Happy (Late) Birthday, Bella!

My oldest daughter, Isabelle, turned 7 on May 17th, so like Ethan's birthday tribute, this is late as well....so I'm sharing what was written in her journal on her birthday! :)
Bella, in the last 7 years, you have shattered my expectations of what I thought you'd be like! You are strong and independent, not caring what others think or having the need to be approved of. You are your own person! You have this inner desire to be a "hero" and a "warrior", not what I expected, while you were in my tummy! I am not the least bit disappointed in who you are! You are always striving to do your best in every area of your life, whether it's Tae Kwon Do or cleaning your room...it's always to the best of your ability. You are spirited and fun, joyful and sweet, caring and intelligent. Here are 7 of some of my favorite things about you:
1. When you made the decision to be called "Bella" instead of "Isabelle". That was your first grown up decision and you were only 3.5!
2. Every Halloween you want to be a power ranger...and not the pink one...either blue or red! :)
3. I love how you are not aggressive in soccer but get in the faces of your opponents and steal the ball in basketball! You have no fear in this sport!
4. Your favorite color since you were 2 is blue.
5. You love animals and want to be an "animal rescuer" when you grow up...you have such a sense of adventure!
6. When I first had Annie and she was in the NICU with all the wires and tubes, you didn't want to touch her because you were scared you would hurt her....but when we brought her home, you couldn't stop touching her and would fall asleep holding her. :)
7. You take time to make friends....you choose them carefully and are very loyal to them.
I LOVE you, Isabelle Nadine Nalani....you are absolutely fabulous. You bring happiness to my heart and are a blessing to everyone around you. There is great favor upon your life and I know you will accomplish great things!

A glimpse of spring.....

Here in GH it's still mostly in the 40's and rainy of course. Even though I looked out my window a few weeks ago to see flowers coming up in my yard, my first glimpse of spring came today. We were driving home from church and it's an amazingly beautiful day....sunny, crisp and 65 degrees! It's one of those days where you just HAVE to be outside. Anyway, when we were almost home, I rolled down the windows and as I did, I looked in my rear-view mirrow to see Bella...I watched her long enough to see her face as the window came down.....she watched the sun filter in and the moment the wind blew in her face, she smiled. Aahhh....spring has come.

Who are you?

Lately it's been on my heart to tell my children the story of how they were named. Mike and I didn't just choose a name we liked, we prayed and the Lord gave us a word for each baby and it always matched with the meaning of one of the names we liked.
When I was pregnant with Isabelle, every time we prayed over her in my womb, the word we got was "Set apart for God". When we looked at the meaning of the names we liked, we saw that Isabelle meant, "Consecrated to/Set apart for God".
When I was pregnant with Ethan and we prayed over him in the womb, the word we would hear was "Strong". Again, we looked at the meanings of names we like and saw that Ethan means "Firm, Steadfast and Strong".
The story is a bit different with Anna. Three years before she was born, I had a dream that I was pregnant with another girl and there were 2 names that I liked: Allison and Anna. In the dream Isabelle told me to name her Anna. So, that name had been in my mind for 3 years before she was conceived. When I was pregnant with her it was 2008, and the Lord spoke a promise to Mike and I for the year. The word was "Grace". We held fast to that in every situation we walked through and took hold of it in my pregnancy as well.....again, when we looked at the meaning of Anna, we were pleasantly surprised to see that it meant "Grace". This time it only confirmed the name we felt we were supposed to give her.
With all of that said, the reason I've been wanting to tell each of them those stories (of course Anna doesn't understand it yet) is because I want them to know what God says about them....What He calls them. I want their identity to be ground in their hearts and minds so that when the world tries to label them, i.e. "too hyper" or "tom boy" or (heaven forbid) "fat", they'll brush it off because they already know who they are.

Trick or Treat!

We had a blast trick or treating....in our midst we had a Power Ranger, Bumblebee Transformer and a little kitty!
This year was dfferent, we watchd Bella "speed trick or treat" with the big kids, and Ethan brought up the rear because he was busy opening his candy after each house! It was our last Halloween in our neighborhood, so we savored every moment of it!

There go my babies.....

Today was the first day of school. Bella is in the 1st grade and Ethan started pre-k. I wasn't fully prepared for this morning. Don't get me wrong, their clothes were ironed and sitting out, shoes by the side, backpacks at the door, lunches made, paperwork filled out.......I was physically prepared. But, like every mom, I wasn't emotionally prepared. They were resilliant....a little shy and tired, but they put on brave faces and took on the challenge.
Being a teacher myself, I see this transition every day and every new year.....so I know what's best....I put on my brave and excited face, reassure them that this is the funnest thing ever, and tell them I will pick them up this afternoon, give them a kiss, hug, another kiss and an extra hug and say good-bye. As I walk out the door of the classroom, Dr. Jekyll turns to Mr. Hyde as I fight back the urge to run in there and give them one more hug or even just keep them home with me for one more year. I'm also holding back tears as I walk out of the school just to give in to them, the minute my feet hit the parking lot.
Oh, but it gets worse.....I get back home to a quiet, empty house and sit on the couch. Next to me I find Ethan's "nigh-night" and "pandy" (his blanket he's slept with since he was born and his panda bear he's become attached to since his surgery last spring). I then "lose" it. I call Mike and just cry. My kids are still my babies, no matter their age, grade or size. I still long to carry them and cuddle them...I can't resist sneaking into their room at night and just kissing them on the cheek. I still miss them when they're just sleeping. I am so blessed to be a mother of 2 (soon to be 3) amazing children. They fill my heart with so much joy, I can't contain it.

Super Heros.....

So, my kids are now openly known as super heros. After the wedding, they dressed up as Red Power Ranger and Buzz Lightyear to guard the wedding cake. They will most likely be embarassed that we let them do that, but oh, well...they are only young once! Why not enjoy it!!!

The value of being home....

I must say, that since I had gone back to work full time after becoming a mom, it was the hardest transition I've ever endured. I have always missed my children...even when they were just napping in the other room, so being away from them for the day, broke my heart.
There is a part of me that absolutely LOVES teaching and I do miss it when I am gone....but my children are only small for a short time, and I realize the value of being home. So, now that I am on maternity leave, I am loving spending time more time with them.....I will be going back to work in November, but for these next 3.5 months, I will enjoy being a full time part of their lives......and I look forward to coming home again for good next May.

Sugar and Spice

It's amazing how different they are....

Our abundance.....they are such a blessing.

They are so amazing...every time I look at them, I see God's grace and love for us. I am so blessed to be a mother to Isabelle and Ethan.