The calm before the storm...

If you read my previous post you will know that Anna was sick but sweetly sleeping off what I thought would be a sickness that would pass us by quickly. It was quite the opposite and happened to linger for the days daddy was out of town and the weather was rainy and dreary. It was a long week for the two Sasser girls within the confines of our house. Anna was miserable and the doctor said he was unsure of what was exactly wrong. Her ears were clear but her throat was very red with white bumps. Thankfully, her strep test came back negative. He did do some blood work but did not see anything abnormal. Needless to say our sweet girl shed many tears. It was a vicious cycle, as the crying would cause her throat to hurt only more. She did not understand that she was inflicting the pain and only knew the pain was worse. Thus, her crying became even louder and harder. There was know way for me to communicate to her that if she would stop crying her throat would feel better. She ate and drank little and said, “no” to most things I offered her. One afternoon I offered her some ice cream out of a bowl. She has only seen ice cream in a cone, mostly at TCBY on waffle cone Wednesday. Thus, she was skeptical and would not even take a bite. I tried everything as I hoped the cold would feel good to her throat but she would not budge. As I sat there with her I thought of how often God must watch us and think why do they say, "no" when all I want is what’s best for them. How often is our Father right there in front of us and we turn away. Just as I wanted Anna to taste the cool sweetness of the ice cream God wants us to taste of his goodness. "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8 Why do we insist to do things on our own when God wants to be our guide. He wants us to trust him in ALL things just as I wanted Anna to trust me. He wants only good for his children as we do for our earthly children. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your OWN understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6. God has often used Anna’s life to teach me about his love for us.

Thankfully, Anna is feeling much better but has still been taking it easy. I can’t tell you how many books we have read and re-read over the past week. Anna walks over and says, “uh..uh” (up) with her hands raised high to be lifted up in the chair with me. She then nestles her body in my lap and waits for the reading to begin. After we are done she says, “buh” (book) and gets down to get another and we start the whole process over. Hours each day are spent this way. She has a few favorites that I can recite with my eyes closed. But I wouldn’t trade this time for anything.

Strawberries and Grapes

All of Anna's day has been spent in her strawberry PJ's and most of it has been spent like this, soundly sleeping. For the past 20 hours, Anna has been asleep for 17 1/2 of those hours. I actually have gone in to wake her to make sure that her fever hasn't spiked and to try to fill her with liquids.

The few moments she has been up have been spent rocking, snuggling, reading and...

eating grapes. Yes, the only thing that Anna seems to want are grapes. Daddy even had to bring some more home at lunch.

This was taken moments ago after I went in to wake her to make sure she was ok. The sleep seems to be doing the trick. But she is back down again. I am thankful that she realizes her body needs rest. Hopefully we will be all better tomorrow.

Seasons

Trace Adkins has a song out now that really sums up the thoughts I have been having lately. The chorus says…

You're gonna' miss this
You're gonna' want this back
You're gonna' wish these days
Hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna' miss this

I am thankful I know this to be true now. When we were engaged to be married some dear friends shared some advice with us that really spoke to me that night almost five years ago and has stuck with me ever since. I recently shared it with a bride-to-be. It is simple, yet often hard to do. The advice…to enjoy the season of life you are in, to not look ahead, to not wish for this or that to hurry up and happen. Lately, I have reflected on our various seasons of life with Anna. How early on I wished the days and nights would pass quickly. How rocking her another five minutes in the wee hours of the night might just send me over the top. How I would never be able to shop again as running just one errand was almost an impossible feat. Now our little girl asks to go night-night, rarely likes to be rocked and even gave up her bah (bottle), which was a traumatic week for us all. Now one of Anna’s favorite things to do is to go shopping as she strolls in the shopping cart. Shopping still takes a little longer but only because Anna says, “hey” or “hi” to almost everyone we pass and the onlookers often want to stop and talk to our sweet girl. Often as Anna and I sit outside in the late afternoon, waiting for daddy to arrive, her playing in the pine straw, rolling in the grass and running down our hill, I look on, thinking she is growing up too fast. It has made me slow down, to take the time to sit with her, to read books, to laugh together, to just look each other in the eyes and to gaze at her as she plays.

