Fun stuff going on...

You know when you have waited too long to do something, you kept putting it off and putting it off and putting it off, then all of a sudden you realize that you REALLY have to do that something and you sit down to do it and realize it's going to take a while and you are so overwhelmed you don't even know where to start...that's me now, thinking about writing a VERY overdue update! 

I will try to be brief in areas where I can be:
Current Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Bought a house or Renting? Renting, a very reasonable rate from my parents!
Intending to move out: Some day, Hoping Mayla can have her own room by the time she is one and not have her crib and our bed one step apart much longer! We have to take the cons with the pros
Job: Mother of a VERY active and energetic almost 8 month old
Married: Still to the best Man who I love deeply (almost 5 years)
What have we been up to: Well here's where it gets long.....not much but at the same time SOOO much. Mayla, she's the so much part! I adore her, we adore her and fall more in love with her each day but she is the most unique child I have ever met and requires us to be on our toes all day every day. I know, she's not even one yet and I'm already thinking I need therapy:) What does she do or not do? Well, she pees, good..i know right, she is suppose to do that.....almost EVERY time you take her diaper off, she gets this look in her eyes, then goes, then smiles. If you are off your game ONE bit and try to change her fast, you will end up changing not only the diaper, but the changing pad cover, and her clothes. Speaking of diapers, we are trying to make the switch to cloth diapers to save money, but we can't get anything past her. The first night I put them on her she reached down, grabbed it and looked at me with this perplexed look. She then cried and cried and cried and cried when I laid her down for bed, it was like she had 3 'normal' diapers on and she noticed a difference. I was all excited to see how it 'held' up in the morning and was I surprised when I opened it up and saw poop ALL over that thing....she was showing her disapproval and I was questioning myself if I REALLY wanted to go this route. We tried again tonight, and before I even laid her down for bed she pooped in it again all while staring at me so I would notice what she was doing! Out of the diaper she came and back in a disposable one she went (she knows I have limited quantity).

What doesn't she do, but yet also do...eats! If you have followed our story, feeding/eating has always been on the top of our prayer list with her, and it continues to be. She doesn't eat when she is suppose to (during the day) but likes to eat when she shouldn't (in the middle of the night). I tried and tried and tried to 'tank' her up during the day, but we have an amazingly strong willed child and she would NOT eat. I would spend an hour trying to get any amount of milk down her and after that time would usually end up with 2 ounces. It has been very draining on me and frustrating at the same time. On top of the milk issue, she will not eat solid food, we have been trying for over 2 months now with breaks here and there, she REFUSES food! I have tried store bought purées, home made purées, whole pieces of fruits, veggies and nothing. She even made herself throw up one time she was gagging so much....on a purée.  The pediatrician says breast milk is all that is really needed until they are a year, and not to stress! But I was. To add to the 'pressure' I was already feeling, two weeks ago Mayla went on a nursing strike. I had been happily breast feeding for 7 months and one week when one night at 3:30 in the morning she refused to drink from me. It's been two weeks now and she still refuses. Her 'rejecting' me was not something I was ready for and it hit me hard. The 'rejection' was draining and had me on my knees. The Lord reminded me that some times I act the same way. He offers me something that's good for me, I see it, and turn my head the other way, thinking I know better or seeking something different. This lesson broke my heart but I was so thankful that he used Mayla to show me. It's been two hard weeks of trying everything the internet tells you to try, and nothing. It's not what I had planned, but I submit to it being what The Lord had planned and look forward to seeing how he can use it. I'm still pumping and praising God that she is not rejecting my milk, and also praising The Lord that I can still produce, another miracle in itself.  When I look back to where we started, feeding tubes and stress of different people feeding Mayla and the constant confusion from breast to bottle when she did start, it's a wonderful gift that I had the privilege to bond with her that way for those 7 wonderful months. Thank you Jesus. With all that said, we ARE getting some where. I have been decreasing her feedings at night in hopes that she will eat more during the day and it's taking a while, but we are getting there. Last night was the first time EVER that she has made it from 10:45pm to 6:30am without a feeding. I was celebrating today!

We had her first cardiology appointment since being back last monday and the doctors words, 'her heart is perfect' are still resounding in my head.

Cuddle time with daddy during a stressful cardio appointment.

Once again THANK YOU JESUS! The doctor heard nothing or saw nothing of any concern and okayed us for an appointment 6 months from now. He even mentioned that if someone were to walk in blindfolded and listen to her heart they would have no idea of everything she has been through and think it was a 'normal' infant heart beat.He also mentioned that they did a great job in Switzerland. Of this we were already aware:) God had us RIGHT where we needed to be for Mayla to be born. The children's hospital here is amazing; new, fun, and modern, but we did miss walking the halls of the kinderspital where we had so many memories and seeing familiar faces. It was hard, but yet exciting to meet new people and start a new chapter.

