play with the box instead?  Yeah... Ellie.  She also wants to be right in the middle of whatever is going on around her, especially with her sisters.  Bedtime prayers are her FAVORITE time of the day as she becomes the family's center of attention on the bottom bunk bed.  I could tell this one was going to be quite a different character when I watched her eat her first birthday cake and ice cream.  Rachel and Jordan daintily poked their fingers in, carefully tasted, and had to be encouraged to even do that much.  Ellie dug in with both hands and even got vocal with "nom-nom!" noises.  She had green frosting literally from her head to her toes by the time it was over.  I sincerely anticipate the coming years with my precious family.  I'm so thankful for today's avoidance of catastrophe, and will try to learn to be more cautious with my mini Columbus/Captain Jack Sparrow.

Facebook Notes

I wanted to go ahead and put these on here, seeing as how they are basically blog posts anyway.

Memory Lane

Sunday, June 19, 2011

My Dad and I have always been very close. This being Father's Day, I tried to think back to my favorite memory with my Dad, there's so many to choose from. I could talk about Ludwig and Russnic... the infamous left and right hand puppets he created to help me understand my science homework when I was in first grade that immediately became our favorite past time for years. I could talk about him rocking me and singing to me for hours one night when my stomach hurt really bad and I couldn't sleep. I could talk about our reading chair... that old gray recliner that I would hop into with a book any time I wanted him to read to me... which was every day. I could talk about walking to The Country Kitchen when I was 4, that little mom and pop restaurant that used to be in New Albany, and how we would step on "turtles" and "alligators" on the way (the circle and rectangle shaped sewer tops in the sidewalk). I could talk about how he used to lay on his back, hold me up in the air, and make me "fly" around to McDonald's, or Walmart (gah), or anywhere else I wanted to "go". There are the times I would love to just sit and watch him do this really neat doodling with lines that I've only seen him do. And then there are the countless memories of his singing, preaching, and ministry. But by far... one memory stands out among all the others. I love snow. I always have. Dad was working the late night shift one winter, and it started snowing on his way home. When he got home, he woke me up and told me to put my shoes and coat on... didn't tell me why or where we were going. Then he walked with me outside while it snowed, all the way down Bankhead street on the sidewalk. We chit chatted the entire way with the snow quietly falling around us. It's a moment I will never, ever forget, and it only barely describes the wonderful man I am privileged to call Daddy.

Belly Button

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

About this time a year ago, I held Eliana Nicole in my arms for the very first time. What an easy birth compared to Rachel (12 hours), or even Jordan (6 hours). Ellie let me know she was contemplating making her grand appearance a few days ahead of time, but like now, she didn't get in too big of a hurry. We timed Braxton Hick's contractions about every 30 min. to an hour for a good two days before being induced in the hospital. But June 14 would have still been her birthday, with or without Pitocin. We were already at 5cm when they first checked me that morning. She may have been an easy delivery, with her being born exactly 11 minutes after they told be I was at 10 cm (I pushed for 2 hours with Rachel...ugh). But the pregnancy was another story. My body was older, more used, the heaviest it's ever been, and very, very tired during those 9 months. Enduring two glucose tolerance tests (with that gaggy thick syrup and blood draws for 4 hours), I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes during my third trimester, and thus began a diet change and many finger sticks. In the end, through all the aches, pains, and woes of pregnancy, I count myself beyond blessed to have been able to bring life into this world for the third time. I see it as a privilege, not a right. It is my body, no doubt. But at the moment of conception, a woman's body is taken over by a being that quite literally draws the very life out of her to feed itself. My body is not my own for 9 months, it's shared. And for the only time in my body's existence, it does not fight a foreign being or sees it as an intruder... it instead fully embraces it, protects it, and will draw vitamins and minerals from it's very bones to give to the little one growing inside if not provided through other means. Pregnancy is the only time a human body will give up the survival instinct of self preservation to give of itself to another beating heart. What an amazing, wonderful time. It may sound cliché', but it's worth it all. From the time my ears hear that first doppler heart beat, to the time my eyes first see the tiny beating heart on the screen, to the time my belly feels that first kick, to the time my arms feel the soft, newborn skin... it's worth it all. And every time I see that belly button, whether during a diaper change or bath time... I'm reminded of where we were connected together for a short time, and that even though we're now separated from that physical bond, we'll forever be inseparable through the bonds of love.