All Glory Be to God!

Warmth & Friendship

2012-02-10T10:56:00.005-05:00

Joel had a little less than a week off in January and we decided it was a good time to escape to Florida! We have been wanting to visit good friends that moved down there eight years ago. We spent a few days with them and had a blast. Joel went to work with our friend who is a Florida Fish & Wildlife Officer. They went out in his boat. The next morning the guys took Caleb and our friends' son who is Caleb's age and went fishing on the gulf. They caught 105 fish!

It may have been hard to be left with my wild 2 year old (if playing in cat and dog food bowls, eating out of the garbage, and grabbing any number of things he shouldn't is an indication) and my 5 year old except that I had the best company (and very understanding as my 2 y/o was on a path of destruction) in Becky. We've known each other since we were teens, her sister was one of my bridesmaids. We lived in the same area when we were kidless and they had two and then three. They have four kids all together now, three boys and a girl.

After our visit with friends we went to Siesta Key, a beautiful beach near Sarasota. Zade was scared of the waves and still talks about the "wa-wa." But he did like the sand, and ate a good amount of it too. The boys all enjoyed the pool and the beach. We enjoyed the warmth and beaches too! Our last day we went to the Tampa Zoo and met my friend Erin, Becky's sister (the bridesmaid) that I haven't seen in eight years. How does time go that quickly?

I can't say it was too relaxing of a trip, but just getting away is refreshing. Our traveling can mostly be described as comically chaotic. Imagine the five of us, two strollers, two car seats, three carryon bags, and three more personal items (i.e. a backpack and two more bags). Imagine Joel getting a pat down (because we had apple juice), Isaac's braces being swabbed, the final boarding call as I was waiting for Joel so we could go through security, Joel getting on the plane with just Zade (the airline attendants insisted he try out the seat) and me left with the rest. That's just a taste. Once on the plane we thought the kids did well, Zade was typical, a lot of activity and some crying. A lady told me we were the most patient parents she had ever seen. I told her, "We have a lot of practice," but really I should have said, "To God be the glory!"

9 * birthday * 9

2012-02-07T14:22:00.004-05:00

Caleb turned 9 on the 27th of January. Nine years ago this picture looked a little different! I made Caleb pose for this because next year when he turns 10 he might not do it. These nine years have flown, and I imagine the next nine will fly faster. Then he will be 18. I think I'll just focus on enjoying today!

This year Caleb discovered he LOVED football. He ventured on his own as a Buffalo Bills fan and also entered the suffering of a Bills fan. He should have joined me as a Giants fan, it ended a little better. Caleb now knows more than I do about football (admittedly not too difficult).

This year I told Joel, "Do not worry about me while you are gone, I have your mini-me with me all the time." Caleb's personality is coming out and he is very much like his dad. He reminds me to lock doors, makes sure to keep Zade out of any kind of trouble (as much as one can with Zade) and plays things safe. Caleb is like his dad too in that he often reminds me of things I've forgotten - which I need and appreciate!

Caleb almost always does what I ask the first time, he is helpful, and a great big brother. I don't want him to grow up too fast, but since he is I am most thankful for the boy he is.

The Great Switcheroo

2012-01-24T13:57:00.003-05:00

Caleb had a problem. Isaac kept waking him up in the morning. Despite several talks and a couple punishments Isaac could not always remember to stay quiet in the morning. Sigh. We finally fulfilled our threat and switched Zade into Caleb's room. Isaac went to Zade's room. Before you feel sorry for Isaac read what happened next...

Despite a little frown Isaac didn't seem to mind his new room. It was a little exciting, and he had all of the things he loved moved in with him. Zade was a little confused. Even though Zade was confused he was excited to have a room mate. He shared his excitement by saying over and over, "Bo Bo, Bo Bo, Bo Bo," his name for Caleb. He did this very late into the night. Caleb now was not sure of this plan. The second night they spent together Zade was awake until after 10 talking to his brother. He also got him up early the next morning. Meanwhile Isaac was tucked in cosily and all smiles when we would leave him and come get him in the morning.

After enduring Zade's sleep deprived misery we decided we'd switch back. Caleb wanted Isaac back and Isaac was glad to come back. So, all that's left of the great switcheroo is this picture. I think despite a tendency to sometimes wake his brother up, Isaac is back for good.

Christmas

2012-01-04T14:38:00.003-05:00

We did not just skip to Zade's birthday, we also celebrated Christmas! Joel's parents drove in on Saturday afternoon and we soon drove to my parents to celebrate. We even had a birthday party for Jesus. Remember Him?! Who it is all about!

We went to church in the morning and my boys made me proud by not issuing a word (granted, only one can say a word... but Isaac did not issue a look :)) of complaint about not opening presents until after two services. I taught first service and we all went to second service. I did at first struggle with spending the morning of Christmas at church but the Lord gave me a joy in being able to serve Him on a day that is to celebrate Him.

The first present Zade opened was a vacuum, and then he did not open any more except by force. Finally after his nap he opened a few willingly. Caleb got a Bill's helmet he has been wanting a while. Isaac of course got some special things, but the picture is of him opening the last day of our advent calendar. We are usually behind with the advent calendar, but this year we were not, all because of Isaac. Every morning he reminded us to do it. He would stare it down until we noticed.

Isn't it funny how the holidays seem to go by so fast, yet is seems as if Christmas was weeks ago? I cannot get a grip on time passage. Somehow my baby turned two and I can hardly remember what it was like with him as a baby - but yet it seems like the two years have gone in a breath. And now, the past nine years have flown... soon Caleb will be 9, and in nine more he will be 18. More and more I feel like I need to make my time what God wants it to be, and more and more I feel like I fail. Here is what I pray...

"So teach us to number our days; that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Two years ago...

2011-12-29T21:55:00.003-05:00

I didn't know two years ago that my third son was about to be born. He probably already was when this picture was taken of Caleb, Isaac, and I opening presents at Joel's parents. None of us knew a treasure was born!

If you talk to Zade about turning two he will show you his fist, not in an attempt at two year old behavior, but because we have been showing him two fingers and I think he feels showing his hand is sufficient. I asked if he was still my baby and he said, "Yeah." Phew.

We can hardly believe he will be two tomorrow (Friday)! The time has literally flown. Zade has been a treat since the day we got him. He may exhaust us, but he definitely entertains us and is almost always a joy to have around. We wonder where this year will take our boy; he is definitely not predictable. We thank God for this boy, and all the fun and excitement he has brought to our home. And as always we think with gratefulness of his birth mother and pray she has an assurance her boy is well and oh so loved!

Oh Zade.

2011-12-18T15:48:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you just can't grab the camera. Like when he's about to bring the vacuum down the stairs, or he's sucking on glue. He loves that he can reach the water in our fridge. One time he grabbed the coffee filter and put some water in and drank out of it, or more correctly stated he spilled it over his front. Pools of water (really handy in cleaning) often adorn the floor as Zade learns to drink from a cup. And I have at least 5+ stories a day, but as I tell Joel, I am too tired to repeat it all.

Zade likes shoes as you can see. One morning I was a little slow in getting him breakfast so he got a bowl, got the Cheerios out, put some in a bowl, and ate. Very handy. Friday he was "out of here." He had the keys and was at the door, by the bible he opened, not sure why. Zade is not allowed to drink on the carpet. Do you see him "not on the carpet?" And last night... you'd think a mallet was enough, but Zade never goes by halves. Beating the xylophone with a pinwheel seemed to help. Classic Zade.

In the wake of jollity...

2011-12-12T13:33:00.003-05:00

If you read the last post you may get the impression that we have it all together. HA! Last night as I put Isaac to bed it dawned on me (through my husband) the boys had not gotten their bath the night before. Isaac was so tired I just put him to bed hoping it's not noticeable at school today. This morning in the mounds of laundry I realized we had never changed the sheets despite the mounds of laundry. I had to admit to Caleb I had no idea what we were doing for history today and despite the house being in perfect order Saturday afternoon (and I have not cooked a meal since Friday night) it is devastated now. Today I decided to kick my two cups of coffee a day habit back down to one. I was upstairs with the laundry and Caleb ran upstairs to tell me the pot wasn't underneath the espresso machine. I'm not sure if it's jollity, but Zade has been full on Zade today and earned himself an early nap. Jollity has its price, be forewarned!

PS - The picture is not of anyone I know, but I think we could be friends :).

Jollity

2011-12-11T20:52:00.004-05:00

Somehow we have fit some fun into these busy days! We got our tree this week. It is now a tradition to go to Freckleton's to get our tree. Mr. Freckleton is always a treat to talk to. We didn't find a tree to cut this year, but we tried. We were covered in mud since it hasn't been snowing but raining. Zade bit it... he had a big spot of mud on his rumpus. Mr. Freckleton managed to convince me to get a cup of hot chocolate, and the boys get to go in the tree house for a prize and always get a Christmas ornament for the tree. We'd recommend the place if you live near us!

Friday night we went to a live nativity with the boys and my parents. It was a local community church. It was very nice - they had a nice "show" and then plenty for the kids to do inside.

Saturday my awesome, wonderful, spectacular friends Deb & Abby came and watched the kids (bringing their own so they had a 7 kid pile) so Joel and I could go out. It was great! It was nice to be alone with my husband even in Christmas shopping. Later Saturday we took a spur of the moment trip to garden store that has a train set up. We also knew a friend from out of state was in town and took a chance on heading west to hopefully see him and his mom. It worked, and it was a nice visit. It could have only been better if his wife and kids were along.

