Artwork

About a month or more ago I got these fun shelves from IKEA. I have a pair up in my living room and another pair in Ev's room. One thing that I learned being a teacher was to decorate my classroom with things made by my students. Specifically using items related to learning because they would have sense of ownership. I am trying to do that with Ev. I have been framing her "works of art" and displaying them on the shelf in her room. We went into her room the other day and she immediately saw the newest picture I had added. She smiled really big and said, "I painted!" Too cute.

Stroller

Back in the Spring a group of friends of ours blessed us with a Phil and Ted's double stroller. Our family brought it to us in Thailand when we had Elijah. Ever since then we've been getting a lot of use out of it. We've used it for a newborn (the main seat lays completely flat), we've used it for just Ev and now we are officially putting Elijah in the second seat so I don't have to carry him everywhere. Not that I don't like carrying him - some times it keeps me a little warmer but he is getting to be so heavy that walking just a couple of blocks makes my back hurt. As it is also getting much colder we were trying to "weather proof" the stroller. Our weather protector fit the top of the stroller now I just need to think of something to make to cover Elijah. Although Ev's seat will block some of the wind. It has snowed already about 4 times and we've brought out Ev's down jacket and Elijah's body suit thing. Negative temperatures here we come!

Dressing herself

Ev has a strong opinion about what she wears. Hum, sounds a lot like her daddy to me! I had given her a bath this morning and I had picked out an outfit for her to wear today but when she saw it she said, "bu yao" (I don't want). So we went to her dresser and this is what she picked out: a coral long sleeve shirt, a hot pink skirt with shorts, a green corduroy skirt. I made her wear leggings (since it was snowing at the time) and she already had on the green socks that match the green outfit I had picked out. I really didn't think she was going to put both skirts on since she was already wearing leggings and one skirt has shorts... but we put the other skirt on too. She has managed to keep both skirts on so far. Her stubbornness is fighting through the uncomfortable feeling. Poor kid, 1 pair of leggings, shorts attached to a skirt, and a thick corduroy skirt. Yikes! None of it matches of course... and it is driving me crazy. But it makes her happy and well no one usually matches here so she fit in.

Craft time

I've been wanting to put up our Christmas tree but I have been trying to hold out until at least Thanksgiving night or the following day. It is a hard thing for me! Especially since there are not any holiday decorations up anywhere in town like they are at home. I think every year since Todd and I got married I've put up the tree early. So instead I thought I would distract myself with Thanksgiving crafts. I think I enjoy them more than Ev but she enjoys the glue and when I trace her hand.

Update

Last weekend I was able to see my friend Julia who I talked about in a previous post. Elijah and I spent the morning with her. She seems to plan on having her baby. She has a lot of plans for her future. She also has a very naive mindset of what is involved in birthing a baby. I mainly just listened to her and asked her questions and let her know that I would help her in any way I can. After talking to our mutual friend about her situation we have concluded that the main thing this girl needs is Father! Would you ask that Julia would realize she needs Him and that He is what can get her through these next 7 months?

Discipline

So the past couple of mornings Ev and I have had a rough time. Our little 2 year old is really testing her limits. Mommy isn't budging either. So the result... spankings. I was dealing with her new desire to push, shove and body slam people. She got more upset as time went on realizing I wasn't giving in and as I spanked her again she started screaming, "angels...angels...angels." Whenever one of us is spanking her and she doesn't want it (she says "bu yao spankings" -I don't want spankings) and yells for someone who isn't spanking her. In desperation she was yelling out to the angels.

Xie Xie Angels

We were given the See With Me Bible as a baby gift from dear friends of ours. We started really going through it with Ev before her bedtime since we got back from Thailand. It is a good way for us (Todd and I) to practice our storying skills and Ev just loves the pictures. Our desire is for Ev to know the stories so she can tell them. I don't know how many times we have read it so far but she is getting it and helps tell some of the stories. One of the funniest is the story of Adam and Eve. There is a picture of Eve with this "oops" expression on her face. That is where Ev goes, "no no". She knows what Eve was doing something she wasn't suppose to do. As we've been reading at night and as Ev reads it over and over through the day she has really picked up on angels. There are several stories that have angels in them. Ev just knows that they are angels, we initially told her they were but she is quick to point them out and she loves to go to the stories with them. Daddy prays with her at night as she is in her bed, he prays over her room, her sleep, her mind... One night after giving him a kiss and having him kiss her beloved Lambie blanket she lifted Lambie up and asked the angel to kiss it too. :) When Todd was gone and I was praying with her as we laid in her bed she kept looking towards the door. I asked her where the angels where and she pointed that way. (We ask for Father to place his angels in specific places to protect us.) Then last night Todd packed up Ev and Elijah in the stroller and took them to go buy a Coke for dinner. They were walking back and Ev looks up and says "xie xie (thank you) angels" she was thanking the angels who were above them. I guess it is good to know that we are being protected in the place we live!