The Very Gone Mother

Jovey's very into the whole Disney princess scene. Everything she can imagine ends up coming back to the world of the princesses. When asked what she wants for Christmas, she always responds with a very excited and well thought out, "I would like a Belle princess dress and Belle headband!" That's it, nothing more, nothing less.

While playing with a dress up Cinderella doll tonight, her "very favorite princess", Jovey tells me that I need to play the role of the "Very Gone Mother!" If she only knew how many moments that I feel "very gone" and very unworthy to be the mother of these special, little ladies. Good thing that God knows better and gives me guidance in what I am doing in this whole "mommy" career!

God, please help me be more in tune to what you are saying and how you are guiding my steps, not only as a child of yours, but also as a mother to two beautiful, smiling girls that look to me as a source of teaching, of love and as a model of just a fraction how much you love them, as it is so much more than I could ever provide.

Smiles, giggles and a need for some valium!

Nothing is sweeter than seeing your children, happy, healthy and smiling. Nothing is crazier than 2 parents, attempting to get these happy, healthy and smiling children smiling together, standing still and "posing" for at least one good Christmas picture! Here are a few of the highlights of our photo session, after which, we decided we either needed a strong drink to recover, or just needed a valium pre-photo shoot! Enjoy!

The picture of Joy!

ON THE MAN

"Nunu, can you get Diego on the TV? You just point the remote there, then put it ON THE MAN and push it to NICKELODIA . . . Yea! You did it, Nunu! Good girl!"
-Jovey, giving her grandma a tutorial on how to use the ON DEMAND function of the cable box to get Diego on NICKELODEON. Gotta love Jovey's encouraging attitude! Way to go, Nunu!

Halloween is Fun for Mommies and Daddies, Too!

Promise that we keep up with our kids better. . .

As plain as the nose on my face!

Jovey has had some observations involving noses in recent days. . .

Jovey: "Mommy, Nicolette (her cabbage patch doll)has a hot dog in her nose?"
Mommy: "A hot dog?"
Jovey: "Yep. See?" She pointed out that the way that her little plastic nose is molded on, it does, indeed, resemble a pig in a blanket!
Mommy: "Oh, that's just her nose, but that was smart!"
Jovey: "I need to pull it out, mommy, so it won't hurt her anymore!"

Thank you for being such a caring, doll mommy, Jovey Kay! We all wish to take away the hot dogs in our kiddos noses to make them more comfortable!

As if that wasn't enough, we had yet another conversation regarding noses just tonight!

Jovey: "He put on his musatakadash!" commenting on Funshine bear putting on his Groucho Marx glasses when trying to offer therapy to Wish Bear on the Care Bear Big Wish Movie.

Mommy: "What? A what?"
Jovey: "You know. What does daddy have in his nose?"
Mommy: pausing, then laughing hysterically, "Oh, a MUSTACHE? Daddy has a mustache in his nose? Yes, you are right!"

I laughed and Jovey joined in. It was a good, therapeutic belly laugh like we all need every once and while. I am still laughing as I type this post!!

My Beautiful Family

"What does a flamingo say, daddy?"

Daddy: "ahhhh, ahhhhh!!!!"
Jovey: "OK, AHHHHH, AHHHHH!!!!"

"Just Fabulous!"

"Mommy, doesn't this picture I drew just look fabulous?"

-Jovey Kay admiring her work using a word that mommy uses frequently and showing extreme pride in both her artwork and her correctly used vocabulary word!

The 411 on Luggage

"Daddy, that suitcase can't walk up the stairs because it doesn't have legs. . . or arms, or eyes, or a forehead, or a head, or hair!"


-Jovey Kay matter-of-factly commenting to Daddy as she snacked and he carried our suitcase up to the bedroom. Quite the estute observation, don't you think? ;-)

"Cheeeeeesssse!!!!"

Girls, Girls, Girls!

