Hello Kitty Cake

I was logged into the computer this evening under Jamie's log-in, and I realized he had a picture of the cake I made for Sophia's birthday! I had wanted to put this on my blog awhile ago, so better late than never. This was my first attempt at a themed, shaped cake, and I think it turned out cute. I was up till 1am making it, and I kept thinking of all the stories my mom has told me about times she stayed up late creating masterpeices for Jeni and me! :) So, this picture, which really represents motherly love more than a birthday cake, is dedicated to all of the mommies out there who have ever toiled, cried, stayed up late, or wanted to pull out their hair (all while the sweet babe was soundly sleeping!) to sew, bake, or make that perfect "something" to say to their child, "I love you, - this - much!" :)

It's a party

A couple of weeks ago the International Department here on campus, hosted a Christmas party for all of the International students and some of the Americans who are involved in their lives. It was really fun and above are a few photos that our friend Rachel took of our family.

A Mommy's tears

Friday was a big day for Sophia! She said bye bye to her pacifiers with a helium balloon launch. As she gave one final suck on each paci, before letting go of the balloon strings and waving to her beloved friends, a part of her Mommy wept. "Why?" you may ask. These past few weeks have ushered in more changes than I could imagine in the life our little girl. She is quickly adapting to the potty (undies all day are just around the corner), she is able to use a normal cup quite well, she can open every doorknob, gets to brush her teeth with toddler toothpaste, not just water, and now her pacis are gone and in the same day so went her crib. And so I weep. I weep for the sweet baby who is now a little girl. I weep for the ability to comfort her tears with the offerance of a simple paci, where now I must teach her to be comforted with far less simple and visible things. I weep for the days of dependence, days where Mommy knew best and did best. I weep for the knowledge of what is to come. More and more growth will bring more and more changes, and with that I must relinquish more and more control over to the Lord. As I've recently discovered through a novel I was reading, we always note our children's firsts - but how often do we note their lasts? Last diaper, last suck of the paci, last night in a crib, etc... Those balloons did not just take away Sophia's pacifiers, they took away her babyhood. And so I weep...

But as with all tears and sorrow, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Ps. 30:5b And life rolls on and my heart's tears have indeed dried and I rejoice for the beauty of a lively, healthy child who embraces life the way our Lord intended!

Fi-Fi

Our sweet little friend, Josh, has recently figured out his version of Sophia for our little lady. Fi-Fi it is! How hilarious is that? His mom, Loree, told me about this Tuesday night, and on Wednesday during a play date I got to hear it for myself. I about fell over laughing. "Out of the mouths of babes..."

Hello, Kitty! I'm Two!

Saturday, November 25, 2006 was a day of celebration for Sophia! She turned two and enjoyed a pink, "Hello Kitty" party, complete with a Kitty cake (mommy's first attempt at a themed birthday cake), and even pink lemonade! Family from both sides were there to help celebrate and blessed us immeasurably with more gifts than we know what to do with.

After viewing the video from Sophia's 1st birthday, it was astounding to see the changes from just one year ago. In just one year, she has gone from practically bald, to a full head of hair; walking all stumbly, tumbly to running with grace (more or less! :)) and speed; getting more cake on her than in her to barely getting messy; from just learning to sign to being able to not only sign well, but even speak; and from needing a lot of help opening gifts to not only being able to open well, but realize there are more left and saying so! "More! More!" :)

We love you Sophia Ruth! (FYI if you ask her how old she is you are more likely to get "nine" than "two!" :) Working on it... )

Bible Study Friends

Bing and Sophia

Shadow and Sophia

Meet Shadow and Bing. Shadow is a seminary student and hosts a Chinese Bible study in her apartment. She comes faithfully to our Study as well, and has become a valued friend. Bing has come a few times to our Study and we have enjoyed getting to know him more each time. On November 19 Bing had his camera and captured some great shots after we met.

She's helping...

Yesterday, Jamie, Sophia and I went up to Akron to celebrate my 26th bday with family. After Sophia helped me blow out my candles, she disapeared into the kitchen with her two Grandmas. A few minutes passed and Jamie asked, "Where's Sophia?" In unision, her Grandmas both replied, "She's in here helping us!" Jamie walked into the kitchen to find Sophia helping alright! Helping herself to all the frosting she could get to!

International Fashion Wonder

The Show Stopper Herself!

