This morning Tayva woke up at 6:00 a.m., so Bob went into her bedroom. Tayva said, "daddy, I can't get the paper out of my mouth." Bob said, "What honey, you can't get the paper out of your mouth???" So Bob asked her if she wanted a drink of water. After drinking water, she said, "that's better".

Her throat was dry, and that is how she described it. Like I said before, it is amazing how those little minds think.

Crying

The other day, I was putting Tayva down for her nap, and she didn't want to go to sleep. She started crying as she was laying in her bed. She covered both her ears with her hands. I asked her why she was putting her hands over her ears. She said, "I am crying out my ears, and it hurts." ??? :)

Tonight in the bathtub, Tayva looked at her toenails and said, "Uh-oh--my toenail is falling off!"
(FYI-her toenail was not falling off, and is indeed still intact :)

Oh, I thought of one more thing...

After I posted the post below, I thought of one more thing I wanted to share. First of all, to set up the story, Tayva and I picked out some books at the library to bring home. One of the books is about 2 worms "Wiggle" and "Waggle". (it is a good book, for those of you who like to read to your kiddos) Anyway, of course it talks about these two worms living in the ground. They live in a garden, and they dig holes. They dig holes around the vegetables etc. On and on the story goes. Anyway...as we were getting into the car to go to Kindermusik today, Tayva was pretending she was stuck as she was getting in the car.

She said to me, "Mommy, I am stuck in the worm."

I said "What???"

"I am stuck in the worm!!"

(I am pondering..what does she mean--"stuck in the worm"??) Then the light bulb turns on--"OH--you mean you are stuck in the HOLE???"

"Yes mommy, I am stuck in the hole!"

Exciting week

This week is full of new firsts for our family. I love these milestones that kids go through.

First of all, Siri is getting so big--today I noticed she is outgrowing her newborn socks!! That was a sad realization. That means she is really growing! I also pulled out the bin on 3-6 month clothes (they are still a bit big, but she will be in the SOON). Today, on our way home from Kindermusik, Siri talked for the first time. Now, she has been cooing and grunting for a long time, but this was actually "talking". It was so cool. She makes this really long verbalization, just like she is trying to say something. Then when Bob got home from work, she did it again. Bob couldn't believe it. It was really cool when Siri looked at Tayva, and started "talking" to her. Tayva talked back to her--they were having their first sister conversation! Tayva loved it!

Now, for Tayva, she slept in a "big girl" bed (a regular twin bed) in a new bedroom this week. One day we were playing upstairs, and she wanted to play in one of the bedrooms. Bob asked her, "Would you like to sleep in this bed for nap time?". She said "yes" and the rest was history. She has been sleeping in that bed ever since. It was a really big change, because she had been sleeping in the crib, in a bedroom downstairs, and then moved to a regular bed in a bedroom upstairs. I can't believe how well she is doing.

On a totally different note, my camera is broken, and I am totally bummed. I called Nikon, and they walked me through some steps, and they concurred that something is wrong, and said I need so send it in. I know I have an addiction to my camera, when the thought of sending it away terrifies me. What will I do without it? What happens if something happens, and I really, really need to take pictures?? You know how you feel when you loose a purse or a wallet?? That is how I feel. I just want my camera fixed and back in my loving hands. :) bye, bye camera...

Update on Chinese Woman

Baby Steps for the Chinese
Late yesterday, we received the good news from Reps. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.) that U.S. efforts to protect a Chinese woman from a coerced abortion were successful. Arzigul Tursun was released from custody yesterday and sent home from the hospital, where population control officials had scheduled an abortion against her will. The decision was a victory not just for Arzigul but for women across China. We echo the relief of our pro-life friends in Congress and pray this incident will help persuade the Chinese to reconsider their brutal one-child policy.

Taken from Family Research council

You really must..

subscribe to these emails. The Family Research Council has up-to-date information on our national politics and policies as it pertains to families. I have really found these emails to be helpful and very informative. The updates are short and to the point. (which I like) I would strongly recommend you subscribe to their email list.

