Halloween

I've never been excited about Halloween. Well, maybe just a little because I get to buy candy without guilt. This year has been fun because I got to put Karis in a costume. Even more fun was to take pictures of her and her little friends.

"why do our mothers do this to us?"

the cowboy cheerleader tried to choreograph a routine with the bugs

"hopeless! all the bugs care about are leaves!"

"ooh, look! i found another one. let's see what this one tastes like."

We're Moving!

(By Lena) I am definitely excited to move, but the process of packing up the house has been tough. Let's start with the good... We are moving into a house! We will have about 2 1/2 times the space as we do now. The things I'm most looking forward to are 1) more space to entertain guests 2) not having to carry groceries and a 20 lb baby up stairs and 3) a backyard.

I'm a little sad to leave the area we are in now. It's a great place for young families. All my stores are so close by which makes running errands a breeze. We are also close to our church's main campus and many of our friends.

Packing up the house in 3 weeks has mainly fallen on my shoulders. I could demand more from Derek, but he has been on the phone and on the computer changing addresses, renting the truck, asking friends to help us move, etc. That just leaves me with one little helper, but she and I aren't quite on the same page.

She likes to take things OUT of the boxes, instead of put them in. She wants the box flaps to stay open and enjoys it when the boxes are either ready to climb on or collapsed so that she can slide around on them. She's definitely enjoying this process more than me!

I have to do most of the packing during Karis' naps. That means my poor pregnant body doesn't get a nap. By 8 pm I am exhausted and ready for bed! Only a few more days of this and it will be over. This time next week, we'll be enjoying our new home and still thanking God for just another one of His many blessings!

Last Friday...

I was just starting my day with Karis last time I posted. I have to say, it was one of the best days I've had with her. She loved the animal shelter. She didn't get to touch many of the animals but she really enjoyed looking at them all. She smiled so much.

Karis trying to get out of her seat to get closer.














Karis' favorite: Sierra Sue














Karis is not a fan of wearing things on her head. We regularly try to put a hat on her so that she'll get used to it, but she always rips the hats off immediately. On occasion, when she's in front of a mirror, she'll leave a hat on just long enough to admire herself wearing it. The other day, Lena had Karis try on part of her Halloween costume and, surprisingly, she kept the head ornament on her head. Take a look at this video. I think the piece of tape she found kept her well-distracted.

Is it just coincidence?

Is it just a coincidence that whenever I finally get to posting on our blog, my wonderful wife blogs the very next day? I don't know... but let's see if she posts tomorrow. Maybe she's just trying to catch the wave of my one follower. =P

That isn't the real reason for today's blog. I wanted to stop and reflect for a moment. Awhile back, I wrote about the first week of Life's Healing Choices. Well, it's still very powerful. You can listen to the weekend messages HERE and choosing the "Life's Healing Choices - The Beatitudes." And consider picking up the book by John Baker upon which it's based to complement the sermons. If you're not ready to examine what's not going right in your life, then don't bother. But if you are ready, wow!

I am still not 100% clear about my hurts, habits, and hangups, but things sure have become much clearer. I've been doing pretty well in life emotionally despite experiencing quite a bit (a lot at a young age, too). But I have definitely incorporated some coping tactics to avoid pain.

A little about me... I'm a catastrophizer. I have a great imagination and see much potential for awful things to happen. For example, watching my daughter taking a few steps and being concerned that she stumble into the exact corner of the chest and damage her eye. Or, one of Lena's favorites, seeing a Tupperware container without a secure seal. Heaven forbid that some air might enter in and cause something to spoil. I'm certain that much of this characteristic stems from losing my father in a car accident a block from our home two days before Christmas when I was six years old. I know the terrible feeling of devastation from a very young age. I guess you could say that feeling has stayed fresh with me all these years. I try to control many things in my life and those around me so that it appears I am preventing pain.

I also have a great desire to see justice done. Just ride with me on a California freeway some day. My blood boils quickly for drivers performing illegal or even just stupid maneuvers on the freeways. How quickly I can gloss over my own driving indiscretions! I think this stems from my youth also. How unfair it is for a child to lose a parent at such a young age. I'm pretty sure that is somehow at the root of my anger at things being done that I perceive as unfair (particularly when they are directly pointed at me).

I don't have solutions yet... but I'm glad that God has been revealing to me areas where I have hurts, habits, and hang ups that are not healthy. I'll keep you posted on my journey towards health. It may be awhile as it's taken me nearly 40 years to acquire them all. I cannot expect to fix them overnight.

On less serious notes, I'm excited for my day with Karis today. We're going to hang out at an animal shelter today. But only looking at the dogs. =) She loves animals.

And, Lena and I are moving to Irvine October 31. I'll send an email with our new address and phone privately through email. If you want to help load or unload, mark your calendar now. And since this is one paragraph after so many up above, I'll likely post again all by itself.

Karis is waking... gotta go!

Today I Am 10 Months Old!

Check me out! Good thing we're moving to a bigger place. I'm gonna need more space to practice. I'll be running in no time!

My favorite stage thus far...

(From Derek) I'm really enjoying this 10-month age. Karis is now walking. She's very expressive. She has great facial expressions and she makes animated movements and gestures similar to us. She kinda waves. She bounces with excitement while holding onto us. She likes falling into me. She has an intoxicating two-tooth smile.

She's not an expert walker yet... far from it. She can take 3-4 steps... she can stop and restart. She uses objects and stepping stones to get to things (more about this in a bit). She's still an extremely quick crawler. If there were races, I'd enter her in a heartbeat. But she is walking nonetheless. And she did it while Grandma Robinson was visiting. Yay!

She's very intelligent. She observes like a hawk not missing even a single small detail. She picks up quickly on how her parents close the baby gate, where we place the keys, etc. She's very persistent (read: "doesn't understand 'no'"). She's quite determined.

I love my daughter.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot. She has a green thumb. She really likes plants. I caught her on her tippy toes examining a plant leaf up close... too close.











































She had dirt in her ears, on her face, in her mouth, down her diaper, on her eyelids... oh it was a sight!

And I remember the days when she despised being in her carseat. Crying nearly as soon as we set her in it. But, now, she voluntarily crawls into it to play. Go figure!

A Day At The Pumpkin Patch

My friends and I took our girls to the pumpkin patch. Karis loved checking out the pumpkins and putting rocks, hay and weeds in her mouth. Our husbands came by on their lunch hour to join us and take some pictures. The weather was perfect as the weather is finally starting to cool down!

When they were younger, we would shake a rattle and they would all look towards the camera. As they're getting older, it gets harder and harder to get a shot of them all looking in the same direction. I took about 20 shots and this was the best one. =(