Finally, today after church Caleb and I went to Handel's Messiah (see us all dressed up?). I have never seen it live and I loved it. I think this should be a yearly tradition if possible. I won't tell you exactly what Caleb thought... only that he is more than willing to give up his spot to his dad next year. I have to admit to being much older than him before I enjoyed this type of thing. He did not complain and only gave his opinion because I prodded!

The picture of Zade with the nutcracker is of him singing "rock a bye baby," just like we do to him. Now if we do our "rock a bye baby" routine he wants the nutcracker included. A while ago I started singing the song and rocking and pretending to drop him so I could actually hold him in one place for a minute. We're glad he likes it, sometimes it's the longest I can keep him on my lap!

We hope you're getting some holiday fun in too. Today I was thinking behind every treasured moment we've had the past few days is God's goodness. He does want to bless us with these times. He so wants to be present with us in this season. Don't forget to invite Him to be with you, and look for Him in your day.

Love me some veggies

2011-12-07T22:33:00.004-05:00

Ever since I had a neighbor that introduced me to healthier eating I have been opinionated. Lately too I stand in the snack aisle hating myself for buying cheez-its and teddy-grahams when I know they do nothing good for my children's bodies. I recently found a website called 100 Days of Real Food (through Pinterest, thanks Holly D.!). I love it. It is everything I want to be. I read her opinions and they are mine and I am glad I am not just crazy!

After Christmas we are taking the 100 Days of Real Food challenge. The kicker is Joel, he actually agreed... without any prodding. He even told me I could stop buying him cookies. I think that means I have to make some though. My kids will have to adjust, but not too harshly. The 100 Days looks like a gradual weaning.

Now, there are some points I will have to won over on. Flavored creamer is one, I am in love with it (in love, I'll say it again). Also, organic food is so expensive. I will have to balance my own reasoning and look for some cheaper alternatives.

I am very excited to do this, and thankful Joel is on board. But of course, we will have Christmas first.

Sickness Drama

2011-12-01T21:33:00.002-05:00

For a while now Caleb and Zade have had colds. Then I started to get one. Joel wanted little to do with me. Joel got a bad headache Sunday that was not gone by Monday night so I took him to urgent care and the boys and I drove around looking at Christmas lights. Joel had strep throat. Now I wanted little to do with him! I took Caleb and Zade for strep tests, which were negative. But Zade had a double ear infection. Joel's headache continued until Wednesday when I took him into the ER and they gave him that hardcore medicine that takes headaches away. So... the headache was gone for a while but he had bad heartburn and then a lower intensity headache. These were side effects from his medicine for strep throat. He called his doctor for a change in meds. Tonight as I think we may be on the rebound Caleb came downstairs with hives from who knows what.

Enough with the sickness drama! I am thankful my cold has stayed low intensity and pray it stays that way. So if you could, pray for the sickness to exit and not spread. And... Isaac, the one who actually goes to school and encounters all those germs is healthy :).

Catch Up

2011-11-29T20:52:00.005-05:00

And in truly random style I will not put these in temporal order. Blogger and I don't agree on moving pictures around so I am not going to fight it.
Caleb LOVES football this season. The National Museum of Play has a temporary football display. SCORE!

The bus driver told us it was a turkey hat... but it took us a while to see it. See the drum sticks? Now we find it hysterical. This was soon after Isaac's 4th Gotcha Day Celebration!

On a day when a friend came over to put in a new door for us at the time when some other acquaintances were dropping something off to the friend my children were in here laughing and yelling and screaming enough to make it sound like a prison riot. The only child I put in there was Isaac, Caleb put Zade in himself and Caleb hopped in. We can all thank God and pray for His continued mercy in Zade not being able to get in or out of his crib.
Caleb played soccer this year. Zade wandered this year, he made friends with babies, toddlers, adults and dogs.

Sometimes the circle gate has to come out. This time it was only 7 minutes before Joel came home, but I had reached my "chasing Zade out of every possible trouble" limit. This, by the way is one of Zade's dance moves, he does this and "runs" his legs.
I took this today. I thought he looked cute, but Isaac did not smile, he did not appreciate being stuck in the cushions. He loves his nutcracker we got out Sunday and has wanted to play with it everyday since.
Zade cracked Isaac and I up by "reading" the bible to us. Maybe he was speaking in tongues?
The Mercy Me song "Move" inspires just that in our house. Usually Zade runs to me to be lifted up and danced with. This time he grabbed Isaac, and Caleb joined in too.

Happy November!

A Sunday Morning

2011-11-14T09:27:00.006-05:00

I had an inspired idea to take the kids before church to the park to take their picture for Christmas cards. At ten o'clock it was warmer than I expected, maybe even 60, it has dipped to below 40 lately during the day. In November especially we have to take advantage of the warm because we never know when the deep freeze is coming.

The boys were especially smiley and we got some good pictures right away. Caleb climbed rocks and Zade pushed Isaac in the gazebo, you can tell they both enjoyed it. Here's one that is very cute, but didn't make the cut.

Isaac & Friends

2011-11-04T08:34:00.003-04:00

I just put Isaac on the bus and was inspired to post because he is so funny. Two times this week he has made it clear he does not like his shirt. One was a Buzz Lightyear shirt and the other was a Cars shirt. What 5 year old boy wouldn't like these shirts?! I had an inkling, because I know that he likes to look nice. I asked him if he wanted to wear shirts that made him look nice and handsome. He nodded "yes." I guess I should have told him he looks handsome in anything (just thought of that - whoops). Now I have to balance the school's request for "clothes to get dirty in," and my son's desire to be a looker.

When Isaac gets on the bus there are two boys already on. One boy comes to the back of the bus and talks to me while Isaac is getting on the bus. He has some special needs, not sure what they are. He cracks me up though, "Wait, we'll talk after I watch it (the lift) come up," "How was your weekend? (asked Monday-Friday)," "We'll talk later, have a good day." My favorite is when I say something and he exclaims, "You've got to be kidding me," and goes wild with excitement. Today he was trying to get Isaac to yell by yelling too. I am sure the bus driver is glad it's Friday. The other boy on the bus is not as social. I have talked with him a few times. But this week I have only seen his book bag and a couple glances of him. He is hiding from me. Sometimes he shakes his head "no," like, "crazy lady stop waving to me."

The Zade-inator

2011-10-16T13:40:00.002-04:00

I'm thinking we will need to move or remove the stool. Just a thought.

whoosh

2011-10-08T20:29:00.004-04:00

That is how the weeks pass.... whoosh and then here comes another one.

Last week Caleb and I took our trip and had a great time. When we left one camera was missing and the other not working. So... we used some disposable cameras with film (!) and they will have to be developed.

Caleb is very into sports lately, he is a hardcore Buffalo Bills fan, even though no one else in the house is. He always wants his dad around, and I think it is so they can play football. Isaac is still doing really well with school, he likes it a lot. Zadok keeps me hopping and laughing. We are so glad he takes a good nap :).

I also wanted to mention I started a new blog called Deeper With Jesus. This is something I felt led by God to do. I post them on facebook to try to encourage women to draw closer to the Lord. Whether or not you read them pray they will be used to help me and others deepen our walk with God. I will try to post on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

ROAD TRIP!

2011-09-28T21:44:00.004-04:00

Caleb and I are off on an adventure tomorrow. When I decided to do New York State history my desire was to do a lot of field trips. That can be hard when you have little ones. But it is made easier by an amazing husband.

This week we are learning about the explorers Champlain and Hudson (Hudson was later mutinied, who knew?). I thought, "I want to show Caleb Lake Champlain, I want to show him the Hudson." Google maps said it was over five hours away. I also found Ticonderoga, where Champlain came face to face with the Mohawk Indians and was the first European in New York State. I showed it to Joel and he said, "Why don't you go?"

We are off tomorrow afternoon, and will come back Friday night. We're going to Fort Ticonderoga, on the banks of Lake Champlain, and then we will probably drive home via the Champlain Canal and northern part of the Hudson River. I'd love to see the Hudson River Valley too... but I think I only have a one day pass :). I also promised Joel during baseball week (can we learn about New York without learning about baseball? Of course not. We will shamelessly promote the Yankees, we promise) he could take Caleb to the Baseball Hall of Fame which would be an overnight trip too.

Wish us well!

Us in Random

2011-09-23T13:55:00.012-04:00

1. I am going to my 10 year college reunion tomorrow. I am not a liar, or I would tell you I went to college when I was 12. I am going alone because Joel's platoon is at minimum and he can't even take an hour off :(. I decided this today and I don't know what to wear, I need a haircut, I don't have time to lose five pounds, and I have a big zit on my face. God has a sense of humor and likes to humble us sometimes :).

2. Zade does not like to have his picture taken. He dropped to the ground of the bridge today at the park and he and rolled around crying because I was following him with the camera. He did some crying too when I took pics of him in his Ethiopian outfit. He is so misunderstood, poor boy.

"Is she still there? This is awful!"

"Why, why me?"

3. I should have had his picture taken in his Ethiopian outfit months ago. But I saw it Saturday and squeezed him in it to grab some pictures. You have to somehow catch him at random with a smile, it's complicated.

A good one, also showing how big he is on the swing.

4. Isaac got a prize for being so well behaved at school. He was so excited and we were so proud!

He got an airplane to put together.

5. Zade is so quick, and especially hard to keep track of when I am cooking dinner, which is how he grabbed a hunk of chicken and ate it while I was finishing dinner.

