Little Grace has now had a grand total of six little teeth emerge and is really making herself known in our little family with her emerging independence and sometimes sassy attitude. She’s talking a lot this month and mimicking many new words and phrases in both Cantonese and English. Some current favorites are signing and saying “Jesus is wonderful”, yes in both languages, “I know”, “oh no”, big brother (Gaw Gaw), draw in Chinese (劃畫), asking us to put on her shoes or sleep sack, pick her up or give her grapes in Chinese, referring to herself as little sister (Mui Mui), “blueberry”, and calling out for me (Mama) repeatedly and randomly so that I can respond with her name. It’s like what Timothy does with his precious little call and response games, and it’s still so cute to me. She and I had more time alone with each other this month while Timothy had sports camp and swim lessons, and I’ve enjoyed these times with our little girl, especially as it helps me to take closer notice of some of her changes. She does a lot of playing pretend by herself and some with Timothy. It’s pretty amusing to watch them cook in the play kitchen and eat each other’s creations. Grace’s more apparent spunk and independence is helping us to see more clearly how different she is than her brother.
Between play dates, lots of workbooks and park outings, the children and I also made it through two different work trips Andrew had to take in August. Timothy and Grace ebb and flow throughout the days in their relationship and varying stages of getting along, which certainly have some days feel too long or fly right by. Some of their sweet brother-sister moments make me tear up and savor this endearing season. Other challenging moments can be exasperating as I face my selfishness while attempting to teach them to love one another selflessly. Timothy’s 
big brotherly affection has been apparent lately as he’s been eager to greet and snuggle his new little sister everyday, all day. We’re happy to be expecting another baby in early January (probably arriving in late December) and are thrilled to have another daughter. As we approach the year mark since finding out we lost the baby in between Grace and this next baby girl, I struggle to embrace the joy of this blessed season of welcoming new life after loss. It’s difficult to share our news without the pangs in my heart of missing a child, especially knowing that so many others have suffered similarly devastating losses and the mixed bag of emotions when it come to sharing in others’ joys. It’s also impressed upon me the how short and fragile life is, and how my job is to impress that upon our children’s hearts even as we soak in this precious and fleeting season. Their expressed fears and tantrums (and mine, too) are hard, but the delightful moments of relational harmony, snuggling, playing, learning, reading, singing, giggling and dancing sure brighten up our home.
We took a trip down the Oregon Coast and enjoyed some family time together despite the weather not cooperating for most of our visit. Around power outages and heavy rains, we checked out the Tillamook Cheese Factory, took a steam engine train ride, ate local ice cream, played on the beach, and visited pretty Cannon Beach. It was a nice way to end the month, but we’re glad to be back in our own warm home since autumn seems to be coming in strong with cooler temperatures and some much-needed rains. My upcoming 30th birthday also signals the start of an exciting new BSF study in Revelation, a more formal weekly routine of homeschooling and activities, and a new decade of growth for me. I’m floored by how much our children have developed this summer, and am excited for this season and rhythm it will bring for our family before we welcome a new little one into our home. Thanks for keeping up with our growing family!
This post is quite late, since we’ve had a flurry of activities lately around here. Our family began 2015 by celebrating new marriage and helping to launch a new church plant in Bellevue, and January just flew right by!
