Yes, I know it’s been awhile.  Things are just too crazy and special to find time to blog.  The only time I get a chance to be alone is when the girls’ naps overlap, and all I wanna do at that time is relax.  Sorry.  I will continue to post, but it’s not gonna be every day– or maybe even every week.  If you want to subscribe with RSS, you’ll be able to keep track of my posts better.

Here’s my lazy way of recording memories . . .

• We went to a concert by Josh Wilson.  He is a friend from High School and has now made a name for himself in the Christian music world.  I’m so proud of him; he’s ridiculously talented and a great Christian guy.  So, do yourself a favor and check out his music.  Below is a picture of us in HS and a picture of him at the concert.

• Our family was on the second page of our city’s newspaper last Friday.  Out of the 95 pictures they took at the concert, they chose ours to be featured in the newspaper.

• Abi is potty training.  She’s gone a few days of being completely dry- but we’re having issues with the pooping.  Any tips!??

• Abi melts our hearts lately with the stuff she says about God.  Yesterday, she said, “I’m gonna get the monkey baptized. It goes like this. He goes under the water.” Then 10 minutes later, “I’m gonna lie Rachel down and get her baptized.”  She can say all the New Testament books by herself and sings tons of “adult” Christian songs by herself.

• Lydia is 4 months now and sleeps 11.5 hours at night.  Yesterday, I had to wake her up for church.  Thank you Lord for happy sleepers who fit into our scheduling plans.



• I’m gonna start making Lydia baby food in the next few weeks.

• I’ve frozen my Amish bread starter, so I’m done with that for awhile. I’m happy to say that with 5 different times of making it, I only threw away one starter.  And really, I made Jonathan do it because I can’t stand to waste food- or well, anything.  It’s a blessing . . .  and a curse.
• I’ve been doing lots of crafty things lately

• Jonathan and I are starting to read Crazy Love.  I just finished reading The Last Song, so I’m ready for a new Nicholas Sparks book to come out.  I’m also gonna start reading a Jodi Picoult book and an Ann Brashares book.  They’re on my desk right now, begging for me to pick them up, so I think I will.
  

Walgreens is doing their annual Week of Photo Deals.  For today, Sunday, August 15, they are offering a free 8×10 photo.

Enter FREE_8X10_DEAL code, and be sure to “update total”

If you choose in store pick up, you won’t have to pay for s&h, and your total will be $0.00!  YEA!  Normally, they’re ready in one hour for pick up.

In honor of your 28th birthday, I am going to list 28 things that I love about you . . .

1. You’re hilarious in a one of one level and group level.

   

2. You are never nervous.  How is that possible!
3. You want to and do serve people.
4. You’ve been my nurse 3 times after I’ve had major surgeries– you know, not like your cyst removal.
5. You pray with me every night.  I love that you love the Lord.



6. You’re normally the first to apologize.
7. You’re handy with technology.
8. You’re not hairy.
9. You don’t worry about things; you are that rock who lets me know I should relax about some things . . . that they will eventually be okay.
10. You’re smart, and if you don’t know something off hand, you want to find out the answer.



11. You give Abigail her bath every night, which gives me a much wanted break.
12. You’re a hard worker.  You don’t want to simply finish something; you strive to complete it well.
13. You do things I would never in a million years want to do: kill spiders and roaches and other nasty bugs, mow/weed eat/edge/blow the lawn, take the trash out to the dumpster, fix the car, sweep and mop the house.  I love that you get rid of the dirty stuff.
14. You bounce your eyes.
15. You get Abi up on Saturdays and Sundays.

    

16. You assumed the responsibility to give Toby his shots, so I wouldn’t have to.
17. You are so good to my PaPa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and Brothers.  They all love you.
18. You love to play sports.
19. You love to watch sports.  I would’ve never dated you if this weren’t the case.



20. You can make up songs spur of the moment that make me laugh.
21. You pop my back for me and never complain that I complain about my physical ailments.
22. You ask for my opinion on issues and compliment me.

    

23. You eat left overs.
24. You love (truly agape love) me.
25. You help clean up the house.
26. You’re confident in yourself and not concerned about what people think about you.