You can check it our here: http://www.frc.org/index.cfm?f=WU08K10&t=e&t=e

Scroll down to the section labeled "Washington Update", then enter your email where it says "Subscribe to the Update"

Let me know if you join!! Now read the post below--I just got this from FRC today.

So sad...

Reinstating UNFPA -- Over China's Dead Bodies
Newspapers from cities as far away as Melbourne, Australia are anxiously awaiting word on a Uyghur woman in China, six months pregnant with her third child. According to local reports, government officials tracked Arzigul Tursun down in her village and escorted her to a hospital where authorities ordered her to abort the baby against her will. Although guards had been stationed at the hospital, Arzigul managed to escape. After the police interrogated her family, the mother-to-be was recaptured yesterday in the home of some relatives. Her plight has sparked outrage in the international community, which is demanding her release. In the past, the U.S. government -- at President Bush's insistence -- has withheld funding from groups like the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) for its supporting role in these coercive abortion policies. President-elect Obama has said he will restore U.S. funding to UNFPA. America will no longer be an innocent bystander of tragedies like this one. Instead, the U.S. will be knowingly funding forced abortions like Arzigul's with millions of taxpayer dollars. In an interview with the Obama campaign before the election, RH Reality check asked, "If elected President, would Sen. Obama, overturn the Global Gag Rule or reinstate funding for UNFPA?" A spokesman for the campaign responded, "Yes, Senator Obama would overturn the global gag rule and reinstate funding for UNFPA." The new administration plans to funnel millions of dollars to UNFPA despite its support of China's savage one-child policy. Contact your leaders and tell them that terrorizing pregnant women is not the "change" America voted for.

Taken from: Family Research Council

Family Fun Fare!! (Halloween)

I know, I know, most moms have their Halloween pictures posted the day after--it took me a little longer! Better late than never!! :) Beautiful butterfly!!

Our little dalmation puppy!!



She's all smiles.

I needed to hear this!

John Piper on the election:



My sister-in-law, Heather had this posted on her blog, and I SO needed to hear it. Take a listen, and be encouraged! Thanks Heather. Gotta love John Piper, don't you??

On a lighter note...

Tayva decides her sister is in need of a make-over:

A little powder here...

A little blush there...

Oh, and can't forget the top of her head!!!

And a big hug to finish it all off. What are sisters for?!

YUCKY!!

Yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky, yucky.........

Not sure what else to say--praying that God will encourage me tonight.

For Undecided Voters

Gotta check this out at my friend's blog:

Also, see how "freeing" abortion is here--revealing first-hand accounts.

The Election is not lost...

For the next few days until the election is over, I will not be posting anything or any pictures about my family. This election is just too serious for me to be posting about other things at this point. Please read this letter I got via email:



Subject: The Election is not Lost!!

Dear Friends in Christ,
Are you sensing that there is something different about this presidential election? I was telling someone just recently that it seems like this election is far more serious than those in the recent past. Something in my spirit is very uneasy. In the past I have felt the need to pray for different elections but I have never felt so strongly the urge to pray, and pray fervently, for an election as I do for this one. I truly believe that if the wrong person (Obama) is elected this nation will be changed forever. We may not be able to undo the things that will be unleashed during an Obama presidency. My concern about an Obama presidency is not based on politics; it is based on righteousness. Look at any of the major moral issues and you will find Obama on the wrong side of the issue, and Palin and McCain on the right side of the issue. What makes this so disturbing is that the Obama team has raised far more money than McCain/Palin and the media is unabashedly supporting Obama with every story and headline they write. Currently McCain/Palin is behind in the polls and is having a very difficult time. Some in the media have suggested that the race is over and there is little or nothing McCain can do to change the outcome. Oh how wrong they are!


Let me briefly share a story I recently read in 2 Samuel Chapter 5. David had just become king of Israel and the Philistines went up to wage war against him. So David inquired of the Lord and said, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD said, "Yes I will surely hand them over to you." So David went and defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me." After suffering a great loss in the first battle the Philistines must have thought they now knew David defense strategy and they would be ready for him the next time, because once more the Philistines came up to attack David. So once again David inquired of the LORD, but this time the Lord gave different instructions. He said to David, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." David obeyed the Lord and was victorious.


