All About Abbey

Another milestone. Abbey turned two on April 18. I realize this is belated, but that is the way things are in our house these days.



Abbey's Stats: She is 32 1/4 inches tall (5th percentile, only grew 1/4 inch in the past 6 months), and she weighs 21 pounds (5th percentile, 1 pound gained in the past 6 months).

*Don't you love those toes??*

Things Abbey loves: her sisters! She loves following Annie around and imitating everything big sister does. She likes talking to baby Maggie and as soon as Maggie wakes up from a nap Abbey will say, "I go talk to her!" and will run upstairs to climb into Magdalena's crib to talk to her. Abbey loves The Berenstain Bears (books & videos). Her favorite character is "Brother Bear" and often when we say, "Abbey, it's time to get in your seat to eat" she will say, "No, I'm Brother Bear." Her favorite animal is an owl. My grandparents (her great-Nana & Grampa) sent her the book "Owl Babies" for her birthday. I never knew it but my Grampa also really likes owls, so they gave her one of his books. It's a really cute story about three little owls. You can read about it here. Her favorite part is when the little owl says "I want my mommy!!" =)




Abbey continues to wear her glasses. We have also had to start patching her good eye for 2 hours a day in order to make her weak eye stronger. She usually does pretty well with it, but sometimes I have to offer her a jelly bean to get her to keep it on the full 2 hours.




Abbey is very definitely in the "terrible twos". Just this morning she wanted to push the doll stroller that Annie was pushing. She kept saying, "I had it first!" but I was there, and she did not have it first. She was chasing Anne down and when Anne stopped Abbey bit her arm hard enough to make a ring of teeth marks. So, I had to give her a swat and put her in her room until she could tell me why she was in there. It took 2 or 3 times of me going in before she had calmed herself down enough to tell me that she was in her room because she bit Annie. Then she apologized, Anne readily forgave her, and they moved on as if nothing happened.



My least favorite part of parenting (thus far) is potty training. I was so terrible at it with Annie, and I'm not sure of the best way to approach it. My good friend told me that she would only use underwear, never pull-ups, because it confuses them. So, I know I just have to take the plunge, and do it, and deal with the pee and poop. I just love when they are 3 - 3 1/2 years old and can go themselves.... of course, they have to get there somehow. We'll make it!



Abbey can also write the letter "A". The first time she did it was a month before she turned 2. (And I thought Anne was a genius when she did it 2 months after she turned 2). She was coloring with markers and said, "up, down, across". And sure enough, I looked and she had already written about 5 "A"s all over her paper. When I got really excited about it she quick colored them all in! What a little stinker!! But, she does them willingly now. I love that I can be at home and celebrate each little thing that my kids do. What a blessing!



We are definitely enjoying every moment with our little Abigail Frances and are looking forward to the future years of watching her grow and mature. My prayer for Abbey is that she will grow in her knowledge of the Lord and that one day she will receive Him as her Savior!



And, finally, a special "thank you" to my sister, Stacy, for taking Abbey's wonderful pictures! Gotta love those "candid" photos!!

How do you Love?

Our very rainy Spring...

I promise I haven't forgotten about blogging, but (can you believe it??) sometimes life with three little ones leaves very little time to sit down!

There have been several thoughts floating around my mind which I would love to sit down and work through and think about more.

I had one of those "woe is me" days a couple of weeks ago. I found myself thinking, "man, I'm so tired of being a Pollyanna. . . Always looking on the bright side is exhausting." And just as quickly as I thought that, a verse came to me. (Courtesy of the Holy Spirit, I'm sure.)

Galatians 6:9 (NIV) "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

2 Thessalonians 3:13 (NIV) "And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right."

As I was finishing up a week of study from Beth Moore's "Living Beyond Yourself" it *just so happened* to be on love and *just so happened* to coincide with Easter. One thing that I love about B.Moore's Bible studies is that she uses a ton of Scripture. I'd like to share some with you. Keep in mind that these verses, when using the word "love" is referring to "agape love".

From page 67 of the study guide: Agape is
~a divine capacity to love. Only God is capable of agape.
~more a response than a feeling.
~fueled by the needs rather than the desires of self or others.
~expressed through me when I surrender to the empowerment and temperament of the Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Psalm 145:8 "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"

Remember, this is not love of the romantic nature or love of the friendly nature, but love that humans are not capable of unless the Spirit is empowering us to love.

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us." (emphasis mine)

1 John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

John 17:4 "I brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do."

There are several more verses that struck a chord with me that I would share, but I can't at this time.

I wanted to end with the Scripture from John 17. Look at it again.

This passage is Jesus praying/talking with God.

