Thinking for Scrubby

Our dear Scrubs. He is so amazingly gentle with the kiddos. Okay so sometimes he knocks them over. But especially when they are babies, he lays next to them totally understanding how easy he has to be. Here's a video illustrating that point.  And here is another video showing how "in the middle" of the action he likes to be. What a great dog. We do, however, like to talk for him. So here is what we think he is thinking in the pictures I took below:

Mmmmm. Feet smell good. 

Mmmmm. Diaper smells good. 

Mmmmm. Wait. Is that one of the boys eating peanut butter? I think I am going to go and watch them eating at their table instead. 

Okay. Seriously? I thought I left you on the other side of the room? Another one goes "Mobile."

Okay. If you gotta pull the tail, just pull it. Get it over with. Let me know when you are done. It's so embarrassing. 

Happy #3 Elijah Boy

On Friday evening, we had a joint birthday party with Elijah and his friend Scotty. His mom, Sarah, is a professional photographer. I encourage you to visit her website: Little Trees Photography, especially if you live in San Antonio -- their new home as of this spring. All of the pictures below, our courtesy of Sarah. She's amazing. Micah, Sarah and Scotty were also one of the couples who joined us on our weekend in the snow. 

(Elijah's personal creation. And yes, it's a dinosaur.)

The night before the party, we found out, at the last minute, that we had to go and get Scrubs and his kennel, weighed at the flight line for our move to the Azores. This meant no time for JB to make the cakes and left me to be the cake-maker the day of the party. I decided to let the kids help me. The cakes on the left have an "E" on it for Elijah and are the dinosaur he created. The cakes on the right have an "S" on it and Scout (which JB drew) -- Scotty's stuffed animal pal. The boys helped me to decorate the cupcakes. We had a great time!

I can't believe how grown up he looks here. 

 Or how grown up she looks. (And yes, she is wearing a skirt and tights. I can't believe it myself.)

 Ms. Logan is the "cool aunt" everyone wishes they had. My kids are all in love with her. Her husband is deployed and so she has been helping me out since Veronica's departure.

 Elijah's friend Aksel with his Dad, Jake.

 Mr. Micah helping some of the kids bowl. He's such a cool guy!

 Stay tuned for an entire post on Isaac's bowling skills soon to come!

 What would a party be without Peter?

Unveiling

My hubby JB and I have been working on something for quite a few weeks, and we felt it was finally ready for me to "unveil" it on the blog.

Check out this link: www.wendikitsteiner.com.


With the public speaking I am getting ready to do, we thought it important to create a formal "identity" for where we see the Lord taking this ... even though we aren't sure if it will go much farther than the few engagements I currently have scheduled.

I am excited to see where the Lord takes our story. I know He has a greater purpose, and I am excited to see what that might be. I think it has something to do with speaking but I'm open to His direction.

You will notice on the main page that I will now have separate "blogs" for infertility articles, adoption articles, and motherhood articles. Everything I write will first go here, on my daily blog. However, following publication, articles will be copied to these other sites. This will allow people struggling with infertility to just read my infertility articles. People wanting motherhood to just go there. Same for adoption. I plan to go backwards and move past articles that I have written on these various topics to the other sites ... in my spare time.

This means that if you only want to keep reading my daily blog, you can, and you won't miss anything.

In addition, I am very excited about a very cool video that will be coming soon -- thanks to my good friend Linda. Check back for that.

I'd love to get your feedback on the new website, design etc. so feel free to leave a comment telling me what you think.

And a huge thank you to my husband. I really dragged my feet on this. He had a "vision" for what I could do and kept pushing me to do it. I, however, not being a former graphic designer and current logical thinker like he is, couldn't really get it altogether in my head. However, he kept prodding. I kept taking baby steps, and all of a sudden, one afternoon, the entire image started to become clearer to me.

Your prayers for this ministry would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings loyal readers! Please share with your friends!

Congratulations to ....

... Janelle Keller at: janellenicolekeller@yahoo.com. She won a second-time-around-book-give-away. My friend Joy won the book the previous time and she has offered to send it to someone new. So Janelle, send me your address at flakymn.blogspot.com and Joy will send the book your way.

Wait No More

As an adoptive mother myself, I found the opportunity to review a book on adoption, an incredibly exciting opportunity.  

In Wait No More Author Kelly Rosati shares the ups and downs of foster-to-adopt parening. "I kept thinking God was challenging us," Kelly writes, "asking us if we'd just pass by. Or would we be like the Good Samaritan who did something about the person in need right in front of him?"

