Long-winded

Attributes of God...

This week during our time in Ohio with Nathan's family, Nathan produced this short video which his brother Stephen will use at a youth retreat where he is speaking this weekend. It stars Steve's 3 boys, Caleb (7), Joshua (5) and Micah (3)...
Enjoy!

Grandpa Waggoner's Life in Photos

Yesterday (Monday) we had a very special memorial service for Grandpa Waggoner. It was a wonderful time to hear from many who knew him in various capacities as a missionary, teacher, administrator, or family member. I thought I would share the slideshow which was shown as part of the service. They begin with an image of him shoveling coal for the boiler, his work study job at Asbury College, then quickly move into his marriage to Grandma Mary, their commissioning as missionaries, departure on the Queen Mary for the colony of Kenya, and then the birth of Nathan's dad. As a man respected for his wisdom and insight, he traveled frequently making trips on behalf of the mission to places like Bolivia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, and South Korea so you'll see some photos that are distinctly not 'African'. In addition to his preaching and education ministries (he helped establish public schools amongst the Kipsigis people) he also steered the team of WGM missionaries as field director through Kenya's transition from colonization to independence. The latter part of the slideshow highlights his family relationships.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) the family will travel to Tiffen, Ohio for his burial service.

You may read his obituary here.

Merry Christmas!

A scene from tonight's little home Christmas eve drama...

Ellie (Mary), Joshua (Joseph), and Caleb (the donkey)

Images from 12/23

The great-grandkids watching a DVD in a room nearby Grandpa Waggoner's visitation this afternoon. Look how long Ellie's legs are getting! She has been having a blast with her cousins.

Ellie has been fascinated with candles the last couple of weeks. Can you tell?

I was happy to have some help with my birthday candle ;-)
Nonna holds her hair back

Nonna shares the meaning of the advent candle


Ellie sees another opportunity to blow out another flame...

PaPa pulled out some relics of his days as a boy in Africa. They were very impressive to Ellie's cousins ages 7, 6, and (almost) 4. I think there were some impressed grown-ups too. The python skin above was longer than I could easily fit in the camera frame! Other objects included an ostrich egg, a hippo ear and hippo tooth which Micah evidently thought would make a great nose (see below).

And year #2 begins...

(This is a "two-poster" day. Be sure to read the other post immediately following this one).

Yesterday marked the anniversary of our taking Ellie out of the orphanage to be 'ours' for keeps! Ellie has changed in so many ways, most obviously in her appearance. When we got her first referral photos over a year ago, we told her smiling image looking down on us from the refrigerator that someday that scalped orphanage hair cut would grow out into something a little more feminine. As weeks turned into months, her hair finally began to lengthen and thicken. And with each inch of growth, the protests at 'hair time' also grew. Finally her mane reached the place where we could give it a little bit of style - but clips and pony tails proved challenging to apply to the impatient todler who had no interest in 'looking cute'. Styling Ellie required quickness and at least four hands, so I decided this week that it was time to deliver on my oft repeated threat to get her hair cut.

With today marking the end of the fall semester at the college, we wrote a note on the office door and took a trip into town over lunch to embark on another first with our daughter: a seat in the beautician's chair. I could go on and on about the ammenities offered by "Kiddie Kutters" (?), but I believe the photos speak for themselves. It was worth the extra drive for such a quick and relatively peaceful Ellie. And now we start year two with a bona fide little girl!

last photo with 'long hair'
We knew this place was a winner when we pulled up and saw the giant slide in the waiting area.

Dad removes a rubber band from Ellie's hair

The fire truck above reads, "Discover how much fun a haircut can be!"

I was skeptical, but hopeful...

Nathan tries to draw Ellie's attention to her feet since the stylist couldn't get her to tilt her head down. In a few more photos, you'll see why...

Yep. Thank goodness for Veggie Tales. And barber shops for kids with TVs at each chair!

All done. But Ellie doesn't want to leave!

(Driving home) Unlike Kroger's (which used to give out free baloons, but doesn't anymore so we can't shop there anymore, so long as Ellie is with us), this place doesn't seem to be affected by the helium shortage. I think we will be back! Oh, and we got a ziploc bag with her clippings, from her first hair cut. Any takers?*


*Albanian tradition has it that whomever gives a child his or her first haircut obligates the scissor holder to 'god-parent'-type status and to help meet the child's financial needs until reaching adulthood should the parents be unable to provide. Funny, we forgot to mention that to the nice lady who cut Ellie's hair today...

Goodbye Grandpa Waggoner

(March 2007)

(March 2007)

This morning Grandpa Waggoner woke up in heaven. It's hard to believe he is no longer here with us. We are grateful we got to see him at Thanksgiving and will be traveling up to Ohio on Saturday to be with Nathan's family. Thank you for your prayers, especially for Nathan's mom and dad who are quite tired right now and have a lot to do in the next several days.

Let It Snow

Unlike our friends and family to the north, this is as close to snow as we got this weekend!

Pigtails and Play-doh

Wanting to keep up with her cousin, Tua, Ellie was willing this morning to sport two pigtails for the first time!

Tissue, anyone?

Apparently we left the tissue box within arm's reach of Ellie's crib. When Nathan went to see the source of laughter and giggles during Ellie's 'naptime' this afternoon, this is what he found...

E is for Ellie

Sorry for the uncharacteristically long lapse between posting! I have no excuses! I figured I had better post something when I heard tonight that a trans-Atlantic phone call was placed to my parents asking them where we had gone. I'm sorry!

Since writing last we celebrated another 'anniversary' of sorts. December 4 came and went for Ellie but we remembered it as the day she officially became a Waggoner (though she still had 15 more days of waiting in the orphanage before she would become 'ours').

Also in the past 2 weeks Ellie has started wearing orthotics for the pronation in her ankles. They seem to be working wonderfully (she's walking even faster now) and according to her PT, she is also no longer 'knock-knee-ed'.



Ellie has also finally mastered the sign for 'more'. To her, it also means, "I'm not finished", "I'm hungry", "Give me that", and "More!". It's most adamantly used when she thinks we are about to remove her from the bathtub. How thankful we are for this new form of communication from her. I will post this for now and try to dig out some photos for your viewing enjoyment (so check back).

These photos were taken the day after Ohio State's victory over Michigan (Nathan wears his one and only sweater vest in homage to Jim Tressel the Sunday after this big victory each year). I couldn't resist a photo-op of these two when I realized they were in matching colors.

The Day After Thanksgiving...

2006 (first family photo)

2007

Here's a link to a slideshow of photos from the day we met Ellie...

Ellie's First Thanksgiving

Here's what we were thankful for this year...

Ellie has had a ball at Nonna and PaPa's house in Ohio
...here she is patiently waiting for Thanksgiving dinner

Nonna Waggoner gives Aunt Rebecca advice on making the perfect gravy

This is one of the first pictures I have taken of Ellie where I think she actually smiled on command (versus her smiling because someone was behind the camera acting and sounding like monkeys). Click on the photo to enlarge.