Everything Inbetween!

Trip to New York

2011-05-24T22:44:00.028-05:00

Less than two weeks from now, I will celebrate 10 years of marriage to a man I met 12 years ago who became my best friend. Our first exchange happened in the lobby of the beautiful Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Last weekend, we had the opportunity to return to that crazy place that is New York. We landed at LaGuardia, grabbed our luggage, and the speedy Dial 7 car whisked to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Now, before the romantic awards start piling up at my husband's feet, I would like to thank the lovely folks at Progresso Soup, for hosting me and my guest, as one of three grand prize winners in the "Souper You!" contest.

After submitting an entry to the contest, and by the amazing response of "voters like you", I was one of the winners in the contest, grand prize including two nights at the Waldorf-Astoria, a head-to-toe makeover at the fabulous Louis Licari Salon on 5th Ave, and a personal shopping consultant/shopping spree at the luxurious Lord & Taylor.

I don't exactly know how to describe our trip, so I guess chronological would be best ... we landed in NYC just before noon, on a drizzly day. We checked into the hotel, changed clothes (it was cooler than I expected!), and headed out to explore the city. Now, the fact that we have been to New York in the past did allow us to skip things like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center, so after eating the Italian lunch special in an Irish pub, we set out for Canal Street in search of some "real" Oakley sunglasses for David. That was an adventure in itself ... as none of the stalls seemed to carry the illusive grand, but upon asking about them, amazingly, there were some hiding that were available. My favorite line: "Sir, the policia just walked by, but if you come back in like 5 minutes, I can show them to you." Great, that sounds fantastic.

After walking through Chinatown, spotting NYPD headquarters, City Hall, St Andrew's, and the judicial buildings, we saw the Brooklyn Bridge, and headed back to the beautiful Waldorf-Astoria. We planned to rest a bit, change, and go out for dinner ... it was Friday night in New York City! However, when we woke up at 9pm after falling asleep at 6:30, we ended up falling back asleep until 5am when it was time to get up the next morning. Yes, I see the irony ... the Rahijas, who are never in bed before 1am, asleep at 6:30pm, Friday night, NYC ... geesh!

After a VERY refreshing night of rest, we woke early Saturday morning to get ready for "the big day" of pampering! We met the other two winners, Dawny and Kristi, in the lobby at 7:15. The "entourage" assembled around us, with two photographers, a videographer, two folks from Progresso, one from General Mills, two gals from the pr firm, and one intern that we can't agree where she belonged. They took some before pictures of us in the lobby, did a small interview, and then we all loaded into a Hummer limo for our trip to Louis Licari's Salon. We were all so excited!

Upon arrival, Matt and Gill, our photographer friends, had us pose in the street for some more before pictures, which, is a little nerve-wracking if you've ever seen New York traffic! It was funny to watch a small crowd assemble, as people on the street wondered what kind of celebrities we were ... one of the girls from the PR place told one of the crowd that our cd would be in stores next week. That poor lady will be sorely disappointed!

We entered the salon, had some yummy breakfast, and were sent our separate ways. I started with Gus, the hair color genius and his assistant Wyatt, with Elena delivering my first pedicure and a lovely French manicure. Upon first glance, Gus suggested we do some fun highlights and brighten my brunette locks, which I thought was fine, but when he came back (after conversing with my husband), he was sure, "I NEED to make you a red!" I was excited to try it - hey, go big, right?! After coloring, tinting, and painting, Louis Licari Red toe nails, a French manicure, and colored eyebrows, and I felt like a whole new woman!

Next, they ushered me to our lobby area where I grabbed a quick sandwich. Vera came to take me to her room. Vera gave the facial portion of the day - another first for me. I had a few feelings of discomfort when she closed the door and had me disrobe, mainly because no one explained what was happening in this phase, and also in part, that Vera crooned in something like Russian the entire time. She put plastic on my face, hot towels, and after a few minutes of upper back, shoulder, and decolette massage, she proceeded to remove blackheads from my skin. Yes, doesn't that sound lovely? I am not exactly sure how she did this, except that I think she pricked them with a needle of sorts, then used her fingers and called to them one at a time - yes, she talked to them. Vera was lovely, and amusing, and caring. It was at times relaxing, and at times, very, how shall I say, ... surprising.

Lena came to whisk me off for a hair cut and style. She did a fantastic cut and style, and took me downstairs to Enid O's cosmetic counter, and so very graciously agreed to use the Mary Kay colors I brought with me! She did a wonderful job, and I loved visiting with Lena about different colors and techniques!

At this point, we were "all dolled up" and we did a reveal to each other. Kristi and Dawny looked beautiful, and we each felt like a million bucks! More photos, more video - so glad there were "after" photos, as they took several "before" and "during" throughout the day. Saying our goodbyes, we loaded into the elevators, and back out into the street for some more traffic-dodging photo-ops, and we dove back into the limo, off to Lord & Taylor!

At Lord & Taylor, each of the winners had a personal shopping consultant, which is something I was REALLY anticipating, and I feel I was very blessed with Martine! As we tried on lots of clothes, pausing for more video footage and photo moments in the "good" outfits, it was good to feel a growing sense of what were the "wowee" ones, and the "never, take it back off" ones! I have such a poor sense of that, and it was really great to have help developing that in myself! I was very pleased to purchase a suit, a dress, a fun skirt, a set of capris, and several tops that mix and match between the outfits, for 11 different combinations! I was the winner of the "contestant closest to the retail value of the prize without going over" award, and while we didn't even get near the shoe department, I found a pair of those upon arriving home that are fantastic with a few of the outfits! It was fun to come out for a "reveal" for David, as he had left us during the end of our time at Louis Licari to visit the TKTS stand in Times Square and was not around for the clothes parade. The "entourage" asked us to each put on one outfit for our final "after" photos. The original plan was to take these in front of some NYC landmarks, but due to time and the rain, we forfeited that plan, and used the fabulous lighting inside Lord & Taylor for some great photo moments. One of my favorites was when the old man rear ended his way into our "walk zone" - it was kind of like in a movie when people that are in a hurry have to wait for a herd of sheep or cattle to amble across the lane, and I was chuckling to myself. We did our "power walk" with shopping bags, and got some closeups, said goodbye to most of our entourage, and headed back to the Waldorf-Astoria, in our limo. What a day full of amazingness!

Well, a Sarah Rahija story would not be complete without some lateness and a mishap of the clumsy nature or ten, so here we go! We arrived back at the hotel at 7:10, and our tickets for Million Dollar Quartet that David purchased in the afternoon were for 8:00, and we had to get a cab to get there, plus change clothes and freshen up -- dinner had to wait! We tried to go through the lobby to the elevators, but a private event had us detour to the back of the hotel and the elevators there. We quickly got to our room, dressed, and headed back down to the elevators. We waited nine minutes, and realized that the elevator cars were passing our floor, so we scurried to the other elevators on our floor, found our way to the front, hailed a car, and buckled in for our ride there. The clock said we had eight minutes to curtain. Our driver was really great, and we enjoyed a bit of conversation with him, got into the theater, found our seats, and I decided to take a quick shot of the two of us dressed up in our fantastic garb ... only to be shot down with a "no photography in the theater, ma'am." reminder - oops! We made it with a little time to spare, and as the music started, we settle in for a great show! We knew lots of the songs, and the storyline was good too!

We walked back to our hotel, through the buzzing Times Square - from 12 years ago and THE jumbo-tron to every building aglow with digital advertisements, it was quite ... bright. We stopped by the concierge to get a recommendation on dinner with live jazz, and the man who reminded us both of our friend Steve Knots from ESU, suggested The Garage, down in the Village. I asked what the dress code was, and he smiled, and asked why, I said, well, I don't want to go dressed like this and have it be a jeans and t-shirt type of establishment. He laughed and said, "That's exactly what I try to do everywhere I go, I don't want to be defined by where I eat dinner." We liked him instantly! We told him to make the reservation, and headed out front to grab a taxi. We finally got one, and had a really non-smooth ride to the Village. It was a really fun atmosphere, with a live band, and good food. Two highlights of that excursion: 1. Fried donut ice cream sandwich (an "off the menu" item discovered by the owner while tailgating) 2. The Clumsy Sarah moment ... I was trying to point out what I wanted to the server, and my menu knocked over my ice water. Now, by itself, this would not have been an extreme case, but, we happened to be sitting in a raised area, against the railing, with another table below us, and of course, my drink poured right down the back of a lovely woman sitting there. I am guessing shock and horror graced my face as I turned to look at her. Shock and shock were the emotions on her face. I began apologizing profusely, and thankfully, her shock turned to pity for me, I think, and she shared that she had just taken a job as a waitress for the first time this week, and was just waiting for the moment when she dumped a drink on someone. She was glad it wasn't wine, just water, and laughed. I was so relieved, and felt awful. Our server, gave me the cold look when it first happened, but I think soon also felt sorry for me, and by the end of our meal, was chatting with us about KU Basketball, and recommending the fried donuts. The Rahijas: making friends via strange means wherever they go! A smooth cab ride back to the hotel ended our evening, full of fun experiences and memories!

Sunday morning dawned rainy again ... I think I forgot to mention that it was cold and rainy most of the weekend, except when we were at the salon ... and we packed our room up, and called to have our bags checked for our pickup. The bellman arrived with a lot of advice about the stock market and how we could easily kick the rest of our student loans with a few quick transactions, transferring balances on new credit cards, and wow, I dropped Dave Ramsey's name a few times, hoping he'd check into that! He seemed authentic "New York" and we loved it! We headed out to see The Highline Park, Central Park, the Guggenheim, and snag some I<3NY things for the girls. We grabbed a hotdog from a street vendor - almost tasteless, saw Grey's Papaya and wish we had stopped the night before!, David had some coffee, we ate lunch at the Gaslight Pizzaria in Chelsea, and also ran across America's Top Chef on location, which was kind of fun! Our subway trip from the Highline (where we spotted Lady Liberty through the mist!) was interesting, as on Sundays, the lines run differently, and often sip several stops for their "express" trips. We ended up in Harlem, which was interesting, and we finally got to Central Park. The subway system is really fun, and each station/line seems to be different. The art in them is really fun - especially these strange sculptures of these little "people" doing funny things that are hiding all over the place! It was great to hear the musicians in the terminals, hear some of the scams people are running, and of course, open our backpack at a security check. Everything was really fun, and I'm glad we had a few "off course" moments! We bought candied cashews and almonds at the Guggenheim, and due to time, we didn't go in, but just enjoyed the architecture and the atmosphere of the people! We didn't have time for the carriage ride, but loved watching the joggers, balloons, ... of Central Park. It was just fun to "be" around in the city, walk the streets where the Cosby Show house was, and in some neighborhoods that were just "people" vs tourism. We had to hurry back to Times Square to find some trinkets for the girls, and get back in time to meet our car for the airport. David's "awkward moment" came during our walk back to the hotel ... some "aspiring musicians" were poised in strategic locations and were "giving" away cds, but needed some donations to raise funds for something. David got roped into shelling out cash for two of them, and finally we realized what was going on, and moved to the "inner" part of the sidewalk! On our way back, we spotted a giant yellow teddy bear, and asked what it was ... a large bronze sculpture, purchased by Christie's, was on display - only three made, the other two in Europe. We had to take a picture ... Happy and Hoppy, eat your hearts out! We got back to the hotel to meet our car, and learned he was not coming for another half hour, (of course, we had chatted with the bellmen and found some really interesting things!), and we went to get a drink from the vendor guys. We made it back with plenty of time, and still no car. Later, we learned, that he had been at the front door of the hotel, and had called me several times, but my phone volume had not been working for most of the trip, and I had just failed to recognize it. We rushed off to Laguardia, and hurried inside to the check-in kiosk, only to find we were too late to check our baggage there. A helpful man standing nearby directed us to the "special services" desk, and they were able to check our bag, but couldn't promise it would make it onto the plane. We ran-walked to the security station, to check in and get into the boarding area. David made it through with no problem. I on the other hand, set off the alarm, (forgot I was wearing a belt!). I had to go through again, and we made it to the boarding area before they even started boarding our plane. Whew!

Once on the plane, we traded seats with another passenger, so we could sit together, and were enjoying our flight, until we hit the line of storms ... the line that passed through Joplin, although we of course, were north. It was not a fun ride, and I was so thankful to land in Kansas City, where it was warm and not storming. Our suitcase did indeed make it on the plane, and we called our driver to find the meeting location. One last hiccup, he thought we were arriving on Monday, and was not at the airport. He assured us he could be there in 20 minutes, which was fine, it was just a long day with lots of adrenaline! Tim drove us home while telling us about his weekend with his son who was home on leave from Okinawa. As per usual, we love hearing the life-stories from those around us, and it was a great end of our trip.

We got out of the car at Mom and Dad Rahija's and learned that the girls had played hard all weekend, all had new shoes due to my crazy packing skills, and we decided to let them sleep there that night and just head out early in the morning (Erin still had school Monday and Tuesday). We were so thankful for the weekend away just the two of us, in the city where we first spoke 12 years ago, two weeks before our 10th wedding anniversary. So many helped make this possible, with gifts and time. So to you who voted for me, kept my kids while I packed, kept my kids while we were gone, gave advice on where to go, and are excited to see pictures and be excited with me, THANK YOU. It was the trip of a lifetime, and I will treasure it for many years to come! Here's hoping it's not 10 years until our next "alone" trip!

I'm having some trouble posting pictures other than at the top, so I may have to revisit with more pics later. Until then, there are photos of our weekend on my facebook page, and some also on Progresso's facebook page.

Long time

2010-05-19T11:28:00.003-05:00

Soo, it's been another long while since I've posted, and I feel I've lived 10 years in that time span! Things that have happened since the Raccheus incident:

* Avery taught Ember to climb the bunkbed.
* Ember fell off the bunkbed, fracturing her wrist in two places, incurring the need for a splint that she expertly wriggled/gnawed her way out of daily.
* I visited two doctors to figure out what was wrong with me ... one bad, one great ... the great one discovered I had suffered through parvovirus/hand, foot, and mouth disease/fifth disease/slap-face disease, which in kids is pretty common, but in grownups can be really debilitating, causing arthritic symptoms and severe fatigue. Praise God I can pick up my kids and make it through a day without a nap these days!
* We spent every Wednesday for five weeks at Growing Smiles, our awesome pediatric dentists for 5 cavities, and one crown between the three girls. They love it there, and the staff knows us all by name. Yesterday we even played "Dr Henderson" by putting wet wipes over our mouths like their masks!
* Shelby, our newest, and oldest addition to the Rahija princess crew, moved back in with us. We are honored to be her family, and the girls adore their big sister!
* Mom and Dad Rahija both had major medical procedures over the course of two weeks, and all of us were home to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Parkway Baptist Church, which has been their church for almost as long. It was fun to reconnect with folks there, and see where the church has been and dream forward with them as well!
* Erin Elizabeth Rahija and Shelby Nicole Rahija made public professions of faith and were baptized in Clinton Lake. Both of their testimonies were precious and we all got to go into the water with them. I got to help Seth, our pastor, dip each of them. As a mom, it was pretty awesome to take part in this symbol of rebirth.
* Erin has had friends over from school, Avery has had friends over and been invited on lots of play dates with her little friend crew, and Ember is like the cheese in the farmer in the dell, and always stands alone at the door and yells for them to come back.
* While Erin stayed in Kansas for field day, and Shelby stayed to help her boyfriend's family move, the rest of us headed to Oklahoma to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends, Carl Kinzer and Arlene Blackburn. We also were so lucky to stay with Krista, who was so amazing to keep the little girls for some Aunt Krista time while David and I did wedding stuff. So fun for all of us - THANK YOU Krista!!!
* Lots more has happened, but those things stick out as "big" events.

As the Summer rapidly approaches (on the calendar, not so much in the weather!), we prepare to celebrate some more, with excitement and sadness ... We have a few more weddings coming up ... and lots of our friends are taking the next steps on their journeys and are moving ... We are excited for them, and mourn their leaving, as their absence will leave some big holes in our hearts. We say "See you later" to Stormy and Katherine and their boys, our neighbors and friends for the past two years, and Jimmie and Rachel and Ella, our friends and family for the past 5 years. We are proud of their accomplishments, and will miss them ever so much!

God continues to bless us, and we thank Him so much, for friendships, new relationships, new opportunities, healthy families, and just for loving us each day. What an honor and blessing to be in His care. That's it for now, friends!

Here's a few pictures from our day at Clinton Lake - thanks Lyse for taking these pictures and Mark for catching the last of the video!

"Raccheus, you come down!"

2010-04-13T13:28:00.002-05:00

"... for I'm comin' to your house today!"

My kids are always playing and imagining and creating and saying "the darndest things". I have missed writing down a bunch of really cute ones recently, and it makes me sad, but just now, I hear Avery humming a bit upstairs, and then shout with all her might, "Raccheus, you come down!" I had to snicker a bit to myself, and wondered if Zaccheus ever got called that by mistake as a child. Oh, the things my mind ponders throughout the day.

Voices from the Bathroom

2010-03-24T12:01:00.002-05:00

Things heard in a 4 minute span coming from my bathroom...

"Get DOWN, Ember!"

"Ooohh, I can't push a poo poo out and it's stuck in there."

(crash of crayons falling to the floor) "Ember Dawn!!!"

"I need some toilet paper."

"No, Ember, mommy doesn't like it when we color on the floor!"
"Why?" -Ember

"Mommy, Ember dumped out all my Dora crayons, and she did that on purpose."

"Ember, mom's angry at you for doing that. Now get a job of picking up these colors, NOW!"

"Hey, I found a stick! And I found another stick!"

"Mom, can I paint?"

I think it's time to intervene, as more crashing sounds are coming from there. Don't you wish you could come play?!

Sights and Sounds

2010-03-23T11:08:00.002-05:00

Our home is a sensual smorgasbord (not as in erotic sensuality, but as in an overload of stimuli for the five senses!) ... the aromas of bags full of Panera Bread, fresh laundry, brown sugar oatmeal from breakfast, strawberry birthday cake, the occasional dirty diaper, ... the feel of bread crumbs underfoot, warm cheeks against mine, slobbery face wiping on my shoulder, tiny pats on the back, tiny fingers touching my face, warm sun shining through the window, cool gusts of breeze as the front door bangs open and shut because kids are running in and out to play, ... the taste of toasted bagels, banana bread minus baking powder (banana clay - yes, John, another baking oops!), spaghetti, cookies, strawberry birthday cake, and other things that are not as tastY, but perhaps full of taste, like newly hydrated peat pots, sour milk from a forgotten sippy cup, or a crayon wrapper.

Then there are the sounds. As I started typing this, I heard a scraping/scooting sound and knew it was Ember, making her way across the floor, Flintstone style, on the crayon bucket. Currently, I hear lots of splashes and giggles from the bathroom, as Avery and Ember play in the bathtub. The inspiration for this entry came from the kitchen about an hour ago (and yes, it's taken me that long to get this far) as I was listening. I hear lots of sounds during the day, and over the last 7 and a half years, have learned to parse the sounds that inundate my ears each day ... I can do easy things like determine if a cry is pain, fear, anger, or sadness, hear that play is getting heated quickly and will end badly if not redirected, or spring like a cat and bolt up the stairs when someone falls out of bed and starts screaming. Then there are more intermediate skills, like picking out the faint sound of giggling or talking when little girls are supposed to be napping, listening between the words and offering a snack or a hug when the real issue is not that a sock won't go on right, it's just that a hungry tummy or hurt feelings have blinded perspective. My favorite advanced skills are the ones that allow me to hear a noise, usually generated by one toy banging on another object, and stunning observers by knowing what toy is banging against what object. It's a nice party trick. However, while these skills are necessary for survival here, they are not my favorites. Hearing the sharp intake of breath that marks a new discovery, especially when followed by an intense, but hushed "Wow!" is irreplaceable. It's even better when one of my children comes bursting into the room to show me or each other their discovery. I love hearing them learn, whether it's a physics lesson (a step stool needs to have all four legs on the ground to be a sturdy tool), the little "grunts" of working to put on their own shoes, the shouts of victory when they accomplish the shoes (even more exciting when they're on the correct foot!), the quiet prayers after a bad dream, and even the sometimes frustrating, "I can do it myself!"

The sights for any of you who have children, or any of you who have ever visited my home, know that they are pretty awe-inspiring, from walking down the stairs naked, calmly crossing the room to a box of cheese crackers that is on the love seat, and sicking an arm down in there to have a little snack (all while we have company), wild dancing at a wedding reception (just in case you were wondering, "the Egyption" is not a dance that died in the 80s), faces/hair/tummies/hands/legs/walls/carpet/new clothes covered in Sharpie marker/fingernail polish/mascara/stamp ink/strawberry jelly/yogurt/snot/silly putty are some of the more "shock value" things I can think of quickly. Then there are the sweet sights, of unsolicited baby hugs, high fives, sparkling eyes, Cheshire grins, shy smiles, triumphant leaps when they learn to kick at and actually make contact with the ball, the fear and conquering of the bicycle, and looks of hopeful acceptance accompanied by "Daddy, am I beautiful?".

These are signs of growth, and as we watch our little seedlings hatch from our peat greenhouse, they remind me of my own little seedlings. Stubborn, fragile, exploring, tentatively turning faces to the sun. They need the shelter of the greenhouse at this point, as they can't face the cold night temperatures or large piles of snow that sometimes collect in our yard at this point. We will tend them, I'm sure making the mistake of watering too much or not enough at times, (thankfully they are somewhat resilient!) until they are able to be planted outside to grow freely in the garden. They will then require more tending, guiding (you know how pumpkin vines can wander!), and protection from pests, until they are ready for harvest. I hope, that as we tend our little sprouts, that we hear more "I love you"s, more "... and he took his peanut butter sandwich and dipped it in his milk and gave it to his friends saying, 'eat this, it's for you so we can be together again someday!'", and "I'm sorry I hurt you." ... that we see more hugs, arms around the shoulder, giving spontaneously and generously, and eventually, when the slugs come swarming or the squirrels try to snag the fruit off the vine, that there will be a barrier in place to protect them and bring them to fruition.

Well, I didn't intend to make this a deep post, I guess God is teaching me today (although, after the kids get done with their bath, we are going to play school and I am to be the teacher). Thanks for listening to me, and for so many of you, helping me be a better mom and loving my kids. OK, the bathwater has been refreshed twice now, and it's getting cool, so I'm going to put this away and get two wrinkled, pruney-toed girls out of the bath for some lunch, school, and naps. Have a wonderful day!

More things I love MOST!

2010-03-19T17:30:00.002-05:00

This week has been a better week than the last several, and I am trying to appreciate things in my life, to LOVE things (sometimes it has to be a choice, and others it simply isn't a choice, I just do, because it's so precious, how could I not?!).

