Breaking Free

I am in my second week of Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" study. I am so excited to be on this journey that I had to post about it. It is amazing to me that I am only on week two and God has already taught me so much in this study. I absolutely love Wednesday mornings now. There is something so comfortable about Wednesday mornings. Perhaps it is the women in the room who feel instantly connected because we face the same challenges in life. Perhaps it is the way are transparent with each other. But one thing I know for sure, is that God's presence in our conversations and study is undeniable.

As a Christian, we are often being held captive by something(s) that are holding us back from living the abundant and Spirit filled life that God has planned for us. One thing that hit me hard was during the study of the Kings of Judah during Isaiah's time. What happened in one King's lifetime was so easily passed to his son, or future king. It was so eye opening to realize that the sins that we hold onto, in the case of the Kings, PRIDE, will be passed on to our children to struggle with.

I will leave you with the promo video for this study. I get goose bumps every time I watch it.

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,

Today is your very 1st birthday!! We had a fun day. We had pancakes for breakfast and then you went to Mother's Day Out, where you played with friends. When we came home we played some more and I showed you all of your new toys from me and your daddy. You have a new chair and it has your name on it. I'm pretty sure it is already a favorite. You climbed in and out of it about ten times. You also love your Little Tykes garden center, which you tried climbing over the edge to get in and ended up falling in! We had pizza for dinner and they you had a little bit of ice cream. By this time you were feeling a bit cranky and ready for bed. You played in the bath and then read books with Daddy. He read you Dr. Seuss' Happy Birthday To You. I think we will read this every year on your birthday. Last weekend we celebrated your birthday with family at the lake. We had lots to eat, lots of fun presents to open, and you got to eat some delicious cake. We put you in your high chair with your birthday hat on and we all wore our party hats and stood around you. This made you very upset. Maybe you just were not in the mood to be the center of attention. But you did love opening presents. You sat in my lap and looked at each present carefully.

We will go to the doctor next week to find out how big you are. But you recently moved up to 18 month clothes and are very tall!

You sleep around 12 hours a night still and nap times are still very inconsistent. But hey, not sleeping through the night until 7 months old pretty much tells us just how stubborn you are :)

You started Mother's Day Out one day a week and you go to the same church nursery another day during the week when I go to Bible study. I really think you are beginning to like it! We also joined a church mom's group and have weekly playdates with those friends. And gymnastics is just as fun as ever.

You are finally getting teeth!!!! Your two bottom teeth are just poking through.

You babble "mamamama" all the time and I think you are trying to say baby. Ms Leslie gave you a baby doll for your birthday and you have loved playing with it.

You do the signs for "eat", "milk", and "more" although you changed the more sign to clapping instead of what it really is. You clap all the time and move your arms all around when you get excited.

Your g-daddy took pictures of you with a smash cake. Oh girl, it was TOO much fun! You got the first taste of icing and licked your fingers clean. You loved the cake and got it all over your little self. Mimi put you in the bath right after and you went crazy splashing and screaming! The sugar hit you fast!!

You love to feed yourself finger foods and don't really like for me to spoon feed you. You want to be in charge. You take three bottles a day and have started drinking water out of a sippy cup.

You are not yet walking, but stand on your own for a few seconds before sitting down. But you are really becoming a climber. You are climbing on and off your chair, and on and off your bouncing zebra.

It is hard to believe it has been a year since we welcomed you in to this world. We remember the day so clearly and we have never felt more blessed that you are our daughter. We thank God that he has brought you into our lives and given us the opportunity to be your parents. We pray that you will love God with all your heart and soul, be strong and courageous, humble and compassionate. The name Lorelei means alluring. You have already lived up to your name. No one can miss your bright eyes, smile, and happy squeals. We pray that you will be filled with joy and a light of the world.

We love you.
Momma and Daddy

Life Lately

I feel like we are at a totally different place in life than we were last time I blogged. A lot has happened! Here is what is going on with us:

We are building a house! After much consideration of buying again or renting a little longer, we decided we wanted a place to call home. We want a place where Lorelei can play in the backyard, a place that Rob can relax when he gets off work (can't so much do that in this cramped apartment!), a place where we will raise our family. So with the future in mind, we decided to build a house that will be very long term. It is crazy and exciting to think that hopefully this home will be where we bring home the rest of our babies, where our children grow up, and where we stay for a very long time.

The crickets in our apartment are better! Cross our fingers they don't come back.

With the start of school, I decided it was time to start getting busy! I filled up L and I's schedule with fun weekly activities! We are only on week 1 and I am pretty exhausted! We joined our church's Moms Group, which has play dates twice a week. We have gone to two playdates so far and they were both so much fun for L and I. The group is really welcoming and there are tons of kids for L to play with. Lorelei still goes to gymnastics once a week, but we switched our class time. I also signed her up for one day a week Mothers Day Out. At the same church, I joined a Bible study on Wednesday mornings. It is a Beth Moore study, which I am so excited about! Lorelei goes to the church childcare during this time. Let's just say MDO and childcare has been a BIG adjustment for her.

