Christmas Dress #2

Our sweet little girl

Grandma and PePaw came to visit for a few days before and after Christmas.  This picture was taken before church on Sunday.  "MeMa" is wearing a hat because her hair broke/burned at her last visit to the color salon (a comically common occurrence with MeMa).  

Christmas Dress #1

No House Yet

I am frustrated! In fact, I have a stack of frustrations, but I will only go into one here. We just heard back from the owners of a house we made 2 offers on. They countered more than we can afford - again. We decided to move on twice, and both times the "new" house we decided to try to buy had just sold. I was thinking God was setting us up for a story that would display His great provision. But there is no such conclusion, yet. I was reminded of Daniel 3, where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were called before the king.

"the God we serve is able to save us from it . . .O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods"

I know that we are not facing a fiery furnace, but I was getting used to God pulling through in amazing ways. But, even if He does not, I will still serve Him. And I imagine that is just the lesson for me to learn.

Tree

Norah picked out our Christmas Tree this year. We went to Cantrell Gardens, and she chose a 4 ft tree. Finley says it looks like the Angel, a gift from his Grandmother, is squatting on the tree. I am blessed to have ornaments that span my life, are gifts from friends and family, or are souvenirs from trips. Each one is a connection to a happy or hard time. After Finley and I got married, I thought I wanted a coordinated, more formal tree. That desire lasted about a year, and we don't even open those boxes anymore but for filler (which we did not need on this year's petite tree).
So we took to placing ornaments on the tree. Christmas is so much more fun with Norah!! People have said that Christmas more magical with children, I get it now. But back to the story. . . I was telling Norah about the ornaments, "these are from your first year," "this is from when Mommy was born," "this is your picture as a newborn." Her interest seemed to wane quickly. But when Nana and Dow came over, she took them to the tree and proudly told them about it, including ornament descriptions. Then she came to her newborn picture and instructed Nana and Dow to, "kiss baby Norah".

Prayer

We have a regular bedtime routine: bath, brush teeth, read 3 books, I pray, Finley prays, Norah gets a chance to pray, cuddles, milk, rocking.
When it's Norah's turn to pray, she has been quiet for a moment and then said "amen."
Last night, she said her first prayer. She closed her eyes (and I prayed that God would help her). Then she said, "God . . . Nana, Dow . . . Grampa, Vicki . . . ? . . . Amen".
I was amazed at how God answered my prayer through hers. Our hearts swelled. She is getting it!!
I wonder if God gives extra attention to the subjects of a first prayer? : )

No Open It, Mommy

Today at lunch, I went to cut up a strawberry for Norah. She asked me to "no open it". So, I handed it to her whole. She proceeded to eat it, nibble by nibble, and ate it all - even the green stem. She didn't even make a grimace or funny face.

Hat Weather

It's coat, hat and glove weather. But Norah doesn't have a coat or gloves, and this hat is sized 6-12 months. I am planning to go shopping for a coat tomorrow, or at least before the Thanksgiving trip we hope to the Arctic North (a.k.a. Taylor Ridge, IL - they have snow there). Do they make gloves for toddlers? I have seen mittens. Parents, have you seen any 2T gloves? Please pass on your knowledge.

Changes

Leaves are changing colors, falling from the trees. And Norah has been changing as well, developing independence. She has discovered that there is no overuse of the word, "NO!" and has forgotten how to fall asleep. Before I had a child, I did not know sleeping was a skill. It is! So I am going to consult a couple of books that have helped me at trying times, mostly showing me that Norah and I are normal and giving me a few alternatives to ponder or remember. And pray that my choices lead her to Fin's and my ultimate goal - Norah's independence from us and dependence on God.

2 Votes

I have a cold. Norah and I have been spending a lot of time cuddling on the couch, but we did get up to go vote.

Erica: Do you want to go vote with Daddy and me?

Norah: Bote! Go bote! 2 botes!