Things I have loved today:

My children:
playing together ... currently, they are preparing for a full evening of "slumber party", by bringing sleeping bags in from the garage, dragging loads of toys and bedding to the basement, and I'm sure some special snacks are in order.

Today they ran in the sun, roller bladed, played hide and seek, begged me to take them to the lake to build sand castles on the beach, built sand castles in their flooded sand box when their lake plans were thwarted (yep, a mean mom moment, for sure!), shared "sharks" just because, planted seeds in our Jiffy Greenhouse, and all three of them have hugged me without prompting at least once!

Ember has two new skills: 'pinning (spinning) and jumping. Both skills require the spinner/jumper to squeal "Woo Hoooo!", which is darling!

My Husband:
instant messaged me in the middle of the day, just because, to tell me he thought I was beautiful.
kissed me upon arriving home.
told me about his day.

Me:
a hot shower this morning.
a clean day (after Ember's diaper leaked very stinky pee pee on me prior to my shower).
Dr. appointments made for myself, and dentist appointments made for the kids.

Things I learned:
When building a sand castle at the beach, it's fun to have a moat, but the water always soaks into the sand, but if the builder lines the moat area with rocks and sea shells, the water might soak away less quickly. - Erin

Green glass stones are called "WoW!" in a hushed, excited tone. -Ember

When you plant water, it doesn't grow anything. It's just water, but that's why we plant it, so it helps other things grow." -Avery

Pockets on overalls are absolutely the best discovery a 1 and a half year old can make in a day, and makes hiding big sisters' treasures just delightful!

Erin is a chives master! -Avery (kung fu master was the intended phrase, I think)

When calling to make a new appointment at a Dr. Office, you will automatically get not only one of two male physicians in a practice of six doctors, but the creepiest looking one as well. However, I am reserving judgment for next Thursday, sometime after 9:45.

Smiles

2010-03-17T23:35:00.002-05:00

The last few weeks have been pretty rough. I am fighting some unknown, unseen "thing" that makes me very exhausted some days, my joints ache frequently, my patience level dip to dangerous lows, and motivation to do anything more than feed the children at an all-time record low. I have some ideas about what it is and have an appointment scheduled with an arthritis doctor in April, and am trying to find a good family practice doctor to do a general physical and run some labs to determine something a little more concrete. Needless to say, raising three young children is a little tricky under these circumstances, and I find myself longing for them to sleep, play outside, or watch a movie away from me, because I am so exhausted or irritated by the noise, or just hurt and can't play with them the way they want to play. This is heart-breaking, as they are my life. HOWEVER, the last week has been somewhat better. I have hurt less and had a little more oomph. The best part of all this is that I have enjoyed my children. They have made me smile, cry, love them more, and belly laugh over and over (aside from Tuesday - we just won't talk about that day!).

Today, we had our friend Ella over for the beginning part of the day. Ember helped Ella do a puzzle ... Avery flew into my arms and squeezed my neck somethin' fierce upon waking up this morning ... Erin and I spent some time together working on our garden preparations ... Ember told me she loved me and hugged me so sweetly, she gave a hug to our neighbor Andrew this afternoon when he came over to play, and called him "big boy ..., Ember spent lots of time 'pinning/twirling and a new skill, jumping with me, as well as some dancing, gleefully shouting "woo HOO!" over and over ... I watched Erin thrive in the sun with her friend Aidan as they ran and ran this afternoon ... Avery persevered on her trike this afternoon, in spite of the bumps and dips in our sidewalk ... drinking in the delighted squeals and peals of laughter as all three of our kiddos play together ... and even tonight, as Avery was stalling sleep (I think she finally conked out about 11) and I heard her whispering to Erin (who was "sleeping over" in her room for a spring break slumber party) and changing the compromised cd back to her nighttime cd of choice after Erin fell asleep, I am content, and slightly amused with them. They are beautiful, creative, loving, and passionate little stinkers, and I am so blessed by them, by their hearts, and even their stubbornness. I am so thankful for these little things, things that change my life forever. Goodnight, blog friends.

A day in the life ...

2010-01-28T22:52:00.002-06:00

Hello! I know it's been nearly a year, and I apologize, apparently I have been "microblogging" on my facebook page for the last year, and I notice things are very out of date here. However, I am not going to write a lengthy catch up post right now ... I would like to, as our 2009 Year in Review, but not now! I just wanted to write down the timeline and share a few stories of my last two days, because, even when I share it verbally, it is still beyond my grasp of what actually happened! In the words of my mother, "When God invites you into His Reign, you have the honor of participating and bringing others into His dance." Well, friends, if that is the case, we were dancin' up a storm!!

Tuesday
7:30pm My friend calls, needing a sitter for the following day for her 4 kids from 9:30-5:30. I agree to have them over (age 2, almost three, 5 and 6).
10:47pm Our neighbor knocks loudly on our door to let us know she will be bringing something over the next day instead of right then.
11:21pm I turn out the light for bed (don't be alarmed, it was a fluke, I am still usually up until 1 or 2am).
11:45pm Ember wakes up whimpering, David goes in to settle her down.
Wednesday
12:05am David returns from settling Ember, chats with me a bit
12:15am Ember resumes crying, I go this time, find her clutching her legs and feet while crying "owwie!". I give her a dose of ibuprofen to help with her leg aches and bring her back to bed with me to warm her up, rub her legs, and relax her back to sleep.
12:45am I wake up to David taking Ember off my chest to take her to bed.
2:20am Erin wakes up, crying with a bad ear ache (aka infection). We dose her up with ibuprofen, benedryl, and two squirts of Nasonex, and she and Daddy (who was still awake) went downstairs to watch a movie so she could forget about her ear and fall back asleep.
3:23am The doorbell rings. The same neighbor from earlier is standing on my doorstep and when I open the door, utters the inspired words: "Oh! I hope it's not too late, can I talk to your husband?" I stand there staring, because I was asleep in my dark house at 3:30am, and finally gain a bit of composure, tell her to come in out of the cold, and that I will check, informing her that they were in the basement with a movie because Erin had an ear infection and needed the distraction, but that I hoped they were sleeping. I went down to check, and David who was asleep, woke up and came upstairs to where we heard yet another bit of inspiration: "I need a ride to Taco Bell and I wondered if you could take me." Again, I think I just stared at her, disbelief and awe on my face (which is what my mother assures me is probably why she always asks to talk to my husband instead of to me - it is possible, I suppose). Biting my tongue from standing up to shout "Really?!?!", I heard her explain that she had lost her job at the gas station, and was applying for a position with the night manager at Taco Bell.
3:27am David leaves, taking neighbor to Taco Bell, I go back to bed, thinking, surely, the rest of the night will be mine to sleep.
3:50am Erin crawls in bed with me (her movie is over and she woke up because it was quiet, and of course, my bed is softer, warmer, and comfier than hers).
4:05am David returns from Taco Bell (and Dillons, where the amazing man picked up some fake diet pop for me for the next day, knowing I'd be draggin'! I love this man!).
4:33am I wake up because it is VERY toasty in my soft, comfy bed, and I'm smashed between two furnaces.
5:15am Someone wakes up down the hall, crying for a moment, but soothing back to sleep - I really almost don't care at this point.
6:45am The alarm starts going off, so I can get ready for the day ... snooze pushed.
6:55am Alarm sounds ... snooze.
7:05am Reset alarm for 7:30am.
7:30am Alarm ... snooze
7:40am Alarm sounds. I drag myself to a sitting position and fumble for my phone to call the pediatric office.
8:00am Still no answer at the ped office, so I got in the shower.
8:07am Shower done. Ped office answers phone and makes appointment for 8:30.
8:09am Wake Erin, continue throwing clothes on, drag Erin out of my bed and start throwing clothes on her.
8:23am Run out the door, hop in the car and drive to peds office, miss turn into said office, so have to turn around and come back, making us 2 minutes late.
8:32am Check into appointment, wait our turn, see Dr. Kelley, our wonderful pediatrician, who also knows and enjoys our new neighbor (on the other side), is flabbergasted by our Taco Bell neighbor story (Erin shared), and diagnoses Erin with a bad ear infection.
9:13am Leave ped office, drive to Walgreens, wait for and buy prescription and a regular Dr. Pepper (didn't know David had me stocked for the day).
9:30am My friend arrives with her two youngest kiddos, and leaves them with David (I had texted her to let her know he was here and we were on the way).
9:43am Erin and I arrive home, Erin takes her amoxicilan, David and Erin load into the car and leave for school/work.

The rest of the day was just lots of busy, crazy time with four kids under age 4 until about 2, when the older three arrived from school (of course, it was early release day!). Thankfully, we have recently organized lots of our toys into labeled tubs in Avery's room/closet, so we could bring out one at a time, and be sure the others were put away before we opened a new one. It got really loud close to 6, and I was feeling the tired creeping in, and someone found the tub of instruments. I was glad to see my friend when she arrived five minutes later! One of my favorite funny moments of the day is entitled "Four with Four Under Four":

A snapshot of the day with four children, age 3 and under might be four minutes. Our scenario looked like this: One child asks for a drink ... all four need a drink, and want different beverages and for health reasons, we need different style cups, so I find four different cups, and offer two choices of drink. Each individual of course, wanted to be served first, which, I couldn't do, but tried to work fast. Each child took 1-3 sips of their drinks, and then they rushed, as a herd, toward the living room with their cups, two had sippy cups, two did not, the two sans sippy lids, collided in a rush to set their cups in the exact same spot, of course spilling milk on themselves, Erin's new ski gloves, and the stereo, not to mention the large puddle around their feet. At this moment, they all stop in their tracks, eyes huge in horror, and almost simultaneously exclaim "Oh no! 'pill! the milk 'pilled!!" Ember was the first to unfreeze from the pack, and bolted back around the corner to the bathroom, grabbed the end of the toilet paper, and came zooming back. I had gathered a few kitchen towels and had started mopping up the "'pill" with lots of comments on where I had missed and wondering if I could see the milk. I think the length of the tp strand combined with the edge of the stereo was too much, so as Ember squatted down to help, all she had was a handful of tissue, about the size of a maple leaf. She looked a bit baffled at first, but then shrugged it off and went to work with what she had, slopping the milk further and further away from the epicenter of the original event. She looked up at me with her baby blues, and just beamed as she said "I he'p! I he'p!" Inwardly cringing, I smiled back and thanked her for helping - I mean at least she was taking some action, the others were still standing there crowing about the spill! As we finished the cleanup, the herd once again moved as one, racing into the kitchen, where they suddenly decided to undress the fridge door, stripping all magnets from its front. All that in a matter of four minutes. Wanna come over and play???

Correction

2009-02-26T09:29:00.002-06:00

I need to re-share Avery's "magic words", as I mistyped it before ... when using a magic wand to turn the lights on and off, she very dramatically utters the words:

"Avwa Fedagga!"

However, this morning, when I asked her to repeat it, she actually used the correct pronunciation ... I was kind of sad, just like when "Ember Donald" became "Ember Dawn" :) Have a great day!

Not-so-Candid Moments

2009-02-16T13:54:00.003-06:00

My sister's wedding photographer was PHENOMENAL and we all really liked her work and just plain liked her as a person as well. On Friday, I read an email from my sister letting me know about a free photo session contest Meredith was having, and I wanted to enter ... criteria: had to be someone you love, had to be a heart in the photo, I had to take the picture myself. I thought to myself, GREAT! Erin had her V-Day party at school, and we need to go through the valentines with her, so we can get some pics then. I told Erin there was a contest, and I wanted to take some pics of her with her Valentines ... well, my idea of her sitting in the middle of them wasn't good enough, and taking some candid pics during her sorting process wasn't such a hot one either, as this is what resulted:

Avery wasn't interested in participating at all, so Ember was our fall-back, and although she didn't win the contest AND had a double ear infection, she did get a smile out of me!

Trying Times

2009-02-16T13:06:00.006-06:00

We try so many things at our house ... from new recipies (yes, I do cook sometimes, and sometimes it is something new!), new songs, new hair styles, new lipstick, ... These new things ... sometimes they are a great addition to the recipe box of life, and sometimes not, for instance, the pancake recipe I tried when mom and dad visited which included sour cream was not so much a keeper - I would have to say the "Just like IHOP" was false advertising, unless it was the crepe which I don't eat - however, my new hair style is one I like, and it's EASY, which is a must!

There are also new parenting techniques, new ways to disobey (that's mostly the girls), and new reasons to celebrate. David and I are working on some new parenting tips we are gaining from a program we haven't listened to completely yet. Erin is ever-faithful in her strong-willedness, and the "monkey see, monkey do" effect continues in Avery. We also, are, through prayer, learning to celebrate things like, "Avery didn't have any accidents for 5 days, so when she had two within 6 hours, we can celebrate how great she did for the last 5 days!" and "Erin, I know you are very upset right now, but I am really proud of you for physically stopping yourself from pounding your sister for repeating her question (that you've previously answered 7 times in the last 4 minutes) when you, through clenched teeth, told her very clearly not to ask again. God is revealing Himself to us more and more, and as we battle with the stubbornness of our children, cranky babies who have double ear infections, and the business of life, He is calling us to rejoice in new princess panties, quiet moments of reading, a 6 year old who is responsive to the Spirit, and all of those "trying" moments that make us better. So, I wanted to share some of the funny sayings of the last few days/weeks, wish you a late happy Valentine's Day, and thank you for lifting us to Father during these "times of trying."

Erin:
"I don't need your input, mother." (so this is an example of how to anger one's mother very quickly, even more quickly if the speaker puts hands on hips and taps their toes in a very impatient manner)

While enjoying the first bite of a Valentines candy "crabby patty" ... "Hey! This tastes like the air at grandma and grandpa Gerstenkorn's house! That's amazing!" (this is a way to make parents laugh for a long time)

Avery:
"Ava Cadava, turn the light off!" (pointing to the light bulb while someone works the switch is a great magic trick, even if the "abracadabra" is a little off)

Mommy:
"Avery, we never go down the stairs with our pants around our ankles, it's very dangerous!"

"It is never appropriate to throw your little sister off the bed."

"Baby, I'm so sorry Avery threw you on the floor."

"So what I hear you telling me, is that I cannot use this coupon today (Saturday) because it is not Monday, and you can only process coupons on Mondays, even though this coupon says, 'Valid any time through September 2009?'" (I got to use my coupon, and they gave it back for me to use again, after exclaiming in disbelief upon seeing the coupon that it really was real! Got my Dave Ramsey on that day!)

"Mommy needs a moment. Go away until I have one."

Erin and Daddy after a "knock down dragout".

Avery in "polly world, where it doesn't matter how much mess there is, you can just sit on top of it and play away!"

Ember in her fancy hat at the "Spring Picnic" Erin and Avery put together for our family.

Fun Phrases

2009-01-16T19:00:00.002-06:00

"Daddy, are you eating crunola (granola)?" Avery

"Avery, you don't want to take a nap?" asked Mommy.
"Yes, I don't," Avery replied.

"Ave.. She ruined another one of my greatest masterpieces!" exclaimed Erin to herself.

"Daddy, that tickles my armpickles!" (armpits) Avery

"Dad, are you coordinating that?" (recording with the camcorder) Erin

"Mommy, I am so beau'iful!" Avery

My personal favorite ... "Mommy, let's go listen to Dave Gramsey in my woom!" (It was naptime, and when we went in and turned on the radio and Dave Ramsey's voice came on, she exclaimed with joy ...) "Oh, that's MY Dave Gramsey!" Avery

There are so many more that I need to write down somewhere, but I wanted to share these while they were on the brain, or as in the last post, as it was happening! Happy winter!

Three minutes at the Rahija's

2009-01-16T18:42:00.002-06:00

(Lots of yelling and slapping noises coming from upstairs)
Mom: "No hitting!"
Erin: "Owwww! Please quit hitting my nose!"

Erin: "Hey, Avery, want to go downstairs and make Valentines?"
Avery: "Oh yes!"
Erin: "Ok, let's ask mom if we can. "I'll yell it to her. Hey, I'll yell it through my digerido (her new instrument that is as long as Avery)!"

(3 second laps)

Avery: "Aaaaaaa!"
Erin: "Oh, Avery, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Are you ok? I'm really sorry"
Avery: "AAAAAAAAAA"

David: "I'll bet you anything that Erin turned around with that digerido to her lips to yell for you and didn't remember how long it was, or that Avery was in the room and just clocked her with it."

Erin: "Shhh! Shhhh! Hey, I'll make you laugh to help you feel better!"

(loud spitting/farting noises from the digerido)

Avery: "Aaaaaaa"
Erin: "Hey, Avery, I'll give you a dollar if you fergive me."

(about 1 minute passes with general conversation)

Erin: "Avery, I'm really sorry I hit you in the eye with the end of my digerido."

A few minutes of play pass, Erin is trying to make Avery feel better by coddling her, so she tries to put her down for a play nap, and they end up playing "mom/daughter" I think.

"Oh, be careful baby, you're wasting all your digest-es! Oh, not them, they have fur." (who even wants to guess what's going on up there!?)

(This is a little slice of our day, probably about 3 minutes-worth.)

Wishes, Treats, and Dreams

2009-01-12T17:46:00.001-06:00

So Santa was a little late with Ember's Christmas wish -- maybe if she would have articulated it, we would have known to include them in her wish list, but on Thursday night, her gift arrived ... I suppose the only one she really wanted ... her two )bottom) front teeth! I couldn't believe it - she's been drooly, but not really cranky, just a little clingy. I hope all the rest of the teeth are this easy to acquire!

Another first for Ember this week was her first bowl of rice cereal or "solid food". Most kids I know do not enjoy this first bowl, as they cannot figure out how their tongue is supposed to work WITH the spoon to ingest the sloppy, pasty mess in the bowl. The tongue usually works against the spoon and rice, pushing it out as quickly and with as much drool as possible. Not Ember, NO NO, my fluffy little girl took about two bites to figure out that she could get more food in her belly if she worked with the spoon and slicked that slimy stuff right down -- no spills, no crusty hair, no nothing, just a happy baby who wanted more when we finished! David, after looking at her then at me, asked just one question, "And this surprised you?" Yep, she's our little chunk!

And our last "first" of the week ... Ember, growing the way she does, pretty much reached maximum capacity of her bassinet, which both her sisters, her Aunt Desiree, her mommy, and her great Aunt Connie all used. She bravely joined the big girls in her big crib in the sleeping room, and loves it! She loves to chatter at and sing to the animals on the mobile, and mommy loves that the animals lull her to sleep! So, we can put her to bed when we go to bed and bid her sweet dreams, and we go to our own room, which is our own again! Our room is now child-free in the evenings ... at least until a leg ache, nightmare, or thirst attack hits :)

Exciting week here at Castle De La Rahija! Hope your week was fun as well!

Water Color Fire

2008-11-21T11:14:00.004-06:00

Well, this week has been one of extreme excitement at the Rahija house. We had a pretty uneventful Monday and Tuesday, as the kids were mainly just trying to kill each other with words, toys, and screams/growls (Avery's new secret weapon). Wednesday rolled around to a mostly good day, just ending badly as Erin threw perhaps the worst tantrum of her life, with a screaming fit lasting for 24 minutes. The main phrase she kept shouting/sobbing/screaming was "But I HATE sandwiches for supper, I want FROZEN PIZZA!" Yes, it was a fun time, especially as I was in the throes of a migraine. However, as suddenly as it began, it ended, and she ate her chicken sandwich quite nicely, and bedtime was relatively smooth. I went to bed around 10, with my headache, and was getting Ember ready to sleep for the night, so changed her diaper. It was full of poop, so I was changing her, and while I was trying not to gag (smells really get me during a migraine), she peed, soaking her jammies, her blanket, my sheets, and my pajama pants. We quickly stripped her and the bed, and redressed both as fast as we could, putting us back to being ready for bed at about 10:30. I fell asleep, and we all (except David who left for his remodeling job) slept until about 9:15. I woke feeling very refreshed (a first in a long time for me!), and with a clear goal of what I wanted to get done that day, including dishes, sweeping, laundry, and unloading two boxes of "stuff" that has been collected from the floors of our cars and just sitting in the dining room for way too long. I also had a salad to make for Phat Thursday, which was time sensitive, as "let it sit for 2 hours" and "chill until set" were involved. The morning went by fairly quickly with baths for all of us and laundry, but we got Erin to school on time and when we returned, Avery went down for her nap (very easily, I might add!), and I returned to the basement to continue the laundry parade and work on a flier for a Mary Kay sale I'm having. I noticed it was nearing time to load everyone up to pick Erin up from school and headed upstairs. As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard a tapping sound, and headed into the living room to investigate. I thought it was someone tapping or throwing rocks at our window at first, but then recognized the sound to be that of dripping. To my horror, a huge puddle of water was on the floor and more was pouring from the ceiling. I ran upstairs to my room to locate the source of the mess, and saw a fleeing Avery bolt from my room and dive onto her bed. I turned the corner and first saw a splash of color on my bed (on the fresh clean flannel sheets). A quick investigation revealed the color to be the contents of my makeup bag, eye shadows, blushes, bronzing powder, and a powder foundation scraped out by tiny fingernails and ground into the sheets. A wider scope of the room divulged the source of the water, which turned out to be the humidifier, disassembled by the same tiny hands. The water had run to the edge of the carpet and down into the wall/ceiling, where it found the path of least resistance and dripped through a horribly patched hole in the ceiling of the living room. I also dripped between the storm window and regular window, creating a lovely splash pattern. Needless to say, someone was in trouble, and her name was Avery Layne. However, I tried to find the "silver lining", and as she is learning to potty in the toilet and very fascinated with all things "potty", it could have been worse, ... she could have peed on my bed, she could have put my makeup brushes in the toilet, she could have shoved the makeup into Ember's mouth (like I found her doing with the sugar a few weeks ago). There are some things to be thankful for in these moments! Also needless to say, my big plan of things to do for the day was altered greatly. I did two more loads of laundry than I intended, and had fresh sheets two nights in a row, though, and my salad did get done for Phat Thursday. David had clean socks and underwear for work this morning, as well, so it wasn't a loss, just different than I had hoped.

