this and that

Well, it finally stopped snowing in Charleston. Seriously, it snowed everyday the fist two weeks of January. And was VERY cold. It's been 40-45 degrees the past couple of days. It feels like a heat wave.

Here's some pictures to catch you up (in no particular order). . .


We had a follow up on Sophie's surgery. Evidently she's doing fine. She had the mother of all nosebleeds last night. But the doctor says that's normal and to give it a couple of weeks while everything heals.


I turned 30 last Thursday. Ben had the flu that Sophie had the Monday before. It was kind of a bummer but these wonderful women celebrated with me at Tidewater. Gotta get that free meal. The rest of the weekend was a blur with birthday parties (not mine), wedding showers, meetings and planning stuff. Ben and I did squeeze in a date on Saturday night.



Ted playing his computer. He's such a big kid and being helpful. He wants to be a "cooker"as he calls it. So he microwaves his own pancakes in the morning or toasts waffles. He's taking swimming lessons 2 afternoons a week and is actually putting his face in the water. He has started moving at the pace of a slug and doesn't want to get up in the mornings. He's loving the wii as much as we are. It's fun to have things that we all actually enjoy playing.


This sweet face is learning new words - including mine and no. Great. She is also saying Mil-Mil (Millie) and up. She signs more, please, and all done which is very helpful. She acquired a taste for the salt that we put on the sidewalk and brought in on our shoes. She would either eat whatever was on the carpet at the door or actually lick our shoes. She has also come to love wearing underwear on her head. Anytime she can get into my room or Ted's she goes straight for the underwear drawer. She's getting helpful as far as getting her shoes or finding things when I ask. I love that she's able to use some more words.


Playing at the mall together on one of the rides.

soles 4 souls

radical living = doing what God says in every area of your life, regardless of the cost.

We started a new sermon series today at church about being "radical" for Christ. I think it's going to be a great one! And a hard one.

At the end of the service Matt gave everyone the option of leaving their shoes at the door. There's an organization called "Soles 4 Souls" that takes donations of shoes and gives them to people without - in the US and all over the world. It was a statement of saying that I want to live radically for Jesus. Ben gave up his 8 year old Birkenstock clogs that he wears every Sunday. We had them resoled over the summer and they were in great shape. Much too expensive to replace at this point in our lives. Ted gave his snow boots - the ones that he wears year round. I gave my new brown knee boots.

Yes, we walked through the snowy parking lot with no shoes on and drove home - to a nice warm house, with food in the fridge, and clothes in the closet. What's a pair of shoes? I went through shoes that are too big and too small for my kids and cleaned out my shoes to take to the church tomorrow. I had explained to Ted at church that we were giving our shoes to kids who didn't have any. As I was packing up shoes at home he made the comment, "Mommy, if we give them all of our shoes away then WE won't have any shoes!"

God is teaching me about not hanging on to the temporary and not putting too much stock in things that do not last. Are my shoes really that important to me? Would I hang on to them so desperately? Will I pay as much as I sometimes do for them? This was definitely a lifelong lesson.

nosebleeds

Sophie had a minor out-patient surgery yesterday for nosebleeds she's been having. It took about 45 minutes from the time they took her from us to when she was awake and fine. She had to be put completely under b/c taking out her adnoids was an option - but they didn't have to.


She looked so cute in her little hosptial gown.


But she did NOT like the bracelet around her ankle. She got it off her wrist.

She was giving the nurses and doctors her trademark "hi's" and "bye's" until they gave her a "pre-anesthesia cocktail." Then she got really groggy and could've cared less when this nurse picked her right up and took her with him.


When they called us back after she was in recovery, she was just hanging with the nurses. She snuggled right up which was fun.


She CHUGGED some juice. She didn't complain a bit all morning that she couldn't eat or drink.


Then she got really emotional. The tape on her thumb sucking hand really bothered her and she cried. Ben looked at her funny and she cried. She ran out of juice and she cried.It was this weird cry she never cries.

