My New Passion

Other then Caleb, and Audrey of course, well, and Jesus, and my husband, none of which are new passions, I have stumbled upon a new passion. I say stumbled upon because I did not seek this out. God has been cultivating this in me in recent weeks and months, maybe even years, and suddenly, in the last month, it has been constantly on my heart and mind.

Adoption

My thoughts turn to adoption whenever I have a moment to myself. I am learning a lot, and processing a lot, and praying a lot. I still do not know exactly how God is going to weave adoption into the fabric of my life, our lives, but I know that he has been at work in me. I know he has already been weaving adoption into my life. I know that I am feeling a strong calling or desire, or both to be involved in adoption. I know that God has placed, and used certain people in my life recently that have taught me so much about adoption. I know that God clearly calls us to love and care for the orphans in Scripture.

I know that I have been adopted, by God, and that Jesus was adopted, by Joseph, and that I am learning so many compelling truths about adoption that I feel like there is more to the story.

So I will learn, and pray, and walk with those people God has placed in my life who are adopted and have adopted.

To be continued...

Wacky Wednesday

Last week was Read Across America, a day to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss by encouraging children to read. We turned it into a week of reading fun and activities at the Schalesky house and on Wednesday, we read Wacky Wednesday. We did not only read Wacky Wednesday, we were Wacky Wednesday. Christian got up before any of us and made everything downstairs wacky~ shoe on the wall, chair on the table, etc. and the kids and I dressed really wacky (I promise I did not go anywhere but my friends house). Caleb and Audrey were so pleased, and we were happy to please them.

Wacky Wednesday is the perfect way to begin as I attempt to return to blogging. It has been awhile, a long while, and with good reason. Ever since Audrey was born, and honestly, a bit before, I have been feeling pretty wacky.

A lot happened, Christian's job changed and got REALLY busy right as I got pregnant with Audrey. Then, my pregnancy with her was tough, nothing too serious, but tough for me. In the midst of this, Christian and I were exploring a job opportunity and a big move, which we decided not to take after 5 months of checking it out. Then, Christian's job changed again. Then, Audrey was born, and Caleb stopped sleeping well. Right about this time, I entered into a time of fear and questioning, as three people I care a lot about were dealing with some very tough things that I was wrestling greatly with. And the affordable housing list we had been on suddenly offered us 3 opportunities to buy a home. We entered into a 6 month+ house search and escrow and then we moved. Finally, time to let things settle down? Nope, the week we were moving, Christian was asked to apply for a different job, and we began a very intense 5 months of searching out whether or not to take on this new, life changing position. Of course, we were working on the new house this entire time and raising two little children. He decided to take the job, and we took a month off for time to connect, catch up, transition. But we got sick, all of us, for about 2 months. We all took turns getting sick, but I was sick pretty much the whole time, and it was Audrey's birthday, and Christmas. We got better, had one REALLY good week, and then Christian started his new job. Which, to sum up, is great and overwhelming at the same time. I say this here not to complain, but to explain, that this year+ has resulted in me feeling a little wacky on more days then I would have thought.

You see, I have this rock I lean on. It is my peace, my strength, my redemption, my hope, my joy. But, somehow, in the last year plus of my life, I have been leaning on, clinging to something else. What was I leaning on? I am not totally sure, but I think I was trying to lean on myself, which if you have ever tried that, is not very effective. I don't think I realized until recently how little I was leaning on my rock, and how much I was leaning on myself.

So here I am, feeling wacky, and contemplating, many things. Mostly, I am contemplating how necessary it is to lean on, cling to the rock.

Audrey Crawling!!!

On Father's Day, Audrey decided to crawl. She has been scooting backwards for weeks, but she went forward for the first time today. SHe got progressibely better at it as the day went on too. I tried to post a video here, but it wasn;t working, too long? Will try to get a shorter one.

For now, go to my Facebook profile and check it out there. Click on Video from the tabs in my profile and you will see her. I tried to post a link... htat was working either for some reason...

So cute. Watch the video to the end for her stunt. :)

Audrey's Dedication

I wanted to invite all our family and good friends for Audrey's dedication. Then, someone talked to me about how Audrey is being dedicated in our church and it is our church that is committing to point her to the Lord and pray for her. Okay. Here are some pictures though anyway, as I just think her dedication is special and I want to share it with all who love her.