The thing taking up a lot of time and energy right now is Mayla's survival swim lessons. We have completed three weeks now and are beginning the 4th. It has been a big commitment and one we were not certain at first was a good one, but are now realizing it is. It has been so stressful to be honest.

Typical Mayla pose after swim lessons.

Watching helplessly as your daughter screams day after day for 10 minutes just feet away from you and you just watch. When she does 'great', it's easy, but we are noticing that Mayla likes to do things the hard way, i.e kick non stop the whole time someone is trying to teach her how to float, which causes water in her face which then causes her to spaz and kick more forcing her whole face under water and then her getting too much water in, on top of all the water she has in her from all the crying, which then causes her to puke when she gets out of the pool. Yes I will be excited when she completes the course, which we really have no idea how much longer will be. Her whole day has to be scheduled just right so that she gets her naps in and eating in at just the right time, there is not much room for flexibility which can be tough some days! I also have to chart her diapers/eating/sleeping each day. I have to keep reminding myself that we signed her up for this, but when I see the instructor put her sideways under water and her come up on her own and float, I know we made the right decision.

Floating on her own, so exciting.

Mayla is full on crawling and is pulling herself up to anything and everything she gets her hands on. It's adorable to see, but also comes with a tough price, bumps and bruises and her hearing a lot more often, 'No touch Mayla.' 

Will has been busy working on the car and is making great progress. It's actually 'looking' like a car. I"m very proud of him and I still have NO idea how he knows what to do next.  He keeps telling me, "it's simple, I don't". A man of very many talents. He has also been busy getting things planned and organized for the business venture we have begun, selling Sanger waterski and wakeboard/surf boats to dealers in the eastern U.S. Which, by the way, if you are on Facebook and haven't liked Southeast Sanger yet, shame on you, throw us a bone, LOL. He will write an update on that in the coming week, but for now we are ready and waiting, and super excited, and sometimes a little scared. Yet in all of it, we continue to trust, as you will see below (help us Lord not to doubt).

Spring/summer has finally arrived and it's only been a couple of days, but we have already spent the majority of that time outside, we are lovin' it! 

"Trust" continues to be the word for us. There has been a lot lately that has had me a little frazzled and The Lord continues to remind us that if he cares about the birds and lilies, he for sure cares about the details of our lives. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:25-34. 

Mayla's first surfing lesson..

She brightens our every day

Mayla desperately wanting to get outside. 

A VISITOR! Kathryn all the way from Zürich. YIPEE!

Have I mentioned we adore her and are thankful she is ours?

Someone's 7 months old.

hi. it's Mayla or some call me M&M, i'm 7 months old, well actually i was yesterday, but we were so busy having fun mommy forgot to take my picture, and she actually had the dates all messed up too, my mommy is so silly! i'm getting so big, and can do so many new things, like crawl, get into things i shouldn't, and i'm slowly starting to pull myself up to things. this getting bigger stuff is so so so much fun! i'm excited too because it's getting so nice and warm, even though i'm wearing warm clothes for my picture. i can't wait for the warm air to come, daddy says he is going to take me skiing! wish i could see everyone that looks at this picture, i like to smile for people and would love to play with you too!

Watch out, She's on the Move....

She's been on the move for about 1 and a half weeks now, and it's way fun!

It's a crazy life...

Don't ever travel with Will and I, your chances of something going wrong increase by 90% if you do, they have done studies, it's true! 

Remember when we traveled from Switzerland to America and had to sit on the run way for 3 hours before even leaving, well we had a similar situation on our way to California, but worse! Board the airplane, get comfy, taxi out to the run way, sit and and sit and sit for 4 hours before them telling you that the weather is too bad and they are canceling the flight and taxi back to the gate. With just Will and I this would have been a little annoying, but with an almost 6 month old, it was a bit much....always us, always something, remember 90% chance of something going wrong...it might actually be 100% now that I think about it more. We got off the plane, I ran to the United counter and waited in the long line. When it was my turn, they kindly rebooked us the next day with Delta in the morning, but required I head to the Delta counter to get my tickets. Upon arriving to the Delta counter, the lady 'kindly' informed me to go back to the United counter as she told them she is no longer taking United customers as they are too booked! Thank you United (have I mentioned how tired I was by this point). Back to United I went with a not so happy face (hard to imagine I know:).....after I cut in line, complained a little, they were quick to give me new tickets for the same flight the next day. We picked up our bags that had gone from the airport to the plane and back again (shortest distance ever traveled for those bags on a flight) and awaited our ride home to now find a new car rental as we had lost ours (another long story). 

