Two Years Old!

She is Two.

She is funny; hilarious actually. She dances at random commercials. She uses a perfect English accent to say, “Oh No!” She tells Jesus not to bite when we pray. She loves to laugh and to make people laugh.

She is always on the go. She loves to go for walks. She loves to go “bye-bye.” She loves to climb, dance and flip. She loves to wrestle with her daddy. She loves to have crawling races with her brother.

She is smart. She sings her ABC’s. She can count to 10. She knows every word to the Barney theme song. She loves to read her books. She speaks more words than any other child in her class.

She is creative. She loves to draw. She loves to color. She loves to write. She loves to paint. She has even been known to “tattoo” her brother on more than one occasion.

She is friendly. She rarely meets a stranger. She will say, “Hey!” “Hi!” or “I miss you!” to random people in Wal-Mart. She gives high-fives. She says “See you later” to big trucks and airplanes. She was even given the unofficial title of “Class Greeter” by one of the parents at her daycare.

She is affectionate. She tells her parents that she loves them multiple times a day. She loves to give hugs. She will tell mommy that she missed her every time she gets picked up at daycare. She loves to kiss her brother on his head.

She is compassionate. She doesn’t like to see her brother cry and will tell him that “it’s OK”. She will share with her friends at school, especially the quiet ones who aren’t playing with others. She even says, “Oh, No! Be careful!” to a boy that is in a tree (and it’s just a picture in her book).

She is musical. She loves to sing, “Baby Bumble Bee,” “The Wheels on the Bus,” and “Jesus loves me.” She loves to sit on her daddy’s lap and listen to music. She has watched so many Central Church of God songs on YouTube that when she sees the choir members in their robes at church, she gets excited and shouts, “Jesus!”

She is passionate. She is passionate about all things mentioned above. She is passionate about Elmo. She is passionate about Dora. She is passionate about animals. She is passionate about life.

She is beautiful. She knows it. She says, “I beautiful” and “I pretty” all the time. She doesn’t realize that her beauty on the inside is

She is God’s creation. She is fearfully and wonderfully made. She has steps that are ordered by God. She is a miracle. She is her parents’ constant reminder that God answers prayers in the most amazing way.

She is Addison Hope Turner.

We love you so much, Addi! Thank you for being YOU! Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet girl!!
Love - Daddy, Mommy and Brogan

Misunderstanding

Addi: "Buddy (her brother) pretty!"
Me: "No, you are pretty. Buddy is handsome."
Addi: (looks down at her legs and then at me) "I got pants on, too!"

I later told her that Daddy was handsome. She looked confused and said, "Daddy wear shorts." She was right, he was wearing shorts. :)

An old post

I was looking back at old posts that I never actually posted, and came across the below written on 5/26/09, right as I was in the trenches of dealing with infertility. It is applicable for me now, when I'm in the trenches of some other trials. Trials not quite as painful as infertility, but still weighing heavily on me. Trials that make me feel inadequate, frustrated, glum at times, annoyed, sad, etc. I hate these feelings and am trying hard to change them, and reading this post was a blessing. So here goes...

5/26/09
I have been pretty quiet on this blog for a while. While time does seem to have a way of getting away from me and there is often not enough time in the day to just get everything done that I need to or want to, I think I've also been slightly more introspective lately, wishing to keep my thoughts to myself. Unfortunately in doing this, I have failed to tell my thoughts to God. I know that He knows my thoughts before I even think them, but I also know that He longs for me to voice my thoughts to Him. Yes, I've been praying, but they've been surface prayers lately. Nothing too deep, nothing too personal. Admittedly a lot of the reason it's been this way is not because of laziness or because I am angry at God but because of fear. It seems that the closer Jared and I grow to God, the harder life gets. Our marriage is still wonderful and firmly in tact, but we've had some crazy, non-relationship things we've had to deal with. So, I've drawn back...afraid to move forward because I don't want anything bad to happen.