There is nothing like having the pleasure of watching your little girl call her best friend your own best friend's daughter. It's like watching the beautiful gift of friendship open before your very eyes. Of course, 2 year olds have various ways of expressing the special bond of friendship (mostly Jovey, as she gets very territorial or only wants lovings on her terms, both of which I have no clue how to fix), but sweet Lillie loves her inspite of her less than desirable traits at times. When Jovey is feeling the whole "friendship" thing, the two, sweet girls play dolls, run and laugh, tickle and just enjoy each other's company! Nicole and I may not play dolls or just sit down for a good tickle fight, but there is nothing like having a friend to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in the comfort, security and love of a great friend. I pray that our girls will continue to grow, both as young ladies, as well as wonderful friends through this journey called life. If they can develop even a portion of what their mommies have experienced, then they will be more than blessed!

When I'm a big girl. . .

One of my favorite stories from our recent vacation with our bestest friends, the Willis fam, would have to be Jovey's response to Lillie's amazing (I'm not exaggerating, I just know that this child is half dolphin) and super cute pool skills. Lillie would dawn her goggles, as you can see from the pic, and just go under the water, no huge breaths, no huge drama, just pure skill. I think once I counted her staying under for more than 5 seconds, and for a 2 year old, that has to be some sort of record. When I tried to coax Jovey just to put her little face under the water, as she seemed just as amazed and truly interested after witnessing Lillie's feat as I was, Jovey quickly and excitedly responded, "Oh, no, Mommmy. I will go under the water when I'm a big girl like Lillie!" Just so you know, Jovey is almost exactly 2 months older than Lillie, but we won't tell Jovey that!

Made to Order

Jovey has seemed to continue to expand her vocabulary and her understanding and expressing of thoughts the last month, if that was even possible, and she has really started to understand the concept of being thankful for the people and things in her life. We always tell her that everything we have belongs to God, so we need to tell Him thanks for it all! So, she prays and thanks God for people, days and toys, unprompted, as well as thanking us for the small things we do, when she isn't distracted by the stuff going on around her, that is!

This morning was no exception. Last night was our first night of having the girls co-habitate in their bedroom. They both did beautifully and we are so glad that hopefully, this can be the beginning of a fun relationship as they grow together, learning to respect each other's space, yet share it as well.

As I was getting Laney ready to take a ride to drop off Jovey at Parent's Day Out, Jovey says, "I love you Laney! You are my best sister!" She then looks at me and says, "Mommy, thank you for bringing Laney home from the hospital for me! I love her so much!" That's right, Jovey, I just went to the hospital, pulled through their drive-thru and said, "I'd like one, cute, little girl with a head full of hair that my older daughter can love on and play with!" If only it were that easy! ;-)

I just hope and pray that she will feel even half that appreciation years down the road when there will be clothes to fuss over, space to share, and attention to get!

Learning to just keep quiet!

This blog is all about being a mommy (as well as a wife) who is continually learning about this gift called life, so that, in turn, I can teach my beautiful girls how to behave, how to enjoy each moment, and hopefully, even learn from the many mistakes I have made. Fortunately, for them, not me, I have lots of stuff I have learned from as I am human and my flesh takes over so many times, revealing my weaknesses.

Recently,I have "injured" a relationship that I hold very dear. This person has been super supportive, very loving and quite open in sharing with me, so that I may glean from her experience as a more experienced, learned adult herself as well as feel the love and support that should come from such a relationship. As usual, in my haste, my flesh took over, and unintentionally, I said things that not only hurt this person, but also made her feel like a failure to me, deeming her to believe that I wish for her to be excluded from aspects of my life. I brought upon her hurt by uttering words that I thought would be a relief to her, but instead, brought forth only heartache and resentment. I messed up. I chose to use words before looking to God to help me sort my thoughts out, which would have probably lead to a more positive outcome, as is the case when consulting with the person who created your very soul and knows those silly thoughts and "good intentions" that make up who you are. I made a choice to speak when I should have just simply remained silent, and unfortunately, all choices have consequences, some being negative. All I can do now is sit back, pray fervently that God will mend this relationship and grow me to somehow keep quiet and be content in the silence of learning and listening.