Once we finally got to California it was amazing, we didn't have to wear gloves, or scarves, or hats, or bundle Mayla up just to go out the door. We saw some close friends which we have not seen for almost a year and really enjoyed our time with them. We got to go for a boat ride (and yes, Mayla does like the boat, phew), see the west coast, walk on a beach, eat seafood, and take many stroller walks. That was the good things of the trip, the bad part came towards the end when Mayla needed to go to the urgent care center, followed by the ER.....the day before we left. 

Saturday night she started a runny nose, that lead into coughing, then followed by a fever. The fever came and went and all the while Mayla seemed herself....until Monday night. She didn't sleep and was the most cuddly she has ever been, this alone means big trouble, this girl normally doesn't hold still long enough to give her a kiss. Tuesday morning she woke up coughing uncontrollably and had a temp of 102.2 (Praise the Lord I brought the thermometer along), and off to the urgent care we went. We were the only ones there, filled out the paper work, and waited. The wait was shortened drastically when Mayla started coughing so hard that she was then puking all over the waiting room, that was the last straw for me and I just broke down, it got us in a room right away though. They tried to get all Mayla's vitals, but Mayla was screaming by this point and not such a big help, my heart was breaking for her and I was once again placed in the completely helpless position of being a mommy, watching her daughter suffer. Due to Mayla's high temp and her being just under 6 months, they sent us to the ER. En route I was praying that Mayla would fall asleep as I knew she would need a quick refresh of energy for the next round of tests that would be coming and thankfully she got in a 15 minute cat nap. 

We walked in and were the only ones there, once again another blessing. They got Mayla weighed right away and off to our room we went where they started monitoring her vitals right away.  A scene we are very familiar with. The beeping machines brought back a lot of memories as I cuddled my little girl on the big patient bed. They wasted no time and the doctor was in checking her out in a flash and recommended a series of three tests. First up was blood work. Will had to hold Mayla's arm out completely straight while they tried to find a vein and I held Mayla. The nurse finally found one and then had to prep the area. Mayla is a VERY strong child in many ways but very strong willed, and does not like being held at her will, therefore the screaming was ON just from us holding her down. The screaming then intensified when they jabbed her with the needle. Now, I have a habit of not looking when the needle goes in, but after to see if there is any blood coming through the tube, and I have a really bad history myself of having the most horrible veins to get blood from, and more often than not, a second poke is needed. So naturally I looked down and saw no blood coming through the tube and my heart broke, the next thing i saw was also an all too familiar sight, the nurse moving the needle all around to try and 'find' a vein. Being the one that was holding Mayla, I felt like I was part of the torture team and all I could do was tell her I loved her, and it was going to be okay. I wonder at what age she can understand my words and think to herself, 'nurse jabbing me with needle, moving it all around in my arm while you and daddy pin me down, not thinking everything is going to be alright here mom!'. 

When I saw the blood finally flowing, i was so relieved. Just when we got her calmed down from that episode, another nurse came and got us for a chest x-ray. As we walked towards the room, I thought,  'this shouldn't be soooooo bad,' we helped with one before and she cried a bit, but it didn't seem too traumatic. RIGHT....I was not ready. They put Mayla up-right in a harness that had two holes for her legs (almost like an infant swing at a park). They then enclosed her in this cylinder tube with her arms in the air. She was NOT a fan. Daddy's job was to pull Mayla's arms up while I held her onsie out of the way and tried to sing soothing songs to her and not cry as hard as she was. It felt like the two pictures they took, took an hour, it was torture. Back to the room we went and as soon as she calmed down from that episode, it was time for test number three, a nasal swab. That just sounds bad, huh...it was! They grabbed Mayla's head while I held her, pinned her in place and stuck something about 2 inches up Maylas nose and left it for 10 seconds. DONE....and I was wishing I had taken the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign from the hotel so I could put it on the outside of her ER room. It was time for Mommy and Mayla to nap! I laid motionless as my daughter laid passed out across me, I was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted, this is NOT how one should feel on Holiday! I needed to sleep, but could only pray...."For you are God and I am not...." This is a truth that I know, I believe, but I was having a really hard time and playing the 'why' game. Why her again, why must she suffer again, why must this happen while we are away from home. The more I played the game though, strangely the more peace I had and began to say, 'Why not us, use us Lord!  John 6:33 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." He plain out tells us, life WILL be tough!!! But how are you going to respond in those moments! We don't get to choose our struggles in life, but we can choose how we will respond to them, a lesson that continues to be on the class agenda for the Ellis family! 

One of the worst things about Mayla having pneumonia (besides the coughing and fussiness, and fevers, and lack of sleeping, and runny nose, etc) was her serious HATE for medicine. I even asked the doctor if he had an antibiotic we could stick up her bum as I would much rather do that. Once again, our strong willed daughter, and if SHE isn't putting the medicine in her mouth, forget it. She closes her mouth, puckers up, whips her head from side to side , grabs your hands, and screams at the same time, talent I know.  Medicine has even made it back around her neck, in her ear and on one occasion, in her eye, DREADFUL! I wonder if it's more stressful for her or me....Even the grape flavored and cherry flavored stuff that 'most' babies like, forget it. She gags and almost makes her self puke. I was glad the day the antibiotic was gone and no more fever meds were needed. 

