A City Life For Me

There is an awesome picture that is just begging for a blog post.  So let me start at the beginning.  My friends the Gowler’s are going through a difficult time right now.  Travis is the same age as my youngest brother Wesley (about 21).  He was recently diagnosed with cancer. This is what his sister Michelle (we were in the youth group together…it seems like eons ago…) wrote on Facebook on August 22: “Apparently my brother has known something was weird since Christmas break this last year. But it wasn't until this past Monday that he talked to the Dr. about it. So this week things have been taken care of quickly. He was diagnosed with cancer on Wednesday and had surgery on Friday afternoon. The cancer was confirmed as being nonseminomal meaning it is a fast-growing, fast-spreading cancer. The doctors say he will probably need further treatment and maybe another surgery even if it hasn't spread. He will have a PET scan tomorrow to see if it has spread. Results...

I went “dumpster diving” this week and scored a baby gate (well, three of them) and a little scooter for Elaine.  The scooter is a Radio Flyer and it says “Aiden” on the seat.  We can paint over that!  Elaine is just barely tall enough to walk along with the scooter, and she is not coordinated enough to steer yet.  This results in a lot of collisions!  Nevertheless, she loves being on it.  Here are a few pictures from this morning – I got some great smiles!

“The more I think of and pray about the state of religion in this country, and all over the world, the deeper my conviction becomes that the low state of the spiritual life of Christians is due to the fact that they do not realize that the aim and object of conversion is to bring the soul even here on earth to a daily fellowship with the Father in heaven. “When once this truth has been accepted, the believer will perceive how indispensable it is to the spiritual life of a Christian to take time each day with God’s Word, and in prayer to wait upon God for His presence and love to be revealed.” ~Andrew Murray I was reminded of the words of the second verse of Like a River Glorious by Francis Ridley Havergal: Hidden in the hollow Of His blessed hand, Never foe can follow Never traitor stand. Not a surge of worry, Not a shade of care, Not a blast of hurry Touch the spirit there. Chorus: Stayed upon Jehovah Hearts are fully bl...

I have been trying to teach Elaine words like “hot” and “dirty” so she knows why she can’t touch something.  The other day she was getting into the trash so we worked on “dirty” a lot.  Then Ben came home.  He had been stripping furniture all day, and he was filthy!  Elaine was so very excited to see him!  She scooted over to him as fast as she could, letting out happy shouts the whole way.  However, Ben could not pick her up. Mommy (that’s me) offered this explanation to Elaine.  “Daddy is dirty .  He’s can’t touch you.  He’s just like the trash.” Oops!  I didn’t mean that Ben is trash, but that’s how it came out.  I have been reminded of my boo-boo every day since then. He may be dirty, but I still love him!

Yesterday I got the inspiration and motivation to reorganize my kitchen.  There was a cabinet in the corner when we moved in to this apartment.  It is pretty wobbly, the drawer doesn’t work, and one of the glass doors doesn’t stay closed.  On top of everything, it makes the room feel cluttered.  Ben made a passing comment that I could probably get rid of it.  That was my inspiration and the little shove I needed to get moving! Here are the before pictures:   This is the cabinet to be eliminated We also have a microwave cart and butcher block in the kitchen.  I only have one bottom cupboard and one counter, so the butcher block is a necessity! I started out by going through all of my other cabinets and eliminating items that have been hanging around for a while.  I also made a pile of the kitchen dishes, utensils, and gadgets that I don’t use very often.  I was able to fit all of my baking items into the other cupboard.  I reorgan...

  Yes, that is Elaine.  Yes, she is walking.  Yes, we bribed her with a cookie!

Last week I posted in my Facebook status that I was taking a 30 day break from Facebook.  I would like to share more details and elaborate just a little bit! First, I know that I spend way too much time on Facebook.  Most of it is time wasted, and very little is profitable.  Secondly, during the last couple of weeks I have heard several admonitions about being careful with Facebook, and the dangers.  While I am not as easily swayed as younger teens, I realize that there are a lot of varying influences on Facebook.  Sometimes it may just be a friend of a friend, but there is a bit of language on Facebook that is inappropriate.  I have had to “hide” several people on my friend list because of the types of things that they say and post.  Thirdly, I have been discouraged to see the things that professing Christians “like” on Facebook.  Many of the movies and things listed as their interests make me ashamed.  I am embarrassed that they publ...

