Funnies

List of Haven's words (and their meanings):
sissue: sister
hing: hair
pipoe: pillow
dang dang: thank you
eye yaw ying: I love you
wawa: water
mow (sounds like cow): milk
beh: bread
wee: read
daw: dog
paypay: paper
bathing: blanket
deedew: tickle

Hope Quotes:

To me, while I was tucking her into bed, "Your hair looks like a field."

About her bunny,"He's not warm in his fluffy."

When Robbie was combing his hair, "Not all boys comb their hairs."

"I have three friends that I can play with: Haven, David (her imaginary friend), and Pear."
    I asked, "Who is Pear?"
"She's a fruit," was Hope's response.

I asked Hope if she would rather stay here all by herself or go with us. She said, "If I stay here all by myself I want someone with me."

Hope to Haven, "Haven, if you cough one more time we'll have to take you to the hospital."
"'Tay," said Haven.

A Break

Haven fell off a chair. I was in our bedroom when I heard a thud and she started screaming and crying. I immediately went out to see what had happened, and found her on the floor behind a couple of chairs. Both girls had been sitting on the chairs, side by side, a few minutes earlier.

I thought that she'd probably bonked her head, so I examined her but couldn't find any knots on her head. Hope said, "Mommy, you need to rock her now," and handed me her blanket. What a sweet big sister...

I sat down, holding Haven on my lap, but she didn't want to be held anymore, and asked to be put down. I set her down to stand on the floor, but the second her right leg touched the ground she pulled it up and started screaming again. That's when I knew that she'd broken her leg.

I buckled the girls up and headed to the closest hospital (and the one the girls get all their shots at). Hope asked if we would go eat at the Holiday Inn after we were done at the hospital. "We only do that after we get shots, and we're not getting shots today,"I told her.

A quick check-in, small wait in the emergency room sitting area, a cursory health history and examination Haven and I were whisked off for a speedy x-ray of her leg. She protested about her leg being man-handled but it was necessary.

In no time, the films were available and we were called in to the doctor's office to see the results. Greenstick fractures of both tibia and fibula!!! Poor little girl. 

After getting a cast placed, receiving medication and paying for services (only about $60) we were free to go. When we got home, Haven didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't even want to crawl. All she would do was sit in her high chair or on a mat on the floor. Hope was sweet and brought her toys to play with.

These pictures were both taken the day of the break.

Thankfully, she's feeling much braver, and able to crawl around. She even pulls up to stand while holding on to a chair or the couch now, but she won't put any weight on her leg (which is good). Once or twice I've caught her trying to climb up on something, but I just can't allow that :) This girl is definitely our adventurer and explorer. Something tells me this might not be the only break we'll endure with her...

Family Tradition

In my family, one of the things we would do after Christmas was save all the used wrapping paper. Then, on New Year's eve we would make party hats out of the scraps. So, I thought that this year I would share that with Hope and Haven.

Robbie participated by sharing Hope's hat for a second...

Happy New Year!

Hitting the Jackpot

Here is a Christmas story...

This Christmas we attended a party in the evening hosted by the Chiang Mai Adventist Church. The party was great fun. There was a board where people could write what they wanted to thank the Lord for, there was a beautifully done Christmas musical put on by the youth of the church, and there were games and marching.

For one of the games, everyone put some money into a small clay pot, along with some candy. This clay pot was then strung from a bamboo pole about six or seven feet up in the air. Then some of the men at the party were asked to line up and take turns swinging a huge wooden stick in an attempt to smash the pot. Each man was allowed only one swing. The first man in line was blindfolded and spun around. He immediately started walking off in the wrong direction. All the children and adults were yelling and shouting at him, and he finally stopped and took a great swing into nothing. The next man in line thought he would use a crack in the cement to find his way straight to the pot by feeling it with his toes, but after being blindfolded and spun around he too went off in a totally wrong direction and swung at nothing.

The next person in line was Robbie. We had been talking, along with our friend Gop, about the best way to get from where they were (some 20-30 feet away) to the pot, and we figured the best way would be to have a voice the person trusted telling them where to go. So I went and stood at the very end, behind where the pot was strung, and after Robbie was blindfolded and spun around, I started yelling his name. He initially started coming the right direction, but the children and adults got louder and more excited since he was doing so well. So I yelled louder, but he couldn't hear me then and started going the wrong way. When there was a lull in the noise, I yelled again and he turned. By this time, all he needed to do was turn around, take a few steps and swing. He was able to hear me tell him to turn around, and he walked in the right direction, but then he froze.

I was yelling, "SWING! HIT IT! HIT IT!," but he couldn't hear me over the noise. Finally, I think he very faintly heard me, and he raised that huge stick and swung it mightily down straight in front of him, smashing the jar to smithereens. I was so close I could feel the pieces scattering around me. Robbie hitting that jackpot was quite an experience!

Resolution

It's that time again. I can't believe it's already been a year since 2011 began! So, have you made your new year's resolutions yet? I have a few that I could make...

But I've never been one to make resolutions that I know will probably fall by the wayside a week into the new year. I know I need some changes in my life, but just starting a new year will not make those changes happen.

I need a catalyst, an all-powerful enzyme, to take my good intentions and turn them into action. I need Jesus Christ in my heart, leading me and guiding me to make good decisions that will turn into the actions that will bring about the greatest results, even greater than any new year's resolutions I could make.

Lord, take my heart! This is my resolution, to be wholly Yours!

May this be my daily, even hourly, resolution.

Christmas Tree Decorating

I wrote a status update on FB about Hope's comment during our tree decorating process. I thought I would write out the story here as well, with pictures included...

Robbie hanging the lights while Hope hangs the ornaments (on her fingers)

Trying to place them all on her fingers

Here they all are!

And she announces....

"Now I'm a Hollow-Jollow!"

Then she proceeds to rehang the ornaments, this time on the tree.

They all ended up in one part of the tree :)

May you be blessed and have a happy New Year!

Grapefruits

We didn't pose these pictures...