There were some fairies who came too!
*more photos to come soon!
Continue reading about Sneak Peek: Our weekend away in the mountains
I am just a little excited about several things going on in our lives right now – mind you, they are small things, but exciting for me nonetheless – and I wanted to share them, mostly to remember them myself!
The disappearing paci:
This is very exciting to me. We took away Noa’s paci about a month before Martha was born, using the logic with her that pacis are for babies and Noa was about to be a big sister. It was actually quite hard for a few days, especially naps, but then it was wonderful to not have to worry about it anymore. I had really been wanting to use the same plan with Martha, but just didn’t have the same will power that I felt with Noa, and I kept making excuses: long plane ride, lots of driving, incredible changes for such a little girl, jet lag, new bed, etc. And then, for a while after we moved she was having serious napping issues so we weren’t about to take it away then. Martha was way more addicted that Noa ever was and I was losing hope of it being gone before baby arrives.
But alas, our God is good and he knew that I needed this (and I truly truly believe this: that God uses seemingly small things like these to communicate his love and care for us). Last week I was putting the girls to bed and couldn’t for the life of me locate a paci for Martha. So I thought, “why not? I’ll just see what she does if I don’t give it to her.” And let me tell you, it has been amazing. We’ve (read NOA) mentioned it a few times and it doesn’t phase her. She’s sleeping great, for the most part, and not having any trouble going down (unless, you know, her sister is in there with her leading her in a chorus of pleas for water, light, music, or anything else to put off falling asleep at bedtime). I am just so grateful that this much-dreaded battle hasn’t been a battle at all. I give God the glory for that, because I wasn’t gonna have much of a fight in me…
Potty-training: the last stand
In my mind I had two tasks to complete before baby #3 is born: potty train Noa (leaving myself with only two in diapers for this next stage of parenthood) and get rid of the paci. In that order. This has been the plan probably since I found out I was pregnant (nope, still haven’t checked to make sure we have an appropriate car seat, or at least a few newborn clothes unpacked and clean, or started stocking up on a stash of newborn diapers… I guess that plan will get in motion sometime in the next few weeks). Unfortunately, I stunk at following through with my plan. We had a few good goes at potty-training this spring, but both of us (and I really believe it was both of us… we both needed training when it came to this) kept digressing and reverting back to the comfortable and convenient. Needless to say, the last months have been filled with excuses to not potty train (see list of excuses above to not get rid of the paci) and I became more and more panicked that I would, in fact, be that mother who couldn’t teach my kid to use the bathroom and she’d be having accidents in kindergarten. (Just kidding, I knew that wouldn’t happen, because Eric was a kindergarten teacher for several years and had students who couldn’t use the toilet and has sworn his would never do that to a teacher. So, I knew that if she became 4 or 5 and was still in pull-ups I could count on Eric to fill in where I had failed…) Anyway, I was feeling like an utter failure in this (especially hearing other moms’ opinions about late-potty-trainers and/or hearing of kids Martha’s age potty training) and broke down on the phone to my mother, crying about how awful it was going to be that Noa will be three soon and I will have three children that I will be wiping and changing all day every day for the rest of my life …or something like that. I was pretty defeated and sad that it just didn’t seem to be working out. And my dear mother, wise woman that she is, advised me to just let it go. She said there’s nothing magical about turning three or getting a new sibling that makes a kid too old to be in diapers. She’ll get it when she gets it and you’re stressing yourself and her out if you’re pushing her and she’s not ready. I don’t know why I needed that “permission” to give up the goal, but it really was amazing how quickly I felt the burden of it lift and the freedom to say, “I may be changing three kids day in and day out but if this is how God designed me and my kids, then so be it… I’m better off getting used to the idea than fighting it!” Wow, it was a great feeling…
ALMOST as good as the feeling I am having right now having had Noa in underwear for 4 days with a lot of super encouraging progress. She was trying to use the toilet a lot last week, and asking to wear underwear so I decided to try a last-ditch effort that would be completely fun and with no pressure if it failed. I made her a beautiful (in my opinion) sticker chart with pretty presents all over it (idea courtesy of my friend Sarah who also had a later-potty-trainer of a girl 
and went to target and bought cheap but exciting things that she wants/needs (new socks, a new set of water color paints, etc.) and wrapped them up pretty and put them on display by the kitchen table. Every time she goes to the bathroom successfully, she get to put a sticker on a present, and then she and Martha each get a treat (a sweet tart). After she got a sticker on each present on the chart, she got to open a real present. It has been really fun. We found Eric’s old sticker box from when he taught so we’ve been having fun with the hundreds of stickers to choose from. Plus, it’s fun because she gets to share her success with Martha, which it’s just obvious she LOVES. Martha gets super excited when Noa makes a deposit in the potty because she knows it means a treat for her Today was the best yet as she stayed dry all day and even held it for like 15-20 minutes while we were driving.
