Florida Fun

Ella helped Gramma with the dishes!
Blowing (or dumping out!) bubbles at Amy's house

Anson and "buddy" the frog at Amy's house

Ella, James, and Charlotte - cousins!

At Silver Springs

Silver Springs - the water looked blue it was so clear!

The girls in their matching dresses taking a ride in PaPaw's wheelchair

Big ol' gator at Silver Springs

Tired Baby James

Tired Charlotte

Tired Ella

Tired Toto!! :o)

We just got back from a very fun trip to Florida! The kids and I went down last Friday and spent a week in DeLand with my parents. We went to visit Auntie Amy, did a lot of swimming in Gramma and Papa's pool, roamed around DeLand, did some shopping, and got to rest too! Anson enjoyed going to the barber shop with his Papa and then going for a treat at the doughnut shop! Dusty flew into Jacksonville on Thursday and we were soooooo happy to see him! He had been in New Jersey for two weeks with one of his painting crews. We are so thankful that he usually doesn't have to travel because none of us enjoyed having him gone! On Friday we went to Melrose to see all the Rollins'! Jared, Brittany, and Charlotte (and baby Naomi, still in utero!) cam Friday also and we all enjoyed visiting. Ella and Charlotte are so cute together. They walked around hugging and holding hands! Then bright and early Saturday morning (really, 5:45 am is pretty early!) Chad and Amber joined us and we all went tubing down the Itchatukcnee River! It was a such a beautiful day and we all had a lot of fun. Ella and Charlotte stayed home with Charlotte's grandma but Anson came and had a fun time! We all rented rafts instead of tubes because the spring water was freezing cold! But the scenery was gorgeous! I wish I could have taken pictures. We saw turtles, ducks, cormorants, and even saw an osprey dive down and catch a fish! Then we ate lunch in Lake City and went to see Chad and Amber's new house and office! They plan to move there in a month to be close to Chad's new office. When we got back to Melrose, all the guys played a soccer game and exhausted themselves. Anson was so proud to be included in the soccer game this time! He is really growing up!

Then on Sunday morning we all went to Silver Springs park! Silver Springs is home to the famous glass-bottomed boats. We took a couple boat tours over the Silver River and saw lots of fish, birds, and turtles and even a few gators. We went to a couple shows where Anson was not shy to ask questions! In the reptile show he asked the man "What do alligators say?" and he proceeded to make a pretty large alligator hiss unhappily! It was great! And then in the snake show he raised his hand and said "That sure is a beautiful yellow snake!"... more of a comment than a question but that's OK! :o)

Then on Monday morning we headed back to Atlanta, and here we are! Now I need to go through all the pics I took and find a few to post here!

16 Weeks!

Yesterday I turned 16 weeks pregnant and it seems like my tummy just popped right out there! I am still tired every afternoon but not as bad as a few weeks ago. Other than that, I have been blessed with another smooth pregnancy! Anson noticed my belly getting bigger and the other night when I was tucking him into bed we had this dialogue:

"Mommy, your baby is really getting bigger! Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know yet... only God knows right now!"

Anson to God: "God, is it a boy or a girl?" *pregnant pause*

"Yes! God told me it's a boy! I'm so excited we're having a boy!!"

So there you have it! God told Anson it's a boy! We will know in a few weeks! :o)

I Love Daddy!

Ella loves her Daddy! Could you tell? :o)

Yummy Krispy Kreme!

Yesterday we went to the Krispy Kreme "factory" for a treat! There is a big window where you can watch the doughnuts get made by a huge automated machine. Pretty interesting. Although the kids favorite part was eating a sprinkle covered doughnut and sharing Mommy's orange freeze! (That was Anson's idea to get another straw and have Daddy take our picture! Can you see his arm around me? So sweet. :o)

Crabs or Frogs anyone?

