I have a really good explanation!!!

I know...I know... has been since the beginning of the year since I posted...worse yet, it was the previous spring since I posted before that!!!! I really do have a good reason. Okay...here goes.

My computer was full...literally FULL. I couldn't upload any photos...none...nada...zip!! Okay...so now I have a new laptop with LOTS more space. I got it this summer, but then we lost the cable to connect to the camera so that we could upload the photos from the camera to the laptop. In the meantime...we just kept buying more memory cards!!! LOL I think we have 4 that are about full?? I just uploaded one of them to my laptop last night and it had over 900 photos!!!!

David finally found the cable yesterday!!! WHOO HOOO Of course it will take me the better part of 2012 to get caught up. But...I am so thankful to have finally found the cable!!!!

Please be patient with me as I am WELL out of the habit of blogging. Hopefully it will be easier with the laptop...portability ya know!!!

We have started back to school this year. Aly is in 3rd grade and Lili is my big 1st grader!!! Can you believe it???

Lili working on that 100's chart

Aly soaking up everything...

Studying hard...

Lili started reading last year , but Aly really worked with her over the summer and made lots of progress. Now they have a shared passion!

They have another shared love...

Chinese Checkers!!

I have lots and lots and lots more pictures to share. I'll get them posted soon...I promise!!!!

Oh...I have to share one more picture from this summer...

This is Aly with her pet, Thor!!!! No, seriously...it is not her pet and I have no idea what his name is. Although I am sure he would tell me his name... with his deep cigar tainted voice!! The girls were out at the pool swiming with David and they found this mutant. Personally I would have run screaming into the house...but Aly looks pretty calm. Go figure.

Okay...more coming very soon!!!!

In HIS Mighty Grip~

a time for everything...

Well, I guess my 30 year old midget really does get it...most of it...on many different levels. Oh where to begin...

For the last few nights at bedtime, Aly has been asking a lot about marriage, falling in love, her Daddy and I, etc. Last night it all kind of came to a head in her little brain. She has one of our wedding pictures on her bedside table...it is her favorite. (She used to bring it into our bedroom with her when she would sleep over with us.) Anyway, last night she looked at it and asked if that was the only picture I had of when her Daddy and I got married. I told her that there was a big album on the shelf and asked her if she would like to see them. Of course she did. So she and I sat on her bed and looked through our wedding album. She thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Then she started getting all weird acting again...much like at the pool the other day. I asked her what was wrong and she finally said that she didn't know how to say it. I told her to go for it and even if she said it wrong we would figure it out together. So she finally mumbled something about not wanting to ever get married. She said that she would miss us too much and she would always be our daughter and she would never leave us like that. HOLY COW...it all clicked in my pea brain. She was associating getting married with Abandoning US!!! We then had a LONG talk about how that is not what happens when you get married and that when you marry your husband you are SUPPOSED to cling to him and go to live with him and not with your Mommy and Daddy anymore. I told her that was how God designed it. I reminded her of all the times we called her grandparents and visited them...that we didn't "leave them", we just started a new life with each other and that one day, God willing, she would do the same thing. (I also assured her that we would never let her marry anyone who wouldn't agree to our terms...building a house here on this property right next to our home so we could see her daily!! She thought that was hilarious!!) I assured her that marriage was a LONG way off in her future and that she would be an adult when that happened and that she would feel differently by then.
Oi Vei!!!! I can't believe my FOUR YEAR OLD is going to these places in her little FOUR YEAR OLD brain!!!! God help me when she gets to be a teenager!!!
Oh...speaking of God helping me. Any guesses where Aly is at the moment?? Well, she just came in and asked me if there was anything I needed her to do because she wanted to go into her room and close the door for a little while. I asked her if she was alright. She said, "Yes, I'm fine...I just need to regroup!" Then she looked at Lili and said, "It wouldn't hurt you to go regroup a little while too!!"

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to
uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to
build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to
dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to
refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw
away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to
speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for
peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Well, I guess my little munchkin has a lot to learn about times and seasons...but she is well on the way. Maybe we will start memorizing this verse...perhaps it will help her to get it all straight!!

