Check Out the Updated Wishlists If You Dare

So, no one has a birthday coming, but since Auntie Nono (my sister, Melissa) is leaving for Hawaii and then Alaska and then Romania and back to Alaska, all back to back (literally, she returns from Hawaii and leaves the next day for Alaska), she was asking what Lizzie wanted for her birthday (June 22 she will be 3, I can't believe it). We (Lizzie and I) spent sometime working on her wishlist, so without further ado: (just scroll down, her's is the second post)
Lizzie's wishlist

Shhhhhh, Don't Tell Anyone...

But, I think I am a little homesick.

Honestly, it doesn't happen often. I don't mind being far from home and way out of my comfort zone. It is always tough and challenging in many ways to go to a new place where you don't know anyone and try to start all over, but being uncomfortable makes it so much easier to be moldable.

God has taught me a lot in being in New England (for a year now this June). And He has provided many great friends for me to listen to and share with, but sometimes I miss my old life, and old friends. This week, more than others I have wished I had a friend from back home to sit and talk with for hour upon hour, just because. Nothing is wrong or stressful , or anything like that. In fact, things are quite even keel, which is probably why I miss my friends so much. I have actually had time to think about something more than what I have to do for the week, day or even hour.

I miss friends who I can talk to about anything and everything, without wondering if I stuck my foot in my mouth. I miss going to the cabin with my girl friends ( I love you ladies, Audrey, Jenn, Lisa and Sherah) and drinking tea while we talked for far, far too long about deep things, about silly things, and about us things. I miss having friends around that I have known so long that they just know the right thing to say/do when I need it. I miss knowing the right things to say and do to love my sisters. I miss being able to encourage my friends in ways that they need it most. I miss birthday meals together where we chat until one of our husbands calls wondering why dinner is taking multiple hours.

I miss spending an entire evening, and into the morning hours talking with the Brewsters about life and dreams and more until someone finally gives in and admits being too tired to function anymore. I miss feeling like family, more than just knowing we are family in Him. I miss trips to the Oregon Zoo, where you just can't see everything.

I miss watching my friends' families grow in size and watching them grow in Him as a result. I miss being there to give hugs, or jump up and down rejoicing together. I miss going months without seeing someone and then getting together every weekend for a month or two, just to get caught up.

I miss my sister (love ya Lissa) and hearing about single life and what God is doing in hers, and getting to see her face as she says things with her facial expressions that can't be communicated over the phone or in an email or letter. I miss going to coffee or lunch or shopping for the next birthday we have or Christmas gift we can't seem to figure out (usually Mom, love you Mom). I miss family gatherings, and laughing together about things from when we were little, or the quirkinesses of Dad and Mom.

I miss my brother. I miss knowing how to pray for him best, that only spending time with him would reveal.

I miss visits from the mom's where I get to share the latest in what the girls are learning to do/say/not do... and watch the girls bond with their grandmothers as only grandchildren can. I miss watching the grandfathers morph into these strange puddles whenever they see the girls, making me instantly want to film them to laugh later when the girls are older, and past "that age".

I miss being in a place where everything is green, from the landscape to the practices of the majority of the people. I miss the rain and the smell that it sends out just before it comes, and just after it leaves. I miss being around a people that don't believe in umbrellas, but hoods, or just getting wet. I miss polite drivers being more common than rude ones, and roadways that make sense. I miss having to specify which Starbucks I am meeting someone at by saying things like "the one on the south end of the parking lot, not the north".

I miss...

...home.

I've Been Tagged

I’ve been tagged by my friend Sarah at My Peace and Joy. And my task is to come up with 6 words that describe…me! So here we go. In no particular order (and realize I have a major head cold, so if I chose a word that seems unclear to you, maybe it isn't you :-) )

Creative

Thoughtful

Determined

Compassionate

Quirky

(I repeat:)

His

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog (or e-mail it to the person who tagged you) and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag whoever you want to, or leave it open to onlookers
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Anyone who enjoys Memes, please feel free to join in on this one.

GCTS Easter Egg Hunt

On Easter the seminary had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kiddos. The girls were in the under 3 category with only a handful of other kids. Needless to say Daddy and Mommy were very glad to find that the massive amount of eggs the girls collected were not all full of candy, but stickers and fake tatoos as well.

Mommy helping Lizzie:


While Daddy and "JuJu" help Ellie:

Stone Zoo on the Bunny Day

We recently got a membership (with another family, so as to save money, and yes it is okay with the zoo that we combined families) to the zoo. Actually we got a membership to a New England Zoo joint thingy whereby we can enter any of the 140 zoos nationwide (including the zoo in Portland, OR!) for free or half off (though most are free). This was the first of many trips we will be taking, and it was bunny day since it took place the day before Easter.
Here are the girls having fun:

Lovin' the Moon Bounce

Lovin' the DJ and loud music to Rock Out

And More Dancin'

Our Tired Littlest Bunny

Bad Blogger

I know, shame on me. I have not blogged for sometime and especially all the Easter and Passover activities. But that is exactly why I haven't blogged. We have been so busy that I have hardly had 2 minutes to think, much less time to write coherently about the goings on here in South Hamilton.

