Friendship Resurrection

Yes, it really has been four years since my last post.  I have no excuse.  A blog is like an old friend you haven't spoken to in years.  You miss them.  You have guilt about not staying in touch.  You want to reach out and say, "Hi"...but what excuse can you possible come up with that explains the long absence?  I haven't been in a coma.  I haven't lost the address.  I've been raising two kids. Living a life.  Surely that's reason enough.  But then I would have to admit my life doesn't include my old friend - Julie's Fun Life.  Sometimes you just have to take a chance and try to resurrect the old friendship and see if we can pick up where we left off.  That's the great thing about old friends;  it doesn't matter how much time has passed, the feelings remain.  So, I can't wait to start writing again and share my journey with an old friend.  If you enjoy it too, then that's another reason to start again and see where this Fun Life takes us.

Pinkalicious

To celebrate Eva Mei's last week of soft foods we made pink cupcakes. Why Pink? Eva's new favorite book is Pinkalicious by Victoria & Elizabeth Kann. Pinkalicious is a little girl that made pink cupcakes with her mom and ate so many that she turned pink. Eva likes to turn to the page where daddy scolds Pinkalicious for eating too many cupcakes. She points to Pinkalicious and says, "naughty" or "no-no." Our matching cupcake aprons were made by our Aunt Vera Neely.

Eva helped me put all the ingredients in the bowl and even cracked the eggs, which she thought was pretty cool. I had to pull apart the cracked eggs so Miss Clean wouldn't get her precious fingers dirty. That's one thing that Eva still doesn't like is being dirty or messy, and I'm thankful for that. After we put all the ingredients in the bowl, we put it on the KitchenAid mixer, of course. Eva wanted to help with that, but I didn't want her to get too close and put her fingers near the mixer.She patiently waited for the mixing to finish and then she was ready to eat it. I told her she had to wait for them to cook in the oven, but she could lick the spoon when I was done. Eva just learned what licking is from her liquid diet. She's been licking a lot of ice cream in the last few weeks. She really liked the pink batter.

Frosting the cupcakes wasn't as much fun as eating them. Again, I had to help her do it so she didn't get any on her fingers. Once she finished frosting and putting sprinkles on she was ready to eat them. I didn't want her to turn pink, so she could only have one. She of course wanted more and kept whining for more all day. I just kept telling her I didn't want her to turn pink like Pinkalicious. She didn't really go for that, but she agreed to wait until dinner for another one.

Priorities

I'm not sure if there is anyone left who still reads my blog...as I'm a very inconsistent blogger. Eva's just been a very high maintenance patient lately. Her surgery went well on July 16. Her first week home she developed Thrush (fungal infection in her mouth) so that didn't help her situation. She then started to have serious mental health issues. After having daily crying spells that we could not stop, my social worker and I decided we needed to see a professional. Eva waking up in Daddy's arms.

Eva and Mei mei sleeping after surgery.

Eva starts play therapy next week and we hope this will help her develop the connections in her brain to help deal with trauma. Eva appears to be reliving the trauma she experienced as an orphan and with her first surgery in China. I'm looking forward to it as the Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde personalities are about driving me to therapy. Two weeks after surgery, Eva posing on the back deck.

On a happier note, Eva is now talking more and using a big girl cup (normal open cup) with out anything coming out her nose. She knows her colors now and some of the alphabet. The letter 'A' is now called 'Apple' and 'U' is called 'Umbrella'. Eva loves to sing 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider'. She does not like bugs and tells the flies to 'shoefly' and 'fly away home'. She loves water and we're due to get back to Meijer Garden to play in the fountain. She starts preschool next month and Mom couldn't be more excited for her. ; )

God in handcuffs

Did you ever think God could be handcuffed? It sounds absurd to think a sovereign God could be bound, but He chooses to restrain Himself every second of every day since the fall of man. Think about it, God cannot lie, and He will not go against His word or His promise. He has graciously given each of us a free will and He will not force us to do what He wants just to keep us from making bad choices.

