How do you measure a year in the life?

Measure in love. Seasons of love.

Merry Christmas!

We enjoyed reading Adelle the Christmas story out of her toddler bible. Then, she opened her Christmas presents, which were her first Cabbage Patch store-bought hair-extensions doll, the "If you give a Mouse a Cookie" stuffed mouse and matching picture book, and a cloth play food set with a hamburger and french fries. She immediately set about running around the house squeezing both the mouse and doll, save for brief pauses to feed them the new food. It was fun to see her excitement.
Today, we were stir-crazy with this blizzard keeping us inside. We put off getting together with Jesse's sister and family, and Jesse's mom came over to give Adelle her beautiful new "Time to Read" rocking chair with an attached bookrack. She loved it, of course. Now, we've got at least one more day of craziness, and then, its back to schedule for that girl. Napping until 6pm and going to bed at 11pm is a little wacky for a 1-and-a-half-year-old. Looking forward to tomorrow with my family and then things getting back to "normal"!
Merry Christmas!

A Year in Review

Here are some of the highlights in the Julian family for 2009:

• We started meeting with our lifegroup


• Jesse went from working at Wal-Mart to working at the Sheriff's Office


• We were on WIC at the end of 2008 and were able to get off after only 2 months
  
• Jesse has been kept safe and healthy for his 14 weeks at the KLETC, FTO, and solo driving


• We found out Adelle's kidney is doing much better than expected and is not expected to cause her any problems


• Adelle was constantly sick with ear-infections and breathing treatments in the spring. Then, she became healthy and has stayed healthy since taking her out of daycare


• Jesse's mom and Alicia's sisters were all baptized
  
• We've gotten to spend time with international students again


• Adelle has gone from just sitting up to running around, reading the words, "cat," "dog," "hi," and "baby." She can say, "I.... loooove..... you you you you you!" And she went the BIG one on the potty today for the first time since she was an infant. She also gets cuddly if you're waking her up, reading to her, watching her show, or putting her to sleep


• This year, we've been blessed to remember how has God carried us through, and we've been able to give more to others
  

Psalm 126:1-3

"When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tounges with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."

Thanksgiving Birthday Baptism Whimsy

Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving and my birthday. I was totally spoiled. We had three family gatherings, two full thanksgiving meals, and one birthday cake. Adelle had a little cold, but she maintained her high level of excitement and energy throughout the entire day. We started out at my parents, after cleaning our house, at about 11:30, where we had a big lunch and played Cranium while watching an alien movie. I could really tell that my sisters are growing in their walks with God because of their attitudes. There weren't any hurtful or sarcastic comments made the entire time we were there! The old has gone, the new has come! YAY! It was absolutely perfect.

Then, we went to Jesse's aunt, Cindy,'s house in Auburn. I had a piece of icebox cake, and we talked to Jesse's cousins, Sarah and Melissa, while Adelle and Bailee played with a doll house. Last, we came back to our house for another Thanksgiving meal with Jesse's mom, sister, brother-in-law, neice, and friend, Pam. They "surprised" me by walking in singing, "Happy Birthday," with a fiery cake. 24 was a lot of candles. I had to take three breaths to get them all blown out. Toni gave me a beautiful necklace, and Jesse's family's generosity and laughter was the "icing on the cake" of a wonderful day.

This Sunday Miranda was baptized by Hannah after attending a conference last weekend in Manhattan. It was pretty sweet to see her get dunked by her older sister, and it was awesome to see them write that it was their favorite and second favorite days ever on facebook. I even had a substitute for the Kindergarten class who said they wouldn't mind doing it again! Hallelujah! God works everything out for the good of those who love Him. Let's be thankful! He's done so many great things in my life recently, its easy to start to tune Him out. I gotta keep laying down these idols and striving toward thankfulness!

Radiance from desperation

I've been going through a read-through-the-bible-in-a-year plan this month. I've tried it several times in the past, but never stuck with it. What eventually happens is that I skip reading for a day and try to catch up the next day but don't and get overwhelmed and stop it all together. Anyway, this time around is pretty sweet. I read a chapter or two in the Old Testament, a Psalm or Proverb, and a chapter or two in the New Testament.