Anyway, all of that to say, this is another area that I am just so thankful for God’s hand in. I feel like it is him working in my children in these very small things, to show me that he cares for me and to encourage me in this job of mothering. Obviously, these are good things for my kids too, and important steps for them, and I am thankful that HE is their perfect parent, perfectly able to accomplish anything, even what I think feels impossible, in their little minds, hearts, and bodies.
Mommy’s helpers
I am loving having a dishwasher, that is not Eric, for the first time in my married life. It is really a treat in so many ways. But I think my favorite part is unloading the clean dishes with the girls. They LOVE to help me with it. Martha brings me the silverware and Noa stacks the bowls and plates on the counter for me to put away. It’s a fun chore to do together.
Another new thing is Noa helping to wash the other dishes. I don’t put our kids plastic dishes or our big pots and pans in the dishwasher so there are always some dishes in the sink to be washed up the old-fashioned way. In the last week or so, Noa has started pulling up a chair after dinner and rinsing the dishes that I wash and stacking them in the drainer. It is SO FUN to work alongside my girl and see her learn this important chore that she’ll do her whole life long, most likely. We talk and/or sing and/or (if she’s not still in her chair) think of tasks we can send Martha to do while we finish up so that she doesn’t try to pull up a chair too (let’s be honest: Martha+water+chair+hard kitchen floor= a big mess or a bumped head or both!). It has been a true joy and, while I don’t think it saves time yet, doesn’t add any time on to my post-dinner cleanup. I love it.
That’s all for now. If I tried to write about all the happy little moments every day, I would be writing instead of enjoying them. But these three especially have been very exciting to me, and have been means of reminding me of my Father’s love for me. It may sounds strange, but that’s just my life right now and I am basking in the joy of these few happy things and who they come from.
Continue reading about A few happy things (in way too many words):
Here’s a little try at updating what has been going on in our lives the last several weeks with some photos to show for it
Eric finished Summer Greek, (Praise God!) and is in his fourth week of regular classes. He is really enjoying his studies, his professors, and fellow students. He has to work HARD to keep up with school and his MTW work, and I am constantly encouraged and motivated by his discipline and love for what he is doing. In the midst of it all, he is such a great father to our girls and husband to me, especially as I battle fatigue and discomfort at the end of my pregnancy. I know that it must be the Lord empowering him to fulfill his many roles, and I just praise the Lord that He is all-sufficient.
Speaking of my amazing husband, He spent his Labor Day weekend home with our girls so that I could go up to VA Beach for a reunion with 11 girls that I lived with in college. I couldn’t believe that I got to go and am just to thankful for his sacrifices to make it happen. It was a wonderful weekend for me, very restful, and SO MUCH FUN to get to be with these ladies who are some of my dearest friends. This was our first official “Shiloh” (our house’s name) reunion, not including 10 weddings where some or most of us were able to attend, but it felt like it was just yesterday that we were all living together as students. What a JOY it was to see God’s faithfulness in each of these precious women’s lives and to be encouraged and blessed by their love and care for me. Not to mention how good it was for my body and soul to eat all our yummy chick food and laugh more than I have in a long long time. Margot blogged more about it here with more photos, but here is a photo that I love. It’s from our “family photo shoot” on the beach.
(top L to R: Martha, Janna, Maghan, Kari, Carly, Ginger, Marie, Sara-Beth, Sarah, Margot, Emily, Kimberly)
While I was away, Eric and the girls one long “daddy/daughter date” which was super special for all three of them. One of their favorite parts, that I keep hearing about” was a few excursions to local splash pads. These are water parks in public parks that have soft, rubbery ground and lots of fountains shooting or trickling water. They are great because there are no bodies of water in which the kids can fall or drown, they are fenced-in, some are free or only $1, and they are nice way to keep cool in this very hot place. On one of these adventures, Uncle Jonathan and Annie joined the fun and Aunt Maggie blogged their photos here.
Speaking of Annie, many of our days are filled with fun times with this delightful girl.
