A few pictures of our big girl

Drinking from a sippy cup! Emma Grace can pull herself up to a standing position now with no problem! We've had a few falls lately, but she's getting better each day. (For evidence of the falls, see last picture)
Julianna came over for a visit yesterday. Emma Grace is very entertained by this "closer to her size" person.
Quite a battle scar...this was actually less tramautic for me than the fall off the bed but way worse in EG's opinion. She cried for quite a while. Of course this first battle scar comes right before her one year pictures. Guess that's just the way it's gonna be for a while!
Hope you enjoyed the pics. We are having a sleepover with our friends David and Marianne so I don't have a ton of time-but just wanted to post these pictures!

it was bound to happen...

well, most kids I know have survived it happening to them at least once...now Emma Grace can say she sruvived it as well.

Yesterday I was folding laundry with my little helper in the guest bedroom. I decided she would be just fine sitting on the bed while I ran in the other room to put a few things away. (didn't I just write that her "crawling" was the summary of my life lately?-should've seen this coming.) First trip, socks and shirts away, went to check on her, no problem...still fascinated by the tie on my robe that she was helping me "fold." Next trip included some pants and shorts....reached for the shorts drawer and heard a big boom...silence...then screaming. It took me a second for my brain to comprehend what had happened. when I did I ran in the guest room to find my little laundry helper sprawled on the floor, screaming, robe tie beside her. I guess she decided she wanted to see where I'd headed off to. It was really really scary. She is totally ok but man, I was scared! The scariest part was that she only cried for a few seconds and then got really calm and laid her head on my shoulder. I thought for sure this was a bad sign. But a few minutes of mommy comfort and we were on to our afternoon snack of sliced bananas.

I've already thanked God several times that she is ok. She's probably already forgotten the whole thing. I am hoping to do the same soon.

good excuse...

I haven't been blogging much lately but this time I think I've come up with the best excuse ever! I'm about 3 months pregnant! I've been really tired and not feeling so good so when Emma Grace naps, I've been napping too, instead of blogging! We are so excited to add another little person to our family and so thrilled that Emma Grace will have a brother or sister close in age. We hope to find out if it's a boy or a girl in August. We are due Dec 10th. I am definitely aware that these next few years will be tough with two so close in age but Andy and I both agreed it's way more fun for both the parents and the kids to have them close in age! So there you have it, my good excuse!

In other news, the weather is back to "city of eternal spring" perfect! So we've been enjoying time outside. Emma Grace is almost one-can you believe it? So I am starting to make some plans for her big day! we are thinking of going low key for her bday but the day will definitley include boxed yellow cake with chocolate icing. Andy says, "we have to start her out right" hehe. It's funny that we love cake that comes from a box! Actually, I made a homemade yellow cake for the first time last week. We were celebrating Laura's birthday and I wanted to make some cupcakes-unfortunately I didn't have a mix, so I decided to try my hand at the homemade kind-just not as good as the boxed kind. HEHE. that might be in part because I am not very good at baking but also because Duncan Hines has that yellow cake thing down pat! So, for EG's birthday we are sticking to the good stuff! Here's a picture of Laura with her "cupake man" on her birthday-her mother in law sent this really cute cupcake holders with feet on them. you just bake the cupcake right in the holder and decorate! I think we will use them again for EG's birthday! (looked cuter than they tasted) oh well, at least I tried.

I was really unsure of myself and the cupcakes so I also decided to make another dessert in case the cupcakes flopped. But this one was a little risky too-an angel food cake. We live at a really high altitude-about 6,000 feet, which is higher than Denver. So my lack of baking skills coupled with my altitude advantage (or disadvantage) makes baking a precarious thing in my home. I've tried my hand at angel food cake 3 times already. the first time I threw the whole thing away-totally flat. The second time, half stayed fluffy and it was really yummy. the other half was flat as a pancake and not really edible. The third time was a total flop too. Between each time, I read lots of articles on high altitude baking. I concluded that on problem was my oven-it doesn't heat evenly. After the third time I decided to give up. But my hope was rekindled after Laura had a successful go at it a few weeks ago. So I decided to give it one more try. After more reading and carefully following lots of instructions I read online (they claim angel food cake is one of the hardest cakes for high altitudes) it turned out pretty good. not as sweet as I like, but that's part of the issue-you reduce sugar in high alitude to help the structure of the cake stay strong. But with lots of strawberries and whipped cream, it was pretty good. I think I will try again next fall when strawberries are back out. (see the cupcake man is checking out my angel food cake)