WE HAVE A TOOTH!!! She is just starting to get her very first tooth. So worry no longer my friends, she won't need baby dentures.

Rob is working as a Nursing House Supervisor and loving it. It is a big change from the clinical setting, but I think he is getting used to it.

Our sweet baby turns ONE next week!! We will celebrate with family this weekend at the lake.

Girl Clothes

I think I mentioned that I was going to a big consignment event a while back. Well, I figured I should post the new outfits that L got just so you can see my great deals! There is an even BIGGER event next weekend. My friend Michelle and I are hitting up this one the night before it opens to the public, for the "first time moms" sale. Lucky us, our kids are under 1 (for a few more weeks) so we get to shop early! Notice that my bargains from the previous sale mostly still have tags!! And, most of them are Gymboree or boutique brand!

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,
You are 11 months old! Which is pretty much a year old..which is pretty much TOO old!! You are getting big so fast! You are very long and I have already started dressing you in 18 month clothes. Last time I checked, you were 23 pounds!

You still do not have any teeth! Everyone asks about this. "Any teeth yet?" Nope. Granmommy said we are going to have to get Uncle Wayne to make you some dentures! HA!

You are crawling and cruising on furniture, but not yet walking. Sometimes you will stand for a few seconds but once you realize you are standing, you sit down.

You take 4 bottles a day and eat three meals a day. You finally decided you liked pasta with cheese. Daddy is the one who lets you try the good stuff. He gave you a little sip of his frozen Starbucks drink and a french fry (which you didn't seem to care less about). But the REAL good stuff is coming when you get BIRTHDAY CAKE in just a few short weeks! If you are anything like me, you will LOVE cake.

You wake up around 7:30 each morning and play for a little while in your crib before I come to get you. You take a few naps a day, but you think you are in charge of when you take those and how long you sleep. But, I have pretty much dealt with this since you were born. You like to make your own schedule. So somedays you take long naps, and somedays short naps. I guess as long as you take naps, I am okay with it.

You still love going to gymnastics once a week and I always look forward to taking you. You smile and squeal most the time you are there!

You love to clap and now you are waving too! Somehow the sign for "more" has changed and now instead of signing it, you clap instead. I think you just plain like to make noise :) You also made the sign for milk this month! You had just woken up and I was changing you. I guess you were really hungry and knew it was time to eat.

We love you so much little girl!

Bloggers Block

I've sat down to blog Lorelei's 11 month post numerous times. I've also sat down to try to blog in general numerous times. But, as you may have noticed, I haven't been successful. It seems I have fallen off the blogger bandwagon. Blog writers block if you will. But, good news is I think I have identified the source of the problem. I love reading other blogs. So much so that I feel like everyone else's blog is more interesting than mine, and I don't have anything possibly as interesting to write about! Like, do you want to hear about my latest and greatest money saving techniques? Probably not but I'm about to tell you anyways...

I made a wish list for Lorelei's birthday. I haven't finished it but I am working on it. Then, I started shopping for the items on the list. Only, I didn't just head out to the store and purchase. I am buying most items used. Chasing down the Little Tykes Rockin Puppy at Once Upon a Child, only to find out it wasn't for sale yet. But, not to worry, I found it on Craigslist and met the puppy's previous owner today. Blue Puppy for $15-check! Little People Noah's Ark-check! Found it at Once Upon a Child (OUAC). Pottery Barn bookcase? Why pay $150? Found it on Craigslist and going to get it tomorrow. Adorable Baby Gap dress? Check. OUAC. Drum? Check. OUAC. Maracas? Check. OUAC. And to top it all off, this weekend there is a bi-annual children's consignment event. I can hardly wait. Rob says it sounds like a "cheap-skate convention" to him. He just doesn't appreciate my skills :) Now I know this isn't really "news" to anyone who always buys used...but I can't help but feel oh so proud of myself when I save a little money. Just clean the toys, wrap them up, and TA DA! A birthday that costs half as much as new.

So, that is all. Until I come up with the next "exciting" story to blog about...

Dear Little Baby

Dear Lorelei,
You are 10 months old!

In the past month...

You have started eating all kinds of table foods. You get really excited about waffles. Other than that, we don't get much feedback from you other than weird, "what did I just put in my mouth" and "what do I do with this" looks. And you don't even like macaroni and cheese!! Girl, you don't know what you are missing. You tried to sign "more" for the first time this month. I almost cried, I was so excited! It was the cutest thing the way you put your hands together and tried to move them to make the sign.

You also pull up on everything and crawl...fast.

Your Daddy had his first Father's Day, but he had to work. So we went to bring him lunch to his work. You went to the lake for your first 4th of July and you saw your Granmommy, Grandpa, Bug, and Great Poppa. The next upcoming holiday is your BIRTHDAY!

You love to give kisses. Very slobbery, but I still love them.

In the next few days, you will be going to spend time with Granmommy at the lake and then time at Mimi's house. This will be the longest we have ever been apart from you. We know you will have tons of fun with both Granmommy and Mimi.

You are a precious gift from God and we thank Him for you everyday. We love you, Lorelei Hope!