Hey GFU! Gotta Give it Up for the Gold and Blue!

Go Bruins! I am so excited that George Fox University won the women's basketball NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS yesterday! They defeated Washington University 60-53 for the win. Erik and I were able to watch the game on television. I was literally jogging around my living room because I could not keep still during the tense final minutes of the game. I am proud to be a Bruin, and so proud of the heart and determination those brave ladies showed yesterday. Yeah, George Fox!

From Armadillo to Zebra

I have been wanting to write a list of Sadie's favorite words... it is hard to keep a tally, because she repeats everything we say! Here we go, semi-alphabetically.

armadillo
apple
ark
animal
Abby
Amy
all done
Amen

Bible
boat
bread
big
book
bear
baa baa
blankie
brr
bath
baby
balloon
ball

coat
church
cold

doggie
dirty
diaper
daddy
dinner

elephant
Elisa

frog

gorilla
good
girl
We're working on grandma and grandpa; they are coming in six days!

hat
happy
ho-ho
hiding

jump

kitty

lion
love

moose
mine
and me ( I guess that's 'a')
mitten
more
mommy
milk

no
nana
noodle
noise
nurse

poopy
puddle
please

raisin
reading

sister
stinky
silly

train
thank you

up

vroom

zebra
zookeeper

Can you tell I am the proud mama of an almost sixteen-month old? :)

March Thaw

After temperatures fell well below zero on Sunday, Monday brought Chinook winds and warm weather... the afternoon reached high 40s! In Jackson, we lament mud-season, as the mounds of snow melt and, in Elisa's poignant words, "turn to dirt." Here are some photos of March mud-splashing at the Wachob house.


See the mud on Sadie's coat?

Sisters splash in puddles together!

Whee!

Whoa!

And - a video of Sadie's ballerina-like dance moves.

Bronc Basketball

Last night, Erik and I joined the members of our small group at the high school gymnasium for the varsity basketball games. One of the men in our group is the assistant coach for the boys team, so when a game fell on our usual study night, it seemed fitting to cheer his team on from the stands. It took the girls a few minutes to figure out what was going on, and then Sadie kept saying "Ball!" She would point wildly at the players, and clap with glee anytime the crowd cheered (for either team).
Elisa ate handfuls of popcorn and took a few sly sips of her daddy's root beer.

It's funny how places trigger memories... How many hours have I spent sitting in that gym (or the one in the old high school I attended across the road) eating popcorn, and taking sly sips of my daddy's Coke? We even watched Ryan's game the day before my wedding. In fact, the bride's side was all late for the rehearsal because the game went into overtime. (I had gone home to primp, of course, so I was on time!:))I heard the same cheers, the same goofy chants, the same band songs. It hit me last night, as I bounced Sadie on my lap, that the last time I sat in that same gym was for my daddy's memorial service.

When I left the game to go put the girls to bed, I reached for my cell phone, wanting so badly to call my sports-loving Dad and tell him about how the girls' team had creamed Pinedale 70-something to 21! To tell him how Sadie's eyes had followed the game with interest, and Elisa had loved climbing the bleachers. I dialed his number, hoping his message would still be there. I used to call his number to hear his voice, and I'll admit, sometimes I left messages. This time, a man answered, saying, "Bueno?" (I think!) I quickly apologized and hung up. And even though it's silly, it just made me cry.

Daddy, I miss cheering for the Jackson Broncs with you. How are my girls going to learn to understand basketball when their mommy can't follow the game without Boppa's voice explaining the rules and the plays I didn't catch?

After sixteen months, I still miss my dad in unexpected places.

Winter Headlines

We have been without Internet since mid-January, and I apologize for the lack of posting! I know grandmas and aunts have been missing pictures of their kiddos! Here are some headlines from January and February.

-Elisa turned three! Amy and Mom (and Ephraim) drove down to celebrate her birthday with us. They surprised us all by showing up at the door on Sunday afternoon. I was flabbergasted and so blessed by their love for us! She loved having them here, and she especially loved the "Fancy Nancy" parfaits we had for birthday dessert. Her birthday party on the following Saturday was a frilly doll's tea with her two closest friends. She is so full of energy and laughter, and her perceptiveness amazes me. She is a joy and challenge and a delight.


Ephraim. He is so sweet, and I loved seeing him "bigger" and more mobile. What a kid!

A tea party!

Elisa admiring her doll cake. I have learned a few cake decorating tricks, and had fun designing this one! It turned out pretty cute!

-Sadie is walking! She took her first steps before Christmas, but began traveling in earnest mid January. It is fun to see her take strides of independence and also to see the spunk in her personality emerge with her newfound freedom. :) She talks constantly, and picks up new words every day. She is starting to hold her own with her big sister.

-A visit from our dear Coloradoan friends, the Paisleys! We were honored to have Nathan, Melissa and Megan drive ten hours from Colorado Springs to stay the weekend with us. We took them cross-country skiing, on the elk refuge sleigh ride, and even had a double date with the kids at home. It was wonderful and memorable. Their little girls is beautiful, and they are such a godly, encouraging couple.