Keeping on the eating theme, Emma Grace ate spaghetti for the second time and loved it. I forgot to take picutres last time, but this time I made sure I had the camera handy. Spaghetti was one of the 4 meals featured in my "beef blast" week. Andy complained that we didn't eat enough beef so I decided I would try to make several meals with beef that week. somehow it turned out that I made 4 out of 7 meals with beef. that's a lot of beef. I am not a big fan of the beef here. By the 4th beef blast meal, Andy asked me if I was trying to make him tired of beef. Well.....hehe. not really. it just kinda happened. We had vegetable beef soup (gmaws recipe-to die for-beef was really tender) hamburgers on the grill, spaghetti (see photo to decide for yourself if it was good) and steaks. Hopefully I can get away with no beef for a couple more weeks.

I think she liked it...

those noodles are a little tricky...

not sure how I ended up writing so much about food. On to other things-Emma Grace is crawling. I am pretty sure I've said that in the last 3 or 4 posts but that statement pretty much sums up my life these days. Following her around and making sure she doesn't eat the random things she finds on our floor take up much of my day. She got bit by some kind of bug this weekend while we were outside. I am pretty sure she was trying to grab it and eat it. Glad it got her first. She cried, but it turned out to be ok.

Well, that's about all for now. will try to post more this week!

home again home again

Andy is home from doing earthquake relief work. I think he's really glad he was able to go and hopes to go back again sometime in the future. He said the work they were doing was mostly talking with people in refugee camps, listening to their stories, comforting them and playing with the kids. The group he went through will continue sending foreigners and locals into these refugee camps-it will be a long long process of helping people get back on their feet and heal from the things they've experienced. Andy told me that the group he went with is trying to find work for the men to do around the camp so that they aren't just sitting around all day. He also told me they spent a lot of time with the kids, playing games and letting kids be kids. it seems the direction of the relief work is less and less medcial and more and more about helping people grieve and heal-it's an amazing opportunity to share the hope we have, even in the midst of unthinkable pain and sorrow. At some point they will start rebuilding and Andy hopes he can be a part of that, possibly with some local friends. Please continue to pray for this nation and for the people affected. The headlines are turning back to politics and other world issues, but people here are still hurting.

Emma Grace and I had a really good week while Andy was gone-thank you for your prayers for us. The weather has been amazing lately so we spent a good bit of time outside. She's been giggling a lot this week and we had some local friends spend the night with us one night and my great friend Marianne came and stayed another night-so all in all it was a fairly busy week. We are so glad Andy is back but also thankful he could go.

We missed two important events in America this week. Andy's brother, Alex graduated from college and Andy's youngest sister, Mary from high school. Congrats to the two of you!

Alex, Andy, me and Mary in the fall of 05' Congrats Grads!!!

News from Andy

Heard from Andy a little bit ago. He is doing well. They started the morning by driving into the mountains to look for a place to drop off a group of rescue workers who were going to try to go on foot to a village that is unreachable by roads. They finally found a place they thought was suitable and dropped that crew off. When dropping them off they met a group of people who had walked 4 hours already and were heading to a refugee camp. They picked them up and took them the rest of the way to the camp. This group was from a village where about 30 people died in the quake. When they arrived at the refugee camp, they spent some time passing out supplies and listening to people's stories and praying for them. They are planning to return tomorrow with frying pans, oil, and some fresh vegetables to hand out. The survivors have been eating ramen noodles and things like that for days so they hope to encourage them by giving them a way to eat a little more normally again. He said they spent a lot of time driving around looking for places that might be in need of help but had a hard time finding them-he said it's so strange, the destruction is hit or miss-one place looks devestated while a nearby place looks fairly ok. Because they are up in the mountains with a lot of damaged roads, he said it was hard to find villages. He seemed really glad to have the opportunity to be there and he is hoping they will be an encouragement and comfort to those they serve. will let you know more as I hear. Thanks for your prayers!