This morning, I woke early with Avery, and we had breakfast before anyone else was out of bed. Then, she was tired, so we went back upstairs to rest a bit more. I had a headache again, and was glad for a chance to lay down as well, and Ember was ready to eat as well. David left for work, Erin got up, and I still had the headache, so I asked her if she would like to get some breakfast by herself (she loves doing this, and feels very grown up when she's allowed to do it). She was thrilled, and Avery was hungry again, so I told them to go ahead and have cereal together. Well, on the way down to the kitchen, that idea flew out the window, and they decided toast sounded good. Now, on a good day, this would probably be fine, under adult supervision, but as I was trying to get rid of a headache, there were no adults in the kitchen. Also, because I didn't clean the kitchen yesterday, the dishes were piled pretty high from the last few days, and the toaster region of the counter was really "overgrown" with dishes. Erin tried her best to scoot things over, and started toasting. The only warning I have of this is Erin knocking on my door, and calmly saying, "Mom, I need to get the toast out of the toaster, but I can't see from the smoke in there." I bolted up from the bed and pushed her out of the way, the smoke started stinging my eyes on the way down the stairs. I hollered up for the girls to get into the playroom and shut the door, and proceeded to the kitchen, where the smoke was indeed so thick I could not see the counter. I threw open the window, turned on the exhaust fan on the oven hood, and unplugged the toaster. I gingerly removed the black squares from the slots and thanked God for protecting us, as they were literally crackling and I imagine may have burst into flame with much more time. Our house smells like "burnt". The haze has cleared, and we aren't breathing through our shirts, but I'm sure our furniture and some clothing will smell like "burnt" for a long time. I hope to borrow mom and dad's clean air machine to remove some of the smell this weekend. The silver lining here: Erin could learn a valuable, memorable lesson without our house burning to the ground! Oh, the joys of my family! How is it that after the day is done, I smell "burnt", and have a pile of clean laundry that needs to be rewashed, and I feel like screaming and pulling out my hair, that I can smile and recount these stories with a smile playing around my lips?? Grace. Plain and simple.

Well, the dryer just beeped, Ember just woke up, and I think I want to peek at Avery to make sure she is really sleeping today. It's been fun sharing with you today! Thanks for listening!

"Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King ..."

2008-10-25T16:19:00.002-05:00

This morning has been a precious morning in the Rahija household, well, technically, I guess it was in the afternoon, but we're just getting ready for lunch, so around here, it was "morning". David just came home from his job interview and was sharing with me. Erin, who was sick yesterday, came downstairs after eating some breakfast, and asked us if we were going to church today. Being that it's Friday, I was confused as to why she asked, but then I figured it was because she was home from school yesterday, it seemed like Saturday. Well, David actually asked her if she would have wanted to go to church, and she sited that she enjoyed playing with friends and playing on the swingset and trampoline. However, in the next few moments, we were all suddenly swept up into "playing church". Daddy had his guitar out and was playing, so he was volunteered to lead the music, Erin was the pastor, and she used her Rhyming Bible to help her tell the stories of Jonah, Baby Jesus, and the Feeding of the 5000. As we worshiped together as a family, I was brought to tears as we heard about second chances, the ultimate gift, and God's provision. I wept again, as we sang "His Love Endures Forever", "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands", and "Jesus Loves Me".

Circumstances over the past month have been very "uncertain" in the eyes of the world ... David was laid off, he's had one interview, the unemployment interview was not until this past week, ... However, we have seen God's provision for us in so many ways ... a gift card to a grocery store from a drawing at a fall festival, David having two friends who paid him to help them for a few days in their businesses, our neighbor bringing a discontinued line of frozen pizzas to our door one evening, gas prices going down, our food budget lasting longer than usual, diapers showing up on our doorstep, Christmas gifts for $1 at a garage sale, ... it's just amazing, as we continue to see His hand in EVERYthing that happens. We are so thankful and as we sang praise in our basement, I felt Him in the room with us, holding us in His arms, and I was reminded yet again, how He revels in being our Big God in the midst of the little things. Thank you, Father, for being our Father, Peace, Redeemer, and Friend in the middle of chaos. It is our joy and honor to trust You.

New Face of Ember

2008-10-16T02:20:00.002-05:00

Well, she has the same face, it's just older and rounder and full of more personality than before! A trip to Grandma Gerstenkorn's office showed us that at 9 weeks, Ember Dawn weighs a whopping 13 lb 4 oz, and is 23 3/4 inches long. That puts her in the 90th percentile for height and 85th for weight, and 55th percentile in height per weight. What a change from her big sisters! She is getting to be quite the ham these days, and gives us lots of smiles, coos, and even a few giggles here and there. We are enjoying these days (well, Avery is struggling some with the new addition to our household, but does enjoy her as well). Here are some new pictures I took this evening (finally got the batteries charged and back into the camera!). Enjoy!

holding her head up so nicely during "tummy time"

glad to get off her belly and end "tummy time"

"I love you, Mommy!"

"Yes, I know, I'm adorable, beautiful, enchanting, ... take your pick!"

Milk Drunk

2008-09-20T03:18:00.003-05:00

We've noticed something consistent with each of our children and their eating habits ... Ember is no exception. It seems, that when a young child nurses, they eat and eat until they are full, or cannot ingest any more milk into their tiny bellies. This often results in a stage we like to call "milk drunk". Symptoms of "milk drunk" can be:
* milk dribbling out of the child's mouth upon finishing eating
* lethargic state
* passed out/sleeping baby
* red cheeks that are very soft and squishy, making them extremely kissable
* long, sweet sighs followed by soft baby gurgles
* and last, but not least, the "top off spit up", which entails a burp accompanied by varying amounts of white, chunky nastiness, sometimes loudly projectile, other times sneaky oozing (all of it: stinky!)

Below are some photos of various stages of "milk drunk" exhibited by Ember. Fun times.

lethargic state

red cheeks

"top off spit up"

"Ewww!"

Some new pics

2008-09-16T17:27:00.002-05:00

Here's a little glimpse into our life over the past month ...

Erin turned 6! We had a Saturday Sundae party, with a chocolate cake that looked like an ice cream cone (thanks Grandma G!), freeze tag, balloon sundae relay races, and of course, ice cream sundaes built by the kiddos. What fun!

Ember went through a growth spurt (putting her at 10lb 10oz at her appointment on Monday!) where she didn't like to sleep much, but eat frequently, so I snapped some pics of her on my bed to remind myself that she did do some sleeping, not just eat!

Family bonding - Avery loves snuggling her baby sister.

She also loves snuggling her daddy (who merely "endures" her snuggles, as you can tell!)!

Some candid pics of Ember ... she is starting to smile, but I haven't caught any good pics of it yet! She's also starting to coo and "talk" to us, which we love! Dr. Kelly says she is great, and "very alert for her age". She's in the 78th percentile for weight and 79th for height, which is just opposite from her two big sisters! You'll notice the round cheeks and double chin emerging :) The cheeks just beg to be kissed! Enjoy and have a great day!

(my favorite of this set ... "Ooo, was that me?!?!")

The Third Arm

2008-09-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

I have discovered that I think life would be easier if I had more arms. Two would be good, three would be fantastic, but one would suffice ... as a mom of three kids, wouldn't it make sense that a new one would sprout and grow through the pregnancy along with the baby? This is something that I would like to explore with Father more at a later time, probably never, because I know He promised me that He would never throw anything my way that I couldn't handle with His help, but still, it's a nice thought.
On a related note, there are several things I have discovered that I can do with only one hand that have been surprising to me ...
* Typing ... emails, Mary Kay orders, facebook comments, and even chatting
* Folding laundry ... this one is tricky, and perhaps should be categorized as two hands, one arm (I can sit on the couch with my clean laundry and fold it, with the full use of one arm, while nursing Ember, and using the hand of the occupied arm)
* Cooking (many, not all things)
* Change Avery's diaper - this was impressive to me!
* Washing my Face
* Reading Bedtime Stories
* Eating - this sometimes is not the tidiest type of eating, but it gets food in my belly while Ember is putting food in hers!
* Loading the Washing Machine/Dryer

Along this same journey, came the discovery of activities that perhaps should not be performed one-handed ...
* Buckling carseat seat belts
* Brushing Erin's hair
* Grocery Shopping (children under age 4 and babies need to be contained and locked down during any shopping excursion, preventing losing them and pushing a full shopping cart while holding a screaming baby)
* Taking garlic bread out of the oven (especially not when holding a screaming baby whose blanket is flopping around and falls into the oven - thankfully the broiler, not the bottom element was on, making the experience very hot, but not flaming!)

I am sure I will add to this list as this adventure continues. I know that God did provide all necessary equipment needed to pursue this endeavor, it would just help to have some extra hands to pat backs, hold school papers, cut out paper dolls, and administer love to three kiddos at once! Have a great day!

Sweet Sibling Moments

2008-09-04T13:11:00.002-05:00

At our house we are learning how to love each other in new ways, as an addition to our family changes the dynamics. There have been many tense moments and many tender moments. I like to forget about the tense ones, but wanted ti share some of the sweet ones ...

Ember gave her first (real, not gas-related) smile to Erin yesterday morning as Erin crooned words of love to her, telling her that she was her biggest sister and that she was so cute and that she loved her. It was truly precious.

Avery has trouble remembering Ember's full name, so she made up her own name, and she daintily squeals, "Hi Ember Donald! Did you wake up? Did you have a good nap? Good!" frequently throughout the day, usually when Ember is asleep or eating, but, we're working on that!

This morning, the big girls were coloring (I left them in perfect condition to splash through the shower and returned to find Avery with half of her face colored purple, her legs sporting a fantastic pattern in magenta and the floor boasting a new design in both of the aforementioned colors). They had a little spat after Avery jammed two markers into the middle of CDs, but I knew they were "fine" when I heard Avery say, "Hey Erin, want to be best friends?!" and Erin reply, "Sure, Avery, of course you are one of my best friends!". Life feels good on days like today!

Da da da daaaaa .... she's here!

2008-08-20T21:44:00.002-05:00

For those who haven't heard, Ember Dawn Rahija arrived two weeks ago at 8:11AM, just in time for mommy to have breakfast (weren't sure which family this "arriving in time to eat" trait comes from, as it could be either one!). She weighed 7lb 12.5oz and was 20.5" long.

Big sisters, Erin and Avery, are adjusting fairly well to our new addition, even with the start of kindergarten and Erin's impending 6th birthday.

Daddy is adjusting to being the lone boy in a house of 4 girls! The smallest one seems to have him wrapped around her finger, and his voice and "bouncing"/snuggling works like Benedryl on her!

This girl sleeps so well. She slept through the night at 4 days old, and we've only had a few nights where she's woken more than once - mostly due to burps that didn't make it out the top and the air had to make its way out the other end. She eats very well too, and at her two week appointment she was a whopping 8lb 13+oz - such a different story than her big sisters! If only she were as skilled at burping!

Mommy is adjusting to living with three daughters, and getting them ready to go places. Some of our adventures have included: Orange poop stains on the bottoms of Ember's feet when we've gone to school. After Avery spent an afternoon playing with Mr. Potato Head, I looked away while Ember was sleeping on my lap, and looked back quickly with Ember's screams to see Avery holding her sister's ears at perpendicular angle to her head, and gladly exclaiming "Two ears!" Avery also has explored the inner sanctum of Ember's throat, and squeezed the spongy button that is Ember's nose. In the hospital, Avery tried to pull the "panic button" clamp off Ember's umbilical cord, which would have given her an "outie" vs. an "innie"!

I think it's safe to say that Ember will be a "hearty lass"! Just wait until she can retaliate!

Underarm Aroma

2008-08-20T19:25:00.002-05:00

Undeniably funny quote from Erin today ...

Mom: Erin, I think we need to buy you some deodorant. (mom is lying on couch as Erin hugs from overhead, sticking armpit right over mom's face)
Erin: Why would do you say that mom? (with a bit of a snicker)
Mom: Well, I think my face stinks like your armpit now, and it is not pleasant.
Erin: Yeah, but mom, at least it smells a little good.
Mom: Oh, it does?
Erin: Yeah, because it smells like a yummy omelet! I love omelets!

Yep, it's good to be a kindergartener, when the glass is half full, even when you have stinky pits!

Updates

2008-08-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

I haven't updated our blog for a while, because ... there aren't many things to update. I am now 39 weeks into this pregnancy, and still very pregnant! My due date is a week from today, and I am really hoping to deliver by then. The next few days are supposed to be "scorchers" and I am not looking forward to the heat with this bump on my front! However, if God is not finished with this little princess, I want to give him all the time He needs to complete her construction -- we don't want "doughy in the middle", which is great for cakes and cookies, not so great for "buns" coming out of the oven! I am dilated to a whopping 1 cm and am barely 20% effaced, but the encouraging news is that her head is down, in the correct place, and Dr. Peck, my most amazing OB, is on call this weekend, and will be able to deliver her if she suddenly gets a wild hair and wants to come on out and meet us. It looks like Natalie's birthday remains her own, at this point, and it's a few days until the next Rahija August birthday, so she could have her own day at this point. We also scheduled a tentative date to induce, being August 13th/14th. I really hope it doesn't happen this way, because Erin starts kindergarten on the 14th, and I would really like to take her to school on her first day. If that doesn't happen, it will be fine, she is just really struggling with the idea of the baby and school, and I want to make her transition as easy as possible. God is in control, and I want to leave Him there!

Other news ... Erin and I went school shopping this week, which was fun for about 10 minutes :)

Avery's terrible twos have arrived along with some hitting, screeching, and yelling traits that are so very foreign to us in her. She also shakes her fist in the air like an angry old man at times, which is sometimes very funny.

It's really hot here.

Erin found two more monarch caterpillars yesterday so they are in the butterfly jar atop the bookshelf, munching away on green leaves. We think it might be just the right timing for her to take them to school if the teacher will want them in there, to share.

Daddy and Mommy enjoyed a long weekend without the girls, as Uncle John, Aunt Michelle, Aunt Krista, and Grandpa and Grandma graciously invited Erin and Avery to attend the family reunion in Oklahoma. Aunt Michelle picked them up on Thursday afternoon, and they returned on Monday evening. It appears they all survived. Daddy and Mommy enjoyed two dates, and some much-needed conversation time. We had a ball, and are so thankful to all of them for giving us the gift of time alone together! THANK YOU!

I think that's about it. We haven't done anything too exciting lately, and feel like we're just sitting around waiting! Baby has met all scheduling requirements by family and friends, and now we're just waiting on her! Have a great weekend, and try to stay as "un-hot" as possible!

Wings

2008-07-22T13:03:00.002-05:00

We had an exciting event at our house this morning, a journey that began about 10 days ago left the ground today, and took flight. Ten days ago, Erin excitedly ran into the house with her newest pet discovery, a monarch caterpillar. We fixed a jar with leaves, a stick, and some water, hoping to keep the little guy alive until he made his cocoon. We expected it to take a while, but overnight, he started into the process. David saw him wiggling around while hanging from the lid of the jar, but didn't think much about it. When we checked later, the little green, pepper-esque chrysalis hung by a thread from the lid of the jar. Erin was pretty excited, and we continued to check it over the course of the next 9 days. Last night, David and I were inspecting it, and noticed it had changed color, and that we could actually see the beautiful wing pattern through the walls of the chrysalis. This morning, Avery came downstairs and was cold, so I picked her up, and she exclaimed "I see a tatterpillar! A tatterpillar!" She pointed to the jar on top of the bookshelf, and I saw the beautiful creature hanging from the lid, completely unwrapped from the blue cocoon.

I sent Avery upstairs to get Daddy and Erin, and we all quickly dressed and hurried outside to release the amazing orange and black masterpiece.

The butterfly was a bit nervous to fly, so we just let him spread his wings a bit, and get his bearings. He crawled on David's finger and Erin's arm (until she couldn't handle the tickling anymore), and then David set him on some leaves so he could choose his own flight schedule.

We all came in to eat breakfast, and Erin hurried back out to watch him. Half an hour later, she came bursting into the house with the exciting news of the first flight of her monarch. It was an exhilarating morning at the Rahija house! One of God's huge miracles wrapped in a small package!

Three Weeks or LESS!

2008-07-18T17:42:00.002-05:00

We had our 37 week ob appointment yesterday, and came back with little to report. Baby's heart rate was 147 bpm, my bp was 124/72, and I am still measuring 1 cm smaller than I "should" be measuring on my belly. Next week, Dr Peck will start checking for dilating and effacing, so we have another week to wait and see what's going on in that department.

I think we have a name we like, which is a relief to me! We also have diapers and the carseat washed and ready to go, so I feel prepared in a way.

Grandma Gerstenkorn says we have to wait until the 24th to have this baby, Rachel says we need to wait until August 4th, and Grandma and Grandpa Rahija will be gone from the 25th to the 28th, so they have put in a request for either before or after that timeframe. However, Dr. Peck is back from his vacation, and aside from being off for the weekend, he said he's here for the duration, so we're just going with his schedule :) Any other scheduling requests will be considered, but probably ignored (especially if this baby is anything like her two big sisters!). Thanks for your prayers and support! We can feel it!

Erin's Firsts

2008-07-18T17:12:00.002-05:00

Erin is turning into quite the big girl these days. Her sixth birthday is just around the corner, as is the first day of Kindergarten! She is very excited about this, and just a bit apprehensive. She seems to be in a pattern of "growing up" lately, as I was informed that she was too big for splashy baths, and preferred to shower by herself, and she could take care of the hair/body washing, as long as I was close by in case she got soap in her eyes. I secretly suspect that she really was just tired of Avery's little habit of sticking her little hand into butt cracks - this is actually quite unpleasant! However, we have tried to respect her wishes, and as time allows, she is showering like a big girl.

Another first is her transition away from training wheels on her bike! In under a week she and daddy mastered the tricks of balancing, pedaling, and steering simultaneously, and now they are bike-riding buddies. She LOVES to go fast, especially down hills (as does her daddy!), and asks David to go out riding from the moment he opens his eyes in the morning until bedtime, it seems! This mostly pleases him, except when he is hot and tired :)

The last "first" I have to share is the loss of her first two teeth! According to her, one day, she was chewing on a tumble weed stem that had a little "notch" in it. When she pulled it out of her mouth, her bottom left tooth caught on the notch, causing some initial looseness. Later that evening, we went to Pizza Street, and while biting into a soft cheese stick, the tooth wrenched more loose. She cried as it hurt some, and thankfully she didn't have a mirror, because there was some bleeding. Mommy has a bit of an issue with teeth, so lucky for me, while I went up to refill my drink, Erin reached in and just pulled the tooth out, wrapped it in a napkin, and shared her "surprise" with me when I returned to the table. She was so pleased, and shared her joy with anyone who would listen at Pizza Street. The tooth fairy visited that night, and left a quarter, which I have been informed by another adult, is a very low tooth price, but we have a book about the tooth fairy that says she leaves "a coin" under the pillow of her tooth donors, so I think we're okay for now. The second tooth came out two days later, after Erin twisted it out. I fear she views losing teeth as a lucrative situation, and I hope she doesn't try to pull them out before they are ready! Quarters are pretty valuable around here, because they work in the arcade games at CiCi's and Pizza Street! Fun times, fun times!

Pics of the Room

2008-07-18T17:04:00.003-05:00

Here's some photos of the girls' new sleeping room. They are really enjoying it!

Avery's fallen off the top once, and one night fell out of her own bed three times - that was a fun night! However, she's quite the climber, and gets up and down off of the top bunk like a little monkey (much to the chagrin of her big sister!).

Sleeping Room Redone

2008-07-02T10:52:00.003-05:00

The project weekend was a big success! The sleeping room has been transformed into a periwinkle paradise, complete with new bunk beds, new dressers, new night lights, and happy camper kids. I love it, the kids love it, and David is glad to be done :) If we have time, and I can get it ready, we'd like to do our room too, as I have paint in the garage for it, and rearranging our furniture will help for when the baby arrives and inhabits our room for a while.

We are continuing with the laundry project, and my amazing husband built me a clothes folding table yesterday (thanks to Mark for the 2x4s, from the closet tear-out project!). We can fit two clothes baskets under the table, and two on the shelf, so I can keep laundry sorted easier, and then fold the clothes to take upstairs instead of taking up the baskets of clean clothes that just stay in the baskets and "cure" while we use clothes out of them! I think it feels like we are finally getting this house under control! Yippee! If I can keep it maintained, we'll be doing great! Thanks to all who have helped me in Project Reclaim the House!

6 weeks remaining

2008-06-25T12:24:00.002-05:00

Well, we are on the downhill slope of this pregnancy, and are excited and anxious for it to be done (or at least I am!). Baby is still pretty active, although she sinks lower and lower each day, preparing for her entrance into this world. We had a "preterm labor scare" just over a week ago, but after about 9 hours of regular contractions, we got the the hospital and of course, they stopped! However, our nurse, was very nice, and we are excited for another great experience at Olathe Medical Center's "The Birth Place". My very good friend just started working there, and today is her first day with patients, so we are hopeful that she will be there with us! I had another episode of spotty vision followed by numbness in my arm and a headache this morning, but thankfully it didn't last long, so we are feeling healthy again.

There are still lots of projects to complete before baby arrives: getting the girls' sleeping room painted and put together. We have the paint, Grandpa R dropped off the bunk beds we received from Freecycle on Monday evening, and after the painting is done, we are trading our neighbor for a matching set of dressers (she insists that our blue and yellow dresser is a fair trade for her three pieces - I am thanking God for this provision!). The cubby we pulled from our dumpster has been primed and is waiting for paint. I also need to finish organizing the play room. Grandpa and Daddy built shelving into the closet, and it's wonderful, and the girls are already enjoying being able to see the toys we've "homed" on the shelves. The girls and I need to paint the pegs/hooks for their play clothes, and I need to buy another tub for the dress-up accessories. It's fun to do these things, when the energy is there. We are also trying to get all of our laundry caught up (our regular laundry is fairly under control, but the out of season/too small/rarely wear piles were out of control, so I think I am down to about 5 loads to get us done. Grandma R has come over to help me sort clothes, clean the basement, and other big jobs. What a blessing! This weekend is supposed to be our big project weekend, but things at work are a little uncertain for David taking off Friday and/or Monday, so we'll see what we can accomplish! The other big project to complete soon is finding a name for this new addition to our family. We can't seem to come up with one that we all like. Erin is pulling for Alice ... we were strongly considering Eva/Ava, but with Avery, our friend pointed out that those two names were very similar and could get confusing ... so suggestions are welcome at this point!

Have a great day!

A New Post!!!

2008-05-27T01:25:00.003-05:00

Yes, friends, it has been too long since I've posted ... my excuse was I couldn't post new pics, and it seems I had several I wanted to post, but have since forgotten which pics they were, so... we'll just post some new random ones so you can see our little family as it's growing!

David and Erin in a stunning pose!

Erin's last day of preschool (before we went for frozen custard)

One of Avery's new skills: undressing in part (haven't taken any of her "in full" pics yet). Here she has her purple shirt stylishly adorning her waist as a belt accessory.

This girl has a fantastic sense of style, just ask Mark!

