The Beck's Blogs

Snow Storm 2010

2010-01-30T19:06:00.009-05:00

We had a great time playing in the snow. We got about 6 inches. It was enough to shut down our area for the most part, which is a good excuse to stay home and play. We spent some time on the golf course behind our complex, which had a great hill with about 100 yards of downhill slope. People were sledding on everything from turtle sandbox lids to inflated air mattresses. We stuck to our little round disc. Mainly we stayed in the front yard. The little hills were perfect for us, and less work for mommy to climb up and down. :)

Snow Angels!

Selah and Mommy sledding down the hill by the apartment. Too fun! It was our first time.

Charis enjoyed eating snow, making snow angels and sledding!

Charis in action!

No church tomorrow. We can't get the Jeep out of the ice right now, and the two wheel drive wouldn't handle the icy slope to get out of the neighborhood anyway. Inforced isolation is a good thing for a short time! :)

New Addition

2009-11-24T07:59:00.002-05:00

We are excited that we'll be having a baby in June of 2010. The girls like looking at the sonogram picture (which looks like a peanut) and talking about names - Samuel and Zaccheus are both popular right now :)

It "tenders" my heart :)

2009-06-24T15:01:00.002-04:00

It's hard to say which was sweeter, hearing Selah look up at me yesterday and say "Mommy, mommy, mommy I wove you!" while I rocked her or seeing the two of them snuggle up for the first official joint nap time today - no rocking required but lots of giggles involved.

Easter

2009-04-12T21:12:00.006-04:00

Selah and Eden had their own personal hunt after naptime. It was fun to watch them discover the eggs and really get into the fun. They shared and didn't seem concerned about the prizes inside. It was all in the journey :-)

Charis had Grace as her personal egg-hunting partner. Charis shared some of her bountiful chocolate with Grace once they sat down to open them up. All the kids shared and had a great time searching. With nearly 50 people, it was a beautiful day with sunshine, lots of food, and we enjoyed staying outside all afternoon to fellowship with our wonderful neighbors. It was awesome to hear how God had worked in lives so faithfully and to catch up on prayer needs as we visited with families from Africa and China and missionaries to the Middle East who are preparing to return there within a few months. What a fantastic way to spend Resurrection Sunday.

More Spring Break

2009-04-11T20:11:00.004-04:00

After 8 months of apartment living, we enjoyed the quiet of having no close neighbors or traffic noises while at my parents. Mom and dad's new porch add-on was a peaceful place to sit and watch the sunset - or for the girls to play "tea party" and blow lots of bubbles.

Charis was more timid than Selah about sticking her hand too close to Rusty and JW, the horses. Those big horsey lips have a long reach when a cookie is in sight.

Grandpa Jack and Selah visited at the picnic table. She is a busy 19 month old and a charmer, too.

Spring Break

2009-04-11T19:48:00.008-04:00

We had such a great time visiting Georgia after 8 months in N.C. We were hoping for warmth and sunshine but even the surprising cool weather and rain didn't stop us from enjoying visiting with grandparents and great grandparents. It was so relaxing, and I know I slept better than I had in weeks.

It's hard to say who enjoyed feeding the horses oatmeal cookies more - Paw-paw or Selah. She was into it, regardless of the horse slobber or chilly wind.

Sweet girls

2009-03-28T16:01:00.003-04:00

Those moments of sweetness cover a multitude of sins...

The reason you can't turn your back for a minute

2009-03-28T10:14:00.002-04:00

A sure sign you're not going to be up for Mother of the Year? Hearing your 3 year old say her sibling is in the dryer....
-"Please tell me she's not in the dryer."
-"Yes, she's in the dryer."
- "Hiding!" proclaims Selah.
It's a good thing the apartment is so small, she's never more than a couple steps away.

Easter Dresses

2009-03-27T21:58:00.009-04:00

Charis and Selah were excited to get "pillow case" dresses in the mail. It meant lots of twirling until they fell down dizzy and giggling. I'm grateful for anything that wears them out so they can go to sleep :-) Charis was at her silliest. Too bad her mom forgot to wipe the spaggetti o's off her mouth!

Selah says "cheese" when any camera appears. She loves to copy her big sister, and she is tough and adventerous, climbing on anything and everything to keep up with the big kids. Keith says she's like her mom because she drinks my coffee (black and strong) and will eat my spicey food and ask for more!

Pijama Party

2009-03-21T21:58:00.002-04:00

Charis had a great time at our sweet friend Natalie's 5th birthday party. Natalie and her mom planned a little girl dream morning get together complete with curlers, green face masks, and foot treatments in what Charis called "little pools" (foot massagers :0). Add in the glazed donuts they decorated with icing, sprinkles and m&m's, and it's no wonder she went hard all day talking like crazy and then crashed hard at 8:00! What a fun day! (Selah was there too, but she was only interested in having her toenails painted and eating m&m's off of everyone's plate!)

New Easter baskets

2009-03-14T19:32:00.008-04:00

Our first snow day was fun. Selah stood outside on the porch - with her ever-present best friend "bankbet" as she calls it.