Here are some random pics. More posts to come. Our hotdogs :-)

Lizzie sporting Daddy's pants

Ellie with her classic cheesy grin

The double wide bun that came just this big:

Melaleuca

At the start of the week I went to a dear friends home to watch a presentation on a company I had never before heard of in any context, Melaleuca. A company based out of Idaho, I had to travel to the other side of the continent to hear about it. Intrigued by my friends raving review and the way her face lit up whenever she had the opportunity to talk about the company, I was eager to hear the presentation.

Like many companies that rely on word of mouth advertising and short demonstrations to convince the onlooker that this is THE product to purchase, this presentation was filled with information that would frighten any good parent, pet owner and/or environmentally conscientious consumer into emptying their cleaning supply cupboards and every other area that may have "toxic" items stored (shampoo, hand soap, etc.) as well as getting rid of your generic vitamins (which according to the presentation typically don't properly digest in the human body and so end up in the sewer system) to all be replaced by Melaleuca's safe, all natural products that don't even have child locks they are so safe for children/pets to drink (not that it is recommended, but you get the idea).

As poor, seminary wife, mother of two, I have been to more at home parties than I care to admit and typical buy the least expensive thing in the catalog that will make me a supportive friend, without making us broke. But even this cynical woman found herself unable to even clean without feeling guilt. So, now, in addition to being a poor, seminary wife, mother of two, cynic, I am also the proud owner of a 1 year Melaleuca membership, by which I will be making my minimum purchase each month to keep it going and feel better about what my girls are exposed to every time I clean the house or them.

Why did I sign up you ask, after all the skepticism?

It is simple, when Allen and I looked at the facts of the cost per month, the fact that these are things we already buy from other companies, and now we don't have to panic if the girls decide to guzzle the glass cleaner or take a bite of the bar soap when we're not looking, it made sense.

In the coming months I will be slowly replacing my cleaners, soaps, vitamins, etc. with these products, and will let you know if they are everything they claim to be. For example, will the Sol-U-Mel cleaner really take out the Sharpie Lizzie so decoratively used all over my desk? Or, will Allen feel any different from taking Replenex their Glucosamine supplement? And maybe I'll even let you know what happens when a 1 1/2 year old eats the soap in the bathroom (though I don't promise anything :-) ).

I am excited to be keeping our home safer and helping the environment as well as supporting an exclusively US based company, by using my membership.

If I forget to let you know how it is going, give me a gentle reminder in the comments!

Okay, I am now done shamelessly advertising for this company.

Joy's of Living In Apartments

I realized that as a blogger the majority of my posts have consisted of lengthy rants, and pictures of the girls. Today I want to hear from you.

As an apartment dweller there are many frustrations and rejoicings that can be expressed about our living situation.

For example:

Frustration - loud, random noises above our heads and/or right by our front door that drive this mother of two small children, who are in bed long before 9:56pm, up the wall, with a sudden urge to find the noise and do whatever it takes to stop it.

Rejoicing - hearing the sounds of a familiar worship song being sung in Korean by at least 7 or 8 people who have gathered together below my feet to praise our Father above.

What about you? If you have ever lived in close proximity to others, what frustrations and rejoicings do you recall?

1001

I'm 1001 days old today! Which translates to 2 years 271 days and expressing myself as any good 2 year old girl would, with defiance, testiness and smiles in between.
Have a great day!

Love
Lizzie

I am not 1001 days old, but I am trying to be.
Love
Ellie

Thanks Sarah Krussow for the wonderful dress-up clothes. They are so much fun!

You Know You're a Mom of Smaller Kiddos When

So as I sat down to lunch with the girls I realized that I was wearing the same outfit for the third day in a row. Yes, I had changed my clothing at various points each of the three days, but always ended up back in this one. Why, you ask? Because it was cleaner than the clothes I had been wearing and it was matching, and I didn't have to go to the trouble of looking in the closet, because, yes indeed, it was on floor before me.

This little revelation led me to think of other things in my life that have changed with having children. Here is a very incomplete and overly generalized list that I came up with in the short time I have had to sit and type:

YOU KNOW YOU ARE THE MOTHER OF SMALL CHILDREN WHEN YOU--

*Wear the same outfit over and over because it is "clean"
*Can make mac and cheese in your sleep
*Consider it a generous offer when you are offered partially chewed on food, even if you must decline
*Can't remember what day of the week it is much less the date, but you do know how long until naptime/bedtime
*Hear a small voice say, "BooBees" and instead of scolding the child, you head to the refrigerator to get blueberries
*Find yourself saying the words poop, potty, icky and bye-bye more than you care to admit
*Know exactly what your children are up to purely based off the sounds they are making
*Have to chose between having a floor you can walk on or taking a nap
*Are able to write a list like this, but it takes 30 minutes because you spend 29 taking care of your children

I am sure there are many many more, but I think I am choosing the nap and I need part the toys like the red sea, to get to my bed :-)