A Tale of Two Sisters

Nashville's Annual Christmas Parade

2009-12-08T22:13:00.006-06:00

This was the first year that we attended (or had even heard of) Nashville's Christmas parade. It is safe to say that this will be a family tradition. The girls had so much fun. Aliza stayed up 3 hours past her bedtime only to smile at everything and everyone...

and Amelia laughed and waved at all the marching bands and floats and continually reminded me to "wave mama!" at the performers walking by while eating candy canes and bubble gum that were thrown out into the crowd.

It was a blast despite the almost freezing temperatures (which no one even commented on until the walk back to the car :)!)

Sweet Sleep in Gulu

2009-12-07T06:59:00.003-06:00

Six years ago my friend, Jen Gash, started an organization called Sweet Sleep after seeing the conditions of children’s beds in an Eastern European orphanage. Today, Sweet Sleep provides beds and bedding for orphaned and abandoned children around the world (www.sweetsleep.org). They don’t just give the beds to orphans, they communicate God’s intentional creation of each child and His unconditional, unending love. They celebrate the children by throwing the biggest birthday party in the country. The children are even given Bibles in their own language and prayed with over their new beds. Finally, the children are told that when they lay down at night and pull the cozy new covers up around them, it is God---giving them a hug.

One week from today Jen will leave for Uganda where she’ll spend several weeks in the northern region of Gulu. This region has been in a brutal and senseless war for the last 22 years. A rebel army known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing the North, attacking villages during the night. During an attack, LRA soldiers kill anyone they want and force the children of these villages to kill their parents or be killed themselves. The children who are left alive are then kidnapped into the LRA army and forced to become child soldiers. These children have lived through tremendous atrocities.

Recently this war entered into a time of peace. However, there are 1 million people still living in displacement camps in Gulu; three-quarters of those people are children living in child-headed households. These children have lost their parents and their grandparents---two generations of people to protect and care for them, to tell them stories about who they are and who they could be, to teach them stories about God and how to live according to His word.

This Christmas---while Jen is in Uganda, Sweet Sleep hopes to give beds and Bibles to 450 children. If the children can lie in their new beds and know they are loved and protected and, if they can claim a verse they’ve learned which reminds them of this knowledge, they can begin to have little victories over the fear that grips them. That’s when peace and hope and love can slowly come to their little hearts.

But, Sweet Sleep needs our help.

218 more children still need beds ($88 each). Together, you and I can work to change and save lives. Here’s what is still needed, you can determine which opportunity suits you best:
• 218 mosquito nets. Malaria kills more people in Uganda than HIV/AIDS. Treated nets are $8 each.
• Mattresses for 218 children so they will be able to sleep up off of the ground for the first time in their lives. Mattresses are $50.
• Can you imagine not having a blanket to warm you during these chilly nights or sheets to sleep in? 218 more children still need to be able to be warm and snuggly. They can for just $30.
• Bibles are $10 each. There are 450 households for a total of $4,500.

You can make a gift right now by going to www.sweetsleep.org/donate or you can send your contributions to Sweet Sleep, PO Box 40486, Nashville, TN 37204 with “Gulu” in the special comments box online or in the memo line of your check. All gifts are 100% tax-deductible. If you still need a great idea for a Christmas gift, you can even make this a donation in honor or memory of someone and they’ll receive a card from Sweet Sleep telling about their special gift. You can read more about this at www.sweetsleep.org/givethegift.

Thanks friends…..for changing and saving lives.

The Scoot...

2009-11-21T10:23:00.002-06:00

Aliza FINALLY is "crawling." She is 10 months old (the age at which Amelia started WALKING) and she has finally decided that she does want to move from room to room. This is how she does it :) It is more like a little wounded animal than an actual crawl.

She has already been into the dog dishes and knocked down the fireplace grate since last night. It is a whole new world.

Radnor Lake

2009-11-15T18:56:00.006-06:00

Saturday we took a walk around Radnor Lake. The weather was beautiful and it was great to breathe some fresh air. We saw all kinds of animals...turtles, geese, deer. Last week when we went we saw those as well as a snake, caterpillar, and a bald eagle. The lake is not lacking in nature's finest! Here is a glimpse of our adventure...

Don't blink...you may miss the deer in this next one...

Hope you had a great weekend too!

More Halloween pics :)

2009-11-07T21:30:00.003-06:00

Aliza & Jack...trick-or-treat?

My beautiful Princess...

I am not sure why Amelia consistently does something crazy in every family photo we ever have taken...
Enjoy!

Peek-a-Boo Sweetheart

2009-11-04T22:30:00.002-06:00

Just a little video of Aliza and her sweet personality. She is full of silly antics lately. She giggles non-stop at Amelia most of the day. Here she is playing peek-a-boo with mommy. Of course she was doing this much longer before I got the camera out and as soon as I did Amelia distracted her. But, you will get the idea :)Notice the little butt wiggle when she gets excited...