~Abba...thank you for my amazing children. Please keep my words right and give me divine discernment when it comes to my girls. Help me to know their hearts and minds in amazing ways so that I can help them to be amazingly God-ly equipped for what you have planned for them- Amen~

In HIS Mighty Grip~

Go check it out...

hey everyone...stop by David's blog when you get a chance. He has several new posts that are definately worth your time in reading. He also has a new look ...he did a bit of redecorating and the clean up crew just left!!
Don't forget to shower him with comments!! :-) Don't comments just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside??
Ya'll are great by the way!!! :-)

love to all

...the secret is in the sauce!!!

Okay one and all...check out this really cool new site I just found yesterday!!! Don't you hate it when people come to your blog and don't comment??? I love that people come check out our life here at the Wok, but I SOOOOOO wish they would say hello...or at least yell at me for not posting anything new in a few days!!! Anyway...that is what this blog is all about...spreading the comment love to those around us! I LOVE IT!!!!
Go check it out for yourself. There are always contests abounding, new blogs to check out and lots of love to spread.



Blessings~
Shelley

My purse ...

Okay...it has been sad and depressing around here for too long...on to some other stuff!!!

MY PURSE! um...well that could be cosidered rather sad and depressing, but I digress...

Before we moved to Florida last year, my "purse" was the Land's End Do-It All diaper bag. Holy cow!! It is awesome, holds everything including the kitchen sink, but it is a monster!!

Before my Mom passed away last year she made the comment to me that I needed a purse now...not a diaper bag. I reminded her that Lili was still only 1 and in diapers, but she said that I needed to find something else because I needed to start carrying a purse again and not that big diaper bag everywhere. Her comment was, "Yes, but you are more than a mother...you are a woman too and you need to have a purse not just a diaper bag". She suggested that I find some sort of "Mom bag" that could contain all the essentials for my two girls, but could also contain my purse. Whatever Mom...but I do understand your point!! So, the first quest began.

She had just ordered from somewhere...okay wild guess here, but I'm thinking QVC!!!! Anyway it was a neat little bag that went from small to large with the zip of a zipper. I thought...COOL...I can leave it unzipped when I need to put the girls stuff in it and zip it up when it is just me. AWESOME...dilema solved!!! here it is:

here it is unzipped as the large version

here is the smaller version. I left it partially unzipped so you could see what I mean.

I have been using this since last summer. Well...actually I have been frustrated with it for about 5-6 months now. It just isn't working.

Here are my points of contention:

1- it looks as though it has great big shoulder straps, but in reality it is very difficult to keep it on my shoulder and when it falls off and into my hand, it actually drags the ground. NOT good!!

2- It is very bottom heavy...that would be because EVERYTHING falls to the bottom of the bag. It is like a bottomless pit!!! There are some pockets inside toward the top, but because the fabric is so flimsy and thin, stuff falls out of the pockets and into the bottomless pit when the top of the bag falls over. REALLY NOT good!!

3- The mouth of the bag doesn't open very wide and again, is very flimsy when you are trying to get something out of it. Not at all good when I have Lili in one hand and need to find something one handed. It just isn't possible!!

4- on the up side, this would make a good bag to travel with because it expands, but it isn't very practical to use as a Mom Bag.

I have not really used it very much lately and am about to lose my mind!!! Surely I can find something!!

*I want something that is sturdy, but doesn't look like diaper bag.

*It needs to be big enough and have an opening big enough to put in several "organizer bags" of some sort...one for the girls stuff, one for my "purse". That way I can just grab and go with what I need.

*It needs to be able to fit on my shoulder and stay there, yet not dragging the ground if I have the strap in my hand.

*A light colored interior is a plus ( for ease of finding stuff) but not a must have.

*It needs to be relatively inexpensive!!! I WILL NOT pay BIG BUCKS for a purse!!! That is insane!!! Who has the money for that!!! :-)

Okay...I'm open for suggestions. I want to see what you use, too!! Leave me a post with a link to your site and a post about your purse!!! Tell me what works and what doesn't. Take pictures. I need ideas people. If I need ideas, then surely I'm not the only one!!!!

Can't wait to see how you all carry your "Mom and baby" stuff around!!! :-)

Blessings

Shelley

Sizzling in the Wok...the need for peace...

I have started a second blog. Not to replace this one, but to compliment it. It is called "Blessings in the Wok" (click here) and it is in response to my hearts desperate need for some relief!!

Please stop by and check it out...maybe you will be inspired!

In HIS Mighty Grip

Shelley

Fruit basket turnover...

