Well, well, well . . . The video finally uploaded!
Plans, perspective, and a bunch of dead plants
6 years ago
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Church and Lily's Attachment
Well, we think we have found a church that we want to get more involved in. We have both been impressed by the pastor and his desire to get to know us. Continue to pray that Lily will assimilate to the nursery. We have been home 6 months are ready to start transitioning her to using a nursery. The Nursery Director is actually coming to our home Tusday during Lily's nap, so we can talk about the nursery there. I hope to try and set up a transition plan so to speak. I am actually looking forward to it.
We have noticed that Lily does well when left fo 15-20 minutes during our absence, but there seems to be some mild backlash (clingy/cranky) for a couple days after the time away from us. She didn't do that after her 20 min with Grandma and Grandpa Robey, but I think that is b/c she is familiar with them.
This is good news to us, b/c it means that she is recognizes that her care should come from us. What we want to work on now is her trusting that we will return for her when we do leave for a short time.
We have noticed that Lily does well when left fo 15-20 minutes during our absence, but there seems to be some mild backlash (clingy/cranky) for a couple days after the time away from us. She didn't do that after her 20 min with Grandma and Grandpa Robey, but I think that is b/c she is familiar with them.
This is good news to us, b/c it means that she is recognizes that her care should come from us. What we want to work on now is her trusting that we will return for her when we do leave for a short time.
Cheese
Last night after we finished dinner, Lily asked for cheese. She normally gets a slice, a stick, or a couple chunks. I have never tried to get Lily to say Cheese before. I got the cheese, she grinned from ear-to-ear, and ate most of it. I held it it in front of her and said, "Cheese?" She responded, "Cheese!"
Friday, October 5, 2007
Steve's 33rd Birthday
It started out well and pretty uneventful. I picked up a homemade carrot cake from the bakery just up the street (literally a 5 minute walk). I surprised Steve with breakfast in bed, then the cake, and his cards (I hid the cards that came in the mail the last couple of days - He commented yesterday that none had showed up yet).
I thought we were going to try and be a one car family for awhile, but Steve wasn't completely convinced. We decided yesterday evening that we would go ahead and replace the transmission in the Olds instead of purchasing a different vehicle. We know the previous owners, how it's been driven, and the maintenance records etc. We would have to spend triple the money we're spending on the transmission to get a semi-reliable car with lower mileage.
That was actually a bit of a relief for me. I had gotten tired of looking for a car and always being disappointed. The day went south when Steve took the Honda to the shop for what we thought would end up being $200-300 front brake job. BTW, yes that means the shop has both of our vehicles. They offered us a loaner car at no charge, phew - what a relief!
It turned into a $750 repair by lunch time and by 3:30 it was nearing $1000. We trust this shop very much, but we did do our research on parts and labor elsewhere and they are right on. Much, cheaper than the dealership! It was all wear and tear kind of stuff. Stuff that - on most cars - would have been done long ago. The poor odometer reads nearly 148,000, but the odometer stopped working 6 mths ago. We've probably put 8,000 miles on since then.
I would have been just a little more than frustrated if we had spend $4000 on a replacement for the Olds and then had to turn around and spend $1000 on the Honda. Praise the Lord, we have the money. We just hate to spend it soooo much of it on one day at one place!
I thought we were going to try and be a one car family for awhile, but Steve wasn't completely convinced. We decided yesterday evening that we would go ahead and replace the transmission in the Olds instead of purchasing a different vehicle. We know the previous owners, how it's been driven, and the maintenance records etc. We would have to spend triple the money we're spending on the transmission to get a semi-reliable car with lower mileage.
That was actually a bit of a relief for me. I had gotten tired of looking for a car and always being disappointed. The day went south when Steve took the Honda to the shop for what we thought would end up being $200-300 front brake job. BTW, yes that means the shop has both of our vehicles. They offered us a loaner car at no charge, phew - what a relief!
It turned into a $750 repair by lunch time and by 3:30 it was nearing $1000. We trust this shop very much, but we did do our research on parts and labor elsewhere and they are right on. Much, cheaper than the dealership! It was all wear and tear kind of stuff. Stuff that - on most cars - would have been done long ago. The poor odometer reads nearly 148,000, but the odometer stopped working 6 mths ago. We've probably put 8,000 miles on since then.
I would have been just a little more than frustrated if we had spend $4000 on a replacement for the Olds and then had to turn around and spend $1000 on the Honda. Praise the Lord, we have the money. We just hate to spend it soooo much of it on one day at one place!
