December in pictures!

All to soon, the month of December is coming to and end. It's been a great month and we have njoyed every bit of it. We we able to witness the temple wedding of Allah and Megan Laryea- Akrong in the Salt Lake Temple and it was such a beautiful ceremony. Always reminds me of when I knelt at the alter to exchange my vows and always strengthens our bond as a couple.

The reception was also very beautiful. And we had some very good treats.

 We went to see the lights on temple square on Friday Dec. 23 as part of our Christmas family tradition. Kiralie just wanted to get down and run around. She was so bundled up, she looked like an Eskimo. lol We were able to get some good pix there and had fun there.

Christmas this year wasn't the same. We didn't have all the family together as always. But we made the best of what we had. Kiralie was so spoiled by her grandmothers( Denise and Rosie) and also her auntie Milli as always. She got so much stuff, she just couldn't keep up. So much for a minimal gift Christmas.

Because of the new baby coming in March, we decided to get her a twin bed and paint her room so that she will be willing to share it with her little sister on the way. She really likes her bed and it is so much easy for her to get in and out of it. Even though occasionally, she goes to the crib when you tell her to get in her bed.

This year has been a great year and we are looking forward to the adventures in the coming year.

Enjoy the pix

The lovely couple, Allah and Megan

Lights on temple square

She either wanted daddy or wanted to walk

Nativity scene

                                           

                                                Inside the Joseph Smith memorial building

                                                             

                                                              Kiralie's new big girl bed

Just a little humor!

As always, Tim was out of the door before 7am this morning. That usually gives me about an hour before my queen wakes up. Like clockwork, she started whining around 8am. She started asking for milk and so I got up to go see to her needs.
After she got her milk, I brought her into my bed so that I could catch a little more sleep. But she wouldn't let me. After her milk was gone, she handed me her bottle and decided to get off of my bed and do whatever it is that she does( I had turned the TV on to PBS kids when I went to get her milk). I leaped for joy. I could finally get some more sleep.

About 15 minutes later, I heard a small voice call, "honey". I was enjoying my sleep and didn't want to even open my eyes to find out what was going on. The call came again, "honey!" I finally responded. "Yes!" And opened my eyes. There she was standing by daddy's side of the bed. Our bed is on the tall side so she can't get up by herself. She said, "mum, I need diaper change". What! Are you kidding me? You woke me up because you want a diaper change? She said again. "I need diaper change". So I asked " do you need a diaper change?" She said, "yes".
What else could I do but laugh. So she led the way to her room and her diaper got changed.
I think today is going to be a great day!

Thanksgiving Heart!

As thanksgiving fast approaches, my heart is just filled with so much gratitude. I must say that,I'm thankful to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and as a foundation for my family. Our life is not perfect, but I know that it is the principles of this gospel that guides our paths each day

It is this gospel that has giving me a man that honors his priesthood and strives each day, to be a better person for his family. The only time he wants for himself is to be able to do yard work or make phone calls to make sure that the families he is entrusted with are doing well or to go to choir practice or home teaching. That is all he ask. That he can fulfill his priesthood duties and family responsibilities. And the rest is ours.
I really appreciate his patience and dedication to his family. He is a great blessing to us. We will try to nag him a little less.

I'm grateful for a wonderful daughter who brings me so much joy. She came into my room today and said " hi baby" and kissed my tummy. After that, she said " I love you baby" . I don't think it can get any more precious than that. She has grown so much and helps me with the little things that just blows my mind. We love her dearly and are grateful that she chose us as parents. So that she can teach us how to love and cherish the moments that we share together.

I'm grateful for a wonderful mother-in-law. Rosie, I want you to know that, we love and appreciate everything you do for us. You are a great grandma and an amazing mother to us. We might not say it often, but you are a great woman.
We are grateful to have wonderful family that gives us support in whatever shape and form it comes. We love you and feel your prayers.

This year has been good to us so far. We've been able to visit family in Ghana and also shared the news of a new addition to the family pretty soon. My prayer is that, the Lord take us through the remainder of the year and grant us another that we may continue to enjoy the relationships that we have and will have.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Our little peace of Heaven!

I've been wanting to write down my thoughts about the day to day with Kiralie and all the little things that she does to brighten my day. I just had to do this tonight because she reminded me while getting her ready fir bed that, parenthood is the best thing that has happened to me.