This week we have embarked on another season of life with Anna. Our little girl went to pre-school. We decided this time at pre-school would not only bless us but Anna when we realized just how much she enjoys going to church on Sundays and isn’t ready to leave when we pick her up from nursery. Last week we had a parent’s night open house as well as an open house for Anna to meet her teacher. Mind you that Anna is only going twice a week for a total of six hours. You would think she was heading off to kindergarten. But the open house Anna attended was confirmation we are doing the right thing for Anna. When it was time for Anna and me to leave, I asked Anna if she was ready to go bye-bye. She abruptly said, “no.” I asked several more times and received the same answer. I finally had to pick our child up as she was gritting her teeth and crying. When we arrived at her first day of school on Tuesday I was a little sad. We entered the building and parents that had dropped their children off were peering into the one-way mirror. As I came to the door I realized why they were still looking on, as almost every child in the classroom was crying or being held by a teacher. Anna walked right in and never turned around. She absolutely loves it, which is such a blessing. Now the next hurdle…to adjust Anna’s nap on those two days she goes to pre-school. She was wiped out this week only being there two hours each day. But this season too will pass and quickly I might add.

Ready for school.

Getting to be so big!

Excited for school!

Just had to add this one with her hand on her hip. So serious!

Child Labor

While mommy and daddy relaxed in the sun, Anna spent her time at the lake working very hard to get any and every tiny leaf out of the planks of the decking. It was hard work and required strategic planning on Anna's part. Position 1: on her belly to be as up close as possible.

Position 2: on her feet to provide more mobility.

Calling for more help. This job is too big for a little girl to do by herself.

Tired but still hard at work.

How big?!

Not quite big enough for mommy's shoes but we did discover last week at Anna's 15-month check-up that she has had a growth spurt and is in the 90% for height and the 50% for weight. Anna continues to love shoes and has even mastered slipping on mommy's or daddy's and marches around without falling. It is quite a sight, as they are HUGE on her.

Big enough to feed herself some yogurt.

Digging in for the last little bit.

Bye-Bye

For a while now, Anna has been waving and saying "bye-bye" when people depart her presence or we depart theirs. However, just recently she has grasped the whole concept of packing up and leaving. When playing with her toys she will pack up her bucket, fling it over her shoulder and march around the house saying, "bye-bye." I guess she knows a good mommy or daddy never leaves the house empty handed. You always should have at least one bag or in her case, bucket packed with goodies.

SMA...Saturday Morning Adventures! This weekend we contemplated heading out of town or venturing over to the Wyndham Championship. Instead we stayed in town and had no real agenda. It was by far one of our favorite Saturdays we have had this summer in town. We decided to head over to High Point where there was a huge consignment sale. We did not have high hopes of finding anything as it was the third day of the sale but being the last day it also meant that items were 1/2 off! We did not leave empty handed but instead bought 4-5 pairs of pants and 4-5 tops, each were less than $2.00, many being a $1.00. Kevin's favorite find were a pair of New Balances for Anna. They are too cute. We then headed to Carter Brothers for a late breakfast. Anna loved the fact that she was eating breakfast number 2 at 10am (pictured above). Anna slept for almost three hours when we got home. Daddy was able to take a nap while mommy was pampered with a pedicure with the birthday girl, Becca. We spent our evening eating outside with good friends and strolling the streets of downtown. Not to mention a trip to Target and Babies R Us were had during the day too. It was a productive day but a restful, fruitful day being together.

Our sweet girl.

No more...

 

high chair or tray on her booster chair. Anna has decided she is ready to sit at the table and eat from a plate. This week as I was making dinner, Kevin tapped me on the shoulder to look around at our daughter who had climbed into the kitchen chair on her own. She had turned around and was sitting on her bottom, almost as if she was waiting to be served. She is growing up!

SURPRISE...

Five years ago Kevin and I were dating and on our way to being engaged. It was the summer of 2003 and we were heading to Frontier Ranch, a Young Life camp in Colorado (where on top of the mountain he would tell me that he loved me and our plans for a short engagement and soon-to-be wedding day in November would unfold). However, before heading out to Colorado, Kevin surprised me with a getaway to Wrightsville Beach. It was my first overnight trip to Wrightsville Beach and my first trip to Vic and Susan's beach house. It quickly became one of our favorite places to visit as our hosts are simply the best! This year was a real treat as we got to watch Anna explore this new territory. Although we went to the beach last year she was too young to remember the sand and surf. Timid at first, Anna was unsure of the sand on her toes and especially her hands. But this quickly passed as she collected sea shells, chased the seagulls, splashed in the waterhole her daddy dug for her, giggled with delight as the waves crashed around her and relaxed in her beach chair. We soaked in the sun, swam in the ocean, read, walked the Loop, walked the beach, ate lots and lots of yummy food (Anna even had her first hotdog from the Trolley Stop, well turkey dog), spent quality time on the porch, had great conversations and all while being with some of our favorite people. There were simply too many pictures to choose from so I decided to post a slideshow of some of our favorites.