A Huff Life

Other Side of the World

2011-09-21T12:45:00.002-06:00

I think God knew that you had to live 6,615 miles away from me. Any closer and I might try to find you.

As much as my heart, and the many dreams you are in, might be pushing me to be with you I know it should not happen. However, I find it interesting that God has an insurance plan for my resolve.

It's Like I Don't Exist Anymore

2009-03-26T14:28:00.002-06:00

...well at least on Blogger.

I have tried posting here multiple times since January, but Blogger shuts down the server or my computer gets frozen or I get sick of waiting for pictures to upload.

Anyway, all is well in our place and I have tons to say, but I am not going to... because I am lazy. Maybe I should add that to my reasons.

If you want to find me on a more regular update, plus see pictures, find me on Facebook.

Jeremy and Melissa's Wedding

2009-01-12T16:05:00.008-06:00

Josh and I went away to his brother, Jeremy's wedding this past weekend. The girls stayed with my parents (that was four days, and three nights - wow! Thank you mom!). It was a wonderful trip and I was too busy to miss the girls, well almost.

We are so glad that Jeremy and Melissa are married. She is perfect for him and we are happy to have another sister. Right now they are in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, just like where we went on our honeymoon (trying not be jealous). Anyway, check it out...

Rehersal

Josh and his brother Jordan were the best men, and my brother Jordan was an usher

(They both came down on the car ride with us... Let's just say that Jordan Ferrell always makes things interesting - Sorry Drew!)

Jeremy watching his bride come down the aisle

Jana (Jordan Huff's wife and my sister-in-law) and I had a lot of fun this weekend

All the Huff women!

(see that - WOMEN - NOT MEN!)

For Those of You Who Still Believe - Movie Post

2008-12-29T15:13:00.012-06:00

For The Few of You Who Still Believe I will Post...

2008-12-29T14:53:00.014-06:00

Sometimes it is cleaner to not wear pants while we eat;

"I'm a messy girl mama!"

Anyone remember this pic of Charis?

I made this for a friend for Christmas and I really like it. We are going to do it for our family, but put the hebrew or greek beneath the name.

Yes, she crawls and pulls up, she will be walking soon!

She is getting so big!

I love this face!

Christmas and Wintertime

2008-12-29T14:39:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Craft time - decorating a Christmas tree

Charis ate the snow...

and I built a snowman.

Selah loves her nativity set

(don't worry, it isn't breakable, at least not yet)

Remind you of A Christmas Story?

Halloween

2008-12-29T14:36:00.002-06:00

New Pics (that are at least a month old)

2008-11-24T15:56:00.004-06:00

It's fall!

(or at least it was when I took this picture)

Happy girl!

Charis likes to help feed Selah

(it more invloves shoving the food in her mouth whether she wants it or not)
Check out the hair!

I love the belly!

"I'm a messy girl!"

Roasting marshmallows over candles with my bible study girls

A nice fall day outside

Apple Picking

2008-10-07T15:26:00.006-06:00

We went on our annual Apple Picking trip this past weekend. The weather was perfect - sunny but cool enough for long sleeves and pants. I can't believe this is the third time Charis has gone, but I guess she is two now. We enjoyed eating donuts, finding the smallest apple (yea Josh!) and doing all of the fun apple picking stuff...

Charis and Nana enjoying some donuts

Selah had a fun time, and my back was killing me by the end of the day!

Charis picked her own apple and then proceeded to eat it with reckless abandon
(Josh got juice all over his hat)

Selah was not as sucessful at picking an apple, but she did enjoy munching on the leaf she got her hands on

Charis took a pony ride

and Selah put a big horsie's nose

This picture will document the beginning of a tradition

We had a great day and can't wait until next year

(BTW, we did have our typical scrumpious lunch and football afterwards. Josh was amazing and I actually caught the ball once! Yea me!)

Family Fun

2008-10-07T15:18:00.006-06:00

Bath time... considering we don't have a bath tub, I think we are pretty creative.

Sister love

Selah and mommy reading Ephesians

Charis helping her cousin Noah get a drink

Selah has learned to lunge and is working towards pulling up
(I just about died when I saw this. The crib has been lowered. Isn't she only 6 months?)

I love this! Be prepared to laugh!

Fun at the park

Family Pics

2008-10-07T15:10:00.005-06:00

The girls did not exactly enjoy our trip to Picture People, but we walked away with some cute pictures. You will see red eyes from tears that were rolling down cheeks moments earlier and you will also see where we were pleased to just have a picture where they were looking the right way and not screaming. Man, I miss Rosie.

(BTW, they took 74 pictures. I don't know what that means but I heard our photographer whisper it to her fellow employee. I hope we weren't horrible. Maybe Grace can tell me.)

Vacation Pics... Two Months Late

2008-09-24T13:28:00.005-06:00

Yes, I am finally posting pictures from our trip to Panama City Beach, Florida We went at the end of July, so it has been two months and I am a slacker. At least I am putting them up.
This picture is my favorite picture of the four of us... the beach is behind us and the sun is setting.

This is my studly husband... wouldn't that shoulder look better with something on it? Oh well, maybe next year honey.

The guys weren't supposed to be in the water because the police told them that the rip current had killed three people that day. The guys didn't believe them, but they stayed in the shallow water. But later that day when we were watching the news we found that Mr. Policemas wasn't lying.

I wish I could nap on the beach everyday.

I LOVE this picture!

We celebrated Josh's 27th birthday while we were in Florida. I made some amazingly yummy peanut butter pies.

So cute!

Auntie Talitha is so fun

Charis was not a fan of the sand or waves, so we played in the pool a lot. (Why did we go to the beach?)

It was a fun trip!

Happy 6 Months Selah!

2008-09-23T15:22:00.004-06:00

Fun at the Zoo

2008-09-20T13:56:00.006-06:00

We went to Brookfield Zoo with Jordan, Crys and Noah a couple weekends ago. It was a lot of fun and Charis really seemed to enjoy it. The weather was perfect - sunny yet cool. The zoo is so huge that we didn't see everything, but we saw everything that we really wanted to.

Charis and Crystal enjoying the dolphin show

We also got to pet sting rays - so gross! They were slimy. It still makes me cringe just thinking about it, but I guess it was pretty cool.

Charis has no fear - she just walked right up to this goat and started petting it

If you are wondering where Selah was at in all of this, she did a great job for such an exciting day. She watched everything, wide-eyed. Not much comprehension though. :)

I love the "Night-night" part

Yea! Another family picture - not the best, but at least it has all four of us in it.

And this wasn't while we are at the zoo, but I love how it shows her big blue eyes. How did Josh and I get these kids?

Charis Turned Two!

2008-09-09T14:37:00.002-06:00

Charis officially turned two on September 1st. We celebrated with the family the day before because her birthday fell on Labor Day. It was a yummy celebration with ice cream sundaes (cake can never compete with ice cream). The whole family came over and made her feel loved.

She got this great Dora the Explorer chair. She loves it and likes to watch Dora while sitting in it.

She actually ripped the wrapping paper this year!

Thanks to her aunts she will be looking fabulous this fall

Our exciting gift for Charis this year was tons of flap books and a savings bond - wahoo!

This is our version of "Happy Birthday"

On her birthday we went to the park as a family and had a blast

Wheeeee - the big slide

Beautiful girl

Yes, that is Selah's drool

We do have another daughter if you have been wondering where she is at.

Selah started solids and is doing pretty well

Sister love

Can You Believe I am Posting!

2008-08-18T13:59:00.017-06:00

So we are back and settled after a busy couple of weeks. It started in July by going to Pennsylvania for Josh's brother's wedding. It was beautiful. The travel wasn't bad at all, but the rest of the weekend was a little stressful. But that is to be expected with two small children. Charis did a great job being the flower girl - I will have to post pics when I get them. I am so excited to have a new sister and it is even better that they are living around here now. In fact, I put her cell phone in my speed dial today. Yea for new sisters and new friends! (BTW, this picture is our first family picture - kinda sad.)

I love this picture!

We also went to Panama City Beach in Florida. Again travel in the car was great. We got to see Jeremy and his girlfriend (for now - yea!) Melissa on the way down. The weather was fabulous and the beach was beautiful. Charis did not like the sand though, so we spent a lot of time in pool. The girls got all off their schedule and were waking up two hours early - not easy sharing one room. I wouldn't call the week relaxing, but we had some special moments that we wouldn't have had if we would have stayed home. My mom has tons of pics that I will have to post later, including a good family picture!

This summer has flown by for me and the girls. Selah is almost five months and has learned to roll over from her tummy to her back. She is really close on sitting up by herself and rolling from her back to her tummy. And she is getting very vocal, i.e. cooing, "motorboats" and blowing rasberries. Sometimes she just stops eating and looks at me and starts "talking". All of this makes up for the fact that she still sleeps less than Charis.

Charis will be turning two in a couple weeks. I can believe that I will a mom of a two year old. Her vocabulary has taken off this past month. She now says her name, "Selah", and can repeat pretty much anything you say to her. Grant it, it still has her little twist, but it is still really good. We have also been working on her counting. She can count to five, yet sometimes decides to skip some numbers, like 1-2-5!

They keep me busy, but I love being the mother of these two.

This past month Josh also celebrated his 27th birthday and was really busy with the youth. They went to the Indiana Dunes, paintballing and he is now prepping for a church garage sale on Saturday and the Fall Film Festival in September. (My video with my girls is awesome!) Next time I post I will fill you in on all of this. Hopefully it will be a lot sooner.

Charis is a little OCD

So here is a story - She has been lining up all her toys, remotes, shoes, basically anything she get her hands on. So while we traveling in the car she would try to line up her Little People, but they kept falling over because of the unevenness of the car and the braking. She would put one up and then it would fall over and she would get frustrated. I would try to explain it to her, but she would keep trying. (Yes, I did have the girls unbuckled in our 12 hour drive to Pennsylvania and our 16 hour drive to Florida - and I do not feel at all guilty.)

Charis loves to wear people's shoes - including my heels. I don't know how she does it considering I can barely walk in them.

I had such a fun time hanging out with Emily and Megan the other day. It was a little crazy being with five children two and under, but it was so good to be with my friends.

Summer Fun

2008-07-03T12:14:00.014-06:00

Our summers are always filled with a lot of fun. In June we celebrates our anniverary, my birthday and went on the youth group Senior Trip. Here some pics from our adventures...

For my birthday Josh got my family to watch the girls and we went downtown. I had such an awesome day! We got to do the touristy things that I haven't done in the 25 years I have lived in the Chicagoland area. We went to Navy Pier, wandered Millenium Park, shopped Michigan Avenue, took a trolley ride, saw Buckingham Fountain, waded in Lake Michigan and ate at the Taste of Chicago.

This is Josh on the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier. He is not such a big fan of heights.

We walked the city for about two hours. It was beautiful and exciting.

Millenium Park was so much fun! This is called "The Cloud."

