My Cutie Pie

She talks and she walks....
Today Amaya was walking between our couch and loveseat - she would go from one to the other and then back again getting more and more excited as she neared what she was headed to. So cute!! She is walking almost all the time now. She's been walking on and off since her first birthday but last night she started walking all over the place without someone helping her.
She was also learning new names last night.
D-D is for Pastor David
Baby is for Davin
Mumer is for Sumer
Seth is for Seth
Ayla is for Gayla
Eggie is for Reggie
Arlee is for Harlee
Bas is for bath
ousi is for Outside
audwey is for Audrey

I'm sure I'm missing some but this is such a fun time...she almost always repeats what you want her to say. She's also started pointing.
When my nephew Aaron was here, we would ask her, "Where is Aaron?" She would get a huge smile on her face and point to him but she never did say his name...

Have a blessed weekend!!

This Week

Father's Day was Sunday and I made Daddy something special. I gave him a book from Amaya and then I "fixed up" a picture for him. The book from Amaya made me cry when I read it...it's called, Daddy Will You Dance with Me?
Here is the picture I made for him:

Here are some fun pics from our time with Shipshe Mommy and Dawdy...I spent a few days in Shipshewana with my family because I had a Pampered Chef show in the area. She was trying on Dawdy's "Russian" hat.

It's all fun and games until......someone gets hurt.


Amaya was walking in - between Gramma Cheryl and I and she hit her nose on the couch...it's was a sad moment =)

Here is the moment right after when she was walking toward Chad...so cute. She is walking a lot more and will actually start walking toward something if she doesn't think too much about it. She still crawls when she wants to get somewhere fast.
On a final note, I got my hair cut yesterday and I happen to love it....=)
Check it out. It's not the greatest pic but it'll do for now.

Just a Test

.....of who all reads my blogs...I'm beginning to think that I am the only one enjoying these funny moments of my life....maybe...maybe not???

Let me know, I'd love to hear from you if you read my blog....=) For pete's sake leave a comment (no really for my sake) tee hee.
It's late and I can't blog much so this is what'cha get tonight...

Over and out

Back to Normal

Chad is back yippeeee................He got back about 2 am early Thursday morning. I was super tired from having stayed up with Teresa and so he had to call me a couple times to wake me up to unlock the door. It is so nice to have him back. I know he had a wonderful time but I am definitely glad he is back. We've been able to just relax and have a good time together. It's amazing how much you can miss someone.
Tomorrow is father's day. I have something special planned for him...hopefully I can get it done. =)

I still do not have the camera so no recent pictures but I can post a funny hair picture that I think is so cute. I had her in pig tails and she has decided that it is much better with nothing in her hair. So funny.
Here's another picture of her chewing on a ball. She likes to put as much in her mouth as she can and then walk around. =) She likes to show off.


Scrapbook
This Tuesday I hosted a creative memories show...it was so much fun. LoraLee came down from Indy. Not very many people showed up but I am glad I did it b/c I learned a lot. I am definitely going to be scrapping more. I've just started my first album a picfolio album of Amaya's first year. It only has two pages done but it's a start. I had so much fun doing that. I've always like to make my own cards so now I can do cards and my scrapbook. I also began planning our honeymoon scrapbook. We have a great wedding album. I'm glad I don't have to think about that. Anyway, I think it will take me a couple years to get everything I want but at least I have a goal and a plan. =)

Teresa's gone.... ....already
It seems so surreal that she was even here. It was for such a short time. It was fun to have her here and to spend time with her but I can't believe it will be a year or more before I see her again. I know we can chat on the phone or Skype but it's different. It was definitely fun to hear her stories and to just spend time with her like "old days." I don't have any pics of her b/c she took them on her camera. Mine was in Czech Republic. I'll have to ask her to send me some. For those of you who don't know she is a missionary in Siberia - that's right...that really cold place - although she does say that it is summer right now so some days it gets close to 90 degrees...
God is using her to reach people who need Jesus!!

It's Early Sat. Morning...

And Teresa and I are both sitting in the living room with our computers. It's crazy that she's actually here. I'm excited that we have a week with her. I wanted to blog about my latest endeavor.

The Blanket
Last week was Pastor Amanda's baby shower. Her baby boy is not due until October but she is moving to California and so we had to shower her before she left.
I wanted to try something new and so I started crocheting. I was so excited my blanket turned out even and pretty cute. I had never finished something so big before. Check it out:

Here's another picture of the blanket...it turned out to be pretty big. I used a pound of love - the yarn is literally called that. FYI
I'm sitting through thunderstorm number 5 since Chad left. This one is a very minor one. When I was little I used to be so scared of storms but I've been surprised b/c these haven't phased me too much and we've had some pretty amazing ones.

Lord Give me Compassion
On another note, last night I was praying for something that really frustrated me recently and I was just checking out scriptures on compassion. I need and want more compassion for people. It's hard to realize sometimes that other people are going through things or they may just want a phone call. I think out of our struggles comes great victory. I realized in this week that with Chad being gone, I really don't talk to too many people. I would like for people to "check up on me." Chad's mom has been doing a great job of that. It was in the midst of my frustration that I realized that I need compassion now more than ever. When have I taken the time to call someone just because their spouse was gone? Have I taken the time to be compassionate today? I want to ask myself that each day and answer with a resounding YES!! Jesus showed so much compassion on people - help me to have even an ounce of that compassion....I love you Lord!!

