Stella Loves Chocolate.

It's hard work being this cute.

My Art Exhibit.

I call this series of photos: All In a Day's Work

For those of you who were wondering, these are Stella's cloth diapers.

90 Years From Now...

Sometimes I think about what Stella will look like 90 years from now and I dress her accordingly (and by sometimes I mean at least once a week).  She's cute now and she'll be cute then:

Just picture the baby carriage as a walker.

Thank you to the lady at Goodwill who gave us this nifty baby carriage for FREE!

Amblyopia.

I think it's worth sharing this because I'm hopeful our experience with amblyopia will bring some encouragement to other parents.  We noticed Stella's eyes were occasionally crossing inward a couple months ago - not at the same time, but one or the other and primarily the left eye.

Example #1 - the right eye (which happens much less frequently than the left):

Example #2 - the left eye

When it started to become more frequent and our family members took notice we decided it was time to visit a pediatric opthamologist.  We discovered there that Stella is farsighted in both eyes, but her left eye has a much higher prescription than her right, which explains why her eyes turn in when she is seeing two different images.  Each of her eyes is sending a different picture to her brain and, in order to compensate for this difference, the brain will tell one eye that it doesn't need to work as hard...hence the turn in her eyes, which is called amblyopia.  We are working on correcting this difference and strengthening her weaker eye (left).  We patch her right eye for two hours a day to give her left a workout, and she also wears glasses full-time to help with her farsightedness.  The doctor said that there is a really good chance Stella will only need vision correction in her left eye in the future, if we keep up this routine consistently.

Patching started even before we got Stella's glasses a few weeks later.

I cannot say that it's been a fun process, but going to the pediatric opthamologist was certainly an eye-opener (insert pirate laugh here:  "hardy har har") as we realized how much WORSE things could be for our little girl.  Wow...what some kids and parents have to go through is overwhelming!  Plus, as time has gone on, we've all gotten more used to the routine of patching and glasses.  When we got her diagnosis I really thought that asking a 15/16 month old child to wear a patch for two hours a day (and glasses all day long) was unrealistic...now I think it's a blessing in disguise this happened when Stella was so young.  This is her reality now and she won't grow up knowing anything different.  There is less to explain for now and there is more time to work on fixing an issue that otherwise would have just gotten worse and less "fixable."  And don't you think she looks pretty darn cute in those glasses?

Question.

"Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?"

My husband put a photo on our desktop background and it has made me think all day long.  The photo is of a gravestone - a friend sent the picture of the gravestone along with a message about a sermon he's giving at church.  Apparently, the gravestone belongs to someone our friend knew...other than this man's name and the year of his birth/death, the only thing written on the stone was the question from above.  I am so challenged by this question - are the things I'm living for worth Christ dying for? 

In all that we've been through this year I know that we've made the right decision for our family.  I know that being fully present as Stella's mom is the best gift I can give to her; it is also the best way for me to honor God at this time in my life.  Being her mom doesn't mean I can't also serve God in other ways, but I am confident that I'm called to invest in her life primarily.  I know we chose to live according to God's call on our lives when Tim chose to stay in his job rather than leaving for something that would offer higher pay and better benefits.  I know that God was honored by my choice to stay at home with Stella, even though leaving my job meant that we could no longer afford to pay our mortgage.

I have been thinking a lot about our legacy lately.  I watch people all around me who are just living for the next "thing" in their life...the next car they will buy, the next house they will purchase, what kind of toys they have, whatever is coming down the pike at work, how much this or that costs, etc.  It all seems so empty.  I want to leave a legacy and I know that part of the legacy I am leaving is through our children, biological and spiritual.  I am hopeful that the things I'm living for now are worth Christ dying for and I'm challenged to continue asking myself that question each day.

Makes me think of this video:

Neighbors and Buddies.

When we lived in Nottingham we longed for a neighborhood - I would say this longing didn't really set in until after having Stella.  It makes such a big difference to have sidewalks right outside our apartment, the ability to walk downtown to see the ducks by the river, and playdates with new friends from next door!  Our other neighbors offered to walk the dogs for me one night when I was feeling so tired...they love our dogs.  What a gift it is to live so close to other people and to really feel like we're a part of a community.  Here are some shots of Stella playing with her new buddy from the next building over.