Fall Fun

2009-11-01T21:12:00.005-06:00

Here is a little glimpse of our week in pictures...

Franklin Main St. Festival & Amelia's PRINCESS halloween costume. Oh, and Ariel, the Little Mermaid, standing on the streets of Franklin. Amelia loves her lately...

Fall Fest at school (it was a tad windy in Nashville that day!)...

Hot chocolate party with mommy...

...also the 1st time Amelia has ever had hot chocolate. Safe to say she likes it! Happy fall y'all. More halloween pics to come. They are on my other camera. Amelia had a BLAST getting "treats."

Day O' Fun

2009-10-25T15:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was just jam-packed with fun activites :) In the morning, Amelia and I went for a mommy/daughter date with some other moms and Amelia's friends Adam, Sarah and Jacob to see Curious George LIVE. When she woke up, Amelia's first sentence to me was "I am going to see a real George today that is as tall as the ceiling!" I am not quite sure where her visual came from but it was cute nonetheless.

Then last night we all went to the Zoo Ghouls at the Nashville zoo. They have trick or treating booths and games for the kids. She had a blast dressing up as a princess and getting treats all around the zoo. Aliza was not left out of this fun. She dressed up as a lady bug and wowed everyone by smiling and giggling all night. Even an hour past her bedtime :)

9 months old!

2009-10-14T09:16:00.003-05:00

Aliza is 9 months old already. Stay tuned for some new stats. Her and Amelia both go to the Dr. next Friday for their well visits. We will see how they compare in size :) Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for the day Aliza was playing on the bathroom floor with some toys and I walked into the bedroom for a minute and returned to her STANDING next to the bathtub! You heard that correctly. She does not crawl but apparantly she has decided to bypass that milestone and go straight to pulling up and standing :) She also says "ba-ba" and waves for "bye-bye" and she says "doggy". She is also an amazing imitator of faces and sounds! To know her is to love her!!

Three Years old

2009-10-09T13:41:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe it...but it is here. I have a 3-year-old. I don't know how it happened. I feel like I was just saying "I can't believe I have a ONE year old" and now Amelia is THREE and Aliza is almost ONE! Where does the time go? We were able to share in her special day with Shawn's mom and grandmother in FL. We bought her a preschool digital camera which she has not put down since she got it. She took almost 400 pictures in the first 2 hours or so :) I will post some pictures later from Amelia's perspective :)

The Beach!

2009-10-08T10:50:00.001-05:00

We just spent a wonderful 5 days at the beach in Sandestin, FL. Here are some highlights!

Our Little Cutie!

2009-09-26T21:34:00.003-05:00

There isn't anything special about this post...I just downloaded pictures from a few weeks ago and this picture was from a day at the park with friends. This is probably the beginning of Aliza blowing spit bubbles (because she LOVES to do that) and I just think she is adorable and had to share. We went to the flea market for a bit today and were stopped by at least 5 people who oohed and aahed over her eyes. I must say...they are amazing! And, Aliza loves attention from anyone :)

TN State Fair

2009-09-25T15:33:00.005-05:00

Catching the dog tricks show from the highest seat in town...

The Prince and his Princess...

Jumping in the bouncy house...

petting the animals...

Feeding the animals...

LOVE those animals...

I am SO bummed that I did not bring my camera back that evening. After having much fun all day, we went home to take naps and returned to the fair at night to ride some rides and check out all the lights after dark. Amelia had the biggest time of her life. She rode all kinds of rides...trucks, trains, motorcycles, big slides, bumble bees...you name it, she rode it. And, we all stayed up WAY past our bed times. Aliza included :) Though she eventually fell asleep on my chest in her sleepy wrap. Can't wait until the next fair!

First Day of School!

2009-09-10T20:59:00.003-05:00

How cute is this sweetie? Amelia was so excited this morning to go to her first full day this year with new teachers. She goes 2 days a week to a mother's day out program at a local church and I LOVE it. They are so wonderful and treat each child so individually and with so much love. Amelia loved it so much last year she has asked all summer about "when school is going to open again." I had tears in my eyes this morning she just seemed so big :)

Strawberry Shortcakes

2009-09-04T15:04:00.003-05:00

I have matching outfits for Amelia and Aliza that are adorable. They are red and white with strawberries all over them and they look so cute together. This past Sunday I had the outfits on and wanted to get some pictures of the 2 of them together because Aliza is QUICKLY outgrowing everything she owns. Well, there is a cute picture of them with Shawn...

about 15 other pictures where one or both of them are not looking anywhere near the camera (or each other)...and then this one. Of course :) So, here you are! The best pick of the bunch (pun intended). Amelia will love this one someday :)

My little worker bee

2009-08-26T16:11:00.004-05:00

Amelia loves to work. She loves to help her daddy buid things or fix things. She is very handy with a screwdriver :) She also loves (as most children) to wash things...dishes, the bathtub, sinks, and recently...windows. She spent the greater part of an hour this past Saturday "washing" the bathroom sink. Here she is washing our front door window panes (with water, not windex).