Then the cold days just get to be loonnggg days, and we end up searching for everything we can to entertain - like Charis loading Selah up and pulling her around the house in the little wagon.

New Easter baskets are soooo exciting. What could we do with them? I know, put them on our heads and call them a hat! :-)

This one is for Nana to see the pink dress she's wearing to church tomorrow. She loves her hand-me-downs from our neighbor!

That belly is straining at her strawberry shortcake top - she's in 90% for her height and about to shoot up again!

New Shades

2009-03-13T09:36:00.003-04:00

Gotta wear shades! Charis and Selah love getting cards from paw-paw because it means a trip to Target to get important things for any girl - like new shades! Charis has so much fun dressing up - and especially when Charis is in the mood for dressing Selah. This can be hillarious. I'm not what it will look like when they are 13 and 11 instead of 3 and 18 months....

2009-03-13T09:21:00.005-04:00

I feel like singing that song from "White Christmas" - Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow! (lucky for you that you don't actually have to hear me!) From COLD to warm to wet, cold and rainy...we're ready for Easter and Resurrection Sunday for more than one reason!

Ear infections and all, we had to go out to play for a few minutes with the snow so perfect for making snowballs. Of course, Charis just wants to eat it (calls it "icing") and Selah was contect to let C feed her!

One day we're wearing layers and digging in the snow and a few days later we're in shorts and flip flops - much to Charis' flip-flop loving heart's delight!

Sweet Selah

2009-03-13T09:15:00.003-04:00

Poor little sickly girls - they each had an ear infection (both ears for Selah) and felt bad during our second snow storm of the year! Imagine - stuck inside for 5 days with feverish, miserable preschoolers while it's 40 degrees outside....what memories :-) We're grateful to be feeling better now!

Charis the Fairest

2009-03-13T09:06:00.002-04:00

Charis the ballerina and Charis the Cool Easter Bunny! She is a happy, girly-girl!

Story Time

2009-01-31T22:09:00.004-05:00

We like books and trips to the library! Especially when they can't get along, praise the Lord that sometimes they can sit beside each other and be "together" and at peace with a good picture book.

Going to Bethlehem

2009-01-31T22:03:00.003-05:00

Charis has been hooked on the Christmas story since November, and lately that means lining up her dolls and toys to go to Bethlehem and lay Jesus in the manger (doll carrier). Oddly enough, she has dubbed Selah Moses, and takes her along for the ride! (Oh, and I'm Elizabeth and have my own baby John to carry!) Sometimes "3" is a more fun year than others...

Caught in the act

2009-01-31T22:00:00.002-05:00

I call this one "caught in the act" because the camera caught what the eye could not..."Charis, did you bite your sister?" (Selah cries "ow, ow!" in the background) "No, mommy." "Ummm, would you like to look at this picture?"

The non-crafty trying hard...

2009-01-31T21:52:00.003-05:00

Look, mom, I did it. :-) I destroyed one of Charis' bows, so I decided to try my hand at making replacements. A kind neighber saw my efforts and contributed more ribbon, so I pressed on.

Snow!

2009-01-21T08:28:00.007-05:00

We had a great time out in the snow! It came down pretty hard, and we ended up getting 3-4 inches, which was enough to sled, make snow balls, and (in Charis' case) eat!

November

2008-11-13T13:22:00.007-05:00

We have really enjoyed fall in North Carolina. It is beautiful, and Charis has made leaf-collecting a new pasttime. She loves to be outside and to play with friends. She is also Selah's chofer on their play-Gator. She drive full-throttle, and Selah hangs on for dear life while loving every minute of it. Selah is learning new words all the time. Most recently she says "Bible" and "apple", which for some reason sound adorable coming from a 14 month old. She stays on Charis' heels and loves to climb and "rock-rock" in their rocking chair. Keith is filling in at churches whenever he gets a chance, and I am up to 4 tutoring clients, which keeps me busy. Keith works 3:30 - 8:00 AM, and he has the girls while I work from 3:30 - 6:30 or 7 in the evening. We are busy but learning a lot and enjoying new truths that God is revealing to us. Keep us in your prayers.

Summer

2008-10-10T21:53:00.008-04:00

July at Nana's house. These cousins try to make up for lost time every summer when we get together.

Dad took us fishing at a neighbor's pond. The kids got to pull in fish right and left. Poor Keith had a harder time. Look hard and you'll see his guppy.

We had a great time on our summer vacation in Georgia. Keith caught his second fish ever. Selah and Charis got to swim and play with their Maryland cousins. Great memories!

Birthdays

2008-10-10T21:16:00.005-04:00

We celebrated Selah's birthday in Georgia with family. She is a big 14 month old now - cutting molars and constantly on the go.

Charis and her cousin Zackery had a joint birthday party with a split theme of Cinderella meets Spiderman! :-) We had a great time! She is definitely a princess. She wears her Cinderella ball gown more than anything else these days.

