Out of the Mouths' of Babes

Two days ago our little Addie Grace said the most hilarious thing I've heard a two year old say. Of course, she didn't know it was funny, but we did. I'd love to be able to post something of our dear little daughter's whispered words about Jesus or God when no one is listening or how she explains the gospel according to a two year old to her little sister. I am sure those days will come as they have for her older brother, but for now this is the stuff we get. And please, no one be offended by our little moment!

I went to prepare the kids' room for their nap and found a toy screwdriver in Addie's bed. I just left it there and laughed picturing her working vigorously on repairing the dresser that sits so close to her bed. A minute later she came in and saw the screwdriver on her bed and looked at me and said, "Mommy, I been screwing in my bed!" Ahhh, just what every parent longs to hear from their daughter.

David's Ordination

I know a while back I posted that David passed his ordination exam, but here are a few pictures from his service. Our dear friends Josh and Katy Day came out from Texas for the service. We had a great time visiting with them. This was a very memorable experience to celebrate with family and friends!

The Christmas Photo Session

Christmas is my favorite season. I look so forward to getting the tree, decorating, baking, parties, and even sending Christmas cards. However, this year it seemed to have snuck up on me! It was already December and I hadn't even tried to get one picture. I'd love to have the whole family, but that was way too complicated! These are from my first and let's just say last attempt to get a picture and I think we have a winner. The cards went out Monday, so most of you should have received it or will be getting it soon. Merry Christmas!

Lila...at Six, Seven, and Eight Months!

She's officially the third child. I feel like I have completely neglected her photogenic spirit! She's so much fun and so very flexible. She's on the move after Wyatt and Addie and she loves to eat with them. At Thanksgiving I began feeding her more chunky foods and she wants to hand feed herself for most meals now. I feel like she is growing up so fast! We love you pie!

Eight Months


Seven Months

Six Months

A Block in the Blogosphere

It's official...I haven't said anything for over a month. A little pathetic, but as is the standard case, if I ever had the computer for five minutes I may actually say something! Tonight is a start. I am about to begin several posts that may actually "post" someday soon.

A New Lawyer in Town

Today, I couldn't get this annoying veggie tales song out of my mind. We learned it from a Veggie Tales book. It goes something like this...God is bigger than the boogie man, he's bigger than godzilla and the monsters on tv, God is bigger than the boogie man and he's watching out for you and me. So, apparently I was saying that God was bigger than the monsters on the wall when in fact the song says monsters on tv. Wyatt corrected me early on in the day and his cause was only reinforced by Addie chiming in the tune in the background. When David came home for dinner I began to tell him about the kids correcting me when Addie jumped down from the table and retrieved the book only to cite some evidence proving mommy was wrong and she was right! Are two year olds allowed to do this?

Dental Drama

We all went to the dentist last week. It took us three different days to get the whole family checkups. David and I love to go to the dentist and Wyatt and Addie were a mystery until now! Wyatt loved the dentist and seems to be heeding some very important advice. He suggested that Wyatt kick the thumbsucking. Really I told the dentist earlier in the week to bring it up and suggest we kick the habbit. Anyway, the advice seems to be working. Wyatt is two days in to giving up his thumb and blanket! Addie Grace on the other hand wouldn't sit in the chair or open her lips one bit!

Halloween Preview

Highlights:
Wyatt the Knight!
Addie the Princess!
Lila the Dragon!

We had a blast...it was short but so fun! Special note...Lila wore a pet costume and it seriously fit her as if it were created just for her. So cute!

Addie Grace Turns Two!

Happy Birthday dear little girl! Two years ago we brought this little girl home and she has forvever changed our lives. She has so much exuberance for life and has so made our house a new and better place.

We had her birthday party this past Saturday and the pictures are from that celebration! She wanted a Tinkerbell party and it was a hit. The cake was so fun to make and the look of excitement when she saw this and realized it was just for her was truly priceless! She also got some Tinkerbell wings and slippers. I was totally surprised but she wore them for her entire party. She was a precious sight!

Happy Birthday little one.

The Potty Princess

Last week I started potty training Addie. She was so ready and we ran out of our last diaper on Monday. I had all of my supplies ready and was pretty excited to see how things would go. Notice the pink potty! Addie picked out her pink potty and carried it walking by herself all the way to the checkout at Ikea. If you have ever been to ikea you know that is practically a mile, so needless to say she was pretty excited about the process. We initially had a lot of success and quite a few accidents too. By Thursday however, the light clicked and we have been accident free since then! I have been pretty shocked about the whole process considering she doesn't even turn two until tomorrow. Frankly, I guess I may seem glass half empty but I am starting to think Lila won't be potty trained until she's five because I have had two such easy potty trainers! I figure one of them has got to give me trouble. Yeah Addie! You are so brave to use the BIG POTTY!