November 16, 2006 is a date to put down in history. For the first time, Sophia Ruth was introduced to the International World of Fashion! :) Okay, so here's the real story... Every year the International Club sponsors a Fashion Show as a fundraiser. International and American students alike, participate in modeling different fashions for the audience. Along with three other children, Sophia was invited to be a model this year! She was in each of the four categories, casual wear, formal wear, bridal wear, and traditional wear. Students were more than happy to be paired up with her as they walked the runway. She was the hit of the show and really ate up the drama of it all! The last event was the traditional wear. Sophia was lent a Han-bok (traditional Korean dress). After all the students went on, they all returned to the stage for a final show and for announcements. Sophia was pretty antsie by this point, so I was just off stage motioning her to come to me. The student holding her hand saw me and gently pushed Sophia in my direction. Sophia started walking towards me, and at the last second changed her mind and went dashing down the runway again, all by herself! She stopped at the end and stood there posing as flashes went off like crazy from the audience! It was the show stopper for sure! :)

Sophia, Ga hyun, Ga eun, & Emily

Sophia and Dolly

My Buddy and Me

In October, Sophia, myself and my mom all spent a weekend up in Michigan with my sister, Jeni. We enjoyed our girl time, as even the dog was female! Sophia and Molly, Jeni's puppy, are always instant buddies when together, and this trip was no different! Molly's bed was especially inviting to Sophia, and Molly wasn't sure what to make of that. :)

In sickness and in health

Our family is finally recovering from a long 11 or so days of sickness! Thankfully I have a husband who takes his wedding vows seriously, and literally, and was my champion as Sophia and I battled fevers, aches and infections. One of my most treasured gifts from Jamie is this frame that has three seperate panes of glass in it, one behind the next. He created a 3-D looking shadow box, of sorts, with his vows to me, a couple pictures and a calla lily. He treasures his promises to me so much as to make a special place for them to be displayed. Upon receiving this gift, I was again reminded, what a treasure of a husband I have been blessed with. One of my favorite verses is from the Song of Solomon. What a magnificiant book to read with your spouse! It says, "His mouth is sweet, Yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, And this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem!" (5:16) You are my "daughters of Jerusalem," and I'm declaring to you that Jamie is my beloved, and he is my friend. If you are married, make sure your friend of friends knows of your love for him!

Hey Everyone! I finally figured out how to add a list of links for you all to check out. Look on the sidebar to the right and you will see links to some of my favorite sites and links to my favorite authors! Check them out if you're in the need of some "surfing!" :)

Jamie, Sophia and I have been doing some traveling lately, and I've been waiting for pictures, thus have not posted about our trips yet... I'll continue to wait for the pictures, but today our friend, Maggie (she and her daughter are Taiwanese), sent us some pictures that had been taken a few weeks back. In Taiwan and China they have a harvest festival called the Full Moon Festival. We attended this party and had a great time trying new foods and hanging out with all of our Asain friends. Below are a few pictures that were taken. Enjoy! :)

Jamie, Sophia and Chelsea

The Family :)

My Princess

I love this picture of Sophia. I really do long for the day that she truly becomes a princess in the Kingdom of God. God has placed something inside of me that causes me to yearn and ache for women, especially hurt and /or healing women. I think of my daugher and pray evermore earnestly for God's protection over her little life. There is so much lying, cheating, abandonment, abuse, self-hurt that all people go through in one way or another. For some reason my heart especially breaks when it is a young girl or woman. I believe that the only true healing comes from belief in the One, True God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Through that experience and relationshiop a woman can claim her rights as not only a child of God, but as a princess in The Royal Family. In the Word of God, a man named Jairus came to Jesus looking for healing for his daughter. Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed. (Luke 8:50)" Ladies, sisters, friends, believe and you too will be healed!

Pictures Galore!

Hi. I haven't posted in a long time. Life has a way of getting chaotic at times. I got my hair cut today and though it's not drastically different from what it was, it's a bit different and I really like it. Since none of you live close by - I thought I could put a picture of it on my blog so you could see it. Half the fun of getting your hair cut is showing it to all your girlfriends! Jamie and I were playing around with the camera trying to get Sophia to smile - hence the other pictures. The one exception is the picture of Sophia playing with the flower petals. That was back in August at my Grandpa's wedding reception. Anywhoooo.... love to you all.

Yellow Balloons

Danny Struble is my cousin. He is home with the Lord now after passing away this past Thursday. Here's to yellow balloons, traffic lights, the Cleveland Indians and calculators. Dan was a great cousin who's endearing personality, and often wacky antics, left me always feeling good. I'm so glad God placed him in our family. I'll look forward to meeting him again in Heaven someday. Miss you Dan!

All the Basics

It really is amazing how much a toddler learns each and every day. God created our brains to observe, learn and remember so much during the first few years. "All the basics" can be learned by about four years of age. It's really quite spectacular. Sophia astounds Jamie and me with her ability to pick up on things we haven't even focused on teaching her. She can recognize and say "blue," she recognizes and says A, D, and T. With a little coaxing she can recognize a few others also. At the seminary there is a lovely and tastefully done statue of Jesus. During a walk the other day she saw it for the first time, and without any coaching called out "Jesus!" Today, while at the Chinese Bible study we attend, she looked out of the 3rd story window to the backside view of the Jesus statue - at least 200 yards away - and again pointed and cried out, "Jesus!" It warms my heart.