New "Words"
Well, Lily has added a couple of "words" to here vocabulary. I use the term loosely, because they barely resemble words and has yet to use them independently yet.
Tonight we took Lily to the indoor playground next to where I used to work (both of which are inside the lobby of a mega-church). She was in a very silly mood on the way to the car. Before we got outside, she was throwing herself on the floor every couple of yards and crawling and then "walking" on all fours. She was laughing and giggling a lot. We got to the car and she was still being silly while I was trying to get her in the car seat. In a very exasperated tone, I said - "Oh, good grief." She then proceeded to say (in the same tone), "O, guh guh". I thought it was a fluke, but every time that I said Oh, good grief - she said O, guh, guh!
After her bath tonight, Steve brought her to me and was saying, "I've got a duck, a duck, a duck." Her bath towel is a duck. Every time, Steve would say "a duck," Lily would say "a duh."
We had a good evening! We needed the laughs and smiles after the day we've had. I'll explain in another post.
Tonight we took Lily to the indoor playground next to where I used to work (both of which are inside the lobby of a mega-church). She was in a very silly mood on the way to the car. Before we got outside, she was throwing herself on the floor every couple of yards and crawling and then "walking" on all fours. She was laughing and giggling a lot. We got to the car and she was still being silly while I was trying to get her in the car seat. In a very exasperated tone, I said - "Oh, good grief." She then proceeded to say (in the same tone), "O, guh guh". I thought it was a fluke, but every time that I said Oh, good grief - she said O, guh, guh!
After her bath tonight, Steve brought her to me and was saying, "I've got a duck, a duck, a duck." Her bath towel is a duck. Every time, Steve would say "a duck," Lily would say "a duh."
We had a good evening! We needed the laughs and smiles after the day we've had. I'll explain in another post.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
My first video
Well, here is my first attempt at posting a video. I have to do some editing of the video we took in China as most of it is too long. I am having a hard time with the software that we purchased. We bought some RAM and that seems to be helping, but I've been overly consumed with trying to find a replacement car in the last 11 days.
This was taken with our digital camera, so it doesn't have any sound. I wish I had started the video just a tad sooner and stopped it a tad later. I missed the really funny parts. She was "dancing" in the basket at first. Just after I stopped it, she flopped out of the basket. I say flopped, because she didn't really fall. However, she wasn't too gracefull either!
One Car Family
Well, I wouldn't say that it is official yet . . . We are seriously considering becoming a one car family. I have been pretty depressed and, well, angry the last couple of days. We have been looking for a car for 11 days now. I decided to research the costs of using the local bus system. We live literally a stone's throw from a bus stop.
We actually live on what I would consider one of the most important bus lines. It even runs with consistency on the snow routes. Not that L-burg gets much snow. I am within .4 of a mile of our bank, .1 of a 24 hour drugstore, .2 of the grocery. I can get to Wal-Mart, LU, Indoor PLayground for Lily, the Target shopping center all without a transfer. I can even get Lily to her pediatrician's office with only 1 transfer. I have to admit that I have never used a bus system. I've used the Metro in DC and MARTA in Atlanta, but I have never been on a city bus.
Well, by my estimates we can save at least $100 a month going this route. It cost $40 a month for an unlimited pass. Our insurance costs would drop by $40 a month (it would be more, but we are losing the multi-car discount on the remaining car). Our gas budget would drop by $110 a month. I have not even figured in the cost of maintenance that we would save.
Now, I just need to get up the nerve and try the bus and see if I survive!
We actually live on what I would consider one of the most important bus lines. It even runs with consistency on the snow routes. Not that L-burg gets much snow. I am within .4 of a mile of our bank, .1 of a 24 hour drugstore, .2 of the grocery. I can get to Wal-Mart, LU, Indoor PLayground for Lily, the Target shopping center all without a transfer. I can even get Lily to her pediatrician's office with only 1 transfer. I have to admit that I have never used a bus system. I've used the Metro in DC and MARTA in Atlanta, but I have never been on a city bus.
Well, by my estimates we can save at least $100 a month going this route. It cost $40 a month for an unlimited pass. Our insurance costs would drop by $40 a month (it would be more, but we are losing the multi-car discount on the remaining car). Our gas budget would drop by $110 a month. I have not even figured in the cost of maintenance that we would save.
Now, I just need to get up the nerve and try the bus and see if I survive!
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