I think of all the accomplishments that I could get in my life and none will make me feel the way this little angel makes me feel. She makes me feel so loved and appreciated. I really marvel how I could be so lucky to get such an angel?

She makes sure she kisses me on the lip every night after we say the prayer. Even when I refuse the lip kiss because of my strep, she wouldn't kiss my cheek but my lip. And she says "thank you" these last couple of weeks, after she is tucked in and I'm about to leave. Just hearing her say that tonight made me cry. It might be pregnancy hormones but I think she is just too special and I don't feel worthy of her.

She went upstairs by herself yesterday at noon when I told her it was nap time. And she wanted to climb into her crib all by herself. As if she knew that I wasn't feeling good at all.
There are days where she will tell me "come here mommy" with her arms open to give me a hug. As if she knows that I'm frustrated or my day isn't going well.

I must say that, I am blessed to be the the mother of this amazingly wonderful and beautiful child. Who loves me unconditionally and lets me know everyday how lucky I am to have the family that I have. I'm indeed in love with that little bugger!

Sacrament meeting Talk.

We were asked to speak today in sacrament meeting about HOPE, FAITH and CHARITY. I was apprehensive at first but with the encouragement of the hubby, we did it and I'm glad it's over. Phew!!
I want to share a little bit of what I talked about with you. About Charity.

And also, we are 23 weeks along with our second baby. So 17 more weeks to go. The days and weeks have gone by faster that I imagined it to be. I know the last month is the one that drags on forever. But we are trying to take it one day at a time.

Well, I hope you enjoy the talk. We will share a bit of Tim's next time.

CHARITY

CHARITY is the pure love of Christ. It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another. It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul. The greatest of all the gifts of God, ”perfect” and “everlasting”. All men may have the gift of love, but Charity is bestowed only upon those who are true followers of Christ.

The scriptures tell us that, Charity comes from a pure heart. We have Charity when, from the heart, we show genuine concern and compassion for all our brothers and sisters.

The Savior said that “the great commandment in the law” is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”. When we love the Lord with all our mind, soul, and heart, we love others. And charity abounds.

When we give to the needy and do not do so in compassion, then we lack Charity. The apostle Paul taught that, we are filled with good feeling for all people when we have Charity.

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of Charity. In His mortal life, he went about doing good,” teaching the gospel and showing tender compassion for the poor, afflicted, and distressed”. His crowning expression of Charity was His infinite atonement.

In John 15:13 He says “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”.  It may not be necessary for us to give our lives as the Savior did. But we can have charity if we make Him the center of our lives and follow His example and teachings. Like the Savior, we too can bless the lives of our brothers and sisters here on earth.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum if the Twelve Apostles said in the May 1992 Ensign talk that, “We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more.

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended. … Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other”

Just as 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 tells us”   Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;  Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  Charity never faileth”.

In our day, I think a perfect example of Charity is seeing our young men and women and our elderly couples, leave families, friends, jobs, relationships and comforts behind to serve the Lord by bringing the knowledge of the gospel to His children who do not know or have the fullness of it. Just as Doctrine and Covenants 4:5-6 tells us that, Faith, Hope, Charity and love with an eye single to the glory of God will qualify a man for missionary work.

Ether 12:34 says” And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father”.

The things we hope for lead us to faith, while the things we hope in lead us to charity. The three qualities—faith, hope, and charity—working together, grounded on the truth and light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, lead us to abound in good works.

My prayer this day is that, we may all have Hope, Faith and desire for our hearts to be filled with Charity that we may be able to be an example of the believers and through our lives and examples, bring more souls unto the Lord. And in turn, inherit the place that the Lord Jesus Christ has prepared for us in His Fathers mansions.

This I leave with you humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Update on the Princesses

It's so crazy how fast time flies when you are having fun. I've been enjoying staying at home with Kiwwi. She makes me laugh and cry in a matter of minutes( And this has nothing to do with hormones). She is very vocal these days about everything around her. She says things that shock me sometimes. I sometimes wonder who she's been talking to. She is way to advanced for me at this point.
It's amazing how much information she is able to absorb and spit back at you when you least expect it.
 And her responses are just flawless. I sometimes wonder who she is. Cos she doesn't talk like a 19 month old.
And then there are the days where she talks gibberish all day. I just want to take a seat and watch her life unfold. It's just amazing!