It made me think about my own life. How am I bringing glory to God? What work has He given me to do? Am I completing it? How am I demonstrating love for my brothers?

It's something I'm still working through. I'd like to leave you all with a challenge to think about your own lives, ask yourselves the same questions. I would love to hear how you demonstrate love for your "brothers". One example could be preparing a meal for a person who just had a baby or is ill. I have had the pleasure of doing this several times in the past 5 years, and am looking forward to bringing a meal to a family with a new baby this week! =)

And just for fun... a couple pictures.

Abbey in boots.

My mom "Mema" and Magdalena at my sister's bridal shower.

Life Through Annie's Eyes

Two precious girls all ready for Sunday School.

In honor of Mother's Day next month, all of the young mothers at church are being asked to finish this sentence:

The most challenging part of being a mother is. . .

To me that seems like book material, not sentence material. But here is my best go at it. The most challenging part of being a mother is finding the balance between love and discipline.

**These two will never need disciplined, right??**

I find that I am often very strict with my daughters. I have high expectations for them. Sometimes I need to remember that they are only 3 and 2 years old. (Maggie doesn't really need disciplined yet!)

As I considered this thought more and more, I realized that is why grandparents enjoy their grandchildren so much. They can allow themselves to be swallowed up by the joy that young children bring and aren't burdened with the responsibility of training them up and disciplining them.

Have you heard this quote before? "If I knew grandchildren were so much fun, I'd have had them first!"

It's amusing and cute and witty at first glance. But why should parents miss out on all that fun?

I am trying very diligently to find that balance. To truly enjoy the special, simple, fun moments with my daughters. I don't want to wait until I'm a grandparent to experience that life and fun that young children bring so naturally.

**Enjoying a warmer day with a picnic on the deck**

So just for fun, I'm going to share some photos that our Annie has taken. She loves to use the camera, and actually takes some great pictures. Sure, some are blurry, and some have heads cut off, but she is a joy to watch. She will run in place and jump and do all sorts of crazy things to get her subjects to smile! I love watching how she processes life. It was fun for me to look through the pictures she has taken over the past couple of months to see what she sees.

So with out further ado, here is "Life Through Annie's Eyes".

*I love this one!*

*artsy elmo*

*dork*

*gross! she shot this at just the 'right' time.*

*pretty good, right?*

*best dad in the world*

I guess she wanted to see what it looked like up there?

*Maggie looks shocked!*

I told you, she's good!

Can you tell who Annie's favorite "subject" is? Clearly Abbey is not nearly as cooperative as Baby. Hope you enjoyed!!

Humbled through Children

Have I mentioned on here before how God uses my children to teach me?

Regardless of whether the children know it or not, they are God's messengers to me.

For the past almost 3 weeks Magdalena has been crying. A lot. A lot as in sometimes 3 hours at a time. Now, those of you who had babies who cried may or may not be sympathizing with me. Because Magdalena hasn't always been a crier. She was doing quite well sleeping through the night, going to bed at a reasonable hour, and all that jazz. I thought I had it all together. Until she started crying.

Would you believe it took almost 2 weeks of her crying before I told anyone (other than Trent, of course)? Why wouldn't I tell anyone?

P-R-I-D-E! I didn't want anyone to know that I was losing sleep at night and couldn't get my own 7-month-old child to stop crying for long stretches of time. I truly was feeling like I was not a good mother, that I was doing something wrong, that I (dare I even say it) needed help!!

Pride.

PSALM 10:4 NKJ "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts."

I got behind in my daily Bible readings, and the crying got worse. Perhaps not worse, but at least less-easy to handle.

PROVERBS 11:2 NKJ "When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."

So I "gave in" and told a few girlfriends, and asked for prayer. I took Maggie to the doctor to make sure she wasn't ill. I asked for more prayer. I prayed and prayed. I napped when the kids were napping. I slacked on my devotions and Bible reading and would sleep instead.

I prayed often for strength. As I was praying a couple evenings ago I was reminded of how Jonathan encouraged David and helped him to find his strength in the Lord. This started me thinking.... If I am not in the Word of God on a daily basis, how can I find my strength in Him?

So back to my Bible I went. I'm getting caught up on the days I missed. I am back in my Bible study. I am so encouraged by the Scriptures. If you ever want to read an awesome "sermon" about our flesh versus the Spirit, just read Galatians chapters 5 and 6 out loud to yourself with passion in your voice.

And Maggie slept through the night last night for the first time in weeks. Thanks to all of you who have been praying. And thanks to my little girl, who through not sleeping for a few weeks taught her Mama that she is not perfect, far from super-mom, and needs Christ more than she needs sleep or a cup of coffee.

