artsy

help

Today's post is a serious one. We live in Coatesville, less than a mile from the city borderline. In our town, 30 fires have been set since December, 15 of those being set since the beginning of the year. Just this past Saturday night, 15 homes were destroyed by fire. Coatesville is in a state of emergency. Families have been not only displaced, but they have lost everything. Most homes have been destroyed beyond hope for restoring them. It is just a terrible thing to happen to anyone and being so close to this city that is completely gripped with terror, it hits close to home for us. These fears are forcing families to sleep in the same room and pack emergency kits. The families are being asked to keep trash inside overnight because the arsonists use people's own trash to start these fires. It is madness that these arsonists can do this to a city, to its people, to its children.

Chad volunteers at a community center in the heart of the city called The Bridge Academy Community Center. This community center, partnered with Camp at Old Mill, are personally planning on getting Walmart, Giant and other types of gift cards for those whose homes were taken. This is something that you can help with easily. If you want to give money, you can write a tax deductible check to CCGM (the ministry that is over Camp Old Mill, and partnered with the Bridge Academy and Community Center in Coatesville). Write 'Fire Release' in the memo. Every cent will go towards these families. It will mostly be buying gift cards, but will vary if their needs require something else. If you would rather just get a gift card and send it, you can do that as well. Anything will help!

County Corrections Gospel Mission
PO Box 1136
Coatesville, Pa 19320

Also, if you are local and have clothes you can donate to these families, the Coatesville Country Club is taking clothing donations until Saturday. Call 610-384-3200 for more information. The address is below.

143 Reservoir Road

Coatesville, PA 19320

Some of the children effected by this terrible phenomenon go to the the community center where Chad volunteers, so this hits close to home for both us in more ways than one. If you can help, please do.

fore!

We must have EVERY ball in existence in our house: basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, bowling balls, small balls, big balls, etc. We even have a basket to put them in, but it is quickly overflowing. Lately Eli has really taken a liking to golfing, which has resulted in many a golf balls being catapulted into the air and hitting anything and everything in sight. The balls are plastic and light, like mini wiffle balls, so they do no damage. That is why we let him go crazy with his golf club and golf balls.

Look at that form!

He even made a makeshift flag for his imaginary hole: it is a sign from his train table.

His favorite thing to do with all sports is to watch them and do them at the same time. During the Eagles games, he always liked to play football himself and watch at the same time. Here he is watching golf and golfing himself.

Here he is, putting with his only club: a driver. The other two needed to be thrown away because Eli hit them so hard they broke. We really need to get this kid some more clubs.

glasses

bunny

Here are some pics of my little snow bunny. :) Since we both have been sick and cooped up in the house since Sunday, we needed some time outside. I thought it would be good for us to breathe in some nice, cool, crisp air instead of the dust ridden, stale air inside the house. He loved being outside (he is very hit or miss). We had to improvise because we have no winter toys.....so we used sand toys. He had a good time and so did I. :)

moves

DANCE BREAK!

experience 2

2. Do not judge. We've all seen it unfold. We are at the store and we see a toddler on the ground, kicking and screaming in a full blown tantrum. The Mother is trying to reason with the child, trying to distract him or maybe just picking the child up and taking him out of the store, still kicking and screaming. What are your thoughts when you witness this? Before children, my thoughts were "I wonder what she is doing wrong?". I know some Mothers will think I am insensitive for thinking that and I totally was, but i am just being honest. Now that I have a child, I see just how judgemental and terrible my thoughts actually were. I did not know ALL CHILDREN have tantrums of some sort. Some having them more frequently, more loudly or more violent than others. We as mothers can choose different ways to diffuse the situation, but it still happens nonetheless, whether in public or private.

Another example of my judgement is a few years back when I worked at Comcast. My boss's two year old daughter was getting up in the middle of the night and crying. She said she was exhausted from trying to get her back to sleep. I had asked her this question: "Why can't you just let her cry?" Famous last words from a now mother that has never and could not bear to let her child cry himself to sleep at any age! God works in funny ways. It is as if He knew how I would parent and was setting the ground work to teach me these lessons that I would not truly learn from until I had a child of my own: DO NOT JUDGE.

I know people with and without children look at me and the way I parent and make judgements in their minds. But what I have learned is never to make any judgements because I am not in any one's shoes but my own. I am not in their family, I do not have their child, I do not live in their house, I am not married to their spouse and I do not come from their background. And because of these things, I cannot judge. Now, when I see a Mother trying to console, reason with or distract their tantrum throwing toddler, I have empathy because I have been there. Now, when I hear about a Mother who gets up multiple times a night with their crying child, I feel empathy because I have been there.