6. We finished the long house. It's killer, sweet, sick. We also went to Ganandagan to see a real long house.

The roof also opens up to reveal bunk beds, fire pits, animal skins, blankets and pots.

7. We went to the lake last night and threw rocks and watched the sunset, it was nice.

8. Today we went to the park where Caleb climbed, we finally found a safe spot for Zade to get in the water, and we did a little baseball training.Note his arm extended (I have a firm grip on him) because he wants to jump off the "safe place" and into the pond.

These could be 8 separate posts, but I don't have time! There are seasons in life and this one is certainly busy.

Homeschooling is...

2011-09-14T14:11:00.006-04:00

A reflection on our first week of homeschooling...

1. Holding a 20 month old (standing up, sitting down will produce screaming) while he runs a backhoe over your head and teaching division.

2. Thinking you will pause to ask if your son understood the humor in the complicated description, but he is already laughing.

3. Letting your son decide what he wants to study for nature study, and you both learning together (cicadas live for up to 17 years and yellow jackets eat mosquitos).

4. Having to apologize (as the teacher) for getting frustrated :(.

5. Wondering if you've covered everything, wondering if they are really learning, wondering if you should move on or review... wondering, wondering, wondering. Then...

6. Remembering to pray, because when you don't it easily falls apart.

7. Realizing you don't have to know everything or do everything. There's a computer program to teach what you can't :).

8. Doing nature study in the morning to get the 20 month old out of the house where he is causing confusion and delay!

9. Enjoying a poem together.

10. Making plans to make a longhouse even though you said you wouldn't because the thought of the longhouse you made in 4th grade still gives you stress.

11. Wearing your Bills jersey as much as possible.

One of my favorite moments from this week was not easily written in a list. We are learning astronomy this year. I want to learn the constellations, so we will go out once a week to stargaze. Caleb is so excited about this. I know nothing about the stars, except for the big dipper. As I was looking at the map and trying to figure it out it all seemed so overwhelming and insurmountable to teach myself and Caleb the stars. I pointed out the big dipper. Caleb exclaimed, "WOW! I never thought I'd see the big dipper!" Ahh, the grace of God! I have already exceeded Caleb's expectations! It was a little lesson to me on God's expectations versus mine. He is so kind never to ask too much of us. And whatever He asks He will give us the strength to do.

The First Days

2011-09-08T17:19:00.003-04:00

Isaac showed more bravery than his mother and grandmother as he was lifted onto the bus yesterday. I told everyone to "keep their smiles on and keep waving!" Then my mom and I gave in to a few tears after he left. Tuesday night he was crying and I can only imagine he was feeling scared, but he woke up Wednesday morning very excited. He came off the bus all smiles and answered positively to everything I asked. He didn't break down until the end of the night, when he was so tired. This morning he was a little cranky (so am I when I first get up) but still did well getting on the bus and he was all smiles getting off again. I think it will just be tiring for him at first. Thanks for praying, he seems to be doing well!

Caleb told me yesterday he wished it was the last day of school. What?! "You liked it yesterday, right?" I asked. "I like the first day," he replied. He has at least admitted he will continue, and maybe even like it a little. He went on his first field trip today... conveniently located behind the library. It was a live in person tour of the Penfield State Police Satellite Station. He even had a trooper for a personal tour guide, who was kind enough to bring him home when I needed to bring Zade home for a drink before the tour. Caleb refused to be fingerprinted there, I am not sure what kind of offense that is, or if there is a fine.

Zade continues to be busy and entertaining. He's a smart little one too. He neighed at the horses we went by. When we came home from the library he had stepped onto the stool in the bathroom and was ready to wash his hands. I had forgotten that might be a good idea. He tries to be a help by picking up Isaac (which makes Isaac laugh hysterically!). Oh, and he can play air guitar and tap his foot. Now Caleb can be free to play air drums, which is his first choice.

You can see that I am a proud mother of a somewhat reluctant fourth grader, a brave kindergartner, and air guitar wielding one year old.

So it begins...

2011-09-06T15:28:00.003-04:00

Another school year began today. I was reminded of how crazy it can be to keep a couple non-schoolers content while the home-schooler works. But all in all it was a good day. We started off slowly and we'll build up to a full week next week. Zade has even learned how to cover his mouth in his elbow when he fake coughs (you know how troublesome fake coughs are) as we talked about preventing disease. He found my demonstration hysterical and would repeat it over and over. Caleb said school was, "good." He is now happily playing legos... free for the rest of the day!

Tomorrow is the big day for Isaac, kindergarten! He saw his bus today and was all smiles. Pray for him please. It's a long day and a new place. But he likes new things and is a smiley guy, so we think he'll do fine.

Isn't He Great?

2011-09-02T14:04:00.004-04:00

Our morning devotion time

If you read my hammock post on my other blog you may remember this verse:

"You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." Psalm 31:20

Then, I said and I quote, "We were hidden safely in His pavilion, there may have been 'plots of man' on the outside but they never touched us." However I did not believe there were really plots of man. But, as it turns out, there were. There were plots going on to rob us, and it did not seem to matter to the robbers whether we were there or not.

Isn't He so good? He gave us protection, but not only that, forewarned us of danger. Read your bible! God is speaking and wants to tell you things! All glory to God, our Divine Protector.

Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:16

Free wagon rides

2011-08-26T22:07:00.005-04:00

The wagon has become a fun toy. First Caleb gave Zade rides (look closely at the Zade's face in the second picture - joy!). Then, notice Isaac's sidelong glance at the fun. Soon we rigged it up for Isaac. Finally, Zade, ever independent, decided to pull it. I didn't get a picture, but he pulled Isaac too. Why can't we play wagons all the time? Why does summer have to end?

We Survived!

2011-08-18T21:53:00.005-04:00

We had a busy time camping. Joel and I worked hard... but we had fun, I think :). I know that Caleb and Isaac had a blast. They loved sleeping under the mosquito nets on their cots. We got to take a boat ride and the boys fished. They also fished off the dock. We went to Buttermilk Falls, where I had been when I was younger with my grandparents. We visited Hoss's Country Corner, that I remember from then too. That's where Caleb grinned down a bear. Today we went to a wildlife museum that was awesome. It would have been even better if we weren't worn out! They had a "playground" with stumps, logs, and sticks to play in.

The park we stayed at was beautiful. It was very quiet and private. The only trouble was the outhouses. It's the end of the season and they were a little rough. The Welcome Center had toilets so we could use those during the day. However we had about a half mile hike from where we parked to where we stayed. The paths were great though and the hike was enchanting. It felt almost magical going through it the first time... to me anyway. Joel was pulling half our stuff in a wagon - he missed the enchantment.

John Dillon Park was the name. We stayed for free in the lean-to. There were trails to follow, and trails are being added. They also provided us with all the wood we needed. A nearby college runs it, so they close next week. The service was great! One of the rangers took us on a 2 1/2 hour boat ride. Now, Zade is a busy boy. He can't be trusted by fires. He likes to explore. So the need for safety (i.e. we held him down!) cramped his style and made him a little cranky. He slept through the night but not as much as usual so he was off. This made it a little more stressful for the parents, but I think the brothers were having too much fun to notice!

PS - I have no idea how to not underline, as it magically appeared. It's making my eyes a little crazy - sorry!

Did you hear this one?

2011-08-14T22:04:00.006-04:00

My first notable race issue happened with my sons a couple months ago. I actually found it along the lines of, "Really?" I wasn't offended... but really?

At the doctor the secretary asked if I would consider my sons white. I was there with Isaac and Zadok. I looked at her and slowly said, "nooo." Then I told her Zadok was African American and Isaac was Hispanic, all the time wondering if the explanation was necessary. So glad my boys didn't turn white when we adopted them. Before we left she called a she a "sir." Not at all embarassed she called to the lady, "Sir.... sir... sir, whatever." I don't think she is blind... but, really?

Got one?

2011-08-12T12:30:00.003-04:00

I wanted a picture of all three boys in their Brazil soccer uniforms... and I got one. But there was one boy who was not very cooperative. I'm not naming names.

The uniforms are from a team local to where we visited, not national. I wonder a bit about putting my Colombian especially in a Brazil uniform. Don't tell!

And that's that

2011-08-06T17:18:00.005-04:00

Joel has a short week off starting the 15th. We thought... maybe we'll take the boys camping. Hmmm... the Adirondacks look good. It'd be nice to go to Long Lake where my grandparents used to take us. I searched and found John Dillon Park, which is totally wheelchair accessible, and has lean-tos you can stay in. It's even free! It turned out to be 4 miles from Long Lake. So in a split second decision when the man called back to say they had room we decided to sign up for two nights.

We have camped before, but not with three kids, not in a lean-to (which is three sided), and usually we have had electricity. This seems a bit more rustic than we're used to. I keep reminding myself that I slept in a hammock in the Amazon, this should be fine. It seems like a wonderful park and I'm sure we'll have fun. Praying for no rain and no bears of course.

Wednesday

2011-08-02T13:19:00.006-04:00

Warning - this is long - but I hope worth the read!

Wednesday was day two in Itacuruça, the town we stayed in. In the morning we went house to house to share Christ with families. I had never done this so at first you think you could give in to fear. But I decided that God could certainly do this in me, so I would not give way to fear. That is a good decision in any matter, because I can easily give in to fear.

