Camel

I was playing with Ellis, our youngest son, with an octopus and I started thinking about characteristics of animals, and I came to a realization:

Sometimes I feel like a camel.

To explain this statement/thought here are some reasons:

1. I have to drink TONS of water - I'm not drinking enough and need to drink more

2. Two bumps - thankfully mine are for milk not as bumpers to carry people, although there are times when Eldin is climbing me when that point could be contested

3. I carry heavy loads when traveling - Ellis is packing on the pounds and the diaper bag has turned into a "Bag-o-Stuff" to take care of both boys

4. Some mornings I wake up looking woolly, like a camel or after Eldin has been using me as a new jungle gym

5. I'm jiggly in places that are just not right - need to work out, but who ever wants to...not me, in case you were wondering

6. I spit - well, I spit on napkins and tissues to wipe my son's face from caked on snacks and stuff

7. Give rides - most of the time it is for fun with the boys, but sometimes I must carry a boy to a nap and then the ride isn't as much fun

I'm sure I could think of more reasons, but I think 7 is enough. After writing this post I've come to realize that while the Chinese have years of animals (i.e. Year of the Ox, Year of the Lion, Year of the Rat, etc), as moms life is more of days, if not hours, of animals. Yesterday I was an octopus (long story involving a doctor's office, bored 2 1/2 year old, massive explosive diaper of a 3 month old), and today I'm more of a camel. I'm so thankful God created SO many numerous creations with each a unique life and character - it makes me smile and have so much joy in my life imagining myself as one, like a camel.

P.S. Tomorrow I will explain how I discovered that my children are oxen. It's a good one - you don't want to miss it so come back!

Seriously?

Ellis loves taking a bath because it involves him getting naked. He was enjoying this bath with his brother, but you wouldn't know it from this picture. I love this picture...it cracks me up. He was all smiles and then I snapped this shot. All I can think of when I see it is:
"Seriously mom? I'm taking a bath and you want to take photos? Seriously?"

Ellis is amazing and such a great boy. He is growing up so quickly that I'm having a hard time keeping up with what clothes still fit him. I just had to get him socks 6-12 months, because his 0-6 months, at his current 3 month old status, are too small. He is healthy and we are blessed. He loves to have great conversations in the morning and I'm trying to catch them on video. It has been hard since when I introduce the camera he stops everything :).

My computer has had some issues this last month, but we finally seem to be up and running. I hope to post some more photos soon.

Ellis 2 Months

Ellis had his 2 month check up this week and the stats are in:

Length: 23" (Growth Chart 50%)
Head Cir.: 16.25" (Growth Chart 75%)
Weight: 13 lbs. 8 oz. (Growth Chart 90%)

Our little Chunky Monkey is doing great! He has had some colic issues, but we have been changing my diet in hopes to help and it has improved.

Life is going very well and crazy at the same time. We have enjoyed family and friends that have visited and look forward to spending some time with Nina and Papa soon. We have some photos, but time is too crazy for me to upload them at the moment so they will have to wait for the time being. I have to run and get a shower while Ellis is sleeping and Eldin is with Daddy playing at work/church.

Portraits

Yesterday Ellis and I went to visit a new friend as she is opening a photography studio soon. She usually does photography of older children and adults, so this was fun/experiment/trial. As with life, things didn't go the way we "planned", but it was a great time. He didn't sleep like I thought he would, but Cheryl was able to get some amazing shots. Just click on the title of this blog to see some. I was so blessed to get to know her a little more and I'm excited to know a great woman of God with passion for His kingdom. We had a good time.

Arrival

God blessed us with another son that came into this world Friday night.

Ellis James Bowick
8/13/10
9:36pm
6 lbs. 6 oz.
20" Long

We are all doing well and we will post pictures and links to video soon.

Thank you God for blessing us and keeping us all healthy.

