Plants and Poison Control

Tonight I walked into the living room only to see this...

Ansley had taken a bite out of the Peace Plant on our hearth! After calling Jon at work, I decided take extra precautions and call poison control and check on the measures we should take. They confirmed my thought (and prayer) that it was not poisonous. The lady I spoke to was so kind. Anyway, she suggested that since the plant did have some chemicals in it that I should wash Ansley's hands and face and give her some water to "wash it down". Thankfully, she had not choked on any of the pieces. The lady told me to watch Ansley closely for the next hour to see if she developed any reactions. Ansley seemed perfectly happy and normal (except she cried because I took the remaining crumbles of leaf away from her). Later she vomited twice and I was actually thankful for this just so she could get anything she may have digested out of her system naturally. Needless to say, we will be moving the plant. Ansley is so curious...anything beyond or behind the gate seems much more appealing than what is inside of it!

She is really on the move these days and we don't think we will see many more weeks pass before she is walking. It looks like we are going to have our hands full!

P.S. Coming soon to a blog near you...a Valentine's Day picture to match our new background! I know a Valentine background with a "Merry Christmas" header and picture don't quite go together!

Peek-At-You (9months)

Ansley, it is really hard to believe that you are nine months old. These past nine months have definitly gone by much faster than the nine months I was pregnant with you! We are so thankful for the healthy 9 month checkup that you had on Thursday! This is a little "peek" at you as you are now nine months old...

~You weigh 18 1/2 lbs. and are heavier than 50% of girls your age.
~You are 28 1/4 inches long and are taller than 75% of girls your age.
~Your head is 17 1/2 cm and is bigger than 60% of girls your age.
~Dr. Barron said that you will likely be long and lean if your growth continues in the same pattern as the last nine months
~You can now hold your glass bottle and your sippy cup all by yourself
~You crawl, pull up, cruise around furniture, and push walking toys everywhere
~You love puffs and now you use your pincer grasp instead of just your palm to put food in your mouth
~You hate shoes and socks and like to rub your feet together just to get your shoes to fall off
~You LOVE Yo-Baby Yogurt
~You like to crawl into tight places
~You enjoy squinting and blinking your eyes
~You have lots of fun at school and seem to be quite the entertainer in your class
~You eat four times a day, take two naps, and sleep 12 hrs. at night (bless you!)
~You have found our kitchen cabinets and love opening and closing them
~You hate hats and like to pull them off and then try to put them on your head by yourself
~You love to pull on cords and doorstops (even though you know this is a "no")
~When we have to discipline you by saying "no" to keep you from getting into something dangerous you cry easily...you are sensitive
~You are sweet and spunky all at the same time
~You understand where you are allowed and not allowed to go and you like to "test" these boundaries
~You give great hugs and kisses when we ask for them and always when mommy comes home from work
~You scrunch up your nose and it's so adorable
~Your vocabulary includes: bye-bye, hey, mommy, daddy, baba (bottle),uh-oh
~You love to mimick noises we make
~You love it when Papa makes animal noises
~You adore Papa and Mimi, their house where you can roam "free", and their glasses
~You love to take your little thumb and tap it on anything
~You have had three ear infections in your right ear and it has finally healed completely but you still have a habit of flicking your right ear
~You always smile when we sing the "ABC" song or the "Ansley" song...even if you are in the middle of crying
~You are in the process of getting your first two bottom teeth...they have just barely popped through the gum
~You play peek-a-boo with Daddy and cover up your face with a blanket while playing

Ansley, just a few minutes spent with you can bring a smile to anyone's face! You are a delight and we continue to pray that your personality will be a reflection of Jesus and His love!

Happy 9 months, Ansley

Make a Smilebox photobook

Ansley's 1st Christmas

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Ansley's Dedication Day

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

First Things First

Happy 2010 from The Mitchell Family!

The beginning of the year or a new season of life is always an exciting time. January 1st was the start of a new year and Jon and I are believing that, if we will pray and seek God and give Him our best at the first of the year, He will bless our entire year!