I need a new look!!!!!
Bear with me over the next few days as I redo the Wok.
It has been rather interesting learning about Widgets and layouts. My head started spinning when I got to html vs xml and then my head came off when I started getting error messages dealing with expanded widget code and duplicate sidebar values!

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay...so I finally just decided that it would take less time to just to it the long/hard way. So I am going to be adding back in all of my links individually over the next day or so. WHEW!!!

Maybe one day I will understand all of this...today is NOT that day!!!

Anyway, enjoy the renovations...

In HIS Mighty Grip

Shelley

We interrupt our regular blogcasting for a shameless plug...

Okay...so everyone loves EBay don't they??? Well stop by HERE and see if you find anything you can't live without!! David finally has our EBay business up and running and if the amount of stuff on our back porch is any indication...we will be at it for many many months to come.



For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about...here is a quick recap...

When we moved in with my Dad last fall (after my mother died), we were faced with the daunting challenge of going through all of her stuff. She was a pack rat of the first order, but as I have come to find out (always knew, but I see it more with each box of stuff) she had some REALLY COOL stuff!!! That being said, we have moved all of our stuff in this house and so some of it...well MOST of her stuff just has to go. We have had two yard sales and we are still over run. We decided that there was a good amount of stuff that didn't just need to go for a quarter at a yard sale and so we held back the things that we thought would sell better on EBay. So, we set up shelves and tables on the back porch and started moving it all out there. David has been trying to organize it all and slowly start putting items up for auction and now is your chance!!



As difficult as it is sometimes to watch my Mother's things go to the highest bidder...I truly know that she would be eating this all up!!! So, please stop by David's store, save it as a favorite place on EBay, and come visit often as there is much more to come. You never know what you might find!!!!


My mother and I along with Miss Aly a few years ago.

The BIG Catch-Up!!

Okay...so it has been a while since I last posted. I'm sorry...it has been crazy with one thing or another. Most times I just couldn't find the camera to transfer some pictures and then we lost the cable to transfer the pictures to the computer! FOUND IT...whoooo hooo!!!!
Anyway, our little corner of the world is still rolling along. Rather than make 50 posts to catch up, I decided to do one big catch-up post with lots of pictures. Here are some of the highlights since last we met...

We got a new haircut!

We wished we had enough hair to GET a haircut, but looked stunningly beautiful anyway!!

We tried to decide which hat look the most amazing with our princess dress...

We finally decided on this one!

We caught a cold and had to rest a lot on the couch. Big sister Aly took good care of me and covered me up so I could watch tv all warm and snuggly!

Of course, then she stole most of the cover to cover herself up on the floor!! Oh well...gotta love sisters!

We got a new sandbox!!! We are so happy!!

We flatly refused to either chew or swallow our delicious peas!! Yep...you guessed it...Mom won that battle!!

We love to pose in our big sisters shoes...and a diaper of course!

Gosh, I think I could be a ballerina with moves like this!!!

We tried to determine who had the biggest lips.

We decided that it didn't matter...much more fun just to laugh with Dad!!

We got confused as to whether we came from China or Japan.

We decided that the highchair is the best seat in the house...even when you are four!

We played on the water bottles in the kitchen

Forget ballet, let just go for gymnastics like Aly!!

We thought that the dog bowl would make a lovely pill box hat!

We found new and exciting ways and places to color in our coloring books!

...and finally...we passed out in the highchair while eating dinner. Lili was so tired that she forgot to take her hand out of her food!

I have a few more pictures and some video that I will post later. In the meantime, enjoy these!!

In HIS Mighty Grip

Shelley

Ni Hao Kai Lan...a review by Aly

For those of you who don't know, there is a preview episode of the New Nick Jr. show, Ni Hao Kai Lan, on On Demand. Aly and I watched it this morning. After we watched it, I asked her to review it for me and this was what she had to say...

Me: Did you like Ni Hao Kai Lan this morning?

Aly: Yes! It was Great!

Me: What was your favorite part of the show:

Aly: When they did the Dragon Dance. It is kind of like my "Booty Dance"

Me: What did you learn from the show today?

Aly: How to count to three in Chinese and also that I have to be calm with I get mad about stuff.

There you have it folks...

Happy Wednesday!!!

Who are you?????