A long post and a mommy high

It's Sunday night and Andy just walked out the door to catch a flight to the earthquake affected area. He and 2 other guys are heading there tonight and will be doing relief work for several days. They are unsure at this point exactly what they will be doing. They are working with an organization that's heading up a lot of the relief efforts so it seems they'll get clearer direction when they get there and get in touch with the people from the organization. They've been told they will probably be heading to areas with smaller population which have received less help from the government than larger areas-possibly passing out water and other supplies, listening to people's stories and comforting them. But nothing is nailed down at this point. I'll let you know when I hear.



As we were praying last night about whether he should go, my heart was flooded with the sense of "higher purpose" we have on this earth and the inconveniences and difficulty of not having my husband around seemed so small in comparison to the opportunity he has to go and minister to people who are suffering beyond what i can imagine. So please pray with me for his safety (for the mom readers-it seems pretty safe at this point) but most of all for the people he will be serving. Maybe through what he says or maybe just through his actions, I pray that they would really sense the love and comfort Christ.



As for the aforementioned "inconveniences and difficulties of not having my husband around"-Of course I will really miss Andy's companionship and the comfort of having him around, but what I mainly was thinking about when we were deciding if he should go or not was the help and support he gives me with Emma Grace. I am going to really feel his absence most acutely in this way...This past week was especially rough for EG and I. I was not feeling well and she wasn't either. She just cried a lot and didn't sleep well at all and got up everyday at 6:30 (normal wake up for her is 7:00) and skipped 3 naps and didn't eat much and....hehe. Those things were all really tough for me but the hardest part by far has been the emotional toll of starting to discipline her. She is crawling and into everything. I am now constantly grabbing a dirty shoe from her right before she puts it in her mouth or telling her not to touch the dirty rug at our front door. (For those of you who've been to this country, you know the level of dirty I mean) Having to watch her constantly is tiring but the hardest part has been my self doubt in discipline. A lot of the books I've read and the advice I've gotten from people I really respect say to train her at a young age on what she can and can't do (things like blowing carrots all over me while eating) But I've had a really hard time knowing if she really understands or not. Sometimes after I discipline her she just looks at me like, "what was that for mom, I don't understand?" So several times this week I came to Andy in tears, sharing with him all my fears and doubts and frustrations. He's been very supportive and has been helping me to think through our goals and hopes for her in discipline. He's my backbone sometimes-just like when we were teaching Emma Grace to fall asleep on her own and I was so unsure of myself. I've really needed his help with her and his encouragement. So not having him around will be hard, but it's truly a small offering, one which I am excited to give. (but pray for me also!)



I've been praying a lot this week for Emma Grace, for myself and this whole discipline issue. One of my prayers has been, "Lord, please give me wisdom to know if she understands when I tell her no" (It's seems cruel to punish her if it's just a matter of her not being old enough to comprehend what I mean) I got a glimmer of what I was asking for today. She was crawling on the floor and saw something she is not allowed to touch (we've been working on this for about two weeks now and I was really starting to doubt if she even understood me) Today, she looked at it, stared at it for a minute (at this point I was sure she was going to go for it) and then shook her head "no" and kept moving....You have no idea how encouraging that moment was for me. It was a "mommy high." As a mom, it might be up there with first smile and first time to sleep through the night! God was kind to let me know she is starting to "get it." But please do pray for me!



I hope this entry hasn't sounded like I am complaining about my life or my daughter. I really do love her and I am so thankful for her. I've just had one of those "this job is really hard" weeks and it seemed appropriate to share. But let's end on a happy note...a funny store and a couple pictures from Emma Grace's first bath in the big bath tub! She loved it!



