The card that landed in your hands reminded me of you because of its whimsy & color. The printed text I found a little lame (sorry Hallmark). I found another card's text I liked, but that card was too plain. So, I wrote it in your card (sorry again Hallmark).
One summer warmer
One spring lighter
One winter deeper
One autumn richer
One amazing year
Oh sweet Aubrey. Tracy & Aubrey came over yesterday to hangout. Man, where does the time go? Aubrey has grown into a little lady. She was apprehensive at first (as was Danijela), but quickly started walking, talking & playing. All the activity paid off. Both girls crashed at naptime which was an enourmous bonus for two mommies!
Sam received a cool Fisher Price digital camera for Christmas. He shared & let Danijela play with it. I'm positive she didn't have a clue what she was doing mechanically, but she definitely knew what it was (imagine that!). She was "taking pictures" and requesting Kelsey to take her picture repeatedly. She's gone from turning her back on my camera to smiling. Now you can see my new challenge.
The images are of rose windows and wet-on-wet painting (votives). I didn't manage to get images of the votives at all ... much less lit. Thank you, Kelsey, for taking the initiative. I can attest to the fact that all votives were lit on the table for Christmas dinner & were lovely.
Melanie & I purchased this nativity scene for the girls. It came pre-wrapped in separate, numbered boxes with accompanying text for each figure. I will say it is not indestructible. Gabriel fell from the kitchen table and his head went rolling across the floor. Nothing a little super glue couldn't fix. Melanie found it at Life Way Christian Stores for $14. Well worth the cost.
However, as the morning progressed she was definitely overwhelmed with the gifts. Not sure how, but we'll definitely find a way to simply next Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all our family & friends. To those I share daily life with I thank you for your love & encouragement through this holiday season. My heart should be focused on God and the precious gift of life He gave us all. I've struggled. And yet my struggles are never in vain because it causes change in my life for the better. I love you all.
One of our first craft projects this season was wet-on-wet painting. We'll turn those into votive candles (pictures to come). Next we made Christmas ornaments for a tree outside my parents screened porch and strung cranberries for the birds. I only made one ornament because I spent most of my time taking care of Danijela. Come to think of it I'm not sure how I managed to participate in wet-on-wet painting, but I did. Hum.
Mike, my brother, and his family are in Austin for Christmas this year. It's the first time in 15 years we've spent this holiday together. Now our family is significantly larger with 5 grandkids and one on the way. He's a handsome guy.
I cannot tell you how exhausting it's been physically and mentally. Tata & Mommy are sick too, but Danijela definitely got the short-end of this stick. One evening Sam decided to take a bath. Danijela wanted to join him and Andi followed close behind. To hear her giggle was music to my sleep-deprived ears as they splashed water everywhere. At her worst moments she literally begs to go home and breaks my heart when she adds a desperate "please" to the request.
Last night I gave Danijela her bath early (Tata was gone). Afterwards we played in her room. Months ago I purchased a clipboard at a dollar store because she likes to draw. Well, she stood with clipboard and pencil in hand then said to me "Mommy I draw name." She acted as though she was taking role in class or something. Definitely had an audience I could not see. Sometimes she'll ask me to "draw" (write) a name like Elmo. She is very much into pretend these days and I find it facinating. I took this image tonight. I do wish she was standing because she is much more official looking.
The title says it all. Miss D got her "cell phone" for her 1st birthday almost a year ago. She was busy talking on the phone this afternoon in the backseat. The conversations have gotten progressively more entertaining and complex. However, the most common goes something like this "Hello. Yeah. Sure. Bye bye." I love that girl.
On a side note one morning she appeared to be doing so much better. I had some Odwalla Super Food drink and gave her some. Imagine my horror when she literally crumbled over in pain on the kitchen floor from the juice hitting her sores. I wasn't thinking clearly. It was so strange because she just started salivating and crying. Super bad mommy.
