Rachel's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Rachel's 2nd birthday (her first with us) today! She had a great time opening gifts and eating cake and ice cream. She had her very first birthday cake today. We celebrated with a lot of family and everyone had a great time.

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

~ Psalm 103:13

Our Little Blender

A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender...but you don't have a top for it.

*Jerry Seinfeld

We have started referring to Rachel as our little blender. She is very active and into everything. She definitely keeps us on our toes. She is all smiles and very happy but she is also full of energy and wants to do things that she shouldn't be doing. We can't relax for a minute with her. The other day I was going through the mail and she wanted to look at it so I gave her the Kohl's ad while I looked at the mail. She started patting my leg and saying Momma so I looked to see what she was pointing at. She was pointing at a picture of a blender and after looking at it closer we saw that it was called a "Ninja blender". This really made us laugh because it was just so appropriate for her so I guess from now on we will just call her our little Ninja blender.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

~ Isaiah 43:19

First Day of School

Leah started kindergarten yesterday. We decided to go ahead and put her in kindergarten since they have an English language teacher there that can help her with her English. We weren't sure how she would do. We took her a couple of times before school started to meet her teacher and to see the school. She didn't look happy about the idea and even saw a few tears while we were looking at the school. We showed her everything so that she would understand what she needed to do and the English language teacher said she would spend the first couple of days with her to help her out. She talked about school and her teacher for several days before school and seemed very excited about it. When the day finally came she happily skipped to the car and was all smiles but when the time came for the teacher to take her to her room the tears came back. The last I saw of her she was walking down the hall with tears in her eyes. After going all day without a phone call we figured she must be doing okay. When she finally came home she was full of smiles and was telling us about her day. She was very excited and had a lot to say. Up until this point she would only say a word at a time and do a lot of pointing. When telling us about school she starting use more sentences and saying a lot more words. When I asked her if she liked her pizza she said yes and then told me she had a cookie and it was yummy. I asked her if it was chocolate and she told me about her drink. We realized that she had chocolate milk and was very excited about it since she had never had it before. She has told me many times about her chocolate milk when talking about school. When she came home from school today the teacher said she had a great day and she was laughing. She has been talking nonstop since she got home today. School has definitely opened her up and helped her a great deal even after two days. We think she will be talking in full sentences very soon. It was a very good decision.

You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.

~ Psalm 92:4

Vacation

We had a really great time on vacation in Colorado Springs last week. Leah and Rachel did really well on the trip. We visited Focus on the Family, Compassion International, Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge and drove to the top of Pike's Peak. That resulted in new brakes for our truck but that's okay we needed them anyway. We had a wonderful time seeing the beauty of God's creation. It was a great break before everyone heads back to school. Leah will be starting kindergarten next week. Hopefully that will go well. She has been talking a lot about her school. They will have a teacher helping her to learn English so that is an added benefit. Leah has been doing really well that last 2 or 3 weeks so we are hopeful that this will go well.

Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.

~ Psalm 100:2

Leah's Birthday Party

We celebrated Leah's 5th birthday last night. Her birthday is actually in May but we waited until she was ready to celebrate. She had a great time blowing out candles, opening presents and eating cake. She did really well with all of the family that was there. She swam a little even though the water was very cold. She had a wonderful time at her party and has made remarkable progress.

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

~ Galatians 6:9

Church

We have had a pretty good day today. We have had a bit of problem with Leah going to church even though she is doing well going other places. Today we took her to her Small Group and she cried through about half of it but then she saw that the other kids were having fun and actually participated. Then we went to worship and she really seemed to like it. Maybe next week we can go without any tears. This is definitely progress. Also, Hannah and the boys left for summer camp this morning and so far she has done okay without Hannah. We will see how it goes at bedtime. We aren't sure how Leah will do all week without Hannah but it could be good for her to learn to depend on us instead of Hannah. We hope we do get some sleep this week.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

~ Isaiah 40:31

Adjusting

Leah is adjusting well now. We have had to deal with a few good temper tantrums from her but most of the time she is doing well. She is still not speaking yet. Our daughter, Hannah, has gotten her to repeat some words after her but she doesn't want to speak in front of us. She is usually looking people in the eye now when they speak to her and a few times she has cried a little and been able to calm herself down so that is progress. Most of the time she is happy and doing well. Leah, Rachel and Hannah went for a swim in the wading pool today and had a really good time as you can see. Rachel is very happy and energetic. She is helping Leah a lot with her adjustments. Our 13 year daughter Hannah is helping a lot too. We were having issues with getting Leah to sleep at first. After a few days we had Leah lay down with Hannah and she slept well then. Hannah finally got Leah to sleep in her own bed right next to Hannah's bed after about a week. She is writing letters for Hannah and will do about anything for Hannah. It is going well overall and getting better every day.

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

~ Romans 12:10