Friday, April 5, 2013

Birthdays, Poison Ivy, and the stuff of life

Well, Birthday season in the Sulhoff household has officially come to a close today, as of 7pm.  That was the time Elizabeth's birthday party was over.  I now have a ten year old, an eight year old, a five year old and a 3 month old.  Sigh.  I need to just contemplate that for a little while. I have such a wonderful life!  Maybe that's why I'm so tired...ha!
My wonderful, amazing grandmother came to visit last Sunday through Wednesday.  It wasn't long enough, but I am grateful for the time we got.  We sewed and I baked cookies, and we talked and we played games and did puzzles and took walks and looked at pictures and just hung out.  It was a great time.
My cousin-in-law is getting to come visit this weekend, too!  Her hubby, my cousin, is deployed, so she's taking a short little getaway to us.
We have joined a small group at our church and are enjoying that.  It is our turn to host this week.  We are talking about "Destinations"--how to avoid unpleasant ones and reach the ones we aspire.  Andy Stanley is teaching this study.  We are enjoying sitting under his teaching every Sunday in our attendance at Longleaf Church, a relatively new church here in Warner Robins.
It's rather amazing that Noelle has made two trips to Savannah in her short life thus far.  We went once to just go there when David was on paternity leave.  The second time, we went to visit with our longtime friends  who live in New Mexico who were having a little getaway there.  They said they didn't mind the intrusion!  It was a really sweet time.
We are really, really enjoying living close to our families!  It has been so nice to get back to our roots in Atlanta and the surrounding North Ga area.  It is our parents' close proximity that has allowed us to go, not only to Savannah, but also to some Christmas parties and to the hospital to have Noelle without the older three.  We are soaking up as much of this blessing as possible.
I mentioned Poison Ivy.  Elizabeth has it.  Poor, poor thing.  She is such a tough cooky, but she's in a lot of itchy pain.  Apparently, the first time you get it, it could take up to 15 days from the initial contact with the plant for the rash to come out!  Who can think back that far???  Anyway, it's just one thing after another with that sweet girl.  A couple of weeks ago, she was hanging from a tree limb and it broke!  She fell to the ground and injured her foot fairly seriously, but nothing was broken.  She told me just yesterday that she thought her foot was just about healed.  And then came the poison ivy that popped out over the course of the night.  I kept freaking out thinking there was something biting her in her bed, even though we'd just put brand new clean sheets on 10 minutes before she got into bed.  And then today, 5 minutes before her birthday party, her brother and some friends discovered a "lizard" running around the driveway that was at least 9 inches long.  Being the lizard lover she is, she caught the monster, but it got away.  She caught it again and it bit her.  It happened so fast and I saw it all through the front window, but couldn't get there in time to tell her to leave it alone.  So, it bled a bit and I drowned the wound in peroxide.  I'm thinking it's a salamander, not only because I couldn't find any lizards like it on the internet, but also because it wiggled/slithered into its hole at the bottom of our water drain in the driveway.  I'm pretty sure lizards don't usually live in wet holes in the ground.  Do salamanders have teeth?

Anyhoo, the first picture is of David, Noelle and me at Noelle's baby dedication.  There are so many I want to share, of freinds and family, too, but there isn't room for them all! The others need no explanation, except the one of Noelle in her car seat was taken on Easter, which also marked her three month birthday.  She is such a happy baby.  We are so thankful for her little sweet spirit.  This evening, the sun came out for the first time in several days. On a short walk, as I carried her in the baby carrier she would just lift her head and look up at the sky.  There are no words for the look on her little face as she gazed upon the tree-lined sky above her.  It was such a thing to behold--a person seeing the sky for the first time.  It's moments like that one that make you want to stop and capture it forever.  But, you can't.  It passes against your will.  You just have to do your darnedest to remember and be ever moved by the beauty and wonder of it.
Other than the Lord, who is always good and unchanging in this crazy world, David also continues to be a rock of steadiness and security for me and for our family.  Yes, he's spontaneous.  Yes, he has more thoughts and ideas in his brain at any given time than most people have go through their heads in a week.  Yes, he's always wanting us to go galavanting around on some new adventure, whether it be cross-country or just to the park.  Despite all that, he is consistent and steady, always loving, always putting first things first, always honest.  He's usually pretty funny, too!  He keeps us laughing.
Since this is the first time I've blogged in probably a year, I cannot promise anything for the future.  However,  I hope I provided somewhat of an enjoyable read for the last five minutes.  Till next time...





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