Through a series of chance opportunities mixed with divine intervention, John and Kelly Rosati found themselves the parents of four children that truly needed a home. And as she tells the story of Danielle, Anna, Joshua, and Hope, she talks about foster-parent adoption in frank and real ways, sharing both the joys and the difficulties involved with navigating the legal system in the course of those adoptions.

There are over 130 million orphans worldwide. John and Kelly couldn't adopt all of them. But they could adopt 4 of them. Adopting through the foster care system requires special parents. Even as an adoptive parent myself, I am not sure it is a system that I will ever feel comfortable navigating.

I was hoping Kelly's book would encourage me to jump into the game. Instead, I felt a bit defeated at the complexity and emotions involved in becoming parents this way. And while the story itself was interesting and the book an easy read, John and Kelly's story was very personal to their family. She didn't include much in the way of advice, encouragement, or suggestions. Instead she stuck to retelling their own piece of the adoption pie.

The Rosatis strongly believe that God's sultion for oprhaned children in the foster care system involves ordinary Christians desiring to live out the Lord's commandments -- not just through words but through actions. I definitely agree. If every three churches in the U.S. combined to adopt and support one child, we would have no more orphans in our country. That's pretty amazing.

Kelly's book will provide you the hard facts about adopting through the system. It is not easy. It is a hard system to wade through. There are chances many times throughout a child's adoption for them to be returned to their birth family or to another family member. 

However, you will see in Kelly's words that love prevails. That their four children were destined to be their children from the moment of their conception. And that is a story worth reading.

***Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Answers to prayer

In the last few weeks of my life, I have seen some incredible answers to prayer. Real, live indications that God is present.

Want proof that God is cool? Read on:

1. Check this out: Joshua has something to tell ya'll. Here is the part that is so cool. Our friends John and Becky were frustrated when they moved to Arizona. They found out they had to redo their home study for their adoption of their son Joshua. But they did it. And because they had that home study done, when another child suddenly became available, they were the only ones with the paperwork to adopt him. God knew this. He orchestrated this. He knew when they were frustrated with that home study redo that there was a reason. "God, help me to realize that the purpose of my suffering far exceeds the pain of my suffering."
2. How about me flying home with all the kids? I had numerous people tell me they were praying for this trip. That God would provide the help I needed. Since then, (a) Veronica's sister in Germany told me she would help me at the rotator in Germany (b) our friends the Feesers offered to help in Washington D.C. (c) one of JB's patients, thankful for what a good doctor he is, put me in touch with a friend that can help me on the plane! How awesome.
3. Remember when I wrote this post last week about Abigail's eye? That was January 20th. She has had a clogged tear duct since she was born in her left eye. It was so bad that when she woke up in the morning or naps her eye was "glued" shut. Dr. Linda told us we could give it until she was six months old. At that point, the chances of it correcting itself were slim without surgery. This past week we called and set up an appointment for Abigail in Florida to have the surgery done as she is 6.5 months old and it was still as bad as it was when she was born. There had been zero improvement. In fact we thought it might be worse than it was when she was born. Then I put up this post  asking you all for prayer. Dr. Linda even told me, medically speaking, not to get my hopes up. John agreed. It looked like the surgery was a go. And then, I kid you not, the day after I asked for prayer, Abigail woke up and her eye was perfectly clear. It has been clear for the seven days that followed.
4. And then there was Elijah's sleep. I wrote this post asking for prayer for Elijah's sleep. It was troubled and had been going on for months. The day I finally wrote that post and asked for prayer saw a night of peaceful sleep. And every single night since then has been peaceful as I wrote about here. I'm sorry. That's a bit too much for me to just attribute it to coincidence. 

There are seasons of my life where I feel God is quiet. I had felt that for a few months. And then, all of a sudden, I feel him again. In real, tangible ways that have to be attributed to more than coincidence. Thank you Lord for being present. And I pray that through my words, other people can see you too.

Seriously?!

Men's final. Australian open. Tomorrow 10am. And, guess what? Yet another scheduled power outage on Base from 8am until noon. Big sigh. So frustrating. Maybe I'll catch the last little bit? Have I mentioned recently how tired we are of scheduled power outages?

However, something that has made me very happy? I went to the BX. Spent $120. but I saved $230. How cool is that? Love the sales I can find there. Serves this dutch cheapskate (me) well.

Without Veronica

I keep getting asked the question, "How is it going without Veronica?"
The truth is, I am really doing great. I miss her. I miss her friendship. I miss her random stories. I miss her interacting with the kids.