So that was our unforgettable Cali trip. We went to San Fran too, but spent the day and a half there  in our hotel room:( maybe next time! This little fire cracker of ours sure does keep life interesting for us, as if Will and I alone don't do a good enough job at that! 

We are now almost fully recovered....almost! Mayla's cough is getting better each day, however Will and I have caught a little something, and after I've battled it for 5 days, I'm feeling better, but now Will is on the downhill slope and we are praying he gets over it fast and doesn't share it back with us! I'm thinking our bodies are rejecting America...not sure if it's the food or the weather or the lack of walking we do!

Mayla had her 6 month check up yesterday and everything looks good. After examining her for 5 minutes the doctor picked her up, looked at us and said, 'who wants her back, i'm exhausted!' She is NON STOP movement and into anything and everything she can get her hands on. I see me starting coffee in my very near future:) We adore her spunk, and are falling more and more in love with her each day. She is on the verge of taking off crawling, and it's exciting, but scares me at the same time. Her favorite things at the moment are paper, my blue water bottle, magazines, baths, Sophie her teething giraffe, strings on my sweatshirts, and the legs of table and chairs. Her least favorite things are any type of food, finishing bottles till they are empty, breastfeeding longer than three minutes, taking medicine, and sleeping for long periods of time at night. 

Next appointment on the schedule for Mayla is her cardiologist appointment end of April, it will be interesting to see how it differs from what we are familiar with.

Could be some exciting things coming the next couple weeks, we'll keep you posted. Until then, we pray many rich blessings for you and your family.

Will, Keri, and M&M

PS, don't forget, you can subscribe to the blog at the upper right and get an email when we add new posts. Ciao!!!

Murphy’s Law…

......“If anything can go wrong, it will.”

Mayla’s Law…

“I don’t care what the books say, I’m doing it different.”

And so goes our daily lives, different than what the books say “the norm” should be. And we honestly don’t want it any other way. Except sometimes when we have to de-”stankify” multiple outfits a day.

So we’ve been Stateside for a month and a week, and what have we got to show for it? Not much good really. Seriously, I (Will) have been sick three times and been to the ER once already. And not because I did something stupid in the garage, but because I did something stupid in my stomach. Let’s just say that 4 years at a Swiss University didn’t do much to increase common sense, or maybe we should call it uncommon sense, since common sense is really not so common. Beyond getting sick multiple times and being sick for around 3 weeks(ish), I spend my time looking for jobs, hanging with my girls, and building a car. Yeah, building a car. You know, like General Motors, but I’m slower than the average union worker, don’t get paid anywhere near as good, have to work in a cold garage, no coffee breaks (I don’t drink coffee though so that’s my bad), inhaling fumes that may or may not be harmful (outcome yet to be determined), and generally getting really dirty (this is actually pretty cool). I did manage to go to a boat show (oh how I missed these), went snowboarding in the “mountains” of Michigan (right, “mountains”), went to a $10 Rock and Worship Jesus Music Concert (would have been cool to see Breakthrough on that stage), went to a hockey game with my nephew, watched the Super Bowl ‘live’, skipped the Daytona 500 live (although Big Redneck Mama was there, live), watched my daughter all by myself and didn’t even kill her, shoveled some snow, used Big Mama’s snow blower, walked to church in the snow/in the street because the sidewalk was not cleared, had lunches/brunches/and dinners with lots of friends, and spent oodles of time with family, watching them love on my daughter. Even though there is no job at the moment, I have to say that life is pretty good. In fact, there are not many ways it can get much better, but if water-skiing were involved it would be…

Keri finds herself pretty busy these days. Mayla is on the verge of individual mobility so she is forced to keep more than just her peripheral vision focused on her. More often than not, she needs to keep a sharp eye on Mayla, and as was discovered today, maybe even a close hand or two. We are still pretty unhappy about the inability to walk much outside because sidewalks are, for the most part, not cleared. Quite often I hear complaints related to failed attempts at walking to the store. The failings generally come at the hands of impassable sidewalks, even with our monster stroller (you know, a stroller with BIG tires). Without asking her opinion, I would have to say Keri has adjusted back to life in the States pretty well. She thoroughly enjoys time of the second hand stores, or any store really, buying clothes for Mayla or trinkets and things to make our stay in the in-laws basement more pleasant. She has been to the gym on more than one occasion most recently partaking in a “boot-camp” class that resulted in too much leg pain to even sit and pee. TMI? In between shopping events, she even managed to get out for a girls night, this is when I watched Mayla and didn’t kill her. The best part, for me, of Keri being a mom is she was made for this role. Honestly God designed Keri to be a mother, Mayla’s mother, and it is so nice to finally see her in this role. Besides being the best wife in existence, arguably of course and I will argue this until I’m blue in the face as well as everywhere else, she is an incredible mother. She has a way with Mayla that makes me want to sit back and watch the two of them interact, of course then I’m not exactly in the mix so that doesn’t last too long. There is absolutely nothing I would rather see Keri do. 