After our time downtown we went to my parents for dinner with the family. All in all, it was one of the best birthday's that I have ever had.

Just two days later we went to Mount Olympus in Wisconsin Dells with our graduted seniors as a final goodbye. We had a blast at their outdoor and indoor theme and water parks. The pic to the left is of Hades, a rollar coaster that plunges below the ground and comes out on the other side of the parking lot only to chuck you back again!

I enjoyed my time with Matt and Amanda as we waited to go on the go carts.

For dinner we went to an all you can eat seafood buffet. They brought huge platters of crablegs to the table with gallon sized buckets for the "scraps." They went through four platters, plus the buffet. I was sick just looking at them. : )

We had a great day with our seniors and will really miss them in the youth group next year.

As for the girls, they are growing like weeds. Check it out...

Facebook

2008-06-22T12:57:00.004-06:00

So I am now on Facebook.

I don't have time to update this blog let alone have another site to keep up with. So how did I get signed up you may ask? My honey Josh was sick of his profile just saying "Married" instead of "Married to ..." (to put a name in they must also be on Facebook). So on our anniversary he signed me up, filled in my profile, uploaded a pic of me and accepted 19 friend invitations - all before I even saw it myself.

So yeah, I am now on Facebook.

If you are, send me a friend request!

Fun Friday

2008-06-13T22:50:00.009-06:00

Today was fun! But it is much too late to go into detail. We had a great day with Emily and her three girls. And tonight we hung out with Talitha and Steph. It was a fun girls day.

In preparation for potty training we got Dora panties, and had to try them on!

Selah kept pulling on the blanket, like she was playing peek-a-boo.

I love her big, beautiful, blue eyes.

All I can say is Hilarious!

Auntie Talitha is so much fun!

We have been learning our colors this week... well, sorta.

This video pretty much sums it up

Busy Thursday at Nana's

2008-06-12T20:07:00.002-06:00

We had a busy day at my mom's today. We were there for ten hours. She is helping prep for a wedding on Saturday, so that took up a lot of time. I was glad to help her. All the while, T and DP helped me by watching the girls.
And an update on Charis's potty training: she went three times today! We are still having wet diapers, but I hope to set aside Monday to be an intense potty training day. Any tips?
Below are more pics fromn our day which T sent to me so Josh could see them. (Thanks T!)

We decided to brave the pool while Charis was sleeping. I love Selah's monsterous diaper and her huge cheeks.

Someone was not thrilled to go in the water...

...but she eventually calmed down and enjoyed our refreshing dip.

Here is a picture of the babysitters - thanks guys!

Check out our beautiful girl - So Big!

I love the "Pose", what a hottie!

We had a fun day, but we can't wait until Saturday when we get to see Josh. Love you so much hon!

No Oasis, No Daddy

2008-06-11T19:21:00.008-06:00

We had a fun day today. We hung out with my sis, which Charis now refers to as "TT". I had to deal with four poopy diapers before 2:00pm. When I was changing one of Charis's I got some...excretion... on Talitha's white down comforter. Amazingly it all came out with a miracle-working diaper wipe. And Talitha still loved Charis and me after the event. Selah on the other hand had her three-days-of-waiting poop. It was everywhere, but thankfully I heard it coming so I had her on a changing pad. Oh the joys and mad-hot skills of being a mom.

On a related note, check out the film below...

Yes, Charis went pee pee in the potty! And she told me she had to go. It was after our family bath/shower (yes, I am amazing) and we were getting her pajamas on. She looked at me and said "pee pee", so I rushed her naked bum to her potty, all the while telling her to hold it. After this wonderful and joyous occasion she immediately signed and said "Eat", expecting a M&M treat. I was more than happy to reward her. So for the rest of the night I have been praising her for going "pee pee on the potty" (I have made up a song). She must think I am nuts.

Selah also learned to do something today. She has slowly been getting proficient at scrunching her feet up and arching her back, which results in movement. She does this when she cries in her crib, so she will move the length of her crib and have her head wedged against the bars. She also does this when in her swing. Now I typically don't strap her in (Josh always does because he is a good daddy). Today I laid her down in the swing to have her nap a bit more. After a couple minutes of crying I came into the room to see her in the bottom corner of this bowl swing, in a ball, feet in the air, about to fall out. (No wonder why she was crying) So from seeing this, I now vow to buckle her not only in her swing, but also when I have her hanging out in her car seat. (Yes, she is always strapped in when I am driving.) This picture is further proof of this new trick. I sat her in the corner of the couch and she slid all the way down, resulting in a scrunched up face.

Charis likes to play with Selah's toys and sit in her boppy.

Happy feet

As I try to explain in this movie, Selah doesn't typically sleep until she has to feed. So that last 30-45 minutes I need to hold her to keep her content. Today I tried putting her in the Snuggle Me (or whatever it is called) and doing some work. She was content, I got Charis's dinner ready and I even put on an apron to wash the dishes.

So we didn't have Oasis and we didn't have Daddy. We can survive without Oasis, but I am not sure how much longer without our Daddy.

The Photo Shoot

2008-06-11T16:10:00.013-06:00

This past week my mom and Talitha have been a little camera happy and had a photo shoot with the grandkids. They are so cute, so I of course have to show you all.
This one of Selah is right before she started to cry...

...and this one of Charis and Noah is right before Noah peed in the cup...

...and this was right before Charis almost pushed Selah off of her.

Yes, I know her swimsuit is a little low cut! But it has Dora on it!

Look at her, all grown up!

Beautiful

We had to teach her not to hold the flower petals, but the stem

Like how her nose is IN the flower?

Happy, naked, chunky girl!

I love her face

And he may not be mine, but Noah is so adorable!

Tuesday without Daddy

2008-06-10T21:16:00.004-06:00

Today was a nice day. The girls got Daddy his Father's Day gift, which we are pretty sure he is going to like. Then we played at a park. Charis could swing for hours! Then I tried to take the garbage out since a new missionary family is moving in tomorrow. Now, most of you don't know where the dumpster is in relation to our place, so let me explain: Our house is across the parking lot from the church and the dumpster is behind the church; it is about a football field away (right, hon?). I rolled the two garbage cans from the garage to the dumpster with Charis following me very slowly. I kept telling her to "Come On! Walk faster!" To which she would reply, " 'Om On!" and still walk just as slowly. When I got to the dumpster I realized I am either not strong enough or tall enough, or both, to push the lid back to dump the trash in. (Not that I would be strong enough to lift the garbage cans anyway.) So instead I proceeded to pull the bags out of the garbage cans and put them in the dumpster. So Gross! Then very slowly Charis and I walked back to the house. And where was Selah during all of this? Well, she was in the car sleeping when we started our trek, but by the time we got back she was in the car screaming. Yeah, I miss Josh and his amazing Dad/Husband skills.
The rest of the day was a lot calmer. The girls napped, I worked out (I am watching Bring it On while on the treadmill - so good!), then Nana and Opu's house. We went out for dinner at Red Robin (also so good!), and during our time there Charis spit out the Diet Coke she wanted to try, munched on a lemon, and cried/screamed at putting a jalepeno pepper in her mouth (man, her little hands are fast!). We ended the night on the webcam with daddy. Yeah, a crazy but nice day.

Josh is Gone Again

2008-06-09T16:04:00.010-06:00

Josh left this morning at 6am for Summer Camp. He will be gone for six days which feels like a long time. I don't know how we went two months when we were in college! All last night while we were packing I was just barely holding it together. But I didn't cry, so be proud of me (it would only make it harder for Josh if I did). So anyway, for the next week you will see a lot of pics for Daddy. We hope you enjoy them too.

This toy is awesome! She kicks it with her feet and it plays songs and lights up!

Bath time!
Amidst all of Charis's ramblings she is beginning to put words together like,"Nana please" (Banana). Her words still aren't completely understandable to others, but we are working on it.

Mommy and Selah

Selah officially hates being on her stomach. She has good neck control, but starts to fuss as soon as we start "tummy-time". This is me tricking her into quasi-tummy-time.

Little hands

Goodnight Daddy!

(BTW, if you want to check out what is going on at camp got to http://fvbcsummercamp.blogspot.com/.)

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-26T21:04:00.009-06:00

Wasn't today a beautiful day? Well, it was if you were in the Midwest. They kept forcasting severe thunderstorms, but all we had was sunshine... and humidity (more on that later). We spent most of the day at my mom's (Nana) playing outside and being with family. I got to see my cousin Mark and his wife Lisa. They got married on Charis's one year birthday last year and they are talking kids. So fun! And I am pretty sure Crystal and I convinced her to give Babywise a try.
Charis and Selah seemed like they really enjoyed their day with everyone. I tried putting Selah in the Bumbo Seat on a whim and it works great for her! She loved it. She could sit up and look around and she did a great job with her head control. In fact, she was so comfy that she fell asleep sitting up in it this afternoon.

Charis found Selah's "belly", which Talitha just taught her how to say.

Kisses!

Big Pimpin'

Sister love

This is Charis's car. She doesn't really know how to drive it, but she likes getting in and out. And check out her outfit. She is wearing a pink Cubs outfit - So Cute!

So back to the humidity - it was so hot! 81 degrees! I decided Selah would be more comfortable in next to nothing. (I know I would have been.)

In case I haven't mentioned, Selah is going to be a thumb-sucker. She has already found her hands and loves sucking on them. I will be driving the car only to hear her sucking away on her hands.

Josh comes home tomorrow, so all of this blogging will soon be stopping. Josh, we can't wait to be with you! I am so glad that tomorrow I can tell Charis when she asks her morning question of, "Dada?", that you are coming home that night! I love you.

Sunday Without Our Man

2008-05-25T20:38:00.009-06:00

LOOK! MOM HAS THE CAMERA OUT AGAIN!

Followers of our blog, you may be bored with the mundane day to day pictures, but as you know this is for the man in our lives...

Today we had church and it was a good message out of Acts 2. I brought the girls home and had us eating by 12:30, with Selah 1/2 way fed (go ahead and think through that one - JK!). The typical naps took place and then a wonderful conversation with Josh on the web cam. (That was fun honey...) Then the girls and I went out to go grocery shopping only to realize that Aldi was closed at 7pm. Thank goodness for Meijer. When we got back we finally played outside - Selah was a real trooper with the wind. Now the girls are down to bed. They are such good sleepers by the way.

I also got a fun craft project done today. I have these letters hanging on the girls bedroom door, and today I decided to paint their names on them. (This was after I got comments from people looking at the door and saying, "C.S. Lewis?")

Charis and I were making funny faces, or at least I was.

Now a nice picture

We had fun playing on the slide today

More talk from Selah, and a look at the beautiful pedicures that Charis and I did

And when I say pedicures, I mean it! Who cares that she is one - start them young!

Oh by the way Josh, I changed TWO of Selah's explosive poopy diapers today,

but hey, at least she is pooping.