Who can resist these eyes and the smile?? Mom and Dad - we've been down this road before with big sis! Poor little Princess #3 ... she doesn't stand a chance!

In family news ...
* We said goodbye to Grandma Looney and Grandma Boeck early this spring, and celebrated their homecoming to Jesus.
* Baby Rahija is a girl (yes, that makes three girls; no, we haven't decided on a name yet; yes, David is coping and getting used to the fact that he will be the lone male in the house; no, we do not need a male dog or other pet to help with that situation!).
* Avery turned 2.
* My sister, got married, so now I have two brothers called John/Jon!
* Erin attended Kindergarten Roundup!
* Erin finished pre-school.

Ummm, I think that may be the highlights of life since February. Thanks for checking in with us from time to time. We are both on facebook if you'd like to look us up there. Okay, I have a glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes in 6 hours, and need to get some rest. Have a wonderful day!

Today's blessing ...

2007-10-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

The little boy who has been viewed as the class bully by Erin has learned the word of "please!"

Erin came home so excited today, that while in the sandbox, he returned the red shovel she was using when she asked by saying "please" to him. We have been praying for this little munchkin, as have many of you, as well as two of our church communities. Thank you!

Forever

2007-10-02T22:29:00.001-05:00

Today was a special day at the Rahija house ... tonight as Erin was having some difficulty at bedtime, she expressed some concern to me about not being able to be with Jesus, and crying because she knew that she had been with Him before she was born, but couldn't remember what He looked like. I asked her if she had ever invited Jesus to live in her heart, as her forever friend, and she said she hadn't. I explained a little about what that was, and asked her if she'd like to invite Him. She immediately responded with a serious concern ... "Does Jesus get mail?" (I think she was concerned about how to get the credit card apps inside of her without it hurting). I assured her that the kind of mail Jesus gets are like prayers, so they don't hurt. She seemed relieved, and after a few more minutes of small-talk, she returned to the subject by simply stating, "Mommy, I'd like to invite Jesus to live in my heart." I asked her if she'd like me to pray with her and help her. Like so many things in her life, she responded, "No, I think I've got it covered, Mommy." I smiled, and held her hands and listened to her pray to God, thanking Him for sending Jesus, and asking Jesus to come live in her, forever and ever, to never leave her, so she would never be alone or afraid again.

Doesn't get better than that, friends!

Latest Erinism

2007-09-20T01:32:00.000-05:00

Well, David and I couldn't help but snicker at this one ...

Erin's preschool had a "mixer" event on Tuesday, involving ice cream. Some called it a party, some called it a social, and one called it "show-showl". This is funny, because she wanted to take her bunny, named "Shu Shu" along at one point ... try saying "Can I take Shu Shu to the ice cream Show showl, mommy?"

What a funny bunny!

On a not so funny note .... you might keep Erin in your prayers. There is a little boy in her class who is a bully. He apparently disobeys the teachers, spits at them, has to be held down during story time, touches kids randomly (as in their hair or arm), ... and pushes the other kids around concerning the toys at recess. Erin is trying to reach out to him, and we've had several talks about this little boy. She wants to be Jesus to him, but was brushed off today ... she painted a picture for him, and he said he didn't want it. Her response to me about this was "When he did that it made me feel like I wasn't a very good artist." I think she's talked to the teachers, and their response is that he is just three. Her teachers are excellent, and after Erin covertly pointed out the mystery bully to me today (it was funny, her lips barely moved, and she pointed "through" her body because he was behind us as we were waiting for the doors to open before school today - yes, imagine Erin being discrete, and that is really funny!), I have seen the way they handle him, and it seems to be with love, and out of concern to help him grow while keeping the other kids safe. We have started praying for this little boy, and that God would use Erin and the others in the classroom to show love to him.

Okay, that's it for now. Good night!

Wild Weeks

2007-09-12T00:22:00.000-05:00

Well, since the last illness and the birthday, we've had a busy schedule it seems. Erin started preschool (yes, we decided to keep her out of kindergarten ... for a myriad of reasons, but mainly, because she has the rest of her life to be in school, and we don't want to force her to be there yet, and as the youngest in her class, we didn't want to put that stress on her). She attends the Lawrence Arts Center arts-based preschool program. It is wonderful! She has brought home so many paintings and discovered so much already! You'll have to ask David about his new favorite children's song ... clue: it involves all the children singing "Where is TallMan?" and demonstrating together - priceless. Miss Allison and Miss Miriam are wonderful, and the environment of the classroom is so great! This teacher/mommy is very excited! I would be excited to teach there, if I ever wanted to teach preschoolers! She has already had her first sick day -- she caught another round of the stomach bug, and actually came down with the fever about an hour after returning from the first day of school. The need for a bucket arose later in the evening, and continued through early morning. The fever hung around for 3 days, which was unpleasant, and a bit scary, as she started to get very weak. I had to carry her from the potty to her bed once because her legs wouldn't work. However, all is right with her world again, and she had a great time at school on Monday.

Over Labor Day weekend, we were busy, with household purging, new furniture in the upstairs living room (YEAH!), grandma and grandpa Gerstenkorn visiting overnight, and a picnic (well, it really wasn't a picnic, because we stayed inside, but we ate picnicy food, and had a fun time!) with our friends from church (also, we had a leadership team meeting, but the eating was more fun!).

Avery is getting to be a real clown these days. She's trying really hard to take part in family conversation, with more than just grunting. We cannot understand many of her phrases yet, but she is very intent on saying some words instead of just squawking or whining or grunting. This is amusing, but perhaps the funniest is her attempt at humor. During dinner, when someone at the table is telling a story, she bursts out with this fake laugh, dips her head, and shakes her head from side to side, as if enjoying the punchline. It is hysterical, because we all start laughing, and then she really starts to giggle, but continues with the head shaking/dipping. I think she is going to be the funny one in our bunch. What a ham! She has also developed a love for shoes, and has a pair of pink shiny shoes that cause her to dance. This is also entertaining. She seems to like punk music, and flowy female vocals as well. Today she did something very gross, and I am worried about the outcome. We had "Saucy Chicken Casserole" last night for dinner. Before I ate my chicken, I did a quick "fat check" to remove any big pieces of that before eating it - one of my worst feelings: biting into meat that has a bunch of fat, always makes me gag. Anyway, sorry, that was an icky description. Okay, after dinner, I tossed the scraps into the garbage, and it was rather full, but I didn't take out the trash. Today, during a renegade trip to the kitchen garbage can, Avery discovered the remains of the chicken, and put all of it in her mouth. When I picked her up to change her diaper, I smelled something that wasn't diaper-related, and asked her to open her mouth. She obliged, and I found the chicken. I was pretty grossed out, and after digging it out, called Grandma G, the nurse, and asked her if I should be worried. She gave me the number for poison control (I guess that answer was yes), and I called them. They told me not to worry, but just watch for signs of food poisoning, and if she has those symptoms for more than 24 hours, see the doctor so she doesn't get dehydrated. Hopefully, all will be well, and her digestive system will take care of any bacteria she ingested.

Okay, just wanted to give a little update. Hope life is going well for all of you, and know that I enjoy reading your news!

Royal "To Do" at Castle Rahija

2007-09-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

- ARP (Associated Royal Press)

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! (I guess it should be "Read Ye! Read Ye!") Princess Erin has celebrated the fifth anniversary of her birth. The Royal To Do, held at Castle Rahija, in the kingdom of Lawrence was a huge success, with all invited guests attending, and even a few surprise guests! Unfortunately, the royal photograph machine was not functioning, due to a lemonade situation a week prior to the celebration. Guests, including Evil Aidan, Lady Chloe: Tamer of the Dragons, Lady Jordan, William the Terrible (fire-breathing dragon), and Sir Avery: Knight of the Square Table arrived in their finery, as was Queen Sarah, who wore her finest queen attire from the wedding celebration of Their Highness John and Michelle of Castle Riggs. Surprise guests were Sir Matt and Lady Dena of Castle Broderick, who "rode in" for a quick moment.

Guests enjoyed exploring our castle grounds, and were brave enough to enter the cave of the dreadful dragon, William the Terrible, who chased them back to the safety of the castle walls. The Evil Aidan attacked at some point during the evening, and the group fended off his evil army with their marshmallow catapults. The guests also had the task of returning the tails to the dragon (dragons, much like some lizards, periodically lose their tails). William the Terrible (of course being a dragon) did very well in placing his tail in the correct place.

Guests enjoyed a strawberry tiara cake (bunt cake, frosted yellow with jolly rancher jewels, and 5 yellow candles for the "pointy parts"), fruit punch/pineapple, apple, orange juice in jeweled tumblers with their names insribed on the side. They also feasted on crackers, pretzels, and a castle of cheese, constructed by none other than King David.

Guests were all different ages and sizes, but a good time was had by all. Sir Avery, who had traveled from Castle Baranet in the Kingdom of Eudora, stayed later to have some special play time with Princess Erin. What a blessing to have good friends, near and far!

(Evil Aidan's mom snapped a few pics, so maybe we can find some pictoral evidance of these goings-on)

"I think I need a thermometer"

2007-08-14T23:38:00.001-05:00

After a "weekend of wilderness fun" - or at least controlled camping environment fun! - we are slowly unpacking the bags, moisturizing our sunburns, and trying to figure out what kind of cake we can do to even come close to being as cool as the one Uncle John and Aunt Michelle made for the Rahija Birthday Campout Weekend! Erin had a blast at Clinton Lake this past weekend, after a year of planning, inviting, and painstakingly waiting, her dream was fulfilled. She played so hard in the water, that I think she started developing scales. She is so brown, and her hair is quite a bit lighter as well. She was so tired that she fell asleep on a couch before worship service, slept through the music practice, through the service, and through the furniture re-arrange that happens after service and before the meal.

Today, we had a not-so-fun day, as Erin woke up "feeling really yucky." Thirty minutes later she was hunched over a bucket, watching Toy Story. I, for one, was impressed. She turned her head to the side to heave, and never broke eye contact with the television. I wiped her mouth with a washcloth, dumped her bucket, and returned it to her, where she held it at her side until it was needed again later.

She is such a good little trooper. I think the funniest thing about Erin being sick is that she gets far more panicky about the thought of having a fever than throwing up or having a tummy ache. I felt her hot little head and told her that she had a fever, and she nearly went into a panic attack. Later this afternoon, she ambled upstairs and flopped on a chair and said in a very dramatic voice, "I am so sick that I think I even need a thermometer." I asked why she thought that, and she told me that thermometers help sick people feel better. She knew that on good authority because her grandma is a nurse. Well, we did indeed have a thermometer, and put it to use, healing the sickness right out of that girl. We also prayed and sent her to bed at a good time!

Only time will tell if the thermometer is a healing agent ... I have to say I'm embarrassed to say I did not know of this healing measure - and I lived with the thermometer expert for 20 years!

New Favorite

2007-07-20T01:42:00.001-05:00

Well, I have a new favorite song ... "East to West" by Casting Crowns. It really hit me as a song that speaks to a place I hit somtimes ... not that I am afraid, of rejection, just not wanting to fall back into a lifestyle that destroys ... AND the assurance that Jesus did, does, and will always know, understand, and be there in those moments! The song is on their new album that releases in August, and is currently the first song that plays on their myspace page. LOVE IT!

East to West

Here I am Lord and I’m drowning, in Your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me, I yearn for peace and rest
I don’t want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight
I know you’ve cast my sin as far as the East is from the West
And I stand before You now as though I’ve never sinned
But today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
From You leaving me this way

Chorus:
Jesus can you show me just how far the east is from the west
‘Cause I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been
Rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
‘Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
And time and time again
Your truth is drowned out by the storm I’m in
Today I feel like I’m just one mistake away
from You leaving me this way

I know You’ve washed me white
Turn my darkness into life
I need Your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can’t live by what I feel
About the truth Your word reveals
I’m not holding on to You
But You’re holding on to me
You’re holding on to me

Did you know...?

2007-06-10T23:47:00.000-05:00

Another Erinism has come to my attention ...

Last week Erin and I were taking a walk around our little condo neighborhood, I was pushing Avery and she was pushing Abby in strollers. Erin's stroller is a little short for her now, so the walks are a bit painful to watch, but she still likes to do this. As we were walking, I noticed a dead slug on the sidewalk, and pointed it out to her, merely in hopes of helping her stroller wheels avoid contact with the expired slug. She skirted it, and I dismissed it. Two or three sidewalk squares later, Erin pauses, sniffs the air, and says,
"Yep, that was a slug alright."
I said, "I know, I pointed it out to you, remember?"
"Yeah, but how did you know, Mom?"
"Well, I saw it and just knew, because I have seen them before."
"Well, I know too."
"Oh?"
"Yep, don't you smell it?"
"Smell what?"
"The slug."
"Um, no, I hadn't stopped to sniff it."
"Well, you don't need to stop, Mom, just smell the air. Come on, try it. " (model sniffing ensues) "Don't you smell it?"
"Well, it does kind of smell like something."
"Slug stink mom, that smell you are smelling is the stink of slug, and that's how you can know if it's really a slug or not. Trust me, I know, I touch those things all the time, and that's what my hands smell like, exactly."
"Oh, thanks for sharing that with me, Erin, I learned something from you today."
"Thank you, mommy!" (beaming face emerges, and stroller resumes route).

Oh, what a kid!

Cast-Off!

2007-06-10T23:32:00.001-05:00

Well, Erin's arm is stink-free now, as her cast came off last week. She was so itchy (and stinky), and scratched a sore in the crease of her arm. Poor thing, we were trying to wash it to remove the cast residue (and STINK), and she was so afraid of moving it, in case it wasn't better. Thankfully, it is healing nicely, and the bone has made the protective "cocoon" around the break, so she can be without the cast, but still needs to be careful while it is healing. We go back the first week of July to hopefully get the "all clear".

Some things we learned through this process:

not all doctor offices expect or display the same level of courtesy in their reception area
worm-diggin' four-year-olds can get dirt in the most interesting places
water can invade a plastic trash bag in many places
plastic trash bags tied onto arms make great baby-scaring splashers
a pink cast, no mater how cuddly it appears, is a weapon in disguise
it is hard to eat a sandwich when the arm is bent in a 90 degree angle without the contents falling all over the floor
a comfortable sleeping position is something highly desired by one wearing a pink cast weapon
a pink cast draws much attention and sympathy from adults
said cast also gets many great bargains (even free-bies) at garage sales
And, perhaps the most memorable, the aroma of a pink, fading to dirt-brown cast is overwhelming near the hand region of a small child (especially when the small child has been handling worms, slugs, mud, dead rabbits, snails, and other fairly disgusting and stinky things). (David and I actually bickered over who had to sit on the "cast side" of the bed during story time at night, it was so bad!)

Thank you so much for your prayers, notes of encouragement and humor, and just loving Erin and our family. We thrive knowing that God has placed us in the middle of such a caring family. Erin sends her thanks, and told me today how special it made her feel to know that people were praying for her and her arm getting better faster. Thank you.

New accessory

2007-05-14T23:28:00.000-05:00

Today we returned to our arm doctor for Erin's checkup. Thankfully everything looked great, and things are healing nicely. They even were able to cast her arm today, vs splinting it again, which makes me feel really great.

The past week has been really stressful for me trying to keep her arm still, clean, and from getting "more broken". Two events that stand out are Erin walking across the floor in our living room, a clear floor, surface unmarred by toys, paper, or clothing, and falling, without an explanation. Yep, there's mom coming through! The second event occurred Friday evening, at David's work cookout. Erin made herself right at home in this backyard, instantly making friends with the other child present, and immediately finding a way to be near the water feature. The two of them played and played, but suddenly Erin spied a worm in the bottom of the water. understand that when it comese to worms, Erin is all business - this is her life! She found a long stick and began trying to fish it out of the water. Now, this water feature is fairly deep, and has a fountain shooting out of the middle. Erin discovered this first hand, as she lost her balance, lost the worm, and lost her "dryness" in one fell swoop. We heard a yelp, splash, then crying, and turned to see a dripping, sniffling little girl. Her legs were scratched up, she was soaked, and she had landed on her arm, so it was hurting and soaked as well. Poor thing ... even her mouth was full of water, and when she opened up to squeeze out the words, "I'm wet.", the water poured out. Thankfully, our host offered her some dry clothes and she played the rest of the evening without incident. Those are just two examples of why life at our house has been a bit stressful this week - try explaining to a stubborn, active 4 year old why she can't ride her new bike, climb the tree, jump on a trampoline, race the other kids on the sidewalk ... it is not a fun or very successful experience, I might add.

Anyway, today, the doctor was pleased, and had the nurse put the cast on it (she wanted a rainbow cast, but settled for pink - it's very cute!), and when we go back on June 1st, we may get to keep it off! Exciting news for this girl who wants to be in dirt or water 24 hours a day! Thanks for praying for a quick and low-pain recovery! Have a great week!

Cast Away

2007-05-08T23:32:00.000-05:00

The doctor visit yesterday was not an enjoyable trip ... more x-rays (with techs that were not as gentle as the ones we had in the ER), a doctor who could have cared less if we were there, or if his patient was a grown up or a kid (he was disgusted by the dirt under Erin's nails), and we left with no cast, just a fresh splint. However, Zack, the splint/cast applicator, was very cool, and the most helpful of anyone we saw there, including the rude receptionists, the nurse, and the doctor. We look forward to seeing him again, and Erin is still pining away for a rainbow cast. Zack promised her he'd do his best :) So, we go back for more x-rays next Monday, and will still probably be in the splint situation for the week following that, if I understood him correctly.

The doctor told us we needed to keep Erin quiet, and away from the other kids, so she wouldn't get knocked down or trip and fall ... any further injury will probably snap the bone, and be cause for surgery. Right now, it's just a fracture, so we can treat it "conservatively". Now, for those of you who know Erin, and even if you have ever read anything about Erin from this blog, you will probably get an inkling of how "easy and fun" it has been to try to explain to this child that she has to act calmly, not run, not play with the other kids, and not jump around (on beds or any other thing, like furniture, floors, out of trees - which is what she decided to do as we were heading out to pick up Avery today), but watch them out the window as they play right in front of our house. Oh well, this is a good time for learning lots of lessons, I guess, on all ends. You might think of us now and then, as we struggle through this healing period, and pray for Erin, that she would heal quickly, and also that sitting out for a few weeks would not be too torturous for her. She's been in tears several times already, so hopefully this will be easier to grasp as time goes on ... OR, David and I will spend lots of time trying to keep her tied down (after chasing her across the yard like we did last night as she made a break for it during our leadership team meeting). Thanks for loving her, even though she's a pistol!

Returned Monkeys

2007-05-04T23:49:00.000-05:00

You may remember a few weeks back, I had a post about monkeys jumping on the bed, a trip to the ER, and a really big bump on Erin's head. The monkeys connection was simply a joke. However, today, we revisited that song (and the ER), on account of two little monkeys (aka Erin and her friend Jordan) that were jumping on my bed.

Thirty minutes prior to leaving for a picnic tonight, I was frosting cupcakes, and preparing to make the burgers for us to grill tonight. We had spent a large portion of the morning/afternoon baking cupcakes for the picnic tonight, and I needed to slap some sugary goodness on them. I heard the sound of Erin hollering for me ... "Momma, I need you, cause I hurt my arm real badly, and I just need you quick!" I didn't hear screaming or crying, but the red flag alarms were signaling loudly in my "mommy head". I ran to the stairs, where Erin and her friend Jordan kind of collapsed at my feet. Erin was crying, but not loudly, and writhing on the floor. Jordan was trying to console her, and keep from getting in trouble all at the same time. I moved Erin to the couch downstairs, loaded up a scooper of Children's Motrin, grabbed an ice pack, and headed down to check the damage. From what I could tell, there was lots of pain associated with any moving or touching of the arm. It was swelling somewhat, and Erin was still thrashing around from discomfort (all the while, dashingly attired in her baby blue Cinderella dress, a stunning display of outdated Mary Kay makeup, chocolate cake batter drippings, and good ol' backyard dirt). The story that came out, was that Erin and Jordan had been jumping on my bed, Erin fell down on the bed, and Jordan landed on her arm with her foot while she was still down.

What to do ... call Rachel, my nurse friend ... no answer ... call David, ask him to come home ... send Jordan back to her house ... drive to the ER.

We arrived at a slow time, so got right into a room, and began the battery of procedures. They took x-rays, and the first round, which had been very painful for the dirty princess, did not show what the doctor wanted, so we had to redo it, which didn't make anyone excited. However, they gave her some Tylenol 3 (you know, the kind with codeine in it), and that helped a bit, as did the tremendous techs who worked so patiently with her. Those films showed what we feared, a break, right above her elbow. The drug kicked in while we were looking at the film with the dr, and Erin slept right through them putting it into a splint - thankfully, because I think she might have lost it at that moment. We now have a prescription for the special pain meds that she can take every 4-6 hours, and we took a bath with that fantastic splint on tonight. We see another doctor on Monday, and will know more then, but I just wanted to let everyone know that Erin has broken her first bone.

Have a great weekend!

Satin Sale

2007-04-30T15:52:00.000-05:00

Hi. I never know how many people read my blog, or even just stumble across it, but I wanted to use it as another avenue to share the Satin Hands Sale I am hosting ...

Mary Kay's Satin Hands Pampering Set, recently revised into the Peach Smoothie formula, contains 1 Peach Smoothie Hand Scrub (exfoliant and cleanser), 1 Extra Emolient Night Cream, and 1 Hand Cream in a cute orange bag. It is regularly $30, but I am offering it on sale right now until May 4th for $20. If you buy two sets, the third set is only $15. Mary Kay is offering a great special to consultants currently, and I wanted to offer a special price to customers, especially as Mother's Day, graduations, weddings, new babies, and all sorts of great things are coming up soon!

Brides, there are many ways I can help make your day easier. Contact me for a free color consult and facial, and tips for those gorgeous wedding photos! Graduates, are you still looking for that perfect job? Let me help you with that professional, polished look for your interviews! Class reunion attendees, need a little help with a fresh look, some slimmer thighs, or younger looking skin? Let me help with a make over, a microdermabrasion treatment, and showing you the new Cellushape product!

Check out all of our new products, and your favorite ones on my personal Mary Kay website, www.marykay.com/sarah_rahija! Thanks, and have a great day!

(when you purchase through my website, make sure to enter the word "blog" in the COMMENTS section, so I know to give the discount - when you pay with a card, I always have to add in the tax and reconcile it personally, so the discount will be added then.)