Czech Republic 2008
I love reading Jessica's stories for the Czech Republic...(and I like those moments when Chad is in the pics.) Here is the blog she is posting. http://jessicatravels.wordpress.com/
If you get a chance, also check out the "Story Collection" on the right side. It's fun little stories and testimonies. There are some videos too with testimonies. It's a little hard to understand with the quality of the camera but you can tell they've been touched by the Lord.

When Chad's not Here Part 2

So today we went to the doctor and Amaya has some puss and fluid buildup on her left ear...Dr. Franklin prescribed antibiotics - the pink bubble gum stuff....I'm praying that it goes away quickly. I don't like seeing her sick.
I went to fill the prescription and the lady said 70.60...(ok that's what I thought she said). I had no idea how much it was going to be b/c our insurance is not that great and we have this huge deductible and I don't know what they cover for meds. Anyway, she had a little bit of an accent...it was 7.60...quite a difference huh. LOL

So today I put Amaya down for her nap and ate lunch and then I went to mow the lawn. I figured hopefully she would sleep better after I gave her the medicine. Well, she's still asleep and here I am blogging....b/c the mower went kaput...the belt that turns the blades came off...UGH...
I couldn't believe it. It seems like stuff falls apart when Chad's not here. That's why there always needs to be a "man of the house." I got half of the backyard of the rental done and I went around a tree and there it went. So there goes my hopes of getting a tan and getting the whole yard done in a leisurely way. Hopefully Ron can fix it for me. I would hate to see the yard in a few days after all the rain we had...it's high now.

I am praying the rest of the time goes by smoothly. If ya think about it you can pray for Amaya and I as we work through these last several days before he gets home. =)

When Chad is not Here

Wow, this week has been different. I am missing Chad very much. I realize I don't like to be away from him for that long. I know it's not much longer and he will be back. I don't know how spouses do it who are married to soldiers in Iraq. I guess you can do anything if that's what you have to do.
I am also realizing that I am blogging a lot more since I have more time.

We have had 4 huge thunderstorms since he's been gone. Our driveway has an area that is washed out about a foot deep. I can't believe how much rain we had today. It looks like my garden has survived. Hopefully all the seeds did too. In downtown Bloomington today there was so much rain that water was up to the windows of cars. I didn't actually go out and see it. I was listening to the local talk show and people were calling in with the reports of what roads were closed due to the water. I was able to get past Lake Griffy. It was about halfway across the road and in parts was running to the other side of the Lake when I drove past it tonight. It was quite a drive to church for life group. I wouldn't have had to go but I wanted to stop by CVS to pick up some more Motrin for Amaya. There was also some manholes that had busted out and were spraying water. We had quite a scene in Bloomington today. I think it's gone for tomorrow and hopefully, I can mow the grass. I've never mowed it completely by myself so we'll see how it goes. I've always just finished what Chad has started.
Even though we have the world's biggest carpenter bees all over the shed, I still go in there to get the mower. (YIKES) I was so afraid of them the first time I saw them but Chad says they don't sting...hopefully he's right. =) He says all they do is burrow into the wood - sounds great for the shed huh. The funniest thing is watching Goober (our outside dog) catch them and eat them. bzzzzzzz.....bzzzzzzzz.....bzzzzzzzzzz.....CHOMP!!

I'm trying to decide if I should take Amaya to the doctor tomorrow. It seems like she has an earache in her left ear. =( She sleeps fine but when she wakes up she cries and cries. It's in those cries that she says Dad-dee....Dad-dee...(she misses him). I'm so thankful for my Praise Baby video (gift from Aliyah for Christmas). When she watches that she is fine. She sits through it and stops crying and even smiles and talks to it. I've used it a lot this week.

Well, over and out for now...

Amaya's Taking More Steps

Amaya is definitely using her own pace to walk. She's taken steps for about a month now - since her first birthday but she hasn't "taken off" yet. I am not hurrying her at all. She's a fast crawler and she's still enjoying that more. I know that there will be more things she can get into when she starts to walk...fun fun.


The other day we found her like this. She likes to climb if she can and since we don't have stairs for her to practice on, she uses what she can. I was busy crocheting and Chad was playing a game or doing something on the computer and I looked over and saw her like this, it was pretty cute. She was getting all my pens out and putting them in her hand. She didn't want anything else, just the pens.


She's such a cutie, I do fall more and more in love with her everyday. =)

She keeps asking for Daddy...he's in the Czech Republic right now until the 11th...don't know how I'll do it by myself for that long. Amaya woke up with a slight fever again this morning but I think it's gone now. It seems like every time he goes away for something she's sick. =( It's just teething but it's no fun for her. She's getting those molars. There are huge bumps in her mouth....OUCH...hopefully they'll poke through soon.

Other than that life is pretty uneventful. I finished planting my garden yesterday. I made all the rows and then it rained on me so hopefully the dirt is still soft and I can put it over the rows b/c I'm not doing that again. I am so sore. I am not used to all that "garden labor." Those muscles haven't been used in about 2 years b/c mom and Chad planted the garden last year. =) I'm making up for it this year since I have to do it myself with Chad being gone. It's a good feeling with it being done. Today it rained A LOT and some of my plants look like they are leaning. I hope they can survive what happened.

I'm already tasting the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, corn, beets.........YUM!!

Ar-leeee and Baby-oll

These are two of Amaya's favorite toys and cutest words.

Here is a cute video...sorry it is sideways but I couldn't change it.

Enjoy