Now I just pray that the sleeping continues and I'll be thankful that I'm not walking through the desert with a crying baby like the Israelites, or worrying about high fevers and no doctors like mothers had to do 100 years ago (and still do in many third world countries). It's all about perspective, isn't it?

Whatever the Cost

Last week I was struggling with selfishness.

As many of you know, adoption is near and dear to my heart. It has been for many many years. I've always wanted to adopt, and Trent and I have had many serious discussions about adoption. We have decided to go to an information meeting on May 2nd to see if now is the time for us.

Then I started feeling selfish. Adoption is really expensive. It takes a long time, and it sounds really hard. And I really would like a bigger house with a bigger yard. And it sure would be nice to move out of the city. And, gee, I worry about the kids going to city school. And our house is already feeling tight, do we have room for one more?

The more I thought about myself, the less appealing adoption was sounding. It wasn't until I said those things out loud that I realized how selfish I sounded.

Please, don't misunderstand what I am saying. I know adoption is not for everyone. I have no problem with people living in big houses, with lots of land, and nice cars. But, if we were to choose not to pursue an adoption because of those reasons, I would be failing to follow God's call in my life.

Galations 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

We are in a very comfortable position financially, mainly due to our low mortgage and Trent's promotion about 6 months ago. If we were to move to a bigger, more expensive house, we would have less money to pursue an adoption.

I truly believe that if we follow God's leading in this calling, that He will bless us. That doesn't mean that we will necessarily be "blessed" with our dream home, but we will be blessed.

Isaiah 48:17-18 "This is what the LORD says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

God is still working on me. He is teaching me. He is directing me. I want to learn, and I want to follow. Israel did not pay attention to the Lord's commands. I desire to follow God, I want to obey Him. I'm sure it doesn't make sense to a lot of people to hear of our desire to adopt.

What about the "American Dream"? To be quite honest, I am often quite distracted by it. The "things" of this world turn my head from what God wills for me.

I found that I was allowing myself to be pulled into being self-centered by justifying it. I thought, well, I really just want to move because I'm fearful of putting the kids in city school. (2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.)

Growing up we had a really big yard, and I have such fond memories of playing on our swing set, playing volleyball and badminton, soccer and baseball. However, Trent is helping me to realize that our children will have a different set of fond memories, and that is okay!!

I don't think that I am "cured" of my selfishness, of my fears, or of my failures. I'm so thankful that God forgives.

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit."

If Jesus was willing to die for my sins, shouldn't I be willing to follow Him, whatever the cost?

Maggie is 6-months

I am often amazed when each of my children reach a new age-milestone. It is always the same story, I can't believe she's 6 months, or a year, or two, or three.... This time it is Magdalena's turn. I can't believe she is 6 months old!



Today she had her 6-month well child check-up. She weighs 12 pounds, 4 ounces, which is less than the 5th percentile and she is 24.5 inches long, which is about the 5th percentile. She has dropped in percentile in her weight, but that could be because she has not been feeling well the past couple of weeks. She still has a runny nose and a cough so she did not get any shots. We will have to go back next week for those. It's hard to believe she weighs so little when you look at those adorable chubby cheeks and arms!



Our doctor is so very good with the children. He has four children of his own so I trust his opinion from a medical and personal level. The girls absolutely love him. When Anne was about two she told me, "Dr. Frey is gentle and kind." He makes the kids laugh and feel very comfortable with him. I'm so thankful for that. They love to tell daddy what funny things he says. When he has to look in their ears he asks if the Cookie Monster left any crumbs in there. This makes them giggle and allow him to look in their ears. I am thankful for the good medical care and advice we have easy access to receive.



New Year's Updates: I completed one Beth Moore study and have not missed a single day of my chronological Bible readings. I admit some days are difficult (reading about the tabernacle has never peaked my interest), but I am doing it!

Anne has helped me to memorize Psalm 121. The last 2 verses are still a bit shaky. I think Anne knows them better than I do! We plan to memorize the "fruits of the Spirit" passage next.

Abbey starts Sunday School next week. She never cries when I leave her at SMILE, and she is really doing well.

Maggie can roll both ways, and it attempting to sit up. She sleeps all night (Praise the Lord!), and takes 2 naps during the day. Her morning nap is about an hour, and her afternoon nap is about 2 hours. She goes to bed at the same time as big sisters do, usually between 7 and 8. She wakes up about 7:30 or 8 a.m. Big sisters are usually up between 5:45 and 6:30.

We are having our entire house re-wired to get rid of the old knob-and-tube wiring. Two electricians were here 2 days last week, they will be here tomorrow, and probably a day or two next week.