She is going to be a very great big sister. She loves to hold my tummy and give baby kisses even when I haven't asked for it. She is like the guardian of the tummy. If she doesn't want me to see my own tummy, I don't. And she says "baby" pointing at my tummy when I go to pick her up in the morning. The things that makes motherhood even more special.
Little princess to be has also been a little more active lately even though I have a low laying placenta. She is just extra hyper when her baby fells the tummy. It's like gymnastics in there. She just loves to fell daddy. Kiralie on the other hand was very shy of daddy. She will stop moving immediately daddy put his hand on my tummy to feel her. But I think that is just so funny.

We are very excited and looking forward to getting everything ready for little miss Parcell to come. We still have about 17 more weeks to go. And that frightens me cos 22 weeks came in a flash. But we have almost everything from Kiralie so there isn't much to do. Except sort the clothes out and rearrange the room.

I'm just looking forward to seeing Kiralie's face when she realizes that she has been overthrown. lol. She is still our princess and we love her. She's been a model child and hope they are all going to be low maintenance like she is. But I still can't wait to see that look on her face when she realizes that the baby is here to stay with her in the same house. lol I just love to pull her leg.

We will hopefully post some pix and video of Kiralie soon. Until then, ciao.

Another March baby on the way!

For those who do not know yet, we are proud to announce that, we are expecting again. Yes! Another March baby for the Tim and Takyiwah Parcell family. And we are very excited about it.

Yay for team Pink!

Our Amazing Trip to Ghana

It's been a while since we posted on here. We've been very busy going up and down. We decided to take a trip to Ghana( the land of my birth and Tim's mission). Since Kiralie isn't 2 yet, she can sit in my lap and not pay for a seat.

We packed our bags and left. Kiralie and I were fortunate to go 3 weeks ahead of Tim with a total vacation time of 6 weeks. I am grateful that we could do this at this time. Considering how expensive it is to fly round trip.
We were able to spend some much needed time with family and catch up with friends away from our everyday routines.

Kiralie got to meet her aunts and uncles and all the other family members that she hadn't met. She had so much fun and was spoiled rotten. We are in the process of unspoiling her now. lol
Kiralie learned how to do laundry by hand and take a shower in the rain and play in the dirt. I wish we had taken more pix. Looks like we forgot we had a camera most of the time or forgot to take it with us at all.

Most importantly, we had a lot of fun and look forward to doing this again.

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with Milli

Mansa

Kwankyewaa

Baaba

with auntie Vic and auntie Esi Essumanba

My cool babe!

FAMILY!

making banku the old fashion way

playing with the warm water I's using to make the banku

wet from playing in my water

laundry day

My little girl all grown up

Kiralie's crib!

Kiralie trying to wake daddy up

Kiralie and her uncle

goodies we brought home

Brothers-in-law

Kiralie and her g mama

Yummy waakye in the leaf. Still dream of that

having breakfast with Melody and Rick

Leaving Ghana(g mama and grandpa)

What we've been up to

It's been a while since we last updated this blog. Don't know exactly what we've been doing but my excuse is that, we've been busy!

A lot has happened since we got back from  California. We have celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and thanks my wonderful cousin Milli, we were able to go to Las Vegas for the weekend and leave Kiralie with her. Her husband was away on a business trip and Alexa wasn't feeling too well, but she took her into the fold and was a single mother of four that weekend. We love you Effie!
Las Vegas was amazing. We got a good deal on a hotel right on the strip so we were in the middle of all the action. It was even better to be able to enjoy each others company without having to worry about Kiralie's bedtime or feeding or diaper change. It was awesome. Don't get us wrong! We love her dearly. But I think as parent's we all need a break sometimes to rekindle the chemistry. And this trip did just that for us.
We came home to an improved Kiralie. Her vocabulary had increased and keeps growing by the day. As a matter of fact, she is right here on the floor trying to figure out which of the alphabets is "D". Last I checked, they were all "B" according to her. lol. She loves her books and will spend a lot of time just going through pages. And pointing out things that she knows and pretending to be reading. She is going to be a genius!!
She is able to count to ten and knows all the characters in "sesame street". She knows what apple, spoon, shoe,bib,diaper, T.V, sky, fold your arms(in fante),stop(in fante),aatuu(hug in fante),no (her latest), juice, milk, cute, baby, eyes, nose, mouth, sky, bubbles, puppies, paper,book, baba(button), naana(grandma),ball, etc. And these are all words that she says. She also says two word sentences but the only three word sentence she says is "you go bye-bye?" She usually asks Tim that when he leaves for work and she is awake. It is just cute to watch her speak with her lisp. Stinking cute!

