Bed Time Stories

Josh and I have made it a point to read to Alexander as much as possible. Since the first day we brought him home we have read to him before bed. I honestly believe this has brought a healthy love of books. Alexander will go to his toy drawer and get a book out before he gets any other toy. When I say it's nap time or bed time, the first thing he does is run to the drawer and get a book. He has one book that is so loved that I have glued and taped it multiple times. But tonight has taken the cake as the cutest thing he has done with his books so far. We keep three of his books in the closet because I don't want them ripped. They were a special present sent to us by our friend Mary in Salem. Tonight we were reading one of them and he was having a great time pointing out animals and making the sounds as we read. After we prayed and said goodnight I set the book on the end of the bed so I could put it away after he fell asleep. As Josh and I were sitting at the table doing homework tonight I could hear him in there talking. (Side note: He is in a "bed" now so we are working on staying in bed once mommy leaves the room) Anyway, since he was not crying I left him alone to fall asleep in his own time. After he had been quiet for 30 minutes or so I went in to cover him up and make sure he was right side up in the bed and this is when I found it. He must have seen where I put the book because he had fallen asleep with it and when I thought back to when he was talking I realized he had probably gotten up grabbed the book, went back to his bed (where we read to him) and "read" the book until he fell asleep. I wish I could have walked in with the camera, he is just so sweet!! Have I mention recently that I love my son?

College Again

I have tried to take college classes through the years since high school not really knowing what I wanted to do. I felt I should try different things before I settle on what it was I really wanted to do. So, as most of you know, I have now settled on a major, Visual Communication. Josh and I sat at a coffee shop one night discussing want I enjoy, what I'm good at, and what I want to do with my time after he is done with school (besides being a mom that is). After some thought, prayer and research I found a major that I felt fit me really well. Josh got on with the idea of my knocking a few classes out of the way before we get back. So today I start my first class. PSY104 Psychology in the Workplace. I have been so excited and anxiously awaiting the start of class. When I logged on to see what the teach had to say on the first day, I FREAKED OUT!! Not in a bad way, it's just one of those things that hit me differently than I expected. I am still excited and looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, but wow. As long as I have wanted to finish college I can't believe it is actually happening.

God knows me so well...

He has given me Brenda when everyone else is leaving me. Three people I talk with regularly are all leaving me within a few days. Mary, my friend from Salem who I talk with daily, Freddy one of our roommates and Josh, are all leaving me this next week. BUT Brenda is going to be here while they are all gone. I would be so lonely and sad for their departures if it were not for the excitement of one of my best friends being here. "Thank you God for loving me so much to think of this ahead of time for me!!"

Curly Hair

I have been having some frustration styling my hair since I got it cut. So last night I decided to try something I have never been able to do. Go curly! My hair has always been to long and heavy for it to work so I thought "why not". The worst that would happen is I would wash my hair again and pretend it never happened. Well here is what I got...I have always told peolple that I have curly hair, but I had no idea this much. I took this picture just to see what the back looked like and I could not believe my eyes. So if you never believed me when I said I had curly hair, here is my proof.

A Church Family

I am so excited to report that we have found a church home. The pastor and his wife are so wonderful. They have made such an effort to welcome us and get us connected with other families our age. They called to see how I was feeling after they found out I had a cold. We had even met them and knew them by name before we even made it to our first sevice today (It is easy to do that in a small church). I am so excited because after we got home today I just had this joy and peace in my soul. I miss my peirs, my mentors, my girls and spending some time chatting with Abby (the pastor's wife) just filled me up. They are origanily from the south, so they have some of that good old american hospitality built in. They have several grandkids so they took to Alexander real quick (who doesn't!). I guess I am blabbering to say, I'm happy. We have a place now to fellowship with other believers and I have missed that a lot.

Video/Slideshow

If you would like to see my video/slideshow of our trip to Porto Santo last weekend, it has been added to my video sidebar on the right of this page.

Hugs and Kisses from Portugal!!

Porto Santo and Sleep

What a wonderful way this was to spend the last few hours on Porto Santo this weekend, napping under an umbrella with my sweet little boy in my arms. We had to check out of our hotel by 2 pm and the boat didn't leave until 7 pm so we had to find something to do during that time. Warm sun, ocean waves, napping with Alexander, not a bad way to spend it if you ask me! This, however, brings me to my next point. We are going to be getting Alexander a bed as soon as we can find one we can afford. He has been taking his naps on our bed recently and they have been long naps, like 3 hours most days. At first I thought it was just because he was getting sick or teething, (or liked being in our bed) but this weekend he slept on a twin bed at the hotel and we experienced the same results. I think he really enjoys being tucked in and having a pillow, so off we go to the next phase of being a toddler. Am I sad? Maybe a little, but not really because anything that gets me to sleep more at night or have a little extra time during the day is okay by me.

Sunday Nights

Sundays have become the jewel of our week. We started a little over a month ago using Sunday as a day to cook. We pick a new recipe for dinner and dessert and make everything we can from scratch. It is so much fun. It started as just Josh, Mariana, and me but has since grown. This week was really special because Freddy (one of our roommates) has two visitors from Germany (his home). So this week we went all out. Mary (our other roommate) helped me make a Portuguese dish called bacalhau (cod fish) with potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, parsley and a little bit of salt, all baked together in the oven. We served it with salad and bread. For dessert I made a special dish from main land Portugal called Sericaia topped with a sweet pumpkin sauce (it is kind of like jelly). Man was it all good. I love Sunday's! And I hope to bring this new family tradition home with us. If you want to join us on a Sunday, sign up now!!! Just kidding.

Clockwise from Alexander, Josh, Freddy (Germany), Eduardo (Portugal), Mary(Portugal), Yan(Germany), Diana (Uzbekistan), Mariana (Costa Rica), Daniel (Germany).

Joy of my life

It's no secret that I love my son. I honestly think he is the coolest, smartest, sweetest child I have ever know. Everyday he does something to reiterated those feelings. Today is one to be noted! Josh and I were standing in the kitchen getting things ready to eat dinner and Alexander wanted me to pick him up. After I did he reaches for Josh and pulls him to us. As soon as Josh was close enough he put his hand on the back of both of our necks and pushed us together while making kissing sounds. He must have done this 6 times before we could not stop laughing. I swear my son is the coolest!!!!!