"I'm all better now"

These were Isabella's words this morning after we experienced our first bout of the "stomach flu" and the vomiting that comes with it. Yesterday she woke from her nap in cheerful spirits then suddenly screamed for me. I came into her room shocked but perhaps less mortified than she was at the stinky substance all over her dress and crib. This continued every 15-20 minutes for a few hours throughout the evening. Amazingly, it slowed down and we all got a good night's sleep, well relatively. After a 10am wake up call, she was pretty much back to her bouncing-off-the-walls-Isabella-self. Here's a picture of her and her (clean) "V" bowl!

Hawaii or bust...

We're doing it! We're actually going on a vacation...one in which we're not working in Madagascar or visiting friends and family. Of course, we love those things too but we haven't been on a REAL vacation since our honeymoon over 5 years ago. We think it's time! Our sites are set and our tickets are purchased (with miles!) for Poipu Beach, Kauai. 2 whole luxurious weeks of rest, relaxation, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, sleeping, sunbathing, and playing! Are the kiddos coming you may ask? Yes, but so are grandma and grandpa....Hallelujah! The only hard part about this trip...it's not until May 2009! The waiting will be hard but the payoff should be awesome!

Running to Madagascar

Tonight on our way home in the car, Isabella started up a conversation with us from the back seat. It went a little something like this...

Isabella: "I'm going to Madagascar"
Jamie and Alissa: "You're going to Madagascar? How are you going to get there?"
Isabella: "I'm going to run. Let's put our running clothes on."
Jamie and Alissa: "We're going to run to Madagascar? "
Isabella: "Yes, it'll be fun. Then we'll have dinner. I'm two years old."

Wow, if I could only be a fly on the wall of my daughter's brain to see her thought process, I think I would be constantly entertained as well as amazed.

I can't remember from who, but we've been told that when God calls a family somewhere to serve Him, He calls the whole family. Is this God's way of saying He's calling Isabella to Madagascar also or is it because she likes the movie... hmmm. Perhaps a little of both.

feet and smiles

Feet say a lot about a person... in Madagascar in the remote fishing village we've worked in, someone's foot print left in the sand is hugely important, it tells others if that person has passed through an area and about how long ago. Our friend Josy, has everyone's footprint memorized. If you're a new comer to the area, chances are likely he'll have it imprinted in his mind within the first 24 hours.
All this to say and without any correlation, Isabella got her toes painted for the first time complements of her mama. The color... why hot pink of course! She was in love and oh so proud.






Eliana has got some time still before her first toe painting. She's such a joy to our family. She's been a super mellow baby, quite the opposite of our exuberant 2 year old. She's full of sleeping, eating, pooping and smiling! Life is good!

Talking to Jesus

Isabella loves talking on the phone, on the home phone, on our cell phones, on her play phones. Tonight she had grandma's cell phone and was happily talking away, when asked who she was talking to, she replied, "Jesus".

This is my attempt...

to follow in the footsteps of all you friends out there that keep me entertained by reading about what's happening in your lives. I'll soon discover if there is enough hours in the day to fulfill this endeavor, but funny, somehow I always make time for the computer (despite my not being a computer person!)
Full is how life has been with a hilarious 2 year old and a precious 5 week old. Yesterday Isabella had me laughing out loud all day. So my mom and I and the girls went to the Nordstrom half-yearly sale in hopes of getting a good deal on running shoes, but struck out. We decided to eat lunch at the cafe which was completely full as it was the first day of the sale. Half way through our meal, Isabella proudly proclaims, "mommy, I have to go poopy!" over and over again!! Now she's not potty trained (except when she's naked) and we're waiting a little longer for the dust to settle before giving a valiant attempt at this feat. Of course, this got the attention of those around and as I tried to hush her and ask if she wanted to use the potty or go in her diaper, she kept repeating "mommy, I have to go poopy" louder and louder. So off to the bathroom we went and after insisting she didn't want to sit on the potty, she found a corner behind a chair in the "mother's room" and sternly said to me, "bye-bye mommy" the famous words that she's about to take care of business and doesn't want to be bothered by anyone. Fortunately I was too focused on Isabella to notice too many stares my way as folks were trying to enjoy a nice lunch out.
For those who know me well, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that my first entry is about such a topic...