Grammy Claire and Pappa Jerry planned to come to town to help us pack, so they got to be here (although we did not end up packing).

Christian found the verse we chose for her. I love it!

Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

I like it that both Caleb and Audrey's verses we dedicated them to the Lord with are from the Old Testament. Seems so foundational to me.

Since I wasn't blogging at the time, I will do a separate post about Caleb's dedication, also super special!

Audrey's 2nd tooth, the cause of massive sleep deficit

Greetings from Audrey


Audrey's first tooth came through a few weeks ago, and I could feel the bulge of the 2nd tooth, but it had not broken through her gums yet. Well, after a brutal night of no sleep for all of us last night (Why is the Motrin not working? Seriously, she is awake again?), I awoke this morning to feel a very jagged edge, rather two jagged edges.


Her first tooth has pushed further through and her second tooth is now poking through her gums, and apparently, causing her extreme discomfort. I will be going to bed after this post, as tonight has already promised frequent wakings (even though we gave her teething tablets and Tylenol already). Have the Motrin awaiting her next wake up, and on my way to get some Orajel tomorrow. And I thought Caleb had a hard time teething!

She sure is a cutie in spite of it all!

7th Wedding Anniversary

We had a wonderful realization... Of course you bring your two sick kids along for your 7th wedding anniversary date! What else encapsulates 7 years of marriage anyway, then 2 sick kids, and 2 extremely tired parents?

We had a great time, and Mmmmm, the food at Cafe Buenos Aires never disappoints! (Especially with weekday Happy Hour deals and Axxess discounts.)

Love my husband!


Love my family!

First Foods

Audrey turned 6 months old on May 6th.
We celebrated with:
Avocado


Banana


Rice Cereal


Not all on the same day of course.
I think zuchinni or sweet potato are next on the list. Thus far, she is a fan of everything except peas... those made her quite upset at night...

She is quite pleased when drinking water too.

Mandatory Evacuation

Evacuating is never fun. We should know, we have done it 3 times in the 5 years we have lived in our current home, the last two times in the last 12 months!

First, I was teaching in Oxnard, pre-kids of our own, and could not go to work for a week because 101 was covered in the La Conchita landslide. We were evacuated due to the culvert that SB City believed would overflow sending insane amounts of water down the creek behind our house, flooding the creek, and our home too.

Second, last July, GAP fire. We were enjoying some time with Christian's family just before 4th of July when the GAP fire got closer to our home (gotta love those sundowners) and we packed as much as we could and got our of dodge... pregnant and with a 2 year old. Sent the Schaleskys back home, my poor sister-in-law was also pregnant and had to pack up the camper, 4 kiddos, and drive the bumpy ride home in the middle of the night! We stayed with family in town for that one and were on warning for a week before we could go back home.

This time, we were watching the fire closely. We packed Tuesday night before going to bed, the day the fire started. The fire was not even close at that time, but with our track record, we figured we would be evacuated before long. The pic at the top is around 5:30pm when the wind changed directions and the fire started heading our way. Within 5 hours we were on mandatory evacuation and on our way to our friends house. Had to wake both Caleb and Audrey from sleeping, bummer. Audrey has been fine through it all, of course she doesn't understand what is happening. Caleb has had a rough time. Misses his toys, his bead, wondering how his house is, etc. Cried a few times. Scary for a 3 year old. He was dead asleep when we evacuated. I had to bring him outside to the noise of helicopters over head, sirens blaring, ash flying and stinky smoke swirling. Poor guy, must have been scary.

Caleb was sure pleased this morning when I told him that our neighbors called and the evacuation is lifted and we can go back home. He was so happy his things and home are safe. Very thankful for firefighters too. Had a very peaceful nap afterwards. Hoping he sleeps better tonight too. Last night, he awoke in the middle tof the night, teary, asking, "Where is my home?"

Thankful for good friends and family that host us during these evacuations, and love and care for my kiddos to help make this as easy on them as possible.

Naked!

Audrey... Almost 6 Months!

Audrey will be 6 months old this Wednesday. Wow. Just today, I noticed two little slits on her bottom gum. Yep, that is right, teeth are coming in! Just like big brother Caleb, Audrey is getting her first teeth at six months.