27. You are in a good mood about 360 days of the year.
28. You’re my better half.

Thank you for being the best human being on the planet.  I love you now and forever.  You’re my #1!

We have a smart 26 month old.  We’ve known this for awhile, due to Pediatrician appointments where they tell us that she’s advanced and way ahead, but it’s still shocking to watch her comprehend and remember things so easily.  We’re learning that not much is outside of her reach.

A few months ago, we taught her to know the difference between her left and right.  She gets it correct 100% of the time now.  She’s been able to count to 20, say her ABCs, know all her colors, know shapes, quote entire books, say the NT books of the bible, and communicate in paragraph form with us since well before she turned two years old.

What’s the newest thing on the list of her knowledge . . .

Spelling!

When we don’t want Abi to get too excited or disappointed about something, if we decide to not to it (like go to the P-A-R-K  or to take a B-A-T-H), we spell it out to each other.  Sometimes, if I’m spelling, Jonathan doesn’t even know the word, and vice versa.  So, it completely shocked us when the other day . . .

I asked Jonathan: “You want some D-E-S-S-E-R-T?”
Abi: “Oh, I want some.”
Me: “You want some what?”
Abi: “Dessert!  Please may I have dessert?”

Wow, I’m pretty sure we had never spelled out dessert before.  How did she do that!?

I was thinking about that at lunch today and thought it might’ve been a fluke, so I tested her.

Me: “Abi, what does D-O-G spell?
Abi: “Dog!”
Me: “Okay.  What does D-U-C-K spell?”
Abi: “Ummm, umm, Duck.”

I tried B-U-G next, but she said Pig.

She just catches on to things so quickly.  Hopefully her love of learning will turn out to be a good thing.  Sometimes I feel like it’s a blessing . . . and a curse (as Monk would say).

Any neat stories about how your kids wowed you?

I don’t know how to write this post.  So many thoughts going through my head and tears flowing from my eyes.  As a mother of two young girls, this story has really impacted me.

[On July 10] Preslee fell into a canal in Rigby (Idaho). About 2 miles down the canal a farmer who was working in the water saw her and immediately started CPR. His brother was with him and called 911. She was air lifted to EIRMC (Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center) and then flown down to Primary Children’s Hospital. . . Her body is healing . . . but her brain is swelling.

Please join me in prayer for this sweet 18 month old little girl.  I’m praying that she grows stronger to live a healthy life with no brain damage.  But above all, I’m praying for peace, strength, and joy for her family and for the doctors to make wise decisions and for God to show mercy and grace to this family.

• We can’t figure out this sleeping thing with you.  We’re doing everything like we did with Abigail (who was sleeping 8-9 hours straight at this time), but it’s not working so far with you.
• You’re still pretty loud and fussy.  And your toots are so stinky.  I didn’t know newborns’ toots could smell badly, but you’ve proved me wrong.  Sooo, I think your gas is the source of your fussiness.
• You have had a few blowout diapers.  Your daddy was holding you last night, and he literally caught a handful of your poop.
• You give us THE BEST SMILES ever.  And you give them a lot, too, which is super fun.  I’m loving your dimples!
• You’re cooing and “talking” so much.  We like to have conversations after you eat.  You’re very excited about watching the World Cup later this week!
• We got you a new car seat, and you’ve done a bazillion times better.  Since we got it, you haven’t cried in the car (or at least not for more than a few seconds- whereas before, you could cry THE WHOLE time).  So, that’s nice!
• You went to your first wedding, and you did great.
• You went on your first “vacation”.  We rode in the car for 8 hours to Colorado, and you did great!  No meltdowns.  You gave my cousins and aunts several smiles.  They adored you.
• You weighed 10 lb, 5.4 oz today.  That’s a 2.5 lb more than your birth weight.
• You’re still ridiculously strong.  You “crawl” and “stand” alllllllllll the time.  You’re very fidgety, too.  I warn people who are about to hold you of this, but they always comment about how strong and how much of a mover you are.

The three of us love you so much.  Thanks for being our Joy!

*these pictures were taken by Pam Johnson.  You can see all the pictures here, and check Pam’s site for a post she did about our photo session.