So that is more or less the happenings with Keri and I. Now, since you are really only continuing to read because you don’t want to miss anything about Mayla, I guess I’ll start in with her update.

Yeah she is!

Mayla is a trip, and not the kind we leave for today (we’re going to California, enough with this cold), but according to urbandictionary.com, a person who is really funny in a crazy way. Yeah, that’s Mayla. She is a non-stop mountain of laughs (Swiss mountains, not Michigan…). We both have said on multiple occasions that we could watch her all day; she is so entertaining. She is also growing, and outgrowing most of her clothes. In fact, we just bought some new PJ’s for her, 6-9 months and 9-12 months. One wear of the 6-9 and she is on to the 9-12. Who designs clothes for these infants that are too small, honestly????

Over the last couple weeks, Mayla has had her first teeth come in which has been so funny. Is it wrong I keep laughing at my daughter? Anyway, as most parents probably recall, those chunky little cheeks get all rosey red when teeth start coming. Mayla was kind enough not to be too bothered by them cutting in. We did attempt on a few occasions to give her Orajel but she’ll have none of that yuckiness. Rumor we’ve heard is that most kids typically enjoy the flavor, as Mayla would have it though, “good luck getting that nastiness in my mouth peeps.” Something else that is humorous about Mayla getting teeth, is her discovering she has teeth. Since a couple have come in, she has started playing with them, using her lips. In doing so, she contorts her face and lips to find out about these things, all the while making sucking and puckering sounds. Super funny! We need to get a camera on her at all times just so we don’t miss this stuff. Unfortunately that is not exactly possible, but we’re trying to get as much of it as we can.

Everywhere, but in...

Being that Mayla is rapidly approaching the 6 month old mark, we have begun testing the waters with “semi” solid foods. We started out with the traditional rice cereal, honestly doesn’t look like any cereal I’ll ever eat. I mean seriously, can’t get some marshmallows up in there? Mayla quickly realized there were no marshmallows and was very clear with us that until she could have marshmallows, she wants NO CEREAL! We tried this for about a week with no luck, I don’t think we managed to get a gram into her, before going another route. Keri figured since she ate so many sweet potatoes during pregnancy, the flavor would be familiar to Mayla and we’d have better luck. Well, as Mayla would have it, I suspect all the adverse middle of the night moving, kicking, punching, etc, etc, while in utero was her telling us she didn’t really care for sweet potatoes because she sure wouldn’t let us get any down her hatch. So, we gave that a try for two days and decided we’ll bag the solids idea until we get back from California. Then it’s on to pizza and cheeseburgers. We’ll get this girl to eat one way or another.

One of the funniest things to us about Mayla is that the girl almost does not stop moving. In fact, as I’m trying to type, she is sitting on my lap, nonstop moving her legs and feet under the laptop (kicking it) and relentlessly trying to get up in the action on the keyboard. It’s turned into a competition of whose reach is the longest. Normally I would think I have that one in the bag, but this kid is determined and no matter how far away I move the computer, she is coming for it; and given enough time, I think she’ll get it. I think the only time she stops moving is when she’s going to the bathroom… Like her daddy, she seems to need the focus. Even when she sleeps she moves; more like flops around like a fish out of water. She is constant activity and nonstop action. Funny and fun, for now. But as she begins to discover the potential for movement on her own (crawling), this creates movement in us in the way of fear and trembling as well as mad dashes coupled with “Mayla, …”

Mayla loving all her cousin time.

Something else about Mayla is she knows what she wants and doesn’t want. And what she wants is to be in control and to be a part of everything going on. She began showing this to us some weeks ago when we would give her a nuggi and she would promptly take it and put it back in herself. As if to say, “Umm, I can do it myself dad…” She also seems to want to be a self-sufficient part of her bottle feedings by putting her hands on the bottle and putting it in her mouth and taking it out at her discretion. At least we know when she is hungry that way… When she is no longer hungry, she’ll either (1) push the bottle away, or (2) hit the bottle away. I have to confess, it’s pretty stinking adorable when she has her tiny little paws wrapped around a bottle as big as her head.