I am trying to decide what her first solid food should be. My sister has my baby food book, so I am feeling rusty because I don't have access to all the ideas I had with Caleb. I know the whole eat rice cereal first, then either banana, sweet potato, or avocado thing. I am just thinking I want her first food to be a veggie instead of a carb or a fruit. Although, with everything going on around here these days, banana sounds easiest, or avocado since the trees at church are ripe right now. Post your ideas in the comments.

Technically, her first food was amoxicillan, since she had double ear infections and strep last week. Poor thing. Well, and even before that, she had Mylicon and Tylenol. And, to counter the pink stuff, we gave her a little bit of acidophilus in water too. Hey, she has had a lot of things other then breast milk. I am thinking I just let her eat whatever we are eating and be done with it. What do you think? It sure would make my life easier!

While we were sick...

So, there has been a blog silence. I normally post every Monday. However, 2 Mondays ago Caleb was sick, then on Wednesday Audrey got it, Sunday I got it, and Thursday Christian got it. Audrey and I are still sick. As you know, when kids get sick, they sleep less and still want to be active, and therefore, are even more cranky then the usual sick person. What is up with that? I get sick and I want to crawl in bed. Caleb and Audrey get sick and they think it is wakey wakey time at 3am. I get sick and I think getting cozy and watching a movie at home sounds nice. Caleb and Audrey want to play, outside. Go figure. All to say, we sis not just stay home for the last two weeks while we were sick. Instead, we:
Went to the Santa Barbara Fair





Went to the new California Trails exhibit at the Zoo


And of course to the grocery store, and some other random errands.

Caleb and Audrey... Wake Up Time

Caleb just woke up in this picture, and started singing to Audrey. I grabbed the camera. The two of them just love each other so much. I LOVE how they love each other.

ABC's and 123's

Caleb got a toy, Leap Frop Fridge Phonics, and has been learning his letters. He can identify and name a word that starts with that letter for 13 letters of the alphabet. It si a great toy because he just learns the letters on his own while he plays with it. The Cinnamon Schoolhouse Cookies at Trader joe's help too. They come in ABCs and 123s, mmm and they taste like snickerdoodles. Christian and I try to save some for Caleb.




We started a countdown in March. We were using his calendar and a chain of paper rings, to count down to his birthday. Well, it started this counting routine. So, now we count each day as we look at the calendar and move the marker to the correct day. He can count to 30, by himself, but skips 15, 16, 17, and 20. Too cute.

Even better then the ABCs and 123s though are the books we read. He reads a lot, loves it. It is the only thing he will do by himself for a sustained amount of time (longer than 5 minutes). I think one of my favorite things is reading books with Caleb. The best part? After nap, Caleb will come out of his room with a book and ask me to read to him. Sometimes, Audrey is still sleeping, and he will cuddle up on my lap and sit there as long as we can and read together. I love it! One of the rare times when I get cuddles from him now.

My baby is growing up... he is a big 3 year old now! My how things change.

Audrey is 5 months old today!

What a cutie! Yes, she is chubby (6-12 month size outfit), but she is cute, and sweet!

What she is up to now:

Giggling at brother. Staring at brother. Smiling at brother. Playing with brother. She has such a cute laugh. He makes her laugh the most of all of us, and he gets the best laughs. They have such a special relationship. One major goal in life will be to pray for that relationship, and preserve it as much as possible on my end. Caleb and Audrey adore each other. It brings me joy to see them interact everyday. I never tire of it. Caleb is definitely Audrey's favorite person!

Reading... Audrey LOVES books, read to her, and to eat.

Bath time. She gets a bath every other day, with Caleb. What fun! She splashes and kicks, and splashes some more.

Slapping things with her right hand. That hand is going constantly and she tries to get anything and everything around her. She is going to be a wild one.

Rolling from tummy to back.

Scooting on her back... she is quite good at it.

Trying to scoot on her tummy... not as good, but she puts in a lot of effort.

Babbling baby babble, so cute! I love "talking" with her. She is quite the talker.

Staring at Daddy with a HUGE smile and following his voice with her eyes. She knows if he is around even before she sees him.

Christian showed her her toes today, she now LOVES her toes and tries to get them when she can.

Chewing anything and everything with ferocious energy.

Not napping so great. Nightime is okay, but used to be better. Very alert these days, and doesn't want to miss a thing!

I just love her and she is very sweet and enjoyable. Caleb and I have a lot of fun with her each day, and she goes with the flow most of the time with Caleb's schedule. Although hard to have two, Audrey herself is a joy.