We talked about how we would have 2 votes all the way to our polling station. There was another little girl there who she played with. We voted, and Norah got stickers. Later, Norah talked to our real estate agent (yes, we're still looking).

Norah: Bote. 2 botes!

Debbie: Who did you vote for Norah?

Norah: (pause) Elmo

Lake Sylvia

My good freind Kevin McKelvy invited me to spend the day with him exploring the Ouachita National Forest today. We spent the afternoon driving around Lake Sylvia looking for off-roading challenges. Kevin convinced me to stop in the middle of one of the easier water crossings long enought to snap this pic. The best part was the scenery. I took some pictures, but Erica's the photographer, so they don't do it justice.

Happy Halloween

Our Little Pumpkin

Norah's 1st Haircut

Grandma and I took Norah to get her 1st haircut on Monday. Norah sat in a red firetruck, ate animal crackers and suckers while her hair was trimmed. The dear woman who cut her hair amazingly cut a straight line with Norah rocking back and forth while driving. Norah liked it so much that she threw a tantrum when it was time to leave!

Norah is 2 today

If you see Norah today and ask her how old she is, she will exclaim "two!". She might also ask you to sing "Happy Bir-day". She has changed so much in the last two weeks, let alone 2 years. Just last week she started saying "No" - A LOT. And she's developed more love for "the Daddy," an answer to prayer.
We had her birthday party at The Wonder Place last Saturday. It was a huge success. We had many of Norah's dear friends come and Grandparents came too. Here are some pictures of the day.

Laura Beth, Norah, Abbie

Grandma, Vicki, Grampa

Little Picassos

Norah was more interested in eating cake than opening gifts.

LEED

I have had requests for further explanation of the test I am studying for. It is called the LEED AP exam. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The LEED Green Building Rating System was established by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) as a benchmark that allows buildings to be certified as "green". If I pass the exam I will be recognized as a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP). I have wanted to to this for a while, but haven't been able to find the time. When my boss told us that he would pay for the exam and the study materials, I couldn't pass it up. That's the good news.

The bad news is that it is a very difficult exam. It is closed book, and the current passing rate is only 34%. It gets worse. The LEED rating system is changing in 2009 (the exact date has not been disclosed) and the exam is expected to get more difficult as a result. The worst part is that if I don't pass the exam before the format changes, I will have to order new study materials at my own expense. Speaking of expense, the exam costs $300 and I only expect my boss to pay for the first test.

I can schedule the test on any day I choose, and I plan to take it in early December. If everything goes well, I will have studied about 60 hours by then. I am nervous about it because there is so much memorization required, which is not my strong suit. Please pray that I pass the test the first time, and that my relationship with Erica and Norah doesn't suffer as a result of all the time spent studying. Norah is beginning to grow out of her mommy phase, and our time together has been better than ever. She runs to me when I get home from work and always wants me around. No test is worth giving that up. Thanks in advance for your prayers.

Happy 90th Birthday, Mama Sue

Finley's Grandmother (his Dad's mom) celebrated her 90th birthday in September of this year. We all dressed up and headed to the Country Club to honor her. I know I am late with this post, but I wanted to recongize Finley's kind and generous Mama Sue.

The Pumpkin Patch

I just got my daughter down for a nap, a challenge lately, and I wanted to catch up on the happenings here in the Vinson Family. I started scrapbooking yesterday and did 5 pages. I really like it. And it will work out well because Finley is studying for his LED Certification (or something like that). The certification will allow him to build Green buildings - not the color, he can already do those. After we put Norah to bed, we both sit at the kitchen table and do our projects.

I imagine that you can tell that the topic of this blog is supposed to have something to do with pumpkins, not scrapbooking or LED certification. We went to the pumpkin patch in Cabot with my Dad and Malika. Norah calls them Nana and Dow (for Granddad). Norah especially liked driving the old car, riding on the hayride and visiting the "amnals"

The Pumpkin she and Nana picked out

Norah and Dow

The Hayride

The Fair

We went to the fair on Friday night with free tickets and $25.