We Miss You Daddy

2008-05-24T20:33:00.007-06:00

So Josh is out of town until Tuesday for the New Attitude Conference in Louisville, KY. We all saw him off this morning at 8:30. He called frequently to let me know where they were at and what they were doing - which I very much appreciate. We are not very big phone talkers, so instead of talking once a day for half an hour, we will talk five times a day for a couple minutes.
So for the sake of my love, I have taken some pictures today to let him know what we were up to...

After playing outside with our chalk (for the first time), Charis fell down and skinned her knees. She did cry a bit, but not that much. Even so, I thought it would be fun to introduce bandaids. So I got out the Winnie the Pooh bandaids and put it on her knee. She thought it was fun.

Selah also had a hard day in that she couldn't quite reach her light up toy. Actually, she was sick of her "tummy-time" and was letting me know.

Charis was getting herself ready for bed by reading "The Ten Little Ladybugs." She is such a good girl.

Selah wanted to let Daddy know that she misses him and hopes he is having a good time.

(Mommy and Charis say "ditto")

Silly Posting

2008-05-22T13:08:00.003-06:00

FYI...For those of you who already saw the last post of the girls, there is another new one underneathe it. (I posted out of order of creation, and since I rarely update you probably wouldn't think to look.)

Our Girls

2008-05-21T15:48:00.001-06:00

Happy 2 Month Birthday Selah!

2008-05-21T15:12:00.015-06:00

HAPPY 2 MONTH BIRTHDAY SELAH!

Look at how big she is getting! We went to the doctor last week for Selah's two month appointment and she has gained 4 pounds and 4 inches since birth. That's 11pounds 14 ounces and 23.5 inches. Wow! Isn't it amazing how quickly babies grow?

One of Charis's favorite words is "elbow." This is her pointing to her's. This morning when I walked into her room to wake her up she said,"...HI!....Baby?....Elbow!" She is hilarious. Other fun words that she says is "Unca" (for Uncle Jordan), "Gana" (for our soon to be Aunt Jana), "Goah" (for Baby Noah), and "Eyebrow" - pretty self explanatory.

I promised you a picture of Selah's new smile and here it is. Isn't she beautiful! Whenever she finds my face she gets this huge grin on her face and laughs (is that a good thing?).

We had a great mother's day. I got a much need hand vac. Josh and the girls did a wonderful job making me feel special and very loved.

We rearranged the second bedroom this past week and it is now a place that we love to hang out in. We put the queen bed in the window nook and it fits like a day bed. It is a great place to hang out, read books and just sit together as a family. We also moved Charis's little playground into here, so she will have a place to play on when I have to work.

I love how kids have to learn how to jump with both feet at one time. Oh well, soon enough!

We have such a blessed life. And guess what! God sold our car on Friday. It was a huge weight hanging on our shoulders and He worked it out in His perfect timing. What an awesome God we serve!

Life at the Huffs

2008-05-06T12:50:00.012-06:00

I figure the easiest way to tell you what is going on is through pictures. It is more for me to remember for the future. And it is more interesting for you...

Charis and I have had a lot of fun together recently. I have been taking advantage of my one-on-one time with her. She is so much fun! But you will see more of that below.

Charis and Daddy enjoying her new big girl bed. (Check out the video below.)

We love to prop Selah up on the pillows on our bed and cover her with our blankets. It makes her look so little and cute. This picture is some quality time that Josh had with her. We have found that he tends to take care of Charis and I take care of Selah, mostly because I HAVE to take care of Selah. We are trying to make sure we switch often.

Charis somewhere learned to do this position and this face. We call it her "Pose." She can do it on demand, so make sure to ask her to do it for you.

If Charis didn't have her beautiful curls and had mommy's stick straight hair, it would be this long. As most of the pictures show, it looks like her hair only comes to her shoulders.

Check her out in this outfit! She looks so grown up! Grace we love the boots!

Selah is so much fun. She is starting to do some of the cutest things. I had to blog and empty the camera because our stick was full to make room to show you guys. Next time I blog you will see her smile and coo. She recognizes me now!

I don't love the flash, but she is really cute. Selah is doing a great job with her schedule. She only feeds once at night (goes six hours and then another four to start the day!). We are working on getting her to nap well during the day. It is getting better.

This is Josh's OCD creation. After we laid Charis down for bed he did not come sit by me on the couch. He sat on the floor and dumped out Charis's blocks and Little People. His explanation, "Charis always tears apart whatever I start to create with her toys, so I decided to do it now when she can't tear it apart." Wow. He is so cute.

To have the crib cleared for Selah we moved Charis to her Big Girl Bed! She is doing a great job in there and doesn't crawl out. (However, she did once and I woke up to find her not only out of her bed but in the bathroom because she heard daddy taking a shower.)

This is some good sister "fun".

Selah is so cute in here. I love that she has found her hands to suck on. And Charis makes me laugh at how she wants the camera on her!

Nana, Opu and the Grandkids

2008-05-03T10:03:00.003-06:00

More Sleep

2008-04-16T15:13:00.008-06:00

Be amazed that I am updating with more pictures. Things are going fine at the Huff house. Josh and I are more tired these days it seems. He has had to get up early a lot recently so I have been pulling the late shift plus feeding (not like he can do that!). We both are zombies. However, last night I had a break through! Selah's last feeding is at 11:00pm and we want her to go to sleep right afterwards, but she never does. Most nights she is up until 1:00am, so that means whoever does the "late shift" is up until then. If I don't feed her late I will have three feedings at night instead of two. Anyway, last night for the first time she fell asleep right after her 11pm feeding. I was asleep by midnight! And she only fed twice and let me sleep in! I got almost 8 hours of sleep! It was amazing! Please pray that she continues on this new path.

Here are some pics of our girls:

Whoa! What's this camera doing in my face!

My girls have really big beautiful eyes

Okay, time for a nap

Not fair! What about mom?

These mashed potatoes are really good!

(She is actually complaining about having them on her hand - we did give her a spoon, but her skills do not keep up with her hunger - Obviously!)

Life with Two

2008-04-04T14:18:00.009-06:00

Life with two is very different, but not necessarily difficult. I don't have much down time because when I am not dealing with one I am dealing with the other (unless my wonderful husband is watching the girls while I nap). I am still feeding twice at night, but Selah goes right back to sleep after I feed her. Leaving the house does take twice as long now, but I hope that with practice I can get faster at it. (Is it funny when I feel impressed if I get us all breakfast, showered, dressed and beautified and the house picked up before lunch?)
Then there is Charis... she is adjusting well to Selah. She doesn't resent her for mommy being more occupied, but she resents me sometimes. I think she is testing me and wants to see if I will follow through and be consistant in my parenting / discipling. The first week was VERY difficult, but it has now lessened to being difficult when I am feeding. She will do this very weird defiant tantrum and I am struggling with how to discipline her with both hands occupied. Josh's mom told me to develop "The Lool," which is a look that tells her that if I have to get up and come discipline her she will be VERY sad about it. I am working on it. I have noticed that she is a lot better whlie I feed when I have had time to play with her beforehand, so I am trying to make that a priority.
As for Josh and I... we love having our new little girl. We are doing well tag-teaming the girls too. That is difficult for me. I am so used to doing everything together as a family - making dinner, bathing the kids, going to bed at the same time, etc. But now I might be feeding Selah while he and Charis cook dinner. Or while he is in the living room settling Selah before bed I am sleeping to get a head start on being up for feeding her (I let him sleep through the night - well, as much as he can with Selah and I next to him). I figure it is just for a time and we will soon all be together again.
Anyway, life with two is definitely different, and I do have to admit it is a little more difficult, but the love we have for our daughters far overshadow it.

Here are some fun pics from the past two weeks:

You see why I am so impressed when I get the house picked up before lunch?

Charis LOVES helping "take care" of Selah

Charis helping me make brownies

Beatiful Selah after her first bath

A silly picture of Charis

Selah not doing much, but what do we expect at this age?

Charis is so hilarious!

Talitha, I know you will appreciate this!

Selah Is Finally Here

2008-03-22T08:57:00.001-06:00

Make sure to check Josh's blog for pictures and daily updates on Selah Joy Huff.
thejewfirst.blogspot.com

This May Be It

2008-03-21T05:17:00.001-06:00

We have been up for two and a half hours and these contractions are definitely what it felt like with Charis. They are between 8-10 minutes, so we will see. Please be praying!

Love,

Josh, Moriah, Charis and Selah

3/17/2008 7:28pm

2008-03-17T14:26:00.002-06:00

Two weeks ago some girls in the youth group gave me that date and time as when I would have Selah. I yelled at them then for making me wait so long, but they were so adament others have confused today with my real due date (Thursday). I also have been wondering about today too. Charis came three days early and that would be the same with Selah if she came today. Well, it is 3:30 and I don't think I will be producing any children in 4 hours. It is kinda a let down. I didn't realize that I was holding onto today as much as I have. It would have been nice to have our little Irish girl on St. Patrick's Day. Oh well.

Please continue to pray for me while we wait. Aside from sleeping, I feel totally normal. I get the typical contractions occasionally, but for the most part I don't even feel pregnant. I am trying not to get frustrated or to obsess about it, but sometimes it is a losing battle.

We are Going to Keep Waiting

2008-03-11T13:35:00.002-06:00

Thank you all for your prayers and advice. Josh and I did decide to wait for Selah to come out in God's timing. As I was thinking about it, all my reasons for wanting to be induced were selfish. I felt like I was taking God out of the equation. And there isn't any medical reason why she should come out now. There is a reason why babies like to stay inside their mom's for 40 weeks.
Making this decision also helped me relax with my Labor Alert too. It made me realize that as much as I want her out I want what God wants more. So I have been able to let it go. In fact, aside for the huge belly, I haven't even felt pregnant these past two days. I feel like God's peace has settled over me. And that has to be because you all were praying. Thank you and I will continue to keep you posted.

(Maybe I will be even be amazing enough to let you all know when I do actually go into labor! But then again, with how fast everyone keeps telling me it goes I may not!)

Waiting

2008-03-10T13:41:00.002-06:00

So I am waiting. It has been a week and nothing has happened. Well, not nothing. I had a lovely experience with false labor on Friday night. It felt exactly like how labor felt with Charis, but after two and a half hours it went away. I mean, I was loading the bag, washing dishes, handing off stuff for work. Very frustrating.
I had another doctor's appointment today. Still 2cm and 70% effaced, but Selah has dropped a lot (no kidding - I could have told you that!). The interesting thing that happened is that my doctor offered to induce me when I turn 39 weeks, which is Thursday, like three days, like really soon and in your face. I know I could go anytime before then, but it is weird about knowing it for sure. I don't know what I want to do.
Here are my PROS:
- The kid is out - Yea!
- Selah will be born on Talitha's birthday
- We would get a full night's sleep the day before
- We could plan who is going to take care of Charis
- Very convenient day b/c Josh could still do youth group and church
Here are my CONS:
- It is kinda against my grain to induce, I think I want to go naturally
- If I don't, I will spend more time uncomfortable
- If I don't, I would have to wait until the following week to maybe be induced
- I am only 39 weeks
- I would have to take pitocin (spelling?) and that sucks and frankly, I am kinda scared of that pain hitting me like a ton of bricks
- I don't know much about being induced, so that is kinda scary

So I don't know what to do. I have to call my doctor about it this afternoon to schedule. I have put in some calls to my nurse friends for their take. Please pray for me and let me know what you think.

Labor Alert

2008-03-04T14:51:00.003-06:00

I am now full-term and almost 38 weeks along. It hasn't really hit me that there will soon be another person living with us. I have everything pretty set to go and I feel prepared, but it still hasn't clicked. I am not on "Labor Alert" as I was with Charis. I feel I know what I am looking for and it hasn't happened yet. However, I do get the occasional "What if it is today?" or "What if I go into labor when Josh and I supposed to be at ...?" See, with Charis the day I went into labor wasn't anything special. I worked a full day and went to the choir potluck that night (so fun to "get rid of" that food). So I am fully expecting to go about my usual routine when suddenly I notice that I have been feeling crampy all day and it seems to be getting worse.

But even with all that floating through my brain, it still hasn't clicked and I am not on Labor Alert. In fact, I told Josh just three days ago that I am not going anytime soon. I just haven't noticed anything changing - no dropping, no bloody show, no cramps, no Braxton Hicks, nothing.

Then things started to change. Nothing too significant, but enough for me to know that I will be having a "pot roast pushed through my nostril" soon. (Kudos to anyone who knows where that is from!) Last time I went to the doctor I was 1cm dialated. She checked me today (OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH!!!!!!) and I was 2cm dialated and 70% effaced. Okay, no big deal. But then she kept going on about how she is working this weekend, so if I deliver she will be at the hospital. And then she told me to schedule another appointment in one week, but she thinks she will be seeing me before then. At this point I am beginning to freak out. I thought she was just trying to get my hopes up and I told her so. She just simply seemed to think that I would probably go this week.

So now I am on Labor Alert.

And it is not so fun. I am totally distracted and kinda frantic about the last, last minute things I need to do. And of course, this could all be for nothing and I could have to be induced.

Grrrr. I was happy not knowing.

Charis and Selah

2008-02-13T17:06:00.002-06:00

Charis One Year Pics

2008-02-13T16:57:00.007-06:00

Pictures!

2008-02-13T16:53:00.005-06:00

Rambling Thoughts

2008-02-04T14:18:00.000-06:00

I feel ridiculously huge and I still have six or seven weeks to go (who can keep track anyway?)
Why is Eryka always working when I am free to talk? I want to call Eryka so so so so bad and hear how everything is going with her.
Maybe if I get a fourth pillow I could get more comfortable at night, but then again, where would Josh sleep?
My daughter makes me laugh when she sings the "Dada" song.
Josh works so hard to make sure that I can just sit down and rest... how many cubic feet of dishes has he done?
This stupid maternity belt / girldle thing is no help at all!
I love when Matt and Steph come over for cards. I do not love when they beat us over and over.
I can't wait until summer for Charis to play in the pool at mom's house.
Why can't Talitha live closer to me?
It is amazing how my maternity pants come with a built in Bed Buddy holder for my back.
Could Noah be any cuter?
I love my bible study girls. I just wish I had more wisdom.
I have one sexy husband.
Charis, can you carry me now?
God, my life is so busy and I am tired, but thank you for the abundant blessings you have poured out on my life.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T15:03:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! This past week has been a much needed break from our regular hectic schedule. The picture taken on the left is of a night where we just played at home as a family. (Don't you love her hair!)

Christmas was a wonderful time. We spent Christmas Eve at our church and I really enjoyed singing those carols we only sing this time of the year. And I made a point to really study the words, not just sing on auto-pilot. Christmas Day was overwhelming. Everyone was so generous to us. It was great to see Charis take immediately to the gifts we got her - books and a baby doll. After a morning at home we went to my parents for lunch and were spoiled rotton. And after Charis' nap we went to Josh's parents to enjoy an amazing feast of prime rib and twice backed potatoes. All was going well until Charis started throwing up (I was wondering why she didn't touch her bottle or dinner). We hung out a little while longer, but then took our baby home. For the rest of the week she fought a miserable cold and we had occasional visits from the Barf Monster when she got too worked up. (It is amazing how by the end of the week I was willingly throwing my nice shirt and clean hair in front of her mouth in an effort to catch the barf - Hey! They clean a lot easier than the couch.)

We also got to see Grace and Abigail on Saturday. We were mall rats and got some fun shopping done. It was great to see you hon!

On New Year's Eve we had some of the college students over. We played this gift exchange game that involves TONS of wrapped white elephant gifts. It was great and we laughed a lot. But not nearly as much as when we played "Would You Rather..." and we got to see Chris and Steph lap milk out of a saucer and Ben and Monica attempt to make animal sounds. We stopped the games just in time to ring in the new year. And in an attempt to make all our singles feel comfortable at midnight-kissing-time Josh and I provided balloons with pictures of celebrites taped to them. I must say I was surprised at the choices of "dates." After the silliness of that we went around and talked about what 2008 may have in store for us and how we can hold each other in prayer. It was a great night and I can't wait until next year!

So all of you, I hope you also had a great New Years. Please be amazed at how quickly I got this next post up. And enjoy some more family night pictures...

If you look toward the middle of the picture you will see Charis amongst her toys (ha-ha)

"Spitting" in momma's face
(yes, note the brunette - better pictures to come)

Charis giving Selah a hug

Christmas with the Huffs

2007-12-22T14:35:00.000-06:00

I am sure we are all feeling it, but Christmas time (which starts the week before Thanksgiving) is sooooooooooooo busy! Why I don't I start back then and let you know what has been going on in our lives. I will give you headers, so you can find your spot again if it takes too long to read in one sitting - I am an organize freak!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a blast! We went to my mom's in the morning and had lots of yummy food. We even got a great picture of the four generations, who just happened to be color coordinated. And then still-preggo Crystal and I got belly shots, and my sis was home from being 27 states away! That evening we went to the Huffs and had dinner with the whole family. Both Jeremy and Jordan were in town, from Uganda for five months and BBC. Josh was really excited to have his brothers home. And my honey helped put up Christmas lights while Charis napped! Yea Christmas decorations!

Baby Shower
The day after Thanksgiving Talitha and I threw a "baby" shower for Crystal, which was actually a shower all about Crystal. The presents were for her, not Noah - pampering stuff, post-push-the-baby-out clothes, etc. All of her close friends gathered for a night of yummy food, manicures and pedicures and a time of celebrating our wonderful sister.

Cell Phone
So my cell phone made us sad this past month. Josh and I survive happily on 850 minutes a month, and joyfully accumulate any rollover minutes for future months if they aren't used. However, I knew I had been using it more since I started my new job. So after three months of work I decided to really look at my bill and see if I was going over each month and how many rollover minutes we had left. Well, surprise, surprise! I took a look at my bill to see that not only had I gone over each month, I had exhausted our 2000+ rollover minutes and I was now facing a bill of $750. So sad. Long story short - my boss helped out with a portion of the bill, we upped the plan to 2100 minutes a month and my boss will also be helping out with that each month. It did however mean that until the next billing cycle came around we couldn't move to this new plan, so I couldn't talk to any of you for weeks. All is fine now and I will be answering my phone if you call!

Noah

My adorable little nephew entered the world on Monday, December 3 at 10:01pm. I was standing at the door and heard both his first cry and Crystal's few moans of pain. (I heard a lot of laughter during the pushing process - give me what she had when Selah comes around!) He is beautiful and I think he is a perfect mixture of Jordan and Crys. Being only 7lbs. 10oz. and 19 inches he is a little thing and feels like nothing compared to Charis' 23 pounds. She says "Noah", but it doesn't sound anything like it, but she does say baby and has given him many kisses on his head. And Josh even had the joy of holding him when he was a few weeks and having him fill his little diaper in Josh's hand!

Christmas Walk / Christmas Sing / Choir Party

This year instead of a Christmas Concert at church we decided to take "our show on the road." So on Friday the 7th the small ensemble (us, Josh's parents and the Jacobys) went to 3rd Street in Geneva for the annual Christmas Walk. We wandered around caroling and handed out flyers for our Christmas Eve service. I really enjoyed myself, even though my toes were frozen by the end of the night (I even had three pairs of socks on!).

The following weekend the choir and ensemble went to some nursing homes to bring some Christmas cheer to the people that lived there. We had a warm reception and it was great to visit with the people there. I hope we take our concert out to people who don't hear the message of Christ more often in the years to come.

We finished up the evening at our Pastor's house for our choir party. Yummy food, good fellowship, what more can you ask for?

Staff Christmas Party

On Monday the 10th, we had the FVBC Staff Christmas Party. We didn't go to a restaurant this year, but instead gathered in one of the lady's homes. It was really nice and again, food was superb! And we did our Christmas gift exchange, which involves everyone taking a gift in a certain order and stealing gifts. Poor Josh was left with the "we gave a gift to this charitable organization in your name" gift. While it is a nice idea, I don't think it is exactly appropriate for this type of gift exchange. Even so, we had a great night.

(Anyone noticing how many times we have had to drop Charis at a sitter yet? Don't worry, it only gets worse.)

Youth Banquet

The youth banquet was last Friday and it was so much fun getting dressed up in our formal wear. Josh was busy playing some jazz / Charlie Brown's Christmas music all night, so I hung out with my girls. We had a great time and laughed a lot. For pics of us, click here and here. And for a snazzy shot of Josh and I, click here.

Most years the Youth Banquet takes 10 leaders 15 hours of prep each, but this year we went to ECC and had them take care of everything. It was so simple and their culinary students made really good food (don't you love this time of year?).

Work

Work has been really busy, but I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping it during the times that I need to. A lot of closings last week and a lot more this week, but it is good for us financially. Speaking of, we have paid off our big huge debt! Praise the Lord! So now we replenish our savings a bit and then we will tackle a much smaller debt, my car loan. Yea!

Brunette

I am now a brunette. And when I say brunette I mean I am a brunette like my sister Talitha. I have always wanted to try it and on Wednesday my hair guru and good friend Steph dyed my hair. I really love the color, but I am adjusting to having some dark tresses on my head instead of the blonde. And I am also adjusting to people completely shafting me when I walk by because they don't know who I am. And Josh is adjusting to people thinking he is cheating on me with another girl.

I don't have pictures now, but after this weekend I will put something up.