Eternity Focus

2007-04-22T23:58:00.000-05:00

I received a link from my lovely friend Valerie today, announcing the newly available CD for the group Eternity Focus, based out of Lebanon, KS. Now why is this exciting and special to me?? Well, when these girls were very small, Valerie and I, along with two of our friends, Dara and Amber, had a singing group called SAVeD, and we traveled all over the area singing at community functions, county fairs, churches, ... We met this family during that time, and they were as cute as could be. We watched them sing and dance to all of our songs, and it was precious! We watched them grow and we performed at some of the same events. I saw them perform at Gaylord, KS, for Watermelon Day in September, and couldn't believe my eyes (and ears!). It was so precious watching them, on the same stage we were about 10 years ago, and listen to Erin sing along with them. As we were listening to their sound clips from their new CD, Avery was singing and patting her leg in time with the music. What a precious connection we have in the joy of worshiping our Savior!

If you have a minute, check out Eternity Focus at their website and listen to them for a bit!

Phew!

2007-04-22T23:55:00.000-05:00

Well, I was getting a bit worried that I was not going to be able to continue blogging, as Blogger switched over to the "new" system, and I needed a Google account to login, but I got the issue taken care of, and it only took me a minute! Phew! You're all saved and I'm sure, relieved, to know that I will be able to carry on the blogging of the exciting life and times of the Rahija family, and other related people/issues! Carry on, carry on!

Packing in Reverse

2007-04-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

We are here!

Settled? No.

Living without feeling cramped, despite the fact that half of our things are still in boxes around us? YES!

We are loving life in Lawrence, and the fact that we do not have to drive for 15+ minutes to do anything! We are close to friends, our "family", David's job, and everything else we do! We are partially throuth unpacking, and each time we make another empty box, we do a little "woo hoo" dance around here! This morning, Rachel and Lisa came to take our empty boxes, and there were lots of them! The kitchen is done, Erin's art area is done (with two whole kitchen cabinets all to herself!), Erin's room is unpacked and is a beautiful princess castle, thanks to both grandmas, Aunt Krista, the grandpas, and Daddy. The castle walls are precious, and her window seat is a dream come true for her. We still have to put up the canopy and chair rail, hang the clock, and make a picture line (much like a clothes line, where she can clothespin her creations up without pushpins or clips that little sister might like to eat), but she is really enjoying her castle each day, her electric keyboard, and dressing up like a princess! The rest we are unearthing bit by bit, one box at a time. I usually get through 5-8 boxes a day, and although that is slow, I am sorting, throwing away/recycling/freecycling, and organizing as I go, instead of having to do that three years down the road, like we did the last time we moved.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that we are becoming a part of Lawrence now, and feel at home here. We love our home, our neighborhood, and our town. May God use our home for His purpose!

Boxville

2007-03-31T08:56:00.000-05:00

It's here! Moving Day! We closed on our first home, and will attempt to move in today ... however because of several events of the week, we are not "exactly" ready, so I'm procrastinating, but I wanted to let everyone know that we may be "disconnected" for a day or so, as we unearth things from "Boxville". We are so thankful to our family and friends who have helped this week, so far, and those who are coming to help us today, with packing, moving, childcare, food, and support. THANK YOU! The next time I post, it will be from our new home in LAWRENCE, KS! Yippee! Have a great Saturday!

Small Details

2007-03-25T23:28:00.000-05:00

Well, we thought we were going to close on our first home tomorrow, but something has happened, and we will not be able to do so until Tuesday or Wednesday. This is not a terribly big deal, but makes me uneasy. I know, ... TRUST! It pushes back our plans for painting and the number of days we have to move over the separate rooms and get the girls' rooms ready, but we'll try to get as much done as possible.

Okay, crying baby and yelling big sister in the other room, they're both to be going to sleep ... better intervene! Happy Monday from Boxville :)

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, ...

2007-03-17T02:18:00.000-05:00

While talking to Mom R. on the phone tonight, I heard the distict sound of the "pain scream" coming from our downstairs bathroom. I ran to the door, flung it open, and the sight within confirmed the "pain" descriptor of the scream, as I saw Erin jumping/dancing around the bathroom, screaming, and clawing at her head. I told Mom I'd call her back, and David, who had also joined us in our little bathroom, and I tried to sort out the source of the pain. We discovered a huge - no, that is not an exaggeration -- bump on the back of her head, but no blood. After a few unsuccessful tries, we finally conviced Erin to divulge the events leading up to the screaming/dancing ...

A few minutes before the above mentioned events, Erin had touched the raw hamburger I was thawing for tomorrow's lunch. I noticed and told her to immediately (not after licking or wiping on her pants) go wash her hands with soap. She headed to the bathroom, and I guess got sidetracked, or just had "one" of her headstrong moments, and did not end up washing her hands, but managed to scale the counter and was sitting on it, feet in the sink basin. "By an accident" she lost her balance, and toppled backwards, smashing head-first on the tile floor, thus causing a sharp pain at the back of her skull. To our knowledge, she did not pass out, but we were concerned at the size of the rapidly growing lump on the back of her head. I felt, once again in our life of parenthood, that we had crossed over into the cartoon realm, as a skinny, pointy bump rose higher and higher from her scalp. During the first exploration, David and I were both looking for the point of pain, and I found the bump, but thought it was his finger. I called our nurse friend Rachel, and she suggested taking Erin to the ER, which we did.

Now, we have not had wonderful results at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital ER, and have spent many hours waiting, and being frustrated with the service. However, tonight was a complete redemtion for the LMH ER. Erin was in triage before we had really finished registering, and we were there for less than 30 minutes ... WITH great service from the staff, nurses, and doctor. What a pleasant surprise! They did not do a scan of her head, but decided that only after examining Erin for signs of head trauma. They want us to wake her every two hours through the night, and take her to a regular pediatrician in the morning.

We came out of the ER to find that Grandma and Grandpa R were on their way to wait with us, and be with us. Since we finished before they arrived, we all went to IHOP for some late supper, which was nice. It's nice to be loved, and have grandparents close to us!

We are so thankful that she is okay. We are hopeful that she learned a valuable lesson ... one that was further enforced on our car ride into town, as the song playing when we turned on the music was "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed", who, as we all know, fell off and bumped their heads. It was kind of funny, however, I don't think Erin agreed.

... No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!!!

Hip ... Hip ...

2007-03-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

Lots to celebrate at our house ...

1. David is HOME! He and Wayne arrived last night at 10:31, and we were SOOOO happy to see them! I don't know who was more excited/impatient, Erin, Mommy, or Grandma :) It's amazing how much I missed that man! The girls had fun reactions to his return, so that made Daddy pleased ... I don't know who was smiling or hugging more, Daddy or Erin :)

2. It looks as though our house purchase is going to happen! We have a contract, the inspections are done and passed, and I think we are just waiting on the final business end of things, with the appraisal and loan. I am going to call our landlord this afternoon and let them know we are planning on leaving.

3. Along with #2, comes a closing date of March 26th, (two weeks from today!) which means moving the last few days of the month, which means two weeks to pack! Mom R. came for the weekend and worked really hard to help get us ready. We worked on getting the kitchen back under control and doing a bit of cooking in advance, packing up the framed pictures, putting away the clean laundry, cleaning/organizing/throwing away lots of junk from the floor of the girls' room, clearing out the upstairs hallway, and other general cleaning to be organized to pack -- clean things are nicer to pack than dirty ones! The boxes are starting to accumulate, and soon, we'll be in the land of cardboard around here! Thank you for ALL of your help, Mom!

4. KU won the Big 12 Championship

5. Erin and I have spent the last hour planning on how to decorate her new room at our new house. She is not very open to the idea of moving, so I'm hoping that this project will generate some excitement.

6. Avery is on antibiotics for an ear infection, but the good news is that we found a new pediatric office in Lawrence that we like! She doesn't complain of the pain very often, and is such a good baby!

7. Erin and I didn't kill each other while David was away. In fact, it seems today has been a bit more rough than most of the time he was gone.

8. I slept soundly for the first time in about 2 weeks last night, even though it was a short night.

So, it feels like we are having a little time to breathe, together, as a family. Thank you for all of your prayers and support during the last two weeks. We have been blessed! Have a great week!

Still Standing

2007-03-10T01:16:00.000-06:00

Hello. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are holding out, and enjoying our time together, just girls. Erin, Avery, and I went to Athol to visit the farm, where baby calves were poppin' out right and left! The trip was short, but fun. Now, we are home, and Grandma Rahija has come to help us get ready to move! How exciting! We are mainly cleaning right now, but tomorrow we'll get some packing done, and that will feel great! David and Dad arrive home on Sunday, barring any problems in Guatemala with the special guest arriving with added security. We are all missing each other, and now counting down the time until we are together again.

Some things learned this week:

Calves have stickery tongues (learned by Erin when licked on the hand by Speedie the calf).
Cow poop stinks.
Grandmas don't like prairie chicken feathers on their kitchen table, especially the ones that came from a prairie chicken recently ripped to pieces by a wild animal.
Mommy can sing "I Love You A Bushel and A Peck for 30+ minutes without stopping if needed.
Babies can cry a lot when they get their toe poked by a sharp thing wielded by their grandma.
Green beans are not as appetizing as pieces vs. mush to a near-one-year-old.
Erin looks/acts like a future American Idol starlet (as noticed by a man in Walgreens today).
There are many wonders to be found in Walgreens, especially if one has an hour to kill walking through the store.
Other people's children are sometimes as obnoxious as mine :)

That's about it. Thanks for your prayers - they are appreciated and being answered (Erin has only had a few major tantrum-like episodes all week, less than normal!).

Mushroom

2007-03-05T23:50:00.000-06:00

It's a fungus, it's a cloud, no, it's ... Erin?

Here is a fun Erin story from our adventure to Sam's on Saturday with Grandma, Aunt Michelle, and Natalie. We had a nice outing, and some great "girl time" together! I can vouch for Michelle's laughter ... I heard it in the next aisle, and zipped around the corner, fearing what I would find my daughter doing. Thankfully, it was simply comical, not comical and destructive :)

Thanks for pushing the girls, Chelle! I know Erin enjoyed our day, as did Avery and I!

http://chellenee.blogspot.com/2007/03/sams-club.html

Faring Just Fine

2007-03-05T23:36:00.000-06:00

We heard from David and Dad ... they are in Guatemala and have put in two days' work so far, with some concrete work and begining stages of the roof. It sounds, from his VERY vague note, that they are having a nice time. I guess we'll get the unabridged story later :) He sent me a text message tonight, which made me smile ... yep, I'm a dork!

The girls and I are doing okay, a few of the regular (as of late, anyway) tantrums, but nothing we couldn't handle ... Erin fell asleep under her bed today which was funny, but challenging, as I had to leave for UC leadership meeting, and had to drag her out from under there. What a nut! Avery is missing daddy, and keeps looking for him on his side of the bed in the mornings, and calls out "Da!" when the door opens in the afternoons. It's cute. I know she'll give a good response when he arrives on Sunday. Erin had a sad evening Saturday, as she was really missing daddy. Grandma got out a box of pictures from when David was growing up, and as we looked through them, she gave Erin two of his senior pictures. It's not what he looks like now, but his eyes and smile are the same, so it was enough for her. She was pretty pleased to have them, and cradled them all the way home. We had a fun day playing outside today, and soaking in some sun! It felt so nice and refreshing to sit in the sun with the breeze tickling our faces and arms. Spring is on its way!

We are going out to Athol for a bit this week, leaving tomorrow. Grandpa has three brand new babies in his lot (calves!), and one in the barn that was just born tonight. Erin will LOVE that, and it's supposed to be really nice weather while we're there, so I'm hoping for some good "farm time" for her! I know Avery will enjoy showing off her new skills too, as well as her two teeth! We will celebrate her birthday, Grandma's birthday, AND Great Grandma Boeck's birthdays while we are out there. Fun times!

Well, as before, thank you for praying for all of us this week. We notice, and appreciate it!

Happyish News

2007-03-02T16:18:00.000-06:00

Last night, as we were packing David's things for the trip, we had to have a chat about the condo situation. Ron called me around 5pm, and told us the owners had two offers on the table ... similar ... ours was more desireable because of the earlier closing date, and the other offer was a bit more cash. They were leaning toward the cash, but their realtor called Ron and told him they really liked our situation better, as they knew we were stable (isn't that a funny descriptor for our family!!), and as we briefly met the gal, I think she fell in love with our girls. However, the cash was pulling a strong punch, so their realtor told Ron that if we would offer $1000 more, it would be a no-brainer decision in our favor for his clients. I was really excited about this, especially since I heard that interest rates dipped, and we might have an even less payment each month than originally planned. I called my husband to share the news, and was met with a not-so-pleasant response. After a few moments of conversation that neither of us are proud of, we decided to wait to talk until he got home from work, which was about 9:30pm. The topic didn't come up again until very early this morning, probably close to 1:45. We talked and talked and talked, I prayed, and I felt we were no closer to a decision than earlier. I really want this house. It's cute, clean, spacious, has two living areas, a double garage, fenced back yard, and is move-in ready, where we wouldn't have to do anything but put in new shelf liner. I don't want to be the wife that demands the house though, and stresses out the husband, cleans out the paychecks, and makes the family fall apart because of this dream, however. We went to the office to look at David's newest accomplishment at LFN, and after a while, David just pops out with "Let's do it. I'm okay with the extra $1000, and I think it will be fine. If God wants to close the doors, then it will be fine, will do our best to know His plan." I was so happy, because I felt like we were back on the same side again, and we left a message on Ron's phone to go ahead and offer that deal. I had a funny thought, that if this is not "the house" then I'm sure the sellers would have accepted the other offer, and ours would be dropped (again). However, when Ron called me this morning, he said their realtor, Kelfel, was pleased, and said they'd make it happen, or something like that.

Sooo, if all goes well, with inspections, the lending process, and barring any God "no"s, then I think we will close on our first home on March 26th. This is less than a month, and with David being gone for over a week, I'm sure he'll feel stressed about it, BUT, we have had so many offers of help with the girls, and with the flexibility of his new job -- such a blessing! -- I think we can make it happen, and be ready to move by the first week of April. I feel it sounds that I'm getting excited a bit prematurely, but I am just happy that something is off on a right foot. Please continue to pray for us as we discern His plan, and that we would be good stewards of our time, money, and gifts. Thank you for the gift of your prayers to this point - He has heard and has carried us, comforted us, and kept us from becoming too discouraged through the process! What a blessing YOU are to us!

Change of attitude

2007-03-02T15:18:00.000-06:00

I know ... it's nearly a miracle at the number of posts recently. I bid my husband good-bye this morning at 3:15, after we crashed to sleep around 2:45. He boarded a plane and called me from Atlanta around 8:20, and should be in Guatemala as I type. I was happy for him to go, and know he is excited to have the chance to be on this trip. As we packed and repacked his things, I felt this sense of loneliness, as if I were saying good-bye for ever, not just the 10 days he'll be away from us. I guess each time we part ways I should treat it as if it could be the last. Each hug and kiss, each "I love you", each wave from the front door should communicate my love for him. Anyway, I did not do a great job of getting up to help him, but he was pretty much ready when we laid down for a quick nap. I hope he had a chance to nap on the plane or on the ride to their destination this afternoon, as I was lucky enough to sleep until 7:30, snooze until 8:15, and cuddle my girls until 9:30.

I have been dreading this trip in some ways, as it means that I am the only adult that will be here for the 10 days he is gone ... no grown up conversations, no intervention in discipline situations, no one to share a movie with ... However, my outlook today is one of pleasing promise. I have 10 days to share just with my girls -- no getting "shown up" by daddy and his cool tents and games. I have 10 days of no dirty underwear/socks gathering on the floor, and can get the laundry caught up again -- just a week ago I was bragging of this to my mother in law ... it is not so at the moment, though gaining! I have 10 days to establish a new routine of picking up, 10 days to teach Erin some new letters, 10 days to help Avery say some new words, 10 days to pack some random stuff into boxes that make sense (or throw away junk we don't need!) ... 10 days. There are 10 days of time to spend in prayer for my husband ... to grow my love affair with my Lord ... to show love, tenderness, mercy, and grace to my girls ... to worship ... to breathe in His presence. 10 days.

I can tell some of you have been praying for me ... this peace is not from within me, it is beyond my understanding. THANK YOU for lifting me before the Father ... for lifting my girls in His presence ... for offering to help ... for being my family. I feel you, and am blessed by your faithfulness and belief in the One who holds each second in His hand, and cherishes each of us in it.

Temporary Loss of Sanity?

2007-03-01T15:26:00.000-06:00

Well, I write to you on the day before David departs for Guatemala (aka Gualamala, according to Erin, where her daddy will be picking bananas off the trees to bring back to her each day) for 10 days, helping build a roof on a home, and other various jobs in the San Lucas Toliman area. I have to say I am very excited for him to be able to go, yet lament that the girls and I will be here. Because of recent behavior issues (Erin's most recent dip into disobedience/independence), it almost scares me to be the only adult in our house for those days, so we will be taking trips to both Grandma's houses during that time. Also, with things unsure about the house, I may be using some of that time to pack/do bigger cooking to prepare for a move. Erin's excited to play with Natalie at Grandma R's and see the new calves at Grandpa G's place!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I may be off the radar for nearly a fortnight (which, I guess isn't really that abnormal, but with the recent burst of posting, I felt the need to say something), but, shall return, hopefully with my sanity and both children fully intact! Well, my eldest in "sneakily" turning on the light in the hallway to get my attention, and my youngest just started crying, so I'd better investigate! Love to you!

You know me ...

2007-02-27T01:37:00.000-06:00

I feel I need to apologize for my blog entry on the heat-related instances in our home ... my husband just chastized me for not writing often enough, so that my entries would not be so long ... but I fear that they might be just as long, as I am long of wind ... so with that, I apologize for taking up so much of your time, and thank you for enduring and perservering to the end of my entries!

PoI

2007-02-27T01:05:00.000-06:00

Other points of interest ...

if you can't see our pictures on the David or Sarah Rahija blogs, our webhost is acting up ...

we put another offer on the condo today (really a revised offer, that isn't really much different, it just uses less closing costs, and we increased our monthly payment by about $7.) According the the listing agent, they have another offer, which was less than ours, and we were a little confused, but we think he was either epecting another (new) offer this evening also, or a revised offer from the other party. I hope that we are not, once again, being used as a bargaining chip. If so, though, we know that this is not The One, and God would have us wait for our "needle" ...

Avery went to sleep on her own tonight, as I sat by her crib, with few tears, and no rocking! We read a story two times, "Bugs at Play", which she really enjoyed, and had lots of hugs and kisses. She though it was funny that I sat on the floor and she could reach through the bars and touch my face. She learned to identify and say "eye" tonight (poor Abby, those blinky eyes may never feel the same again!). She also has been "cruising" quite a bit, especially enjoying coffee tables as her guide ...

Erin made her own newspaper today, complete with lots of details, a picture, and even a decent layout! All we need is a "spell check" installed into her orange marker, and she'll be ready for the world of journalism. She also wrote most of the numbers on a desk calendar in Ron's makeshift office today. Our favorites were 15 and 16, written 51 and 61 ...

David worked from home today, which was wonderful! It was nice to just have him here, even though he spent most of his day in the office. He stepped in to help with the girls every once in a while, and we all took a walk together after 5, which was very refreshing, if a little chilly ...

Okay, that's it, just wanted to share a few thoughts from today!

Char-cro-waved

2007-02-27T01:03:00.000-06:00

Recently, we have had a series of exciting events revolving around heat in our house. Before you get nervous, this is not a recount of our "personal time", but life in general at Rahija Central ...

I guess the first event was Thanksgiving, which, I realize was a long time ago, but as I was cooking potatoes for our feast at the Riggs' home, I turned on the wrong burner, and set fire to an innocent hotpad, that was waiting on the "wrong burner". When I realized the blunder, I quickly removed the smoking hotpad to the sink. On the downward spiral toward the stainless steel sink, the potholder burst into flame, leaving a trail of black smoke and black "flakies". Needless to say, it went out with style.

More recently, Erin had a little run-in with fire, starting with Avery's diaper .... It was a normal evening, and Avery had just been cleaned up from her "daily deposite" which was especially fragrant. Erin was complaining, and as I had a candle burning in my room, she was reminded of on of the purposes of candles, and asked if she could have a candle in her room. I was a bit hesitant, but told her if she would leave the votive on the shelf in her room, then I would allow her to have the candle in her room for a while. She agreed, and we had a brief recount of how fire is dangerous. I lit the votive, placed it on the shelf, and left. A few minutes later (less than 5), she ran to the office, where David and I were looking at some real estate listings on line. Breathless, she communicated to us that there was something burning in her room. With a bit of sarcasm, I asked her if it was the candle. She vigorously shook her head, and commented that it was fire, it was on the floor, and it was scaring her. I ran down the hall toward her room, where I could see, through the slat of the door, flames flickering merrily on the carpet. This hastened my steps even more, and I sailed into action. Now, ordinarily, in any room in any house this would be a bad situation, BUT, in Erin's room, in our house, it is disasterous. For those of you who have seen Erin's abode, you can attest to it's general state (paper bits, toys, clothing, crayons, markers, stickers, bedding, books, .... can all be found on the floor), which also heightened the intensity of this event. I found a small area in flames, grabbed the nearest thing I could find to smother/beat out the flame, which was, to my dismay, my favorite little girl dress, cream with pink flowers. Well, we extinguished the blaze, and tried to pick out the truth of what happened in those >5 minutes. To the best of our understanding, this is Erin's rendition ... "Well, I was wanting to watch the candle, so I climbed up on my bed and got it off the shelf and put it on my drawers by my bed. Then, I was tired of it, and wanted to get it out, and I thought it would be good to pour water on it, so I got some, but then I got scared that the fire would get on me if I poured water on it, so I got a wetwipe, and tried to get it out, but suddenly, it got on fire, and I was scared, but I needed to take it to the sink in the bathroom, so I started going there. Then the fires got too much, and I was going to get burned, so I had to drop it, and that's why it's on the floor." We were thankful for many things, mainly, that she was not hurt, Avery was not hurt, and that our house did not burn to the ground. We were proud that Erin came to get us, and tell us when there was an emergency, not hide in the closet, which would have been very easy. A wetwipe-shaped burn mark on the carpet is better, by far, than one on an arm, leg, or tummy! We are so thankful everyone was safe (except the very cute dress, which did not survive the incident).