A Portrait of Paradox

Things have been busy this time of year. Especially busy. David and I flew to New York for our friend Amie's memorial service. We have some friends who live in Brooklyn, so with only a few days notice, we were somehow able to pull the trip together. We took Lila and our friends were so gracious to host us for a few nights. We were really glad that we could support our dear friend Paul and realized that without having gone it would be so easy to not really grasp the reality of Amie's death. It is so very sad.

With the weekend behind us, I must say my thoughts have wandered to what a paradox this trip was. While the purpose of it was to mourn the loss of our friend, we also were in New York City, so we certainly wanted to see a few sights. We were able to sneak about six hours of touring in. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, saw Ground Zero, rode the Staten Island Ferry, and even snuck in a date to a fun restaraunt in Brooklyn without Lila. We had such a fabulous time. As I have thought about this weekend, i am still struck by the paradox of what our weekend was like and what our friends' was like. David and I enjoyed a great bonding time with our little baby who toured with us, soaked up the city, and enjoyed a little alone time! Meanwhile, Paul and Amie lost their little girl and Paul eventually lost Amie too within just a few short months! Our joy, their pain. I must say no one is without their own pains; we too have had our own trials. It just happens that this is one of those times in life when someone else's pain is so very real and somehow intertwined in our lives just enough to really hurt and show such profound differences.

We grieve for our friend and hurt for Paul's loss. We take heart in Christ's return as He will make ALL things right again!

In Memory

Below is a lovely tribute to our dear friend Amie Vertucci along with a poem written by one of her friends. She lived a beautiful and short life and will be remembered by many. I don't know that David or I can say much now, so these are the words we'll share with you.

Amie
There are some people
we are meant to gently,
but deeply, ponder,
even meditate on.

They aren't the ones with
the boisterous charisma
of the sunflower.

Nor do they have
the fluffy elegance of
the peony. Rather,

they are one of those
more subtle flowers
with an exotic name

and an ironic simplicity
which is the thing that
draws you in - at first;

then as you get closer,
its unspoiled, delicate beauty
captures and holds you there -

that unique and truest beauty
which suddenly you realize
satisfies all you've been looking for
in a flower.

It's one of the many miracles,
the glorious mysteries of God,
how you came to look and be

more like Him than ever
now, when death and disease
has tried its power on you -

it's tried to crush you,
and you've felt the weight.
But what you didn't know

is when you merely arise
to another day, carrying a load
we can't take off of you,

the light inside you -
how you love, how you cherish
every company you are in -

shines more brightly now,
showing us even more clearly,
more beautifully,

the precious, rare gems
of which you are made.
-Virginia Hart Pike

Amie Lee Vi Matulac Vertucci was born on March 17, 1975 in Mlang, Cotobato, Philippines, and died today, Thursday, October 9, 2008, at 12:10 pm, at the age of 33, in Columbus, Ohio. Amie is loved by so many, most of all by myself, by her Mom, Ledelia, by her brother, Allen Val, and by so many relatives and friends, many of whom knew and called her by her childhood nickname, Sunshine. She was with family and friends today, and we sang hymns, spoke softly to her, and prayed as she took her final breath.

Amie and I were married on April 7, 2001, in Queens, New York. We lived in Brooklyn for a year, then Staten island for one year. For the past five years, we've lived in the Columbus area, the last two and a half years of that time in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus.

In March of this year, we happily learned that Amie was pregnant. In July, she delivered our daughter, Bianca Hope, prematurely at nearly five months of pregnancy. At the same time, she was diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer, which eventually took her life.

She loved people, loved to worship, and to serve the Lord and her brothers and sisters. In some way, each of you experienced that love, which was and is Christ's love in her.

There is so much more to say, and we will celebrate her life, and worship the Lord, at two separate memorial services, first in Columbus and then in New York City. There will be no public viewing, as was her wish. Details of the memorial services will follow shortly.

In Love,
Paul

Blankie Bondage

It is true...we are in bondage to blankets in the Juelfs home. If you have met Wyatt, you have met Stripey! If you have met Addie Grace, you have most likely met Pinkerton. If you have met Lila, you have probably thought, "God, help her...don't let her parents give her a blanket!" Well, sorry we did. Pinkerton II. That's right, it is Pinkerton the second. How exactly does one end up in bondage to a blanket?

Kid 1 Strategy - buy a lot of the same textured blanket with different prints...curse a lot when kid 1 picks a favorite print...stripes! Search America for another, but it's too late! Enter ... bondage to launder this damn blanket and have it dry by nap!

Kid 2 Strategy - buy two of the same blanket! Check...we got that one right! Don't let kid 2 carry blanket around the house. Mom turns sucker when kid 2 turns whiny! Who wouldn't? More bondage!

Kid 3 Strategy - think about not letting kid 3 have a blanket, but cave before experts even say it is safe to have blankets in the crib. Think about buying a second blanket for kid 3 as to avoid the problem with kid 1 and loathe my laziness for not picking one up! Add blanket to my list for target purchases when mom leaves kid 3's blanket at friend's house 30 minutes away! Loathe mom laziness once again on hour adventure to retrieve blanket that I am once again in bondage to!