Wedding Festivites

Our long time friend, Anna Jacoby got married last night. It was a beautiful event. The reception was at Pheasant Run and everything was the best of the best. We wanted to stick around for dancing, but Josh was fighting a horrible cold and the main course wasn't served until 9:15pm (again, our poor daughter out so late!). The Jacoby's had asked Josh to play his trumpet during the processional, but a few days before the wedding they asked him to "take care of the music." Basically Josh played a zillion instruments and sang for various songs, and he did a great job. So we had two fun-filled busy nights that we were out and yet it was all worth it for Anna and Brian.

Selah

Selah is growing fine and is about 2lbs and 15 inches long. I am officially in my third trimester and am beginning to feel it. Last night I had to move to the couch in the middle of the night just because I couldn't get comfortable in the bed. She is a strong kicker, but Josh still says he hasn't felt her. How can you not feel something when I look at my belly and see a huge kick?

Charis

My little girl is so wonderful and is such a joy to have around. She has been such a trooper with all of our busyness this season. She has been having a great time with her grandparents. Here are some of the new things she is doing: Saying "Map!" when Dora asks, "Who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go?", and putting up her arms in the "I don't know" way when we ask where someone or something is, and she even peed on the potty for the first time yesterday at Nana's! Ah, the simple and silly joys of being a parent.

Christmas Prep
With Christmas around the corner a lot of my time has been filled with much of the normal Christmas preparations. I have ordered and sent Christmas cards, made and delivered candy plates, bought and wrapped Christmas presents and planned for all the food I will be making and consuming over the next four days. However, I haven't taken the time to just sit down and reflect on what all this busyness is for. I had a great short-story book that tends to align my thinking that I haven't read yet. Please pray that I stop running around like Martha and start sitting like Mary.

What is to Come...

This weekend starts the kickoff of Christmas celebrations. I won't take away from future posts (haha - will there truly be future posts?), so I won't mention much here. Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Josh, Moriah and Charis

(and Selah - check out that belly!)

Being a Keeper of the Home

2007-11-14T19:07:00.000-06:00

I don't really have much going on in my life right now. It is the calm before the storm. However, I have been learning a lot. I don't really want to write a dissertation, so I will try to sum it up. In Women's Biblestudy we learned about being keeper's of our homes. I learned lot of reasons why I should be a keeper of the home, but here are some of my practical resolutions:

Get up half an hour early to work or clean the house
Stop working at 5pm to be with the family
Plan my meals for the week on Monday
Get a cleaning schedule together

Something else Josh and I have been talking about is me not working anymore. And strangely enough, I am the one struggling with it. On December 1st we will have finished paying off two HUGE debts that we have had for a while. So starting in the new year the income we were putting towards this huge payment we could now use to pay off other debt and save for a home. But we don't need to, and frankly, my "keeper of the home" duties and motherly responsibility has been falling be the wayside recently. I finish working satisfied, but stressed, and come to Josh and Charis who are wondering when dinner is going to even get started. I am totally disappointed in myself. What is my real priority? My family or some loan file?
We did decide that until Selah comes in March I have a good routine set up with Charis to keep working (as long as I work on my resolutions). But when Selah comes I am going to be done, or significantly cut back. Most of you would be jumping for joy to think that you never have to work again, but I am still getting there. (Why am I so messed up about these things?)
Anyway, that is what I have been learning... and needless to say I have a lot of work to do.

Check out Josh's Blog

2007-11-08T15:53:00.001-06:00

He updated it with adorable pics and spoke the words that I have been feeling too.

http://thejewfirst.blogspot.com

Updated Family Pic

2007-11-03T20:45:00.001-06:00

My Fall Poll

2007-11-03T13:57:00.000-06:00

So, I want to take a poll. (Thanks Grace and Josh) Anyway, the following questions are about Fall and if you are reading this your required to answer at least one.

1. Among the four seasons, where does fall rate?
2. What is your favorite apple?
3. What is a tradition that you do during the fall?
4. Have you ever been in a Corn Maze?
5. Can turkeys drown by looking up into the rain?

These are my answers. I put them down here to let you contemplate your own first - I don't want to sway you to try and be as awesome as I am.

1. I like summer the best because of the sun and the stuff you can do outside. Spring next because it is beautiful to see the world come to life and I get to anticipate summer. Fall after that because it is so pretty with the leaves changing and there is nothing quite like putting on a sweater. Winter just sucks. Without Christmas it would be a waste.
2. I will only eat Granny Smiths. They are firm, not mealy, and tart. All other are gross. All warm apple desserts are "grosser than gross".
3. In the fall I go applepicking with my mom's side of the family. I will have to blog about that soon. And I make sure to always drive down Grandma's Lane or Route 31 when I have to go somewhere because the leaves are so beautiful.
4. Ever since BBC, I have tried to go every year and it is awesome! We went to the Jonamac Orchard this year and got freaked out because it was haunted. So much fun!
5. I know the answer, but I want to see what you guys think. (Why do I know this you ask? I had to put together a Thanksgiving Trivia Puzzle for the youth next week.) The answer will come "soon".

8 Years

2007-11-03T13:50:00.000-06:00

So one of the most frustating things about getting married was that you had to start from zero in the "how long have you been married" questions. I mean the five years of dating is completely wiped out. (I am sure Kati can relate.) And now that it has been three+ years since we got married I have even begun to forget when our anniversary was - was it October 30th or the 31st?
Anyway, the other day I came home from a bridal shower when Josh had a gift for me sitting on our bed. He had gotton me a gift for the eight years that we have been together, married and otherwise. Wow! Eight Years! That is almost a third of my life! A third of my life I have been with Josh. It makes the previous life without him (and Christ) seem like such a long time ago - PRAISE THE LORD! I am so blessed.
What was the gift you may ask? Well, it was something I really wanted, but couldn't bring myself to buy because they were so expensive. A pair of Sketchers shoes. Yes, I am a loser. But my husband is so sweet. He remembered the exact pair, color and size.
But after eight years you would figure he would remember that kind of stuff.

FYI

2007-10-24T18:04:00.000-06:00

Just so you guys know...

I blog about every two weeks (when Crystal and T start freaking out).
I check the comments you leave about once a week.
I check my email every 3-4 days.
I have not checked any of your blogs in at least a month.

So, besides that I am busy jerk of a friend, if you want to reach me, call me. And if I call you and ask about your life and you think I should know something, I won't, so humor me.

I believe one day I will be better about this. We can at least pray.

Love and miss you guys

~ Moriah

It's a Girl!

2007-10-24T18:01:00.000-06:00

Yep, we are having another girl. We plan to name her Selah from the Psalms. I am glad Charis will have a sister, considering how much I appreciate Talitha. Let's just hope they get along better than we did growing up!

Californ-I-A!

2007-10-19T20:46:00.000-06:00

Am I the only one who knows that Beach Boys song?

It has been more than a month since we went on our trip, so lets see how much I remember (while I am distracted with Dora in the background).

It started by flying into San Diego to go to Josh’s cousin’s (dad’s side) wedding. It was really nice and we had a great time with his family out there. I have an interesting story about how I met the bride, but I am not sure it is quite appropriate to post here – but make sure to ask me about it sometime. Don’t ask me why we didn’t get out our camera until we left here because it would have been nice to have more pictures of family.
While we were out there we got to see our friends from BBC, Matt and Christa. It was so great to see them. They are the kind of friends that we really easily reconnect with. We enjoyed dinner with them, spent the night (yes, the three of us), and went to church with them the next day. Their church is great – really solid and I learned some things about echtypal and archetypal knowledge (ask me about it). Josh even got to play bass b/c Matt leads worship. That afternoon we went to a wild animal park that is nearby. Check out the sweet pictures.

This is one plant - and a stork is standing on it.

Watching a bird show

The next day we hung out with Josh’s fam again and then left Monday morning for LA. We drove through downtown LA and into Beverly Hills and Belair (I was humming the Fresh Prince theme song the whole time). We also stopped at Grace (Johnnie Mac's church) where the Huff's used to attend. That night we stayed with some friend's of the Huff's and it was there that Charis took her first steps, real ones anyway. After our time in LA we drove the six hours up to Santa Cruz.
Okay, side note. I was horribly sick this whole trip. I puked multiple times everyday, including in the car, when I couldn't wait to get into a bathroom. I would start to mentally freakout everytime we had a drive ahead of us. So yeah, not so fun.

Silly time with mama in the car

Can you see Charis?

First steps

Santa Cruz was great! We walked the pier, played in the ocean and ate good seafood. We even found a donut place called Ferrell's Donut House. I was so excited that I made us stop and get a donut. (Yeah, that sat well in my system while we drove another couple hours.)

Charis LOVED the ocean!

We finally made it to San Francisco, to Toni's mom's house. She has such an interesting place. It is decorated Japanese like, and they have a shower with a picture window (imagine the wall that keeps the outside out being a huge window - floor to ceiling. She said "it's like you are showering outside." I look out and I see the neighbor's window - no joke.) We spent time with Toni's family and I got to meet people whom I have never met before.
On Thursday we went to downtown San Francisco. We got to see Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39. I ate Clam Chowder in a sourdough breadbowl while sitting on San Francisco Bay. We got Charis some little Alcatraz (I started to type Azkaban) pajamas that look like prison clothes. The streets were amazing and you can only imagine what they did to my system. We got to go on Lombard street though, which was an ... experience.

At night we stayed with Toni's dad. They were so nice and it was great to stay in one place for a couple nights. We even got to go in their hottub each night - ahhhh! And they have a whole flock, herd, gaggle? of hummingbirds. It was amazing! On Friday we celebrated Yom Kippur with them and the rest of the family. It was very yummy.
And we got to head up to Napa Valley ~ Wine Country! We went to the Mondavi vineyard and had some amazing wine. In fact, I found my all time favorite wine. It is sweet, but actually has a wine aftertaste, not the koolaid aftertaste that comes with most sweet wines. Anyway, we couldn't tour the place because of Charis, but we had fun walking around anyway.

So we had a fun and busy trip to Cali. Not exactly a vacation where we rest, but I am glad we did it. Until next time!

Random: I was surprised how hilly and brown everything is - definitely not that pretty, but then again I didn't get that far north.

Her First Birthday

2007-09-29T20:44:00.001-06:00

Yes. I am finally going to post pictures and tell you about her birthday.

The actual day of we were at my cousin's wedding, so she had fun with grandpa and grandma. (I was only kinda sad that I wasn't with her - not that she remembers. And I knew they would shower her with love on her special day.)

We had her little shindig on Labor Day. I meant it to be simple and informal, with just immediate family, but because it was Labor Day the extended clan was over. I didn't mind that at all, but I didn't want them to feel they had to bring gifts. They did anyway. It just shows how the family loves everyone of us, even as we get more and more removed. (BTW, does anyone understand the whole great-aunt, cousin-once-removed, 2nd-cousin thing?) Charis had so many gifts and frankly she wasn't quite into them. While I am proud she has learned to be content with one toy for a while, it made it difficult to keep the gift opening going when she wasn't really paying attention.