Okay, the most recent event did not involve actual flames, but intense scorching via heat. Let me start by saying the smell of burned ... no, CHARRED ... microwave popcorn is a haunting, invasive stench ... better, I'm sure than the smell of charred flesh, but still, very distasteful. Yesterday, Erin was a little hungry, and I guess right after I went upstairs to get dressed for the day, decided to make a snack of microwave popcorn. Erin LOVES popcorn, not merely for the flavor, but the entire process ... unwrapping the bag, placing it on the turntable, closing the door, and watching it puff up as the tiny seeds burst into a fluffy, buttery snack. Having watched and partially participated in this ritual many times, she felt confident enough to try it solo. During this time, I am trying to figure out what to wear, upstairs, trying to locate my glasses, and got distracted with something in my room, and I suddenly smell the buttery scent of popcorn. I remember thinking to myself that the popcorn from last night would not have lingered into the morning, especially with that "hot buttery" smell. I felt the familiar prickle of "something's wrong with this picture", and hurried to the stairs, where I hollered down to Erin, asking her what she was doing. The ALL too familiar "Nothing!" greeted me, followed by a cloud of black smoke. I sprinted down the remaining stairs, and yelled for Erin to get out of the kitched, and I think I was also screaming for her to tell me what she did. I feared she had tried to make popcorn on the stove or in the oven, but rounded the corner into the kitchen to find black smoke pouring from the microwave. I yanked open the door, and slammed it shut again, as the smoke detectors chimed in, adding to the general din of our happy little gathering in the kitchen. After making sure the popcorn was not actually afire, I grabbed a cookie sheet, and started fanning the smoke detector, hoping to squelch one of the noise sources. Logic soon grabbed me by the nose (which was filled with smoke), and I quickly opened the front and back doors. I also realized that the smoke was stinging my eyes and burning my lungs, so I took both girls, who were also making much noise, and took them up to their room, opened their window, and closed their door. When once again trying to pluck the truth of the situation from my four year old, I was met with her logic and independence, which I fear, may one day cost our family dearly. She informed me, that she was simply hungry for a little snack of popcorn, so she got a chair, grabbed a package of popcorn from the top of the fridge, moved her chair to the microwave, tore off the plastic, laid the bag down in the microwave, shut the door, and looked at the numbers on the keypad. She found the number "5", and since she likes that number, she pushed it, and "What do you know, the microwave started turning!". After a while, she noticed a whisp of smoke coming from the microwave, so, she took in as big of a breath as she could, and blew with all her might, so to put out the fire (which, of course, is the source of smoke!). She did this for quite a while, I guess, for I remember hearing her puffing when I came into the kitchen. She was worried, but didn't think it was necessary to call me or let me know what was going on-- "I had everything under control, Mom." Sooo, now we have a stinky house (although it is much better today, thanks to yesterday's vacuuming, and last night Febreeze attacks), and a little girl who keeps complaining about the smell of our house. Anyone wanna come over?!

Thus ends (we pray) the tale of heat-inspired adventures of the 4 Rahijas.

....the Erinism of the day

2007-02-25T11:26:00.000-06:00

So, it's been a while since we've had a fun Erinism, and while today's fun phrase was spoken correctly, I am a bit unsure of her intended meaning. While getting ready for church last week, I called Erin into the bathroom to brush her hair and asked her to brush her teeth. She hates doing both, but she reluctantly came in and let me brush her hair. She was "admiring herself" afterwards, and I continued getting ready. She suddenly got on the floor, where I had the next pile of laundry slated to hit the washer waiting. She lays down on it, and squirms around, adjusting, and getting comfortable. I asked what she was doing, and she didn't really respond, except for a cheesy grin, and more adjusting. I let it sit a minute, and then asked her to go brush her teeth. She looked up with the same cheesy grin and said, "No mommy, I'm in here marinating with you." I was confused, and asked what she meant. She said, "You know, marinating! I'm marinating with you!" Still confused I repeated the tooth brushing request, and stood her up out of the dirty laundry, and helped her out the door.

I can only assume she meant she wanted to spend meaningful or quality time with me. I thought it was pretty cute.

Another Go

2007-02-10T01:28:00.000-06:00

Just an update on the housing/lack of housing situation ... we put an offer on a condo today, on Jana Drive, in Lawrence. This is our 3rd or 4th attempt. God has protected us and closed the doors on those deals ... and David was able to accept his new job. It's a bit more than we'd hoped, but a very nice place, and we think it will be a great place for us, as we complete the transition into Lawrence life. We think Ron, our realtor, is getting tired of us, as we've been at this since November! We feel he knows us pretty well, and is getting to know Dad and Mom Rahija pretty well too -- he even met Grandma Looney this week! We've been so blessed by his help - we can actually hold a conversation with others about real estate issues now, and not feel completely lost, and can look through a house fairly quickly, knowing what we are looking for/needing. This condo is in the same home owners association as our friends Matt and Dena Broderick (Dena's the president), so we would already know some neighbors, too! Please keep us in prayer as we wait for God's perfect timing and plan, not ours! Thanks!

A Fresh Look

2007-02-09T23:58:00.000-06:00

Okay, with all the stress of our life lately, Erin has been acting out a bit, and one of her latest stunts involved scissors. She was at her art center/easel and suddenly became enraged because her hair was getting in her face as she was making "L"s. Rather than bother anyone else, Erin took matters into her own hands, literally, as a pair of purple safety scissors became her venting tool. Yep, she took care of the problem, hacking away, over the trash can. I found her this way, as we were heading out the door to Lawrence. Maybe she tried to reinvent the mullet, but in my opinion, that venture was unsuccessful. We made an emergency appointment at Z's Cosomotology School, and it was a fun trip. Erin was dressed very cute, in her new brown boots (Aunt Michelle), a pink sweater (garage sale find), and her new brown hat (Aunt Krista, from a trip to France). All the girls were making a fuss over how cute Erin looked, until suddenly Erin tore the hat from her head, and the stunning hair do plus static rendered the crowd speechless. They slowly and silently started back to ward their individual stations, and the "lucky" student cutter still stood shocked and silent. The instructor came over to help the student in her selection, and was also stunned. They looked to me for some answers and I shared the story, and they looked to me again and asked what I wanted them to do. I told them I didn't really care about the style, I just wanted them to fix it. They said they'd try their best, but there were a few things that would just have to grow a bit before they could do much to help. I said it was fine, and that we'd just work with what was there. Kayla did a nice job, and Erin did look cute upon leaving. The only problem is, that when we don't "fix" it, she looks a bit boyish, unless she's wearing really girly clothing, so I'm trying to watch that (a man called her "buddy" last week - she didn't know what he was implying, but I did).

Anyway, it was kind of funny, and in the midst of all the other stuff going on here, it was just "one more thing" to add to our daily drama. I took some pics of Erin post-safety scissor cut and post Z's cut, when she and I had a "salon day" at home, including some fantabulous Aloha Pink lipgloss and other bold items. We did each others' hair and makeup - I'm mostly decked out with My Little Pony accessories :) Enjoy our pics!

getting to know you, getting to know all about you

2007-02-02T17:38:00.001-06:00

I hate that tune, and now it will be stuck in my head for the evening ... oh well. My friend Kylie P sent this to me, and although I don't usually fill these out, I am feeding Avery, and don't have anything else to do, so ...

Welcome to the new edition of getting to know your friends (and
family). Okay here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be lame
and spoil the fun! Just copy (do not forward) this entire e-mail and
paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so
that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you
know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you. Some of you may get
this several times that means you have lots of friends.

1. What is your occupation? mommy, wife, Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant

2. What color are your socks right now? white with gray toes/heels (yes, boring today)

3. What are you listening to right now? You've Stollen My Heart (that's my guess, anyway, from the repeats in the chorus, its on 88.5)

4. What was the last thing that you ate? a little snack of apple coffee cake, mmm

5. Can you drive a stick shift? If I HAD to, I could get down the road in one, like if I was being chased by a herd of stampeding elephants, or a psycho killer or something.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I always choose green, but I also like deep purple, and also macaroni and cheese (just because it's a fun name!)

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? David, for our "post-lunch phone call date"

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes! We were in a Bible study together for a while, and she is very fun!

9. How old are you today? 28 ... no comments about the looming new decade, please!

10. Favorite drinks: Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, juice, lemon-berry slushes at Sonic

11. What is your favorite sport to watch? college basketball, college football

12. Have you ever dyed your hair? highlights, but not currently

13. Pets? just my kids

14. Favorite food? depends on my mood ... mashed potatoes, chicken and noodles, tollhouse pan cookies, cheese cake, brownies, oatmeal raisin cookies, enchiladas, ... I have lots of favorites

15. What was the last movie you watched? Well, The Great Mouse Detective, this morning, but David and I got through most of A New World last night -- haven't seen the ending yet

16. Favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you do to vent anger? I cry, I yell/stomp a bit sometimes, I bottle it all deep down inside, and occassionally use lots of sarcasm

18. What were your favorite toys as a kid? my dolls, roller skates, books, an old tape recorder

19. What is your favorite Fall or Spring? spring ... new life, new start, fresh air, open windows, ... need I go on?!?!

20. Hugs or kisses? hugs: friends, my girls; kisses: my husband :)

21. Cherry or Blueberry? cherry

22. Do you want your friends to send this back? only if they want to

23. Who is most likely to respond? I hate this question

24. Who is least likely to respond? Do I care? Not really :)

25. Living arrangements? renting a townhome/duplex ... desperately hoping to change that to owning a home soon!!!

26. When was the last time you cried? Um, I think about two days ago

27. What is on the floor of your closet? what isn't there?! Actually, there is a clothes basket containing lots of shoes David never wears, and tubs of the girls' clothing that is too small for Erin, and too big for Avery

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending
this to? Well, I don't know who will actually read this that has been my friend the longest, so I am going to say Valerie P, who used to be Valerie L, who has been my friend since kindergarten :)

29. What did you do last night? We went to Phat Thursday, had some good chats, but the kids were getting cranky, so we left at 8ish. We put Erin to bed soon after arriving, watched part of a movie with my husband, pu tAvery down during the movie, which was unsuccessful, so she stayed with me until we decided to go to bed, Erin came in at 2am, went back to bed with her ... Avery was up at 3am, Erin was up at 5, Avery 5:30, and David's alarms started going off at 6am, so it wasn't so restful for me ... I guess that was mostly morning :(

30. What's your favorite smell? rain, fresh cut grass, David when he wears cologne, my kids after a bath, "dryer" in the air, coffee, coconut lime verbena candles/soap

31. If you were stranded on a desert island, how would you go about
getting off? pray ... hard

32. What's your favorite kind of game to play? I LOVE games! board games, card games, word games, ... I like Catch Phrase, Cranium, Pictionary, Scrabble, Pinochle, Solitare, Monopoly, Mad Gab, Tabu, Scene It, ...

33. Carmel, Chocolate, or cinnamon? Chocolate most days, but the others are good, and really good all mixed together!

34. Say something about the person who sent this to you: Kylie ... you're so fun to laugh with and visit with ... congrats on your job!

35. Do you wear earrings? Typically, no, I have "virgin lobes", however, today, I had a smashing set of stick-on earrings attached to my lobes. I also had an amazing hair arrangement and lipstick application, thanks to Erin at Queso Pula Apple.

House Hunt

2007-01-20T02:05:00.000-06:00

We are still house hunting, for anyone who is curious ... we have switched gears from looking at the mid-century, 3 bedroom with a basement ranch, and have branched into townhomes/condos. We are trying to be patient, and listen for God's guidance. It is hard -- Life's waiting room is never fun, but it is educational, I guess! Our realtor, Ron, has been so great, and helpful during this time. We really appreciate him!

As so much is up in the air right now, I'd like to ask for your prayers, as we wait on His perfect timing ... He knows how things will end up, and that is enough (we just have to remind ourselves of that from time to time!). Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Carpe Diem!

2007-01-20T02:02:00.000-06:00

A few of you have emailed me to ask if David is alright ... he is, apparently. We are currently working with a neurologist and David is going through lots of tests to see if we can find out why he had a seizure-esque moment on Christmas Day. He hates it that I call it that, but I don't know what else to call it! We've had an EEG, and some prelim. lab work drawn ... next week are a few more ... So, the long and short of it is that we know nothing new, and that he continues to feel fine, and I think embarrassed that I am making him go through this "battery". We just take each day as it comes!

Fun Times, Beautiful Memories

2006-12-28T14:59:00.000-06:00

The past two weeks have been full of fun memories ... Christmas celebration at Great Grandma and Grandpa Boeck's with the extended family ... Christmas celebration at Grandma and Grandpa Gerstenkorn's with Aunt Desiree ... baking Christmas cookies with Erin (something I wonder how my mother ever survived doing it all those years!), wrapping gifts with and without Erin (definitely quicker without, however, slightly less creative!) ... shopping with and without the kids ... Christmas celebration in Tulsa with Grandma and Grandpa Rahija at Aunt Krista's with Uncle John and Aunt Michelle and cousin Natalie ... helping Gary with some new gloves for Christmas ... Christmas Eve service at The Gathering ... preparation for Santa ... filling stockings with the adults ... David passing out and having a possible seizure before the kids woke (and the kids sleeping through it!) ... the kids opening their presents on Christmas morning ... Erin (aka Jessica) taking Aunt Michelle (aka Sarah) and Aunt Krista (Sheniqua) "shopping" at 'Queso Pula Apple' in their new fashions ... Erin opening her easel from us here at home ... the painting that ensued the following day ... watching movies curled up together under blankets ... so many fun things (David's episode was not so much fun, but did get the adrenaline flowing!), so many memories ... knowing of the sorrows of many this Christmas season, I am so thankful that we were able to spend quality time with those we love. As I watched Erin participate in the service on Christmas Eve, I saw the wonder of the Event that changed the course of time through fresh eyes, once again. She scooted her chair up to the one in front of it, so that her knees were on the seat of the one in front, and her chin rested on it's backrest. Both eyes took in the videos shown, and she listened fairly well, despite the distractions around her. She sang with beautiful intention of worship during Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Angels We Have Heard on High, and seemed to take in His essense during Silent Night. And, although she nearly caught me on fire a few times with her own candle, even having that seemed like an act of worship to her. It was beautiful ... "little Mary" was seeing the Messiah again, and through her eyes, I saw Him too, in His humble, glorious, splendor.

... and His name is Jesus!

2006-12-28T02:09:00.000-06:00

This ended a hushed, excitement-filled moment for my eldest daughter. She was able to participate as "little Mary" for dress-rehearsal for the Bethlehem Experience at Grandma and Grandpa's church. Last year, we tok her through Bethlehem, and had to drag her from the stable while she screamed, "That's the wrong song! Silent Night is nice, but this is about Away in A Manger!".

This year, she was "in" it, surrounded, engulfed, invested. Why am I so slow to "get" these things?? As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, and anticipate His second coming, I need to remember to be "in" it ... immersing myself in His kingdom, His word, His love, and calling others to join me, "in" it, through relationship, example, being.

It will be a long time before I forget those dancing eyes, the whispered exultation, and the simple words of a 4 year old ... "Mother, I have been to Bethlehem! I have seen the Messiah, and His name is Jesus!" Does it get any more real than that?! Joy to you and your family as you continue on your journey. Read this, and remember the awe of the story.

Santa Case

2006-12-11T16:14:00.000-06:00

This is something happening in Lawrence ... a 22 yr old KU student is giving of himself to make some Christmas wishes come true ... and he's sparked the whole community to join him! Check out this article and browse through the posts on Larryville.

How can you give today... tomorrow ... next April, ...?

Wish Lists

2006-11-22T23:17:00.000-06:00

Well, on the heels of the last post, I feel kind of icky posting this right now. However, I don't know how much time I'll have to get this up through out the rest of the week, so here are some "wish list" ideas for the Rahija children (as requested by grandparents and other family members).

Updates on things that are "off" the list are marked with *** or red text

Erin:
Easel ***
magnetic board (like bulletin board,to display her art) ***
Leapster games
rechargable batteries (AA) for her leapster
CDs (children's worship songs)
Movies:

Cars
Over the Hedge
Cinderella
Ice Age 2
Care Bears
Dora the Explorer

Veggie Tales:

Where's God When I'm Scared ***
God Wants Me to Forgive Them?
Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen ***
any of the Larryboy movies
Sheerluck Holmes
Gideon: Tuba Warrior

Bed for dollies
Crown ***
Clothes: size 6 and up
Shoes: Size 12 and up
Hats - for play and regular wear
Digital camera - cheapo or old one just for her to enjoy ***
Ponies
Baby doll clothes

Avery:
dolly ***
toys
Baby Einstein movies
clothes: 9 months +

Thanksgiving thoughts

2006-11-22T10:08:00.000-06:00

As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I am reminded of several things to be thankful for ... my family, my health, the roof over my head, the new roof that will be over my head after Christmas (if everything goes according to plan!), ... Mostly, and most importantly, I am thankful for the faithfulness, love, and guidance of my God. This year has been full of changes, and He has brought us to each of them, and through each of them. Avery joined our family in March, healthy as can be. She is happy and loving, and has not taken after her sister in most ways (which is a BIG blessing to me!). She is her own person, and we love it! The baby that didn't join our family is cradled in heaven's arms now, and that is a blessing too - who could ask for more? Our marriage turned 5 this year, and that is a blessing too - we are still surviving and still love each other! Erin turned 4, which brought some trial, but not anything that has killed us yet. David's Bronco has finally been totalled, and now salvaged with a title transfer to Shane, and we are a 1-vehicle family for now. God is good, all the time ... He has gifted us, protected us, guided us, provided for us, and been faithful to His promises. I'm sure David will post about this latest display of God's divine timing soon, as we are preparing close on our first home! I hope you enjoy your time of thankful reflecting this year, as you recall how God has blessed your life, even if it didn't seem like it at the time :)

Thank you, Father, for your constant love, that never fades or changes. Thank You, for Your faithfulness to your word, that you will always provide for us, have our best interest in mind, and will never leave us or forsake us. Thank You, for the gift of Your Son, that You gave in my place, so that I would know Your love and live with You forever. Thank You for the gift of forgiveness, and allowing us to come into Your presence to ask for it. We deserve nothing but pain and strife, yet You give us life abundantly! I love You, Lord.

Long time, no blog

2006-11-15T11:30:00.000-06:00

Well, I realized today that the last post I had posted was like 2-3 weeks ago, and quite "down" in nature. I don't really have anything particularly exciting to post today ... we are going to look at a house for the 2nd time on Thursday (which, by the way, I love this house ... it has an adorable kitchen, three bedrooms upstairs, and unfinished basement with a 2nd bath downstairs ... a great backyard ... a little shed/possible playhouse in the backyard ... a great garage with built in storage cabinets ... two-wide driveway ... and lots of charm ... did I mention I really fell for the place?). When we looked the first time, we were very interested, but our realtor friend, Ron, told us there had been an offer placed on the house a few days later, and the contract was pending. I called to check the status of that house, and Ron told me that it was still pending, but he'd let me know if anything changed. The next day, he called to tell me that 5 minutes after walking into his office, the listing agent of that house called to tell him that the buyer was getting "flaky" and might back out on the contract. This is why we are going to take a second look ... if we like it and the buyer does "flake", then we can be ready to put in a back up offer. I don't really know much about this whole process, but we're learning!

Avery is growing in size and ability lately ... she can sit up by herself from an almost flat position (just needs a tad of an incline to sit right up -- abs of steel!), she's trying to talk, and her smiles are more precious than ever.

Erin is growing too, and is often mistaken for a 5 or 6 year old. Her vocab is also growing. The latest "big" word is perservere. The other day she came up to me all excited and said, "Mom, I just finished cleaning up my closet. It was hard and I wanted to quit, but I kept working at it and I perservered! It's pretty clean now!" Yep, that's our Erin!

We've had some really neat relationship growing time within our "congregation" lately. It excites me to see that growth happening! We have also started working with the homeless/transient community in Lawrence, which has been a blessing to me. I feel like, in general, God is asking/putting opportunities in front of me that are way beyond my comfort zone/ability/skill set and giving me blind courage and ability in those situations that are blowing me away ... for example, building relationships with several of the transient/homeless individuals (I look forward to going under the bridge to check for Mark or Kevin, and I strain to hear Kimberly's morracas when we take sandwiches and coffee out on Saturday nights ... walking up to the door of near strangers to invite them to dinner at the ministry center ... hanging out with some people who are not who I would typically seek as friends ...). In words, it doesn't seem like much, but in real life, it has been a stretch, but one that I don't see until after it has happened, if that makes any sense. Maybe I am just learning to follow the leading of His Spirit without so much question, and letting Him be my strength in my weakness.

Well, that's about it. Avery spit up on me after eating a wee bit too much and I would really like to take a shower. This afternoon, I think we will go over to Erin's friend James' house, so the kids can play and the mommies can visit for a while. Enjoy this cold, blustery day!

Rain

2006-10-22T01:08:00.000-05:00

Thanks to David's boss, we had tickets to see Phil Wickham, Audio Adrenaline, and MercyMe in concert! David and I, plus my sister Desiree and our friend Mary went and had a great time. The concert was fun, with lots of energy, great music, fun lights, and streamers/confetti, ...

However, my favorite parts were the "spoken" words shared by Bart from MercyMe. He talked about how we, as the church, often forget the important things, and how we exclude people, forget to be reverant toward God, and how our only purpose in life is to worship Him with our life (not just our singing, but with each action and posture of our day). He shared that last year while touring, many of the band members lost close friends/relatives and how hard it was to keep going, but because of their ministry and desire to further the Kingdom, they kept their schedule. Some people, trying to be sympathetic or encouraging, asked them how they could keep worshipping God with all of the bad things happening, and it struck a chord with them, that if we got what we deserved, we would all be in a huge world of hurt, but that because of God's grace, mercy, and love, we are sheltered and cared for, even in the midst of pain. They felt that as we are so pursued and loved by God, the only response we can offer IS worship, and if it takes heartache and pain to bring us to the point of glorifying Him, then "bring the rain".

As it has rained here all day (and on us as we briskly walked several blocks from our parking garage to the auditorium) I kind of began reflecting on the past few years of life, especially regarding this recent miscarriage. When we lost our baby in Feb of 2005, it was devastating, but we were carried amazingly and beyond our understanding by God's peace and comfort. I remember crying and thinking, what better could I want for my baby, than to be cradled in the arms of the Father, forever, surrounded by perfect Love? I know now, that even though that baby never warmed my arms, that God used her for His glory. This baby is different ... I am not devastated, I am at peace, if a little puzzled. We were not asking for a baby or planning for one so soon. I am not sure what the purpose is in this, but I know who does, and I am okay with that. However, as I sat through Bart's remarks tonight, and listened to the song, I did have tears, and rejoiced, that even though the rain has seemed to pour at times, that God offers His hand, and a rain coat (I think mine is bright yellow and comes with a hat and boots), and waits for us to realize that the rain is not washing us away, but washing us, turn our faces to Him to drink in His holiness, splash in the pools of His grace, and in the end, warm up in the dry safety of His love, showering Him with praise, adoration, reverence, and worship. This is not to say that life is cheerful like a rainy day in a yellow slicker, but we have the opportunity to respond to life in a way that reflects His light, even if we have to wade through the muck of "life", and praise Him all the more for bringing us through it. This is all just jumbling around in my head right now, but I wanted to share it, because it is fresh in my heart. Here's to yellow boots, mud pits, and the rain.