And how precious she is. I don't even know where to start. I almost want to stop blogging. I seriously & repeatedly considered it. So much has transpired in the last month it's ridiculous. Blogging has fallen way down, if not totally off, my priority list. Maybe it's because of Danijela being sick. Maybe it's because of my exhaustion. And I certainly am convicted when it takes away time from God or my family. Something I need to consider.
These images where taken when Danijela had healed significantly but we still quarantined ourselves. Initially she had sores throughout the interior of her mouth (virus) which slowly moved outside. I mean everywhere! Her gums were red and swollen. She stopped talking and eating for the most part. Then she gets an unrelated and serious infection on her cheek (see lower left). It was yucky and scary. And this was all preceded by a seizure of all things.
The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Paris was 15+ hours. I didn't sleep a wink and my legs swelled. We arrived at 6am local time. Naturally hotel check-in wasn't until 3pm which left an entire day for exhausted travellers to start sightseeing. First we had coffee. Then we tackled the Eiffel Tower and The Louvre. The Louvre is absolutely enourmous. This is Venus de Milo. The Mona Lisa was on display but you are not allowed to take pictures.
This Eiffel Tower image is more festive than the last as is my spirit (Danijela is well!). I take zero credit for this picture. Thank you to Robert for sharing. I accomplished all my sightseeing during daylight hours and was pajama ready by 6pm or earlier. So sad, but so true.
I admit posting anything about Paris now seems oddly inappropriate. I returned Tuesday to a husband and child that spent the night in the ER. Since then we've been battling strange health issues with Danijela. Nothing too serious (yet!) but very painful for her. So ... here is the famous Eiffel Tower. It does seem appropriate the images are so gloomy. That is how I feel. It was cold, rainy and incredibly windy. The tower itself was quite amazing. I was enjoying the experience at the time. I'm just in a different place now and not simply literally.
Home sweet home. Danny was at the airport with sweet Danijela sleeping in the car. I thought it odd since it was 4pm. I commented about her wearing her pajama top. He said "Everything is okay now." Then he explained Danijela had another seizure Monday night. They'd been at the hospital until 1am Tuesday morning. Many thanks to family that provided much needed help.
Kiss. Kiss, my Love.
The Batu Caves were discovered in 1892 and have become a sacred place for Malaysian Hindus. At the base are several worship temples (not shown) with what I assume are repetitive prayers being broadcast on a loud speaker. On this particular day it began raining heavily before I started up the steep 240 steps to the top. My heart got a good workout. You have to be careful because of the banana peels ... I assume for all the monkeys running up and down the steps.
I'll have to share more about this experience when I see you. One funny thing ... walking down the steps I heard a recorded chant over and over and over. Finally realized it was in English and said "Dark cave come back now come and have a look." You had to be there. It all rolled togther to a rhythm and was spoken with an incredibly think Indian accent. I'll have to chant it for you. I still giggle about it. All others were Hindu chants ... I think.
Malaysia is very tropical with palm tress covering the landscape. Food is steamed in palm leaves and there are many palm products that support the economy. There are palm tress in the city, but not nearly as many as I saw on my drive from the airport (1 hour). I literally saw millions. "So put the lime in the coconut ... "
The funny thing is I'm not a fan of the coconut. I do, however, think they are beautiful. And it amazes me that an entire economy can be so influenced by the coconut.
Petronas Towers
Kuala Lumpur City Center (hotel view)
Batik Factory Tour
Royal Selangor Tour
These images were taken in one afternoon. I took a "Country Tour" on Sunday specifically to see the Batu Caves. It included stops for various tours which were 1% tour and 99% shopping trap. One stop was a leather factory tour. There was no time to take pictures because the tour lasted 1 minute -- seriously. It was hilarious. The caves were the last stop where it proceeded to downpour.
An afternoon at the Arboretum is always a good choice for Danijela and Kiley. There are the frog fountains, tree houses, pioneer homes (with fake food & dishes for playing). Danijela, however, did not get the memo about the fake food. Guess she was pretty hungry.