By the time she got home she was totally her spunky self. She did great!

a new stage

This picture represents so much more than you will ever know. I took it a few weeks ago. It was after dinner one day. Ted and Sophie spent well over 30 minutes pushing those two red trucks around the house, play and chasing each other. They laughed and played w/o a need for me to mediate or help. And then, I said, "Can you guys sit down and I'll take your picture?" Sophie plopped herself right there on the floor and said, "Cheese!" It was wonderful.

Sophie has entered one of my favorite stages. It's where I can watch the wheels turning and see her learning and processing new things daily. She's learning words and using them. She's communicating her needs and wants in her own special ways. She has to go to time out in her crib now - and she knows when she's done something wrong. She'll hit Ted and then turn around and look at me and show me that she's supossed to be gentle by gently touching her face. She was even "singing" in the car with all of us tonight. I LOVE watching them learn. I love watching it happen daily. It's so amazing to see the strides that they take so very quickly.



This is just a random picture of our snowman from the big snow before Christmas. It did a backbend as it melted and eventually fell over. Ted thought it was hilarious!

2000-2009

I like new time frames: no semesters, new years, new seasons. Definitions of time that are sort of like a start over. It's not like I make New Year's resolutions. I just like the idea of it. I absolutely love "year/decade in review" things they do on the news, in magazines, etc. I watched some sort of decade in review thing on ESPN yesterday that was all about memorable moments in college football. I didn't know most of them, but it still made me cry. Probably the music!

About a month ago, I was listening to a sermon series by Andy Stanley about making decisions. And it has so much to do with this. He said that in 10 years, every decision that we make will eventually be boiled down to a couple of sentences. And we want to know that we lived it well and be able to tell the whole story. So here's our couple of sentences for 2000-2009.

It was basically the beginning of our adults lives. Ben got a year jump start on graduating from college and a job. We got married. Moved to Charleston. I finished school. I've had 5 jobs. Ben has had/still has 2. We bought a house. Got a dog. Had 2 beautiful children. We've worked hard, loved hard, had our fair share of yuck and great. As a whole, it's been a good decade.

So, 2010 is the year of prayer at the Tuel's. Seriously, it's on the bottom of the spiritual gifts inventories for both of us. So, we're movin' it on up! 2010 promises to be an exciting year. I want to cover it in prayer.

a week off

Ben and I took the week off. It has been so wonderful. Truly, we haven't done anything extraordinary. Just had lots of "hang out days."

Our week started with a trip to Parkersburg on Monday to see Ben's family.


Ted & Wyatt got to play together.


And the big people got to play together.





Courtney got "Just Dance" for Christmas. It's a wii game. SO FUN!!!

So we danced. . .


and danced some more.

One afternoon we took $10 to Chuck E Cheese's.





We got a Wii after Christmas.

Ted can bowl and box. He's actually very good at bowling. It's been fun to play big people games with him. Ben and I have been competing on Wii Fit and Mario!


We went to the inflatable jump place at the mall one morning.

We took Ted's buddy, Gavin and met a friend of mine there who has a daughter Sophie's age. That place is great!




For New Year's we went to the Bishop's for dinner with the Young's. We ate (a lot!), played games, and let the kids play.



We were home around 10pm. I was in bed at 12:01 and asleep at 12:02. I am loads of fun!


And today was game day . . .



The Isaac's got Sophie a cheerleader outfit and Ted a WVU basketball outfit for Christmas. Ted opted for his football uni today even though both were playing.


So Ben set up the living room to watch multiple games. Big tv = Gator Bowl (WVU vs. Florida State). Little tv = other misc football games. Projector hooked to ESPN 360 = WVU vs. Purdue (basketball). It was quite amazing!


The projector view on the wall.


And of course we had junk food. Tomorrow we start eating healthy again!

We've had a great week! We still have tomorrow and Sunday too. Life would be so much fun if no one had to work. =)