This story holds a very important lesson for us at this time. In most presidential elections a frontal assault, a face-to-face battle, is what is needed. But this is no ordinary election. McCain is trying all the normal tactics but he is not prevailing. It seems no matter what he says or does it is not effective. I am convinced this election CANNOT be won using normal methods. Just as the Lord told David to go around behind the enemy and attack him there, so we must go around the face of this election and wage war where the battle is truly raging…in the spiritual realm! The fact that the normal physical methods are not effective this time should tell us that this is a very important spiritual battle and we can only win by using spiritual methods…Prayer!


What about the sound of marching in the treetops? What is that? I have read on the Internet several accounts of fellow Christians being stirred up in their spirits to pray. Many have been drawn into times of deep prayer and weeping as they intercede for Palin and McCain. Some have woke up in the middle of the night and sensed a great need to pray, other have told of how when they heard about Sarah Palin being chosen as VP that something came over them and they wept and felt a need to pray for Her and McCain. Many others are feeling the calling and urging of the Spirit to enter into a time of fervent prayer and fasting for Palin and McCain and our nation. What is this unusually stirring that is occurring? I believe it is the Sound of the Lord marching in the trees, calling his children to act quickly to pray and fast for Palin and McCain. Think about this, what would the marching have sounded like to David? It may have sounded like the rustling of leaves as when wind blows through them, but was this time something was different and out of the ordinary. Maybe it was like the sound of the great wind when the Spirit moved on the day of Pentecost. Also, God's people are referred to as Trees of Righteous in Isaiah 61. So the sound of the Lord marching in the treetops in David's time is a portrait of the Spirit of the Lord moving among and stirring up his children today.


So what are we to do when we sense this stirring of the Spirit? Two things, first we are to take it as the sign that the Lord is moving out in front of us. Anytime the Lord calls us to do something he goes ahead of us to prepare the way and fight for us. When Joshua returned from spying out Jericho the Lord gave him insight to see that the Lord had removed the Jericho 's protection so Israel could defeat them. When the Lord calls us into battle he goes ahead of us, removes the enemy's protection, and fights for us to give us the victory. Secondly, the Lord tells us when we sense the stirring of the Spirit we are to act quickly and join Him in the battle (through prayer, fasting, praise and obedience)


This election is by no means lost. For God would not be stirring up his children all across this nation and indeed around the world, to pray, if he did not want to give us the victory in this election. And he wants us to join him in the battle. God will hear the cries of his children if we will only cry out to him with fervent, earnest, prayers for this election and this nation. If those who are being drawn to prayer by the Spirit will indeed enter into a time of prayer and seeking His face, then God will have mercy on America spare us from having an ungodly leader, I'm sure of it!


One more thought, after the last debate, so-called 'conservative' David brooks gushed about Obama,

"I thought Obama had the night he needed to have. You know, through this whole 20 month marathon, I think what struck me is how incredibly even he is. And how frankly reassuring he is. It is like you're camping, and you wake up one morning, and there is a mountain. And then the next morning, there is a mountain, and there's the next morning, there's a mountain. Obama is just the mountain. He is just there. He is always the same, he doesn't hurt himself. McCain can sometimes lob a cannonball at the mountain, but the mountain doesn't move, and the mountain doesn't care. And so I think his steadiness, his temperament has been the dramatic theme of this campaign, dramatic in being undramatic. And it was on display tonight. And the good part of the mountain is that he is reassuring and reliable."


I'm really glad he used the word 'mountain' to describe Obama. It caused me to remember what Jesus said about unmovable mountains. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."


And it only takes a little faith!


This election can only be won by going around the face of the election and attacking the enemy where he is vulnerable, through prayer, fasting and praise. If you hear the sound of the Lord marching in the tree tops, if you feel the stirring of the Spirit calling you to pray, then move quickly into a time of prayer, for God is moving ahead of you at that time to give us the victory. May God give us ears to hear the marching!


Together with you in the battle,


Scott Whitley