Then we tried the cake. We set it up outside, but the mesquitos were HORRIBLE, so after two minutes we were back inside. Charis was not interested in her cake. This was her first real taste of processed sugar and she didn't want it. Grant it, the frosting was really sweet. She wouldn't play in it either. (See we taught her so well - "don't play with your food," "you don't need sugar," "be content with the toy you have"...) She eventually ate a little cake, but it wasn't the glorious and messy feast that I was hoping for.

All in all, it was fun yet stressful day. I will leave you with some pictures of her enjoying the cake batter I prepared earlier that day. (At least she kinda likes sugar!)

Puking and Lab Tests

2007-09-29T20:39:00.000-06:00

I had my monthly doctor's appointment this past week and I lost another three pounds. Not a big deal in my mind, but it has been accompanied with puking. So my doctor made me go to the lab to get blood work to check my thyroid and she gave me a perscription for my nausea. I don't see what the big deal is. With Charis I think I lost 15 pounds in the first trimester, but I guess I wasn't throwing up. I don't get it.

Sometimes pregnancy sucks...

... but I have been feeling the baby move.

Check out Josh's Blog

2007-09-17T20:51:00.000-06:00

You will see a fabulous update!

http://thejewfirst.blogspot.com/

Packing

2007-09-12T15:02:00.000-06:00

So we leave for California in 39 hours and I haven't begun packing. That is pretty frightening for me. Especially now that Charis has been added to the list. And not only that, she doesn't just need clothes and toiletries. She needs her whole world to move with us to California. I mean how many of you bring your bed, lunch chair, eating utensils and all your food with you when you go on a vacation? Not many I would guess. I am just glad the airlines let you bring 3 items each. But realize that since Charis is not paying (but sitting on our laps for 4 hours!) she does not get to bring 3 items. I estimate the 6 items Josh and I have will be 1 car seat, 1 pack and play, 1 stroller and 3 pieces of luggage (I hope to pack her booster seat and fan - HA!). This would all be fine if we owned 3 pieces of BIG luggage. But no, we have the big, medium and small, which isn't "just right". (Yes, I am thinking of Goldilocks and the three bears.)
Oh and speaking of flying... I asked the doctor how I can knock out my child on this trip. He told me unoffcially that Benedryl sometimes works. He then qualified it by saying, check it first, because some kids gets wired. Yeah, Charis gets wired. Well, at least I am glad we tried it out before we got on a plane with an off the wall, non-walking, but wanting to be moving toddler.
So anyway, I need to pack. Yeah, I am going to wait until tomorrow.

Dunkin Donuts

2007-09-10T15:20:00.000-06:00

I am not sure if I get cravings, but I have definitely been wanting some Dunkin Donuts recently, more specifically a white long john and a boston cream. So good. Josh got it for me about a month ago. He walked in to wake me up from my afternoon nap to some yummy donuts. It was wonderful... and I have been wanting it again.
Jordan and Crys sometimes get them Sunday mornings, and I almost called them to pick me up some. Too bad that they didn't even go that morning. Then Sunday afternoon Josh said he would go get me some. I was so excited. I went to my nap anticipating yummy donuts when I woke up and felt 100% okay with not sharing with my bible study girls who would be there when I woke up. 4:30 rolled around and I happily bounded out of my bed looking for the blessed orange and pink bag... but I didn't see it. I looked at Josh and asked him if he was able to run out and he said that they were out of my donuts!

I was seriously, seriously bummed.

And today was jammed packed with a quick run to the doctor to look at a TB shot and then up to Algonquin for a petting zoo with Em and her girls. But I squeezed in my Dunkin Donut run. It was wonderful and if any of you want to get me some more I will happily take them!

My Baby Turned One...

2007-09-05T18:46:00.000-06:00

...and I can't find the camera cord. As soon as I do you will see some adorable and hilarious pics. Hey, can someone tell me how to post a movie?

My Schedule

2007-09-05T18:28:00.000-06:00

I think it is only fitting for you all to understand my daily / weekly schedule, so maybe you will understand why I have not only not posted in forever, but why I no longer check my email or your blogs. (Ignore my double-negatives.)

I start my day between 7:30 and 8:00. This is the time I do my devotions. It is much needed and I have been VERY lax recently. But I am back in it now.

Between 8:30 and 10:00 I get both Charis and I fed, dressed and bathed (not in that order). And I try to pick up the house.

By 10:00 I tend to have something going. It is either errands, Women's Bible Study or a wonderful walk with Jan Stern through our incredibly mosquito infested neighborhood. If I am miraculously at home I try to wash dishes, vacuum Charis's leftover macaroni off the floor or fold laundry as quick as I can before Charis "helps" mama... unfold it.

