Back into the swing of things!

After being inspired and motivated by my friend Lindsey for being so good about updating her blog I figured it was time for me to get back into the swing of things!

It has been so long since I last posted I could write a book...but to save you all from that LONG and what could be a dull read I will give you the best condensed version I have.


It is now March and I feel like the year is flying by so quickly. My Mother and Sister flew over to visit. What a much needed visit it was might I add. I was getting to the point where I was homesick, not for the place but for the people in my life. I have always been the type of person that can adapt quite easily to most situations, moving here has been no exception. We have been here now going on 2 years and I have adapted to life here rather well. Things are different but you learn to cope. I think that the hardest part is being so far from family and friends. I can't just jump in the car and drive a day or two to get home or go see friends.....I have to get in a plane and fly over the big ole ocean. ahhhh. So as you can imagine a visit from my family was just what I needed. We had such a great time. We went to all the standard touristy spots and a few that weren't. One of the places we went was to Stratford Upon Avon...which is the birthplace of Shakespeare...we did a walk through of his home - It is amazing to me how these people had like 6 + children and lived in a house that feels the size of a sardine can! We also went to Warwick Castle...which was brilliant!










View of the castle grounds from the tower.


Mom, Michaela and I also did a girls weekend away to London and the Paris! It was amazing!!! I love London anyway and was able to show them around as I have been 6 or more times now since we have lived here. But Paris...wow! I have to say that London has Paris beat on the Underground/Metro system...much easier in London than Paris. We got to go up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower and it Snowed while we were doing our tour. My favorite place in Paris is the Arc de Triomphe -- the view from the top was breathtaking...and so was the 300 odd stop up a narrow spiral staircase to get to the top! Still laugh thinking about it. Here are some photos of that...




























In other news... I just said goodbye to my baby and hello to my big boy about 5 weeks ago. That was the day I cut his hair. What a sad and very emotional day for this Mama! As I was cutting tears were streaming down my face, because although I knew that my little boy needed a haircut and was ready for that next step, I wasn't! The minute I finished I looked at him and proceeded to cry like a big baby because there in that moment my baby was no more...I was face to face with my big boy! Not two weeks later was his third birthday and in that two week span I saw him change more than I have in all the time I have know him. He began to come into his own. I see before me this little person who has personality, independent thought, tenderness, kindness, curiosity, strength and love. Then I think to myself that God has placed him in mine and Matthew's care to shape and mold him...in the physical but most importantly the spiritual. I stand in awe that God would choose me to be his Mother. What a mighty responsibility! My prayer is that the Lord God would guide me in every way...that I may train him up the way that he is meant to go and that I don't fail him. Here is a before and an after! The top photo was taken in January when my Mom and Sister flew over for a visit! More about that to come.

Below: 1 March 2010


We are now homeschooling which is great! God is good gracious and is teaching me daily how to teach Judah......talk about lessons in patience! At the moment we are using the Montessori Method. Basically it is child lead learning and life skills at this age. Everyday, Judah says to me..."Mommy, I do my work today". So he is excited he is also asking for jobs/chores to do around the house. That just blesses my heart. He is also taking an interest in praise and worship in the house and then bible story after. It is amazing to me how much he knows and remembers about God's Word. He has memorized 2 scriptures so far and I am excited to continue planting (hiding) the Word of God in his heart.

There are so many more things I want to say but for now I will just have to leave it......I suppose this isn't such a condensed version after all....but I did have lots to update!

Love to you all!
Allenia

Enjoying Everyday Life

We have been working on a new schedule for Judah as he had be struggling with his sleep schedule. This week we have been doing nightly baths (we had only been doing them every other night or so because he wasn't out doing a lot of stinky boy stuff!) and reading him one of our big books that we have been reading as a couple. At the moment it is The Dream Giver by D Wilkinson. We eat dinner, listen to some worship music for a bit then off to bath time the to bed. This week has been so good...we lay him in bed...say our prayers, tell a quick story and then we say good night and leave the room.....last week he was screaming at the gate until he figured that he better go to bed...now he just lays in bed and goes right to sleep and SLEEPS ALL THRU THE NIGHT!!! 7:30 -7:30!