Sophia knows sign language, so now that she is learning to speak, we often have to remind her to "say it with her mouth," and not to sign. Every now and again when she is really wanting a treat she will sign please over and over like crazy. Jamie or I will tell her to "say it with your mouth Sophia," and instead of her response being a verbal "please," she will look up at us and open her mouth as wide as possible, just like a little bird. It is so cute and always makes us laugh!

She is very into babies right now. A few weeks ago it seemed to click in her head that she was no longer the smallest or the youngest, and in fact there were these delightful little creatures that go by the name of baby. Josh, her buddy, has a little baby brother, Sam, and Sophia never forgets him when asking for Josh. It is always, "Jah and bebe." She loves to kiss and hug Sam and for the most part exibits a great amount of gentleness. I can't wait for her to be a big sister. The same time she really noticed Sam and the other baby, Nevaeh, at our church, her dolls switched from being called "Dolly" to being called "Baby."

Well, my mommy hood is being slipped off for a few hours as Sophia settles into bed and I get to cleaning up the house. I shall keep it close at hand though, because I never know when it might need to be donned again in a hurry! :)

Procrastination

Most of us have struggled with procrastination. Some of us may even be pros at the art of procrastinating. I blame my dear Daddy! I think I inherited it from him. :) It is such a part of our culture and everyone knows about the concept of it - right?? Much to my shame, no! Tonight at our Bible Study we asked the Chinese students if they knew this word. They didn't! They did not even really get the concept of it and questioned why anyone would put off till tomorrow what can be done today. I found this new tidbit of information quite intriguing. So, if you are a repeat offender of procrastination... repeat after me, "Why put off till tomorrow what can be done today?!" Ack, maybe I'll get around to it tomorrow. ;)

Cashing In

I was thinking tonight as I was writing an email to one of my Amy-friends (I happen to have three great friends all named Amy) how wealthy we'd be if we got paid for all the roles we fill. For myself it's mommy, wife, church-planter's wife (same husband as the plain wife category :) ), friend, daughter, sister, mentor, etc... and all the tasks and duties those roles require. I'm sure you're currently thinking of all the roles you fill as a woman. I say we'd be just about bazillionaires! :) So, then I thought, well, actually we are. It's just our bank account happens to be in heaven and we won't be "cashing in" till we've "cashed out!" hehe Forgive me, I'm tired and giddy and that silly joke just couldn't be stopped.

p.s. I had to share that with all my blog readers Amy M. :)

Musings

Hmmm... usually I have a clear idea of what I want to write about when I begin a post. Tonight I don't really know where my words will lead, so let us begin this adventure together! Authentice Chinese Food - now there is something! Effie and Gloria, two of our Taiwanese friends, had us over for dinner last night. They prepared a feast for us, and it was yummy! There were a few items that I couldn't quite get down, mainly due to the spice content! Praying our friendships with them will help bring them to the Lord. (some fun factoids - in the Chinese culture, soup is served last, not first. ovens practically don't exist due to energy supplies - therefore pretty much all the food is steamed, fried or boiled. due to over population and lack of farm animals - due to space contraints - human manure is often used to fertilize, therefore raw veggies are rarely consumed.)

The trick of the Outlet Mall. Another thing to ponder... Why is 75% or even more, of the merchandise at these so-called "outlets" not even sale price??? I go envisioning amazing finds, deals and sales. I usually leave with merchandise - but not much left in my pocket. It's a sham I tell you, a sham!

Discipleship/mentoring/accountability... words that should mean a lot to you if you are saved. Do we put them into practice? Are they a part of our lives? I have never been formally mentored, though I wish for it. There are a few women who have definitely been a huge influence on me though and have been informal mentors. The Lord has impressed upon me the importance of mentoring young women and has blessed me with Val. She is a gem and such an encouragement. I've also been given the chance to meet with two other mommies once a week to go through a book about being mentors to our children. God is good. He so often provides for our needs before we've even realized we have the need! Thank you Jesus.

If you are saved and are not mentoring another women and have no accountability group or someone mentoring you - pray that the Lord would provide opportunities for you to be involved in such things. The time spent will be so fruitful and the growth potential is amazing! I know you will be blessed!

Well, I think I could write on and on and on, but housework calls me, yes, it calls even at 10:13pm! ~

For one I cherish

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice. May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:1-7

Burdens are meant to be shared.

All my love ~

Tiny Dancer

Here is my sweetie with the son of a family friend, Jayden. This was at a wedding back in June, and I just recently got it scanned into my computer. Isn't it a sweet image? I pray that Sophia can have innocent moments like this as she grows, and when she's a young women, I pray some special man will sweep her off her feet for a life-time of dances, like Jamie has done for me. Some of my most precious memories of my hubby are of times like this; silly little dances with no music or fanfare, somewhere plain, like the laundry room. This image speaks of Sophia's current innocence and of the hope for true love some day. At least, that is what I see.

