My Little Fam and a Question for You

I was looking at pictures on my phone of the last two weeks since I posted a blog because they always help me remember what has been happening in my life.

My phone is full of the girls, Cory and ministry events. I know I always share bits and pieces about the 3 of them (Cory, Shiloh and Taliah) but I thought I would go a little more in depth especially for my own documentation. 

So if you are not interested in the day to day happenings of two little girls and their Daddy, don't read on because this will bore you :) BUT skip to the END because I have a question. 

Taliah drew the short straw and she gets to go first. 

We are beginning to feel like this girl is "coming alive." Shiloh just came into the world with such an intense proclamation of her presence that it has taken us some time to get used the fact that Taliah is simply a different person. She is sweet. Oh so sweet and happy and giggly. She wants to be either tickled, held or to crawl around and find herself in the oven door or the balcony door window. She loves her sister and her daddy. When they come into the room she lights up. She is still a peanut for her age (10 months) and I couldn't believe it the other night when I was still putting 6 month pajamas on her! She is also a whiner, as we say. Like for no reason. She doesn't cry, just whines. And Cory's dad always says that he was like that when he was little so I blame him for that. The are plenty of things Cory blames on me for Shiloh. Taliah is saying "mammamam" but not to me I don't think. She loves to clap and loves music. She does not need as much sleep as Shiloh did which is constantly confusing and sometimes frustrating. Taliah has 2 bottom teeth and the top one coming in. She HATES to have her face touched. How dare you even try to wipe her nose or check for teeth or wipe the food off her mouth? She starts to spaz out and of course, whine. I can't believe she will be ONE in less than two months. Here she is doing her favorite thing, pulling herself up, standing, and smiling. 

Shiloh Belle. 

I don't know where to begin with this one. I am AMAZED at her vocabulary. I had no idea 2 year olds could talk this much. I no longer feel "alone" when I am home all day because Shiloh and I definitely chat it up. Our latest hobbies are painting nails, baking for bible studies and making "crapps" (crafts). She is a machine at going on the potty and that was so much less of a pain than I thought it would be. I am SO thankful and I think it will make the summer so much easier. 

Here are her "crapps" on the fridge. 

Shiloh is a schedule nazi. She knows when we do everything every day. The other night Cory and I decided we would let her stay up a little bit and watch a movie and have popcorn. So we told her like it was a really fun exciting thing and she said "I go to bed," with a frown on her face like "C'mon what is wrong with you guys." We were both somewhat offended. That's what we get for being fun. Or I guess that's what we've created. 

She is also incredible at reasoning with us.

"Shiloh its time to turn that off." 

"One more minute?" And she says it with her little finger by her face. 

"Ok one more minute and then we have to turn it off." 

"One more minute, four more times??" Where did she even come up with that? 

She knows who all of her possessions are from even if I only told her once and she always states that it is from that person when she's sees it. 

She has turned a big corner I feel, with the kids from church. There are some that she doesn't know, or that bother her on purpose, but other than that she knows many of the students by name and loves them. Especially the kids in Cory and I's bible study. I am very thankful for this and thankful for how they love her and play with her and make it fun when they come over. 

I notice that she wants to do everything I do. Especially with Lamby. Is there somewhere you need to draw the line with stuffed animals? Cory is a little more concerned about it than I am. He calls Lamby our third child. Here is Lamby eating some fish and watermelon. 

Lamby also likes to go on walks in her stroller to Macedonia, Tirana, and Korca. She is a very well traveled little lamb. 

We are still constantly working on her temper. I always remember how in the hospital the day she was born the nurses turned around with big eyes as they were trying to change Shiloh's diaper, they looked at Cory and I and one of them said "Which one of you has a temper??" 

I will let you decide which one of us that is.

But, the point being, I believe that will always be something she will struggle with and we are daily working with her on that. 

The other day she said to Cory, "I don't want to be mad," with a really sweet, genuine look on her face. Almost like, why does this happen to me? Let me tell you sweetheart, I just don't know either. 

Here she is in her princess dress. She told me that she was so pretty, like mommy. 

Oh. My. Goodness. 

And this man.

 I'm going to state the facts without gagging you with sappiness. He is exactly where he is supposed to be. I am constantly amazed at how his gifts, talents, passion, personality, and drive are used here in Albania. He is so focused and his mission is so clear. And that is to build up the church here in Pogradec. He wants to be used and he wants to make a mark. He is constantly challenging me in his purposeful love for people, his commitment to serving, and his wisdom in decisions whether they be for ministry or for our family. He never puts us on the back burner and always makes times for me and for his girls. They adore him and every time we aren't with him Shiloh wants to talk about where he is and what he is doing. He works hard at everything he does whether that be establishing a music ministry at church, discipling his boys, planning for the summer, finding a home for us, communicating with family, friends and supporters, studying for a sermon, planning a church event, fixing up our constantly broken house, taking care of our finances or walking around town paying the bills. His plate is very full and he does an incredible job at organizing his time and schedule and also helping me. 

What I have been most thankful for lately is the fact that he views the ministry I do here as important and valuable. He watches the girls for an hour every morning so I can study Albanian. He knows it is important to me that I learn this language. He makes sure to work from home on the days I have bible study so that the babies aren't disruptive. He listens to me process and think through what I am experiencing and how I should view it. And I also help him with planning different events and summer, communicating with supporters, churches and prospective teams, and thinking through ministry goals and plans. 

I am thankful that we "work" together. Our roles our different. Our responsibilities are not the same. Our priorities vary. But in many senses we are "pulling together" we are working towards the same goal. And I think that is an incredible blessing that not every gets to experience. 

So there you have it. There is a little update on the people I love most in this world. 

And now a question...

I feel often lately like it is difficult to think about or decide what to write about. I really want to keep up with this blog though. 

So my idea is, that if any of you have thoughts or ideas on what I could write about, send them my way. 

Maybe you wonder something specifically about being a missionary, or being a mom or being a missionary mom. Or about Albania as a country, a people and a culture. Or about living overseas or I don't know anything. 

I would appreciate your ideas. So send me a message or comment on the Facebook post. 

Happy Tuesday!