Today I read some Ezekiel, Psalm 119, and some Ephesians. The stuff in Ezekiel 16 was pretty eye-opening. Basically, its an analogy comparing Unfaithful Jerusalem to a prostitute. Jerusalem is born of pagan parents, not washed and cleaned, nor wrapped in cloths. Rather, like a baby thrown into the field, Jerusalem was despised and desperate.

It gets worse. God passes by and sees Baby Jerusalem lying in its own blood and says, "Live," and Jerusalem becomes beautiful and matures. Later, God covers Jerusalem's shame and marries her. He washes and clothes and heals her. He even adorns her with beautiful jewelery and feeds her the best possible foods. She rises to become a queen and becomes famous for the splendor and perfect beauty given to her by God.

Then, Jerusalem trusts in her own beauty, rather than the redeemer who gave it to her, and she becomes a prostitute to many. She makes idols out of her fine jewelery. She puts her fine clothes on the idols and sacrifices her food to the idols. She even takes the children she bore to God and sacrifices them to these idols, all the while forgetting from what she'd been brought. After all this, still God says"Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you .... Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation."

Then, Ephesians 5:25-27 says,"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

Wow! What a God! He who made us and brought us into life desperate and pitiful, who chooses us to be His beloved, who gives us to the consequences of our actions so that we'll remember His affections, the God who sees our idolatry over and over, He watches as we give over all the splendors He has bestowed on us. Our purity, our beauty, our jewelery, our food, our children, and our marriages we are willing to sacrifice before our idols. Its making me think about what could be drawing me away from Him today. What's my idol? Is it a house? Is it a car? Is it a status? Or is it a fear of the future, not trusting in Him?

Whatever it is, He gave himself up for us so that we don't have to keep living in desperation, growing farther from Him. He sees that we're sacrificing His blessings to idols, and He takes us, prostitutes, and cleans us with His perfect life to be His radiant bride in an everlasting covenant. I'll trade writhing in misery for becoming a holy and blameless bride. When I let go of my idols, my plans, my will, you'll find me, Radiant.

Sale

Today I found some great deals at Target. I decided to give myself the rule of only buying things that were on sale. I made one exception: there were some play pants for $4 regular price for Adelle, so I went ahead and got those. I got 5 things for under $40. I bought myself a blue sweater for $10 and a little black dress for $15. In addition to the play pants, I found Adelle two seasonal dresses on sale for $3.27 each. I came home not feeling guilty about any of it because they were all things that we needed, and since we didn't wait until the last minute, we didn't overspend. If you have small girls on your shopping list, Target is the place to go.

Reading Rainbow

Butterfly in the sky,

I can go twice as high,

Take a look. Its in a book-

Reading Rainbow.

I can go anywhere.

Friends to know and ways to grow,

Reading Rainbow.

I can be anything.

Take a look. Its in a book-

Reading Rainbow.

Reading Rainbow...

Adelle can now read the words, "cat," "dog," and "hi" every time she sees them without any mistakes. This is a plug for Your Baby Can Read. She's 16 months old. When I asked a 4-year-old to identify the same words, she just said, "I don't know," and that's typical, I'm sure. We recieved the Your Baby Can Read program as a gift from my grandma, but you can do the same thing by making flashcards and reading with your child. I just found out from a MOPS speaker that a mother can increase a child's brain size up to 20% by interacting with them, and that a child's brain is 90% formed by the age of 5. I think Adelle will be passing me up in intelligence by the age of 10, but maybe she will have an easier time in life and school because of the time we're spending teaching her to read now.

A Sister!

Today Jesse made contact with his older sister, Melissa, for the first time in his life. They emailed each other tonight and made plans to talk on the phone tomorrow! Its so exciting. I hope I get to meet her. She's 32 and works at a hospital, and she has a five-year-old son. I think its extra special that they're meeting close to Thanksgiving. We're always thankful for family. This year we're extra thankful for a new sister and the ability to get to know her!

Our Little Cat

Floor time with Daddy - can't get enough kisses!

Don't have time to stop for pictures!

Our little cat likes to close the bedroom door and say, "Raheeeew. Raheeeew," in the sqeakiest little cat voice possible. Then she opens the door and says, "Cat!" and points to a hidden little cat just out of our view.

She also sings, "Rock-a-bye, Baby," to little shells of pasta and gives them kisses.