The fun just keeps on coming ...

2006-10-22T00:42:00.000-05:00

Well, as my last post stated, we have had a crazy past month, and in the words of my friend Rachel, the fun just kept on coming. Right after publishing my last post (Saturday evening), the medicine kicked in, and by midnight, I thought we had completed that little chapter of life. I was, however wrong. Monday night, David had to take me to the ER in Olathe around 11:30, due to excessive and fast loss of blood. Dunley came to stay with the girls, which was a big relief that we didn't have to cart them to the ER with us! We arrived, and Dr. Peck had let the ER folks know what was going on, and they were ready for us. He was even on stand by incase I needed a D&C. Thankfully, though, I didn't have to have a D&C to finish things, they took care of it in the ER, gave me a liter of fluid, and dismissed me. I had great care from the ER staff at Olathe Medical Center, listened to a few exciting and interesting "cases" on some late night Court TV shows, and we arrived home around 2:30 am.

David stayed home from work on Tuesday to help me with the girls and allow me to rest (I should say, he took care of the girls except when I had to nurse Avery). He also was a WONDERFUL husband and sorted all the laundry and spent a large majority of the day washing, drying, hanging, folding, AND putting it away. I helped some with this, but not much. He cleaned the bathroom, as well, and was a great help to me all day. This trend continued all week, as he kept laundry going in the evenings (I don't know how to describe the amount of dirty laundry we had piled up around here, but "mountain" seems applicable, and I think the pre-sorting pile was taller than Erin, but shorter than David). THANK YOU, HONEY! I am feeling much better at the end of the week. I still feel weak sometimes, and I haven't been able to do much at a time without being out of breath or light headed, but that has gained each day. I am so thankful for my family and my health - my follow up appointment with Dr. Peck was fine!

On a slightly humorous note, Dr. Peck's parting remarks to me on Friday were, "Sarah, we love you and your family (both girls are favorites with the nurses, and Dr. Peck seems to get a big kick out of Avery's animal noises), but I think it would be best for you and your body if we didn't see you for a year, when you need to come in for your annual exam. In fact, we usually recommend at least 18 months between pregnancies." I responded, "I would recommend at least 36!"I thought it was a pretty funny ending to this experience. I love my OB!

Roller Coaster -- the past three weeks

2006-10-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

Well, this is not a blog I want to compose, but I am anyway ... The last three weeks have been what some might call an emotional roller coaster. We have experienced the range of emotion, from shock to excitement to worry to disappointment.

Three weeks ago, after feeling icky for the past month, someone suggested I take a pregnancy test. I refused at first, (Avery is only 6 months old for goodness sake!), but after reevaluating the symptoms I was having, I gave in and got a test. Upon taking it, the flaming blue line that appeared before I could even set the test back on the counter confirmed that, indeed, we would be adding a third child to our brood. Well, tears followed, but not out of immediate joy and jubilation, but out of fear. How would we support another baby (we still have a few outstanding bills from Avery!), where would be put another baby, how would we transport another baby (the Bronco had been rear-ended two days previously)???

I called to make an appointment with Dr. Peck (the most amazing OB/GYN EVER!), and made an embarrased request for an OB appointment. I was also concerned because Avery is still breastfedand I didn't know how safe that was for everyone involved. One of the nurses called me back and told me it was fine to keep nursing, just add 500 calories to my daily diet.

October 5th, I purchased a cheap crib from someone in Lawrence, to help us with the bedding shortage in the girls' room.

October 6th, we went to Dr. Peck's for our appointment. We found a lot of new staff, but several familiar faces. I did the routine pee-in-a-cup, and we waited for our turn. My vitals were fine, and I was starting to get excited because I know he does a sonogram at the first OB appointment to make sure everything is going well. It wasn't. He could not locate a baby in the gestational sac, so he asked us to make a new appointment for the following week.

The week between the two appointments was really hard, as I felt really sick each day. The girls were not getting fair mommy time, and I felt horrible about it. We went to the appointment on Thursday afternoon, and the sonogram revealed no growth, just a blighted ovum, which means (to my understanding) that the egg was fertilized, but didn't get beyond that.

We are now waiting for the miscarriage to be complete, as I took 4 pills this morning to instigate the process. I took them at 10am and it is now 6:30 pm, and I haven't even started anything. I have, however, been taking Tylenol 3s, and they are making me dizzyish and woozy, which is not the most exciting thing. I also have had a headache all day. The girls are with grandma and grandpa Rahija, I'm sure having a ball, so it has been nice and quiet here last evening and today. I have had lots of rest, so that is good too. I just hate waiting on things!

As far as emotions/reactions go, we are surprisingly at peace. It was weird being in the same room as we were when we heard this news about a year and a half ago, and it brought up lots of memories. However, at that time, we were hoping and trying for a baby, while now it completely surprised us -- we were NOT ready for another baby, although we would have loved it just the same. I don't know why these things happen, and I don't question God's timing, I just know that His ways are higher than mine. We are thankful for our family and friends who have and continue to support us. We are thankful for our girls, who, last night before grandpa and grandma came to pick them up, joined us in a family prayer time, where we all cried (Avery, simply because she was hungry). I tried to explain to Erin, that my tummy got confused and thought that there was a baby growing in there, but there wasn't, and mommy had to take this medicine so she could get back to being mommy again, instead of tired, grumpy mommy. She cried because she didn't want me to hurt, and was scared. That's why mommy cried :) What a sweet spirit this girl has!

I am also thankful for my husband, who has been with me all day, bringing me juice, grilled cheese sandwiches, warming the covers with a hairdryer because my feet were freezing, and just being here for me. I am so blessed! Thank you, God!

Why, Mom?

2006-10-04T22:38:00.000-05:00

There are days in the life of the Rahija family, that just seem to go better than others, and those that are quite the opposite, and are categorized into the "worse" than most. We've been having a few of the latter recently, following a nice stretch of better days. While going through some adorable pics taken of our family by the fabulous Ms. MacArthur, of Oklahoma, I found this one of Erin and Avery. The look on Avery's face seems to petition me with this silent question:

"Why do you let her touch me, mother? Why? She is loud, obnoxious, and continually tries to put my ears, fingers, toes, or cheeks into her mouth! She seems to think I like to have my head hugged multiple times each day - which by the way, I DON'T! -- and she also thinks I enjoy trying to sit up by being pulled by the top of my head, bending my neck at an unnatural angle, momentarily blocking my air supply. Yet, I endure it, except when it really hurts, and each day I feel the same way ... WHY?"

Hope you are having a "better than most" day!

Zoo pics

2006-10-04T22:12:00.000-05:00

So I realized after looking at our pictures from the zoo trip, that we took pictures of mainly animals (which would stand to reason, as we were at the zoo), but have very few of us in the pics with the animals. There are a few, so I'll post them here. Erin, I think we decided, would have been pleased to mainly see the "land of the zebras" (which we didn't get to until late in the afternoon when she was really worn out from the walking) and the roly polies meandering around. She did enjoy the sheep too, although was disappointed that we didn't let her feed them. Maybe it will be different next year :)

Looking at the Sumatran Tigers

Spying on sunbathing kangaroos

Nervous of touching the sheep.

Baboon licking cement rock- disturbing.

At last, the Land of the ZEBRAS!

Zoo Memories

2006-09-20T00:18:00.000-05:00

Today our family made a trip to the Kansas City Zoo -- it was the first time for all of us girls, only David had been before. I'll write more about the trip later, and maybe post some pics, but I had to share this before I forgot it ... as we were leaving the Asia exhibits, including the tigers and red pandas, Erin excitedly whispers a halt to our little procession. I stopped the stroller and both David and I turned to see what the excitment was about. Erin, hands clasped in utter glee, "whisper-talks" that she has found something we needed to go back and see. David and I looked around for an exhibit we missed, finding only a restroom hut, looked questioningly back to our daughter. She again, looks blissfully excited, and gives a description of the beast in question.

"It's small and curls up in a ball, and has lines on it's back."

I thought perhaps she'd seen a squirrel, or something in the top of one of the other animal areas. David guessed a snake.

"No, it's just back here!" she said, pointing to the ground.

By this time, Erin is so excited, I was afraid we were going to need a trip to that restroom hut, AND I had guessed the mystery animal. I didn't know whether to be exasperated or amused, so I chose the second ...

"Is it a roly poly, Erin?"

"YES! It's right back there! I SAW it with my own eyes, mom. Hurry, hurry, before it crawls away! I love those things!!!"

We pretended to see the roly poly, and moved her along to the rest of the zoo.

It just goes to show ... even if you do go to the zoo on "cheap" day, we coulda had just as much wonder and excitement in the backyard. Thanks for the reminder, little girl, that fun doesn't have to cost anything, and wonder is still alive and well in the world!

The Nub

2006-09-15T00:15:00.000-05:00

This is in response/an update to my post from a few days/weeks past. Matt, our friend who was in the motorcycle accident, is doing well. He has returned to Phat Thursdays, Sunday worship times, class, and has even created a fun new website/blog to share about his experiences. Please visit it, and get to know a little about Matt's accident, and a lot about him! www.thenub.org

Whee -- It's 83!

2006-09-10T23:57:00.000-05:00

Well, the big event has come and gone ... Watermelon Day, 2006. And yes, this was the theme for the big day. Anyone questioning just what is this wonderful celebration? Well, 83 years ago, a guy near the town of Gaylord, KS (yes, Gaylord), grew a bunch of watermelon ... down by the river, again, yes, "down by the river". There were so many, he invited his family and friends down to the river to enjoy a picnic and watermelon on Labor Day. The day was such a success, the next year, he apparently grew more watermelon, and decided to invite the Gaylord and Cedar communities to join in the picnic/watermelon frolic ... thus began the tradition of Watermelon Day, in Gaylord, KS.

Now, why, on earth, do you ask, would we pack up our car, drive 5 hours west and north into the land of pretty much nothing for a weekend?? Well, my grandparents live in the Gaylord community, and this year, they were given a Watermelon Day award. We thought they were going to be crowned, but instead they received a plaque, and a nice set of accolades. This happened on Sunday evening, prior to the big day.

Also, we enjoyed music from a set of sisters, ages 17, 16, 15, and 12, named Alika, Danika, Janika, and Lanika. They are quite good, for their age, and are called "Eternity Focus." (they'll be recording in KC at the end of this month with a guy who recorded Mark Schultz' first album, as well as some things for Amy Grant). Anyway, the reason it is particularly special to me, is that when these girls were little bitty girls, I was in a singing group that sang in their church and around the community, and these girls would always come up to us afterward and ask for our autographs, tell us how they wanted to be a singing group someday too, and the whole nine-stars-in-the-eyes-yards. It was so neat to see that they had followed their dream, and are on their way to something bigger, to bring glory to God's name. An even more sweet moment, was as I was holding my little girl, she was singing along with the "big girls" on some of the songs, and I saw parts of history repeating -- for His glory! Tears soon followed, but I quickly recovered!

Okay, enough nostalgia for the moment. The Watermelon Day morn dawned clear and bright, and we headed off to the parade -- Erin's first, I think. She was amazed that the people on the floats threw candy, and although she had trouble spotting the pieces that dropped at her feet, she didn't miss the lone piece that didn't make it to the side of the route, but landed in the middle of the street. Zipping out to save it from certain squashing or horse poop, the Daring Erin rescued the lone root beer barrel, bringing the parade, more importantly, the red sports car she ran out in front of, to a small halt. Proud moment for us ... Grandpa G was at the front line with her, and I don't know what he was thinking, but turned around to the rest of us, smiled, and gave a thumbs up. I don't know ... Perhaps the most exciting moment was the passing of the horses, no, no, I think it was actually the fact that she got TWO packs of powdered donut gems, from the Gene's Heartland IGA grocery store float.

With the parade over, we picked our way through the horse trail (mmm, horse apples) and headed to the park, where the rest of the festivities take place. We hurried to get in line for the homemade icecream stand -- it usually goes fast, and once it's gone, ... My grandma (the tall lady with the white shirt w/ red collar) is the queen of the ice cream stand. She works it every year for the first shift. I was a bit disappointed in a the choices this year, as they ran out of my favorite, Oreo (aka: "oLeo", as the sign plainly states) before we got there, but I enjoyed some Strawberry. We then went to find a place to sit, because I guess it's not good to eat homemade ice cream standing up -- mom and dad rushed Erin to find a place in the bleachers. This was fun, because we got to watch everyone walk by, and I ran into several people from the community that I knew. Erin, however, soon bored of the people-watching, and spied a Nextel train giving rides to the kids. Boy, did she enjoy that. She even was scolded by the conductor for attempting to do "the wave" in the back car --TWICE!

Next, she wanted to play on the playground, so she and grandpa headed for the teeter totters. Well, this was all well and good, until Erin decided she wanted to get down, but Grandpa failed to hear that decision. She ended up on the ground, hitting bum first, it seems. Much wailing and many tears ensued. Once that was cleared up, she returned to the play area for the slide and merry-go-round. She avoided the teeter totters for the remainder of the day.
Okay, time for lunch and the watermelon! Grandpa got burgers for us from the food stand, and Erin and Daddy watched several men unload the watermelon from a grain truck and whack them open with large machete-type knives. She found this very stimulating, and I believe, secretly, thought she would make an excellent addition to the slicing team. Thankfully, they were fresh-out of knives. We sat on the cement in front of the bleachers to eat, where several young boys were enjoying a scuffle, kicking dirt onto my hunk of juicy, red watermelon.

After lunch, the next exciting activity began ... the kids races! My old PE teacher/BB Coach was the leader. I liked her in Jr. High, but was scared of her when I had her in Kindergarten ... I could sense a similar vibe coming from my daughter. We got Erin's name on the list, and waited for them to call her age category. However, the youngest level was 5-6 year olds. There were several kids under 5, so they let them race with the 5-6s ... which made for very even odds ... after the first few races, they added the 4 and under category, and even changed the races for them, due to their motor skill level. Erin has not had much experience racing, and what she has had has been only running. The most difficult race was the frog-hop, which she did complete, but in dead last among the 5-6 year olds, and the pseudo crab walk (hold onto your ankles while you walk to the other end of the field). The surprising race was the sack race. I was very nervous about this one, but she actually finished first!

By this point in the afternoon, we are all getting weary, so after one more hamburger for Erin, we headed back to the car to leave for home. Erin, clutching her prize (a purple "Grimace" beanie bear from McDonald's) and Avery sleeping again. Erin was asleep within 5 minutes of leaving Gaylord, and slept until we woke her for a potty break at Manhattan, which made it a nice trip for us. Avery also slept most of the trip home, until about 5 miles outside of Lawrence, when we had to stop for a food break.

There are many more small stories, but this is all I can handle typing for now. I hope the pictures upload so you, too, can enjoy Watermelon Day 2006!

tragedy

2006-09-01T04:55:00.000-05:00

Flurry of new posts ... it's been a busy week, and now, I'd like to take a moment to be serious, and ask for your hearts. Today, well, I guess it was yesterday, now, our friend, Matt from church had a bad motorcycle accident. We have been asked to not post much of this online, as we don't know Matt's wishes in regards to this, but I wanted to ask those of you who are reading this, to please pray for him. Thank you so much -- the body of Christ is such an amazing thing, with vitality and life beyond anything I can imagine.

Avery Layne Rahija, Child of God

2006-09-01T04:40:00.000-05:00

We had a special moment in our worship service on Sunday. David and I presented Avery for dedication. Basically, we wanted to publicly announce our intention to, and ask for the support of our family and church family, raise Avery to know and love God, and know His only Son, Jesus as her personal Savior. We know we cannot make the decision for her, but we will try our best, with His help and guidance, to raise her in His ways. We know this is not a light task, and are so pleased that so many have and will continue to help us on our journey of parenting. It was so heart-warming to see our family and church family sitting in the same room (even if they were sitting kind of separately -- we meet in an auditorium, so it's kind of hard to all sit in the same area it doesn't start that way), and hear them promise to help us, and keep our child (children) lifted up in prayer, and through living with them in Christian community. We have been so blessed

Grandma Gerstenkorn made Avery a special dress for the day. She didn't want her to feel left out later when Erin had a special dress (made by Great Grandma Boeck) and she didn't. It was a nice end to the weekend.

Thank you, to all of you, who have given so much love and support, and promised to help us raise our girls His way. We love you!

Hippee! ("yippee" in Erin-speak)

2006-09-01T04:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I am happy to report that Erin's birthday party went off with no huge hitches ... just a few minor ones, like a rainy morning so we didn't get the pool set up, a really muggy afternoon, and no cake :) Nice, I know, what a mom! However, I was quick on my feet, and came to the rescue with a huge hunk o watermelon with 4 spiraly, neon candles, AND a Birthday Bear CareBear.

She was pleased, and we are proud to say that we had 20 people in and out of here during the day on Saturday. At one point, there were 18 in our livingroom ... for those of you who have seen our livingroom, you know that this is a miracle in itself! Here, she is all a dither with excitement as Dunley tries to free Ariel, the Little Mermaid from her plastic/wire prison, which is nicely decorated in an "under the sea" theme. She finally found freedom, leaving behind bits of wire, and the nice "under the sea" box. Whew!

... you live in a zoo ...

2006-08-24T10:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes we do! Anyway, today is another birthday in the Rahija household ...

Erin is 4 today (FOUR!!!)

How did this happen? How did my little girl turn into a big preschool girl? We are still working on finding a preschool, since the one we were planning isn't where she'll attend.

Soooo, Happy Birthday, Erin! We love you!

"He he he. That sucker doesn't even realize I kept his coin." (Jesus?)

2006-08-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

Sean and David introduced me to these video clips. I laughed out loud quite a bit upon viewing them ... and then had a moment of seriousness, as these clips were made to show how many people view Jesus. Check them out, and see what you think -- I hope I'm not the only one who laughs out loud!
#1
#2
#3
#4

I'd like to get my computer to sing the Peter "I'm walking in dirt and rocks" when I log in.

Some more great videos are on the vintage21 site, "The Believer Way". (click on the projector) Another look at "Christian-speak".

... you look like a monkey

2006-08-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

Belated birthday wishes go out to David (August 14th) and Krista (August 18th). We are going to celebrate over at mom and dad's this afternoon/evening ... I we just hadn't made a "big deal" about it yet :) Happy birthday, my loved ones! Erin's birthday is next Thursday ... how can 4 years have passed since she joined our family?!?!? I will never cease to be amazed at the quick passage of time when we aren't thinking about it!

... and you smell like one too!

BBQ

2006-08-19T13:35:00.000-05:00

The BBQ is over (for this week, anyway!) and the "outcome" was different that I think any of us thought. David has a theory as to why we didn't have a single person come as a result of the flier ... agree mostly with his thoughts. I also am feeling badly, because I think I was maybe arrogant in my attitude towards the BBQ ... so sure that because of all the interest we had from people at the garage sale, from students at the info fair, from people living in the area around the ministry center, that there would be no place to put all of the people. I sometimes fear, as I think about it, that I was somehow to blame for this. I didn't let God be God, I was sure we had figured out the "formula." Then ... I re-read David's post and think about all the positive things that happened. We were able to have lots of one-on-one conversations with individual new people, and hear their stories. I watched the Random 1 video for last week -- David's obsession has grabbed me too! -- and there was a quote in there (I took notes, even!) that said, "Until we see where a person is living, you cannot understand the depth of their desperation" (or something like that ... my notes are downstairs right now). How did we expect to start relationships with 5000 people, when we only have about 25 "regulars" to circulate? That is simply ridiculous! Jesus fed 5000+ people at one time, and could do it again. I guess I'm just glad we didn't have to call on him to do so this week! We are more ready than we realize, but I also think God uses times like this to prepare us for the next time. AND, we did notice several car loads of student-looking individuals drive by, but think that with the scant crowd of 15 people in the front yard, did not want to be #16, 17, and 18. However, they saw our banner, and maybe will come another time ... after a while, the cafeteria food wears on you enough that the thought of free home-cooked food might be more exciting than the first week of school or, their spiritual hunger might direct them our way too. The freshmen all have our flier in their hands, in their room, so there is a point of contact, PLUS we have a whole bucket full of names that requested more info about UC at the info fair on Tuesday night -- that's a celebration in itself. We want to use this week to contact them and reconnect, one more step in the direction to a relationship!

Also, Sean and Rachel and I sat at the indoor info fair in the Kansas Union yesterday. We didn't get any more names, but we did visit with a few students who may attend our meal next week -- I can think of four that Rachel and I visited with who specifically asked for more specific directions to the event, and asked what we did. Again, it was only a one-time encounter, but we were able to actually visit with them since there were so few people.

This is where we turn things over to our Almighty Father, who is probably giggling at our bunbling attempts, but blessing our actions because our hearts are full of His Kingdom, and bringing glory to His name. Please continue to pray for us as we joyfully seek out those who are hurting and those who are seeking Him (even if they don't know it yet!). On to Sunday worship ... on to book club discussion ... on to Girls' Night ... on to next Phat Thursday ... and whatever God puts in our path between now and then!

As for this random ramble, it's done for now :)

Another Crazy Week

2006-08-17T15:07:00.000-05:00

Hello! I've been a bit absent from contributing to my blog, but have enjoyed keeping up with everyone else this week! What a crazy time the last few weeks have been! After the garage sale, Natalie's birthday party (Saturday), Trinity Family Church presentation, Will's birthday party (Sunday), leadership team meeting (Monday), book club (Tuesday), free night!! (Wednesday), Sean's ordination (Thursday), house cleanup-hang picture day (Fri/Sat), District Wide worship service (Sunday), and that brings us to preparation for this week ... Hawk Week!

In preparation for this semester, we wanted to let as many students as possible know about UC, and interact with as many of them as possible. One way we did this is through fliers ... 5,000 of them. A great deal on printing gave us an amazing opportunity to get our fliers into the dorms (2500), into the hands of students at our garage sale, and our big night ... the Info Fair (all the new freshmen come to the lawn of Strong Hall and are innundated with information from the KU student organizations). We have a drawing for gifts certificates to the KU Bookstore, Hastings, and Yellow Sub, and this way, if students request more information, we have their contact info, and can reach out to them beyond the first week of school. Our fliers are advertising our Welcome Back BBQ, which is tonight (T minus 3 hours!)! As we passed them out to students at the Info Fair, it was interesting to see the reactions: some tossed it in their pile, signed up for the drawing, and moved on; some looked very leary, as we are a church, some seemed politely interested, but not deeply moved; some were blatantly offended by a church offering them a free meal; some were intrigued; some were excited by the chance for free food; some wanted information about our organization; ... some will come ... some will not. HOWEVER, I am so excited by what is taking place in our "family". We have students who attended our events and services last year taking ownership in things this year, helping and planning. We have tons of people who will return from the summer and start engaging in spiritual discussions/growth. Our music team has more depth, as two instrumentalists have joined us. The opportunity for furthing the Kingdom of God is infinite!