Caleb's 3rd Birthday!

Happy Birthday Caleb!


My big boy... my baby...but such a big boy! Caleb is three today. Three years ago today, I held him in my arms for the first time. I still cannot explain the feeling I felt when Christian held Caleb up and placed him on my belly, "We have a Caleb." Total euphoria, love, adoration, and so mcuh more. Caleb, I love you, and I am so thankful for you!

Lot's of pics on Facebook of the big day, check them out. but here are a few highlights...

Caleb was allowed to invite 3 friends: Stasi and Sasha (package deal), Ella, and Jesse. They had a great time!

Audrey Rolled Over!

Audrey rolled over yesterday. She has done this twice before (once at 2 months) and the other is a post earlier on my blog. Yesterday was definitely intentional, she really wanted something, but I am not sure she knows what she did, or how to do it again for that matter.

Green Day... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We all wore green, ate green food, made green projects, and had a green time!

So fun! Go Green!

If Tomorrow Never Comes

Hi All,

Here is a shameless plug for my sister-in-law, Marlo, and her latest book coming out in May, If Tomorrow Never Comes. You have to read the interview, and then the book, and then her books she has already written. I have read them all, and enjoyed them all.

Here is the link to the interview on her blog:
http://marloschalesky.blogspot.com/

What I love about Marlo's books is that she deals with real life pain and issues, and weaves her faith into the story in a non-confrontational way. Her characters often go from a simple faith to a profound faith, and I have grown in my faith as I have read her books. Of course, I have the bonus of getting to grow in my faith as I hang out with Marlo too!

Check her out. Any mom of 5 kids who is also a business owner and a writer is worth checking out!

I am not crazy!

Remember last week when I was feeling like a terrible mother?

Well, it was plaguing me so much that I had to go see my counselor. I hadn't been in a year, so it was probably time for a check up anyway. Yes, I said check up. Don't all normal people see a counselor once a year?

Anyway, my counselor listened to me for almost an hour. When I was done talking (when you don't go for a year there is a lot to catch up on!), she said I am not crazy. Whew! That was a relief.

What she did say is that I am run down and worn out. That I never was good about taking breaks when Caleb was a baby, and now with two children I have a bad habit of not taking breaks. She said it is catching up to me.

How do you take a break with a nursing infant? I challenged.

Apparently, I am to leave the kiddos with Christian, a friend, someone for at least an hour, two is better. Once a week. Does anyone else do this?

I came home and told Christian, and because I have a wonderful husband, he said it makes sense. He also said he will help me to get away for an hour once a week, to go on a walk, meet with a friend, whatever. In fact, I already have some alone time scheduled for this week.

I remember my counselor wanting me to do this with Caleb too, but it just seemed impossible, wrong even, and I had no desire to be without him. However, now with two children, it sounds like a good idea. Especially since I am finding myself being angry a lot. Angry with Christian, angry with God, and in the last year, angry with Caleb. You would think that any of those would be cause enough to send me to figure things out, but it was the angry with Caleb part that made me go see my counselor. I thought she was going to tell me that I had some deep seeded emotional issue I had to work out. But no, she just wants me to take a break 1-2 hours a week.

I think I can do it. And... is this possible? I haven't been as angry since I went yesterday. In fact, I didn't feel angry at all today. Tired yes, sick yes, but no anger. Woohoo!

Oops, and other male/female bathroom blunders

Context:
Caleb truly is so proud that he wears big boy underwear now. And yes, as part of the whole, "pee pee on the potty" idea, we use to say to Caleb, "Show (enter relative or close friend's name) how you can pee pee on the potty." This led to Caleb believeing that anyone that is around when he is going potty (that he even slightly knows, especially other kids) ought to watch him go. Most kids happily oblige, especially those who are not yet potty trained, as potty training is this huge mysterious thing.

Friend's Post:
http://www.houseofwaffles.com/hw/Blog/Entries/2009/3/9_Castration_anxiety_(No%2C_not_me).html

Jen, I am so sorry for the confusion this caused!

My sister, (sorry for outing you Katie) used to believe she had a penis. She, like Anna, use to insist on it, rather vehemently. You will be happy to know Jen, that today, she is a well adjusted woman. Quite happy with her (ahem) girl parts, with a great husband and daughter to boot.

And I will let Christian know to be expecting a call from Adam soon. :)