We went to five houses. The first one held Christiano. He was sitting outside the house when we came up. He was an older man with Parkinson's. He was staying with Christians because he had no family and this kind family took him in. Joel and I were paired up with Rute and Eugenia who were great at getting the ball rolling and then we could chime in. We shared and prayed with Christiano and invited him to the Jesus film that night. He didn't come... but later that week he called Solomon (the leader of this area and surrounding towns who is a Christian) aside to talk to him and Christiano gave his heart to Christ. All glory to God!

Then we met a man who had three boys. Two were with him. His wife was recovering from surgery with his parents and he was at home checking the house. He no longer went to church. Rute gave a good lecture (she made for quite the matriarchal figure) on how Christ made him the leader of his family and he needed to go to church. I showed him the pictures of our boys, and told him that just as God sent us to get our children, He had sent us to him to encourage him to come back to God. Then I prayed for him through the translator.

Next we visited a family who was Christian and whose kids had been going to VBS. They showed us their cassava field they had been planting. We had a nice time chatting with them. They posed to show us how hard they worked. The next day I showed the picture to the boys and they were climbing me and laughing in excitement! The girls however shook their heads no, they wanted a picture taken in their nicer clothes. For their benefit I'll put both on :).

Next we met the mom and her baby... who I already wrote about. Finally we went to Isobel's house. She had a grandson there and a visiting relative Maria. They both had stopped going to church. They both came to the Jesus film that night and Maria recommitted to Christ!

For lunch a pastor and his wife invited us to lunch. They pastored a church about a mile outside of the village. We had shared the Jesus film at their church the night before and because our plans were cancelled on the island of Lemon we decided to do a VBS at their church Wednesday afternoon. But first lunch! It was Katie's 15th birthday which is huge (HUGE!) in South America. They threw her a party with cake. It was so sweet. The food was amazing... the pastor also owned a fishing business. He cut down coconuts for us so we could drink the water.

The VBS was more of a blessing for us I think. The kids did a welcome dance for us. The girls were dressed in bright pink and the boys in blue. They were great kids! The pastor's wife gave us a speech of welcome and thanks. She said she had a vision people would come from far away, but she never imagined how far. I sat their soaking in this knowledge and was so humbled. Truly it is so much more blessed to give than receive! Then we headed back to our pavilion home. Any pictures you see of us in a truck was the pastor from this church driving us.

That night someone needed to share a testimony after the movie. I really tried to tell Joel it was him, or that he should at least do it with me but apparently that wasn't the plan :). So it was me. While sharing with the father and his sons it the message the Lord had for me to give was formulating in my head. Because we were so busy I wrote my notes (in the dark!) while the Jesus film was going. During the film a bat came in and was flying around. The enemy knows I am scared of bats. But I was not afraid this time and I prayed that Jesus would get that bat out of there before I shared, and He did. I shared about our call to adoption, Isaac's special needs and God's promises to our family.

I read Genesis 22:16-18, verses God gave us as a promise for Isaac. Verse 18 says: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." As I was reading this verse it dawned on me that this was happening right now. This nation of Brazil was being blessed with our testimony because we had obeyed God in adopting Isaac. For me it was like a pinprick of light into the dark wonder of "why have we been through all of this." Always I know we did this for my sweet Jesus who I love and will always obey. I know in my head people around us have been touched by it. This however was a beginning dawn to the promises God has given us for Isaac. It was a sweet moment that distracted me momentarily - i.e. "Do I somehow voice this?" I wondered as the verse was being translated. No need - onward I went...

To tell them that as God sent us to our sons, that He sent us to their town to tell them how much He loved them. And just as He gave my sons a new family and new life He wanted to give them a new life in Christ. Joel and I have found our life story is a parable that can be used in many ways to share the Lord. That night as I said, Maria recommitted her life to Jesus. The next day I shared further with some women that had been at the film. God gave me the testimony to share and then blessed me while I was sharing it. Who is this God who loves us so? Again, Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! Psalm 72:18

And that was my Wednesday.

The Team

2011-07-29T15:17:00.003-04:00

Here are the people that were on thr trip. Even as I write this I miss them! See if you can pick out the Americans...

You can see Matt and Lisa on the left side. Just behind me is Bethany. Next to Joel is Anne. On the other side of Anne is Michelle. On the bottom row in green is Katie.

Joe and Jill are the missionaries with Amazon Reach... Joe is bending down a bit in the blue. His wife is to the left of him. I miss Jill! I've told Joel if she ever makes the trip she wants to to NYC and asks me to meet her I am as good as there. They met doing mission work with Youth With A Mission. He is from CA, she is from Brazil. They lived in FL for many years before God called them to Brazil. They have many stories!

The rest are Brazilians. They all have such a heart for the Lord. What a privilege to work with them all. Joe & Jill seem to have mastered how to make these trips and provide all we need so we can go out and do the missions work. They were the foundation. They had all the supplies ready for the dental clinic, they brought food, hammocks, AV equipment, and a seemingly endless supply of gadgetry that had them prepared for anything. There were four translators. The only time it was hard was with the kids who don't understand why you can't understand them and didn't always repeat what they had said to a translator. When they did it was usually something like "I want a purple bead." :)

Joe told us about the authority we had as Americans. People would listen to us simply because we were from the US. How humbling! That is why they worked hard to give us a chance to share. Just coming to this community - who are forgotten by others in their own country - showed God's love. We were only the second group of foreigners to be there in recent history. They came just to look at us. I pray us being there was more than a spectacle... but they remember God sent us... to them... because He loves them. And next time, I must tell you about Wednesday. Wednesday was my favorite day. Come back later and see why.

Two Things

2011-07-28T21:55:00.004-04:00

Macaco (monkey) Baby! My friend Rute next to me.

There were two things I wanted to happen in Brazil. I wanted to see a monkey in the wild. I have never seen one in the wild. Joe, the missionary, said sometimes they come in the trees at the base. You can tell when the dogs start going nuts. I was in the apartment Tuesday morning before we left for the jungle (we never saw a monkey in the jungle) and I heard my friend Michelle run in yell, "Sherri there's a monkey!" and run out. I ran out myself, not even stopping for the camera. Fortunately the monkey stuck around and Joel came out with the camera. The day we left there was a monkey too, Michelle saw it break a twig and drop it on the dog. Monkeys are funny.

The second thing I wanted was to hold a baby. God did not make me wait long for that either. Our second day in the jungle we went house to house sharing Jesus and inviting people to our showing of the Jesus film that night. We found a young first time mom home with her 2 month old baby girl. She was willing to share her baby with us, she was very proud of her. Something about holding babies makes you happy :). My only regret is that the mom and her husband did not come to the film like she said they would. Pray for them!

Thank you for your prayers for us, keep them up! We had a rough night tonight. We've tried so many things to break through to Isaac, but what really works is prayer. And click here for my dissertation on hammocks. I promise to get into the good things God did soon. But isn't He so kind to grant my two wishes?

Prayer

2011-07-27T17:10:00.003-04:00

We'd ask for prayer for Isaac and the rest of us. He has not done well with Joel since we have come home. He has not been able to get through dinner (Joel's meal to feed him) without screaming so much he ends up in bed for the night. He has been screaming since he got home and Joel got him off the bus and I was in the pool. We know that it is the enemy's response to our missions trip, but really the screaming is getting old. And I feel bad for Isaac holding that anger inside of him. Prayer will beat it back. thanks.

My heart

2011-07-25T22:07:00.005-04:00

My heart is in the mission field. Whether it is more short term trips, or someday full time I don't think there is any escaping it. Just so you are forewarned.

What a trip! It was full of adventure and fun. But mostly it was a blessing from God to be there and serve Him. There is so much to share. Each of my 600 pictures tells a story. I hope to put on some of the best and tell you them. Do you want to hear the story for this one?

This is the last day of our VBS in the town where we stayed. This boy and others are accepting Jesus into their hearts. But, this boy is also a silly boy. I'd like to think his face is passionate because of the sacred task at hand... but I have a sneaking suspicion he has seen this done before and knew just how he should look. Even so he was the first one to say he wanted Jesus in his heart and there was no joking around then. He was one of 15 kids who gave their lives to Christ at VBS. Pray for the seeds planted, pray these kids will transform their town for Jesus!

I started some posts on the less serious side of the trip @ Seemingly Random.

hello goodbye

2011-07-15T22:49:00.004-04:00

We are leaving Sunday for our trip! It has been so so busy, so busy. Pray August is quieter for us, please. I'm not sure what to say, the other post outlined it pretty well. Just pray for us! I am getting sad to leave the boys. They are the cutest ones on the planet.

So... pray!

1. Safe travels, that all the luggage arrives, and connections are made. That the keyboard we have to check remains intact!

2. That I can get all I need to get done done tomorrow. There's not much of a choice on that :)

3. Peace and blessing on those left behind! Peace and understanding for the boys. Strength for my in-laws and wisdom. Protection!

4. God would prepare the hearts of those we'll share with.

5. Last minute preparations (VBS skit, Portuguese songs, my talk on abstinence).

6. BOLDNESS!

7. SALVATION!

8. That we could be a blessing to the Brazilian team.

9. Protection from harm and disease.

10. Pray the enemy would be bound.

11. Our hearts would be knit to God's and each others. Team unity. Wisdom for Matt our leader.

12. Strength for us, that we would sleep well and work hard.

13. Blessing on Lisa and Anne as they work in the dental clinic. Praise the Lord a dentist is going with us now!

14. That all the equipment would work.

15. That God would work in hearts and change lives. Kids would get saved and follow always hard after Jesus. Teens would be touched to lead pure lives.