Now, this is a mommy blog, so I pray that my girls will learn as I continue to grow that yes, they will at times choose hurtful words, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that have consequences that may or may never be corrected. If I can spare them of the pain of injuring those relationships that they hold the dearest by sharing with them my own experiences and the importance of recognizing when simple silence is more important than trying to "fix" or "explain" things, then at least I have reconciled myself to move past the experience and on into a brighter future of staying quiet and still, looking to God before opening my mouth.

Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)

Baby Dolls and Kisses

Nothing better than watching your two girls already enjoy playing together, even if one of them is acting as the baby doll! What a blessing, as these 3 short months have so quickly passed, to watch Jovey learn to include Laney in her daily actvities and watch Laney become more aware that there is a little person around to love and adore!

Backseat Driver

Today, while driving home from a long first alone trip to the grocery with my two girls (we usually make it a family affair), I was paying more attention to the rear view mirror to make sure Laney's screams were simply those of "Let me outta here, woman" and not "something is majorly wrong here, woman." When I looked ahead, a yellow light that came up on me sooner than I expected quickly turned red, making me be a bit dramatic at the usual smooth stop. As the van bounced a bit from my braking, I heard the following statement from the back seat,

"Pay attention to what you're doing, momma!"

Thanks! Nothing like having a little "mom" around to remind me of the most obvious things that, although annoying, are still important to hear!

The perfect gift!

While talking about daddy's birthday that is coming up very soon, I asked her what she thought the perfect gift would be for him. She paused from working her puzzle, put her finger to her chin, and said, "Diego. . . Daddy would LOVE to have a Diego puzzle for his birthay! Yes, he would!" Funny, I didn't know that Daddy shared Jovey's deep affection for all things Diego!

Loving Words

What tops hearing your kiddos say, "I love you, momma?" I'm thinking nothing on this earth is sweeter or more sincere than hearing the sweet voices of your children, especially when they echo the sentiment that is their love for you as their parent. The best scenarios, by far, are when Jovey just, out of the blue and for no warranted reason at al, just stops what she's doing to say those wonderful words and maybe even take the time to add a little snuggle or kiss along with it!

I must admit, though, that hearing your older daughter express love for her little sister, using an extra soft and high pitched voice may come super close. When Joshua and I prayed about adding to our family, we began praying that if that is what God would want, that our kiddos would, even from the very beginning, start forming a beautiful foundation that would hopefully, grow, evolve, and one day, turn into a deep and true friendship. I don't know if that will ultimately happen, but I continue my prayer and sit back and smile as Jovey bounces around the room, asking Laney if she's ok at her smallest of whimpers and as Laney follows Jovey's each and every movement all over that room!

Thank you God, for the blessing of not only having one, but two girls that I can watch grow. May I always enjoy seeing that as super different as they may be, how much they will hopefully grow to love each other for those very differences!

Firsts. . .

Jovey went to her first official day of "school." OK, it was a parent's day out program, but to her, it meant a new lunch box, new friends and therefore, it was school! She did super well, with no tears shed (she almost never has any separation anxiety from either of us), a beautiful painted pic that smelled of tempur paint that brought back my own childhood memories of mission friends at church, and even was moved up to the next age level of class, as the teachers thought she was "too advanced and mature" for her original classroom. All in all, it was a positive day for her as well as for Laney and me who spent time at home in the quiet together, something that happens rarely in a house with Jovey Kay!

Excited to hear about her first day away from me at a more structured setting with people she didn't know, I asked her all sorts of things as soon as I got her in the van. I'm sure she was thinkin', "Mom, please!" but she humored me and answered me with little frustration in her voice! She couldn't think of any of her new friend's names, except a little boy named Van, who in her words, "was a cute boy!" Great, already noticing the cute boys in school. So tonight, I thought that with a good nap and some time lapse, she may recall even more about her school day (a whopping 4 hours once a week). She told me more new stories, including one about a yellow one who shared the chair. Confused, I asked her to elaborate. I finally figured out what was going on, and said, "Oh. . . was there a little girl that had a yellow shirt on?" She looked wide eyed, as if she could look any differently, and said excitedly, "Yes! The yellow one shared her chair with me!" Maybe next week, she can move from referring to her as her clothing color and learn her name!