Month: October 2010

So many times, our precious daughter does something new, I tell myself, oh I need to write it down or oh I need to put it in the blog and then time slips away and my regrets start piling up.  Tonight, I decided to sit down and write some of the highlights from this month.  The biggest highlight for me personally is her saying “mama” for the first time,  I could not believe my ears and just wanted to jump for joy.  She has been saying daddy for a little while and I thought it was great and all, but hearing her say mama, just puts a smile on my face.  She likes to say it many times a day and when I leave for a little while and come back, that’s the first word she says and then asks for me to take her right away.  Oh how I love her.  She is currently 9 months and 19 days young and is full of curiosity and joy to be with.  Finger food has been discovered a few weeks ago and I am not talking about snacks, real food, such as chicken, cheese, corn and so on.  She loves eating with her fingers and it makes me so sad when she tries to put something inside her mouth and misses, but she never gives up, just keeps picking things up.  When Bella likes something very much, she claps, in fact clapping has been one of her favorite things to do, especially in the middle of the night, yes, not when parents feel like clapping very much 😉  The other day, she climbed two flights of stairs all on her own, Barry and I were absolutely blown away.  She is getting stronger and stronger each day, she walks with confidence as long as she is holding on to things, so I am thinking by 10 months our little peach will be walking, but I might be wrong.  One of the fun things have been listening to her talk and you would not believe the vocabulary this little girl has.  One of the first words was water, which was followed by ball, duck, Bella, Buddy, daddy, light, car and just recently mama.  Just a few days ago, her and I walked into our garage and she pointed her finger at our car and said “car” even pronouncing letter “r” I was absolutely blown away.  When asked to show where is the nose, she shows it on her toys, bears and dolls.  We are currently working on body part and colors.  She is grasping so fast, that sometimes we don’t realize how intelligent God created us to be.  Just think about human body and every single part that works, the mechanism is so complex…I just sit in awe of how amazing God is to create such creature.  Every time I think of what her future holds, I pray that God uses her in ways that He will find best for her and that He will help us raise her the way He wants her raised.  I can not even express the love I have for my little girl, just imagine how much our Father in Heaven loves us, just think how forgiving He is and the gift of His Son- oh how undeserving we are.   Every time I think about it, my eyes fill up with tears, He has blessed us so much and sometimes all we are is ungrateful, we get so wrapped up in day to day busyness that we forget what truly matters and it’s our Heavenly Father.  He is the reason we exist and function, it could be seconds and our life could come to an end, we need to praise Him and thank Him for every breath.  I thank God for our little girl every single day and for showing me what unconditional love really is.  Thank you precious Father!!!

It’s Fall and we love to go to Apple Hill in Fall, it has been a tradition of many years and we were very excited to go as a family for the first time since Isabella has joined us:)  When Barry and I went last year, I was 6.5 months pregnant and couldn’t help but think of how fun it will be next year to bring our baby to see all the pumpkins and take hundreds of pictures.  This year it happened and we enjoyed every minute of our lil’ family time:)  Bella loved the pumpkins and ponies that were there for kid’s rides.  She even got to pet one, we are thinking she is an animal lover 😉  Buddy lights up her face instantly, I can’t wait for them to run around together.  We have enjoyed some fresh squeezed apple cider, chocolate caramel sunday with apples and some kettle corn.
Pumpkin patch was also a very fun experience, last time I went to one was in college, so it was great to go with my parents and Miss Isabella.  She had so much fun looking and touching pumpkins.  She also got to see some pigs and goats, we had a wonderful time and could not leave without tasting some local chocolate ice cream 🙂  Below you will see some of the memories that we have created.

God gave us a wonderful opportunity to go on a little getaway to Pismo beach.  We have decided to join my parents, Oleg and Lilya for a couple of days and more so to surprise them with our presence 🙂  Every day I talked to them on the phone and every time they would say “Oh how we wish you could be here with us” and little did they know, we were aleready planning on it.  The facial expressions were priceless when we surprised them by just showing up at designated lunch location.  The trip was absolutely wonderful, the ocean was breathtaking and warm.  For the first time in Bella’s life she was very excited to see the ocean or get close to the water, I loved her facial expressions every time we approached the ocean.  She also got to stand in the sand with her cute little feetsies.  One other thing Bella tried for the first time is go in the pool and to our surprise our pumpkin did not like it, but at least we will have pictures to show her when she is old enough 😉   I do no recall being at the beach in October and having heat up to 80 degrees, but it couldn’t have been better.  Also for the first time in my life, I tried boogie boarding- what an awesome thing to try (not sure if I can call it a sport 😉 ) If you have never tried it, I strongly recommend it, it will rejuvenate you!   Below you will find some of the pictures from our trip.  Enjoy!

“I am all around you, hovering over you even as you seek My Face.  I am nearer than you dare believe, closer than the air your breathe.  If My children could only recognize My Presence, they would never feel lonely again.  I know every thought before you think it, every word before you speak it.  My Presence impinges on your innermost being.  Can you see the absurdity of trying to hide anything from Me?  You can easily deceive other people, and even yourself; but I read you like an open, large-print book.”  (Author, Unknown)

When I read that paragraph in my study book, it  brought tears to my eyes.  With all the busyness in our lives we completely forget that God’s presence is truly with us every second of the way.  Somehow this life takes over and just the fact that we are breathing should be an utmost glory to Him, the One that lets us breathe and go on about our daily duties.

When I was deciding whether I should get back to Bible study, all I could think about was leaving Isabella at home with daddy and not being the one to put her to bed, but after praying about it and talking to Barry, we have decided that it’s best for me to get out once a week and spend some time with other ladies.  The first day back, I realized as soon as the video of Priscilla Shirer came on, that it was one of the best decisions I have made.   The study is about Jonah titled ” Navigating a Life Interrupted.”  Whether it’s loosing a job, getting sick, loosing a loved one, having a new addition to the family or etc, it’s all interruptions.  God sends us these interruptions to discipline us.  He wants to prepare us for what He has in store.  Many times we overlook the facts and it’s only after time goes by and we trace all the steps we see God was completely in control, even when we did not acknowledge Him.  He is the most gracious Creator that sits on His throne and listens to our needs and wants only what is best for us.  Being His daughter is the best gift I ever received, because no matter what happens in this life, I know I can always count on the One who created me.

If you ever get a chance to do this Bible study, jump right in and go through it, you will never regret it.