What better way to start off our new year than to dedicate our daughter, Ansley Elise, to our Lord. She will be dedicated at our church on January 6! On April 9, the day of her birth, as we held our hand-crafted-by-God miracle in our hands and joined our family in dedicating her to the Lord we knew that one day the time would come to dedicate her publically. So, we kick off this new year and decade with a time of celebration and committment as we dedicate our daughter and ask our family, friends, and church to join us in modeling Christ-likeness to her.

On January 10, our family will join countless others in what is becoming known as "The Fasting Movement 2010"! Our church, Church of The Highlands, along with many others will be a part of this special season. Jentezen Franklin has some good information on the fast on his website. During this time, we as individuals, as a couple, as a family, and as the body of Christ will join together in diligently seeking to know God better. That is all a fast is...an opportunity to know God better. I need to know Him better and I want to. I believe He is calling me to move into the holy place where He is and I'm trusting that He is going to give me fresh words from Him as I get into His Word day and night. I listened to Franklin's message tonight on "Foundations of Fasting" and was challenged to view fasting as a time to pray without ceasing. God has never done away with sacrifice and if we "feast" on His Word instead of our guilty pleasures, He is sure to honor our sacrifice.

In these next days prior to this fast, I am praying that He will give me a cause for this purpose of fasting. One major thing I believe He has revealed to me is this, "Karen, I want things that are in you that are not of me to die."

As we put first things first this year, we hope to see our God do awesome things within our marriage and family! I hope this encourages you to join in this 21 day fast and if you do please share how He rewards you as you diligently seek after Him. "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him!" (Hebrews 11:6)

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

This Christmas, I have done a lot of reflecting on what it means to "prepare" for Christmas. This year, as a new family of three, we shared old traditions, started new ones, and strived to prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of His coming.

On Christmas evening, I actually went to bed asking myself this question, "Can I even begin to imagine what it was like 2,000 years ago as they painfully awaited, longed for, and dreamed of the coming of a Messiah whom they had heard would change the world and rescue them?"

In the words of the song, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, it speaks and gives us a small glimpse of the yearning they must have felt...

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

This New Year's Eve, I spent the day in the emergency room with my mom. After having some severe abdominal pain for many hours, she made the decision to go to the emergency room. She had never had to go in her 56 years of life. Since my dad was working, I took her. If you have ever been to the ER, you know the hours that are spent waiting, wondering, and praying. It was a holiday weekend which meant a packed ER. Once she got admitted to a room, she layed in a bed for 7 hours until they finally relieved her pain completely and diagnosed her. I hate waiting. Moreover, I hated seeing my sweet, precious mother in agony and pain with no relief, answer, or hope in sight. We needed Emmanuel to come. Every so often I would go out into the hallway and up to the nurse's station and give them a glare with my eyes that let them know that I was checking in on them and reminding them that my mom was hurting and in need of attention and help. Does that not sound like me? Well, it wasn't. I am not normally that bold, but I was desperate! Whenever I would hear a sound that even resembled a knock at the door I would look up in hopes that the nurse or doctor was finally making an appearance. In retrospect, I do not think in my 27 years of life I have ever been as anxious in waiting on something and someone as I was sitting in that room praying, begging, and waiting on hope and help that day. Around seven o'clock when the doctor's finally gave her something that eliminated the pain and revealed to us that the results of the abdominal x-rays were normal, a relief washed over me like I had not known. Mom would be okay...we had an answer...she was saved from pain and potential serious problems.

Ahh, was this a small glimpse of what it's like to wait on our Savior? Maybe. In my heart I think so. Although I hope I never ever see my mom in that pain again, it did serve a purpose in helping me to realize just how much we are in need of a Savior and how the pain of not having a solution brings agony and distress. It also challenged me that I might see our world with eyes wide open this year...to recognize the pain and death many live with in a world where they have no hope of heaven and a Savior, and that I might have the boldness to bring them an answer...the only answer...Jesus.