Sunday, March 30, 2014

Happy 35th!!

I count down the days till Joe's birthday. I can't wait to celebrate him! I carefully plan to make sure everything is perfect, I secretly prepare little special surprises for him and do my best to keep them secret. It's difficult to plan anything without him knowing, but I do my best. I was determined that my secret gift would not backfire like it did last year.

(Last year Wes and a pregnant me escaped via tuk tuk to purchase some potted plants that would be delivered to our home, carried up to our roof, and arranged to begin what we were hoping would become a small oasis on our roof. My plan was to bring Joe upstairs to surprise him with the beauty of my creation when he came home from work. However. The tuk tuk was in an accident on its way to our home and by the time my plants were delivered, there were broken branches, clay pots, and dirt everywhere. The driver was so apologetic. I gave him money to go buy more clay pots and we began the process of salvaging and transplanting in our driveway. By the time Joe came home, the plants were still being carried up to our roof, trails of dirt left all throughout our house, and the PPBS faculty were scheduled to arrive in just a few minutes for a fun evening together, which just happened to fall on Joe's birthday. Joe walked into the house and said, "What is going on?? Isn't everyone supposed to be here soon? Where's the mop?"
Yes, that birthday gift, although appreciated later, was a bit of a flop.) Not to mention that the power was going out 5-7+ hours a day last year. Try baking a birthday cake that way. Not an easy task.

THIS year, I planned ahead, had my gift ordered in plenty of time, managed to take both kids out shopping without Joe knowing, and we were ready. 

However. The morning of his birthday:

- The refrigerator broke. I had to call the repair guy.
- The internet went out. I had to call the repair guy. 
- Both repair guys showed up at the same time, at which time the power went out, at which time the baby work up from her nap, at which time Joe called to see how my day was going. 
- The repair guys FINALLY got our generator going when the power came back on and they had to turn it off.
- The fan in the living room broke. I had to have it sent out for repairs.
- The power blinked out 3 times, making baking the brownies a challenge.
- The company called me to say that they made the wrong beanbag chair that I had ordered. Did I want to wait a few days for them to make the correct one? Or have them bring the wrong one?
Augh!

Joe's day was similar to my own:
- The evening before his birthday, his back pack was stolen. In it was his Greek text book for the class he's currently in, two sweaty dress shirts, and two English text books he uses to teach his ESL classes.
- He had to write a big Greek exam. He'd gotten up at 4 AM to make sure he would be ready. The font wasn't installed properly, and when his proctor printed off the exam, what should have been Greek text, was only square boxes. By the time the font was re-installed, there wasn't time to write the test. Augh!
- It poured rain that morning. It hasn't rained in months! He got drenched as he biked to school to teach.


The good news is, by the time Joe came home at 3 PM: 
- he realized he had a .pdf for his Greek text that had been stolen!
- he was able to replace the 2 ESL text books in time for the class he had to use them for
- he had written his Greek exam and felt surprisingly good about it!
- the power had stayed on long enough for me to finish all my baking!
- the refrigerator, internet, and fan were all repaired!
- the house was clean, ready for small group (which we host every Friday night, which just happened to also fall on his birthday)
- our decorations the kids and I had made were hung up and complete!
- both babies were sleeping!
- the house smelled of his chosen birthday dinner cooking! (sausage on a bun with sauerkraut. haha)
- Joe's birthday gift (the correct one I had ordered) was scheduled to be delivered after small group was finished!

So, we had a great day, after all! 
So many random things happened, I just had to write them all down. 

I love doing life with you, Joey! I'm so glad we get to enjoy the craziness of life together! :D


Here are a few pics of our day to remember those special moments. :)

I left a surprise breakfast of bagels and cream cheese out for Joey for when he woke up super early to study (I had to ask around to see if/where bagels and cream cheese were sold. I was referred to a bakery and Wes, Bria, and I slipped away one afternoon by tuk tuk to find it and sneak it home for daddy!) What a fun surprise for him...that we all got to enjoy! :)


 Here is Wes putting his finishing touches on the sign we made.
Wes REALLY wanted to put a "4" between the 3 & 5. I had to cut out a 4 as well. He couldn't understand why we didn't hang it on the wall, too. lol



Ready to dig in to yummy food!