Do you think this is blasphemy? Well, God is not a wishy-washy deity. The Bible is pretty black and white when it comes to sin and the wages of such – death! AKA: separation from God FOREVER. Thank you, Jesus that we don’t have to cash that paycheck. And even after we’ve used our free will foolishly, God chooses to keep His handcuffs on after we’ve sinned and often replaces His judgment with mercy.

It’s ironic that our free will and God’s honoring of such freedom can cause us to be a slave to our freely chosen sin. Think about how often God would have to intervene in our lives to keep us from making poor choices…even deadly choices. For me I think it would be an hourly, no make that a minute-by-minute intervention. Between the evil thoughts I have about my own country’s politicians, the ice cream I eat as a meal, or the awful comment I make to my husband before he leaves for work, they all lead to the path of destruction. These may be minor infractions to you, but the Bible is very clear that we are to honor and pray for our government and leaders. We are to honor our bodies as the temple of God and we are definitely not supposed to tear down our spouses, especially before they start their day. Most times I wish I could take back the things I do and say, and sometimes I relish the thought of going to see an “R” rated movie and eat the butter-laden, heart-attack-inducing popcorn (they must put some addictive drug in there) both of which are neither good for your soul or body and probably not good for your spirit. But then that’s what Hollywood wants. Something so innocent has turned this once God-fearing country into a fat whore willing to do whatever it takes to partake in instant gratification. I digress and will leave this for another rant.

As Perry Stone says, “quit before payday,” because you don’t want the wages your due. How do you quit? First, you repent and ask God to help you start making better choices. This is as much for me as it is for anyone. I’ve been obese most of my life and I know small meals and exercise are the way to a svelte body, and yet my free will supersedes God’s will every time. I’m working at it and trying to listen to the still small voice that is the Holy Spirit, but my body and soul keep screaming for the second helping. The good news is that God is merciful and forgives us as many times as we ask and He is patiently waiting for us to ask Him what His will is. And therein lays the key that unlocks God’s handcuffs. When our free will hooks up with His good and perfect will, we enter into the truth that sets us free.

A day at the garden

Fredrick Meijer Garden is a lovely botanical garden in Grand Rapids, MI. I got an annual pass because it is so close to our house. They have many different gardens and one of them is the children's garden. Eva Mei loves going there to play in the water. They have a tiny little fountain and a replica of the Great Lakes. If anyone is interesting in coming for a visit, let me know and I'll meet you there.

The children's fountain.

Eva had it all to herself the day we went.

Eva plays in Lake Ontario.

The reason I took this one is because of the two ladies on the bench. They thought Eva was so cute they took her picture...as you can see she had no problem with it.

There's always time for tea. (Taken under the treehouse)

Homemade yogurt

I just bought a yogurt maker from Williams-Sonoma. Wow, it is so easy peasy. I made the first batch with just milk and freeze-dried yogurt culture. Boil the milk, let it cool, add the culture and pop it into the yogurt maker. Ten hours later you get homemade yogurt. It came out a bit soft so I decided to strain out the whey (the yellow liquid) and turn it into a creamy dreamy Greek-style yogurt. OMG, it's sooooo good with honey! I'll never buy Yoplait again.

Two cups of whey came out of four cups of yogurt.

I just used a paper towel in a mesh strainer and put it in the fridge for an hour.

The pièce de résistance.

Nail-scarred hands continued...

As I see it there are four views of the nail-scarred hands:
1. The BELIEVERS don’t require a sign and they believe.
2. The DOUBTERS require a sign and they believe.
3. The EXPLAINERS see a sign and they don’t believe.
4. The AVOIDERS don’t see a sign and don’t believe.

