april & may friends…

back in april we had a couple of special guests. one of those special guests was our longtime friend dustin. dustin has and will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

and when i say “our” i’m also including liberty’s heart.

because if it’s possible to have a crush at 17 months, then it certainly happened during his visit.

if it’s not possible, then i guess we can call it by another name, but the essence is still the same.

in fact, liberty was so smitten with dustin that she’d follow him around, walk up to him and gaze up at him in wonder until he’d eventually pick her up.

her devotion to him was absolutely adorable.

and, if her attraction to him is any indication of what kind of man she’s eventually marry, i can honestly say that my heart is at peace.

besides, you can’t really go wrong with marrying a man who (according to a local friend) “looks like Jesus”, right?

sadly, we had to say “see ya later” to our two dear friends… but even now we’re excited at the prospect of being reunited, on the west side, fall 2013!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  -Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

in may we welcomed shorts, t-shirts and sandals. with the warmer weather we made it a point to spend time playing outside, usually in the evenings. on this particular day something totally unusual happened. as i was following the sprouts around, camera in hand, sterling noticed an older girl nearby. it soon became evident that she was merely entertaining herself as all of the other children her age were “busy” (ie. doing homework or attending extra classes). taking notice of her sterling immediately walked up to her, grabbed her by the hand and together they started walking away. sterling leading.

eventually we learned her name and that she is 8 years old.

and just like that, the two of them hit it off.

in fact, even at times when i’d redirect them into my line of sight and he’d let go of her hand so that he could play with liberty, his new friend would wait patiently, on the side, for his return to her side.

during subsequent visits outside when we’ve seen sterling’s friend playing with other kids her own age she’d actually stop playing with them so that she could play with sterling.

so sweet. so endearing.

and though sterling has always been drawn to older friends, i’m thankful for this friend.

this friend who’s willing to hold his hand and walk this leg of the journey with him.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather is one of those things that give value to survival.”
- C. S. Lewis

sprouts: {kisses} & (((hugs)))

5.18.2012: i couldn’t have planned it. and had i begged for it, it would have been sure to elude me. but on this day, it happened.

spontaneously.

the love that had been growing since liberty joined our family, 18 months ago, has grown into a friendship and an eternal bond.

family, a bond of commitment and love.

and on this day, sealed with {kisses} & (((hugs))).

happy 13th anniversary!

13 years ago when i was anticipating walking down the aisle i could never have imagined how much i would change, how we would change… and grow.

13 years ago as i was walking down the aisle towards you it all felt normal, like the natural next step. now i can’t imagine walking through this life without you.

13 years ago i never imagined this life. living in this place. mothering our “we’ve got two!” sprouts. loving these people.

13 years ago i was just beginning to grasp the concepts laid out in 1 corinthians 13, what love is… and what it is not.

13 years later i’m completely and utterly overwhelmed by this gift called marriage: a call to commitment, service and unyielding love. overwhelmed and indebted.

13 years later i’m still amazed that you chose me.

and i’m still totally in love with you.

for our anniversary we took a trip out to a nearby horticulture park. and though we didn’t get many pictures with us (adults) in them, and none of “just us two” i’m glad we at least attempted to get some. as you can see, with squirmy little ones and two sets of little legs that want to do nothing more than run in the wide open spaces, it wasn’t an easy task.

happy anniversary, my love. it’s been an unpredictable and incredible ride!

welcome chinesepod.com

i’m slow, especially in the realm of technology (and running), i’m late jumping in on the learning via podcast bandwagon.

but i’ve taken the leap and am now enjoying the ride!

i’ve tried every form of language study imaginable.

local university setting. books. tutors. private school. tapes. tutors. cd’s. workbooks.

i’ve even tried studying with jarod… and on the sprouts. *yikes!*

my most successful and favorite form of learning is in a classroom setting – away from “home” distractions and responsibilities. with people who are far enough ahead of me to push me, but not so far ahead that i’m totally lost. i’m not really a fan of being the one who knows the most, as i already feel like a stalemate.

besides loving the gentle challenge a classroom (ie. with other students provides) i’ve come to realize that i desperately need repetition. which, again, a classroom setting can provide.

unfortunately, due to my current “station in life” and the lack of viable options, a classroom setting is not a possibility.

so, for the past year+ i’ve taken advantage of best option #2: tutors.

don’t get me wrong, i love my tutors and am so incredibly grateful for their continued, ongoing patience with me. however, conversational learning isn’t getting me over the language learning hump. i need repetition. and LOTS of it.

and this, i think, will be the key to my success.

thanks to chinesepod.com my language study lessons occur at my convenience and so far it hasn’t had a fit when i’ve hit the “repeat” button for the 20 zillionth time.

welcome to my life, chinesepod.com!

liberty @ 18 months…

on may 10^th liberty turned 18 months old.

for some reason this reality was/is a huge milestone to me.

maybe because her “personality” is exploding.

maybe because the baby days are quickly slipping by as she is now running (half-hazardly) towards toddlerhood.

and towards the days when i no longer count her age according to months, but years.