Parking = $5

Petting Animals = Free

Funnel Cake = $6

Norah's First Carousel Ride = $5

Norah's 2nd Carousel Ride = $5

Game and Resulting Stuffed Duck = $3

We made it home with $1 to spare!

Hobby Lobby

Norah enjoys songs with motions. Her current favorite is "The Wheels on the Bus". A few weeks ago, her favorite was "If Your Happy and You Know It". She is so cute when she puts her little pointer fingers on her cheeks and wiggles her fingers during the phrase, "if you're happy and you know it then your face will really show it" (I'm sure you can picture it).
We have gone to Hobby Lobby a few time in the last 2 weeks (first because I was considering making her birthday cake then for scrapbooking supplies). She loved it. She loved the pumpkins, the ghosts, the turkeys, etc. She even started asking to go to Hobby Lobby. I noticed that she started putting her pointer fingers to her cheeks and wiggling her fingers when she said it. I then realized she was calling it "Happy, Happy." No wonder she never wants to leave. I bet she's wondering why we don't go to Happy, Happy all the time.

Shoes for Mama Sue

Finley's Grandmother, Mama Sue, suggested that I take pictures of Norah's shoes. She saved some of her children's shoes, but time did not treat them well. They look more like some sort of jerky than foot apparel. So here are Norah's shoes for the the season. Actually, she had these pink ones last year, too. I liked them so much I bought them again (I wonder why my child isn't so keen on change).

We actually had some like these last year too. Hmmm . . .

Well, I got these shoes on a cute little on-line retailer, http://www.thebabyhabit.com/, that ended up being in Springdale, AR. Free shipping and parents finding a way to spend more time with their kids - I'm hooked.

Frog in a Ball

Norah received this ball from her Grandma Kathy about a year ago on her first trip to Florida. Recently, she has been really bothered that a frog (a "bit") is in the ball.

Norah: Ball?

Mom: Do you want your froggy ball?

Norah: Uh-Oh

Mom: You don't want your frog ball?

Norah: Bit. Uh-Oh. Bit. Uh-Oh. Uh-Oh. (shaking head "no" emphatically). Ouch. Ouch.

I've put the ball away.

Welcome Autumn

Norah and I have new jeans.

(although I'm not putting a picture of my backside on the blog)

Her grandmother will be very proud.

The Littlest Car Washer

Norah had her first car washing experience the other day. She did really well. She didn't even put her rag on the ground once (Daddy's rule). We are going to wash cars at our church's Faith In Action Sunday, October 12th. (http://www.putyourfaithinaction.org/)

If you'd like to join us washing cars for the residents of the apartments by our church or if you'd like a FREE car wash, we'd love to have you! And Norah will make sure everyone has a VERY clean patch on their driver side doors!

Erica's Pre-Birthday

We went to the Bar and The Capital Hotel and had appetizers for dinner

We had fun taking pictures. I think Finley looks so handsome here.

A tourist from the Netherlands took this picture. He was with
a group here in the States studying the election. They
looked so chic and European. It made me want to
move to Europe - or buy a scarf.

This is the next morning. We went to the opening of the
Mosaic Templar's Building in Little Rock. Finley developed
the site, so we were invited to a breakfast. I was SO impressed
with the museum and look forward to going back. There is a
map displaying deaths of African Americans by lynching.
It was a heart-wrenching!

Downtown "Pool"

We went to the new downtown park the other day to play at the "pool." Right now, all bodies of water are pools - the river, the lake, the sprinker, the pool. She enjoys watching the syncronized sprinklers and the kids running through them. We have gone three times now, and she still spends most of her time on the sidelines. She will occasionaly touch the water, with parental coaxing. At the end of the day, we are much wetter than she is!!

Abbie is trying to lead Norah into the water.

She finds a puddle that is more to her liking.
(Finley explained the drainage flaw that created this puddle.
Suprisingly, Norah was not bothered)

Here she is at the end of our 2 hour visit. DRY!