2013 in review: Highlights and Lowlights

Sunday, while we were driving to church, husband and I were thinking back on the highlights and lowlights of 2014. I then wanted to pen it down for remembering later.

Family:

1. We went on a 7 day cruise in June as a family of four and it was a lovely vacation. It was a happy time of reconnecting with each other and spending undistracted time with the children.

2. Teaching both Neil and Niya to swim. I find that one of the crowning achievements of this year.

3. How much Neil has improved in speech. His new school is one of the things I am most thankful for this year. He enjoys going there so much and is such a nurturing environment for him. I also started homeschooling him unofficially in the mornings.

4. Our trip to India to meet family. Spending time with both sets of parents and traveling with them in India. Meeting friends I hadn't seen in many years. A stop in Dubai. Trips family made to visit us in the summer.

5. Co-hosting a church dinner with Indian food.

Work/Personal:

1. I have become a lot more organized at my work and that has been a dream come true. There are a few more things to straighten out, but I have come a long way from last year.

2. I had started a freelance tutoring thing this year and it was very satisfying and provided some fun spending money!

3. Meeting a fellow ex-blogger turned real life friend in November. I had the best day hanging out with her.

4. I finished the tax calculations for the year. This was usually a stressful thing in the beginning of the year for me AND I AM DONE!!!

5. I started learning spanish!

Lowlights:

The lowlights make you really appreciate the highlights. So here they are in no particular order.

1. September can be best remembered in one word as sickness. I came back from India in a wheelchair. Continuous sickness one after the other. I remember being in a stupor as all 4 of us lay in a bed restlessly tossing and turning. Not being able to lie down due to trouble breathing.

2. Some major financial losses.

3. Some stressful times due to an emergency surgery in my sister's family

4. BSF group this year was a disappointment.

5. Letdown by some friends in various different scenarios.

I can think of a lot more positive things that happened this year.

And as I was re-reading the lowlights, I could not help but think that even the lowlights has a blessing associated with it. We were sick, but it could have been a lot worse. Especially considering the amount of international travel we did. So we lost some money, but it is only money. We can always make it back and we did recuperate some of it. Although there was an emergency surgery, all went well and that has led to some diet changes which is very beneficial in the long run. So what if BSF group this year is a disappointment? I still get to study God's word and love the messages. Let down from friends only helped me to remind myself to choose my words carefully and follow through on my promises.

God has been faithful, he always is!

Home Christmas Tour 2013

Welcome to our home. I am so glad you are here.

We love to eat here at this house. So let us go to the dining room first. This is our dining table with the little Advent set up I have going on in the middle. We love doing the devotionals and lighting the candles. Although, truth be told, I have not lit the candles as my husband was out of town and I can never get the lighter to work. True story.

Next up is the kitchen. There is a cozy little tree in the corner next to my cookbooks.

It is perfect for that corner and just makes me smile every time I look at it. My bowl of Christmas ornaments on top of the fridge. They match my blue kitchen color. I wanted it ideally on the breakfast bar, but with 2 small kids in the house, who am I kidding?

Going to the family room, our main tree. I don't have a color theme or anything, but looks like its mostly red.

I want to show some of the ornaments on there, but the pictures are super blurry. My camera was confused by the lights or something.

In 2008, I went through some difficult times. I thought my arms and heart would be empty. I bought this as a reminder of God's promise. It says "Believe."

And this one says "Answered Prayers." It was true in 2009 when Neil was born and it is true today. God is faithful!

 This is the ornament for this year. It says "Rejoice." We went through some hard times this past year with some difficult news, but we can always Rejoice because our Savior has gone before us. His goodness towards us has never ceased to amaze me.

To the left of the picture, is this fun countdown thing from Target. I don't have a full picture of it. I usually write the days until Christmas, but I think Neil rubbed it off.

Some additional stuff on the chandelier etc.

Steps going up.

Kids play room. This is our old tree, one we had for 7 years. Now it resides in the play room. Kids love the multicolored lights. I didn't do much decorations on it except put some ribbons.It just makes the room so festive!

And lastly, my two munchkins who make all the extra work totally worth it. They are in perpetual motion, so it is hard to get a picture of both of them smiling and looking at the camera.

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Full hands and fuller heart!

Thanks for stopping by my house.

Posting as part of Kelly's Christmas Tour of Homes 2013.

Niya - 1 year old

My precious little Niya,

You are one year old today!!! I am trying hard not to cry as I write this. I feel like the time went by too fast. Last year this time, I was running around not sleeping and watching tv and eating. I went to sleep at 2 am and then you woke me up at 3:10 wanting to make your grand entrance.

This, I think is one of the first pictures of you. You were pretty mad with all the poking and cleaning.

Sweet little baby girl, you were so happy to be swaddled and held close to my chest.

1 Month

And I want to do just that. Because you see, you might have  6 teeth and say da-da, yes, and do a bunch of things, to me it feels like you are that little baby above. You hardly want to be held. You can't wait to get out and get busy. You are such a busy little one. You do not like to be held back in any way. The only exception to that is the sling. You are very contended to be in the sling.

