Charis Update

There have been a whirlwind of changes with Charis recently...
The day we left for Camp Sue Bixby weighed Charis and she has gained at least one pound in two weeks. She is visibly bigger and you can definitely feel how heavy she has gotten. Praise the Lord!
Charis is moving around a lot. I can't just leave her alone because she will move to another room if I am not watching. She is walking from one piece of furniture to another. Not quite walking yet, but on her way there.
Charis is also almost weaned. I have stopped even trying to feed her for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is about out too. At least she is still nursing before bed, and more importantly, taking formula.
And she is saying Mama! It's more like "Mmmmmaaaaaaa.......Mmmmmmaaaaa!" At first I didn't think she realized that was me, but now it is obvious she wants me when she says it. It is so cute. And I love that is was her first word!
That's about it for now. I am sorry I don't have pictures in this post, but I promise I will post some soon!

Home Again

So we are back from Summer Camp and it was an awesome week. I am so glad that I got to go for the whole week. Charis was such a trooper. She adjusted her schedule to fit camp really well. And I was never at a lack of babysitters. I was so blessed to lead worship with the band. The music totally rocked and was full of rich text that focused on God. Josh did an amazing job leading worship and the camp. My brother Jordan came up with fabulous games and the Blue Team (Go Chill!) made a great showing; we got second place. I was so encouraged by how they worked together. There weren't any fights or frustrations with each other. And I also really enjoyed my small group time. Those girls are so solid and challenge me! All in all it was a great week and I can't wait to see the changes it made in our lives. If you want more details check out the Summer Camp blog.
A couple side notes about the week...
- Charis fell off the bed onto her head on Tuesday. A huge black and blue bump immediately appeared and I freaked out. She screamed her head off, but once she settled she was fine. And amazingly the bump was barely there the next day and the coloring faded back to normal really quickly.
- Josh and I celebrated our three year anniversary while at camp. We said we weren't going to do anything for eachother, but he got me roses and gave them to me in front of the whole group. And we even got to take a walk together without Charis (yeah, the week was that busy). Tomorrow we are going to The Melting Pot to truly celebrate.
- Last night was our Senior Night at church. It is a night where we spotlight the seniors who have graduated and give them a charge. I love being in this ministry, but it is so hard to let these guys go. I cried during the slideshow presentation. One of the students just started to get involved at the beginning of 2007 when he got saved. He is leaving for the marines tomorrow and it is hard facing the fact that we may never see him again. I have loved watching him flourish in his relationship with God and build lasting friendships with the students in the youth group. In fact, last night he also got baptised. And he is just one of ten seniors who Josh and I have gotton to know and have to let go. We are excited for next year's crop, but it is still hard.

Josh and I have recently been struck that we are so blessed. I mean, all of this is Josh's JOB. Most people hate going to their job and can't wait until their shift is over, but we get to invest in people's lives at a time when they are making some big decisions where their lives are going to go and who they are going to be. What a rewarding job to have. Just last night we had about 30 students over for some pizza and to play Sardines in our house. It was a great time. After a week of being with them we only want to hang out with them more. And they only want to hang out with each other more. How can we be anymore blessed? God is so good. Thank you Lord for the blessing you have poured out in our lives.

Summer Camp Here We Come!

Tomorrow we officially leave for Summer Camp! Please pray for us while we are gone. Charis and I will be sharing a dorm room and I am having tons of fun trying to figure out how to fit her world into the world of summer camp. For updates on what we are doing check out this blog and feel free to leave me appropriate messages (they are read in front of everyone during dinner). See you all next week!

Getting Around

God is Awesome! Charis is doing really well. It is like a light switch flipped on and she is on the move. She is army crawling everywhere and beginning to pull up on things. She loves to stand and play with toys on the ottoman. She will even take a stroll around it to get to toys or her food. And get this - she is willing to hold onto just one of my hands and have the other hand on furniture to walk around. (If you know anything about Charis' walking she will throw a tantrum if you do not offer her both hands to walk around - she freaks out and refuses to move.) She is beginning to move from the ottoman to the couch by holding onto a leg. Basically she is getting pretty brave and is on the move. She is not content to sit in my lap. She wants to stand and walk. Who knows what the next post will say... maybe she will be walking!
In regards to her food, she is eating at least double what she used to eat before and is getting a nice little pot belly. We tried to weigh her on my mom's meat scale but she had too much fun bouncing up an down on it for us to figure out her real weight. We figure around 16 pounds! She is also drinking formula and goats milk - whatever we give her - to supplement the breast feeding. We think it was a cup vs. bottle confusion.
And to top it all off she is now saying "mama." Not that we believe she equates it with me, but at least we are on the right path. (I must admit it does make my heart flutter when I hear it!)
God is awesome. And He was awesome when things were scary and hard and I couldn't see it. But I will praise Him today for the work He is doing in Charis. Thank you Lord!