My girls

2008-10-08T21:00:00.006-04:00

This is the new brunette me. Charis loves to dress like Cinderella. Look closely and you'll see she is sitting on Selah, who is also learning to dress up - she likes wearing Charis' shoes at 13 months old!

Charis the Insomniac

2008-09-26T22:06:00.003-04:00

Does anyone have a solution for a 3 year old insomniac? I have to wonder how many times I have to send her back to bed. All day long her room is wonderful, but at night "There's no angels. There's no Jesus. There's monsters," she says. It's a good thing she is adorable even at 10 PM.

The Move

2008-09-26T21:49:00.003-04:00

We moved to North Carolina in August, 2008. We are getting settled in, finding jobs, finding friends, finding a church. Finding stress.... :-)

Selah started walking in August right after her first birthday. She is busy and mimics what you say to her. Charis is pretty busy herself and loves to be read to. They both like dressing up, singing and dancing. Keep us in your prayers.

More Christmas photos

2008-01-03T11:32:00.001-05:00

Selah is eating cereal now and loving it!

Christmas lights in Johnson City.

Christmas news

2008-01-03T11:32:00.000-05:00

We had a great Christmas. My parents were able to visit us. They arrive Christmas Eve, and it was a wonderful surprise for Charis. We visited Johnson City, TX, home of LBJ, and were amazed at their beutiful display of Christmas lights, which was unlike anything we'd ever seen. We also rode in a horse-drawn carriage. Charis said that was fun! Charis is enjoying dressing up, and Selah is just enjoying life these days.

Selah smiles

2007-12-04T08:27:00.000-05:00

Selah is very alert now (especially at 2 AM :-). She is very vocal & will tell you all about being a 3 month old if you give her a chance. We think she is going to keep dark hair and eyes like her daddy. We are only a little concerned about her having his ears! (Ha, ha!)

Grandparents

2007-12-04T08:23:00.000-05:00

Charis looks grumpy, but don't think she isn't milking being around 2 sets of grandparents for all its worth! I may never get her "unspoiled" with Mawmaw to play with all day and Nana to scratch her back while she goes to sleep at night - not to mention Pawpaw bringing her candy every other day.

Beach trip

2007-11-30T09:37:00.001-05:00

In November we took a trip to Corpus Cristi. Charis loved the beach and "swimming". Even though it was cool, we had a great time playing in the water and relaxing. We drove down on the beach, so Selah got to sit in the comfort of the warm Jeep in her bouncy seat.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T19:35:00.000-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving with the South Georgia side of our family, which was a blessing. Memaw cooked lots of food, and we saw quite a bit of our family, too. Earlier in the week we saw Keith's family in Cumming, and we enjoyed the beautiful leaves there. It was a great change from Texas' dry hills.

Charis' funny face

2007-10-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

Charis likes to make funny faces! She also is a book lover! Instead of taking a favorite animal to church with us, we have to carry out a stack of books - we never get into the car or stroller for a walk without a fresh stack of books to "read" on the way.

Growing, growing, growing

2007-10-07T22:42:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. I temporarolly forgot I had started this blog. I'll try to update it when I can get to a computer. Selah is growing so fast. I think she is about 10 pounds - judging from my non-scientific weighing with her on our bathroom scale. She has filled out and begun to smile - chiefly at her mommy who she adores :-) (I'm also the food supplier, so maybe that's the connection.) The ladies who had her in the nursery at church say she smiled at them, too.

Charis, on the other hand, is growing in language skills so quickly! She has begun to say things like, "Ok baby. Mommy's coming." (when little sis cries) She also asked me recently "Mommy, what you doing?" and "Mommy where are you?" or "Where mommy go?" More often she just says "Mommy, wanna go" - to see Nana, to church, outside, to play with Lexi...it doesn't matter, she just likes to GO! Wonder where she got that?

Keith preached today at church. It was good - the theme was are you at WAR with God (as in warring against powers and principalities) or FAR away from him. An added bonus was that Dan, Carrie, Dalton and Lexi came to church with us and then had lunch. We had a good time visiting. I must say that Lexi and Charis probably had the best time. They love to play together, and we laugh at Charis because she has been saying her name is Lexi for the past 3 or 4 weeks since we last saw them!

First Sunday

2007-09-04T18:11:00.000-04:00

Our first Sunday at church was great because Paw-paw preached, so that made it very special. Charis sat in church as well and fell asleep in Nana's lap.

New Arrival

2007-09-04T17:59:00.000-04:00

Hi. We had Selah (Say - la) Abigail on August 15 at 4:17 PM. It was not a bad labor, all things considered, but I decided I don't like epidurals. It's easier to handle the pain and be done with it. I reacted badly to the epidural & they had to insert it twice while I was in heavy labor and it double numbed my right side. I couldn't use my right leg or feel my back for about 12 hours. Selah is doing well, eating like a little pig most of the time, and sleeping quite a bit still. She weighed 6 lb, 7 oz (she dropped to 6 - 1 after a couple of days) and was 19 inches. At her two week visit she was up to 7 lb, 5 oz. She looks a lot like Charis did at birth, but I can see some distinctions between them as she fills out.