Toddlers and Teenagers

I have learned, while living with both a toddler and a teenager, that there really is not much difference in their behavior. There is an 11 year age difference between Delaney and Michaela and one would think that would mean a huge difference in the way they act. However, I would like to share with you the similarities that I see every day.

Being told "NO": Neither child likes to be told 'no.' Michaela will react with typical toddler fare by crying and screaming on the floor. In an attempt to calm her, I will explain something like "electrical outlets will bite." Doesn't do any good, but I try. Delaney will listen to an explanation, but usually clenches her fists or perses her lips in disagreement. She is learning that I REALLY don't like eye-rolling or sarcastic remarks. I usually ignore both behaviors unless it involves continuous screaming or a 'mouthy' response. I don't like being told "no" either, but hope my level of maturity is advanced enough that the reaction doesn't include eye- or floor rolling.

CLOTHING: They both like to make their own clothing choices. Michaela once wore a tutu to Delaney's choir performance because that is what she wanted to put on before we left the house and I could not really think of a reason to say no. You may have also seen her at Wal-Mart in her black patent-leather Sunday shoes, shorts and a sweatshirt. Two-year olds that dress this way are considered cute. Teens are another story. Delaney, like all girls her age, is able to make her own choices in attire, usually. I do my best to let her wear what she considers fashionable to school. However, there are times when I have sent her to change because I will not let her wear knee-high Converse to church or cut-off shorts when we dine out. It is also difficult for her to understand that although a dress is very pretty, it may not be something she can actually wear-unless she is going 'clubbing' and that AIN'T happenin'! She does respect my level of required modesty which I will admit is not always easy. Not because I have especially high standards but because the fashion industry wants to dress our daughters like strippers.

SLEEPING: Both the girls need a lot of sleep for their growing bodies. Unfortunately for me, Michaela still wakes during the night. Whereas, Delaney just wants to stay up until 2 a.m. then sleep until noon. Maybe I should just let Delaney stay up as long as she wants if she will put Michaela back to sleep when she wakes. HMMMM!

EATING: Delaney and Michaela take eating in spurts. Some days they will eat me out of house and home while others days I can't get them to eat anything. They both also LOVE junk food. Since Delaney claims that "Diet drinks are the root of all evil" because they do not contain 1000 grams of sugar, I don't buy many coke products. When junk food is in house, both girl zone in on it-especially ice cream! We all love it dearly, but I think my girls would eat it for every meal.

SILLINESS: They both have their delightful silly moments. Delaney gets giggly mostly when making fun of my behavior. On a recent mini roadtrip, I was talking when in the middle of the sentence I yelled, "CHICKEN!" because a chicken with a death wish was walking into the road. I know, you had to be there but it really was funny. Delaney still reminds me of this by yelling "CHICKEN" at random moments in our conversations. It always makes me smile. Michaela is a micmic. She likes to pretend that she is sleeping by snoring like her daddy. She breaks into giggles before she 'wakes up'.

I get great enjoyment from watching my children grow into their own. Although I have focused on the similarities in this writing, there are a many differences in Delaney and Michaela. They each have very distictive personalities and characteristics which I treasure. I love you Delaney and Michaela!

Baby Talk

Deciphering Michaela’s speech is a fun challenge. Her vocabulary exploded about seven months ago and we love hearing the new things she says every day. I can proudly say that her first word was “mama”. That has turned to “MOM-EEEEEEEEE” and sometimes when she screams it repeatedly, I wonder why we even teach our children to talk. When she was about 15 months old she asked about the cows in the pasture beside our house. With her palms turned up and a quizzical look on her face she plainly asked, “Where’d da cows go?” I also love the way she says daddy. It is in her sing-song little voice that calls “Da-adEEEEEEE”.

I have been told that she speaks very plainly for her age and most everything she says is understandable. However, there are a few words that seem to be from another language. Here are a few of her words; I hope I can spell them well enough for you understand what she is really saying.

Daaaa ku = Thank you
Da keem = Ice Cream
Bobble = bottle
Daki = paci
Bill = Elizabeth
Haney = Delaney
Tooper = Cooper
Bess oooo = Bless you
Beep-beep = belly button
Sunder noise = thunder noise
Bipper = Tipper (the dog)
Gol pish = gold fish
Doer-ige = (Curious) George

Michaela is apparently a mouthful and she will not even attempt to say her own name. Then again, she may think her name is Sweetie because her daddy rarely calls her Michaela. Her sisters’ names give her some trouble too, but there are a lot of syllables in Elizabeth and Delaney. I can see how she gets “Haney” for Delaney, but “Bill” for Elizabeth is just hysterical.

There are a few other things that she says that keep us in stitches. When she is dressed and ready to leave the house she raises her arms in the air and excitedly states, “I’M READY!" A lot like Sponge Bob - which she does not watch. She loves to swim and will get the swim diaper herself if there is any mention of swimming, the pool or water. She will tell you when it is time to "doe swimmin in da swim poo”. I also LOVE when she is watching Blue’s Clues and sings and dances to ‘We just got a letter’. She misses the ‘we just’ and chimes in every time for ‘dot a letter’.