Charis wants to say hi:
``````````gafdsxdb ny xcta kl pk jm,

12:30 is lunch time for Charis, so I get her fed and let her play while I eat. Then we hang out until nap time at 2:00.

Once she is asleep I go to work - in the second bedroom / office - PRAISE THE LORD! This lasts until 4:30 if I have a lot to do. If I don't I try to take a nap, a much needed 1st trimester of pregnancy nap.

4:30 hits and Charis needs another meal. By the time this is done Josh is home and we have started our evening. Sometimes we are out, at church or my parents, or sometimes we have his family over. Something is always going on.

Charis goes to sleep at 9:30 and I am in bed by 10:00, again I blame Colby. And yes, I get almost 10 hours of sleep each night.

So I will admit that there is lots of time that I could blog, but it just gets away from me. And as you can see from above, Charis wants to say hello to you all too, thereby making it even harder to pull a computer out. I do have more time with this job. But it is more time with Charis, and not really more time for my self. NOT THAT I AM COMPLAINING!

I hope that gives you a glimmer into my life. It isn't exciting, but I love it and amidst the "mommyness" of it all I feel very blessed. Love you all and will talk to you soon!

So Much to Say

2007-09-05T18:26:00.000-06:00

I have so much to say and update on, so instead of doing in it one long post that will surely be delayed another week, I will write in quick little spurts. So enjoy.

And Crystal stop harassing me! : )

Baby Girl

2007-08-20T12:29:00.000-06:00

She has such a sweet face

Look at those baby blues!

Exploring mama's "bottle"

Wrestling with daddy... not my neck...

...it tickles too much!

Josh and I have been trying to figure out a mystery. We come into a room and find Cheerios everywhere. Each time this happens we try to find the caper, but to no avail. One day we set up a hidden camera to try to catch this bandit... unfortunately the images were inconclusive.

Once we catch this little mess-maker we will let you know!

Finally Back

2007-08-20T12:17:00.001-06:00

I am finally back to update about everything...

Dad is doing great. He had his other surgery on Tuesday and was sent home on Wednesday. He has been lounging and going a little stir-crazy. He already went on a five-mile bike ride, but I do think he is taking it easy. He started working from home today, so you can definitely pray that the typical stress that comes with his job will lessen.

This past weekend I had my seven 9th grade girls from my biblestudy spend the night. We had a great time. In September we will be having our annual Film Festival, so we made a movie to submit. It was parody of the Chronicles of Narnia, making fun of the animals that weren't invited to the battle - including a worm, duck and an extra, extra "fluffy" lamb. It was hilarious.

Pregnancy is going fine. I have learned to manage the morning sickness, Praise the Lord! It was really beginning to take over my life. I think my due date has changed again - March 20, because I am not on a strict 28 day cycle. (Don't worry guys, I will leave it at that.) I have no idea when this kid will pop out, so I am just saying I am due mid-March.

The job is really fun, but I can't wait until I am all set to work at home. I am still waiting on my computer and fax to get all the kinks out, but I figure by the end of the week I will be set.

That's about it. Sorry it took so long to get back on here, but work has been keeping me busy. I promise to update again soon.

Dad's Heart

2007-08-09T09:25:00.000-06:00

Josh and I were woken today by a phone call from Talitha telling us my dad had a heart attack. First of all, he is doing fine. Mom and he were at the hospital when it happened and he immediately went in for surgery. They put a stint in and he is now recovering. He will be here a couple days, have another procedure to deal some other artories and then go home.
If you know my dad, you know his reaction. He is frustrated. He exercises and eats better than all of us. I mean he started having chest pains while he was on his daily 10+ mile bike ride to the train station. He is a warrior... a lion, and does not like to be wounded or weak. But aside from that he is recovering well.
I am at the hospital right now and will check in again later. But please keep our family in your prayers.

Colby's Debut is on March 13

2007-08-08T15:39:00.000-06:00

So I found out that Colby is due on my sister Talitha's birthday, and it is only fitting that Talitha help me figure that out. Sometimes I wonder if I have a brain. If you are a boy and don't want to read a story about my ordeal with dates and the female "inner clock" then I suggest you stop now. For the rest of you, here is the story. (Grace GGG Meter I would say a 2.)

My first period after a glorious year and half off was May 1st. So I was expecting my next one on June 1st (yea Kati!). It did not come. Looking back I don't remember when it did come, but I did remember that it was 37 days in between them. So I did the math in my head and got June 17th. (Yeah, I know.) But something didn't feel right about it. We left for summer camp on the 18th and I didn't remember having my period then. And we found out we were expecting on July 14th (yea Tobi!), so that felt really early for June 17th, but not out of the picture. Then all my evil morning sickness symptoms seemed to come early. Even with all of these things I couldn't put my finger on it, so I just told the doctor June 17th and they said I was due March 25th ( Mom's birthday).
Well, after my appointment today - which is a story in itself, that you will get later - I called Talitha to discuss. I told her my due date and then expressed my confusion about it. It was only then that I realized my simple adding problems. Yes, I know, June 6th, not June 17th. Everything makes more sense. I am 9 weeks along and Colby is due March 13th - thank you Talitha.

...Maybe I should have done math in my senior year... but then again, how much is Calculus going to help with figuring out your due date?

New Job and Morning Sickness

2007-08-06T14:20:00.001-06:00

Today was my first day at my new job, and I was so excited! I walked in and he essentially said, "Can you send this out?", which means prep the file to go to the investor/underwriter. (Not sure if that clarification made it any better for you.) I kinda looked at him funny, thinking I don't know your software, I don't know the state of this file, I don't know where any of your forms are, etc. But then I did it! It was very satisfying.
After that I insisted on a little more training, more like self-training though. I started hunting around the office for the stuff I knew I would need to process files. The only way this job is going to work is if I we both are VERY organized. No problem for me and I will get him there.
I guess nothing I did today was very exciting or impressive. It was the feeling I got doing all that unexciting, unimpressive stuff - THIS IS WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING! I am not meant to watch other people's children. I am meant to sit in a cubicle, stare at a computer and play with paper. And it is glorious!

On a sadder note, my morning sickness sucks... no actually, it blows. It seems to be worse this pregnancy than with Charis. With her I would be nauseous until around 11am and then it would be fine. This time I am throwing up, feeling completely drained all the time and even nauseous all day long. It is a sad thing. I just hope it ends with my first trimester, like Charis. Otherwise I am going to give Colby a timeout (I don't think spankings will be quite effective yet.)

OH! AND TODAY IS MY HONEY'S BIRTHDAY! He is 26 and not dead and I am glad because I like him! I am so blessed to have Josh as my hubby. He takes care of me when I am lazysick all the time and loves Charis so much. It is so beautiful to watch. So happy birthday honey! I am so glad that I get to spend my life with you!

1-2-3 GO!

2007-07-31T14:55:00.000-06:00

Such an amazing picture. I want to know where this place is at!

(Bonus points to the person who can tell me what movie my title is from....
Hint: "Uh-uh. Not this man's pinto.")

Number 2

2007-07-27T14:32:00.001-06:00

Can you see what she is holding... or more like what she insisted on chewing on? (Yeah, I know it is really disgusting, but at least the cap is on.) So number 2 is on the way.
We found out a few weeks ago. I am due at the end of March and I am not sure how far along I am. Some places say 6 weeks. But if that is the case we found out before you are even able to find out, so I don't get it. My first doctor's appointment is next week, so I will let you all know.
As you have read in my previous posts, I was not very excited about having another child. God has graciously been changing my heart. I am not jumping for joy or wanting to talk about Number 2 every waking moment, but I have accepted it. The prospect of getting out of my job has helped immensely. (Are things all beginning to fit together?)
Here's an interesting story for you... Josh and I weren't going to tell anyone about this until either his birthday next week or Charis' next month. (Don't you see how my excitement was bursting?) But last week Josh's boss Doug out of the middle of nowhere asked him if I was pregnant. Josh was stunned and tried to avoid the question while figuring out how he found out. Doug proceeded to tell Josh that a woman who used to attend the church mentioned it while his family was getting their hair cut. Doug questioned her whether that was right and if she meant my sis Crystal, but she was adamant. We eventually figured out that the person who told her had mixed up Crystal and I and this rumor was beginning to get around.
So Josh called me with this news on Tuesday while I am in bible study with my girls, one being Doug's daughter, who also heard this rumor. I am freaking out and immediately rush Whitney into the other room to tell her to keep quiet. But when I come back the girls are all looking at me questioningly, so I tell them. Then that night we told the family and it has been slowly getting out since then.
But this is my official announcement to my blogging family. I am pregnant with Number 2, "Colby", which actually has no correlation to the names we have chosen. You know and I will continue to keep you updated.

I don't know about this!

Don't worry, these pictures were taken weeks ago

and this... applicator... has long been thrown away.

Charis Girl

2007-07-27T14:15:00.000-06:00

This girl is growing up so fast. I mean doesn't she look more like a toddler than a baby? Kinda sad. But I love her baby blues!
Charis changes each day. She recently cut her top three teeth and just today I saw she cut another one on the bottom. She was clapping yesterday. Charis is fully proficient at waving hello and goodbye to anyone and everyone. She even says "hi" - or at least has the same inflection as we all do. She says "mama" and the other day said "dada."
Charis pretty much runs when you hold both hands and is getting pretty stable when you only hold one hand. In fact the other day she took a couple steps before she fell into my arms. I don't know if that counts as first steps, but since both Josh and I were watching it we might take it as such.
She eats like a horse and loves pasta and meat. All in all she is growing up really well. Hope that brings you all up to speed. Enjoy some updated pictures...

She loves her Care Bear

Baby Genius
(actually mommy is the genius)

Doesn't she look so old?

The Huff clan with Jordan and Crys before Jeremy left for Uganda
(and that's Jordan's girlfriends Jana - I love her and I hope they get married!)

You Learn Something New Each Day

2007-07-27T14:13:00.000-06:00

So I learned something new this week.

Did you know that "blonde" refers to a girl's hair color and "blond" refers to a guy's hair color?

Also, did you know that "fiancee" refers to a girl and "fiance" refers to a guy?

Now, I am not totally sure this is true. Talitha was explaining it to me and she may have just thought that I was blonde so she could trick me. Let me know if this is real or not.

The Update

2007-07-24T13:27:00.000-06:00

Sorry to keep all of you waiting for so long. There is a lot going on in our lives right now, so it has been hard to get to the computer. (Not to mention Talitha is working on the computer while I am at work, so I have to try to find time at home to post - yeah right.)
The interview went well. I wasn't that thrilled in the beginning because he was talking about me working in the office and the money was actually cut in half (stupid income and self employment tax!). But as we went on things seemed to work out a little more. I left excited. We still have more to work out and will be meeting again this week to hopefully finalize things.
But regardless of whether I get the job or not I am giving my two weeks to my nanny family today. Josh and I have decided that this place is not good for me. Nannying has made me not want to have any more children. I just see any child as one that would take me away from Charis, and I don't see how I could love any child as much as I love Charis. Yes, people tell me that God just gives you more love, but as of right now I don't see that. I wouldn't say I am depressed, but in regards to the whole baby / job thing I might go there. Anyway, that is something you can pray for me about. I want to change my attitude, but it doesn't seem that simple. There are a lot more details about this, but it will have to wait a couple weeks. Sorry. Please keep our family in your prayers. And for those of you nearby, if you know of anyone who is looking for a nanny job, let me know. (The boys really are good boys. I am just not a kid person - unless it is my kid.)
On a happier note I am determined to post some great pics of Charis soon and also tell you about all the new things she is doing. So look for that soon.
Oh yeah. Harry Potter was amazing. I am going to read it again.

Interview

2007-07-19T20:54:00.001-06:00

I think I forgot to tell you guys but I have an interview tomorrow. It is actually my second interview with a mortgage company that is less than one mile from my house. To make things even better I would be working from home. There are so many more details to tell you, but that can wait until later. Just pray for me on Friday afternoon. Thanks!

My Summer Cutie

2007-07-13T21:17:00.000-06:00

We have been having one fun summer...

1... 2... 33333333333333! (swinging)

Playing in the pool

Taking baths after an especially sweaty day at Nana's

Playing with Nightfall
(and getting covered in her hair)

Eating a yummy and messy baby biscuit

Rahab - One Cool Chick

2007-07-13T21:04:00.000-06:00

So I was reading in Joshua 2 yesterday about Rehab and the spies and I was just amazed at what God did in her life. She was a heathen prostitute that God called to be one of His children. He revealed Himself to her, a disgusting harlot, and she believed in Him. Not only did He save her life in the fall of Jericho, but called her to live with the Israelites. Though her family was saved, she was given a new family. And not only that, but He blessed the world through her. She is one of the five amazing women in Christ's lineage. What an amazing blessing! So God took a big, fat sinner and made her a beautiful woman of God.
You know, I feel I can relate a lot with Rehab. I too was harlot with a heart black with sin and God called me out of that life. I know all too well where my life would be if I had continued down that road. I do not have to keep searching in vain for something to satisfy me and He has overflowed my life with blessings - my wonderful husband and daughter, close family, good friends, and a great ministry at our church. If this weren't enough, He has also allowed me to bless others in our youth group through sharing what I have learned in His word and in the experiences I have had. I don't deserve any of it. And He knows it, but He is an abundant God.
So Rehab and I have a lot in common. We have been called, saved, changed, blessed and now can bless. What an awesome God we serve!

Read Your Bible, Pray Everyday....

2007-07-13T20:53:00.000-06:00

And You'll Grow, Grow, Grow!
So I have recently been struggling staying in the Word everyday (probably due to my previous two posts). And if I was in the Word it was brief and just "check" on my checklist. I have really noticed the change in me without it (again note my reaction in the previous posts). So as my sin nature has been raging recently I determined to not only get in the Word but also get in prayer.
Prayer has never been my strong point. I definitely can do it without ceasing when I have a trial going on, but in everyday life I certainly lack. A few years ago I had a prayer journal and it really encouraged me and helped me stay focused. So I dug it out this week and touched it up to fit my life now and then let it sit on my shelf for a couple days. (Yes, I am pathetic.)