Today we ate at our favorite Malaysian restaurant, Penang. We are going to have to start ordering more food because Anson and Ella both like it now! They both love the satay chicken and roti canai, and of course the pulut hitam (sweet black rice with hot coconut milk) for dessert. After eating there, it is our tradition to go to the Asian market next door to see the sights. They have pigs and ducks hanging in a case by the front door! Then in the back they have all the fresh seafood... catfish and tilapia swimming in tanks, live blue crabs in a stainless steel tub, snails in a plastic bucket, and our favorite (which we saw for the first time today)... "lide frogs!" Gotta love the asian art of spelling words how they pronounce them... I think they meant "live frogs". :o)

Ella was a little grossed out by the crabs at first (or was it the overall putrid smell of the seafood section?) But she and Anson love going there so we continue the tradition!

Here are a few pics we took on Dusty's phone...

Questions, Questions, Questions

Anson is full of questions! All day, every day, 365 days a year! From the time he wakes up until I close his door at night, he does not stop talking! I am very thankful for this (most of the time :o) because I never have to wonder what he is thinking about. But other times, I am shameful to admit, I tire of the questions! Don't worry, I try my best to answer each one and when I don't know, I use my stock answer of "Because that's how God made it!"

Here is a sample of recent questions:

Why are Brachiosaurus' so tall?

Why does that man have a hat on?

Why do Moose's like to live in Canada?

Can we go to Antarctica? (Well, Uncle Jared, you have at least ONE taker on that trip! :o)

When can we go to Heaven?

Why can't I hear God talk?

Are they calling for rain today?

How did the baby get into your tummy? (Go ask Daddy!)

Other recent musings, not necessarily questions:

Look, Mommy! I'm so excited! That lady must be having a new baby too! Look at her big tummy! (said in a loud whisper in reference to a rather large woman behind us in line!)

I think you just went through a red light!

That car broke God's rules and now they have to pay a ticket! (someone pulled over by the police)

When I am 16 years old I am going to go to work with Daddy everyday!

Mommy! I just ran all the way to the fence and back in 2 days! Do I get a trophy?

We are thankful for our inquisitive little guy! :o)

Puddle Jumper

Wouldn't it be nice to take time to jump in puddles? If there is water anywhere, Ella will find it! First she stomped in the puddle... then she splashed in it with her hands... then she sat right in it... finally she took off her shoes to experience it fully! What a funny girl! Then, of course, came the bath!

The Great Strawberry Caper!

We went to the farmers market yesterday and bought a bunch of goodies. I was tired from the outing, so when we got home I layed down on the couch for a few minutes while my two little angels played quietly in the living room. :o) I heard a noise in the kitchen and realized Ella was MIA. I asked Anson to go see what she was doing... I assumed she was playing in her favorite drawer or cabinet. He called out, "She's OK Mommy! She's just eating strawberries!" I jumped up to find her with her turtle stool pulled from the bathroom and placed right in front of the stove where I had put all the bags from the market! She had helped herself to a single bite out of 11 huge strawberries! She had strawberry juice all down the front of her, in her hair, on the stove and on the floor below her! I guess they were good and juicy! I just had to laugh!

Anson and Ella

I keep this blog because I am horrible at keeping a journal! So this post is an update on all things Anson and Ella...

Anson: 4 years old, 39 pounds, 41 1/2 inches tall

Anson still loves his blue elephant and makes up elaborate stories about him. (I just performed minor surgery on Elephant and re-stuffed him! He was completely flat!) It is amazing how much Elephant and Anson have in common! :o) Elephant just had a baby that Anson "takes care of" and makes sure he's tucked into bed with them at night. Tonight at dinner, elephant's mom baked us a berry pie for dessert! He is really into making forts now and his favorite place is under the dining room table. He brings tons of toys under there and will play in there for hours!

He had his four year check-up last week and had to get 4 shots. He was so brave and didn't even cry! He told the nurse, "Ouch! That really hurt!" As if to say, "How dare you?"

