Wow!! We didn't think this day would ever come :) But it's kind of interesting--since I've been doing the German and Spanish with Mikaela, I've noticed that sometimes she hears things completely differently from how they sound. She can almost always say the individual syllables with me, but when she tries to put it all together, something weird comes out! Looking back, that's the same thing she has done the past few months with her name. She'll say the individual syllables with me, but when she puts it all together, "Potty" or "Peylah" or "Peydah" is what would come out. So maybe she hasn't been being facetious after all--that's just the way she hears it when it's all together! This week we have worked really hard on saying the syllables and then just putting 2 of the syllables together at a time rather than all three. It really seemed to have helped--she even brings it up by herself sometimes like she's wanting me to help her say it correctly :) Whoo hoo!!
This next video is her saying her first memory verse: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Ephesians 6:1 I thought that was a fitting first verse to learn :) Anyway, we're trying to go over what that means so she's not just spouting off some words but is understanding there's a reason for learning them. We started with this verse a month or two ago and have gone through phases of her repeating after me. Then I slacked off for a little while and wasn't making her say it. Recently though, she has been quoting lines from "The Sound of Music" and "The Fox and the Hound", and I figured if she could do that, then she could be memorizing Scripture. So I made up a little song for the verse, and we sang it one morning. We went about the rest of our day, and while we were eating dinner, she was playing with her animals and I heard her praying with them. She said, "Dear Jesus, Children, obey parents, in Lord, for this right, Ephesians..." Then she saw I was watching her, and she got embarrassed and stopped :) I was so surprised! I guess I just wasn't really expecting her to remember it! These little ones really ARE like sponges! They really ARE listening even when you think they didn't hear a word you just said--kinda scary! :) I just pray that we are Christ-like role models for her so that she will see our lives--even through all of our imperfections--and will be able to see what it's like to live for Him and to serve Him with all her heart, soul, mind and strength.
Up to this point, we've been very fortunate to have very healthy babies, with Mikaela having only one real illness and Elijah no illnesses so far. Just a few days ago, Mikaela was happy and running around and kicking the ball. Then, early Wednesday morning she woke up with a fever that was almost 105*!! So we gave her some medicine, and within an hour it went down to 101*, so I wasn't too worried about it. She hovered between 101* and 103* throughout the day, and then Wednesday night got back up to 105*! There were no other symptoms, but when you see 105*, it's kind of scary! So I got in the bathtub with her, and we stayed there for 20 minutes or so until her fever started coming down. Fortunately, it came down to 103* and then to 101*. Mikaela and I slept on the couches so I could check her temp throughout the night. She still had no other symptoms, so we debated on whether or not to take her to the doctor. After talking to the nurse, we decided to hold off on going to the doctor. From then on, she did fine--still with a low-grade fever but nothing major. Yesterday and today, the fever appears to be gone, and there's no rash or anything, so hopefully she's ok. She was back to changing clothes and getting into things yesterday, so I think she's bouncing back :) One of the hardest things has been keeping her from touching Elijah! She wants to touch his hands and pet on him so bad :) So far, he hasn't exhibited any fever or "sick" symptoms! We are so thankful for all the prayers and are so grateful to the Lord for keeping His hand on our little princess!