Okay, I'm kinda getting giddy over vauge things here -- there are specific examples too many to record here, so I'll try to get them out over the next few weeks. However, I have a cake to frost before tonight, as well, as a little girl's overnight bag to pack for a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house. And I need to change my shirt! So, until later, have a wonderful day, and please pray with us as we strive to reach hurting people!

Sold: Everything BUT the garage!

2006-08-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

So, I am mostly recuperated from the crazy weekend we had ... THE GARAGE SALE! I posted about it before and wanted to share some of the "during" and "after".

Friday, I meant to get to Lawrence between 9:30 and 10, but David accidentally took the girls' carseats with him to work, so I was stuck here until he got home around 1:30. I left and headed to town with my baskets of clean clothes for the sale (after $27 at the laundromat from ONLY washing, Rachel and I still took several loads home to wash, and we had several baskets that we took to others' homes to have them dry). Upon arriving, I found lots of disarray, but that's okay, everyone organizes differently! I tried to start organizing and continued washing items that I found that were dirty -- we wanted to offer a "clean" garage sale, so even "if" we had leftovers to donate, someone wouldn't be getting dirty stuff. When my co-coordinator arrived later in the afternoon, she decided we needed to take everything off the tables and move the tables outside so we could start organizing out there (the tables would not fit through the doors of the rooms they were in without being on their sides). Thankfully, there was a breeze and the heat was not horrible. Matt and Dena arrived with food for the evening (THANK YOU!), and helped us get the tables out of the basement to the yard. Around 6, the UC crew started arriving, and we had a more constant flow of items going from the basement to the yard, and the storage annex to the yard.

Now, because everyone thinks differently, our main goal was to get the items out and on tables so many folks could go home and feel good about getting the stuff "out" on the tables. There were many different ideas on how things should be organized and also different opinions about prices ... all of our advertising said "most items are by donation", but some thought a price sticker would "help" people know what to give - geesh. Anyway, that is beside the point.

Okay, we're all bringing stuff up out of the basement and out of the shed, and we are filling the yard, which faces Kasold, a VERY busy street in Lawrence. Naturally, people see a yard sale, they stop in to check it out. On Friday night alone, we sold items that profited over $400. The yard was crammed with people and they were making piles of stuff to haul away. I don't know how to best paint a picture of the amount of things we had at this sale, but David estimates that we had at least 20 trailer loads of stuff. This filled 4 rows of "church tables", an 8'x4' table, the ground under the tables, the sidewalks surrounding the church, two queen sized blankets (toys alone), PLUS the area for furniture, shoes, sporting goods, and household appliance items (ceiling fans, foot spas, aquariums, ...). I felt bad, because so much of the stuff was still in boxes and not organized AT ALL! However, people still stayed to look and dig -- until 9pm. After that, the people from Faith church left, and we were allowed to start the organizing.

Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie (sorry, Jimmie, I've been spelling your name wrong for a year now!), Sean, and I (as well as Avery) stayed all night at the church to "guard" the garage sale, but to organize it as well. After a few errands, we got to work, and spent the night sorting, organizing, and laughing about items we found. It took us until 6:15am to finish, but we all felt good about the progress were proud of what we had done. I would have to say that I was stunned about some of the items that people found appropriate to donate, but those laughs kept us going!

The next morning, we had customers arriving before 7, and we had a constant flow of people until 1, then we posted on freecycle and Larryvill.com that as of 1:30, everything left was free, and to come and get it! Another flood of people arrived, and carried away more things. At the end of the day, we only had three loosely packed trailers full of items left. EVERY item of furniture was gone -- all of it! Not too shabby! Thanks to Rachel, Dena, Matt, Jimmie, David, Sean, Lisa, Shirley & Don (Lisa's parents), Julie, Dott, Gary, Warren, Virginia, and Jan for all of your hard work!!

The fundraising part of our day was exciting, as we brought in over $2200, split down the middle between the two churches. Faith is putting their money towards a missions goal, and UC is putting our share towards the garage refurbishing project (we need more space, as our student center has met capacity again - we are converting the garage into a usable space).

The best part of the two days, I am so excited to share. The process and purpose of this garage sale underwent many changes throughout its entirety. At first it was simply a fund raiser. A few weeks into the process, though, we realized how much of an opportunity this could be to get out into the community ... IF we CHOSE to make it one! We met so many wonderful people through the freecycle/Larryville communities who donated items, and we were able to help many of them get rid of things they didn't want to move or store. Some of them have kept contact with us, and we hope to continue the relationship. The other way we were meeting people, is at the garage sale. We had our UC BBQ fliers and info cards at the table, and Faith also had an info card to pass out. As we were circulating through the people, I know the UC people were purposely connecting with customers, and inviting them to the BBQ. At the check out they also got info. The neat part is that when we see these people in WalMart or Dillons, we can reconnect with them, and continue to build a rapport with them, the beginnings of a relationship, a safe connection. I look forward to these relationships continuing and growing ... Erica, Josh, Erin ... Jana, Xiao, Shaunna ... Brian, Cher, John ... who knows where they are or where they have been or how we fit into that puzzle. I only know that Jesus was out among the people, making connections, being genuine, forming trustworthy relationships, and giving all.

Where else would we want to be?

HUGE Garage Sale in Lawrence, KS - 30+ families!

2006-08-04T02:11:00.000-05:00

Hello, all! This Saturday, our church is having a joint sale with Faith Church of the Nazarene in Lawrence, KS at 1020 Kasold Dr. There is so much stuff, and I am so tired, I can't list it, but if you want to check out our ad ... please do! I'm excited to meet the people who attend, and know some new friendships have already formed through this process. I'll blog more about the entire situation after it's over! Please join us on Saturday!

Ours on Loan

2006-07-28T02:30:00.000-05:00

I can't sleep ...

There is this sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, at the back of my throat, in the depths of my heart. I feel awful, scared, ... faithless.

Erin, as I have mentioned several times lately, has been extremely in touch spiritually ... sharing Bible stories with friends she meets at the park, restaurant workers, at church ... picking out lonely hearts and seeking to ease the pain ... praying lots of prayers throughout the day and at bedtime (although sometimes it seems as if those are sometimes stall tactics, but what can you do? "Sorry, kid, no more prayers."?).

Tonight was different. On our way home, Erin was thankful for the stars, as she often is, and started saying like, "Is that Jesus' star? It's the brightest one. That must be where Baby Jesus is, and Mary and Joseph too. I want to go there, and be with Jesus." Nothing worrisome here, infact, very sweet, if off a bit theologically. As the trip progressed, things got a bit more serious, and she began asking more questions. We were listening to her Veggie Tales Worship Songs tape, and when the intro for the song In the Secret came on, it spurred a traumatic response in Erin ...
"... there's a place where we can hear God's voice ... it's a secret place ..." (kids on tape)
"Mommy, did you know there's a secret place we can go to hear God's voice? I wish I knew that place. I try and try and can't ever hear God, mommy. Why can't I hear His voice? I want to see Him and know Him." (I realize the last few phrases are from the song ... "I want to know you, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more. I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.")

I tried to explain that we don't always hear God's voice, as in a physical sound or words, but that we know He hears our prayers and answers them, He gives us peace, and creates a beautiful world for us to enjoy and take care of as well as we can. Of course, I'm feeling very "out of my league" trying to explain this to her fairly literal mind in very abstract terms. The part that got me was when she started crying, no, sobbing, because she couldn't hear God talking to her. She kept spitting out phrases like, "There's so much I want to talk to Him about ..." "Why can't I hear Him?" "Why can't I be in Heaven too?" This continued all the way to the house, up the stairs, and through bedtime preparations (yes, she was exhausted from an early morning, and no nap). I pulled her onto my lap, and tried to comfort her, but she would not be comforted. During prayer time, she cried again, asking God if she could be in heaven and why her wishes (to be in heaven with Him and Jesus) had not been granted. Still distraught, she finally ended, and laid down to sleep. By this time, Avery was really hungry, so I moved to the rocker to feed her, which brought more distress to Erin, who enjoys me snuggling her at bedtime. She finally calmed down, and went to sleep, looking crumpled and defeated, but relaxed.

Now, why am I such a mess? "People say" (whoever "they" are) that sometimes people are more spiritually aware as they near death. They make closure with family/friends, take care of financial issues, wait for the "ok" from their family before breathing their last ... I can't help but wonder as I think about the last few weeks with Erin. The thing that tears me up, is that she seemed so unhappy in this place, and longed for intimate communion with her God ... and I had to fight the urge to try and dissuade her from that, because for her wish of being in heaven to come true, means that I lose my little girl.

That being said, I am reminded of several things ... 1. When Erin was born, actually, before she was born, we dedicated her to God, taking the view that she is a precious gift to us from our Father, on loan until His timing says different. 2. "Better is one day in Your courts than 1000 days anywhere else" 3. The song sung at her dedication service by a dear friend and his two daughters, I Can Only Imagine. 4. Sunday morning in our livingroom/kitchen ... David and I were running through music for worship service that afternoon, and were singing Blessed Be Your Name, one of Erin's favorite songs (on the Veggie Tales Worship Songs CD), and she drug a chair out from the table, stood up on it, her arm around me, bellowing out all the lyrics at the TOP of her voice.

How can I be so selfish, and want to keep anyone here, much less, my own child, when we, as the creations of the Holy God, will have the amazing (such a lame word choice, but what else is there?) joy of worshipping Him without end in the courts of Heaven? As the song says, "Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You, Jesus, or in awe of You be still?" If you've ever met Erin, you will probably smile at this, and guess, as I, that she'll be dancing in His presence. Why am I not dancing myself, because my almost 4 year old longs to be in the presence of the Most High ... she looks at others through His eyes, follows the leading of His Spirit, and shows the compassion of His Son -- okay, maybe that's a proud mama talking, (if you've read many of the "Erin" blog entries, you'll know that she's no angel, and is very good at disobeying, hurting others' feelings, and being a general pill at times!) but every since Erin has had a personality, I feel God has used her as His vessel, creating opportunities in her life for ministry to others.

I still have yet to say exactly why I am sitting her snivelling and diverting tears away from the keyboard ... I guess, to come out and say it, I am afraid of losing my child. Just typing those words brings a flood of silent sobs to my throat, and a fresh stream of tears to my cheeks. I cannot imagine the feeling of going into her room and finding her cold and lifeless. I cannot imagine the pain of choosing a funeral home or picking clothes for her for the last time. I cannot imagine going into the girls' room to take her things out ... calling the relatives ... driving past a park full of kids playing without mine ... explaining to her baby sister in later years that her sister is with Jesus ... which is where she belongs ... we all do, it's where He desires us to be.

I said earlier that I felt faithless. I guess that is not completely true. Faith is what is keeping me from running down there every 10 seconds to check if she's still breating (I've only checked on her twice, and I was in there to lay Avery down both times), or laying down to hold her while she sleeps. I know she rests in His arms, as she has every night since they placed her in our arms at the hospital, and will every night until He really does take her home. I know He has had her days numbered from the beginning of time, as are mine and yours. It's funny, because just today she and I were talking about something that happened before David and I even met, and she asked where she was. I told her that she wasn't born yet, and was just a dream in God's eyes. Her eyes shone, and she said with awe, "I was a dream in God's eyes?!"

Yes, my beautiful, loving, ornery, mischeivous, stubborn, confident, amazingly faith-filled child, you were, and He is loving watching you grow in all matters -- he probably thinks it's hilarious to watch you make streamers out of toilet paper to decorate my room, mix up "cakes" out of salt and milk, and pick up that darn dead bird that keeps resurfacing in the backyard because you're curious. I will too, someday, I guess. No matter what happens this night, or tomorrow, or the day after that, I guess this is His way of reminding me what a precious gift He has given us.

This blog entry isn't meant for you, it was for me. Sorry for run-on sentences, bad punctuation, 500 links to song lyrics, and all the rest -- I don't care, it was raw, and I had to sort through my feelings. Throughout the course of this evening(morning), I gave Erin back to God ... maybe I have an inkling of the feeling Abraham had as he led his son toward the sacrifical altar, before the ram appeared. I am going to go kiss my children and go back to bed now.

Thank You, Father, for the gift of my beautiful girls. They are so precious to me, and I know even more precious to You. I know I have been selfish, and I want to lay them at Your feet, knowing that if You choose to bring one or both to You at any time, they will rest with You, in Your perfect arms of love, as you cradle our other baby. What a blessing, to know we have nothing to fear when we're safe in Your arms. Good night, Father. Thank you for holding me in Your arms, loving me, comforting my heart, and calming my fears. Good night.

Wrong, Again.

2006-07-18T00:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I had my butt kicked spiritually yesterday by my nearly four year old ...

After spending the morning worshipping with another faith community, Faith Journey, Sunday morning, we went out to eat at Red Robin for lunch. We had a large party, and it was very loud. The hostess keeps a stash of helium balloons for the kids at the front desk, which was right next to us, and Erin had been eyeing a green one for the entire meal -- a long time for her! She was bored, full of spaghetti, and ready to have her balloon, so I took her over to get one (I thought we were getting close to leaving at this point -- I was wrong). While she danced about with her new green friend, I was getting Avery settled, and trying to move our little family toward the car ... our church in Lawrence was starting in an hour, and we hadn't gotten the music together yet. While my back was turned, Erin noticed a girl sitting outside smoking, and she turned to me, excited to the point of bouncing, and said, "Momma, can I go outside with that lady with the smoke?"

My first instinct was to say "No" immediately, but I wanted to find the root of her curiosity (I know, I should really give up that dream!), so I said in a kind of "put out" sort of way, "Now why in the world would you want to do that?"

She looked at me, with eyes filled with that look of "Duh, mom", and said, "Well, she's sitting all by herself, and I didn't want her to be lonely."

Wow -- that one hit me right in the heart. Tears sprung to my eyes, as I beheld Jesus in the eyes of my daughter. I smiled at her and shook my head yes, and she ran out the door. I was a bit concerned, as the parking lot was right there, so I kind of hurried after her, cutting off a woman who was also heading outdoors. I apologized, and explained that my daughter had just run outside to keep a girl company that looked lonely to her. The woman stopped and thought about what I said, while holding the door for me, and then said, "Wow, how old is she?" I told her, and she just shook her head in amazement.

When I got outside, Erin was sitting next to the girl, happily holding her balloon, swinging her feet, and smiling at her soon-to-be friend. I watched, as Erin scooted closer to her and complimented her shirt (it had sequins on it). The girl looked at Erin kind of strangely, and kept looking at her lap. She told Erin she liked her dress. Erin proceeded to thank her and tell her that her mom had got it at a garage sale (Thanks, Erin!), and just continued beaming at this woman. I noticed then, that the girl was looking at her lap because she was holding her cell phone and as she brought it close to her face, I realized that she had an ear piece in, and was just talking into the actual phone. I held my hand out to Erin and told her that we needed to let the woman finish her phone call, and that she wasn't lonely because she was talking to a friend on her phone. Erin smiled, hollered out a goodbye, and headed back into the air conditioning.

The girl, still looking confused, made eye contact with me. I quickly explained that Erin had seen her from inside and was afraid she was lonely, so wanted to come keep her company so she wouldn't be alone. The girl's face melted and she smiled at me. I smiled and walked back inside, fearful of where Erin's next adventure might lead without supervision. However, as I was opening the door, I heard the girl comment to her phone friend, "Oh wow, I was out having a smoke, and this little girl saw me from inside and came to keep me company because she didn't want me to be lonely..."

The tone of her voice said more than the words, and I had to stop again to evaluate what had just transpired. Once again, my daughter saw a need, came up with a way to meet the need, and executed it, in spite of my efforts to detain her. All I saw was a girl smoking (I HATE the smell of smoke and how it permeates everything from hair to clothes to your purse!), but Erin saw her through Jesus' eyes, and took a moment to share love with her. Where did Jesus hang out ... the docks, wells, the temple, with sick people, and among the masses (who probably smelled worse than a little smoke). Where am I hanging out???

As we pursue God's plan for us in Lawrence, KS, growing His kingdom, and sharing His love, I was convicted that I have so far to go. May we all take a lesson from Erin, and learn to follow Him with immediate action and love ... faith like a child.

No? Now that's funny!

2006-07-15T02:59:00.000-05:00

Who could say "no" to this face?

Avery Layne ... 3 1/2 months

Daddy hasn't got a chance!
Gotta love baby grins!

Newest Erin-isms

2006-07-15T01:39:00.000-05:00

Some new words from Erin:

"road canschection" ... road construction

"Blessed be Your glorious soufflet" ... "Blessed by Your glorious name" (Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman)

"compilot" ... billfold (I think she was confusing/combining "compact" and "palm pilot" -- two other things found in my purse)

"pullsherry see-ening" ... poultry seasoning

As always, it's a joy (and sometimes, a hoot!) to converse with my daughter!

New Feature

2006-07-14T14:26:00.000-05:00

I found a new feature available on my personal website today!

Mary, Mary

2006-07-12T23:51:00.000-05:00

We ran across the blog of some of our friends from our time in Emporia ... Chad and Angel, directors of our college ministry group during part of our college days. Their ministry in Tuscon, AZ seems somewhat similar to our ministry in Lawrence. I was captivated by one of their passions. Please read about it. I don't know that our ministry is ready for this yet, as we are kind of spread thin the way it is, but who am I to decide that?! I think this wold be a really special way to get immersed in the community. I can only imagine the hurt and pain that is living here. Let us pray that we would respond to His calling, even if it is against societal "norms" (in Christian circles, anyway), and seems so very far out of any box or comfort zone we have ever experienced ... OR ... if it is a place we have been, and removed ourselves from, that we are not afraid to be in and not of that very place.

Eek!

2006-07-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

Remember the tale of Little Miss Muffet? Well, we had a similar experience here today, with a little variation ...

I was on the phone with Jill, my Mary Kay director today, discussing my team and how we were doing on our goals for the month. Erin, who was particularly needing to be right with me for most of the day, was at my elbow, asking every 20 seconds if she could talk to Jill.

During one of the 20 second intervals, she yells out, "Mom, there's a spider on my shorts!" I turned to look, and sure enough, there was a small black spider dancing illusively around on my daughter's purple shorts. Wanting to relieve her of this impending trauma, I leand over in my rolly chair to bat the arachnid from her little quivering leg. I was successful, however, just as I saw the spider drop to the floor and went to reach for it with my (bare - eww!) foot, I felt a loose feeling under me, and was powerless to do anything to prevent the chair from rolling backwards out from under me.

The trip to the floor was quick, yet felt as if it were in slow motion. My tush hit the protective floor mat, and I rolled up to make sure Avery (who was eating happily throughout the whole ordeal) was okay. She was, just looked a little bemused, and smiled at me anyway. I started to giggle, but was interrupted by the shrill squeaks of my firstborn, who was jumping around in a "potty dance"esque way, pointing at the floor mat.

"Mom, you didn't kill it yet, it's next to you, right beside you!!!"

"Where? I don't see it."

(Voice even higher pitched, and with even quicker, breathier delivery) "Mom, it's under your butt! You're squishing it with your butt!"

Now, by this point in time, I realize that the situation is fairly hysterical, and also realize that I am still "talking" to Jill. All is quiet on her end, and all I can say is "Oh my." We quickly finished our talk, and after hanging up the phone, having a big laugh out loud, I turned to Erin, who was still standing in the same spot, looking at me in a horrified way. She then kind of pointed to me and said, "Mom, that spider is still on your butt."

Needless to say, I "brushed myself off" and had another side splitting round of laughter. Yep, another day in the Rahija household. Don't you wish you were here?!

Shu Shu's Sheet

2006-07-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

This morning, as I was checking my email, Erin popped into the office and said to me ...

"Mama, in my room, all the animals are going to listen to a song, but only the animals who have clothes on can listen to it."

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."

"Yeah, but Mom, there's a problem. Shu Shu (one of her stuffed toys, a rabbit) really wants to hear the song."

"Okay. Does she need to get dressed?"

"Yes, but I have tried and tried to put some of my shirts on her, but they won't fit. So I need to cut off some of my sheet for her to wear. Where are the blue handled scissors?"

"Whoa ... why do you need to cut off part of your sheet?"

"Mom, I just told you, my shirts won't fit Shu Shu -- they're too big and fall off of her!"

"Well, have you tried some of your doll clothes?"

"No, Mama, they won't work. She just wants the sheet. Where are the scissors? That's just what I needed to get from here." (translation: If you hadn't have been in here, mom, I would have been happily snipping out a sheet tunic for Shu Shu right now.)

"Okay, well, I can see that Shu Shu is too little for your big girl clothes (the rabbit is about 8 inches long, and probably 4 inches wide), so how about some of Avery's clothes? They're much smaller, and might work nicely?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Well, mom, I don't really like Avery's clothes, especially her shirts."

"Well, we aren't going to cut up the sheets today, so you'll need to find a shirt of Avery's, or Shu Shu will just have to listen to the song another time."

"Ohhh, okayyy."

Erin dashed out of the room (I was careful to note the position of the blue handled scissors!) and came back a few moments later with Shu Shu and a yellow onsie of Avery's. We worked together to put it on Shu Shu, and snapped it, and held her up to survey our work. She did look quite cute, even Erin had to admit... and, Shu Shu was eligible to attend the concert :)

All I can say is, whew, I'm glad I checked my email this morning!

Welcome William!

2006-07-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

Our good friends Jeff and Valerie have a new addition to their family! We are so excited that Baby William has arrived, and it looks as if everyone is healthy -- tired mama, proud papa, and pink, sleeping baby! Congrats on a beautiful little boy -- we won't call him beautiful later, but something more manly, like handsome or dashing :) For now, though, as he can't protest, he's beautiful!

Together again!

2006-07-08T00:05:00.000-05:00

While David is downstairs writing an embarrassing blog about something I blurted out in a discussion about Johnny Cash and music in general ... I'd like to take a moment to share that Erin is home! She had a great time at the farm, and came home equipped with an even more prominent farmer's tan, a farm hat, and cat scratches across her lip (But she caught 'im!). She had a great time, and now is home to terrorize her little sister again (who is, yelling at me from her crib presently, so I shall close and rescue her from the monsters in her crib). We are together again!