Sweet blue-eyed girl

2009-08-23T20:29:00.004-05:00

These pictures were taken about a month or so ago when we were camping. I love them so much I just had to share :) Of course, I did not take them...Angie did :)

3 cousins :)

2009-08-11T13:25:00.004-05:00

We finally got some pictures of all 3 girls together...this is the only one that looked halfway decent :) And here is a precious one of Lilia and Aliza. Do her eyes glow or what? I can't believe she is my kid!
And last but certainly not least...Uncle Jeff. The big hit of the weekend with all of the ladies :)

Carrots anyone?

2009-07-22T14:01:00.003-05:00

This is too funny...unless you do this at least 2 times a day like I do...then it is quite frustrating :) But, as you can see Amelia is a GREAT big helper. I think that I will need to invest in some rain ponchos to feed Aliza! A child never goes through life never learning how to eat, right?

Cousins

2009-07-21T13:32:00.005-05:00

This past weekend Aliza and I had our first weekend alone together and we took a trip to visit my sister and Aliza's cousin Lilia. Aliza did great (as I expected that she would). She seems to be a pretty laid back baby when it comes to switching up her schedule. We had fun and can't wait to do it again! It was hard to keep them both in the picture as Lilia is practicing her new walking skills. Look at their matching outfits...so cute!

Wait...come back here!

Aliza and cousin Jeremy...6 months!

2009-07-14T20:39:00.003-05:00

My nephew Jeremy was visiting for the week of the fourth and I haven't gotten around to putting a picture up from his visit. To see how he has grown you can go to the very first post on this blog when he was 12 and Amelia was only a little older than Aliza is now ;) Now he is 14 and makin the ladies smile (well, mine anyway :))

Aliza had her 6 month check up last week and she is brilliant and ahead of the curve (not exactly what the Dr. said but my interpretation). She is almost 17 lbs! and in the 75 percentile for both weight and height. A little under it for weight and a little over it for height :)

FOUNTAINS!

2009-07-08T13:32:00.005-05:00

A little cautious...just checking this out first.

A little closer...

Yup, I like it!

Off with the shirt, I'm soaked!

Happy 4th of July :)

Getting Bigger Everyday!

2009-06-30T13:22:00.004-05:00

Well, here is Aliza SITTING UP! That's right. I cannot believe it. She pretty much sits unassisted these days. And as you can see she is happy about her new abilities. We have had lots of fun this week. Amelia and I went on our first mommy/daughter date this week. We went to the Nashville Children's Theatre to see "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" and she has not stopped talking about it yet! She loved it. I had such a great time with her one on one and can't wait to do it again. She kept telling me all night "Not daddy, not Aliza...just mommy and Mia." She was so excited. Then we went camping this weekend with the girls and they both did great! Amelia's buddies Abby, Ellie & Kate came to play and roast marshmallows with us before dark. Amelia had fun playing in a creek, riding her bike, swimming in a lake, playing in the sand, chopping wood with daddy, building a fire, and sleeping in a tent. Well, when it got dark out I almost thought that was not going to go well, but it did! She just asked several times if she could go home and sleep in her bed. Well that is the quick update. Until next time, Audra

Amelia is officially a "Big Girl!"

2009-06-15T13:29:00.004-05:00

Amelia gave up her last Paci...affectionately named "pink paci" on Friday! Shawn and I had explained that she is a big girl and only babies use Paci's...so we decided to pack up pink paci and mail her to the babies that need her. We prepared her that this change would happen one day in advance. Amelia was not big on the idea the day prior but when she woke up on Friday morning...she was ready to mail paci away. She was so proud of herself I almost cried watching her place paci in the mailbox. We have only had minor breakdowns and she has slept great. She has already replaced paci with a lovey blanket but I am OK with that :) Here she is being a BIG GIRL!

Swinging!

2009-06-11T15:34:00.002-05:00

I am really enjoying watching Amelia and Aliza become fast friends. When Amelia wakes up (after watching Curious George) she asks if Aliza is awake yet. She wants Aliza to sit at the table with her while she eats breakfast and she talks and laughs with her the whole time. While I am getting ready for the day, she wants me to bring Aliza in her room in her exersaucer or Bumbo so that she can "play" with her. And every night Shawn and I read a book with both Amelia and Aliza and pray together and Amelia will cry if she does not get to give Aliza hugs AND kisses before bed. Here are some sweet pictures that I took yesterday of Amelia pushing Aliza in the swing in our front yard. Their faces are priceless and make me smile because they are smiling at each other :)