So I thought that I would put in some photos of Judah at bath time last night.


Judah loves to help me cook, clean, do laundry and vacuum ...so last night I was making toad in the hole (sausages in a Yorkshire pudding batter and baked in the oven) and Judah wanted to help. He helped mix the flour and water/milk and egg mixture. Then he put in the herbs and whisked away! After I put the toad in the hold in the oven he wanted to continue to cook so I let him make a pretend soup! Soooooo sweet!
Just before dinner was finished in walks my wonderful husband with a lovely surprise for me....and gorgeous purple Orchid flower plant and a card. Here are the photos of the orchid.

Judah turns 2

The morning of Judah's birthday I was very emotional. I had been writing in his birthday card, and as I have had the great pleasure of reading lovely things my mom had written to me when I was a tiny tot I thought that I would do the same for Judah. I sat to write to him about how very blessed I feel to have him as my son and how I feel that God has blessed me beyond measure to have chosen me to be his mommy. I told him how special he is and I know that God has big plans for his life. As I was writing my mind traveled back in time 2 years earlier when I was in the hospital waiting to have my little bundle of joy and wondering if my baby was a boy or a girl. The events continued to play on the big screen of my mind. The long labor, then the decision made by the doctor to proceed with the C-section....being in the operating room and then hearing the first cries my baby would ever make!!!! As I sat there enjoying the memories of that most special time I found myself in tears of joy and great gratitude. I realized how abundantly blessed I am to have this very special person in my life. Then a great heaviness came over me, the realization that I have this massive responsibility to shape and mould this little person. Knowing that every word, action and attitude is being carefully studied and mimicked was like being hit by a ton of bricks. Wow, all I could think is that God has entrusted me with this beautiful and perfectly wonderful creation. Even now I am so overwhelmed!

Every day that I get to see his beautiful face, precious little smile, sparkling eyes, curious hands, fast and sporty feet, experience his exciting and playful personality and hear his contagious and joyous laugh I am honored to be his mommy and blessed that God trusted me enough to give him to me.


Just a bit about his party!
I can't believe he is 2! We had such a good time at Judah's party. He had a few friends and a few family members come. I think the decision to have the party at Jitterbugs was both good and bad. Good because I didn't have to set up or clean up. Bad because it was PACKED.... a lot of big kids and they don't watch the smaller children.

When it came time for the kiddos to sing happy birthday to Judah, he didn't want to sit down to have the cake brought to him to blow the candle out....he wanted to open his presents. So to keep him from being upset...he got to open a few presents while the kids sang to him. I was glad he didn't cry when everyone was singing to him.

And some photos for your viewing pleasure.

The Rush is Over

Now that Christmas and New Years have come and gone things are settling down. We had a lovely Christmas. Judah was big enough this year to enjoy ripping all the paper off the presents...his and everyone else's that is if they would let him. He got lots of fantastic stuff. Electric Drum set, Art table and all the stuff that would go with it, educational puzzles, trucks, clothing. New Years was good...we had a few family member here as well as Matthew's best mate, Steven. We played Taboo, guys against girls, and the guys beat us pretty bad!!
Now that the new year is in full swing Judah is starting pre-school...at home. I have found a fantastic Pre-School Homeschooling Curriculum. I am constantly amazed at how quickly he learns things. He isn't speaking english yet...well some things but most things are still Judahish! I have lots of plans for him this year and am looking forward to watching him grow and learn and Succeed!

Matthew and I have a few things on our own goal list for the year. Those things will be kept to ourselves for a while until we feel it is time to release them. As for life things are good. God is faithful and we are just living everyday life.