So that is the quick and dirty of what’s happening here. As I mentioned, we are leaving for California today and we are super pumped about it. We are going to visit some wonderful friends and their 5-month-old son, visit a ski boat manufacturer, and generally tool around a warmer climate than what we have in Michigan. We are super excited about spending a week in warmth although Michigan will probably have a heat wave and completely thaw while we are gone, before freezing over again just before our return. As you have probably extrapolated, we are really enjoying being back in the States and being around family. Though no jobs have surfaced yet, we continue to trust the Lord and His plan for us. We have no idea what is in store but we had a good gig in die Schweiz and trust that whatever he has called us back here for, is better than what we had there. So please continue praying for us as we walk this path of mystery, and excitement. Shortly after we return from California we will have a doctor appointment for Mayla and will excitedly share the further development of our M&M (Miracle Mayla), and whatever the Lord may do while there.

We wish you all many blessings and God’s joy and peace to you.

Ciao!

Mayla and her friend, Cucci.

Mayla's first ski vest, from the boat show. She MUST have a ski vest if she is going to ski this summer.

I think that's a Michigan Mountain in the background. WHOA!!! Off to the sun...

Life as we know it...is MUCH different....

It's been 7 days, and it's been crazy. Mayla has not yet decided if she likes the USA. Overall I think she is going through Switzerland withdrawal. A few things she misses and why it's different (from the eyes of her mother of course).

-Daily stroller walks. Why can't you go for stroller walks in Michigan? Good question, normally you can, but since we have been home the temperature has ranged from 0 degrees to 10 degrees fahrenheit (-17 to -12 degrees celsius). In fear of her nose freezing and falling off, we have been inside....a lot. I walked by the window today and she started to reach out and she just stared, poor thing.

-being in her stroller in general. In her stroller, mom and dad are directly in her eyesight, and any time she needs anything, we are right there. Riding in the car poses a little bit of a problem when Mayla is in the back seat facing backwards. She can't see outside (one thing she is obsessed with) and only has the same toys that rattle back and forth to keep her attention. And when she cries and spits out her Nuggi (which she does quite frequently), it takes us a bit longer to get it back in again! 

-time change. Overall we are very pleased with how she is doing, but we have had some rough moments along the way. The first morning she decided sleeping till 4:30 am was just right (thankfully daddy got up with her), she then had a hard time making it in between naps during the day, but thankfully we were with family and she was continually entertained or held, so that made the adjustment a little more helpful. The first night she went to bed by 8:30pm and decided sleeping till 3:30 am was the perfect amount of sleep, yes we were making progress at night, but I was a bit worried about that morning wake time. The next night she gave me some encouragement and made it till 5, then the following till 6. Still waiting to get back on the 7pm-7am, but it will come! She has been through a lot and she's been moving around a lot in different beds and different places too, it's got to be hard and she has tried to tell us that with some serious tears over the last few days. 

-Train rides/tram rides where she can see and take in the world around her.

-Heated hard wood floors and tropical like living with a super heated flat (cuz we didn't pay extra no matter how warm we made it). Mayla has been bundled up and has worn all her tights, lined pants and sweatshirts over the past 7 days. We are all missing the warmth under our feet and walking around in shorts and tank tops cuz our flat was so warm. I thought my dad was going to kick us out our first morning living at my parents as even though he had the heat 'turned up', we still complained and insisted on building a fire in our room! Thanks Dad!!!

-Her Friends. She would have 'play dates' with some other boys/girls that ranged from 4 weeks older to 6 months older. She misses slobbering all over toys with the young ones and being attacked by the older ones:)  

-a change of laundry detergent. The new stuff (also Sensitive for babies) doesn't smell as nice as the stuff we had back 'home' (more of a 'problem' for her picky mom than for M&M) and has left Mayla with a nice rash. 

Some things Mayla is enjoying (and her parents): attention of cousins/aunts/uncles/ grandmas and grandpas. She has had her fair share of hugs, kisses and entertainment. The first 3 days we were here I think I changed all of 3 diapers, it was like a holiday! I only saw Mayla when she needed to feed it seemed like:) 

-Mommy's attention. Because it has been so cold, and a serious lack of desire to go out and run errands or go anywhere, I've been inside with Mayla for 4 days now. We have shared a lot of moments together during that time. Some times it's hard but i wouldn't trade these uninterrupted moments for anything. I sometimes have to remind myself that the to-do list is important, but the most important thing on that to-do list is to love my husband and daughter. My 'house' may not be organized or clean or decorated professionally and I may not serve exquisite meals, or always  have the laundry folded, but that doesn't matter!

Will and I started our time here at my sister Kelli's house and we were flooded with love and spoiled greatly! We then transitioned over to my parents basement and have been working on trying to make this a 'temporary' home for ourselves. 

Some observations we have noticed in the last week:

-Tea selection in the grocery stores makes me want to cry (VERY limited)

-The selection of everything else in the grocery store makes grocery shopping take triple the time it took in Switzerland. Some times the extra selection is good, some times bad!