But we knew it wouldn't be forever. It was time for her to go home. And it was time for me to tackle this mom thing without having her in the wings. I couldn't have her forever. Even though I wish I could.

I've come up with many strategies to help fill the void left by Veronica, including:

• Having Hatice come in every other Thursday (her only current free time) to help.
• Using Hatice to help me with the kids when I need it instead of cleaning. (Ex: taking all three to the doctor at once. No could do. Hatice came with and skipped cleaning the upstairs.)
• Farming out the boys. Every Wednesday Sarahbee and Stebbs each take a kiddo so Abigail and I can run errands or just lay low.
• Loving Logan. The kids love her too. Her hubby is deployed and her job just expired. So she has been coming on Fridays for a few hours. She plays with the boys, Abigail sleeps, and I try to get some things done around the house that I have been putting off all week.
• Giving myself permission to put on an extra movie if I need it. I try to keep TV to less than one hour a day. But if things are crazy, and I just can't get my bearings, Go Diego Go or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse can entertain the boys while Abigail needs tending or I need to go to the bathroom or take a shower.

The hardest things about not having Veronica are:

• The days that I need the van. This has happened lately because we are in the rainy season. It will rain here for days on end. When it rains, I can't walk to things I need to do on Base so I need the van. JB can't walk because it's raining. So I have to load up all the kids and drop him off, pick him up for lunch, and pick up again after work. Sometimes he can get a ride from a coworker, but not always. We used to just have Veronica or me take him in and the other one stay with the kids. Can't do that anymore.
• Showers. I find two days has gone by without me taking a shower sometimes. By the time we put the kids to bed, I often collapse on my bed and read and fall asleep early. When I wake up in the morning I realize I haven't showered but things are already in action.
• Leaving one behind. The last thing I really miss is being able to leave one child (primarily Abigail) with Veronica so I could take the boys somewhere. I miss that time with them. I miss not having to take all three kids to everything I did or we as a couple did. I don't have a car during the day (unless I take JB in) so to take all three kids I have to have the boys ride their bikes and put Abigail in the stroller or put the boys in the stroller and Abigail in the Bjorn. I miss having the optionto avoid that, especially when Abigail was just sleeping.
• Exercise. I haven't gotten a new exercise routine down yet either. I used to run with stroller and dog. But I can't do that now. I plan to regroup on this when I get to Florida.
• Bed time. JB and I both miss "V" at bedtime. She could help with baths or dinner or Scrubs or anything. With just the two of us and the kids usually wanting to go down at the same time, it can be a little busy. We can totally handle it. But another set of hands was very helpful. It also allowed me to do something around bedtime. But now, we have to make sure we are both home at this time of night.

Little inconveniences. But overall? We are doing well. Adjusting. Finding a new normal. And getting ready for a trip back to America! Yee haw!

I loathe good byes

Abigail is in love with Hatice. She lights up like this every single time she sees her. This photo very accurately captures the happiness I see from both of them when they are with each other. Hatice has been coming an extra half day or so every other week to help me with the kids, allow me to run errands, take a nap, that sort of thing. It's so needed with Veronica's departure.

Yesterday Hatice walked in the house. After giving Scrubby one of the fifty treats she gives him when she is working, she scooped Abigail from my arms and sat down next to me.

They began talking -- Hatice in Turkish and Abigail in her six month old language, seemingly understanding each other perfectly. And as they talked, I found myself crying. Not out of some hormonal spot in me. But out of a genuine sadness in me.

How can I leave Hatice? How do I possibly good bye to a woman knowing I may very well never see her again? It hurts my heart just to think of it. Other good byes hurt. But this one hurts the worst. I can't "talk to her" from afar. I speak English. She speaks Turkish. In person we can combine them into a language that works. But neither of us write that language.

And thinking of Hatice is just the beginning.

I am trying to not get ahead of myself, but the truth is that when I return from Florida in March, we will have three months before we leave this place forever. And it isn't the place I am going to miss. It is the amazing community of people here.

How do I possibly say good bye to Hatice? To Angelica. To Stebbs. To Sarahbee and Linda and Patty. Rana, Angie, Tina, the other Sarah. Even the "newer" friends like Casey and Logan and Anu and Christina and Cathy and Bri are becoming difficult to imagine. It hurts my heart to think about. And I am sure I am not listing someone. I hate to even begin to list in fear of leaving someone out.