Okay...I seem to get about 30-40 hits each day on this blog, but I don't recognize many of you through my site meter. I would love to know who you are and how you found our little world on the web. Please leave a comment and tell me a little about yourself. If you have a blog or website, please leave me the link so that I can check it out.

Looking foward to meeting lots of new friends!!!!

Oh, and for your viewing enjoyment...here are some pics of the ladies in their bikini's. Thanks to Babs for the suits!!!! Of course she sent them and they are still in TN as we didn't know we would be moving down here or even here for so long. Oh well...

Some news...Miss Alyson is POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!!!!! She has been wearing her big girl panties for over a week now and has only had one accident (just a little while ago). Poor thing came in with tears in her eyes and her pants soaked and said, "Mommy...I think I had an accident" Poor thing...it was so pitiful!! She is still wearing pull ups at night, but she has gotten up a couple of nights to go use the bathroom, so I don't think we will be wearing those much longer either.

Anyway, it is cooler here today and a bit overcast, so I think David and I will be taking the girls to the park later. They REALLY need to get out and get some exercise...physically and emotionally!!!!

We are not having the best of weeks. I was pretty emotional yesterday with lots of stops in the road to have a good cry. Some days it just seems more real than others. Some days it all just comes crashing down around us and I struggle to get anything done other than yelling at my babies!!!

David is having a rough day today. I am thankfull that our bad days seem to come on opposite days from each other!! God is good even in our grief!!!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

In HIS Mighty Grip~

oops!

Okay, I was just informed that I had the comments blockedso that only fellow bloggers could post comments. I have changed that so now anyone can post a comment and leave us a message. (Thanks Brittany!!)
So, looking forward to hearing from everyone!! :-)

Shelley

Happy Thursday Well, it is another crazy day around here. We are trying to get everything together to get out of town either late tonight or early tomorrow morning to get down to South Carolina. David's Mom is very very sick and we don't know how much longer she will be with us, but not much is going right to expidite our leaving. The AC died on our car last week as David was coming back home from SC. We thought it was something minor, but now we have had the whole system evacuated, and some switch replaced and it still won't work. ARGH!!!!! So, David is running around all over trying to find someone who can find out what it wrong and fix it today. It is so hot out and the thought of driving 8 hours with two little ones and a dog without AC just does NOT make me one bit excited!!!Please pray for us and that this will all be resolved quickly and CHEAPLY!!!!The girls are, of course, oblivious to anything that is going on. They are so funny!! All Aly wants to do is go play in the front yard and Lili is sleeping in the pack n play (read: screaming and throwing things out of the pack n play while yelling "MAMMA" at the top of her lungs)She is so very different at 18 months than was Aly. She is still very very much a baby, where as Aly was already a 30 yr old when we got her at 12 months!! I have enjoyed having a baby this time for the most part. I didn't get to experience it the first time.Lili has started this thing...we do it about 500 x per day!!! She says, 'Mama?" I say "Yes, Lili" she says, "I did it!" I say, "You did?"she says, "Yeeeessssss"I say, "I'm so very proud of you!!"she just smiles and laughs with delight. We have no idea what she actually did, but she is awefully proud of whatever it is!!!! :-)

added later...
Well the AC is fixed!!!!!!!!!!! Don't know what it was...don't care...it works...it's COLD!!!!!!!! WHOOO HOOOO. Anyway...don't know when we are heading to SC, but I'll post when we get back.

Here we go...

Have we really been home with our precious Liliana for almost 6 months?? How is that even possible? It was just yesterday that we were starting our paperchase for her (that was in July of 2005) and now we are a family of four! If I even told you all that we have endured since we came home with Aly in Jan of 2005 you would think it was some crazy work of fiction!! Suffice it to say that God has some wild sense of humor and the Swindler family is living proof of it. :-) The book...NOT fiction...is in the works!!

Which brings me back to why I am here...

I have tried so many times to keep a journal. I have tons of them...half written...all over the place. I never seem to stay with it long. DH tells me that you always make time for what you want to make time for...but it doesn't seem to hold true in this case...or maybe it does as I never seem to give up at least trying to journal!!

So...here I am...again...trying to make it stick. I figured that the ole' pen and paper routine wasn't working, so I am giving the blogging world a whirl!

I really want a place to keep up with all of the adventures of my two little "wild noodles". I hope that whomever is reading this will enjoy the journey of our lives and that of our children.

Thank you for coming along for the ride!!!

In HIS Mighty Grip