And tonight during Smallville, she made a game of saying,"Bye," and shutting the bedroom door, only to open it and come over to us on the couch for a welcome-back hug and kiss. She did it about 3,297 times, but if I had the choice, I'd let her do it all over again. Those unsolicited hugs and kisses are priceless!

Tonight we read the Mo Willems book, "Are You Ready to Play Outside," and I retold my version of the Three Little Pigs. She cracked up through both senarios. I think this means she's crossed line into understanding jokes now. She could tell by my voice and expressions what was happening throughout the Three Little Pigs, and she could tell from the cartoons in the book that it was meant to be funny. And she showed that she thought it was funny so much, we read it twice. After reading, she fell asleep quickly in her bed without fighting.

And she had her first set of pigtails last night. And I'm remided of what a gracious God we have. He would be gracious to give us anything at all, and here we have this abundant life, full of mystery and laughter and growing pains and purpose. Not that we've done anything to deserve it. All because of what He's done for us.

Thankful

I am thankful today. Adelle slept all night in her own bed without waking us up. She's still there. More than that, yesterday she peed (1x) in the potty, fed herself at every meal, and danced during play group. Also, she's pretending now. And its way fun. If I say,"Uh-oh, Adelle, your mom is being a dog," she gets barky and runs and chases and pants with her mouth wide open. She knows so many words now. If we ask her something she doesn't feel like answering, she looks down and sideways like, "I can't belive you don't know..." Yesterday, we ran around the yard with the kite. She chased the tail and let me take her picture while Daddy cleaned his gun.

Speaking of Daddy, he couldn't be any better. Yesterday was his day off. He got up early to make us pancakes. Then, he joined us for her playgroup for 0-3 year olds at Parents as Teachers (a huge step for any man, I'm sure), and he had fun there. Afterward, we went shopping for groceries. Then, we had lunch, and he went shooting for a short time. After he cleaned his gun, I'd put Adelle to bed and he asked if Ineeded anything like to get out for awhile. I told him I'd like to go lie down. So, while I slept, he made dinner and did the dishes. He was asleep when I woke up to Adelle crying. When I went to get him for dinner, he said, "I'm sorry you got up so early." I said, " What are you talking about?" He said,"Its 6:30 am." Poor guy! He's all mixed-up with his work schedule, yet he's still selflessly serving his family.

Now I hold a sleeping Adelle in my arms and wish she'd stay this size forever. Almost. The best I can do is relish these precious few minutes and be thankful for this beautiful moment.

how He loves us

animal crakers

"Dog!"

I even adore her sideways glances.

Livia and Catherine

Egg and tomato soup, pork with green pepper, Coke chicken, and sugared cucumber - delish!

We had our friends over last night, and Catherine fixed up some amazing authentic Chinese. The other pictures are from this morning. In other news, Adelle is learning how to push my buttons. She has been running away when we tell her to give us something and throwing herself on the floor when we say stop. Its a little bit of a heartbreak because we feel like we do so much to ensure that she's good, lovely, happy, and gentle. She still is, most of the time. My iniquities in parenting a toddler cause me to cling to the truth in the words of this song tonight:

He is jealous for me. Love's like a hurricane. I am a tree, bending benaeth the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions ecclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me.

Oh how He loves us so

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves.

So we are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If grace is an ocean, we are sinking, so heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest, and I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way that

He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves us

Oh how He loves.

~John Mark McMillan

Lexi

Tonight we committed to sponsor a little girl named Lexi in China at An Orphan's Wish. She has spina bifida and clubfeet, so she is recieving treatment there before being placed in foster care and hopefully adopted. Because they need to place her in foster care to make room for another child with clubfeet, the sponsorship will most likely only last 6-9 months. She'll have a series of casts placed on her legs. Then, she'll have to wear braces on them. I'm praying that she'll be able to walk. The coordinator told me her outcome would be uncertain because of the spina bifida, but they need to correct the clubfeet to be able to determine the extent of the spina bifida. She's two years old, and I can't wait for the updates on her progress! Just look at that sweet little face!

Happy Halloween!

Last week dressed for church

After the Halloween festivities

Swinging with Cousin Brianna

The little chicken's conscience is asking, "Would your mom want you to cross the road?" She's thinking it over...

