Rebekah's time in Dallas

So, with a heavy heart but excited spirit (to see my best friend!), I drove away from my parents' house and sleeping Rebekah. I wasn't sure how she'd do. She LOVES her grandparents, but it has been 6 months since we left her longer than a few hours and never not at our house. My parents assured me she would be fine and that they'd call if she were miserable. I knew she wouldn't be miserable, but I was worried about her sleep and demeanor. I'm a mom...that's what we do, worry. So, I am delighted (mostly) to say that Rebekah not only is surviving, but is thriving without us! It's such a blessing! Part of my mommy heart would like to be missed a little more, but the rest of me is so relieved and happy she is such a secure little girl! She has slept beautifully, only asked about me minimally and never with sadness, and loved every minute with Mamama and Grandi! Plus, Nana came last night, so that's 3 of her very favoritest people!!!

It has been such a funny reversal of roles...I'm the one calling nonstop, dying to hear her voice in the background, itching for every detail of every funny story, while my parents are frantically trying to accomplish tasks and work during her sleeping hours! They have played with her, read with her, taken her shopping, to the play area on the mall, to Target to get shoes and popcorn, etc...it has been nonstop and my little extroverted, social gal is loving it!

Plus, it has been a blast hearing my parents rave about her- how smart and cute and funny she is! She seriously hasn't cried at all and isn't even getting her way all the time!

Additionally, my parents are sure they have gotten our son's name from her, which is pretty funny!! They'll just have to wait and see....

As for Josh, he loved Aberdeen and is en route back to the USA. The program and housing look great, as do the prof's and general way of life. Now, we'll just keep praying about it and see what the Lord does...

Here are some fun pics they sent me to keep me going!

Look at that face!!!!!!!


Shannon and I thought she looked like quite the Diva, beckoning us to come over!

I could just squeeze this one- it's like she knows I need her hugs!


Such a big girl in her new clothes from Mamama and Grandi!

Could she be laughing any harder?





Mamama with cousin Riley Jane- precious girls! Aren't they gorgeous?

Ode to Texas

Oh, the joys of Texas! While I am not a die-hard Texan, let me mention a few of my favorite things about my home state...

1. It's February and I am enjoying 70 degree weather- that means short sleeves and flip flops...
2. There were at least 3 bill boards on my way to Shannon's house just listing things that are great about Texas...such as the King Ranch being bigger than the state of Rhode Island...no reason, no ad, just Texas written at the bottom.
3. Speaking of King Ranch, my brother just got a new truck- the King Ranch edition with gorgeous brown leather, GPS system, and rearview video....speaking of trucks, I am one of the only people in texas without one.
4. I passed a church sign that read "Pray for Billy." What other state would have a town that could write that and know there would be little confusion?
5. I had to explain to 3-yr-old Elizabeth what snow really was or why I don't wear more dresses...
6. In 70-degree weather, many Texans still wear sweatshirts b/c it's a little chilly.
7. You never meet a stranger or anyone who doesn't say y'all at some point in the conversation.
8. People wave to you while exercising or driving, whether they know you or not. They may not listen to how you're really doing, but it's rude not to say hi or howdy.

I am enjoying my time here, but really missing my daughter. Rebekah is staying with my parents for 5 days while I am visiting Shannon and her family and, apparently, is doing great! Josh is in Scotland visiting Aberdeen and really likes it so far. Elizabeth (Shannon and Matt's first daughter) is very concerned about my lack of skirts...she plans on wearing one when she meets Jesus.

That's all for now!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I apologize for not sending out a V-Day card...with all that's going on I totally forgot. So, here is a big smile from Rebes to you!!



For those of you who don't know, Josh has been in the process of applying for PhD work in Theology...he applied to 6 schools, 2 in Chicago (Wheaton and Trinity), 2 on the east (Duke and Princeton), and 2 in Scotland (St. Andrew's and Aberdeen). WE haven't heard from 4 yet, but we got a yes from Aberdeen (!) and a no from Wheaton. With the stiff competition, we are expecting more no's, but are eagerly waiting what doors will be open. We are really excited about the Scotland opportunity, but it means a pretty big uproot and is a logistical nightmare. However, Scotland is one of the places we've always dreamed of...if we go, we just wish we could take all of YOU with us! It's an honor to get in (he'd do a year of master's level work for research experience and then more than likely go straight into 3 years of PhD work- versus at least 5 yrs in the States.) and we are thrilled that he did. We're now praying about this opportunity and any others that might open up. We are praying that the Lord will provide funding and a peace about moving again, with or without our stuff, and almost definitely w/o our dog, Samson. :( We are praying for just the right fit and program and for a school that will open doors down the road for ministry and jobs. Josh is very gifted in teaching, so the ultimate goal has been to teach theology at a seminary and do lay ministry at a church (i.e. not be on staff). Fortunately, our pastor is totally behind us and supports this decision, whatever it may be. We thank you in advance for praying for us. It's a lot to process and we truly have no idea where we will be this time next year!