Water Baby

Much to my delight my sweet girl loves the water. It doesn't matter if it's a cup of water, the sink, a puddle, the bathtub, or, as you'll see depicted in the pictures here, a pool or a whole waterpark! These pictures were taken on our family vacation up at Lake Erie back in July. The pool was where we were staying, and the other two were taken at a waterpark, Soak City, by Cedar Point. I thought you might like to see them, enjoy! :)

Friends Return

Many of our international student friends have returned from summer travels and we've been able to reconnect. Mouna, our friend from Tunisia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia), came over today bearing gifts! Sophia received a pant and tunic outfit of deep purple with beautiful gold embelishments. I received a traditional dress. It is long and loose, a red shade with beautiful embroidery around the collar and sleeves. How generous and thoughtful! Our friend Rachel, from Taiwan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan), returned from a trip to Chicago, where her aunt and uncle live. She came bearing Chinese candies. Sophia loved that! Our world grows smaller as the Lord blesses us with friends from all corners. Never pass up the chance to befriend someone from another corner of the world than where you reside. The richness you find will prove priceless.

~ "But, you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8
~ "There is one body and one spirit, just also as you were called in one hope to your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Eph. 4:4-6

Blessings ~

Is she brilliant?

We like to think so. :) Tonight, as our friends Chas and Amy were taking their leave after having dinner with us, Sophia was acting distressed and pointing from the couch to Amy and back to the couch. After a moment, we figured out she was
pointing at Amy's hoodie that was being forgotten on the back of the couch! She knew they were leaving and were forgetting the hoodie. How smart is that? Okay, so never mind the fact that she also pulled a used q-tip from the trash this morning and had been rubbing it around in her ears, for I don't know how long, before I caught her and put a stop to it! Is she brilliant? You decide! :)

Soph-isms

~ Our sweet darling has been up to a lot this past weekend! The picture to the left was actually taken a couple of weeks ago with our good friend, Rachel. She is from Taiwan and is a good buddy to Sophia.
~ Friday, I think, after Jamie and I had been tickling Sophia, she apparently had not had enough. She leaned herself back on the couch and tickled her own ribs while laughing histerically.
~ This afternoon, after accidentally walking in on Daddy going pee pee, Soph ran over to her own potty chair, lifted the lid, stood in front of her potty, and proceeded to pretend to go pee pee like Daddy!
~ At church this morning, during our fellowship time, Sophia and her good buddy, Josh, ran to eachother, held hands and started walking around. It is so sweet to see them become friends!

When did my M&Ms run out?

When entering the land of Mommy Hood you only know that you are to love and train this child. You aren't really told the hows, the whys and the what to do ifs... (Enter right stage)
M &Ms and other such sweet delights. These bartering tools, better called, rewards, are used to teach the child that peeing and pooping in the potty, thus having dry pants, is FUN! The best part is, it works. Sophia is doing well, and enjoys every last M & M that comes her way upon completing the potty routine. So, my question remains, when did my M&Ms run out?

Mommy Hood

My sweet daughter, Sophia. Her develpment is just exploding lately, and Jamie and I have been having so much fun with it! Words, words and more words. Her vocabulary is expanding each moment of each day. Of course we think our daughter is incredible. :) Right now she is loving her Madeline video and even started saying 'Adaline.' Yesterday she had a very tender moment when her friend, Josh, was crying because I was running the vacuum. Sweet Josh is her best buddy and only 11 days her senior. I asked her to go to him to tell him it would be alright since he was upset with the vacuum on. She immediately went to him and literally held him until I stopped vacumming. Her spirit is really blooming tenderness right now and it gives me such hope into the young lady she may become.

Wearing her zebra costume from last year was her sport of choice yesterday. She discovered the tail and has since been pointing out all the tails on all of her animals. The mind is amazing - even at 21 months - connections, connections, connections!

If only she'd just stop biting me when she's angered at being told no! :) Whoever said the Hood of Mommy's was always glamerous? :)

The Family

Here we are at Lake Erie. This photograph was actually taken on the ferry ride from Kelly's Island back to the mainland.

Hedged In

So, for my first post I thought I'd explain the title of my Blog. It comes from my favorite passage in Scripture, Psalm 139. To think that my Lord has me hedged in from before and behind is such a comforting thought and brings me to such a place of peace. Anyways, I've really tried to visualize what that looks like lately; make it come alive for me and that is what inspired me to use it as the title here. I'd encourage you to take a trip through Psalm 139. Let the truths of the words wash over you and encourage you wherever you are.