Joe was one happy guy when he opened up Wes' gift to him and discovered his favorite: Bic pens! He had been looking for them around the city. A perfect gift for my teacher-husband! :)

I used Joe's birthday as an incentive to frame some family photos.

And here is the bean bag chair we got him! I didn't get any photos of it, but upon delivery, Wes & a neighbor boy were jumping and doing flips on it...it was great fun! This is Wes enjoying it in a more calm state.


Bria likes it, too!


And the birthday boy enjoys his gift, too!
I moved it up to the office and transformed our office into a sort of den so that we could have a place where we can all escape the heat when we just need some good air con! I has been a perfect haven from the 40+*C (100+*F) we've been having. phew!

The next day he gave ME roses...just because he was grateful for all that I did to make him feel special on his day, which makes me want to honor him more. And the circle of love and giving just keeps going.
I'm so grateful to have this man in my life. Every day is sweet because he's in it. Every moment I'm with him is anticipated and cherished and I wish it wouldn't end. I find myself counting down the hours & then minutes till he gets home from work, and I just can't believe that I am so blessed to have him in my life and journey through the next 35+ years with him. 

I love you, Joey! Happy birthday! 

yours

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Briana at 8 months

I love this little sweetheart SO much. 8-9 months old is special for me, because in my brain it marks the end of the length of time I was pregnant with her. Let me tell you, the months of pregnancy go by SO MUCH SLOWER than the months I get to enjoy with her in person. I love her giggles, her expressions, the way she gets SO excited when I walk into the room. She's won my heart and I see every day with her as a gift. 

You can't tell from these photos, but I felt like I had gone through a war zone throughout this photo shoot. Wes was SO hyper! Jumping on my back, in front of the camera, all over the couch, grabbing the camera, etc etc. It was really quite amusing how exhausted I was after taking just a few photos! (well, I took 111, actually. That's how many attempts it took to just get the few photos I'm sharing with you here.)

Hope you enjoy!















Think they're related?


Can't wait for you all to see her in person again! Photos are just teasers. 

Love you all!

Joe, Nica, Wes, & Bri

Sunday, March 2, 2014

February Highlights

This month has been one of incredible development for our little Briana!
At the beginning of the month, we were given a bumbo, which she did so well with! It gave her the extra boost she needed to get a different view on her world. She loved it.





By the middle of February, Briana finally got it! She would sit before, but had also perfected the face plant. She left the face plants behind, seemingly, overnight! And now she seems to be growing up before our eyes. What a joy, as a parent, to see your child develop, try new things, fail, but conquer! So proud of my baby girl!




Briana has been having a hard time sleeping through the night. She still hasn't, usually waking up 2-3 times per night, but still sometimes waking up much more. One night she was up SO.MANY.TIMES. It literally exhausted me. Was she warm? I adjusted the fan. Was she hungry? She wouldn't eat. Was she uncomfortable? No burps. Were mosquitoes bothering her? I made sure her net was securely in place.
Why didn't I think about teething????
By morning, this exhausted mama was surprised to find that Bri had cut her top two teeth! She was grinding her teeth, and I was, like, what??? Wait a second. Sure enough! There they were!
Forgive me if I wasn't more excited. I was wiped. Joey sent me back to bed. haha

I snapped a photo of us in the middle of the night one night.
Sleepy mama, sleepy baby.


Her personality seems to be blossoming, too. Really talking, flashing incredibly winning smiles to her daddy, and learning how to stick up for herself around her big brother! She can really communicate her opinions when Wes takes her toy away, but can also play with him a little more, as well! Sometimes he tries to bug her, but sometimes he can draw her giggles out like nobody else can!