2 Year Anniversary

It was two years ago today that we found out I was pregnant with Adelle. It was a Wednesday, and I hadn't felt good all week. I was in my Block B classes teaching in first grade, and I knew that the next day, Halloween, I was supposed to dress as Woody from Toy Story to be observed by my clinical instructor. I went to class in the morning and went to work from 12:30 -3:30. Then, Jesse got off work at 4 from Wal-Mart. Working in TLE, Jesse had to get cleaned up, but I had already told him that I thought I was pregnant. As he got out of the shower, I took the test. It was supposed to take a couple of minutes to be sure, but it immediately showed a little plus sign, and my eyes welled up with tears. Jesse said, "Look at me. Look at me," but I was like, "Whoa! Look at that!" And I was shaking and crying in disbelief, even though I could feel that it was true. We both cried on the bed that night, thinking our lives were over. Jesse worked at Wal-Mart and I didn't even have insurance. We didn't know what we would do or where we would go when I graduated. We were scared. We prayed together a lot and knew that God's will for us was better than ours, but we went through some rough patches questioning where His will would lead us.

Two years ago on Halloween, we told our families. The following day in first grade I told my cooperating teacher and partner. A couple of weeks later, we told our Lifegroup, and everyone was shocked, but excited and supportive. Two years ago, the message at Christmas time at New Hope was on having hope because of Christ, but I cried through the entire message because I felt hopeless. (Looking back, some of it was probably because of hormone changes, but at the time, I had held onto this idealistic picture of what my life was supposed to look like and having a baby right after graduation just didn't fit.)

I had felt so much stress and anxiety about how my life was going to change, I didn't even consider that my child could bless my life, strengthen our marriage, and grow me in humor, creativity, and humilty. At the time, I had felt crushed, yet I am able to look back and celebrate the anniversary of that day because I never knew:

• the pride of bringing a beautiful, innocent soul into the world
• the fascination and joy I would feel when she learns something new
• the excitement of exploring the world around us together
• the miracle of sharing life with someone whose DNA is half me and half Jesse
• the closeness of nourishing and providing for someone's every need
• the beauty of seeing her unique personality unfold
• the intensity of a mother's love
  

She may have been a surprise, but let the whole world know, Adelle was no accident. She's here to show us all the miracle of creation, the love of the Father, and the heart of a child. And she's here to bring me hope.

Sweet and precious!

Adelle always amazes us with the amount of sweet and precious things she can do in one day. Yesterday, she had some toy animals out with her playdough to keep her contained in her highchair while Jesse was cooking cinnamon rolls. I said we could each get one animal, and I asked her if she wanted to be the rhino or the lion. She grabbed the rhino, so I said, "What if my lion wanted to chase your rhino?" And I made the lion chase her rhino around the tray on the highchair. Then, I asked, "What if my lion wanted to fight and he started growling?" Adelle promptly put the rhino's mouth to the lion and made a kiss sound to stop any animal agression! She's definetly a lover, not a fighter, just like us!

Today, Jesse and I were asking her for high fives. Adelle used her left hand to give me five, then Jesse five and did that a couple of times. Then, she looked back and forth between us like she was thinking and put out both hands to give us high fives at the same time! She's a problem solver for sure! Its only a week and a half until she's 16 months....

Today we had a blast going to her Parents as Teachers playgroup, the library, and an unexpected trip to Collins Park with her grandpa and uncle Max. Then, she was so worn out that she slept for 3 hours, 2 of which were on my lap. I'm just trying to treasure every moment. Every night as Adelle falls asleep, I recap the day's events for her, not only to help her get to sleep, but also to try to create a lasting imprint in my memory of the good times we've shared.

Play time

Adelle recieved her very first tea set a couple of days ago as a gift from her daddy. She absolutely loves it. The picture is from her very first time playing with it.

Today was the Halloween party for MOPS. We got our kiddos dressed up in their costumes to play together and take fun pictures. There was a pinata, pin-the-face-on-the-pumpkin, and the hokey pokey was involved. Adelle didn't mind showing off in her cute little chicken suit one bit. At one point she became trapped in a playhouse with a growly dinosaur! I told the little guy, "Aw. She's scared. Show her you're a good dinosaur." He kept with the scary face and grrr actions, felt teeth snarling and claws clawing. Adelle in her sweet Adelle fashion looked up at me like, "Is this kid nuts?" and I held the door open for her to narrowly avert danger.

