Charlotte "reads" Madeline

One of Charlotte's favorite books these days is Madeline. We've read it sooooo much that she pretty much has it memorized! (And also mixes in some lines from other Madeline books because there are parts that are very similar.)

Here she is "reading" Madeline. I know I'm biased, but I think she's pretty sinkin' adorable!

The Reason for our Joy, Peace, and Hope

Today is Easter Sunday. Today we celebrate a risen Savior!

What a joy it was to celebrate with other believers at our church in Hong Kong today (including the song below)! What a joy to begin sharing the Easter story with our 18 month old daughter! What a joy to know that as I head to bed tonight, our family and friends in the U.S. will be celebrating Christ's resurrection as well!

What peace our family has in knowing our Lord has conquered death! And we have the ultimate hope of eternal life with Him!





Happy Easter to all!

Charlotte's Lollipop Dance

Charlotte's new favorite song and dance. (This is the best video we could get because she normally stops what she is doing when the video camera comes out.)

The Best Fireworks We Never Saw

Hong Kong sits on a harbour - Victoria Harbor. Every night they have a light show in the harbour (which my sister-in-law, Erin, and I thought was nothing special) and HUGE fireworks displays on New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year.

We've heard that the fireworks for Chinese New Year actually out-do the ones done for "normal" New Year. Brendan and I thought we'd try to see the fireworks for Chinese New Year since they were scheduled for 8pm on Friday after New Year.

But...after Charlotte was not-at-all happy with the loud drums at the dragon dance, we decided that 23 minutes worth of extremely loud fireworks probably wasn't the best idea. Our apartment faces the opposite direction of the fireworks display, and we are on the eastern side of HKG island which is further away from the central part where the fireworks would take place...but Brendan ventured down the the 47th floor viewing deck to see if he could catch a glimpse of anything. He reported that nothing could be seen since a large hill was blocking the view.

Maybe we'll try to go down to the action and watch the fireworks next year. For now, we can enjoy some YouTube footage. Below is a clip of just the finale (~3 mins).

Charlotte's First REAL Word

Charlotte has been saying "da-da" for a few months now. Just in case you're wondering, she has yet to so much as utter anything that sounds like "ma-ma"! Even though she says "da-da" a lot, she really hasn't ever directed it specifically at Brendan as her "Daddy".

Her pediatrician in Raleigh told us before we left for Spain that her language skills might be a bit delayed since she'd be exposed to two languages while developing her knowledge of her native tongue. Add to that that I didn't start talking until I was closer to 2 years old, and I really assumed that Charlotte wouldn't have real first words for a while longer.

I probably wouldn't have caught her first word except that she uses it in a context that makes it quite clear what she is saying!

While giving her a bath the other night, I noticed that she continually kept putting her washcloth to her ear and saying something that sounded like "Hello". It was too cute but I wasn't sure if she was really pretending to talk on the phone or if I was just imagining it. I told Brendan about it and the next morning we both observed her "talking on the phone" with just about any object she can get her hands on! It is hilarious!

We're not sure how she picked this up since neither one of us talk on the phone very often and many of our "phone" calls are on the computer via Skype.

So, drum roll please....




Yep, that's Charlotte's first word - "He-woh". Or maybe it's "Hola", I'm not sure! :)

Cheerios

Charlotte has got to experience quite a lot in her short little life, but one thing she has really missed out on is Cheerios! We can find Honey Nut Cheerios in Spain but not the regular kind, and I don't really want to give her more sugar than necessary so no Honey Nut Cheerios for her.

BUT we did find Multi-Grain Cheerios in Hong Kong! I think there is still a bit of sweetness on them....why else would they stick to her fingers? :) It's okay though because she's really enjoying them and finally getting the hang of sticking food in her mouth...although her skillz at picking up small items is still in progress. :)

Enjoy....

Wanna see what Charlotte's been up to these days?

Oh, our little girl just keeps amazing us with how fast she's growing! Here's a little sample of her movement these days...