Mary, the mother of Jesus was a BELIEVER. She took Gabriel’s word that she would have God’s son…hello, that’s one faithful woman! Interestingly, Satan and all his demons fall into this category too. Read Matthew 8:28-34 and you’ll see the demons address Jesus as the Son of God and acknowledge His power to overcome them. Thomas is the obvious DOUBTER. “Because you have seen me, you have believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) In John 4:48, Jesus predicted our unbelief, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” The Israelites in the Old Testament and the Pharisees in the New Testament are EXPLAINERS. In John 6:36 Jesus tells the people that even when they do see Him they still do not believe. They always have an explanation for what they see. King Agrippa and the Roman leaders are AVOIDERS. They worship worldly knowledge, riches and power. In Acts 26 Paul gives the King and his court his testimony and “Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ “ Agrippa had no need for faith because he believed in himself and the praises of men.

Are you praying and waiting for a sign – a glimmer of hope? Or have you given up all together? Do you depend on your own understanding and the power of your own works? Or do you believe what God promises in His Word? Be blessed! “Don’t be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps whatsoever he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)

Nail-scarred hands

I was reading a devotional about belief and it mentioned Thomas, for which most of the Western world knows as Doubting Thomas because he did not believe the disciples’ testimony of Jesus’ resurrection. But let’s not be so hard on Thomas; the other eleven disciples didn’t believe Mary Magdalene’s testimony and the two apostles tried to tell the others about the risen Lord, “but they did not believe them either.” (Mark 16:9-13)

Has anyone ever wondered why our Almighty Powerful God raised Jesus from the dead, repaired his pierced heart and decided to leave his skin blemished? It must be spiritual irony for the Son of God to heal leprosy without any sign of the disease, and yet God Incarnate decides to walk around post-resurrection with nail-scarred hands. Knowing his unbelief, Jesus tells Thomas to touch his scars and then declares, “Because you have seen me, you have believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) God knows man struggles with faith and yet this is the very thing He asks of us. In Hebrews 11:1 it states, “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT seen.” But God is gracious and knows where to meet us with our level of faith.

Some of us need to see the scars to believe and others are blessed with “blind” faith. Where are you at with your faith? Do you need a sign or are you ready to step out and trust “the substance of things hoped for”? To be continued…

Julie's fresh pesto

Well, I didn't have all the ingredients for traditional pesto, so I made one up myself. Jason said it was the best pesto he's ever had, so I thought I would share it with you. It started out with me just pruning my basil and needing to do something with it, so I only had a handful of leaves. I added to it a sprig of fresh oregano - of course this is minus the stems. Then I added 1/4 c feta because I didn't have any fresh Parmesan. I used 1/2 c walnuts because I didn't have any pine nuts and 3 large cloves of garlic (which was really strong, so next time I'll just use 2 cloves). I put all this with a small squeeze of lemon (to keep it all green) into the food processor. Then I added about a 1/2 c of evoo as it was chopping. All this is to taste. I didn't add any salt because the feta was salty enough. All of these measurements are total estimates because I never actually measure anything.

An apple a day...

Eva tackles a Granny Smith all by herself.

One bite at a time.

Yikes, smaller bites, Eva.

Apples can be juicy...

All done!

Eva Mei goes to the zoo

Eva Mei and her friend Carly went to the John Ball Park Zoo here in Grand Rapids two weeks ago.

A goat in the petting area was sleeping and Eva mkes the sleep sign.

Carly and Eva

Drums in the African exhibit.

Looking at the Baboons.

Another new mom

It appears the birds and the bees and the deer have been busy this Spring. Today at 2:00pm I looked out our back window and saw this mother and her fawn. You can tell she was used to people, Eva and I managed to come out on the deck and take several pictures while her fawn was nursing.

