On the Verge...

Today was one of those days.  It was actually more like two of those days rolled into one.  The morning was a "Really?!  I mean, really?!" kind of morning.  And the afternoon was a "Wow, the Lord is so good and faithful" kind of afternoon. Even though the city we live in says  that they aren't doing scheduled power outages this summer, we have just happened  to have a power outage the last three Mondays at almost exactly  10am.  The first few I was extra annoyed, because they were in the middle of Selah's morning nap and the sound machine that we have to have running while she is sleeping and the fan that keeps her room relatively cool both shut off and she woke right up, of course.  This week, we have transitioned to one nap a day, so she wasn't sleeping during this morning's power outage and I wasn't as frustrated.  But when the power hadn't come back on after 30 minutes like it usually does, I was getting a little exasperated.  And ho

I would be a horrible parent if I documented every single step that Abram took in blog-land and failed to mention anything about Selah's verbal and mobile developments as of late. She has officially taken steps!  The most she has ever done is five in a row, but it's usually two or three before she lunges herself forward and falls, sometimes quite dangerously.  I would never have predicted this, but Abram was my cautious kid, who took one month to actually start walking.  When he did, he hardly ever fell forward or lost his balance.  I think it's because he wanted to make sure that he could do it well before he did it.  Selah, on the other hand, is more than happy to try over and over again, every time catching herself with those little hands on the hard ground and sitting right up to look for the clapping and smiling.  She still can't (won't?) just stand up by herself without first pulling up on something or someone. But she can stand unassisted now and control

I mean a Quinn planned  date.  I am notorious for shooting down ideas.  In general.  But specifically when it comes to Quinn's date ideas.  I am not proud to admit this and it's convicting to actually type that out, because it's obviously not an admirable, or even likable trait.  It's ultimately sin on my part, since it comes from a control and comfort idol.  I want what I want and what I know and makes me feel safe. This has become glaringly apparent as our list of dates we've been on since moving here eight months ago is a long list of Festival Centre (read: Ikea) outings. So my first step in getting rid of that unfortunate personality trait, was to really let Quinn plan our fifth anniversary date and just be agreeable and do everything he suggested.  Our anniversary was June 15th, but we ended up going out July 3rd, because my mom is here and could babysit the kids starting earlier in the evening (because she could feed  them and put them down much easier than

So my mom is here!!!  I haven't blogged in forever.  Things just get busy or we are tired.  But I wanted to share some of the pictures we have gotten of her visit so far. Al Qasba - first night.  What a trooper she was! Forgot the sippy.    Nando's. A fave. Eye of the Emirates. Visiting our friends at the house in Fujairah that will be ours in one month!! The girls. The swing set.  I think this kid will be out here a lot. Around the house: "You're so cool, Nana!" Y bike for Selah with birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma Ward.  She likes it!  And since we've gotten it, she's started standing on her own more and trying to take steps on her own. Maybe it was perfect timing and maybe it is because of the bike. Whatever it was, I think we are getting closer to having a toddler on our hands! On the move. Also got some new Clark's first steps shoes and they are great! Watching a movie. Doing pu