Following the line of Cheerios

She crawls so fast, she crawls out of her pants!

Discrepancy with the Whos

So I was looking at my daughter and thinking how much she resembles a Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas when I realized there is a discrepancy is this beloved Christmas story. And it is this: Why didn't San-dee Claaa-zz ever show up? You would figure that in a children's story that Santa is real and would make an appearance, maybe even invite the Grinch out on next years run with him, but he never comes. I mean, little Cindy-Lou has to deal with the fact that Santa didn't come to stick up for himself and save the day. I am sure this will cause her to doubt his existence at all, thereby ruining her childhood. What do you think? Am I the only one who has ever thought of this? Probably not, but I just may be the only one who has spent this much time thinking about it.

Senior Trip

Josh and I took all the FVBC students on their Senior Trip yesterday and had a great time. It was a really long day though. We left at 8am and got back at 11pm. We traveled to Wisconsin Dells and hung out at Mount Olympus. This place is awesome! It has indoor and outdoor waterparks, indoor and outdoor themeparks, go karts and even mini golf (though no one would do it with me). I was really nervous about the weather because the high was 67 degrees and scattered showers. But it ended up being pretty nice - not the tanning day I hoped for - but no rain and warm enough to endure the waterslides.
We started on the coasters. They are all wooden coasters and very rickety. One of them even has a sign that says "You must be 18 years old to sit in the last car." Yeah, a little frightening. But the best coaster they have is called Hades. It is called this because you go underground. Not just for two seconds, like at Great America, but for a good twenty seconds. The big drop plunges you under the parking lot and you curve around under there for a bit. When you come out you are sideways and near the main street, where you have more hills. Then you plunge underground again for more twists and turns. Oh yeah, it is completely dark, no lights, nothing. It is awesome and I completely recommend it for any coaster lover.
The go karts were fine. I was determined to win. (Think Cars, "I am speed.") However, I always chose the stupid car. I pushed the gas down the whole time, but was passed by everyone. Oh well. Pride goeth before the fall.
The waterslides were really fun, freezing, but fun. The best was one of those family raft rides. You rode the sides so high that you were literally hanging over the people on the other side of the raft. If you weren't hanging on you would have fallen on top of them.
After Mount Olympus we went out for dinner at R Place. It is this hole in the wall restaurant that serves a five course Italian meal. Josh and I love it and it was fun to take everyone there. Oh yeah, we had 10 seniors come with us. We were amazed. We have about 4-5 active seniors, but they all came out of the woodwork for this trip. It was great to have everyone there and they all got along really well considering some of them didn't know each other at all.
So I am VERY tired! I had to be at work today at 7am and when I crawled out of bed my body was so sore from the coasters, water slides and walking we did. I can't wait for my nap this afternoon!

Thank You

Thank you all for your comments of encouragement and for your prayers. I don't know if Charis is doing better, but I am. However, Charis is army crawling a bit more. Talitha said she was even crawling for toys yesterday, not just food. But if you do think of it, pray that she will drink something besides water. The doctor wants her off water and juice and onto formula or even goats milk (for the calories). She refuses all of these.
Again, I thank you for the encouragement. It means a lot to know that others have been there before and/or that you are praying for us.

Doctor Discouragement

Charis had her nine month doctor's appointment on Friday and I walked away really discouraged. I had hoped that she would be up to 16 pounds by now, but she was only at 15 pounds 8 ounces, placing her in the 5-10 percentile - yes, that is a drop. She also was really low in height. The first measurement showed that she had not grown at all, placing her 25.5 inches in the eighth percentile - yet another large drop. So the doctor had her remeasured adding only half an inch, which I estimate popped her up to the 25th percentile. With all of that we had a lot of discussions about her food and he wants her back in a month to check on her weight.
Not only is her growth under par, she also is developing slowly. It drives me nuts that she can't crawl. I have finally found a motivator that has her army crawling - food. So that kinda kills two birds with one stone.
We had some friends over Friday night and their daughter is one week older than Charis. She is crawling, pulling up on things and saying "mama" and "dada." I know I shouldn't get in the comparison game. Children always advance in some things and are slower in the others. But it is so hard not compare... not to feel like it is your fault... like you are doing something wrong... failing your child. I mean when you have a child you have great dreams and boast in their advancements, like when they hit their milestones early. When it doesn't come early you think, "She will just be normal in this." But when those milestones aren't hit in the predetermined time, you think, "Oh, she will be a little behind in this." Then more time passes and you think, "Don't be advanced, don't be normal, just be healthy." I am beginning to feel that way with Charis.

So I am really discouraged. I had a talk with God and asked Him to please test me in some other area of my life, not with Charis. She is just too little and too precious to me. I see that I hold on to her so tightly. I ache inside. I also see have little, meager faith. All I can pray for is that God will increase my faith... and help my little girl.