With our upcoming vacation to the ocean quickly approaching, I can't help but think about what I'm doing in terms of the way I approach the ocean. I am not much of a "shallow" ocean person. I love to have the waves gently glide over my feet, but I love even more to have a huge wave hit me and practically take my breath away. I get a thrill out of this. Jared thinks this is a sick thrill. But the farther I can get into the thick of the waves, the happier I am. Yet there is always this point in the ocean where I get past the waves to a calmer, gentler, yet deeper, part of the ocean, I can relax and quit working so hard, and actually see the people who are in a more shallow part of the ocean getting pounded by the waves a lot worse than I am. Right now, in my relationship with God, I've stepped back into the part of the ocean where the waves gently glide over my feet...I'm still in the "ocean", just not really doing much. I'm in a safe zone. As I move deeper, allowing God to work in every area of my life, trials are ultimately going to come that may take my breath away for a brief time. But if I can just get through these, I will get into an area where I can rest and relax knowing that I am completely consumed by God's love and right where He wants me to be. Sure there will be trials that will come, trials that might seem to slap me across my face, but how much better will it be knowing that I'm enjoying a relationship with an all-consuming God. So, no more holding back...it's time to get back in the trenches. :)

"Hey, where did you go?"

After a long day of work, I went to get the kiddos at daycare and was greeted by a huge hug from my sweet girl. Followed by her looking at me and saying, "Hey...where did you go?" :)

Love.that.girl.to.pieces!

Just Being Candid...

This was a tough week. Actually, it's been a tough 2012. Since January 1st, it seems like someone in our house has been sick or in pain almost every day. Just in the last two weeks, Addi had strep and a sinus infection, Brogan had two ear infections and congestion from teething Jared was sick, and now it seems Addi is getting sick again. We cannot catch a break in this area. It is frustrating. I know that in the midst of it all that God is here. I know that He is watching over us. I know that He is readily available to be my strength on the days when I break down and cry because I hate to see my family members sick and hate even more having to leave them to go to work when they are sick. Anyway, I KNOW all of this...it's a head knowledge. Yet sometimes, my heart doesn't feel the way my head thinks. Sometimes I feel like God is punishing me for working outside of the home (even though I am doing it for health insurance purposes), sometimes I feel like maybe we are out of His will - though everything seems to be pointing to the fact that we are not, sometimes I feel like He probably gets annoyed with me for asking for prayer for strength when what I am enduring pales in comparison to what others endure every day. Somehow though, I KNOW I am wrong. I KNOW that God loves me, I KNOW that He cares...and even in all my distress and agony of feeling like a sub-par Christian, wife, mother, daughter/sister, friend, employee, etc, I not only KNOW, but can feel that my Abba Father, my daddy is holding me in His arms. So, until I am strong enough to stand on my own again, here I am, a little weak, a little battle-torned, a little weary, but A LOT loved by my Amazing God who is comforting me and encouraging me to get back on my two feet and keep going.

Sick Day

Addi has been sick this week...very sick...as in sinus infection and strep throat kind of sick. After watching her slowly start to fade from perky and playful to weak and tired on Sunday, I determined that Monday was going to be a sick day for both of us. Usually, when the kids are sick, Jared and I split the responsiblities, but this time he was not able to and I was more than willing to take care of my sick baby. I decided that I wasn't just going to work from home, instead I took a personal day so that I could spend the ENTIRE day nursing my sick patient. I took her to the doctor, I let her pick out toys while we were in Walgreens waiting for her prescription, I gave her a picnic in the living room that consisted of milk and applesauce because that is what she wanted, and most of all I let her sit on my lap with her head rested on me as much as she desired. I hated that she was sick, but oh how I loved that day, and oh how I NEEDED that day. It's hard when you work outside of the home to not be the one to always be there when your baby needs you to be, for once I was able to be and it did my heart so good.

Our adorable daughter is on the mend...today was proof enough when I caught her standing on her brother, while he laughed. Thank God he wasn't hurt, and I'm not sure how he wasn't, but even so, at that moment I realized two things: 1. Addi is getting back to her feisty self and 2. Addi and Brogan are so amazing together. :)

Time to sleep!

Dear Brogan,

You are almost 8 months old! You can crawl, you can speak (a couple of words), you have a new-found joy in pestering your sister, you have a sweet, carefree personality...you are amazing! Since you are such a big boy now, I think its time for your to start sleeping consistently through the night. Your daddy and I are on to you...you cry, we go in to comfort you, you stop crying as soon as we pick you up. You are not hurting, you are not scared, you are not hungry...you are S-P-O-I-L-E-D. So, it is after 11:00 pm and I think NOW would be such a great time for you to discover all the happiness that comes your way when you sleep through the night. Seriously, try it, you will not be disappointed.

With all of my love and affection,
A VERY tired Mommy