He loves to pretend he's a lion or a cat or a mean dinosaur. He would like a baby bird as a pet. When we told him the baby bird would grow up, he said we could let him fly home to his family and get another baby bird! He always has an answer for everything! He can write his name now! The letters are not always in the right order but they are all there! - semantics. He can count to 20 and usually leaves out 14 and 17. He can say and recognize the ABC's. He would like to name his new baby brother or sister "Rudolph" - which is his all-time favorite song! To Anson, anything in the past happened "yesterday" and anything in the future is "tomorrow". He loves going to the park and zoo and pool. At his four year old check-up he told his doctor that he can even swim backwards! (He can't :o) He loves playing with "fake food". His friend Sagan has pretend food and little dishes and that is what he plays with everytime we go there. And in Maine, he played with his cousins' miniature Barbie-sized food and carried them around in a little tiny suitcase. At Gramma and Papa's house he loves playing with our old miniature dishes sets. He also loves his trains and cars and animals. When asked what he wants to be, he says "the ice cream" man everytime. He knows 42 of his catechism questions and can tell you that sin is "any lack of conformity to, or transgression of the law of God" and the scary part is I think he really knows what that means! :o) He could technically start Pre-K in a month but I am going to "teach" him at home. He will shout from the back seat of the car at random times "Mommy, you just went through a red light!" and scare me half to death! Usually he's looking out the side window and sees the other light... He can be pretty moody when he wakes from his nap - which now is about every other day. He stays in his room for the whole 2 hours but sometimes he plays instead of sleeps. He is learning how to tattle on Ella - and unfortuantely there is a lot to tattle about.

So on to Ella! (22 Months, about 28 pounds, 34 inches tall.) She is really coming into her own! She has a very sweet spirit and loves caring for her baby dolls. She learned to wrap them up in blankets and will carry them around like that, usually with a bag over her sholder. She now has quite a vocabulary, too! Some of her favorites are "I do!" and "Hold me", followed by baby, Mommy, Daddy, EE, (She calls Anson EE now which is what he used to call himself!) mine, pool, book, hi, bye, uh-oh, happy, ti ti, more, and bowl. She loves to tackle Anson and sit on top of him, which makes him squeal at a barely audible pitch! She will sneak in and turn off the TV right in the middle of his favorite show. She wants to do anything and everything Anson does...And when I tell her no, she puts her head down and runs to her room! Sometimes she cries, sometimes it's just a silent rebellion. :o) She LOVES shoes. Who ever has left their shoes in her reach, she puts them on! She can actually put her own shoes on the correct feet more often than Anson! She also loves the potty. She will come take my hand and say "Ti Ti" and wants to go sit on the potty. She hasn't actually done anything in the potty yet but at least she's practicing! I have hope that maybe she'll be potty trained before baby #3 comes! She loves to smile and uses it as a tactic with her father! It's hard to discipline a "smiling little cutie"! She now successfully wears pig-tails! - another favorite of Dusty's. And now for the "dark side" of Ella... she will stick out her tongue and spit at Anson when she's mad. A couple weeks ago she went through a biting spree - she would only bite Anson and it was usually on his back or sholder. Ouch! It seems to have gone away(after much prayer!) and now she just sticks her tongue out at him! Progress. That pretty much sums up my little princess in a nutshell. But then again they change everyday so stay tuned! :o)

Independence Day

We had a great time celebrating America's birthday today! Anson and Ella loved eating dinner outside and shooting off a few fireworks in the broad daylight - it didn't matter to them! But as we were wrapping up our outside activities, I got a call from my sister Aly. I had been expecting this call for a couple days now and it finally came. My Aunt Becky, who we just visited in Maine, has gone home to be with the Lord. Today was HER Independence Day. A little over a year ago she had major surgery for colon cancer that the doctors were reluctant to do because of the failing condition of her liver. Amazingly, she came throught the surgery and God gave her one more year with us. When we were in Maine, she received the news from her doctors that she was now experiencing kidney failure. Dialysis was not an option. We were blessed to have a nice visit with her in some of her last "good" days. She was able to see Anson and Ella and we discovered that our baby #3 is due on her birthday, January 3oth! But tonight at 6:15 she left this world, surrounded by her family, and is now surrounded by the angels rejoicing in Heaven!
When I told Anson the news (and he remembers just meeting her) he said, "But It's OK because she's with Jesus now, right?" What a kid.
Becky was married to my Mom's brother David. Together they served the Lord in Ecuador for the better part of the 70's and 80's with Wycliffe Bible Translators. And for the past year my Uncle Dave has been her sole caretaker. I know he is exhausted but God has given him strength - he would do anything for her. Please keep the family in your prayers.