2 Month

Your lovely curls, sweet smile and big brown eyes are like a magnet everywhere we go. You are a very sociable child and loves to interact with people.

3 Month

You babble quite a bit and say da-da all the time. You hardly ever say Mama. All three of us say mam-mma and you smile the biggest smile and say dad-dda.

                                                                      4 Months

You, my sweet thing is such a joy and bring a smile to our faces. You have three adoring fans here and a host of them spread around the country. You think the world revolves around Neil. You are his biggest fan and cheerleader. The biggest giggles and smiles are reserved for him.

5 Months

You are a super happy baby most of the time. If I would just let you lick the backside of shoes and eat out of the waste paper basket, it would be sunshine and roses all the time. But since, that is not possible, we have a bit of pouting at times, but all is sunshine in 30 seconds as you find something else to explore.

6 Months

You are a very busy crawler. You stood up at 7.5 months, and you were cruising since 8 months. But now you don't seem to be very interested in walking by yourself. You figured that crawling can get you faster everywhere. And you ain't got no time for walking, there is so much to do a day!

7 Months

You are a reasonably good eater and you do try a wide variety of foods. I am thankful for that. You love music, and you love going out. You can do Praise the Lord, high five and clap at the right moments in a song.

8 Months

You love going to the park, shopping, you are just always ready for an adventure. You sleep through the night, and have been doing that since 7 months since we moved you to your own special room. 

9 Months

You still love bath time and loves to play peek a boo after that. You have a head full of hair which dada is trying to get cut. It does look ridiculous for a little baby. But it does look adorable when it is slightly wet and not uncontrollable.

10 Months

You do not allow me to keep any bows on your hair. You love being in BSF, M2M and just about every where we went. They all ask for your hair bow which you promptly remove in 42 seconds. 

11 Months

I look back at these pictures and blown away by the first year. Huge changes.

12 Months

But the changes are not just for you. We have moved from a family of three to that of four. You have enlarged our hearts and multiplied our love. You are our sunshine on a cloudy day. You make us laugh. Just thinking of you and writing this is making me smile.

God made you and send you to us because he knew how much we needed a Niya Niya in our life. Our life is so much richer because of you being in it. The year seemed to have flown by. I sigh a little as I put your old clothes away. I am so thankful we get to hang out all day together. I am so grateful for that privilege.

I pray that God would use you in mighty ways as He sees fit. I pray that He would bless you with all the heavenly blessings and make you a blessing to many. My prayers will always follow you.

I love you, I pray for you and I am proud of you.

All my love,
Mama

Niya 11 months

Dear Niya,

You are getting close to being 11 months old. I can't believe in a month you would be 1. I didn't write the 9 and 10 month letter and that makes me sad. You are growing so fast! You have such a personality now. Lots have happened in the last 2 months. You have tried almost every food. Indian, American, you are game! I used to feed you only home made baby food, but you seemed so interested in our food that I started giving that. You are a good eater and I am so thankful.

You are quite mobile now and do not like to be held too much. If we just let you down, you take off and then you are happiest. You say ba-ba, da-da, and very occasionally ma-ma. At 9 months you started clapping on command. Now when I sing open shut them, you clap when it comes to clap clap clap. So sweet. You have 4 teeth and 2 more coming out.

You cruise around easily barely holding and many times you have stood without support. You kind of scare yourself when you realize you are doing that and then you sit down and start crawling. Neil still remains your most favorite person ever. Your eyes just light up. I wish I could take a video of your natural interactions with him. It is the sweetest thing in the world to watch.

You are a very sociable baby so far and go everywhere to every one. You seemed to have gotten better at the separation anxiety and know that we always come back for you. I hardly get to snuggle with you now, you just want to wiggle out and run. You are quite busy. Except, when we go out, you are incredibly happy to be in the baby carrier. I can get anything done as long as I wear you. You are the sunshine of our lives. You had your first Easter a few days ago.You looked adorable! (as always) I know I am biased because I am your mama, but you are super cute!

You love to play in your play room. Today, you were sitting in the high chair eating some thing, I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Neil was doing his favorite thing- laundry. The sun was still out and it was very bright outside. Both of you were laughing and I just stopped for a moment and soaked it. This moment was the treasure that the day brought me. It seems but in a minute that a week goes by and before I know it you are a little older. Every day we are all getting older, but with you baby, you are still so small that it seems remarkable and the changes every month are significant.

You are so loved, sweet girl. Your bright eyes, curly hair, chubby thighs, every inch of you is precious.  You bring us joy and laughter and instantly lifts our mood. You are our sunshine.

I love you, I am proud of you and I am praying for you.

Mama

8 Month Letter

Dear Niya,

You just turned 8 months old. Today you had your doctors appointment. You are at 50th percentile for weight and 70th for height. How is that even possible? Well, how is it even possible you are suddenly 8 months old? Lots of things have happened in the last month. Now, you sleep through the night. It has made me so happy. You have a nightly routine and then you sleep very quietly and do not wake until morning. And then in the morning as soon as you wake up, you stand up on your crib and start making happy noises. Your beautiful face every morning is the perfect beginning to a day.