Until the next time,

Allenia

Breakthrough

After months on end of sleepless nights we had a major breakthrough. After a couple of days of our new "sleep plan" we have had success. I must admit that the "sleep plan" we decided on was probably the hardest for me to deal with. I don't like hearing my son cry so this was a challenge for me as well as for Judah.
We made a few changes that we think have helped along with the sleep plan. We moved Judah to the back bedroom where there is no road noise or noise from the neighbors (who sometime get into it late at night and have been so loud they have disturbed his sleep). Not only did we move his bedroom...we gave him a single bed with a feather top mattress.
Our sleep plan goes like this...we take him to his room...say his prayers with him....lay him down and tell him we love him....then I walk out as he follows me to the gate and begins screeming. I let 10 minutes pass ... go back to his room and cuddle him....lay him back down and walk out again...then let 5 minutes pass...then again with the checking on him then another 2.5 mintues then check on him then if he is still going for it....I start over with 10 minutes...he hasn't made it past the second round of the first 10 minutes yet.

He slept from 7:30 last night until 5:10 this morning! Then went back to bed until 7:15!!!!

SO excited. I have finally got to sleep in my bed with JUST my huband.

Well that is all for now but will update when I get another free minute!

Allenia

JitterBug Fun

Below are a few photos of my little man having a blast at JitterBugs...it is a fantastic indoor play center for children. But don't be fooled. A lot of parents are climbing through the huge apparatus. I feel completely comfortable sitting down with a cup of coffee to chat to some of the Mom's I have met there while he runs around and plays. The way it is set up it is easy to keep an eye on your little one while you sit and enjoy some adult conversation.

As I was laying in bed last night...with Judah just next to me (he came running in crying), I kept humming these tunes in my head. When Matthew came to bed I told him how I felt so silly because I kept singing all these crazy kid songs that are from the shows that Judah watches. Then I started singing them to him so he could feel a bit crazy with me! He just laughed. Thank God for other mother's who understand me.
Yesterday afternoon I took Judah to the JB we played until Matthew got off work...he walked to the JB to meet us...the took a few minuted to play with Judah in the play areas. He is such a good daddy. While we were there I met another Mom. Her name is Marjam (she is Iranian) she is so lovely. When we were chatting she said that she knew I must be American because I was so naturally social. (She and her husband lived in California for a while -- her son was born there). We have made plans to meet up again and let the boys play. What a great opportunity to show the Love of Christ.

Here are a few photos of my lovely little one having a big time at our favorite play center.

Playing the the Under 3's play area.

Coming down the BIG slide ALL BY HIMSELF! The top of the slide starts where the light is on the top right hand side of the photo.

Going up the "mountain" to get to the big slide! Again all by himself!

Big rotating part to a mini obstacle coarse.

Playing foosball!

Judah in the futbol/soccer pitch

I will add more photos as we will be doing some more outings soon.

BBC's Good Food Show

What a blast!!!! Yesterday I got to go to the BBC's Good Food Show in Birmingham at the NEC. It was so much fun. The NEC is about 2 miles long and was packed full of stalls/vendors and wall to wall people. At one point it was hard to walk thru the crowd. Vanessa and I sat for nearly 3 hours to wait to see Gordon Ramsey cook at one of the shows...however he couldn't be there so Angela Harnett took his place. She is brillant. Very interesting personality and quite a dry scense of humor....I liked her. I got a few things at the show, a couple of knives, some different food items a plate and bowl for Judah. All in all it was great. I think that Vanessa and I will plan to got to the Summer Food Show again at the NEC.

On to Judah updates... So my little man is beginning to talk. It has only been one week but in that week something has changed. He was jumping up and down on me yesterday and was saying onnnn (1) ewhhhh (2) eeeee (3) and then he would jump and sit down. He is also saying oohse -- juice... he also says "what?" and no, gone gone, all gone. It is so funny to hear what he sounds like when he actually uses words. Too cute! He has become very confident in other areas.. Much more indepentent, he lets us know when he is ready to go to bed and when he wants a bath, if he doesn't want something we know very quickly. He is something. I love my little man...this is such a great adventure. I must be off now.. until then.