I have said good byes before. But these ones are different. This Base is isolated. We are all each other has. There are very few last minute flights to spend Christmas with family. We spend it withe ach other.

Last night Angelica invited us over for an impromptu birthday dinner and we surprised JB when a few other couples showed up to share dessert. Last year I had an appendicits and was scooped up with care. Post partum depression. Shane and Linda and Yamil and Patty are aunts and uncles to my kiddos. Another family just asked us to be the goddaughter of their newest addition. People to watch Scrubs. Meals to share. Holidays to connect on. Favors to give. Babysitting for free. Clothes to borrow and toys to swap. We take care of each other like nothing I have ever seen.

I'm not in love with Turkey. Not in love with Incirlik. But I am in love with the people who have been my only connection to "my world" for two years.

Hatice reminded me how soon I will have to say good bye to all of it.

And I don't want to. I hate that I have to. I know I can't stay forever, but I sure wish it could hurt a lot less.

Misspelled (updated)

Yes, this dish is called "Goat Stubborness." We see this a lot. When trying to create an "English menu" (which isn't done at very many places) you end up with some things that just make you smile.

I found another great Turkish spin-off. I suppose they mean "Transformers."



I have decided that I just must start taking pictures of the clothing (usually children's) that we see in the market here in Turkey. Not just any old clothing. But the clothing that attempts to use English ... incorrectly. 

I am sure this happens in America as well. I am sure bad translations are universal. So please do not see this as a mockery of Turkish culture. It's just something I find funny.

Here are a few examples:

Can you spot the error in the one above?

This one is a little more obvious.

I like this one because, I have no idea what it means. "is turning" Does that mean something? (We saw another shirt that had a picture of some balls that said "activity." Not really something we'd put on a shirt.)

I'm truly not sure what this one is supposed to say. Read? Ready? Really?

Today I learned ...

... two important lessons.

The first.

When buying cookies for an event that is more than 24 hours in the future, do not buy any variation of the cookies pictured below. If you do, and you love them as much as I do, the package of cookies will not make it to the event and you'll have to go out and buy another pack of cookies to replace the ones you ate:

The second.

Do not leave a pen out near your laptop or the following may result:

Happy Birthday to JB

Today he is 36. We started dating when he was 17 so we are well past half our life together. I love you John. And thanks for being okay with me not remembering it was your birthday until noon today. Thank you for being my best friend and putting up with me. 

With big sister Elizabeth 

I've heard many a story about this Volkswagon.  

So JB (and that's one of his three younger brothers, Ray, poking his head into the corner)

Love these them boys

The video above is me "getting" Elijah to tell us about his friend Aksel. He's getting better at it, but you can hear that the word comes out sounding quite different than it is supposed to.

And here are some other recent funnies. Below:
*****
When told they could pick two cars to bring to the tub with them, a crabby Isaac said, "I don't want a couple cars. I want two."
*****
I could not, for the life of me, figuring out why Isaac calls vanilla wafers "put up cookies." Can I have some put up cookies, Mommy?" He keeps asking. Finally we figured it up. I am always saying, "No, I need to put those up." Sigh ... and somehow he translated that into the cookies being called "put up cookies."
*****
When getting ready to go pick up JB from work, I told the boys to quickly pick out something they could "wear on their feet." Isaac picked brown shoes. Elijah picked his boots, but then thinking it would be more fun to go barefoot said, "No. Wait Mommy. Could I wear my toes?"
*****
On our snow trip, we brought little packets of pringles potato chips. These are 100 calorie chip containers with red (plain), yellow (cheddar), and green (sour cream) tops based on the types of chips inside. When Isaac asked for some red chips, Elijah told him, "They are not red chips. They are yellow chips."
*****
A great marker of the differences between my boys came when I asked them if they wanted some cookies on our trip. Elijah immediately says, "Yeah!" And Isaac says, "Hmmm ... what kind are they?"
*****
Going potty at Rana's house, she walked in to find Elijah trying to reach into the toilet. Apparently there was a fly in there that he was interested in touching. Rana squealed to try and get him to stop touching the water, and Elijah jumped and said, "Did the fly bit me?"
*****
Our friend Stebbs is a second grade teacher and knows the "lingo" for kids. She often reminds the boys to "use their words" instead of hitting. On our trip to the mountains, Isaac hit Elijah, and I told him, "Remember what Stebbs says?" And Isaac replied by saying, "Stebbs is not here on this trip with us Mommy."
*****

Lajes Field (Azores)