The other milestone is, you stand holding onto things. It is early for that, but you are on the go. I kind of don't  like that you are growing so fast. You are also crawling on your knees, but when the going gets tough, you fall back to army crawling. That, you have down pat. Your personality is so bubbly and happy and loving. In your hierarchy of people you love, I am first (or maybe second after Neil). The doctor told me today to enjoy that as it will change very soon. I am enjoying kissing you and holding you meanwhile. I cannot cuddle you too much as you like to wiggle a lot.

You did a bunch of traveling this month. We went to my sister's house in Maryland. You were a really good baby during the travel. You had such a good time with my sister and family. You got very attached to my sister and she totally fell in love with you. Not that it would be a hard thing to do. ha. You celebrated your first Christmas with a lot of family.

You still love bath time and you laugh so much. Nice, big, belly laughs. I cannot get enough of that. I am still scared of how Neil rough houses with you, but you take it all in stride. He can do nothing wrong in your eyes. The naughtier he is, the louder you laugh.

My precious, sweet baby girl, I love you so much. I cannot get enough of your smiles, and laughs and your lovely personality. You bring SO MUCH JOY in to our lives. I was telling your Dada the other day that we should have named you Joy. I hope you grow up in to a lovely woman of God. I can't wait.

Stats:

Weight: 17 lb 6 oz
Height: 27 3/8"
Diaper: Size 3
Clothes: 12-18 months

Love,
Mama

Word for the year

We are learning the book of Genesis for our BSF study this year. There is a lot of talk about dwellings there. Abraham left the land of his forefathers and listened to God's call for a land promised to his descendants. He knew that his permanent dwelling was not there either. The Bible says that he longed for his eternal home.

We moved to our new home last December. Although we moved a few days before 2012 began, I always though of the move as something that happened in 2012. Although it was not too far from where we used to live (an hour away), I remember feeling very displaced the first couple of months here. Dealing with a toddler, husband's prolonged absences for work, 6 months pregnant, and trying to figure out and fit in.

Now, my baby is nearly 8 months old, and I feel like I have lived here always. I know where everything is, the short cuts, the back roads and all the community events. I run into the same faces at story time. I have painted all the rooms in the house and personalized it. I have a little corner in the bedroom that I call my own.    After we came back from a vacation this Christmas and drove up to the house after a nearly two week absence, I realized just how much changed in 1 year. And I kept thinking about the word "dwell."

Our house, it is temporary, but it is where we are for now. It is our dwelling place. It is a place of respite, a shelter. We have plans for a big move in the near future. And in my heart I fight that at times. I am comfortable here. But I also know that when God is dwelling in my heart, I don't need to fear where I make my home.

I am taking up the word dwell for this year. How am I keeping my dwelling? Am I being a good steward of what the Lord has provided? How am I keeping the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit? Is it in bad shape? Am I strengthening it day to day by\pondering and lingering on God's word? I am choosing to reflect on these questions this year.

Happy New Year!

Niya 7 months

I am so behind on Niya's monthly letters. But for once I am going to be early. Niya is turning 7 months tomorrow and I am already writing her letter.

Dear sweet Niya,

You are turning 7 months. I never did write you a letter when you turned 6 months. We were not at home, and I didn't have computer access. I assure you, we had a fun time though.

We had a big group at West Palm Beach including your grandparents and uncle, and aunt and cousin. Everyone just spoilt you and you had the best time ever. So much has changed for you. You sit up pretty now, interacts so well, rolls over in both directions, and go from one end of the room to another in no time. I swear you understand stuff that we say to you. When we ask you how does Niya laugh?, you actually show us the laugh.

 

You love your exersaucer and you love television. I am not so thrilled about *that*, but if I am honest, I have to admit that it does help me out when I am in a bind. It was a hard month also for you as you got really sick. I am just glad you are okay now. While so many things have changed, one thing has remained steady and that is your love for Neil. He entertains you the best and loves you back to pieces.

It was an exciting time for you meeting with a lot of new family members. You had your first Halloween, first Thanksgiving. Also the big thing, you started solid foods. I made some steamed apples, and baked sweet potato for you. You loved the apple, but didn't care too much for the sweet potato. We got a little off track with the sickness, but hopefully, we can get back in track soon.

 

You are still super attached to me and even if you are sitting quietly and playing, you will start wailing if I walk past you and not pick you up. You still like the bumbo also I am rather wary of putting you in there because of all your calisthenics. You went on a Christmas Train and you loved it. You were not the least bit scared of Santa. You have gotten over your car seat dislike and you love going out now. You also are a lot better with strangers. I am told you are doing quite well at BSF. I was so glad to hear that.

I keep buying clothes for you. I realize I have a problem, but you are little only for so long. Soon you will hate everything I pick out for you. I know I am biased, but you look so adorable in everything. You are growing way too fast and I want to make every day count with you. Having your brother made me realize how fleeting this time is and I just so badly want to hold on to it.

Love,

Mama

Stats: 26.25 inches and 16.7 pounds at 6.5 months.