*sigh*

so on this day, mother’s day, and the day that i document this milestone, i feel that the words from the poem “before i was a mom” is all too fitting:

“before i was a mom
i didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
i didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
i didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child.
i didn’t know that something so small
could make me feel so important.”

and i’ll add: “i didn’t know you, so small, could make my heart grow so incredibly big./i didn’t know the joys of having a daughter.”

i love you liberty praise.

happy 18 month birthday!

go easy on me, okay!?!

~your forever mommy

{pin}terest – {p}interest

pinterest: the newest way to organize my online life.

i love the flexibility that pinterest offers a person like me – quick glances and an uber friendly way to categorize (ie. bookmark) my life.

i love how, when i happen to have a few spare moments, i can follow-up on interesting articles, blogs and ideas.

i love how it functions as a creative outlet.

i love that i don’t have 267 websites bookmarked under “my favorites” tab anymore… because they are now wonderfully categorized on my pinterest boards.

and i love seeing into other people’s worlds and heart via their pins.

which brings me to the point of this post – i want to see into YOUR world.  if you are a fellow pinner i’d love to learn from you.

feel free (my voice is short of begging you!) to put your tag line in the comments.

like i said, i’d love to look into your world, your heart because i’m nosey like that. 

 

if you are even remotely interested in seeing my version of what’s “on the menu“, some great ideas for “sprouts“, or are in need of a bit of inspiration via “words” or “photography” feel free to visit me at my tag: WellDefined.

status: spring cleaning in progress

in the past month we’ve traveled around the world, drove all over texas (which can feel a bit like traveling the world) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

we’ve taken ba-zillions of photos, laughed and done things we’ve never done before (like sterling’s 1st visit to space center & liberty’s 1st visit to the children’s museum).

and we’ve enjoyed people, places and edibles (cue dr. pepper ad here) we’ve missed while living on the east side.

but most importantly we relaxed, made memories (welcome cherith!) and unplugged.  from life.

but alas the time came for us to make our way back “home, home” and for us to plug back in.  to life and to blog.  so here i am, officially plugging in.

during my wordpress sebatical i was able to give this, our home-away-from-home-away-from-home a little thought.

and i’ve come to the conclusion that many areas of my life need a little refreshing.  a spring clean.  a chance to be repurposed.

namely, my time.

so things may start to look a little different around here.

there may be less pictures, less chronicling of every memory, every milestone.  (seems like as good a time as any as i could NEVER record all of the wonders of our time in the states.)  in fact, jdavis2, wordpress version, may start looking a lot wordier.  and might even garner some participation.  and more than likely it won’t be updated twice a week any more.  maybe more like once a week.  we’ll see.  no promises either way.

this is in essance the beginning of spring cleaning my life… and well, i’m not sure exactly what it’s gonna look like by summer.

so… what would you like to see here?

got questions?

as i begin revamping & giving this spring cleaning concept a hearty effort i’d love to hear your thoughts.

looking forward to hearing from you.  all two of ya!

{unplugged}

by now you may have noticed that we’ve unplugged from most forms of communication.  it wasn’t completely intentional.

we left our abode on the 3rd for an overnight train, followed by a trans-pacific flight, a layover… and eventually a wonderful reunion with family.

i knew that i wanted to spend every possible waking moment with our loved ones but i also thought that we’d have way too many wonderful stories to exclude you, our faithful (are you there?) and loving audience (still with me?).

but alas soaking it all in and enjoying this adventure and the many magical discoveries with our sprouts has both filled my cup to overflowing and allowed me to enjoy this special time with friends and family: the {unplugged} version.

the sweet deal…

we had to do something! since moving liberty into sterling’s room at bedtime & nap times we’ve had a few incidents that warranted some kind of intervention.

our first course of action was disciplinary action. *gasp*

unfortunately for us & sterling’s backside, we were surprised to discover sterling’s got quite a tenacious – for lack of better word – spirit. and well, ultimately that meant that we had to come up with another way to keep our sanity encourage positive behavior.

because you see, sterling has the (insert sarcasm here) awesome ability to push through even the most intense degree of exhaustion. and when he’s pushing those physical limits, he’s also pushing all of ours. namely, mine (because i can’t sleep when i know he’s bee-bopping around in his room) and liberty’s (who he happily enteratains until she has an all-out melt down).

in order to persuade him to compliance we sweetened the deal.