16. Transporation in Brazil would work out (minor glitches lately).

17. Joel and Matt as they study to teach. That VBS would run smoothly.

18. That I can leave my boys with peace in my heart (it's only a week, right?). I am glad I get to bring one with me.

Thanks - we want your prayers more than anything else. With that, this exhausted lady is going to sleep in my bed. Praise God for a comfy bed :).

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things!

Psalm 72:18

now THAT'S a missions trip...

2011-06-30T23:02:00.005-04:00

We had a meeting last night for our missions trip in which we talked with the missionary in Brazil. This is what I said to Joel afterwards, "When you think about riding on aboat down the Amazon River to remote villages you get a picture of what it might be... but you really don't think it will be like that. But it is."

We are going as a team of 8, 6 women (ages 14-54) and 2 men, Joel and our assistant pastor Matt. Matt's wife Lisa is one of the women going. Pray for her! She is newly graduated from a dental hygenist program and will be cleaning teeth. She will be the only one and it sounds like there will be A LOT of people there, with jungle teeth. Wild.

The rest of us will be doing VBS in two different towns. In one town they said about 100 kids, and in another town about 50. In our church we get maybe 60 kids for VBS, we have at least 20 volunteers to help. Lisa and a helper will be doing teeth, that leavessix. There will be about 4 or 5 (a guess) Brazilians coming with is. So tops ten helpers for 100 kids. Wild.

We will eventually fly into Belem, Brazil, about a 24 hour travel time. We leave Sunday the 17th, and arrive Monday morning. They are only one hour ahead of us. On Monday we will pack up to leave for the jungle and leave Tuesday morning. We will travel 3 hours by minibus and do ministry in the town we are staying in that night. We will be staying in an open air pavillion type place and sleeping in hammocks. WILD (as in are there jaguars?)!

We will be working with the Quilombolas, who are decendants of African slaves. They arebasically an unreached people group. Read about them here (this is not the missionary we are working with, I found it in a search). This is the second trip this missionary has been on to these villages. We will then go by river in a boat like this to another smaller village.

If a lot of teens come to the VBS they like to show a video called "No Excuses," which is a Focus on the Family video on abstinence. I will then talk to the girls through a translator, and Joel or Matt will talk to the boys. There is a high level of teen pregnancy there. Also whenever there is a chance they will play the Jesus film.

On Saturday we will return to the city and go to the airport that night. And Lord willing we will all sleep like babies on the plane. Please God!

I think we all feel in over our heads - but that is good. I am so in over my head that I know God will have to do the work through me and I realize I can in no way do it on my own. We are so humbled to even go, that God would use us to reach out to an unreached population. Someone they talked to last time had no knowledge of Jesus at all (no Christmas, no Easter). This is what I read about... and I get to do it. It is unbelievable. Please pray for us! Pray about all the things I've mentioned... and we need to plan and get supplies for the VBS, that God would provide the supplies the missionary would like us to bring, and please pray against the enemy and spiritual warfare. They've had bus and equipment failure stuff go on. This is the link to the ministry's website. Pray for Joe & Jill as they put up with us Northerners :).

After being in South America and Africa I am finally going south of the equator! I am hoping to see a monkey in the wild (and not much else... harmful anyway). I am excited to meet the people we will serve. Pray for health for our team, protection, servant's hearts for all of us, and a unified team. There is a lot more to pray for but it's late... goodnight!

a small chunk from Zade's day...

2011-06-27T13:52:00.005-04:00

Zade is a busy boy. I am going to take you through what was about a 5-10 minutes one afternoon when I decided to document the destruction. Step #1 - The bottom drawer is usually off limits to Zade, but I hope this might entertain him. It does for as long as it takes to empty it, drawer liner and all. Less than a minute probably.

Step #2 - The lock on the lazy susan is broken (and Target was out of replacements!) so Zade spiced up my floor. Also he took a few seconds to unload some tupperware.

Step # 3 - I try taping it shut because I am tired of picking up the spices. He is also drawn to the can of frosting... why not?!

Step #3 - Down comes the divider screen. I leave it... he walks on it for a few seconds and then...

Step # 4 - He downs a chair and pushes it around.

Step # 5 - He deftly gets into the lazy susan to free the spices once again. Note the masking tape to the right of his left foot. It is after this that I give up documenting. Praise God, he found a truck that occupied him for a full 15 minutes. But that was not enough time for me to get dinner made... so you can imagine the floor was well spiced and full of all manner of kitchen objects when Joel came home.

Do you know how he gets away with all of this? He gives the biggest hugs and sweetest smiles imaginable. And to top it off he is a funny, giggly boy. I guess we won't send him to boot camp yet.

Graduating: Is it Possible?!

2011-06-24T14:02:00.006-04:00

Isaac graduated from preschool yesterday! I was doing very well, until the drive in. I am always running late... and always pack too much to do in a morning, so I had left the most important thing until last. The note for his aide. He is coming back to school for summer and his teacher and therapists will be there, but not his aide. So, I was mentally composing and writing at stoplights and crying. It's OK that he graduates... it's not so OK for him to leave Mrs. B. Well, I pulled it together and fortunately I did not have mascara running down my cheeks. I gave the note and flowers to Mrs. B and warned her to read it later! This picture is of Isaac (with Mrs. B) as they came in, he was so excited and couldn't contain himself because not only were we all there, but so were Grandpa & Grandma, and Auntie Bubba!

Isaac was so good up on stage. He smiled at us and checked out the crowd. He was the first one to graduate! Here he is with Mrs. B and his teacher Laurie. You might as well know that I am tearing up writing this. It's a good thing this transition comes in stages. As you may guess it is harder for me than Isaac! In August I'll have to say good-bye to three therapists, his teacher, and the school... so we can all imagine what that will be like.

Oh, did I fail to mention, he got a new haircut? It was his choice, if you remember, Isaac won the vote to get a mohawk two years ago. He also woke up with a purple mark under his eye, on graduation day. Imagine the irony of a preschooler graduating with a mohawk and a shiner. We don't know where it came from. Isaac has nodded "yes," that Zade did it, that he himself fell on a toy (the tractor), and that he punched himself. Let's hope the rebellion ends after preschool.

Congratulations Isaac! We are so proud of your hard work in preschool. You've charmed the entire school. We know you'll conquer the hearts of those at your new school too!

PS - If you go to the post about Isaac's 2009 mohawk you will see my prayer requests about Isaac going to school. I can say they were carefully and lovingly answered by God.

SaNd

2011-06-19T22:09:00.006-04:00

We haven't filled the sandbox in a couple years. This was Zade's first sandbox experience. He wanted to dump sand on himself like he does in the bathtub with water. I think he actually did a couple times. Now, the boy can only go in the sandbox if he gets a bath soon after. Caleb and Isaac were a little less exuberant in their play. It's Isaac's new favorite outdoor thing to do. He was in the sandbox almost two hours!

Word

2011-06-18T22:38:00.004-04:00

The word at the station is... and then I know not to believe it. Is every work place like that? You cannot trust the gossip. When I hear a rumor from Joel's work then I am 98% sure it will not come to pass. It never has. But this rumor was very interesting because Joel was at the center of it. My "minds his own business" husband at the heart of a rumor. What scandal!

The word at the station is that Joel is quitting his job to become a missionary to Brazil. His BFF at work has gotten pleas from other troopers to try to get Joel to come to his senses. Someone was surprised when Joel told him he would only be gone a week. I laugh as I write this. Rumors :).

Joel did tell his friend, "If God told me to I would." Joel also told me, "Ten years on the job, ten years from pension, and I'd leave it for (the sake of) eternity."

water fun

2011-06-08T21:52:00.005-04:00

Isaac had field days at school last week. He raced, played tug of war, red rover, and finally got to throw water balloons at the teachers! He loved that, but even moreso he loved when the tables were turned and they threw water balloons at the students. Today at school they had a wading pool extravaganza and he got soaked again! His aide didn't put on her suit and she also got drenched. She said Isaac laughed the whole time :).

Monday night we got the water table out to entice Zade to stay in the gated area. All the boys had gads of fun. Zade and Isaac were drenched. Caleb was smart enough to wear a bathing suit. Zade assumes the water is solely there for dumping on oneself or others. Well, at least Isaac blamed Zade for his drenching.

What a blessing even water is. It's a blessing to have enough to play in when it's hot. How much more the living water, let's drench ourselves in that. "He that believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." John 7:38

Yard Sale Success

2011-06-01T22:18:00.005-04:00

Caleb sold cupcakes his aunt made for him and water.

Isaac watching the sale, note his swollen eye :(, much better now though.

Zade loves his mower, but it seems to him the road needs work.

We woke up to cold and rain Friday morning. Until 8:15 (the sale started @ 9)we were convinced we wouldn't have many people. Then a flood of people came. We priced low to sell and people bought by the boxes! The boys were inside and Joel and I were outside trying to set up and deal with customers (did I mention the rain?).

I called my mom in a panic, "Are you on your way?!" Inside I could hear Zade shrieking, Caleb pounding on the piano, and finally Caleb yelling "Help! Help!" I would be kidding myself to think the yard salers were not hearing the same thing. My mom walked in to this plus Isaac all messy from breakfast and cat puke on the floor with one sock in it (mine, meant as a flag to keep others from stepping in it). I did mean to clean it up, sorry mom! I also walked around in my sandals with one sock on for a while. It was four hours later before I had time to change into my sneakers.