More potty humor

Eva Mei is really getting into the role playing. Several weeks ago I bloged about her helping all her dolls go potty. Well, this week she really got into it. We have a dolly training potty that "Mei-mei" uses. After several minutes I asked Eva if Mei-mei was done. Eva shook her head then started making grunting sounds on behalf of Mei-mei. Then she ran into the bathroom and got toilet paper to wipe her. And as if that wasn't enough, she pinched her nose and said "pee-eew." It's so funny because she doesn't pinch her noise at the nostrils, she does it on the bridge of her nose between her eyes.

Mommy Accolades

I like to give Eva Mei positive reinforcement, but maybe I'm going overboard. A friend of mine said that in Montessori schools they don't praise children for things they should already be doing, but Eva Mei is playing catch-up and so I'm saying a lot of "good jobs" and "Yays". Today we were at the store and Eva had to go potty. Since I was in there with her I took the opportunity to go too. As soon as she was done I sat down and told her she had to pull up her own pants. She did it and I say, "good job." Then I stood up and pulled up my pants and she said, "good job." I told her "thank you," and she just smiled and flushed the toilet.

One track mind

Today we went out for dinner and Eva Mei got the typical kid menu and crayons. She just learned how to trace her hand and feet with a crayon, so as soon as she sat on her booster seat she took her shoe off and per her foot on the table before I could stop her. I didn't realize she wanted to trace her foot until I yelled at her and then she put her hand on the menu and asked me to trace it. She thought it was really cool that I gave her red nail polish on the drawing. Then tragedy struck - I broke the crayon.


I'm not sure exactly how I did it or if it was broken before we got it, but all of a sudden is was broke and then there was drama. I said I was sorry and then all she could do was point to the crayon then say and sign broken. I would say I was sorry and she would then repeat it with accompanying sign for sorry. This went on all through dinner and even after I moved the crayon to the other side of the table and found another red crayon in her bag. Some things make a lasting impression...and now she knows when you break something you have to say sorry, it was an accident.

Swing into spring

Eva Mei discovered she loves to swing. The park next to the Comstock Park post office has toddler seats on their swings and they were perfect for a spring swing. We usually park at the library, walk through the park to the post office and then stop at the park on the way back to the car. It's a great way to hit the library and post office all in one trip. She's usually tired when we get home.

New mommy

Here is the latest mommy in our neighborhood. Mrs. Mallard hatched sextuplets and was teaching water safety this week. They would walk right up to the edge of the water but wouldn't go in.

What you say matters

Last night our ambitious toddler decided she was going to go downstairs on her own - against her parents' request for her to wait. She knows how to go down one step at a time and hold on to the rail. I don't know exactly what happened, but one second she was stand up looking down at the steps and the next second she was taking a nose dive off the first floor. I yelled two words, "Jason" and "Jesus." (Jason was standing closer to her than I was, but he was unable to catch her.) It was all I could get out of my mouth, but it was enough.

Somehow she managed to stop herself on the third step and was laying peacefully face down lengthwise on the step. Jason was mad and I was glad. I was so relieved that I put together a long list of scriptures before we got Eva Mei and I confess them all the time. Psalm 91:9-12 is what saved her from going all the way to the bottom. I'm sure of it. "...For He will command His angels concerning Eva Mei to guard her in all her ways." I know there were angels on those steps that stopped her. And I'm glad I've been confessing Psalm 34:20 "The Lord protects all of Eva Mei's bones, not one of them will be broken." What you say about your kids is a matter of life and death, so speak life over them.

Don't let yourself go

Well, motherhood is an easy excuse to let yourself go. First off, I need an eyebrow wax in a bad way. The goat hairs on my chinny chin chin need to be plucked and the grey on my head needs to be dyed. Okay, all of this I know and I need to take care of...but when your 2 year old daughter says eww at the sight of your underarms it's a wake-up call.

Potty training

Eva Mei is getting very good at pretending. Today she worked very hard with Bear, Bunny and Mei-mei, but I think they finally learned how to use the potty. Eva was a good mommy and helped them wipe and flush!Waiting on Bear to finish his business...

Helping Bunny wipe...

"Poop is yucky, remember to flush!"