Terceira Island in the Azores

Somehow, our time in Turkey is coming to an end. And that means getting ready for somewhere new. Here's what we now as of today:

• We will be moving to the Azores sometime in June.
• We will most likely live off-Base. 
• It looks like, for the money we get to live, we can get a fairly good-size home. (4+ bedrooms, 2+ bath, 2000+ square feet.) We can even get a place with a pool. 
• Scrubs will, of course, go with us.
• We will move straight from Turkey to the Azores. No stops back in the U.S.
• Pre-school is FREE in the Air Force. We are generally not preschool people, but we are contemplating putting them in a Portuguese preschool so that they can learn the language at a pivotal time in their childhood. 
• Lajes field is the name of the Base we are moving to. It is located on the island of Terceira, shown below:

• Our friends Nick and Kristy and their sons Noah and Jonah as well as Nick's mother, live in the Azores already. They also have two dogs: Sasha and Max. Nick and Kristy are thrilled with their life there. If you remember, Nick was a resident at Eglin one year before JB and was then in Turkey one year before JB. We are following them around the world!

• There are only two docs at the Azores. John will be one. Nick will be the other. There is no pediatrician so JB will be seeing children, and Nick will obviously be our children's doctor. I believe there is also a women's health doctor that I can go and see.

Any other questions? Let me know and I'll post an answer. I cannot give exact details of our moving dates, etc. But I can answer general questions or things about our life there.

More snow pics

Here are a few more pics of our fun time in the snow this past weekend. It is so amazing to me that it can be snowing so much just three hours from me. That doesn't resonate with this South Floridian at all!

The first day I stayed back at the hotel for the first part of the trip with Abigail and Christina's little Grayson (who is three months old.) After a bit, she came and switched with me. These pictures were taken while I was back in the room with the babies. I was so glad Christina captured what I wasn't there to see!

Checking out the sledding hill

Best buds

Who needs sledding?! Elijah, Braden (Tommy and Christina's son) and Isaac playing outside the hotel.

Isaac LOVES to find big chunks and throw them at people. This is so his personality.

Daddy and boys down the sledding hill.

Trying to enlist Elijah's help pulling his brother up the big hill.

 There's an automatic conveyer belt under the covered bridge (at left) but it was broken for the first part of the morning. So up the long hill on foot they went! I was lucky. When it was my turn to come out, the belt was fixed! I couldn't imagine anything bigging worth walking up that hill.

On the second day, the weather was not good so there was no opportunity for sledding. We got the boys all warmed up to go outside and play. Braden (front) went for hours! But our boys barely made it 30 minutes before they were too cold to play anymore.

Little Elijah (pretty cold already here) with his friend Braden making a tunnel.

Book Giveaway: Take Two!

***Update*** The previous winner of this book has finished reading it and wants to go ahead and send it to another lucky winner. How fun! So, if you want to add your name to the comments, I'll pick another random number and Joy, the previous winner, will mail you the book. Comment away!

Well folks, this is one review you do not want to skim over, especially because there is an opportunity to receive a free copy of this book at the end of my post.

I just finished A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Billerbeck -- I actually just finished it an hour ago, and I couldn't wait to share the review because I just wholeheartedly LOVED the book. I think I read it within a 2-day-period part of which was spent staying up way too late.

I've mentioned before how I feel about Christian fiction. I just can't accept Christians producing subpar work. If you are going to do it, do it well, or don't do it all.

And Billerbeck did just that. A Billion Reasons Why" is FAR from subpar. It is truly one of the best love stories I have read it quite some time -- all sprinkled with the type of quality that would not only encourage me let a girl of any teen age read it, but would encourage me to thrust at it her wholeheartedly and say, "YOU GOT TO READ THIS!"

Kate McKenna has found the man of her dreams? Or has she? Is she marrying the right man for the wrong reasons? Or are there are a billion reasons that he is right after all? She has everything she has ever wanted in life. Or does she?

Now, here's where you have an opportunity to WIN! I am going to send my copy of this book to one lucky reader. All you have to do is put your first name and email address in the comments. At the end of one week's time, I will see how many comments there are and pick a random number. That person will win a copy of the book. I'll mail it to you (media mail of course!) free of charge. (And don't worry, I won't peek at the comments until I choose a number. I promise.)

Please only comment if you would enjoy reading this book or have someone you know who would enjoy reading it. If it will sit on your shelf, save it for someone else. But I guarantee you, you'll thoroughly enjoy every minute of this great read.

So? What are you waiting for? Comment away!