We were able to bless some people with low prices, and some other ladies with plants from my garden. Those were the best parts. That and the Mexican ladies commenting on my sister's dress; "la cucaracha" was all Joel caught.

Saturday was warm and sunny. It wasn't as busy, but it was nice to be outside. We were practically giving things away at the end. Because when it was all done we brought everything else to the Goodwill and clothes drop at the local Catholic church. You should have been there, you could have scored some sweet duds ;).

Thank you Lord for blessing our sale, and helping us shed a lot of stuff.

May Top Ten

2011-05-25T22:31:00.004-04:00

1. If you're wondering where I am, maybe it's in the doctor's office. Isaac and Zade have kept us busy with appointments, averaging two a week for the past few and the next couple. My goal is none over summer!

2. Isaac is styling in his new wheelchair. He is tough stuff, he loves it. It is tough stuff, I had no idea it'd be so big and heavy... i.e. I could hurt myself putting it in the van. You can't tell from the picture that it goes back pretty far!

3. We are having our yard sale Friday & Saturday. Pray we have good weather and a good turnout.

4. We went to MI to visit Joel's parents and his brother's family. Everyone agreed Zade was an adorable, busy boy. We found Zade and his cousin Evan are very similar. Evan's a year older... Jenn tells me there's hope beyond two for busy boys!

5. At the border going into Canada Isaac's CERTIFICATE OF CITIZENSHIP blew out of the man's hand, the only thing we have as proof of citizenship. It flew high in the air, whirled about, and miraculously swept into a puddle where the officer retrieved it. I wondered how we would get another, Joel wondered how we would leave Canada. Would Canada have tried to keep him?!

6. I have become a daytime (pre-dinner) vegetarian. Why? I like vegetables, I don't feel the need to eat a lot of meat, and the article featuring vegetarians piqued my interest (and vanity!) by saying how slim vegetarians are. I will not be stauch, because sometimes bacon is just good in the morning.

7. Seven school days left. I was thinking the other day... something has to give, I am tired. Something will give - school's almost done!

8. Zades McDonald's Story: On our way home from MI we stopped at McD's. I had to change Zade, he had soaked through. He stuck his hand in the toilet while I was picking up our mess. He then sat in the questionable highchair with an icky tray. He was caught sucking the strap. Eeew. When I told him "no, no," he looked me straight in the eye, rubbed his pointer finger on the tray and then put it in his mouth. How did he know to do that? Is he purposefully freaking me out? Is that why he is on antibiotics again?!

9. Joel and I are going to Brazil. Joel's parents are coming to watch the boys. Pray for them and us! We'll be gone July 17 - 24. We'll be traveling down the Amazon by boat to help with medical outreaches and hopefully do a VBS.

10. Time for bed, always a good way to end.

Big Days

2011-05-19T15:07:00.004-04:00

May 11, 2010

May 11, 2011

Zade has had some big days lately. On May 11th we celebrated his first Gotcha Day. We were visiting Joel's parents. We went to a playground, and the first picture is the best of Zade as he surveyed it. After that he was exploring quite rapidly. We also had yummy cookies.

Today was his adoption finalization. Because of the visa he came in on he had to be readopted in New York State. Now it is official, and he is officially a citizen of the U.S.A. When the judge was about to sign he asked Caleb if he should proceed, it was all up to him. We're glad Caleb said yes :). The court took a whopping ten minutes, but we started the process back in September. Now we apply for citizenship and then we will be done with our adoption paperwork. We have been somewhere in adoption processes for almost seven years. I believe that is enough for now!

So yay Zade! We're so glad to have had you for a year and look forward to one more and one more and one more...

Reflecting

2011-04-27T22:26:00.004-04:00

Happy Resurrection Day!

Zade has been enjoying books lately

We went to an egg hunt at our friends' church and Isaac won an Easter basket

We visited great-grandma and took a gator ride

Zade found a spot that I used to hide in at great-grandma's :)

Lately, while crazy and loud on the outside, it has been a bit quiet on the inside. It is hard to explain. Do you know what it feels like when you really don't know the answer, so you are just quiet and wondering? That's how I feel, although I can't say that I am looking for an answer to a certain question. Moreso that as I read about educational theories, as I think about doctrine, and look at others about me I am quiet and waiting to hear what God thinks about all of this.

I read a story to Caleb for school titled Mudslinging. In it two sides were slinging mud at each other, and claiming to know the "Kings Ways" best. In the middle was a street cleaner who no matter what hit him kept cleaning up the mud while more mud flew. When he looked at anyone in the face they were ashamed and stopped throwing mud. One person, Little Child, recognized the street sweeper for who he was, the King himself. Then Little Child went to help the King clean up the mud. I don't know why but it broke my heart and it was hard to read. Whether in thought, word or deed we have all been guilty of flinging mud at other Christians. The part that hurt was picturing Jesus in the middle as the street sweeper. That our mud slinging hurts him, because in the story sometimes there were rocks in the mud. The key, I thought, was to be right next to the King. Looking at His face will change us, and coming along side Him is the only right place to be.

hOmE sChOoL

2011-04-15T13:57:00.003-04:00

Could it be that I am at the end of my third year of home schooling? We still have a month and a half left, but I am already thinking about next year. I am thinking about it because I am reading a book I started but never finished, For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. It's a well-known book around home schoolers but it is a great read for any parent. It has helped me to think through the haze of the day to day grind and think purposefully about Caleb and Isaac's education and how we want to raise our boys.

For me, and I think this is the case for many home schoolers, home schooling is not something I get up in the morning thrilled about. Maybe some days, but not often enough. It is something I do because I believe it is the best choice for Caleb. The day to day is sometimes difficult, but looking at the overall picutre I am so happy to have this choice. I know it affords many benefits to our family and to Caleb.

Lately though I have noticed Caleb is bored and doesn't like certain parts of school. Guess what, I agree. So my mission is to tweak our system to make it better for both of us. What parts does Caleb love? Can we put more of that into our day? Some things he may not ever love doing, but I think we can make it better.

Next year I'm going rogue. I am putting together my own system with a lot of help from our current curriculum, the website Simply Charlotte Mason, and my own thoughts for Caleb. We are going to learn about NY State History. If at the end of the year if we want to jump back on board with our current curriculum we will with time to go through the history of the world before Caleb hits high school.

We're going to read a lot of books, go on a lot of field trips, and hopefully wake up at least one day a week excited for school. Maybe we'll get a crayfish, because that was one of my favorite parts of 4th grade. We'll do spelling a different way because Caleb is a born speller and lists are tedious to him. Maybe Joel will agree to let us go to NYC together. Now that is something to get excited about :).

Sly Guy

2011-04-14T20:57:00.002-04:00

Zade loves to sneak into the fridge. He is so quick he can abscond with the syrup in a second. The last two pictures were taken on two seperate occasions of grabbing the syrup. The two incidents happened within minutes of eachother and both times I didn't even notice he had grabbed it until I heard little feet running. If he has time he will also get in the fridge and take a seat. He always grabs the syrup if he can, before it was maple syrup and now it's Aunt Jemima's. He looks proud of his conquest, doesn't he?

Zade gets busier and quicker by the day. He recently has been trying to say more, but he really has been concentrating on being busy :). He says "uuh" for up, "aah," for again, "befah" for breakfast, he does a good "woof" (even in context!), "zsesh," for yes, and "baba" for his milk, banana, food, and almost anything else. He says "mama," "dada," and "ni ni" for bed time.

Whenever the timer or microwave goes off he points to it. It's really funny. Today Caleb was finishing his math drill on the computer and I tried to tell Zade Caleb would turn the timer off, but Zade kept pointing until Caleb actually did. We certainly love our little guy and his nuances. Tonight for the first time in a long time he was still enough to let me rock him before bed. He cuddled up with his blanket, his thumb, and his mom. Love it.

Rest?!

2011-04-07T22:24:00.003-04:00

When I bring something to the basement playroom where Caleb has a tent set up I think it would be a great thing to hide in the tent. Maybe take a nap. I wonder how long it would be before they would come looking for me. A couple times a day Zade just lays on the floor. All he needs is less than a minutes rest and he is back to his busy ways.

Speaking of busy ways, I feel like I am on speeding train with just endless track and no slowing down in sight. During my day I rarely get a break. The caretaking, the school, the meals and dishes, and the Zade detail ;) are enough for a full day. Add to that all the appointments we have had lately and you find me daydreaming about half an hour to myself.

This week we visited a school for Isaac. This week we learned Isaac will need surgery that sounds painful. This week I made three more doctor's appointments for Isaac, and really should add two to that list. I am already not thrilled with how kindergarten choices are being made. I am a person who avoids confrontation and will generally put up with things. But I'm irritated and I hate being irritated.

What I try to do, and what I need to do is go to my past advice of sleeping in the boat with Jesus. There are big waves out there that I don't like and either want to yell at or hide from. But what if I could slip quietly into the hold of the boat and rest with the Lord Jesus, because He has it all worked out? Doesn't that sound wonderful? He has gone before us, but at the same time is here with us. I think at the right time we'd go together and He would calm the storm.

I was comforted by a daily devotion that said if you are seeking God's will, He will show it to you. We are seeking His will for a couple things I'd like to share. Definitely we are praying for God to show us where Isaac should be for school. I am praying about a stay at home mom's group a friend and I are starting at church, we want it to be God's group, and His way. Joel is going to Brazil this summer on a missions trip, and I am praying if it's God's will that I can go too.

Now, as disjointed as this post is, it will have to be accepted because I just had half an hour and I spent it doing this :). All I ask is that you pray for us after you read it!

