Sadie's Room!

Sadie Grace Anna Heiliger is here! More on her soon but she's healthy and beautiful and I'm totally in love :-)

I've been wanting to post about her cute little nursery but couldn't because my dad didn't want to know the gender and he is a faithful blog reader. Thus, here are the pics post baby. Loving me some owls and trees :-)

Running Club!

Chris' Dad is an avid runner (he broke his leg in the middle of a 50mile race and ran on it for another dozen miles or so before he had to stop-yeah, he's a serious runner). So, of course he's excited to see if any of his grandkids will take up his favorite hobby. My nephew Christopher has been joining him for a kids running club for a while now but Ella has been too young to join. However, a few times this summer Phil has invited all the kids out and they've had their own pseudo-running club at a local high school track. Ella LOVES it. And, this fall she'll be old enough to join the real running club-she can't wait!

Even my nephew Silas got in on the action.

Ella and Hannah just cannot get enough of each other! There are many pictures of them running holding hands!

Aunt Stacy and the kids

Looking forward to what running club will bring! Ella seems to have quite a bit of stamina and ran over a mile on the track last time and wanted to keep going after the other kids were tired out. Maybe she will be a runner! Oddly, I actually ran with this same running group when I was Ella's age! It's weird to raise your kid where you grew up but kinda cool too :-)

Summer so far...

We're having a fun summer!

My mom threw me a little baby shower and Ella and Hannah got to be hostesses and take drink orders and bring them to everyone. She even got them little corsages to wear! I've never seen Ella so excited or so intense...she took her job seriously and was SO proud of herself for doing such a "big girl" job so well!



Part of Chris' Father's Day present was some pancake paraphenalia because he is quite the pancake chef :-) He got the apron he's wearing (it says "Pancake Freak"), a super wide pancake flipper and some fancy syrups and molds to use. Ella and I benefit greatly from this interest of his :-)

There's a cute little snow cone stand near our house where the cones are $1-nice, sweet treat for hot afternoons.

And though I haven't gotten pictures of much, Ella has been in a bunch of camps this summer! She started with a week of science camp (which she loved), then a few weeks later soccer camp, then she's been at camp at her pre-school most mornings for the last 3 weeks. I get mornings off to get things done and she gets social time she CRAVES. It's been great! Next week the baby comes and then Ella will have music camp in the mornings the following week. The rest of the summer should be fun too as we settle into a new rythym with the baby arriving in 5 days!!

Soccer camp at the Y with her cousins :-)

Practicing for Baby

A few weeks ago we attended the Sibling Preparation Class at the hospital where I'll deliver (in less than 2 weeks!!!!). It was fun for Ella to see the nursery, see a room where mommies stay, watch a video on being a big sister/brother and do a few crafts. The best part was getting to learn how to diaper a doll she brought, swaddle it, and put on a little hat :-) Check out the cute videos of her showing my dad how to do it later!

A Manifesto for Joyful Mothering

My SIL posted a link to this on her blog a few months ago and being in need of some encouragement as I deal with a rather fragile child lately*, I decided to make it my own. Moments ago, I spent a little time rewording it a little bit to fit me and our family a little better, printed it out, and hung it in the kitchen where I'll see it often. There's lots of great encouragement to raise kids the way I long to-with joy, grace, lots of hugs, and aware of God's constant presence. Here's the original version, hope it's an encouragement to you too!

*I think the anticipation of the new baby is affecting Ella (and all of us) quite a bit. She's had a hard time obeying lately and been tearful and tantrum-ing more than ever in life in the last couple weeks. She's also been much more clingy to me and MUCH more affectionate than ever in her life (that's been a positive thing!) It's nice that rather than just acting out, she can verbalize things like "Mom, I just need as much time with you as possible before the baby comes" or "I'm worried you won't have time for me when the baby comes" except that it's completely heartbreaking!! Anyway, we'll get through this transition but I needed some hang-it-on-the-kitchen-wall-type encouragement!


A
10 Point Manifesto for Joyful Mothering



1. Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God.


2. Today, I will transfigure all things into beauty, and I will refuse to see anything else.


3. Today, I will not have any emergencies. There are no emergencies! Only amateurs hurry.


4. Today, when stress mounts, I pray to dismount it with gratitude. My stress management plan will be intervention with verbal thanks. I can only feel one feeling at a time, and I choose to give thanks at all times. Fight feeling with feeling!


5. Today, I will pray to speak words that are only STRONG words, words that make these children feel strong. Grace words. Grace is the only non-toxic air. All other words I breathe are death words.


6. Today, I will pray to be consistently consistent. I will create safe rhythms that our children can find security in. I will create daily ceremonies because everyday we are CELEBRATING the gift of now!


7. Today, the moment when I am most repelled by a child's behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child.


8. Today, I will hug each of my children as many times as I serve them meals -- because children's hearts feed on touch. I'll look for as many opportunities to touch my children today as possible --- the taller they are, the more so.


9. Today, my priorities will be all Things Unseen.


10. Today, I will laugh! And I will let the little children laugh! I will create a culture of JOY!