We missed some good photo opportunities taking Cookie to Lawrence and going to Hannah and Miranda's football game as I thought my camera was dying, but its back in action for your viewing pleasure.

Halloween fun!

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/DSGyVgHjeyYfiQhR

Bad News/ Good News

The bad news is our camera is probably dying. That's not so terrible, I know, but when Adelle is so cute, I never want to miss any stage of her growing up.

The good news is - there is always truly Good News!

I think it was last Friday that I had that feeling again. I have dealt with it for days off and on since before Adelle was even born: a feeling of discontent. I hate being anxious, but somehow it creeps in, usually after I've had a nice long season of growth and happiness. The worst part is that its always my selfishness that makes me discontented because I could always pray and have my burden relieved. That particular day, I was longing to buy a house before the tax credit is expires, even though we aren't even close to having a large enough savings, and then, there was that old desire to teach full-time, and have a "real" purpose, yadda yadda, etc.

Basically, I was busy that morning and hadn't gotten a quiet moment to seek God, so that afternoon, instead of seeking Him first, I was moping. Then, Jesse took Adelle into the kitchen, and I had some time to just be still before God in the bedroom. While praying, I felt lead to the book of Hosea, and I realized some of my moping was because I felt guilty for being discontent in the first place. The words I found there were like water to my soul. I was reminded again that no matter how far away I feel that I've strayed, God will never leave me or forsake me. Remember how Hosea was called to reconcile with an adulterous wife in the same way that God shows His love to idolaterous Israelites? He restores us through His love, too.

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt." Hosea 2:14,15

God is still pursuing, still restoring, still providing hope. That is something to sing about!

Little Pumk'n Paints a Pumpkin

She really got into her artwork. Our camera ran out of batteries or we would have pictures of the finished products. More to come soon...

On track and the verse that started it all

Today, Adelle had her 15 month check-up. She's right on track in every area. She's in the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight and head circumference. She eats and sleeps well, and she can demonstate her proficency at all of the developmental milestones they track. She's eating with a big people fork, and she's so proud of herself about it!

The verse that inspired this blog is Ecclesiates 3:11:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

It is so fitting when I think about our life as a family. All of the pain and difficulties, hospital bills and substitute teaching, runny noses and throw up in my hair, its all had a purpose in making us more faithful. And closer. Beautiful. How could you not take one look at Adelle and see the promise of eternity in her tiny little heart? We have so much. I cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end; I can't even comprehend what He's doing right now. But it gives me hope to know He's doing something incomprehensibly good in the universe. And something beautiful in me.

Mama's Little Helper

As I was fixing a salad for lunch, Adelle took all of my vegetable scraps to the trash and tossed them in. The only bad part was that once I had sliced the lettuce and green peppers, all I had left was cherry tomatoes. No more trash. Adelle would have none of that. She stood at the counter with arm extended upwards going, "Uh, uh!" So I gave her a good piece of green pepper to eat and told her it was good and she should eat it. We all know where it ended up - the trash. Then, I gave her a couple pieces of lettuce to toss in, even though they were fine, too, and we enjoyed the fruit and vegetables of our labor.

After lunch, she slipped and hit her forehead on the dining room table. Her head actually dented in as it was hit on the corner. She's fine now, just a little red mark left. There's never a dull moment.

Jars to Be Opened

Today Adelle is practicing opening lids by making a twisting motion in the air around them. Then, she sniff the jars' contents and says, "Oh," while wrinkling up her nose. She's also been saying, "Chip, chip," for us to give her more Doritos, but we've been firm. I let her have a piece of cheese, and now we're making her wait for dinner.

Jesse's making chilli, which is perfect for this weather! Last night, he made some cake balls. I had tried one at the first MOPS of this school year and looked online to find a recipe. You bake a cake from a cake mix and crumble it up. Then, you add in a can of cream cheese frosting and roll that into little balls. You stick that in the freezer for a minute or two to firm them up. Then you coat them in almond bark. Since he's working on third shift, he was able to do the whole process while I slept. I awoke to the above cake balls and chocolate heart. I feel so loved :)

Now or Never

Adelle is just too cute to go without creating a blog about our lives with her. So, here it is.