Back to Rebekah-

loves to wear her boots- even with pajamas!


Holding hands with her pal, Grace! R and Grace frequently get confused due to their blond hair, blue eyes, and 3-month age difference. It didn't help that they wore the same shirt yesterday! ;) Grace loves to hold hands and is a very sweet girl...however, yesterday, it was Rebekah who insisted on this close contact and poor Grace was forced to oblige more than once...often, it's the other way around...so funny!

Rebekah pursuing the hand again...

What it really means to get snowed in...

So, I thought I had experienced a snow day...this winter is the craziest of my life, but we're surviving! I think this time last year we had 7 in of snow...this year we are up to 40 in!!!! We got over a foot on Tues/Weds!!! You Texans would not believe it! I am so glad Josh got a snow blower last year!!

As for Rebekah, she seems to be my girl- more of an out of the house kind of gal...so we are both stir-crazy, but we got out today, so we're in better spirits! She loved sledding and didn't even seem to mind snow on her galoshes, and yes, she calls them galoshes! They are now her favorite toy!

Fun new things she is doing:

-Sees a toy and excitedly says "Toy!"
-Sings "Baby, it's cold outside" and "Tomorrow, Tomorrow..." for Annie's song
-Josh rubbed and scratched her neck and back the other night...today, she climbed up behind me and began to do the same for me, saying "Mama, rubby-scratch"
-She is still speaking in phrases and even answered a question the other night- I asked "How is your spaghetti, little one?" She answered "Good!" She also plays games by asking "Mama, are you?" Then, she tells me "Mama car seat"- apparently we all have carseats! She still loves identifying possession, such as Mama's chair, etc..
-Last week, I accidentally almost closed a door on Grace's (Rebekah's good friend) fingers. Grace was all right, just sad. :( Anyway, all weekend every time R saw a door, we got to hear about "Grace's fingers...ouchie...door"
-Rebes knows all the nursery workers' names and calls them by name
-Last week, Josh put her down for a nap...he was just starting to think she was asleep when he heard a playful, "no! No! No!" then a song of "Tomorrow, tomorrow..." after about 15 minutes of self-conversation, Rebekah drifted off to sleep...this is pretty normal for naps! Hilarious!

She seems even happier after the surgery! We didn't realize that was possible, but she is sleeping better, happier, and eating better...can't complain!

Rebekah really is the most precious girl ever!! I could just squeeze her all day!

As for the pics- they are in backwards order- beggars can't be choosers! Granted no one was begging...anyway, some are in there just for perspective on how high the snow is! These are all from our street...

Talking babies

I'm normally adamantly opposed to talking babies, but Josh brought this Superbowl commercial to my attention and I haven't been the same since.

Normal!!

That's how my doctor answered the phone! So, sweet little man's kidneys have returned to normal- thank you, Lord!

Baby Boy Malone

We had crazy weather here in Iowa the past 2 days, so my doctor's appointments got postponed, but we were so thankful to get to go at all! Little man looks great as you can see! You may remember his kidneys were dilated 10 weeks ago and we're waiting to hear back whether that has cleared up or not. The sonographer wasn't sure b/c she didn't know the norms for a 30-week baby off-hand, but hopefully we'll know tomorrow. Anyway, as a result of the extra sonogram, we got the hook-up with 2 3-D pics of our boy's face! This was the 3rd "boy" call, so we're pretty sure he's a he! He is already head-down, so that's great! He is such a mover- he and Rebes both were/are movers on the womb!

Incidentally, R even greeted my doctor (prompted, of course) with "Hi, Dr. Wenzel!" While not a fan of Mama going on the table, she loved hearing his heartbeat during the appointment and upon returning home, we took our blood pressure and practiced hearing the baby's heartbeat via her toy dr's kit. Rebekah even voiced the "dum dum" for the heartbeat after saying "Bekah do it!" So precious!

Tubes Part 2

We are home and doing great! We woke RG up around 6 this morning after a very restless night (for Josh and me anyway!) She was very alert and sweet in the hospital. She enjoyed walking around and learning lots of new words! She was very brave and we are so proud! Everyone fell in love with her, of course! As expected, the hardest part was watching her get rolled away in a hospital gown and socks...I so wanted to hold her hand...in contrast, Josh and I stood helplessly in the hallway, praying for our little girl. About 20 minutes later, the Dr. said it was worth it b/c there was a lot of puss and taking the adenoids out, too, should really help. We kept seeing other children getting rolled by and wondered if it was her...finally, I heard someone say what a precious girl! I told Josh, she's coming! Indeed it was our little honey...she was disoriented and a little angry...she saw me, grabbed her bow out of my hair, attempted to put it back in her own hair, laid her head on my shoulder and immediately went to sleep...so sweet!

Sorry- I got confused and put the hospital pics in backwards order...





This was at the ENT- she called it her kitchen!

Bundled up in stinkin' cold weather!

Last week at church- still a ham for the camera!