Happy Birthday Munchkin

My darling girl,

Today you are two. I could never have imagined such a perfect little addition to our family. You are my faithful companion, and your daddy's little treasure.

Having you is like holding my heart outside of my body. Watching you grow and learn is such a joy to me. And although it is a little bit heartbreaking, I love seeing those baby-things be put away for you to grow. You have grown so much this year, that it is hard to give a full-accounting. In short, you are a big girl.

My heart breaks a little bit each time you learn the right way to do or say something. Uncle Michael is no longer called "Minol" and you can now use the correct name for Cooper! Right now I am holding onto Piggy Pork (what you call Porky Pig) and Applesoft. The little glimpses that maybe you will be my baby girl for just a little bit longer.

You are such a girly~girl, and why the Lord decided to give you to me is beyond my understanding. You may not know this little one, but your Momma is not a girly~girl. But you are teaching me, and slowly bringing me around to your way of doing things. You often come and ask to paint your nails, and you don't enjoy it nearly as much when I don't join you and do my own. You love to watch me put on my makeup and especially like having your own to play with while we chat. You love all things jewelry: necklaces, bracelets, rings... The other day you even asked me where your earrings were!!

You were potty trained at 22 months, but that was hard for you (not the potty part - that part you do well). It seems that my 10 days off with you, made you miss what could be. But don't worry. Daddy and I are working on it, and hopefully before too long, I will be home with you. I am so excited I almost don't believe that it might happen soon.

You are such a love, and so many people adore you. You really are blessed little one. I am so thankful for the women in your life who have committed to helping your daddy and I raise you. You would not be who you are if not for them. They will teach you things that I cannot. You will learn more about the beauty of God's world because of those women and I would not change their influence in your life.

I pray that the Lord is even now teaching you of Him. We pray with and for you every night that the Lord would do His work through us and in you.

I love you my little munchkin and I am so thankful to the Lord for seeing fit to make me your Momma.

24 things I have learned in 24 months

**Pictures do not illustrate things learned - they are just of the cutest little (almost) 2 year old in the LeFebvre household.

24. Pig tails are adorable
23. Taking a nap is a good thing - two is even better
22. Sometimes you have to remind yourself who the parent is
21. Daddy is the funniest person in the world
20. Mommy kisses heal anything
19. Even the strictest grandmas will spoil
18. If you are without your children in a store and you sing the Elmo song out loud, adults will laugh
17. If it can fit in your hand, it can be used as a phone
16. Someone can puke all over you, and you can still love them
15. eating+wrestling=puking
14. My husband is a softy
13. My parenting skills will be modeled by my daughter (good or bad)
12. There is nothing that can prepare you for the heartbreaking happiness of parenthood
11. Potty training a kid is easy, potty training adults is hard
10. Crayons are 'nummy'
9. Sometimes you just need another kiss
8. Don't wear shirts with stretchy neck lines
7. An involuntary, "I love you" will make your day
6. When a child learns to throw - don't hand them cell phones
5. The most exciting words -- "I did it by myself"
4. The scariest words -- "Uh Oh"
3. baby kisses and hugs make mommies and daddies feel rich
2. Parenting is the best job in the entire world
1. If I love her this much, how much more does He love me?

Please Pray

Today is the first day of Max's five weeks of training. Please pray for

*Peace of mind for Max so that he can do his best
*Speed of paperwork - there have been coorperate computer glitches, so Max (and the other newbies) has not been able to finish his paperwork.
*Grace as he learns something completely new
*That he will enjoy and be fulfilled by this work that could be such a blessing to our family.

and last but not least

*For funding -- so that he can get on Permanent Full-Time

Thank you thank you thank you

Just a Reminder now that its summer

I just wanted to take this second to remind you all not to leave your children in the car - not even for a minute. I was reading THIS article on CNN.com and reminded how easy it is for the most attentive, safety aware parents to forget their children are even in the car.

For those of you who don't have the time or inclination to read the full article - let me share just 6 points of the article with you.