I taught her "up and down" two days ago and she literally won't shut up when you get her started. And she will give me instructions and when I don't obey, she throws a fit. I have to raise my hands when she says "up" and put them down when she says "down".
Another funny thing is that, she will call to me by saying "mummy, mama, ma, mum ". And she says it in such a way as if saying it once will go unheard. lol

Kiralie is able to sit through sacrament meeting and she does great when she goes to nursery. Except the days she doesn't want to.
She also has nine teeth that are fully in. Including one molar. There are a few molars that are trying to come in as well. Last couple of weeks haven't been too fun but we are working through it one day (and night;) at a time.
We took her to the park down the hill from our house the other day, and she walked all the way there, past the pond. When we got there, we put her on the slides and she didn't want to go home after that. She was able to walk up a slide all on her own! She also liked the swing and the water fountain in the pond.
Kiralie loves water. She loves going to the pool and splashing in the water...she is going to be a natural swimmer.
It's amazing how fast she is growing and how much she absorbs into her tiny head. We hope we can be a better example for her in her learning process. As she fills her head with stuff!

Until we meet here again next time with something exciting to share about our family, enjoy life and have a blessed week.****The Parcelllicious's****

California trip!

Tim had a work related conference in California the week of May 9th. And since his work was paying for the hotel and rental car, Kiralie and I decided to tag along. It was going to be work for Tim and play for us girls. But I was in for a surprise!
I now know that, when you have young children, there is nothing called "vacation". It's more like memories. I was still on duty 24/7 with no brakes. At least and our usual daily routines, grandma Rosie or grandma Renee or Rosa will have her for 5 hours while I work. But this time, she was all mine.

First of all, the plane ride there was a nightmare!!!!! She fussed and cried the whole way there and fell asleep the last 10 minutes of the ride. It's been 4 years since I have been on a plane myself and with all these news about tops of planes coming off and emergency landings, it wasn't an easy ride for me. And to add a fussy baby? You feel my pain now.
To add to my frustration, Delta had broken the cup holder on my stroller and they told me they couldn't do anything about it. ARRRGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was grateful we had landed safely and I wasn't going to let anyone or anything ruin this "vacation" for me.
 But I was in for a surprise!!! Driving in California is crazy! I seriously don't know how people are able to get from one place to the other. It was from one highway to another and then to a freeway then to another highway. And the traffic was epic. Well, I guess that is California.
Between dropping Tim off at the Long Beach Convention Center and Driving back to the Dolphins Cove resort in Anaheim and getting ready to go out to do something, it was already nap time for my little princess. And by the time nap time was over, it was time to get back on the road to pick up Tim so that we can beat the traffic.

Just imagine going to the mall with a sleeping child in a stroller. And my stroller is on steroids and they don't make that much room in the stores to accommodate those kinds of strollers. It was pure frustration. So Kiralie and I spent most of our time at the pool or watching Seseme street.
It was great bonding time for us. But we were able to go to the Block in Orange on Friday when Tim didn't have work. And it was such a relief. We were able to spend some time on the beach and it was amazing. All the frustration from plane ride to Delta and traffic was worth it.
 We didn't go to Disneyland cos we thought it wouldn't be worth the money at this time in our lives. When Kiralie is older and she knows whats going on, we will do it.

I was ready to come home by Saturday. We were also able to visit Mark and Nancy Owusu and their family in Colton. That was also worth the trip. And we really had a great time with them. Even though I wish we could have spent more time there. The plane ride back home was pleasant. Kiralie was content with her books and we made very good time.

In all, it was a pretty good adventure for us as young parents and an adventure for Kiralie.( From car seat to stroller to highchair to stroller to car seat. Over and over again). We have a few pictures we will like to share with you. So till our next adventure, enjoy these.

P.S. We broke our car key trying to break the plastic strip they put on the stroller at the Salt Lake International Airport. So Toby( Tim's oldest brother) had to come to our aid.

What a wonderful trip it was.!! :)

rubbing sand on daddy's back so he doesn't get burned.

she was so tired by the time we were done at the beach