Megan, Elisa, and Sadie. It is so hard to get three little ones to pose! :)

The Paisleys


-Skiing, skiing and more skiing! We have enjoyed many excursions on skis... in our yard, at the high school tracks, on the golf course, up in the park, up two mountains (Shadow and Signal) and on the bike path. We have been so thankful for our Christmas gift of the Chariot. It is simple and comfortable and the girls will sleep, which makes all-day tours possible and pleasant. The weather has been stunningly sunny and warm.



Picnic at the Signal Mountain Summit


Mount Moran from the trail

Erik and I on Signal Mountain

Snowshoeing: Becca Block and I

-Three new babies! On January 16, the Colemans welcomed Elijah Grey to their sweet family. Kendall Hudson Jacoby was born on February 13, and Cade Robert Cox arrived yesterday! I love watching friends receive God's gift of new life into their families.

- Progress on the Book List. Here are my brief reviews.

Chronicles of Narnia. I had somehow missed these in my childhood and devoured the whole series in a week. What an imagination. I love the way spiritual truth is woven into fancy. C.S. Lewis is amazing.

The Shack. Most of you have probably already read this one, but if you haven't... it is the story of one broken-hearted man's very real encounter with God. It was thought-provoking, challenging, beautifully written... There has been controversy over the book within the church, but I found no doctrinal issues, and, reading it as fiction, with a heart open to see God in fresh ways, I found it illuminating. It makes you hunger for deeper relationship with our Papa God.

Boundaries With Kids. Erik loves Henry Cloud, so we both read this one, and found some helpful insights into teaching limits to our children.

Same Kind of Different as Me. This was not on my original list, but a friend loaned it to me, and it was a wonderful read... an autobiography about two men - one a homeless former sharecropper from Louisiana, and one an international art dealer. It tells the story of how their lives intersect and how they discover God through one another.

Happy February! I promise to update more frequently!

An Earthquake and an Article

Erik and I were just wrapping up our quiet night at home when our bookshelf began to shake and the house shuddered! We just had an earthquake. We are waiting for the internet earthquake site to log it so we can see what magnitude it was. Wow!

Before the earthquake, I was writing this article. Enjoy!

Wanna Be Like You

“Mama, can you show me what color underwear you have on?” Elisa asks, tugging on the waistband of my jeans.

Laughing, I bend down and tussle her hair with my fingers. “Why, honey?”

“’Cause I want to see if we match.”

I kiss my almost three-year-old daughter on the tip of her nose – the nose with the pert little ski jump, so similar to my own – and slide my pants over my hips to reveal pink and white stripes.

“Oh,” she says, disappointed. “Mine are purple.” She frowns, then brightens. “Can I go change, Mama? I have pink ones in my drawer.”

I hesitate, thinking of the added laundry, the wastefulness of changing clothes just so she can match her Mama. “Sure, honey. Go ahead and change.”

She scampers up the stairs, and a moment later, a pair of zebra-spotted purple panties come flying down the laundry chute. As I toss the toddler-sized undies into the washing machine, I smile. Elisa’s eagerness to be “just like Mama” in this small way is revealing. Even more revealing than the slightly tattered, pink and white striped unmentionables!

My daughter looks up to me. I am – for better or worse – her role model. In the small things, and in the big things. From the way I brush my teeth and tie my shoes to the way I love or don’t love others. The way I love – or don’t love – God.

When I sneak a chocolate chip cookie before dinner, she notices. When I retort sassily to something her daddy says, she notices. When I complain or grumble about a mundane task, she notices. She notices when my behavior doesn’t quite match the ideals I try to instill in her. She sees the inconsistencies, the impatience, and the ungratefulness. As I measure detergent and pour it into the rising tide of warm wash water, I am humbled. My daughter wants to be just like me, but I am not always a person I want her to be just like.

And yet, God formed her life within my frail human body. He who knows everything about me, every secret of my still sinful heart, determined that I was the right earthly mama for His precious daughter. He knew she would want to be like me, and still He entrusted her life to my care. He is so full of grace! The roles and responsibilities of motherhood are chisels in the Lord’s hands. Being a parent inspires me to holiness – never more so than on this Tuesday afternoon, as I watch flimsy purple panties swirl through soapy water.

Book List

I love to read, and I am often hearing about or seeing a book that interest me, and then thinking, "I should add that to the list!" Well, I haven't actually had a list, so today I set out to create a 2009 Reading List.

I thought I'd share it in case any one wants to join me on a particular book, or maybe has that book I can borrow!

Life With God - Richard Foster (with Erik)
Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster
Holiness - A Heart God Purifies - Nancy Leigh DeMoss
A Quest For More - Paul David Tripp
Your Life in Christ - George MacDonald
The Reason for God: Belief in an age of skepticism - Tim Keller

Practicing Hospitality - Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock
Heaven at Home - Ginger Plowman
The Hidden Art of Homemaking - Edith Schaeffer
A Woman's Guide to Family Finances - Ellie Kay

The Mission of Motherhood (a reread) - Sally Clarkson
The Heart of Anger - Lou Priolo
Boundaries for Kids - Henry Cloud (with Erik)
Teach them Diligently - Lou Priolo

Chronicles of Narnia series - CS Lewis (with Erik)
The Shack - William Young
Any novels by George MacDonald (whatever our library has)

When Sinners Say I Do - Dave Harvey
The Love Dare

Yeah! I am happy to have it written down and start checking off some of these titles. Let me know if you want to read with me!