At the beginning of this month, Joe and I sat down and strategically planned how we were going to implement some child-training techniques with our 2 year old. Wes often gets away with a lot, especially when mommy is working and daddy is studying or working. 
In the Khmer culture, children eat on the go. Parents or nannies run after the child with a bowl and a spoon and feed as children are playing. Actually, we've seen many children that are 4-8 years old, with parents still feeding them. We decided we didn't want that for our child! He also loves to eat in the living room while he plays or watches Curious George. So, this month, I am happy to say, we have broken him of both of these habits, and he is now used to joining us at the table! We set a timer for 20 minutes so he knows that when he hears the ding, he's allowed to jump down. A little victory perhaps, but a step in the right direction for us!

This also brought the change of Briana taking over Wes' old chair, and Wes now sitting on a stool at the table!







Joe also gave Wesley an incredible gift this month: a swing on our roof!!! Yes, Joe had a board made with holes, and then put the swing up himself for Wes to enjoy. Wes LOVES it! We are up on the roof a LOT now, with a new swing, the sandbox re-filled with sand, and the weather hot enough to enjoy the swimming pool again! We're hoping to get a swing made for Briana soon, too.








A new word in Wesley's vocabulary:
UNDER-DOGGIE!!!

Day or night, we love our roof!


Sometimes our neighbors join us, too!
Usually neighbors only use their roofs for drying laundry. So this is often the view we have while enjoying our swing ride. haha!

It's fun to watch our kids playing together!


Wes LOVES popcorn! He grabs the bowl and claims it as his own. "Wesley's bowl" he says.
He comes by it honestly. I was practically raised on the stuff!


Wes also loves to play ball. Of any kind! Kicking a soccer ball, or hitting a baseball, or hitting balloons with a badminton racquet, he loves sports. Here he is joining in with some neighbor kids who had a game going. It's a bad recording (on my ipod at dusk) but it give you an idea of his enthusiasm for sports! 



Wes still adores his trains. He still has to sleep with them at night, and loves making and re-making his train track.


He's allowed to bring a toy to the table at dinner time, and his train is usually his first choice. Imagine his surprise when he found a cool trick he could do with his train and his fork & spoon!!! :D



He makes me laugh all the time!







Our new center piece:



The mosquitoes have been really bad this month! Thankfully their numbers are decreasing the hotter the weather gets. But at the beginning of February it honestly brought back memories of my growing up in Northern Ontario years! ahhh...the smell of the mosquito coil. It brings back a flood of memories!

Keeping fans going also keeps the mosquitoes away. However, we also got a mosquito net to protect Briana as she sleeps.



Wesley is my accountability partner.




One thing this month that the boys have discovered, is UNO.
I taught one boy how to play it, and then EVERY night for WEEKS they were over here wondering if I could play with them! Of course I did as often as I could. With Joe working 3 nights/week, it allows me to have more time to just sit and play UNO with the neighbor boys! Such fun! :)






Wes is NOT good at playing with other kids.
So, our Wednesday morning play date is important for him.
It's important for me, too! It gets me out of the house, and I'm enjoying getting to know other moms in my community.
Here are just a few random shots I took to give you an idea.






I love my beautiful daughter!




I look forward to our Friday dates each week! 
It's a special time where we can escape our busy days and just treat ourselves with some "us" time, and usually a new coffee shop. This week, though, since it's gotten SO hot, we treated ourselves to Swensen's! WHOA. Amazing.



This month we were also able to celebrate some cousins' birthday!
Happy birthday Brooklynn!!! (Joe's sister's daughter)
and
Happy birthday, Katrina!!! (My brother's daughter)

We hate it that we have to miss the parties, but we try to celebrate a little in our own little way. 
We love and miss you!



Just for kicks, here are a few shots that didn't make the cut for the actual birthday card, but I thought were cute! We just took these today.







Hope this post helps to give you an idea of what our little corner of the world is looking like these days. 
Please pray for Joe, as he will start to teach his Minor Prophets course at the Bible College! Teaching the Bible is the whole POINT of why we moved here, so we're so excited to see this opportunity opening up for him! The new semester starts tomorrow! Thanks for your prayers for us.
Love and miss you all!


Joe, Nica, Wes, & Bri