-Everyone speaks English!!! So far anyway...

-Thinks the restaurants are still using air conditioning, even during the winter months.

-It's very easy to go baby shopping here, and MUCH cheaper! And the 2nd hand shops are great.

-Having family around is fantastic and having an onsite babysitter has many perks. 

-being around family for all the hand me downs has already come in very very handy. 

-is missing walking to bus stops, tram stops, train stations, etc.

-People say hi to you, make eye contact with you and are very friendly

On the job front, Will had a telephone interview this past Tuesday with a company located in South Carolina. It went well (from our perspective), his resume will be passed to the hiring manager and we are praying the Lord's guidance! 

Looking forward to see what each new day has in store.....tomorrow it's joining the gym day before we add to the obesity rankings of America! 

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THANK YOU AUNTIE KELLI, This entertainer has been a life saver!

2nd day in the USA, our little polar bear ready to go outside! 

We made it!!!

The greatest thing about being sick my first day in the USA, I actually have time to get out an update...HA....that's what I thought when I BEGAN to write this on Saturday, needless to say it's Tuesday and i'm finally getting this out. 

If you are up to speed on facebook, you saw we had a bit of an interesting flying day on Friday, if you are not up to facebook speed (which I'm not so don't worry), we had an interesting day.

Since Will and I got married, well actually before that, my flying adventures have always been, well adventures. And Friday unfortunately followed that path. 

Mayla woke up early around 6:20, and I knew instantly it was going to be an interesting morning. We packed the cars (thank you Piotr and Pam) and made our way to the airport, United counter (at check in one) was wide open and we made our way instantly to the counter. Due to a new system it took them forever to get us going, but before we knew it we were handed our boarding passes and on our way. We found some seats at Starbucks for a last hang out time with some dear friends (Pam, Kathryn, Piotr, Ewa, Noemi, and Martin thank you). The time went by way too fast and before we knew it, we had to head off to our gate. Good byes were hard, but in my head I just kept thinking, 'I'm just leaving for Christmas, what's the big deal'. I wonder when it will hit me that i'm not just 'home for the holidays?' 

Good bye tears dried as we made our way to airport security. That is a bit trickier with a 'baby on board' than when it was just the two of us, but thankfully we had some nice airport security staff who let me keep my shoes on (not the case in America) and we managed to get through without too many setbacks. Mayla just kept taking in the sights around her and was a champ. 

We made our way to the very familiar E gate and on the tram ride I was trying to tell myself this was it, we were leaving, but my brain just kept telling me, 'yeah for home for Christmas time'.  Mayla fell asleep in the stroller and I was glad as it had already been a long morning for her and she was going on being awake for over 3 hours, which in Mayla hours is a LONG time! We boarded the plane and thankfully she stayed sleeping in my arms as I sat in my seat, (bulk head seating praise The Lord).  We got our things organized and as I was trying to get buckled in, she woke up, I knew this was NOT going to be a good thing. We had planned her feedings in the morning so that she would be hungry about the time we took off, and as the pilot announced early that boarding was almost complete and he thought we could be on our way early, I was getting excited that our 'planned' morning was going to work out. 

Well that Pilot man is NOT my friend. It was our 'original' time to take off and we were still sitting at our gate. I quick asked the flight attendant if i had time to change my daughter and she said yes, well thankfully we went fast cuz as i was changing her they announced we were leaving, and then I hear a bang on the bathroom door and within seconds a flight attendant was opening the door on us, I'm just glad I was not in the middle of anything. Shortly after that, we backed out and then sat, and sat, and sat and sat. We were trying to see if we were de-icing, or what the deal was, but could see nothing.  We were also focused on holding off a fussy girl who was starting to get hungry and who was also realizing she didn't take a long enough nap and a girl who had just dirtied her pants more than her pampers could handle. Attempting to hold her off ended when the pilot came on and announced that something was wrong with the air-conditioner and we needed to go back to the gate. So much for leaving early and so much for feeding during take off. The bonus of going back to the gate? Getting up and changing our poopy pants Mayla who by now had it coming up her back and through the clothes. We were off to a great start; let the adventures begin.

'What daddy, plane is boken?'

The mechanics came on the plane and we were informed they might not be able to fix the problem, but that was okay as it was 'not necessary' but it would require us to take a longer route. Another 15 minutes passed and we were informed the mechanics fixed the plane and after paper work was complete we could get on our way. We pushed back from the gate, taxied out to the runway and there we sat again. Mayla had only had half a feed earlier and was starving. After minutes of screaming, we realized we could not hold her off until we were taking off and once again missed the opportunity to feed her during take off and I was nervous. She thankfully fell asleep while eating and I was able to get the nuggi in and she started to suck, thank you Jesus for the answered prayer. Total sitting time on the airplane before we departed was 3 hours, add that to a 9 hour flight and it makes for a VERY bad start. We were just starting the day and Will and I were already exhausted, and baby Mayla too! 