And here is where the story turns south (as if it hasn't yet)! I finally went to Target today in search of Lila's Pinkerton II, literally as this will be her second blanket so I don't have to endure laundry drama. As we near the baby section I started thinking...it sure would suck if I can't get this exact texture and pattern. Naturally, you should expect more to this story. So, i found the same texture but not the same pattern. I also thought it was pricey for a backup blanket and there was a slightly different fleece texture on a cheaper blanket, so I decided to save a penny and go the cheaper route. Tonight, I laid Lila down with the new blanket and she fussed off and on for an hour. Thank goodness that was long enough for me to get the real Pinkerton II washed. I switched it out and she literally breathed a sigh of relief when I put her down with the old blanket. So, now I am going to have to go back to kid 1 strategy even though it failed and buy two blankets with the same texture and different patters. Let's hope she is less picky than Mr. Particular Wyatt James Juelfs!

Good Riddens! You think I would learn after the third child, but they are all such great sleepers that I think it is worth any amount of bondage I must endure for a blanket!

Girls, Girls, Girls

So as a parent of both girls and boys, I have observed a few differences. They may not hold up for everyone, but here is one we see everyday. Girls just like to talk! Don't get me wrong, Wyatt sure talks a lot! Addie Grace started speaking sentences at sbout eighteen months. As soon as we moved to California, she just took off speaking. I think I've mentioned before that she constantly surprises us. We did at first think that she was just a little mockingbird, but in time we are certain she is just her daddy's girl and has something to say about everything! She makes comments now (much to her parents dismay) like "that's not fair" with arms folded and a pouted face and "i don't want to" when asked to obey! The other night, David was telling the kids a story about lizards. He was making the whole thing up as he went about lizards with magic potions shrinking the kids so they could join the lizards in their homes. I know ... it sounds a bit weird, but the kids loved it. Later that night, Addie David and I found Addie Grace retelling this same story to her baby Janie that she had heard only once. She is so funny! The girl is turning two in a few weeks and sometimes I think she is going on five! I can't wait to see what Lila has to say!

The Reverend Daddy

Last Saturday, David went up for ordination before the South Coast Presbytery. (Someone sent us this picture where David is preaching before the group of men.) He was received quite well and passed his written and oral examinations! The presbytery was very affirming in his preaching and found our daddy fit to be a Reverend! Wyatt inquired upon hearing this great news, "Daddy, does this mean you don't ever have to go to school again?" To which I replied, "Never again!" Of coarse in Wyatt's mind, he thinks David can now stay at home and play all day with him! We are so happy for you David! Congratulations!

Clearly I Have the Laptop

Obviously, since I just posted three new posts, it must be my turn for the laptop!! I suppose you'll have to pardon my once-monthly posting! We are still sorting out the computer in our house! I have been meaning to post on the subject of Sunday mornings for a while now, but generally speaking I am so tired from them that I don't have the emotional energy to relive them in writing. So I read this post on a friend's blog...if you want some insight into my Sunday's this pretty much captures it! Thanks for capturing my life for me Hilary!

Sleepover

A few weeks ago, Wyatt went on a sleepover to my parents house. I didn't tell him that papa would be coming to get him until the evening as to avoid the nagging questions about why papa is taking so long all day! Within five minutes, Wyatt was in his jammies with his backpack on his back and a few toys for the road! He left on a Thursday evening and my sister drove him back to our house on Saturday. He had a great time with papa and memaw all to himself! I had an interesting two days remembering what two children (just girls) was like. My house has never looked so clean or seemed so quiet! We had a great time too! Addie Grace did shed a few tears that she wasn't allowed to go to the sleepover, but she gets the next turn!

Grapes

My mom bought these organic grapes at the Farmer's Market over a month ago. They were so beautiful and so delicious! I had to take a picture to capture the memory because I am not sure anything has melted in my mouth quite like these grapes! On the subject of Farmer's Markets...we have a quaint little market that is about three blocks from our house. We've been visiting weekly and the kids love the samples! There really is nothing like fresh tasting local produce!

What we've been up to...

In order of appearance I'll give a little background on the photos...the first are just some updates of the kids. Lila made her debut with rice cereal a while back and we caught that on camera. Wyatt had his birthday right after we moved. He turned four and had a great party at my aunts and a fun celebration with family. He had birthday visitors for a whole week it seemed! He got the superman costume for his birthday! And finally, some pics of the apartment. My favorite is Addie Grace's big girl bed! I don't know what it is about it but it just makes me smile when I see it all tiny and cute! We've enjoyed our first month here in Tustin. We took a trip to dog beach recently which Sierra really enjoyed! Just last night our small group BBQ at Doheny State Park on the beach. It is so great to be back by the coast!