PS - I have also laid on the floor just like Zade when I was tired and have not known what else to do ;).

Please take the time...

2011-03-29T23:09:00.002-04:00

to read this post by my friend Jenn. Again, a country is not mentioned, but it is another family who is adopting a special needs child. At the final stage the judge decided the boy, who has down syndrome would be better off in an institution. They are appealing the decision. Another family is about to go before the same judge in the next couple of days trying to adopt a child with down syndrome. Please click here for more details.

FiVe YeArS oLd!

2011-03-19T21:06:00.003-04:00

In his new chair from Grandpa & Grandma C.

At Strong Museum on the carousel

He found them!

In his snazzy raincoat and umbrella from Grandpa & Grandma F.. He will wear it to school rain or shine on Monday :)

Isaac turned 5 today! He was so so excited. I teased him that he would go back to three instead of ahead to 5. He shook his head no. I think this is the first year he realizes his age, or at least the importance of being a year older. He told us he did not want to go to Strong Museum, then we showed him the pictures of when we went for Zade's birthday. He quickly changed his mind and decided he wanted to go. He not only rode the carousel, but the train too, amongst many other things. Once we were home he had a treasure hunt to do. He decided he didn't really want to do this either. We had to tell him the treasure at the end was his presents. Then he decided it was a good idea.

He played with his new car ramp until dinner time. Then Grandma & Grandpa came and more presents! By now he was getting sleepy, but he persevered through cake :). Now he is sleeping soundly, my big 5 year old. Here are five things (and an extra - kind of like a pinch to grow an inch) I like and love about Isaac ~ ~ ~

1. He cannot hide his emotions, and today he was full of smiles and shrieking excitement.

2. He is the only one who likes to help me cook and bake.

3. He has an amazing sense of humor and his giggles and laughs are some of the best.

4. He loves his brothers and hardly ever yells at them (unless he thinks they need it :)).

5. He will eat almost anything I make (not all people in this house are like that!) and he drinks coffee (when I let him).

* He is an amazing little boy at school. He works hard, has many friends (including a girlfriend!), and the staff love him. Really, I can't see how they'll make it next year without him.

Now that I have mentioned his girlfriend I am sure you are curious. She rides his bus and hugs him everyday when she gets on. He keeps telling me she is his favorite girl, and I insist that I need to be his favorite. Sigh. The only thing that could be problematic is this girl's older sister was his girlfriend last year. Oh Isaac, watch out!

Happy Birthday my big boy! We pray God blesses you mucho mucho this year!

At the risk of...

2011-03-17T21:40:00.002-04:00

scaring my husband, I will tell you I was just on our agency's waiting children page. There are children in just one orphanage in Ethiopia that have been there since 2007. This is about the time our agency started their Ethiopia program. So a boy who was six, and maybe more "adoptable," is now ten and less adoptable. There's a sibling set that has agreed to be seperated to give their younger sister a chance at being adopted. They are at the same orphanage Zade is from. I saw them, but I didn't know that they had been waiting so long for a family. Does it make your heart hurt?

Then, on the China waiting child page. There's a boy Caleb's age who has a cleft palate. That's all. There are several babies with mild cerebral palsy. There is a boy with the cutest face and brightest eye, I say eye because one eye is bulging with some kind of cyst. Can we look past the list of pictures to the need for homes for these little ones? Will anyone help?

At the risk of being too bold I will address one excuse. That excuse is money. I agree you have to be called to adopt. If you are married, you have to be in agreement. But one excuse at a time. Money. It is expensive to adopt internationally. But do you know the God who owns a cattle on a thousand hill? Do you know when we started to adopt Isaac we did not have the money, nor did we see where it would come from? God told us we would not have to borrow money. We did not. He gave us a conviction that He would provide, and we believed Him. We did not ask for a penny from anyone except God. When it came to the weeks before we left for Colombia there was an amount we needed, and I refused to tell anyone what it was. God had the person give us the amount we needed within $50. Money is not an excuse.

Nor are disobedience, laziness, or selfishness. While money may not be an excuse of mine, any one of those three are. So... we'll tackle those another night. Meanwhile, pray for the orphans of the world. Pray for Ethiopian adoptions (a threat looms to slow them down), pray for Haiti to establish adoption processes that will give 8 year olds living in cribs homes. Pray for those newly orphaned in Japan. I thank God that He alone can reach into the hearts of the orphans and whisper His care for them that will heal all their past and present hurts. Praise to Him!

The High Hills

2011-03-15T22:36:00.005-04:00

Today was a day. It involved ladies prayer, going to the doctor's to pick up paperwork, registering Isaac for kindergarten, meeting with Isaac's therapists and a vendor about a wheelchair, a dead mouse (hunted by my husband), grocery shopping, a walk outside, baths, and finally a night out for me and a night in for the boys. The children were properly fed, educated, and cared for. I cried once (make that twice). There is still mouse blood in the garage that skeeves me out. The boys behaved excellently for their father tonight.

As I said I registered Isaac for kindergarten and we had the wheelchair meeting. Also on Friday we will discuss with his service coordinator getting a ramp for Isaac to get into the house in his new wheelchair. I had prayed about it all and was talking to my pastor's wife about it, I called them all "distasteful things." I would love to homeschool Isaac, I don't want him to have a wheelchair and I definitely do not want a ramp to my house. I am trying to have a better attitude, not that I have to like doing these things, but at the very least I should not complain about them because this is what God has put in our path to do. God reminded me of Isaiah 58:13-14.

If you turn your foot from the Sabbath,

From doing your pleasure on my holy day,

And call my Sabbath a delight,

The holy day of the Lord honorable,

And shall honor Him not doing your own ways,

Nor finding your own pleasure,

Nor speaking your own words,

Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;

And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,

And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.

The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

My pleasure would be to have a son who could walk and talk. My words would not speak calmly about wheelchair options. My foot would not walk into the elementary school and register my son for kindergarten. But these verses are growing up verses. These verses lay the challenge at my feet. Give up my pleasures, my words, and turn my foot to God's way and He'll cause me to delight in Him and to ride on the high hills of the earth. In a way this is what we have been doing all along. At the same time it is a promise, an acknowledgment as well. God knows these are not my choices, but they are His, and because of that I trust that whatever it costs me in hurt and dislike for my task it will be nothing compared to the delight I will have in Him. And I believe that riding on the high hills of the earth will be pretty spectacular.

the day

2011-03-10T13:22:00.004-05:00

Just to clarify... this blog is sometimes for me so I remember things :). Also the picture is random from Caleb's birthday.

Today...

Zade pooped and ran right to the drawer with the diapers. When can I start potty training?!

Isaac wouldn't smile at me when he was getting on the bus until I stuck my tongue out. Then he did too.

Caleb is downstairs singing Davey Crockett to himself.

Joel is sleeping and I am grabbing a cup of coffee. Then to start homeschool again.

First Haircut!

2011-03-08T20:27:00.004-05:00

Zade got his first haircut! So sad :(. But when I combed it tonight and there was no screaming I saw the worth of it. He screamed for the first part of the haircut... then Joel entertained him with a toy and he calmed down. I'm not so sure if the screaming was for the haircut or because he was restrained! As you can see he is still the cutest one year old on the planet. No worries!

Before and After

2011-03-08T20:24:00.002-05:00

They needed haircuts, badly. I am so glad I can see them now. Caleb is happy it's not too short, and I am happy Isaac has a curl or two :).

bOyS aNd ThEiR cArS

2011-03-05T21:37:00.003-05:00

When the haircuts were cancelled we decided to go to the Rochester Auto Show. The thought occured to me that if I had daughters maybe I could have gone to the garden show that was also in town. I digress :). As soon as it was mentioned to Isaac he was so excited. As you can tell in the elevator...
The first car we got in was a BMW, not a bad start, and really it could only go downhill from there.

As you can see it was hard to get Isaac to look at the camera! I thought the "cloth" hanging on the ceilings was so posh, but then I saw at least what was on the walls was plastic. Oh well.

I said, "Caleb would you like this for your first car (the Jeep Wrangler)?" "Yes!" he said. "Well, you never will." So mean!

Isaac liked driving this cute little Subaru, I liked it too.

Zade was very good at the show, especially if we were moving. I decided to get some pics of him and he decided to make some silly faces for me.

It was a fun afternoon. It was good to get out of the house and do something as a family that wasn't errand running!

a day in a year

2011-02-24T20:13:00.005-05:00

Today is a special day because a year ago we got the phone call about Zade! It's hard to believe a year has passed... if you want to read about it again click here. Now Zade is no longer an infant, but a toddling one year old. He is full of energy. He is full of loud noises. He likes to unload cupboards (see above!). He also likes to hide in curtains and vacuum. He has a shirt that says "Caution: May Require Supervision" because a more truthful shirt has never been written about him.

He also likes to run up to you and stick his head between your legs. Then if you pick him up he gives you a big hug. Zade is learning how to run, I think he'll be ready by spring. We pray for Zade's protection. I have taken countless things out of his mouth and have grabbed him just in time before he would've gotten hurt. One time a balloon happened to be following him around and acted as an airbag to what would have been a serious blow to the head! We think God has assigned a legion of angels to Zade :).

Sometimes, like any baby, Zade gets cranky. Often he is very busy and I think I'll go crazy. But more often than that we are thankful, and we are laughing at his silly antics. He has a knack for "cute-ing" his way out of trouble. He likes to look at books - but he sometimes destroys them! He can hide parts to his toys that we can't find... and he shows up with them a couple days later. He loves his Dada, Mama, and big brothers. We love him. And we are so glad we got that phone call a year ago. Apparently we couldn't wait for another day!