We had Trent's car inspected yesterday because we thought something was majorly wrong with it. I really didn't want to spend money on a vehicle (my least favorite thing to spend money on!). Praise God that it was only low power steering fluid and cost less than $100 for everything!! God is so good. I don't know why I waste energy worrying about things that He takes care of.

My mom has offered to help us re-paint the big girls' bedroom. I chose a lovely old-fashioned pink color. When I showed Trent he just sighed submissively. He has resigned himself to the fact that he lives with 3 daughters and a wife who love pink and all things old-fashioned. I have such a wonderful, patient husband.

New Baby Thoughts

No, we're not pregnant.

Last night I got an e-mail from a friend who just announced they are expecting their second little baby. I was extremely excited for them. In fact, Trent came in the room and asked what I was smiling at as I stared joyfully at the computer screen.

As I was brushing my teeth I just kept on thinking about how excited I was to hear about this new life growing inside my friend. I started praising God for this new baby, and lifted up prayers of health for the mother and health for the unborn child. I still couldn't wipe the smile off my face. As I was praising God I had a sudden thought that had never come to me before when thinking of new life. I thought, If I'm this excited, how much more excited must God be??

I know God has a special plan for this unborn baby as he does for each of us. I'm so thankful that my friend and her husband are raising their children in a Christ-centered home. Psalm 127:3 says "Children are a gift of the Lord."

Updates on our little Hessians:

Magdalena: is 6 months old! It is so hard to believe sometimes. She has a 6-month wellness check-up tomorrow so I'll update with weight and length after her appointment. She can roll from her belly to her back, and also from her back to her belly. She can sit up with the help of a boppy pillow. She adores her sisters, and Anne is especially skilled in making her laugh. What a joy!

Abigail: is actually sick today. Poor thing was throwing up this morning. Recently Abbey has been enjoying puzzles. She can easily do our "chunky" wooden pieced animal puzzles. She also likes attempting the alphabet puzzle. I was surprised to see that she actually knows where several of the pieces go! When we sing the ABCs she says, "A-B-C-Noah!" She is very much in the "monkey-see, monkey-do" phase. She imitates EVERYTHING (good & bad) that big sister does. It is definitely a lesson for all of us. She continues to be true to her name and brings our home so much joy!

Anne: has also been interested in puzzles. She has two 24/25 piece puzzles that she can do. She still needs a small amount of help to get them fully put together, but she is getting there. We are working on the alphabet. She can recognize all of them (sometimes she gets X, Y and Z mixed up), and we are working on being able to write them in upper and lower case. Anne also enjoys hearing chapters read to her from "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Trent reads to Anne and Abbey before bed while I go out of the room to nurse Magdalena. Right now they are reading "The BFG" by Roald Dahl (one of my childhood favorites). Abbey runs around before bed yelling "B-F-G, B-F-G!" I love that they love books!

Well, I suppose that will be all for today. I'll update some tomorrow about our "new year's resolutions" and Maggie's 6-month check-up.

I'll leave you with a little Anne story. We have a little fishpond out back, and for the past 3 winters have always put a little heater in it so the fish wouldn't die. We decided last summer that it was just too much work to keep it clean (a neighbor's tree drops all kinds of stuff in it) and we would close it up this Spring. So Trent thought we wouldn't bother putting the heater in this winter, plus he wasn't sure how necessary it really was. Well, the pond is thawing... Yesterday Anne went out with Petey, looked in to the pond and come running full speed at me. She yelled, "Mom! Mom! I see the fish in the pond. They're laying on their side like this!" So, I go out, and sure enough, 3 fish are dead, floating in the pond. (Gross). We called daddy at work to tell him. We told Anne that we would bury the fish. Anne was explaining to Abbey that daddy will get the shovel, and dig a hole, and we'll put the fish in and bury them. Then Jesus will make them alive again. I said, "Oh, honey, I don't think Jesus will make your fish alive again." She was extremely distraught at this. This morning before breakfast she was telling Trent how sad she was that her fish died (she was nearly in tears), and asking daddy why he didn't put the heater in so they could live?? Later in the morning, she went upstairs. I assumed she had to go potty, and she came back down a little later. She asked, "Mommy, did you know what I was doing?" (This is a scary question for a 3-year-old to ask.) I said, "Ummm... were you going potty?" Anne responded, "Nope. I was in my room praying that God would make my fish alive."

While on one hand it is funny, on another I find it profound. There is such beauty in pure childlike faith. She is completely unhindered by my adult "knowledge" that dead pond fishies aren't going to come back to life. Her faith is pure, not jaded by reality. Trent said, "Well, maybe if we prayed hard enough and had enough faith, they would come back to life."

Dear Jesus-give me a faith like that. I want to have more of you!!