Perfection & Pregnancy

This summer has been quite crazy, to say the least. Our family has been under attack from the enemy since Fall of 2009. Thanks to so many of your prayers what the enemy meant for evil, God has turned to good. We felt called to leave the state of Florida, but took everything slowly since I was pregnant and we would need income to support the family. Then the spiritual battle took some physical form and the following happened:

- Our House was rented out in a couple of weeks, with no place for us to live
- Tony's last day of work at IRC was the first Friday of May
- We all lived out of suitcases and parents houses almost 3 months
- Ellis is so active that he dislocated my pelvic bone around Week 25

We were sad that things ended so quickly at IRC and miss many of the people there. However, I was so excited to be out of the storm and moving forward to a new dawn. God was so amazing through this whole process that I find it very hard to put it into words. And this brings me to the title of this post.

For those of you who don't know, I struggle with perfectionism. I did not know this fact about myself until about 4 years ago. This is how my perfection takes form. I think/feel that if I cannot do it perfectly or as good as "so and so", then why even try. It is truly debilitating! I am surrounded by so many gifted people in my life that I feel "hopeless" of any gifts that I may have. So I sit on the sidelines and awe at all the talents of my friends and family. Unfortunately, this post site has been part of this tragedy. When I have a chance to get online I immediately check all my friends blog sites and am sad when they don't update it daily. However, I have maybe done 3 blogs during the entire summer. The pictures from my sister-in-laws blog are amazing and plentiful. Articles and the amazing writing post from some of my friends are on a professional/epic level. So here I am sitting with very few photos (Eldin is SO fast and I've been exhausted in pregnancy/life) and not gifted in writing well - I have a husband that has a degree in English. Don’t get me wrong….I don’t think a lot of people read this blog, but for those who have/do I am sorry. I know there are a few family members that rely on this site to keep them updated on our life since we all live in different states. After a rough night and morning I have made a decision to not sit on the sidelines. Will I relapse? – Probably. However, I’ve been waiting for the answer to this question has been part of the problem. I feel guilty that I might relapse and “fail” again so I have been stagnant. Well, no more…I’m on the move. I have had some very funny, difficult, and glorifying events occur in my life over the last 6 months that I want out so I don’t forget them years down the road. I need to do this before Ellis gets here or who knows what I will lose.
This is probably a “boring” post, but I felt I needed to put this in “writing” to hold me accountable. As proof I'm working on my perfectionism, here is a picture that is far from perfect :).



This boy and pregnancy is so different from Eldin that half of my maternity shirts cannot even contain him/me anymore. I am truly all belly and still have 3 more weeks to go (4 from the picture). We are blessed and I hope that some of our adventures are recorded sooner than later.

We're not in VA anymore - we're near Kansas

The Bowick Family has found it's new home - Searcy, Arkansas. We are very excited to be part of a new church family here.

We moved in Saturday, July 11th, thanks to the help of many people, especially Jon & Preston McLester from Orlando. They drove all our stuff from storage from Orlando up here for us...all we had to do was rent the van and fly them back - they blessed us SO very much! Numerous people from Fellowship Bible came out and unloaded us. Some of the ladies also unpacked my kitchen for us and have been blessing us with a couple of dinners as we settle into the new place.

Eldin is doing great with only a small set back of strep/cold, which he was nice to share with me and the baby. I'm currently 34 weeks pregnant and HUGE. We also have announced the name that God has blessed us - the new baby's name will be Ellis James Bowick. Ellis comes from Elijah and means My God is The Lord. We also wanted to honor Tony's step-dad Art Ellis. James is a strong biblical character and also in honor of Abbie's dad James Graham. Ellis is due August 25, 2010 - we will see :).

Tony will officially start work on August 1st, so we are blessed to have him at home to help us unpack and settle.

At some point I promise to post pictures! Unfortunately, I'm not able to at the moment. My goal is to post some needed updated photos BEFORE Ellis gets here, because after that this site will be about the Bowick boys :).