A and J doing the "pretty face"
My girls are obsessed with their cousin, her sister, Lily, her parents, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Maggie, and her baby doll, “Obama”. In fact, even when we don’t get to play together, we talk A LOT about her and remember fondly the many memories we have already created together. 
Seriously, these three together are incredibly fun, and they get more fun the more they learn how to love each other by being kind and sharing and thinking about the others before themselves. Yesterday, Annie and Martha spent a good 30 minutes off playing together without needing any parental intervention or correction. Just enjoyed being together. I am so grateful for this special time in their lives when they can grow together and be bfs with their cousins. It is so fun! (And that doesn’t even touch on how much Eric and I are enjoying our times with Jonathan and Maggie, or how much fun it is for Noa to get her real baby fix with little Lily around. I’ll get a cute photo of all of us adults together soon .
Annie has also “shared” some sweet new friends with us.
This fellow seminarian family (with 4 kids) lives just down the street from us and right next to a great park. We have had some good fun with them so far, and are really looking forward to more time together. Noa is in love with Bella, the oldest, and wants to be just like her. And I wouldn’t mind that one bit!
With Eric’s busy schedule we are stealing moments together as a family whenever we can. Meals are pretty precious times, because during the week, that is mostly when we get to be with him. But, a great thing about being in school is that Eric does have some flexibility in his schedule and we are milking that for all it’s worth. We went as a family to a splash pad just the other day and had a great time. Eric played a little and studied a little, while the girls just ate up the chance to be outside and not roasting.
playing on the adjoing playground after playing in the water
enjoying a picnic lunch while Daddy multitasks
A bit of a sad thing recently has been that Martha, our fearless one, has had a lot of big falls and bruises lately. She is quick to climb and the nickname “monkey” gets more and more appropriate. The other day she was running and not looking and nailed her forehead on corner of a wall. I watched in horror as the egg grew to almost the size of a golfball and quickly got Eric to get our family doctor (Grandpa) and nurse (Grammy) on video chat so that she could be examined. After some good reassurance from them, and a lot of crying (her, more than me, but both of us for sure), this is what we rigged up to keep the ice on her head:
And this is how we kept her distracted so that she wouldn’t pull it off:
Noa benefitted from her sister's misfortune and enjoyed getting to watch some "TVD", as she calls it.
By the time we put her to bed, it had gone down quite a bit and she didn’t seem bothered anymore. I am so thankful it wasn’t worse! She still has a nice gash and bruise, but it just makes her look good and tough
All in all, we are doing well and really enjoying this new stage of life that God has given us. I still cry, sometime a lot, for missing Japan, missing things feeling so normal. But I think that is normal in itself, and the more things settle down for us here, the more I have time to continue to process all the changes we’ve been through.
AND, the changes aren’t over yet. Tomorrow marks 3 weeks until my due date! In my mind that means about 4-5 weeks to prepare for this little one’s arrival, which I haven’t even begun to think about. But, I am very very excited to meet him or her finally, for the girls to meet their new brother or sister, for my mom to be here (she comes in 4 weeks!!), to not be pregnant anymore, and to begin this new adjustment of being a family of 5.
Wow! This is getting long. If you’re still reading this, you’re a champion friend and I thank you for caring about our family and all that’s been going on with us. More to come soon that, I promise, will not be as long. And I am still set on back-blogging from our summer, even if it is just putting a lot of photos up… so stay tuned!
talk to God, talk to men. need more? “talk to God about men, talk to men about God” – Packer
From Packer’s Evangelism book… I highly recommend it.
When I asked Noa to get into her chair for lunch today:
Noa: Can you say, ‘SET. MARK. GO!!!!’
Me: Ok. On your mark, get set, GO!
After getting into her chair successfully,
Noa: Now say, ‘That’s my girl’.
Well, I haven’t done an update post on the girls in a while, and this probably won’t be one either. But I have some sweet photos of these two together recently that just capture the fun that they enjoy as constant companions and playmates.
Guarding the door? Hiding something? Who knows! They are partners in crime to be sure, though.
This is how they wait patiently for their toothbrushes twice a day. It's too scary for me to let them walk around, or even stand with them.
Dr. Martha checking up on the "baby" in Noa's belly. Noa obviously takes this very seriously.
"Everything looks good! Come back in two weeks."
Helping me get some "work" done. These girls are constant helpers. One day soon, I think they will actually help save me time and energy!
Snuggling in Noa's bed together.
In their "house" that we make under the dining room table.
"Going to America on an airplane" which is sometimes the laundry room, and sometimes Daddy's office, depending on the day. They love to travel!