Here are some bible verses that talk about judgement. Take them or leave them, but I take them because apparently I did not read these before having children. :)

"Do not judge others and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others or it will come back against you. Forgive others and you will be forgiven." -Luke 6:37

"God sent His Son into the world, not the judge the world, but the save the world through Him." -John 3:17

stare

This is what happened when I tried to take Eli outside the other day.....I get 'the stare'. Needless to say we went back inside after 5 minutes. My son does NOT like cold, windy, cloudy days.

This is the face of an unhappy kid.

dig?

Eli loves the CD Choo Choo Soul, which is hip hop music for kids. In this video, he lip synchs and scratches at the appropriate moments in a song from the CD. For me, being his mommy, I could not stop laughing and just think it is too cute. So hopefully you will think it is somewhat amusing. One thing is for sure, my kid is freaking cute! :)

eli

WHAT'S HOT:

-Eagles football (and anything sports)
-chocolate chip cookies and m&m's
-saying funny words like 'sum-pin' (something) and 'gin-nas-nics' (gymnastics)
-Little Einsteins
-shirts with numbers on them (so he can be a football player)
-drinking water
-sleeping through the night (finally, yay!)
-cuddling with mommy in the morning
-America's Funniest Videos
-whole milk with carnation instant breakfast
-humming songs while getting teeth brushed
-lip synching to songs in the car
-playing with his cash register and saying 'What can I do for you?' and 'Anything else?'
-wrestling with Daddy
-of course DANCING!


WHAT'S NOT:

-going on the potty
-eating fruits and vegetables
-riding in the stroller
-sitting still for more than 2 minutes
-long car rides
-Flintstone vitamins

oops

I could not resist posting this picture. Being a skier for years and years, this is totally something that could have happened to me. I feel for this dude. This happened in Vail, Colorado on New Year's Day....poor guy.

experience 1

It is very interesting and sometimes ironic how perspectives change between being childless and having one if not more children. The amount of new information, perspectives, hopes, lifestyle and more gained from having just one child is just astounding. The way I looked at mothers with their children is severely and vastly different now that I have one of my own. I am writing now to express and apologize for those judgments I made before I had a child about the women (and men) who did. Over the next few posts, I will write a list of things that I have learned about parenting since having a child of my own.You may not agree, but thanks for looking anyway. :)

1. Parenting begins BEFORE birth. When we started trying for a baby, I was prepared. I got a physical, stopped drinking the little alcohol I drank, stopped having caffeine, ate better; I basically stopped doing anything that would cut my chances of getting pregnant by the slightest sliver. When we got pregnant, I was famous for reading multiple pregnancy books at a time. On any given day, I could tell you how big my baby was inside me, how much he weighed, if his fingernails were growing, if he could hear yet, etc. Not once did I read or research about actual parenting. When Eli was born, I knew nothing. I thought newborns just slept, ate and pooped. They do those things, but I was not aware of the physical bonding newborns need. I was not aware of the skin to skin contact that will calm newborns down. I was not aware to ask the doctors, once Eli was born, to lay him on me and have him start nursing right away (this helps calm the baby from the stress of birth). I was not aware of the argument as to whether or not you should let your baby cry themselves to sleep (more on that later). I was naive and oblivious. I thought parenting starts when the child is old enough to understand us telling him 'No.' Lucky for me, I had great support and encouragement from other moms that were my friends. With the guidance of them, research I performed on parenting, as well as speaking with my husband and praying to God, we came up with a parenting style that worked for all of us. I even found out that the things I was naturally doing out of instinct helped to figure out the way I wanted to parent (i.e. breastfeeding, holding Eli all of the time, etc.). And now with Evie due in May, I am more prepared and cannot wait to bond with my daughter. Eli is more bonded with me than ever even though I did not do some of the things I want to do now with Evie. He is very loving, always wants to cuddle, falls asleep with arms wrapped around me every night and is a great kid. What you may choose to do may differ from me, but that is why research and communication with your husband are key BEFORE having a child. :)

wii

Superman PJ's + severe case of bedhead + Wii bowling = one excited kid!

laughter

enamored

Today we went to Longwood Gardens to test out my new camera that I received for Christmas from my loving, dear, sweet parents who must love me a whole lot! :) Let me just tell you all that I am completely in mad, deep love with this camera! It now has a little place in my heart. :)

We had a wonderful time despite the cold. The sun was shining and we took over 100 pictures! Longwood is just that beautiful. I could have taken more too! And Chad wanted to get in on the action so he took some pictures of his own, which were really good. Here are some pics from our day. Get ready for picture overload.