Unfortunately I had to move Mayla because of the position she was in and it resulted in her waking up, bad move that I regretted. She just cried and cried. I tried getting her back to sleep but she was NOT happy and not enjoying the many ways I was trying. Thankfully the fasten seat belt sign came off and I was able to stand which finally calmed her....she was just asleep and to my great luck, a little turbulence forced the pilot to turn back on the fasten seat belt sign. Mayla noticed the change in 'height' and was not happy to be sitting and once again the crying came as she awoke. I felt so bad for her as she was overly tired and nothing was working in her favor. After a short feed, she FINALLY fell back to sleep and I didn't move a muscle in fear of waking her up. I took a deep breathe and looked forward to a nice 2 to 3 hour nap with my daughter on my lap....NOPE...Mayla had other plans, and after 25 minutes she decided that was long enough and wanted to once again send us to the bathroom to change her whole outfit. I think she just liked the lights in the bathroom, outfit number 1, and 2 now gone and we were onto the third. The third one only made it 15 minutes before she spit up all over it. By now we had the seat next to us looking like a closet and just pulled out whatever was needed! 

Finally relaxed on the floor of the plane..

We were sitting in the bassinet seats, and I did try putting her in it, but she was not digging it and we ended up using it as a 'storage' center for the flight. Mayla was once again getting super fussy so I laid her on some blankets on the floor in front of us, and after 20 minutes, she finally fell asleep, a sigh of relief came over me that was abruptly put to an end when the flight attendant came by and told us our girl could not be on the floor. I wanted to cry as I knew moving her would wake her up, and sure enough, tears and screams followed as I picked her up from her comfy vibrating floor spot.  I had only one option left at this time and it was the Moby wrap. I put her in it, and started my laps through the plane, and thankfully within minutes she was back asleep and resting close to me. We were both in need of a good nap! Two hours of deep sleep was what our little girl needed and that was the end of the crying and fussing for the remainder of the travel day. It was a super challenge for all 3 of us, and some times I wonder why those moments have to come, as if we hadn't been through enough stress and trauma with packing, leaving, and sitting on the airplane for 3 extra hours. But it was those moments that brought me to my knees to surrender to The Lord. He was once again showing me that I can plan all I want to, but in the end His plan will prevail. He was also teaching us about selfishness, a common theme that continues to come up in our family. To put away our needs/wants/desires and do what Mayla needs at the moment. Some times it's hard and requires extra energy on our end, but it also helps us see how we should be in life. When others are in need around us, what is our priority? Will we take the time to help, will we even notice the needs of others or are we too focused on ourselves to see the world around us. 

Our plane went super fast, but not fast enough to get us to Newark, New Jersey in time to make our connection. We went through security, got Mayla's passport stamped (her second one, YIPEE) collected our luggage, got new luggage tags, and new boarding passes for a later flight (I'm so thankful they had room on the later flight, cuz by this time we just wanted to be home). After all that we grabbed some food, found our gate and discovered our flight was delayed 45 minutes, Will and I were just laughing at this point. Nothing could be done but to just endure, so all three of us took turns taking a little nap and dreamed of landing in Grand Rapids. 

After boarding the plane around 7:00 pm, Mayla shared some smiles with her new friends around her and discovered the airport lights out the window, we finally took off. And it actually worked for one flight to feed her while taking off, and within minutes she was asleep, and shortly behind her were mom and dad. We landed in Grand Rapids, saw our family waving franticly through the  airport windows (yes it's a small airport), looked at each other and said, 'are we ready for this?' We grabbed our luggage, and made our way out of the gate. When we rounded the corner they saw us and the yelling and cheering began. I had perma-grin as we were welcomed with such love and open arms by all. The embraces felt great, and I was so overwhelmed (and exhausted) that even when I look back on pictures my sister took (thanks sissy, they are great) I don't remember some of those moments. Mayla's expression at first was awesome. She had NO idea what to think and was overstimulated within minutes, she was such a trooper though and just went from hands to hands and took it. I wonder at what point she thought, 'guys this is nuts, it's 3:00 in the morning on my clock, can we just stop already and go to bed?'

Mayla did get to go to bed, at 11:30pm, and slept till 4:30am. Oh the joys of jet lag...with an infant. The good news is daddy was wide awake too (wonder where Mayla gets it from) and took her so her sick mommy could sleep a bit more. Auntie Kelli came to join the morning fun and when Mayla went back for a nap, we all went back for a nap.

Our first day in the USA was already different than any other time we have come to visit, we didn't go anywhere or do anything and even stayed in our pj's most of the day. It was needed and so enjoyed! 

Another update is in the works and coming soon, so get ready!!