I treasure these times because her names for things will fade to precious memories and she will be grown-up before we know it.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11


Have you ever had plans for something only to have them have disintegrate completely? I have had one of those weeks, no months, hmmm, maybe years.

My plan for this weekend was to go home to Glennville. I was so excited about witnessing the wedding of a sweet, young friend. I was also planning to spend a few days visiting those that I miss so much and have not seen in two years. But alas, it is not to be. I know in my mind why I cannot go, but my heart is left to grieve and ask why. I have shed more than one tear at my loss and even acted like my two-year old at one point when expressing my 'displeasure'.

I consider myself resilient and hope that is a good quality to have. Therefore, I moved on to PLAN B. Delaney, Michaela and I would spend a couple days with my mom and go to the lake. Well, once again my plan did not work out. The day in Habersham County started with rain, but mom assured me that the sun was shining on Putnam County. Apparently, the rain cloud followed me on that two hour drive, literally and metaphorically. Once the four of us were driving to our fun-filled lake destination it started to rain ever so lightly. We decided since there was no thunder and lightening we were good. We were going to get wet anyway, right? We enjoyed about 15 minutes of 'beach' time and the deluge began.

I was once again disappointed but did give heartfelt thanks to God for the much needed rain. It reminded me to "praise Him in the storm". I am also very grateful to have been able to spend time with my mother.

My thoughts turned to Jeremiah 29:11 and it served as a reminder that my plans don't really matter. I have to seek and follow His will and plans. I guess for now that includes no beach time or vacation. I KNOW His plans are good and my future is in Him, but grow weary of waiting for an answer to my prayers. (Obviously, I am not just talking about a vacation here.) Please don't judge me based on this statement. Surely you have said or thought "God, I will do Your will, just give me the details now and let me know when it will happen." at least once.

I know that He hears my prayers because I have a wonderful, loving husband and the most beautiful, healthy children on earth. I need only look at the prayer requests of others to know how blessed I am.

I have been here before, in God's holding pattern. I thought I had learned all I needed to know; apparently not, for I am still waiting for answers to what I feel are reasonable requests-like a job. I am sure the day will come when I look back at this present trial and see how much I learned and how much He provided. Because I will not stay in this valley forever for He has plans for me and I have hope!

Describe yourself

For several days, I have been mulling over how to describe myself on the description portion of this blog. It would be so much easier to describe someone else, anyone else. I have even considered asking my dear friend Teresa to write it for me, but that is like cheating.

Who we are is complicated. And I don't know about you but I change, thankfully and hopefully for the better (but not always). We can describe ourselves as someones wife, mother, or daughter but is that who we are inside? Yes, I know that is part of who we are, but where do our thoughts come from and how do they affect who we are?

If you asked my mother to describe me, she would more than likely say something about the goodness of my heart because that is what mothers do and she is good like that. I would almost be afraid to ask my 13-year old daughter Delaney to describe me. I would probably just get 'the' look. Also, depending on who has possession of her i-Pod, how much Internet and phone access she has maintained on that particular day the answer would vary greatly. My sweet and not so stupid husband, Mike would think it was a trick question akin to "Do these pants make my be-Hind look big?" and laugh it off without answering. I am sure my two-year old would have something fabulous to say if her vocabulary were large enough.

I once played one of silly games through email that asked the receivers to reply to you with this directive: Use one word to describe me. I received a lot of very sweet, up-lifting replies and one that hurt. I was called pragmatic. Yes, I had to look it up to be sure I understood it correctly. That only made it hurt worse. I don't feel it was intended to hurt me, but it did. I don't consider myself wishy-washy and do know exactly why I believe what I believe. (I will save the whole 'belief' idea for another blog.)

I hope that most of my friends consider me loyal, honest, sincere and helpful. You know, all the things we want in a friend and a Labrador. I don't think 'fun' is one of my characteristics because I'm a little boring and tend not to take many risks. I do hope that I am at least enjoyable and pleasant to be around.

Do we put into print what we see as our faults or weaknesses? No one really wants to read that. On the other hand, I don't want to describe myself so highly that others think they have clicked on the wrong blog. Such a dilemma!

After rambling on for a few paragraphs, I have decided that I am taking this whole thing way too seriously. Isn't it just supposed to be a biographical?

In the beginning...

Blogging has been on my mind for some time. There are times when a Facebook post just isn't enough (she types with a smile). My hesitation has been lack of time and well, it's rather intimidating putting your thoughts into print. Will I be judged? Will I hurt someones feelings? Will I embarrass someone, including myself, with the things that I share? That is certainly not my intention.

I think my intention is to share my thoughts, however random, on family, God, events in our lives and maybe even the weather. I have lots of ideas now, but will probably forget them if I don't write them down. I hope you enjoy my ramblings and that they lift you up, make you laugh or provoke your own thoughts.