So, it’s still not 100% done, but I just can’t wait any longer to show you pictures of Abigail’s new big girl room.  Now why didn’t I ever take pictures of the room before when it was just an office/guest room??  Oh, I know, because it looked awful!  So, sorry you don’t get the full effect of before and after shots.  Just imagine an ugly off white wall with ugly brown doors and brownish, ugly carpet.

Okay, here are two pictures I found of the day we started doing the redo.

And here are the “after” pictures

I made her wall letters.  Here are instructions of how to make your own.

We painted a block wall (I talked about it here).  Eventually, I’ll do a tutorial for you.

Jonathan painted her doors; they used to be a nasty brown wood.

The window treatments are made from tulle.  A friend made the bow holder.

Jonathan and his dad made the clothing rack.  The shelf has picture of Abi at 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 weeks old.

Still lots of work to be done.  I want to make tissue paper flower pom poms.  We need to convert her crib to a toddler bed.  And we need to get new door hinges and knobs.  And I want to make a wall decal and vinyl lettering.  Oh, and Jonathan’s going to build her a low play table that we can put her baby doll house and barn on top and store her toys underneath.  But overall, we’re pretty satisfied with her room, and she loves it!

I haven’t been doing “freebie” posts lately, like I used to, and I’m sorry!  I just can’t find the time to post about them.  But this offer is not just limited to one day, and it’s pretty awesome, so I thought I’d share . . .

From now until June 27th, you can Buy One milk shake at Sonic and get one for free.  You don’t even have to get the free one at the time; you can get a rain check coupon (which doesn’t expire until July 15, my brother’s birthday!).  Large shakes are $2.91, so that’s almost a $3 yummy treat for FREE!  Love it!

For over six years, Jonathan and I had one baby girl name and one baby boy name picked out.  We wanted the first names to be Bible names that had special meanings.  We didn’t want anything that was overwhelmingly common, nor did we want a name of a person who had made a bad decision that was recorded.

We had always tried to keep our baby names a secret, but since we’re not planning on more kids, today’s your lucky day.  Now, keep in mind though, if we do adopt or for some reason have a son, we will name him Josiah, regardless of if he will have cousins by this name.  You have been forewarned.

So here’s how we came up with our names . . .

Abigail: “Abigail . . . was intelligent and beautiful in appearance” (1Samuel 25:3).  She was a queen, a wife of David.  Her name means, “A Father’s Joy,” and our Abigail definitely is that!  For Abigail’s middle name, we figured since she already has Jonathan’s family name (Towell), that we could have her middle name represent my family.

Josiah:  “Josiah removed the mediums and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah. . . .  Before him there was no king like him who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to tall the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him” (2 Kings 23:24-25).  Josiah means, “The Lord helps”.

During my last pregnancy, we wondered what name we could choose for a girl that was uncommon, a bible name, and had a nice ring to it.  In my daily bible reading, I came across Lydia.

Lydia: found in Acts 16 was the first Christian convert in Europe.  Her name means, “Nobel kind.”  We also wanted a middle name that would be special and knew that even through my suffering of pregnancy, we would have Joy.

Late in pregnancy, when I was told I had Cholestasis and that possible risk would be still birth, I thought about changing her middle name to Grace.  For about 2 days, I really wondered if I’d ever see the perfect gift inside of me grow up.  Very scary.

Whether our baby’s middle name is Joy or Grace, we know that God has given us both of those.  We love holding our miracle baby.  We praise God for our indescribable gifts.

In response to this post about baby slings/wraps , thank you sooooo much for your comments!  Very helpful.

A few of you mentioned a front and back pack carrier.  We actually have one (thanks to my Sister in Law), which Jonathan used to wear with Abigail on walks.  It was uncomfortable for me, and I definitely can’t wear it now, due to my c-section incision.

Speaking of the surgery, would the Mei Tais or Moby Wraps bother the incision area?

A lot of you talked about outings to grocery/clothing stores (and using a cart).  But I’m mostly wondering about outings to the hospital or visiting Jonathan at work (basically, places that I’d go without Jonathan and that wouldn’t have a cart).  For example, I go once a week to weigh Lydia at the hospital and once a month for a Breastfeeding Support group.

Right now, I’m bidding on a Mei Tai carrier on eBay.  Hopefully, I’ll win and not have to pay too much money!

Anyway, I appreciate all your insight.