• Death by hyperthermia (when the body's temperature rises uncontrollably ) has happened to about 450 children in the United States since 1998.
• "It's reasonable to call this an epidemic," says memory expert David Diamond, Ph.D., a scientist at the Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Florida, who is often consulted on such cases. "It happens, on average, once a week from spring to early fall."
• Depending on such factors as what color he's wearing and when he last drank something, an infant might die of hyperthermia in just 15 minutes on a 75-degree day
• Cooler weather is no guarantee of safety, either. Overly bundled babies -- warmly dressed and blanketed in their car seats -- have been known to succumb when outdoor temps were in the 60s or even 50s
• "People assume this is happening to bad parents, people who take drugs or use alcohol, maybe abusive parents," "I think people so want to distance themselves from ever thinking that this could happen to them that they really demonize or think these are bad people," Fennell says. "But the exact opposite is true. It's like 95 percent of the people this happens to are wonderful -- let me go so far as to say doting parents."
• These parents and other caregivers come from dozens of states and span the full spectrum of ethnic groups. They are rich, poor, and in between. Their jobs range from soldier to social worker, postal clerk to pediatrician.

Basically this is saying - IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. We all get busy, and sometimes our heads operate on 'auto-pilot' - when's the last time you drove all the way home, but didn't really remember taking any of the turns? When our schedule is messed with, when we are tired... We forget things. So, just remember, take precautions and remember where your kids are.

3 Years...

It is hard to believe it has been already/only three years. Three years ago at this time, I was getting ready to marry the man of my dreams.

I had a perma-smile across my face that day. And, I was so naive. I thought I knew him. What I know now is that he was practically a stranger. Beacuse I know him better now. And, I love him better. I am so thankful for him. This man takes care of my physical needs, but more importantly he takes care of my heart. I know that it is safe in his (and His) hands.

He stayed with me when at only three months of marriage, I became like a possessed woman and remained that way for almost ten months. He gives me massages. He holds me when I cry. He laughs with me and sometimes at me. He eases my fears and makes me feel safe(after all, who is going to mess with a man that can pull semi trucks?). He cleans up after the baby and the dog when they are sick - because he knows I can't handle it.

I can't wait to learn more about him, and through that love him even more than I do now. Thank you Lord for this amazing man.

Stay at Home Mom

I know that many of you have heard my desire to be home with KayLynn. In fact a few of you have challenged me to re-design my priorities. You have encouraged me to remember that each thing we do is either getting us closer to the goal, or further away (thank you Kjerste!). After all, I want to be home with this...

Yes, she is muddy AND playing with bugs...

Well... it might be happening sooner than we anticipated. Max was offered a job as a security guard at the building where I work (approx 5 min away from the house). We have been waiting/praying for this for a long time. However, there is a catch. He is going to be 'on call' until they get the funding for the permanent full-time staff. After Max gets on full-time, he will have a 3 month probation period. After that - I can stay home with KayLynn!! For those of you who know anything about government, it could take five seconds, or it could take five years.

We are very thankful both for the phone call - we had kinda given up. We are also very thankful that his current boss is going to work with him so that he will be able to work both jobs while he is 'on call'. So please pray with us that the Lord will work all things out so that Max will get this job. Also pray that the Lord will protect Max's heart and body. He works very hard to provide for our family, and it would be such a blessing for him to have a job where he is able to do just that. And also, Max needs to be among the best that are hired, because it is not for sure that they will get funding to make all the 'on call' people, full time! Thank you so much for your prayers. I will leave you with some pictures of the munchkin!

Yeah, first we washed her off, then we washed the tub, then we re-filled it and did it all again!! She had so much fun playing in the mud.

We covet your prayers.

**I had to add that each afternoon I take KayLynn to the mailbox to "tetch the mail" and she gets one piece to open - usually junk mail. Yesterday we received a letter from our mortgage loan lady and KayLynn got to open it. As she was opening it, Aunt Mandy said to her, "What is it?" and KayLynn responded in a very solumn, almost wispered, "Its a present." I think she is ready for her birthday!

June is over...

...can I take a nap?