The story-(if you don't like kid poop stories then just skip down to the pics) Emma Grace didn't take her nap on Thursday morning so by lunch time she was really tired. She also had to poop. She was half leaning/laying on me when the pooping began. She was so tired that in between "grunts" she would lay her head down on my lap, close her eyes and start to fall asleep. She would then be jolted awake by the urge and grunt a couple more times and then close her eyes again and rest. In the end I had to wake her up to change her diaper before I could put her down for her nap. I've never heard of anyone falling asleep while doing their business.

On to the pics...




Thanks for reading this long post. Hope you all are doing well! Will keep you posted on how things are going for Andy! (and the two of us here holding down the fort)

Earthquake Day 5

Sorry I haven't been much for posting this week. I feel like I don't really know what to say. It's hard to go on with normal life and write about the ins and outs of our days when I know so many people so close by are suffering tremendously. Their lives are far from normal. We've been praying a lot and are encouraged to hear scattered stories of survivors but the overall news is very sad. You've probably read that the death toll is estimated to rise as high as 50,000. It's times like this that we are a awakened to the reality that our life is truly but a breath and we do not know the number of days ordained for us. I was brought to tears Monday night thinking about how we all are so close to eternity and how God has been so merciful to me to allow me to know him and be sure of my place with him. I forget his mercy so often. When I think of all those who died not knowing him, I am brought to the question, "why do I know him?" I can come up with no other answer than his grace in pulling me from death to life and I am humbled and overcome with thankfulness.

Please continue to pray with us for the rescue efforts that are continuing. Please pray for survivors to get the proper medical care, food and water. Please pray for us as we seek how we can be a part of serving and caring for the chinese people through this diaster, possibly in relief work at some point soon. Most of all, please pray that many people would come to eternal life through this diaster.

Earthquake

As you have probably read, there was a major earthquake in China yesterday, registering 7.9. We are ok-we are located several hundred miles from the epicenter. We felt the aftershocks but it was mild enough that if you weren't sitting down you might not notice. Yesterday reports were saying no major damage but today the death toll is estimated to be around 10,000. Please pray for people in those areas-for workers to be able to get in and rescue people who might still be trapped. Please pray also for God to work through this diaster and bring more people to know him.

11 months

Mom, I'm not really in a picture taking mood right now...ok, fine...I'll smile...

ok, this is getting old...

look, I've got better things to do...
I'm outta here....

Returning to my generic cereal roots....

In order to really understand the significance this story has to me, you have to know a little bit about my history with generic cereals. See, I have this wonderful cousin, Brandi who is 6 months to the day older than me. (Brandi, Haley (her daughter) and me at mother's day last year)

Growing up we spent a lot of time together-every Friday night we "performed" a new dance (which was really the same dance every week just with different outfits) for my entire extended family during our Friday night family get-togethers. We were really great friends but Brandi had something I always wanted-BARBIE CEREAL. Barbie Cereal is something most of you never heard of but it was a much coveted "name brand" commodity that she got every week and I didn't. We had generic cereal. My mom refused to pay top dollar for Barbie or any of the other much loved name brands. So, after years of jealously, sadness, and soggy generic breakfasts-I finally got what I wanted. My mom actually bought a box of Vintage Barbie Cereal for me in college and gave it to me for Christmas. (I still have it by the way!) This was my moment-I could shut the door on my generic past and move confidently into the world of name brands. And for a while I did-eating such wonders as Smart Start and Frosted Mini Wheats. But these days it seems I'm back at square one-except this time I am eating generic cereal and paying 5 dollars a box for it! See, in our country, breakfast foods are a whole different ball game so Andy and I stick to cereal. We sometimes buy a cornflakes, which are made here and are reasonably priced. But we really really love two special IMPORT ONLY cereals. Me, Frosted Mini Wheats and Andy, Honey Bunches of Oats. These are imported and pricey but we splurge sometimes and get them. This week I went to the import store to pick up a couple boxes only to find that our namebrands had been replaced-with generic cereal at the same expensive price! I mean if you're gonna go to all the trouble of importing cereal, at least get the real deal. So here we are eating our "Frosted mini Spooners" and "Honey and Oat Blenders" at a whopping 5 dollars a box! (I have to commend Malt-o-meal for making a pretty good imitation, but come on, what is a "spooner" anyway?) Guess you can't really ever escape your roots...

