The "Terrific" Two's

Faith & Grace.

Funny faces.

Grace is a drama queen.

Now she hides behind Faith.

Smooches!

Now Faith stands behind Grace.

Our little songbirds.

It's been a while since I posted an update of the girls and everything that's going on in their two year-old world. It seems like these days, things change so fast. Before we can get too comfortable with one stage, they have already progressed to the next. The first thing that comes to mind is all the talking that they've been doing. Right now, they ask me a gazillion times a day, "Mommy, what's that?" or "Mommy, what are you doing?" They want to know what everything is and who everyone is. In many ways, even though the girls are talking constantly, it seems like our household is a bit quieter. I'm sure that that has a lot to do with being able to communicate with words now instead of noises. We frequently hear them settle disputes between each other by asking one another, "May I hold that please?" Then we hear, "Sure or here you go." Followed by, "Thank you." "You're welcome." It's all very sweet and warms my heart when it works the way it's supposed to!

Lately, they also like to recount stories and repeat the details. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, their 7 year-old cousin Christina fell and broke her arm. Every morning since then, they say, "Christina... fell down... broke arm... big ouwie... went hospital... doctor fix it... prayed to the Lord... all better." They also ask about family members and friends on a daily basis. They love to sing and always do so in the car, when eating or playing. Their favorite song is "We Are Family" from the birthday CD that Uncle Rich made for them. It's very appropriate and super adorable when they sing it.

They love to eat waffles, french toast, cereal, strawberries, peaches, bananas, grapes, turkey, cheese, peanut butter, granola bars, chicken, broccoli, Mexican food, beans, trail mix, nuts, and of course, ice cream (it's actually frozen yogurt but they call it ice cream). Morgan likes to take them on occasion for a special treat.

They are still taking one nap in the afternoon from about 1:00-3:00. They go to bed no later than 8:00 and still wake up at 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning. It's a nice schedule and works for us.

They also love to look at the blog, especially the videos of themselves. They are learning to recite the scripture on their bedroom wall and ask to read it every night before they go to bed. They know all of their colors and now we are working our way through the alphabet. I learned from a friend to take it one letter/one week at a time. We are on the letter D.

It's amazing to see their little minds at work. They are unique with different characteristics and strengths.

Faith is detailed, tidy, intuitive, aware, smart, patient, coordinated, industrious, and loves to read books every chance she gets. She also draws really well.

Grace is easy-going, free-spirited, light-hearted, marvelously oblivious at times, has a flair for the dramatic, loves music, dancing, colors, and letters. She can also be a little shy at first in some situations.

By God's grace, they have been incredibly healthy little girls. They have only had a couple of colds to speak of. They've never even had a diaper rash!

Yes, of course, like any other two year-old, they test their boundaries and try to navigate their place in this big world. In addition to all that, the fact that their vocabulary and speech are developing everyday can sometimes lead to frustration and discontent. I guess that's why it's called the "Terrible Two's." For the most part, we think that the 2's have been great! In fact, on occasion, I've even dared to say that this is the perfect age. Obviously, that was on a good day.

I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

For so much of their infant life, all us parents want to know is what and how they are feeling. Well, now we know and that's a great (and fun!) thing to understand and uncover.

I remember about 8-1o months ago, it was Faith that was my easy-going child. I used to think that God gave me Grace so that I could learn more about grace. She was much too much like me in many respects and believe me, one of me in this family is plenty. It's now switched for whatever reason so I don't presume that any of the above characteristics will necessarily stay the same in the future. It's been so much fun seeing their personalities develop and of course, the added speech and communication are at times, both helpful and hilarious.

When I sit back and have a moment to reflect, I think about how perfect our daughters are. Not perfect children (is there such a thing?) but perfect for us. How God destined the four of us to meet and grow together in love, family, understanding, and courage.

It was all in His Perfect plan. That's simply amazing and beautiful to me.

So then, if this was all in God's plan, I sometimes wonder what else He has in store for us? What other treasures, life lessons, callings, and blessings are lying ahead? What ever they are, I know that they will be far more adventurous and important than what my little mind can conceive. Trust in the Lord and reliability in His word make for a beautiful combination. I am slowly (and I mean slowly) learning to give up control because as I've shared before, everything that I had planned in my life didn't happen the way I thought it was going to. My life has taken me down a path towards so much more than I could have ever hoped for or imagined. For me, that means that life works best when I give up the reigns to the One who should be in control. There's so much more freedom in that. There's less to worry about, get frustrated over, and be disappointed in. Gently, over these last few years, God has shown me that obedience and trust = a down pouring of blessing. Yes, life is good... No, I take that back, it's Terrific!