The other night Elaine and I took a late afternoon nap.  It was on a day when Ben works until 8pm.  Elaine doesn’t usually get to see him on those days, so I decided she could stay up until Daddy got home.  She had a lot of energy, and we ended up playing together unti 10pm!  Ben ate his dinner while we were playing.  Elaine really wanted a second helping of fried rice, so she took four little steps – all by herself! – to get over to Ben.  Then she tried to be a big girl and feed herself with the adult fork! Then she decided that Mommy’s cup of water looked better than her sippy cup, so she helped herself.  She was doing pretty good until she tipped the cup too high.  She got a face, mouth, and nose full of water!  You should have seen the look of surprise!  Not to be deterred, she tried again.  In the end, she settled for sticking her hand into the cup to play in the water. We finished the night off with cookies....

Elaine has this bunny.  Actually, it is a bunny head with a soft & satiny blanket for a body.  She received it as a gift in the hospital.  Bunny became her best friend.  She loves the feel of the satin edging.  We were always so careful when Bunny went on outings with us.  “Do you still have Bunny?”  we would ask, about a thousand times a day.  (A slight exaggeration).  Last week there was a tragedy in our family.  While walking home from teh print shop, I got a phone call.  I didn’t pay attention.  Elaine dropped Bunny.  When we returned home and I realized Bunny was gone, I had an Anne Shirley moment ( the depths of despair ).  Though we retraced our steps several times, even checking the garbage cans, Bunny was no where to be found.  We tried a couple of substitutes, but none was quite right.  I tracked down where Bunny was purchased, but the shop no longer carries the item.  The nice lady d...

Tuesday night around 11:30 pm Elaine awoke.  She is teething, and I assumed she just needed some more relief tablets to go back to sleep.  I discovered that she was soaked, along with her sheet and blanket, and stuffed animal.  I was puzzled.  It did not smell like spit-up, and there was too much dampness for it to be sweat.  I concluded it was her diaper.  For some reason, when she wet, it all went everywhere except into the diaper. Now for those of you who know me well, you understand that I am addicted to cloth diapers.  I even sell cloth diapers online .  In fact, I think cloth diapers are perfect.  They are better for my baby, they save me tons of money, and they are just stinkin’ cute.  So I was really dismayed to encounter a problem which was causing my cloth diapers not to work.  As I struggled to find, and then fix, that problem the next day, I realized some things about my own heart.  I learned some spiritual lesso...

I wrote about Broolynisms here , but it was too long so I didn’t finish.  This is the conclusion of the story – Elaineisms! Can I start by saying that being a mommy is the bestest job in the world?  Never a dull moment, and so many happy ones!  Elaine is growing up so fast (I know… every mom says that, right?)  Yesterday was filled with new discoveries and I laughed so much!  This is how it went… I stepped into the living room to find Elaine playing with her puzzles.  The bottom dresser drawer was open just a crack, and she had stuffed all of her puzzle pieces in the hole.  She did it again this morning!  Apparently she thinks that is where they belong. Next Elaine left me in the kitchen and crawled back into the bedroom.  Or so I thought.  I couldn’t find her!  Then I spotted them…two little legs sticking out from under the shirts on the drying rack.  She was quite entertained playing amongst the wet clothes! Elaine...

This post is about isms.  Specifically, Brooklynisms and Elaineisms.  Just some random thoughts and funny moments about this life in New York City with a ten-month-old-afraid-of-nothing-little-girl.  I’ll start with Brooklyn. Some things about life in the “Big City” still surprise me and catch me off guard.  For instance, a trip to Target to save a little money turns into a three hour experience.  You have to sit in traffic to get there, and then find an empty spot in the parking garage.  Then you have to take an elevator, and then the sky-walk to get over to Target.  Then you have to collapse the stroller and put it in your shopping cart.  And since you’ve only been to this store a few times, you will still get lost about a dozen times before you find all of the items on your list.  Once you find the items, you must stand in line at a price-scanner to find out how much they cost (because this Target doesn’t do price-tags).  You have ...

No, she is not a Red Sox fan!  

Elaine’s newest favorite food is chocolate chip cookies.  It’s my fault.  And because I am always dunking my cookies in milk, Elaine likes hers that way too.  This is how it goes… How to Enjoy a Chocolate Chip Cookie by Elaine Hamilton Step 1: Snatch one of Mommy’s cookies     Step 2: dunk cookie in milk. Step 3: test cookie.  Hmmmm.  Needs more milk!   Step 4: dunk again. Step 5: dribble milk on the floor.  DO NOT skip this step!  It’s necessary…Mommy has to have something to do all day! Step 6: Smile for Mommy’s picture.  She’ll be happier that way!     Step 7: Lick fingers.  Mommy’s cookies are just that good!