Happy's Mother's Day!

Happy mother's Day to two really wonderful moms!!!!!



To my mom :

(this picture was featured along with an article written about her in a really important magazine...sorry I can't remember the name)


Loves life
Young at heart and in looks!
Nice. Kind. Tender hearted. People love to be loved by you!
Notices God's hand in creation-esp through her beautiful garden.
Encourager
Tells us why she loves us often!
Totally supportive of us following our dreams!(even if they take us far away)
Eats pizza, not salmon cakes!!!

To Kathi:

(this picture was taken when they visited us after Christmas! Man, that was fun...come back soon!) Andy wrote this for you!!!

Kind hearted

Always eager to talk with us and know what's going on in our lives

The best fried chicken in the world

Has a lot of fun

I LOVE YOU

Happy Mother's Day to our Moms! We love you and miss you!

"Tagged"

Sorry I haven't updated much recently-no excuses! We are doing pretty good. It's saturday afternoon and Andy just finished a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with some chips-after eating it he told me what he really wants is a Husson's (charleston, WV) pizza. For some reason the two of us have really been missing American food the last few weeks. Husson's for those of you who aren't from Charleston is maybe the best pizza in the world. Ok, maybe not in the world, but man their sauce is really awesome! We've had pizza from Australia, America, China, France and Thailand, and we think Husson's is number one! We'll let you know if we find one that tops it. Anyway, this week has been pretty smooth. Emma Grace is crawling all over the place these days and getting into lots of stuff. I am trying not to "baby proof" our house but rather teach what she can and can't play with-it's not going so well so far. But we're going to keep at it.

A week or so ago, I was "tagged" by my freind Laura. There's a game of blog tag going on, so I am supposed to complete these sentences and then "tag" the next person-so read to the end and see if you're tagged!!!

I am...clean-just took a shower but put back on my pajamas for a lazy saturday

I want...to know God more.

I have...A really funny husband who makes me laugh often

I wish...we could go over to our parents' house for dinner tonight

I hate...dry scrambled eggs. (my paw paw's runny eggs with a little sausage grease are to die for!)

I miss...driving a car, hanging out with my family, high school sports

I fear...Andy or Emma Grace dying

I feel...thankful-for God's love and healing and for my family

I hear...the WVU fight song. Andy is playing football on PS2. The game is tied. This is getting seroius. (just saw brady campell dancing-go mountaineers)

I smell...nothing and I am really thankful. Recently I smelled chinese dumplings for two days-Andy ate them with a friend. normally he eats 10-15. That day he ate 40! Everytime I got near him I smelled that terrible smell. I couldn't kiss him for several days!

I crave...chic fil a. almost daily

I search...for other people's blogs

I wonder...what heaven will be like. What will we eat? What will my relationship with Andy be like? What will I be like with no sin? I get excited thinking about it.

I regret...not following Christ in high school.

I love...so many people. my hubster and baby girl, my parents, my brother and my sister way more than I communicate-I miss you guys! my awesome grandparents, my in-laws.

I ache...for outcasts, for orphans...for Christ to come back and make it all right!!!

I care...too much about what I look like

I always...bring a lot of ranch dressing with me when we come to China

I am not...good at baking

I believe...me being here has as much or more to do with what God is doing in me than it does what he is doing through me.

I dance...in front of the mirror often, with Emma Grace, always after watching "White Christmas"

I sing...really badly!

I cry...a lot less often than I used to

I don't always...brush my teeth at night. (5 out of 7)

I fight...the tendency to believe that if I lived in America, my life would be perfect.

I write...things on my hand so I won't forget them

I never...go to bed without checking on Emma Grace

I listen...to my husband tell me lots of random facts very very very often

I need...more cucmumber ranch dressing

I am happy...spending time with people I love!

ok, that was a lot. So, I am going to "Tag" my mom and Marianne Dean!

ok, game update....we are putting on whomping on Maryland. 45-14. It's gonna be a good Saturaday!

Getting back into the groove

We are getting back into the groove of normal life! Emma Grace has had a big week. She started the week off by pulling herself up on the coffee table to a standing position. She's also taking a few steps forward in the crawling department. (this is good considering before she would only crawl backwards-and get really frustrated that she was moving away from the object she was trying to reach) And today her third tooth officially appeared. Yesterday was a no fun day for her-her gums were really bothering her and she cried most of the afternoon. But today the tooth is officially through the gums and she is back to being a happy camper. Made a yummy chicken and rice soup last night, as it's been cool here lately. But today it's warming up! Planning to go on a walk with the Kvernen ladies this afternoon and stop by the market for some chicken, onions, and peppers. Thinking of making fajitas on the grill, Tim Huffman style! Here are a few pics for you!

We had lunch at Peter's last week while out of town...it's a tex mex resturant that also has some southern favorites (a mean chicken biscuit) along with sweet tea. Emma Grace stuck with the pureed carrots...
Let's just say she wasn't happy about the carrots.... Today The Kvernen Girls came over so we could call Alisa on skype. She is in Thailand, having just had their second child, Zeb! The younger two were hanging out, being very entertained by Julianna. I'm beginning to not want to post pictures of my living room...they all have piles of toys in the background-I am trying to teach Emma Grace that we clean up after we play, but sometimes even moms (esp this mom) can't quite get it all together. oh well, guess you're seeing us as we really are!

The entertainer...

Also in Emma Grace news this week-she had her first spaghetti and loved it! She only had a little but managed to get it all over her face, hands and clothes! Will take a picture next time! This is the beginning of some messy eating for the Huffman house!

Sunday Afternoon

We are back home and so glad to be sleeping in our own bed! There's nothing like your own bed and your own pillow. Well, actually I am having some pillow trouble these days. First of all, I like really flat pillows. I got on a little spring cleaning kick a few weeks back and decided to wash the pillows (I am convinced my mom washed ours in the washer when we were little but andy says that people don't do that) But my favorite really flat pillow didn't fair so well in the wash and I had to find a new one....trouble is, out of the 8 pillows in our house, not another one is flat enough for my liking! So though I was so happy to lay down in my own bed when we got back, it didn't bring the full enjoyment it normally does because I was lying on a fat fluffy make-my-neck hurt pillow. But I am thankful to be home, nonetheless! So mom, is it true that you washed the pillows in the washer when we were little?

It's nice to be home but we also enjoyed our time away as well. Got to eat some yummy food, visit with some neat friends, and do some resting-I enended the week 7 out of 5...meaning I managed 7 naps in 5 days! Pretty good, huh? I'm going be Asian before you know it! Ate at a Mediterrean Resturant, Del Mar, which was fun. Andy and I left EG with some friends and enjoyed a date there. We both noted how nice it was to "linger" after dinner and talk-our lingering days are mostly over-when eating with EG we usually scarf down our food and try to keep her entertained at the same time. We often are in and our of resturants in less than 30 minutes! We had one meal we had to abandon this week, as Emma Grace just lost it! Oh well, we all have those days I guess! But we wouldn't trade it, that's for sure!

Emma Grace is doing pretty good...she is teething so that makes her a little fussy these days. But we have lots of Orajel and Infant Tylenol so we're managing! She is currently sitting by her basket of toys, having squirmed her way across the living room to get there. Still no "crawling" per se, but some definite movement going on!

It's cold and rainy today, great weather for sweatpants and staying inside! ok, pictures to come later this week!