BookSneeze® has provided you with a complimentary copy of this book or advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

AFN ... may I grumble?

I don't ask for much.
I'm not real demanding.
Just a few little things
Can make me quite happy.

I like chocolate and reading
and sports and the like.
Especially tennis
Not playing ... just watching.

So imagine my frustration
With my TV in Turkey.
The channels. They change.
Random ... all of a sudden.

I'm watching tennis
and then VH1 is the topic.
They switch ... in the middle.
And the match? It ain't done.

I don't watch TV ...
Not much at all.
Outside of cartoons ...
Of course ... silly Mommy.

But tennis I love.
And the 'casters they'll say,
"Coming up next ..."
And then it all goes away.

Please oh please.
My dear country of Turkey ...
My dear Air Force Base ...
AFN you are screwy!

The channels are few
And most are in Turkish.
But can the few that we have
Just run a show to completion?

I'm off now to sulk
And complain to who'll listen
Even though I know
That it'll only frustrate me.

All I ask of you Turkey ...
Okay it's not all.
I have other complaints ...
And they're mounting up tall.

But today it's just tennis
So please put it back on.
Thank you for listening.
I'm done. And that's all.

-- From a sad Australian Open watcher in Turkey who discovered after writing this that while the channel she was watching quit playing tennis, another channel picked it up and she felt much better.

0 degrees

It's zero degrees (celsius) here. (About 30 degrees Fahrenheit.) And our little sick Abigail didn't love having to get all bundled up to go out for dinner with a visiting physician. 

And me? I am wondering HOW IN THE WORLD I lived in Minnesota for four years. This is not even really cold at all compared to Minnesota. And yet, I'm frigid. I don't want to go outside. I pace and fret when the boys yell to me upstairs that they opened the door and let Scrubs out and wonder how I am going to find him when JB took the van and it is so cold outside.

How did I survive a day 60 degrees colder than it is here today? It was actually back in December of 2005 that I wrote this post on how to survive a -29 degree day. Truly. Honestly. How DID I survive?

I vividly remember the first time I experienced "feels like" -40. I went outside without a hat on. I tried to start my car. It cried. Literally cried. And I grabbed the steering wheel and put my forehead to it and said out loud, "I canNOT do this for four years."

But I did. Thank goodness. And I don't plan to EVER do it again.

We Be Rollin'

Abigail is covering a lot of ground with her rolling technique. Check it out:



Also, if you could be praying for Abigail. For two reasons:

Firstly, she has had a blocked tear duct since birth, and we are going to see a pediatric opthamologist when we go home to South Florida, and there is a chance she will have to an outpatient surgery under anesthesia to clear it up. Please pray that it will clear up on its own or that we can avoid surgery.

In addition, she has a doozie of a cold right now. Only wants to be held and having to sleep in her swing because she can't breathe out of her nose.

Thanks all!

Prayer Works

The above picture was taken after our little Elijah decided it was time to harvest his pepper plant. (To read the whole story, click here to be taken over to my hubby's blog.)

And this happy face you see above is one we are seeing a lot more of in our house recently. I wrote this post about Elijah and our trouble with his sleep just about one week ago. And since I posted that post and asked for prayer and received all sorts of comments and emails offering encouragement and prayer, our life has been transformed.

Elijah has gone to sleep nearly every night with very little drama. It's been amazing. He still gets upset a bit when we tell him it is bedtime and still needs to go potty. But he stays in control of his emotions. He does not go hysterical. And when he wakes up in the night to go to the bathroom, it may be more frequent then we like, but it is controlled and he is content.

I am so amazed at how God cares about the little things. Even after a trip out of town, we returned to sweet dreams -- all of which has given me great hope about our trip back to the U-S of A in a few short weeks.

Please keep praying for Eli. And add Abigail to your prayer list too. She is fighting a DOOZY of a cold and is having to sleep in her swing so she can breathe better.

And the winner ...

... is dlh ... aka ... MY MOM! Congrats Mom! A very cool book coming your way. Would love to see what you think of it. (This was generated with a random number -- my Mom was 5 and 5 it was. Really!)

And after my Mom reads it, maybe I'll post it again to let someone else have a chance.

Veronica is "home"

I've had many people ask me how Veronica is doing. After visiting with her sister English in Germany for two weeks, she is now home in Rochester, MN. We miss her terribly. Life just isn't the same without her here, but we know it was time for her to go back to America and prepare for her mission trip to Nigeria in June. 

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Veronica with my kiddos. We love you "V" aka "Er-onica".