But I finally pulled it out yesterday and I was so blessed with my time with the Lord. I easily spent twenty minutes in focused prayer and that is a small miracle in itself. And I also got up early and spent even more time with the Lord today. I was so encouraged and refreshed and I can't wait until tomorrow!
(I am not looking for a pat on the back for doing this, but I hope this encourages you and spurns you on to meet with God. If any of you want the specifics of what I have in my journal - ACTS, songs, scripture, God's names and attributes, writing journal to reflect on what I have read - let me know.)

Yea for Harry!

2007-07-13T20:46:00.000-06:00

So I did get to see the movie on Wednesday night and I was thrilled! Besides the first movie and maybe the third I don't believe the movies have done the books justice, but I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. (It was so hard watching the fourth movie to see them go directly to the third task when the second was done.) While I did miss the Quidditch and "Weasley is our King" in book five I really liked the rest. Luna was perfect. Neville is totally blossoming. The main three have definitely got this acting thing down now. The beginning scene with Dudley was sweet. I didn't even mind how they did everything with Cho. And then there was the final scene in the Dept. of Mysteries. WOW! Josh and I are already planning our next trip to see it in 3-D.

(BTW, when we went to the theater to see it again we talked to manager and got free passes, so it all worked out... I guess.)

Harry Potter Sadness

2007-07-11T06:47:00.000-06:00

So Josh and I have been freaks anticipating Harry Potter movie 5. I have spent the past couple months reading through the books again and I can't wait to read the final one in ten days. Movie 5 came out last night at midnight and being the devoted fans we are we went to the showing. We arrived at the theater at 10:30 with an entourage of fans. We were easily 500 people back in line. But we eagerly awaited. They were filling one theater with people and then would move to another one. So we were thrilled when our group was at the beginning of the next theater. We rushed in and got fabulous seats in the front and center. To pass the time we played cards and discussed our favorite Harry Potter moments. The movie started a little late around 12:15am. We watched a couple previews when the film cut out. The whole audience gave a wounded outcry. After ten minutes waiting it restarted for about another two minutes of previews, then it cut out again. We waited another frustating ten minutes when a manager got out attention and explained that the film had wound on it self and needed to be rewound, which would take another fifteen minutes. That took us to one AM. The manager then came out again and said they were going to try it again, but if it didn't work the movie would be cancelled. Guess what happened? It didn't work. I didn't see the movie. They tried to play it off by giving us a coupon for free popcorn and then they signed our tickets to use them again in the future. (Which they didn't seem to understand was equal to giving us our money back and not getting us another free movie.) With the lack of sleep and the HUGE disappointment of not seeing Harry Potter I was pretty angry. Josh had to tell me to watch my witness. I didn't get to sleep until two AM and I had to be at work at seven. And since I have to see it tonight, I am sure I won't be going to bed until one AM tonight either.
So yeah, Harry Potter sadness.

Happy Fourth!

2007-07-06T15:19:00.001-06:00

Happy Fourth of July! Yeah, I know it is a few days late, but at least I have pictures! This year we decided to celebrate Independence Day by going downtown to see the fireworks. It was a last minute thing, but we were able to get a good group of us together. The fireworks are actually on Tuesday, so we all got off work early and were settled right on Lake Michigan by 4pm. We had a fun afternoon playing cards, people watching (wow, are there some... interesting people in Chicago!), and being lazy. The Taste of Chicago was going on too, so Josh and I got dinner down there. Pretty good and not that expensive considering what we had heard. Charis was all over the place and loved seeing all the different people around her. She wanted to move, so we were thankful for all the willing hands of our friends who would entertain her for a while. (More about our day below...)

Playing with mama

Playing cards - Brandon and I were a pretty amazing team

Chris entertaining Charis

Sleepy baby

Okay, when we got downtown there was easily 10-20 feet between our blankets and the people next to us. By the time the fireworks started people had taken up every piece of grass and were beginning to invade our blankets. The crowds kinds creeped Josh out.

So more about the fireworks... We chose out this great spot by the lake with beautiful trees and there happened to be one tree right in front of us. We didn't think anything of it because we thought the fireworks would be high above it. Nope. We were wrong. After traveling 2 hours to get down there and hanging out on the lawn for another 5 hours all to see the fireworks, they were all behind a tree. We had three blankets so all ten of us crammed onto the one that had the least obstructed view. It wasn't bad, but the fireworks were no better than Batavia. We had a great afternoon downtown, but I think the next time we go will be just for a regular summer day to enjoy Chicago.
BTW, Charis liked the fireworks - not afraid at all. She even fell asleep while watching them... I mean, what kid falls asleep while watching booming, thundering fireworks? And for those of you who missed this year's fireworks show here are some pics for you. (Note the tree in the bottom right.)

Oh yeah, to make things a little more interesting... It started to drizzle while the fireworks were going. By the time we had packed up it was gently raining. And then during our walk back it was raining. The drive home it was pouring. And by the time we hit Randall people were putting on their hazard lights and pulling over. Praise the Lord the rain held off an hour!

Happy Fourth of July!

Here You Go!

2007-07-06T15:10:00.000-06:00

Here are a variety of pictures from the last couple weeks...

Tired and sweaty baby - she gets it from her father!

Blue toes for the Blue Team - that's So Chill!

Eating yummy bananas - check out how chunky she is getting!

Watching her favorite show, The Backyardigans

And I forgot to mention in the last post, Charis has now cut three of her top teeth, and man are they sharp! On a similar note, I only give her a bottle now.

Charis Update

2007-06-28T12:15:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-25T06:36:00.000-06:00

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!

2007-06-17T07:16:00.001-06:00

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

2007-06-12T15:04:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-09T07:13:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-06T07:05:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-06T06:53:00.000-06:00

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

2007-06-03T20:27:00.000-06:00

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.

Teething, Weaning, Puke, Diarrhea and Allergies

2007-05-30T14:53:00.000-06:00

So Charis is teething. She has been teething for over a week now. She has woken us up a couple times at night with it. At first we didn't know what was wrong. We thought maybe she was hungry, so we fed her. That didn't work. We thought maybe she had a wet diaper, so we changed her. That didn't work. We thought maybe she had a bad dream, so we held her. That didn't work. Then Josh was amazing and thought she might be teething, so we put Baby Orajel on her gums. Hallelujah! The crying stopped and she went right to sleep. It looks like all four of her top teeth are coming in at once. But after a week plus the teeth still haven't cut through. She goes to the doctor on Friday for her 9 months check up (can you believe it!), so I will ask him then. And to top it all off she has been getting the standard teething fever with all of this too.
Charis also seems to be weaning herself. I have noticed the past couple days that she dropped her feeding time a bit, but today I had a bit of a shock. I had nothing on one side for her lunch feeding and nothing on both sides for her afternoon feeding. I had to give her a bottle. But it wasn't like she wasn't interested. She was very interested and frustrated that there wasn't anything there. ?????????? I don't understand. I am not stressed. I am not overly active. I have been getting plenty of sleep and plenty of liquids. And I am not pregnant. So I am shopping for formula tomorrow. And I can only hope that there will still be milk for breakfast and bedtime.
All of this leads to the puke story of my afternoon. So I fed her a bottle with 5oz of formula because everyone says she should be up to 5-6oz by now. I doubt that she was getting that from me recently, but I wasn't sure. She didn't quite finish it. I then gave her her solids. She kinda ate it lethargically, but ate it nonetheless. After she was all done I was holding her and she started to gag. I held out my hand to catch what she might throw up, but... there was no way I could catch all that. She easily threw up her dinner, formula and lunch. I mean I rarely throw up that much. Thankfully we were over the hard wood floor and not the carpet. I just stood there watching it continue to come out, not knowing what to do. When it was done she started to cry, rightfully so. She was obviously scared and we were both covered in barf. I took her to the bathroom and cleaned us both up. And then I cleaned the floor. I almost took a picture for you guys, but I thought that it would be too much. But so you understand, the barf splash radius was at least five feet.
After all of this I decided a shower for us both would be nice. When I took off her diaper I saw she had diarrhea. Her diapers have been "looser" recently and I think I can attribute it to the mango I have been giving her. So I guess mango doesn't work in her system, because it was also in her barf. But now I am beginning to wonder if she is allergic to it because she has a rash forming on her back. I am dropping the mango all together and we will see what happens. FYI, I think she puked because she overate, not because she was allergic to anything.

There is so much going on in my little girl's body. It is hard to watch and I feel so out of control. Please pray that I lay this before God and trust Him with this.

Why does everything happen at once?

Standing in the Crib

2007-05-21T16:48:00.000-06:00

We have been trying to teach Charis how to stand while holding onto something. Recently we tried her crib and she had a lot of fun "jumping" up and down (bending her knees). Doesn't she look adorable?
At one point she saw Josh across the house and she got really excited. That made her irresistable to her daddy. They had fun playing peekabo. How cute if this kid!

Playing with Mommy

2007-05-21T16:43:00.001-06:00

Charis and I had a fun morning the other day. Most of the time we shower, but I decided to give her a bath. She has had one before, but it was when she was a lot younger. Man, was she cute! She had fun splashing and playing with her starfish. I got some great video. I am sure she will love that I captured her naked. At least I can always hold that over her if she is ever tempted to stay out past her curfew. (Whoa! That is weird to think about!)

After her bath we played in her room. Can I just say it took forever to get her four hairs in that ponytail. She didn't like it either. Now she doesn't simply cry; she bats my hands away. Oh yea. She is doing better on her crawling, not that she is doing it. But between rolling and scooting she gets around a room. Someday soon, I hope.

Hi Mama!

Peekabo!

I can almost crawl

This is just an adorable picture!

Picture Overload

2007-05-21T16:39:00.000-06:00

Josh and I have been taking a lot of pictures of Charis recently, so get ready for picture overload in the next couple posts!

Playing with her dog "Brown"
(yeah, we are really creative)

Blowing bubbles
(She blows bubble-gum size bubbles with just her spit - yum!,
but she says "Ma" to do it - YEA ME!)

Yummy peaches

Notice how she always has something in her mouth?

I love my daddy!

Peas and Barf

2007-05-16T16:08:00.000-06:00

To finish off Charis's meals we tend to give her finger food. This can be her puffs, fruit, bread, etc. Today I decided to try peas. I should have had the camera ready.
She picked one up and looked at it with skepticism. I then put one in her mouth for her. She chewed it with a pained look on her face. Then she kinda gagged - from the taste, not the texture. I was about to go grab the camera to capture this hilarious moment when she gagged again. This time she threw up the pea and some of her "Garden Vegetables."

So I guess she doesn't like peas.

Our musical child

2007-05-14T08:22:00.000-06:00

Josh and I hope that Charis is musical. I mean she's a Huff, right? I am encouraged that she does "sing" a lot during the day. And whenever she sits in on choir practice she "sings" at the top of her lungs - I guess she wants to be heard. We plan on putting her in piano lessons with Grandma in a couple years, but you can never start too early...

Playing the djembe
(did I spell that right?)

Playing the harmonica with daddy

And "singing"
(just kidding, she is freaking out that mama left the room)

Sleepy Saturdays

2007-05-12T08:28:00.000-06:00

So on Saturday Charis woke up at 6:15am. That was really sad. I tried laying in bed listening to her coo and talk to her bug, but she eventually started started to whine. So I pulled her out to lay in my bed (I very rarely do this). Josh was at biblestudy, so she took over his side. I then prayed desperately to the Lord that she would fall back asleep. And praise Him, she did. We woke up to daddy taking a picture of us at 8:40am. I think that is the latest I have been able to sleep in in months.

I Just Want to Make Sure She is OK

2007-05-08T09:04:00.000-06:00

So I have these silly dreams / kinda awake times at night where I think stuff is going on, when it isn't. And it drives Josh nuts. They always have to do with Charis. Sometimes I think I hear Charis crying so I ask Josh to turn up the monitor. Other times I think she fell out of her crib, which is physically impossible for her right now. I will then ask Josh if he heard her fall. He patiently says no. But the other night it was a little more annoying.
I was in that in-between state and I thought Charis was in our bed sleeping between us. Now, I have thought this stuff before and it has kept me "up", in that kinda awake state and not fully asleep, for a while. So I have been trying to tell myself that Charis is fine and to go back to bed. But this time I wouldn't be satisfied. I began to poke her to see if she was in the bed. Well, she wasn't and I was poking Josh for a good five minutes. He eventually woke up and asked what was going on. I asked him if Charis was in the bed and he turned to me and said, "No Moriah. Charis is not in the bed." (He is so patient with me.)
I completely forgot all about it until he reminded me the next day. I simply told him I just want to make sure that she was okay... and I am sure it will happen again.

Fun in the Grass

2007-05-04T15:06:00.000-06:00

I played in the grass with momma and nana the other day

Momma let me walk around

The dandelions were pretty fun

I wish momma would let me eat them

Picture Update

2007-05-02T09:01:00.000-06:00

We haven't been taking as many pictures recently, but we have been getting a lot of really fun video. Maybe one of these days I will figure out how to post those. But here are some pics for your enjoyment.

After the Fun Fair at church
She has a smiley face on her cheek, which was only partially smeared.
(I actually really like this picture of us, more specifically - me!)

This took place about 30 minutes before the Barf Adventure

Charis and Daddy ready a pamphlet on the Covenants of Grace and Works

And this is where she is currently sitting while I blog, getting into everything

It's back

2007-05-02T08:58:00.000-06:00

So yeah, it's back. Not much more I am going to say about because I know I have a wide audience. I am both happy because that means we can move on with things and sad because I forgot how much it stinks and how much you need to ... prepare. I enjoyed my year and a half break.

Leg Hair

2007-04-30T08:33:00.000-06:00

I noticed Charis has toe and leg hair. It is blonde and very little, but is that normal? I didn't think they get it until puberty or least until they were a little older. Is my daughter going to be a chia pet (like her father - don't tell him I said that!)?