Weekend Video - Charlotte's Lip Smacking

One Thousand Gifts - Post #11

It just makes sense that if you pick up from the life you know and move to a foreign country - where you don't know the language and you don't know any people - that the months (or years) that follow are going to be a time of intense spiritual growth (that is if you allow God to work :)). I knew that going into this move to Spain, and I've known it for the past few months we've been here, but it seems that recently it's really sinking in for me.

I'm battling homesickness (for Raleigh and Texas) far more now than when we first moved. Some days I absolutely love being here...I love the culture, the sights & sounds of Madrid, the places we go, people we meet...I just love where I am now and that God has given us the opportunity to experience it. But there are other days (and I had a few of those last week), when I just want to throw in the towel and fly back to the U.S. I wouldn't really do that but it's seemed tempting when the temperature got hot last week and there was no breeze coming through our flat (we have no AC). And I just sit and dwell on what I miss from home and what I'm missing out on by not being there...being a part of Southbridge, playing games with our friends in Raleigh, walking through a quiet neighborhood, Texas sunsets & thunderstorms, raising our daughter near our family.

I don't quite know what all God is up to in our lives while we're here in Madrid. I try to keep reminding myself that He doesn't normally (or ever!) show us the full picture of what He's using our lives to accomplish. But I do know that He's changing me, as I've experienced Him do many times before. And just as I had to do then, I need to let go of my plan and embrace His. So much harder to do than to say!

At the beginning of June, I found this great desktop wallpaper on (In)Courage. It is beautiful and has a calendar for June, but what I loved most was the constant reminder of why I am here - To Glorify God!! So while I may not know the full details of what God is doing in my life, I do know the purpose...to bring glory to Him. And continuing to count the ways He blesses me sure does help me keep that perspective....

238. the precarious tower of Bibles, books, & journals next to my bed
239. the portero (doorman) who opens the door & elevator for me
240. feeling the power of prayer from friends
241. having no debt (except our mortgage :))
242. God using this time in Madrid to push, stretch, and mold us into who He wants us to be
243. a breeze
244. ice cream when its really warm in our un-airconditioned flat
245. laundry that dried fast (because of the heat)
246. cold water
247. ice cubes
248. a cool shower after a long, hot day
249. cold watermelon
250. finding a doctor's office that speaks English
251. getting an appointment at dr's office for the next day
252. baby girl staring at me while I cry, then touching my face...felt like she was wiping my tears
253. in every season, I have a reason to worship!
254. a friend watching Charlotte while I went to my dr's appointment
255. baby girl's ticklish spot on her neck
256. talking with another adult during the day :)
257. the "clink-clink" of dishes being washed at a restaurant downstairs
258. beautiful colors in the twilight sky
259. not changing ANY diapers for one full day!
260. Brendan and I deciding to hold each other accountable to technology use/time
261. grocery delivery service
262. a fan
263. book fair at Retiro
264. an English-language children's bookstore in Madrid
265. an orchestra playing during our picnic in the park
266. a surprise opportunity to eat Mexican food!
267. air-conditioning in buildings
268. Brendan and Charlotte "chasing" bubbles as I blew them
269. not hearing & waking up to my neighbor's TV at 1am
270. babies sleeping in strollers
271. sweet Spanish ladies doting on Charlotte - being thankful even though I don't know what they are saying
272. baby girl is doing a little "boot-scootin' boogie" crawl - but it's a crawl - our girl is growing!

Here's the video of Charlotte crawling for the first time:

Tickle Me Charlotte

Here is a fun little video of CG and her growing personality. Her laugh is starting to develop a little more than the scream that it used to be. We are trying to post more video for all of the CG fans out there, so stay tuned for more.

Brendan

Video of CG in Action

We bought a video camera when Charlotte was first born and have actually recorded some great things; however, due to some inconsistency between our camera and editing software (not user error) we never get the final result that we would like. If we take small clips of her, YouTube will let us load directly without breaking down the file size.

Today we captured the following of CG enjoying her Activity Bouncer: