Small things that make me laugh

Recently, Kolby was singing this high pitched super annoying, "AHHHHH LAAA HAHHALLAA..."

I respond: Kolby! Stop that! What are you doing?!

His response: I'm the mosque.

Tonight Kolby & Gabby were taking a bath. I heard Kolby say, "Oh Gabby!! You are in trouble now!"

Jon walks into the bathroom. Kolby says, "Oh Daddy, Gabby is in trouble now! She hit me!"

The revenge of the little sister is starting to come out. And the correction of the 4 year old is shining through.

Gabby currently has a cold. Yesterday Jon sucked her boogers out a couple of times...which of course she hates, what kid doesn't?! Later that night I was sitting in Gabby's room with her while she got out all her dolls. She asked very nicely for the nose sucker (please in sign language), laid her doll on the floor, got a diaper rag & spread it out beside her, held the doll down, and shoved the nose sucker at it...but for some reason she shoved it in it's ears, not it's nose! Next she wanted to put baby vicks rub on the doll's chest and back...I tried to teach her that we could pretend to do it but that she couldn't have the actual vicks. Well, that was the end of that play time :)

A Little African Update in 2009

Just some little things about us right now...

Books I am loving right now:

Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers (includes 5 short stories about Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, & Mary)
God Calling...by two unknown authors :) makes you want to read it huh?!!



Gabriella playing in the garden the day before Christmas Eve.

Things I am enjoying right now:

All the Christmas pictures on our fridge that people sent.
These funny sticky notes from Paula W (I have been using them to write verses on and stick them around the house).
Having a new plan of attack for 2009.
Journaling.
Reading 1 Corinthians 15!! (If you needing a “YES, LORD, YES!!” chapter to pump you up and energize you, you must read this right now!)
The funny things Kolby says (for example: “I want to live by myself now.").
Gabby’s facial expressions…priceless!
The ipod speaker thingy Jon got me…so I can listen to music & podcasts in the kitchen (or the Bible too!! He got me the Bible on CD!).
Doing yoga & strength training on the Wii (yep, it’s true…we are staying up with the times around here…you don’t want us to turn into the nerdy people who live overseas do you?!).
The community God has blessed us with here.
The community God has blessed us with back home (we were SHOWERED with love over Christmas, helping us to feel loved and not forgotten!).
Gabby’s hair is getting long enough to do fun things with ☺.
The weather here…pretty chilly but really it hasn’t rained as much as it did last winter and we get to play outside more.
Winter ushered in a break from the ants invading our house. I am enjoying every minute of this break and am arming myself for spring!!

Gabby’s world:

Trying to get in those darn I-teeth.
She’s really into Mommy right now…I’ve noticed the importance of taking good care of myself with a little girl around! She really really wants to do what I do…brush and blow dry her hair, wear lip gloss and eye shadow and blush, wear bracelets and necklaces…
LOVES: shoes, Kolby, being outside, going on walks (she knocks on EVERY gate! I am so glad they can’t hear it!), Elianna (and Ellie’s dad Justin!), oranges (she calls them, “Juuuuce), BOZ (she shakes with excitement whenever we mention even turning it on!)!
She’s into that phase where she opens/closes & buckles/unbuckles everything a thousand times (things like her high chair).
Started running a ton and trying really hard to keep up with all the boys around here. Soon she will give them a run for their money!

Kolby’s world:
He keeps me in line, “Mommy, you are disobeying.” “Mommy, you aren’t being kind right now.” “Mommy, Gabby needs a spanking.” ☺
Enjoys climbing into bed to snuggle with me at least once a night…which is funny and hard for me to turn down b/c it’s exactly what I did at that age! And I remember it so well! I would have been crushed if my mom would have said, “No Reasa! Go back to your bed!”
LOVES: when Jon makes pancakes on Saturdays, talking about Christmas and Baby Jesus, sleeping in the tent Gma & Gpa gave him, reading (if I could read to him all day he would be so content!)
Singing…he sings real songs & songs he makes up. The other day he was singing Jingle Bells and in the middle switched to “Gabby bells, Gabby bells, Gabby all the way…”

Jon’s world:

Can’t sleep at night b/c he is so jazzed about his new year, the goals he is setting, and getting his new organizing system up and running…I am so not kidding! (But those of you who know him probably aren’t surprised!)
Rides his bike or drives the truck to his language classes and work.
Feasted on pepperoni and summer sausage over the holiday.
Where there is a will there is a way with this guy...he has pushed us through our first year here and we are all better b/c of it! With that said...

We CELEBRATED the end of our first year here on December 28, 2008!!! I read through some of my journal from last year…

December 29, 2007
My first time to ever wake up in Africa! Weird. Its 9 a.m. and I’ve been hearing lots of interesting sounds all night—cars, people, dogs, cats fighting and now roosters. It’s not as noisy as Kosova or India were…but it’s pretty darn noisy! Thankfully Kolby & Gabby are sleeping through it. We arrived here yesterday around 1 p.m. after 24 hours of traveling. 15 of our 16 tubs made it, all in good condition. Kylan, Bryce, and Andres were at the airport to greet us. Kylan said, “Welcome home!” I thought I held it together pretty well…home?! Oh right, this is my home now!!

Thankfully, a year later, I really feel like I can call this place “home”. Thanks for the grace, Lord, thanks for the grace!!

Friends like Blair

My friend Blair introduced me to this song by Anthem Avenue called “Shut Out the World”. I remember she said, “Every mom needs to listen to this song every day!” So true, Blair! I was just listening to this song and soaking up all this amazing peace from Jesus when out of the blue I burst into tears with the realization that my friend Blair will be moving back to America this spring. I have known Blair for less than a year…isn’t it amazing that you can form such great friendships with others so fast when God is the center of them? I have always believed that will God send me the right friends at the right times…and many of those friends are now my life long friends. Each of them have taught me some amazing new TRUTH that applies to my walk with the Lord. I refer to these friends now (since I moved to Africa) as my “treasure chest” friends. They go with me wherever I go and when in serious need, I reach into my treasure chest and find the gift they have so graciously given me by how they live their own lives. Blair is one of these friends now. When I am with her, I LONG to know Jesus better and more fully. The Lord has spoken things to her to tell me a couple times…just recently I took a note out that she gave me back in October. In Oct. when I read it I thought, yeah seriously, thank you, Jesus! But when I read it again recently I immediately started crying b/c I was so overwhelmed and exhausted and feeling so unworthy…but Blair had written this: “Reasa, I really do sense from the Lord His pleasure over your life!” It hit me like a ton of bricks…God is STILL pleased, overjoyed, & excited about ME despite all the things I am not doing well (or doing at all!!)!! And He sent Blair to get the point across!! Wow, I feel like the most loved girl around. The best Christmas gift for me this year by far is Treasure Chest Friends. How hard it is to have to physically say goodbye to friends like this! So bitter but oh so sweet! I would MUCH rather have to say goodbye than to not have known or loved such friends!! Jesus, please send Blair the right Treasure Chest friends at the right time as you take her on this next adventure. And thank you for my Treasure Chest! Amen.

For real, when you get a chance, find this song, "Shut Out the World" and really shut out the world :) I haven't blogged for SO LONG...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!