5 stickers = an ice cream.

pretty good deal since he is very rarely given sweets of any kind.

and the deal is pretty sweet for us too because we know that the ice cream he’s earning is none other than frozen yogurt.

yum!

so far sterling has earned 3 ice creams.

even so, you can be certain that this little deal hasn’t come easily to any of us.

which makes each success worthy of a major celebration.

sterling was 2 before he ate his first ice cream cone… which means liberty is not yet old enough to taste the good life. truth be told, it’s probably a good thing ’cause sterling has been known to choose fruit over sugary sweets a time or two. and that makes my heart proud. even so, the picture of liberty alone, watching sterling enjoying his cold, sweet treat while she watches on from a distance almost breaks my heart. almost.

march memories…

with the month almost over i have failed to keep the stories and pictures of our busy life updated. but as the saying goes, “there’s no time like the present!” and so i’m making a concerted effort to bring you (& me) up to speed on recent events because these are days worth remembering!

liberty threw me for a *gender* loop when she grabbed a bag i was originally using for matchbox cars and began putting random toys inside of it. i guess when a girl does that we call the bag a “purse”.

recently sterling acquired a very cool set of window markers. we have put them to good use on several occasions… thankfully, they’re not only fun, but their washable, too!

whew, saved us from having to explain what those marks are on his face or replace the apartment owner’s curtain!

these winter months the “little kitchen” has come in handy. unfortunately, it’s not as handy as some would like as a local friend was quite disappointed when water didn’t come out of the faucet when she attempted to wash her hands.

liberty has also enjoyed playing with the magnetic dry erase board.simple and (apparently) fun!

but this… this testing of boundaries… well, not so fun… at least for us. the touching of the computers and remotes (and various other devices) has caused us to reinstate our thumping skills which sometimes result in big frowns and/or crocodile tears. oh my.after coveting enjoying a friend’s space shuttle jarod couldn’t resist supplying sterling with one of his own. it’s always comforting when you buy a toy and you already know it’s gonna be a hit!

cookies, even of the velcro variety, are also a big hit around these parts.

love this! reading while sitting on sterling’s “pandar.”

family will certainly remember this “mack” truck… it was a big hit back in the states when sterling wasn’t yet two… and is still a very much appreciated truck (or more specifically, trailer). thanks nai nai for letting sterling have it. it’s still one of his favs!

there’s a lot of side-by-side play going on in our home these days. last year when nai nai visited she brought sterling this “thing 1″ shirt and liberty a “thing 2″ onesie. liberty has since outgrown her onesie, but this shirt… it’s still working very well for us… and sterling. lovin’ red on you sweetheart!

liberty: multitasking. now only if she had another hand for her phone.

sterling was super excited to make a row of “recycle” trucks. and i was super excited that he was willing to look the direction of smile for the camera!

please excuse the wet head… but i wanted to share this moment… the minute liberty turned 16 months old. bitter-sweet. but definitely worthy of a kiss.

look at that fire truck super man! have you noticed there’s a lego theme?liberty is also enjoying the microphone our arizona friends sent to us. she enjoys listening to the tunes and “singing”. it’s fun to watch her gain interest in so many different kinds of toys.

i’ve been known to tell sterling that he’s the “cutest little boy in the whole wide world!” but these days i can’t help but think he’s also the “most beautiful little boy in the whole wide world!” love.

she’s pretty stinkin’ cute too! which in my book qualifies her as the “cutest little girl in the whole wide world!” precious.and fun. oh, my little one.trucks and/or trains! wow!enjoying the modern artwork… and the view. specifically, my view. J

correction: views.

a moment in time.

16 months has proven to be very busy as liberty has become quite apt at self-entertaining.funny how suddenly one day a toy they’ve seen most every day of their lives becomes a source of fascination… of course that day happened just about the time i was thinking we needed to throw it out as the time played with ratio doesn’t qualify for the space it requires. alas, will give it another month or two to prove its worth.

one of the things i love about jarod is that he’s a “get on the floor with the sprouts” kind of daddy. sometimes getting on the floor lends itself to laying on the floor… and even on occasion, to a mini nap.

recently jarod has taken over our nighttime reading routine. he reads it in the local language while sterling enjoys looking at the pictures and turning the pages in his own english version of the “big picture story bible”.at this point in liberty’s life she’s very much a stroller and truck girl.

but as you can see, her “baby” gets plenty of attention too. on this day sterling told me, “my baby’s crying a lot.” he was very concerned for her (who he calls “mei mei” – little sister) so he put her to bed and eventually even laid down with her to comfort her. made my heart melt.liberty’s pretty fond of “baby” too… though not quite as sensitive to her needs as her big brother is. i’m sure it’ll come with time. side-by-side.

and totally enamored by “little einstein” in the local language.this “heaven sent” teddy bear was given to sterling as a gift from one of the ladies in my aerobics class (in the states). and as much as sterling liked it, liberty loves it! ahhhh.

have you heard my theory that we are all walking contradictions? case in point: sterling’s both sensitive (baby in hand) and tough (gotta have a truck to offset any misconstrued ideas).

oh yes, he wanted to clarify he is all boy… as you can see by the fact that he was adamant that i capture a picture of his fire truck shirt too.

when i see these two together i can’t help but think: what’s there not to love?

and her… our very own “fuzzy head!” well, that’s just icing on top!!!

march, you’ve facilitated a lot of wonderful memories. and I thank you. J