Made It!

2011-02-20T20:57:00.003-05:00

I have been sick this week, in case you didn't know, comatose on the couch sick. I wanted to make it to my cousin's wedding and we did! Saturday was the first day I wasn't chilled or achy. My cousin Michelle married Corey yesterday, you may not be able to tell, but we have the same curly hair :). It was a beautiful wedding and I was so glad to be there. It's nice to be with family, even when you are the bump on the log because you're afraid to breathe on anyone!

Michelle is a couple months younger than me. We grew up playing paperdolls and kickball. We also played how many cousins can you fit on a toilet. We were little so there were at least two or three. It makes me wonder where my parents were. Friday nights in Seneca Falls, good times.

Just like last night was a good time, and I pray it will be good times for Corey and Michelle!

Best Brothers

2011-02-15T13:44:00.003-05:00

My boys are something. They require all of my energy plus whatever 3 shots of espresso adds to that energy. I was running on the treadmill last week thinking "why in the world do I feel the need to do this when I feel like I run a marathon everyday?" Since that thought I have had a hard time getting back on the treadmill!

But... these boys are happy boys (minus teething crankiness :)). They rarely fight (helps that two are non-verbal). They make each other laugh all the time (which is helpful when I am not feeling so funny). They have kept me from laziness. They have taught me what it is to pour myself out. And in pouring myself out I have learned that God's supply of grace is endless. When I am cranky and at the end of what I feel I can do, I pray, and God gives me a fresh measure of patience, energy, and love. To the cranky run down moms out there, pray, put on worship music, and brew a pot of coffee. You and Jesus can make it through the day!

PS - Soon I will do a post on Zade, because if I do run a marathon in a day at least half of it is keeping him out of trouble!

Please take a look!

2011-02-02T17:45:00.003-05:00

I'd love for you to look at this post from a blog I follow... http://thekulpchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/02/fear.html

A family in the Rochester area is adopting a child with special needs from a country in eastern Europe. Once these children hit a certain age - as young as 4 :( -they are transferred to a mental institution where they stay. It looks like even if they have families to adopt them they aren't always released to them once they are in the institution. She lists some kids who need prayers. Pray for God hears and cares!

Also pray for Zade, he burned his little fingers on the fireplace I forgot was on after his nap. :(

Y-day

2011-02-01T22:28:00.002-05:00

I can't wait for yard sale day! We usually just donate whatever we want to get rid of, but this amount of stuff deserves a yard sale. What we will get rid of has taken over 1/2 our storage area and part of the basement. And we've only just begun. Tonight I was condensing the 0-6 month clothes and the 6-12 month clothes into one bin. I was plugging through thinking, well this is not as hard as I have heard. I was doing the clothes that Zade just grew out of, and again I thought, this is not too hard.

Then I had another thought. I thought, "is there a point to keeping all of this at all?" It felt silly to keep it all if we didn't need it. Will we need it? The thought of getting rid of it all was hard, and I decided that it was worth it to keep the clothes to avoid thinking about whether or not we actually needed them. I really have no idea if we'll have more kids, and am kind of glad I can rest and wait for the Lord's word on that.

That said I wish we could have the yard sale tomorrow. I don't know how long we can rearrange storage to contain all we want to sell. What I am hoping is that it will warm up really soon (don't laugh too hard - those of you familar with winters here) so we can put the stuff in the garage. Let's hope it's not May before that happens, ugh...

8888888*8

2011-01-27T21:27:00.005-05:00

Finally, no more car seat! "I'm going to chuck it out the window." - Caleb

Caleb turned 8 today! He embraced his "rights" as the birthday boy and demanded that everyone be happy and nice to him. He had a pretty special day. He wanted to sleep in our room, so he camped out on the floor. I had to set my alarm for 6:54, so we could hug him once more as a 7 y/o and celebrate at 6:57 him turning 8. Then the three of us cuddled in bed and looked at his baby pictures. We came downstairs and watched some of his baby videos. Then he got 3 Ps: presents, pancakes, and phone calls. We went to Strong Museum for the afternoon, then back home for the 4th P, party. We had family over and there were 2 more Ps (pizza and presents) and C & I (cake and ice cream). In honor of Caleb turning 8, I am going to write 8 things I love about Caleb.

1. His sense of humor. He's had some excellent one liners, I'm so proud ;).

2. His patience with his brothers, and genuine love and care for them. I love it when they play and he's doing it because he enjoys it and not because I make him (which I do sometimes!).

3. He is growing in the Lord. I always pray my children follow hard after God, what an advantage!

4. He still likes hugs, kisses, and cuddling.

5. His hair. The red was a pleasant surprise 8 years ago, and I like his cool longish haircut. Although I like to see his eyes... such a mom thing!

6. He plays air-instruments, specifically drums, but will do guitar in a pinch. When Joel and I would drive before kids I'd dream of the day we'd have a full air band in the back seat.

7. His imagination. I still get to pretend many things. It's so fun! The other day Isaac was a dinosaur, and he decided he was Davey Crockett and was going to take care of that dinosaur. Really? OK, we'll go with it.

8. He's a happy boy. He is full of ideas of all the fun we can have. If only I could keep up with that!

He's my most favorite "big kid" and is a rocking good boy. I love him to pieces and think that eight (forgive me for this) will be great. I can't end without praising God for giving him to us. Thank You God for our oldest son, please draw him closer to You this year, help him to grow in You and follow hard after You. Guard his thoughts and actions and watch over him and protect him from harm. In Jesus name, Amen!

Reflections on a conversation

2011-01-22T21:43:00.002-05:00

Decisions. When I make a decision it is usually for my best. That makes sense, right? If I had control I would make sure that the course of each day, and my entire life would be as easy and pain free as possible. I was talking about adoption with a friend. We're not sure what God's plans are for our family (three is plenty right now!), but I was eliminating one path of adoption because of the possibility of attachment issues. In other words, give me the child that has the least likelihood of having attachment issues because I don't want to go through this again.

But... then I reflected. Is that the right way of thinking? No, pain-free, easy living shouldn't be our goal. I just need to do what God wants me to. There may be pain and there may be times when you feel like you are fatally wounded in spirit. But this is when God's glory shines through, when you are weak others see the strength of Christ. I've made the decision before that wasn't the easiest. The only reason I made it was because I wanted Jesus with me and I wanted His best. If that meant pain, then dish it up because I'd rather be in the storm with Jesus than have sunny days without Him. He truly becomes Savior and Friend when you need Him the most.

cleaning out~~~~

2011-01-19T21:50:00.003-05:00

For some reason God has shown us it's time to get rid of a lot of things. We're aiming for half. Not across all categories like furniture and I tried to broker a deal concerning books :). Today I showed Joel this wild postcard my Grandma and Grandpa sent me and he pulls one out of his stack his aunt and uncle had given him. Oh, we were meant to be :).

Part of what led us this way is reading about George Muller, the famous missionary to Bristol England who ran an orphanage that over his life time cared for 10,000 orphans. He never asked people for money, he just prayed and asked God. Love it! Read his autobiography, or the kids version is great too (by Janet & Geoff Benge) that I've been reading to Caleb. Sometimes I'd choke up reading it, realizing how amazing God is to answer that faith filled prayer. When he got married he asked his wife to sell her "extra" things, noting that they could not be free to move where God wanted them to with all those extras.

Actually the cat card is a funny illustration because I do feel I have two of a lot of things I don't need two of. Measuring cups, after Christmas we had four sets. I got a cute set from my in-laws, and Isaac got a set in his baking set. Out went my old two. I had a set of silverware from when we were married, but another set also my mom had collected for me. Out went the set we had been using and now we're using what my mom gave me.

We feel very free by tossing things or piling up for the yard sale things we can sell. With the get rid of 1/2 principle it is easy to sort. You get down to keeping your favorites. Like my "Pasta" pot that I never really used. It's a lovely pot with an Italian flag on it that says "Pasta Time," out went my standard pot and in came the pasta pot. I have lived long enough to be done with "what if someday????" Meanwhile we sit on so much stuff. Stuff, stuff, stuff.

It does help if God tells you to. I've prayed, "God help me do this," He knows what is important and what He wants us to have. It's all His, right? I have been guilty of buying twice as much or four times as much as I should have. I'm losing it now. It's my new goal to buy only things we need. Even with shedding half, I feel God has blessed us with so much.

Maybe we could start a "Biggest Loser" club for our houses! How many pounds of stuff can we get rid of?! Jesus told one rich man to sell all He had and give to the poor, He told us 1/2. What's He telling you?

A friend of a friend is a friend...

2011-01-18T21:24:00.003-05:00

especially when they share your heart for adoption.

My friend Abby, has a friend Lara, who is adopting for the second time. Yay! I'm still waiting for a playdate with Lara and her kids. She has three biological girls and one adopted son. They are paper pregnant for their fifth child. Lara has a blog, click here for it. Lara and her husband are also raising money for this adoption with "Adoption is the New Pregnant" ware here. At least go and see the stuff, that I think is modeled by her adorable kids. And I know they'd appreciate a prayer raised up for them even more. I love Lara's no-nonsense heart for adoption... get involved!

And, because Abby is awesome, I get my new t-shirt dress tomorrow.

PS - I have many more friends adopting again, I'd love to put a post up for you. Let me know, or if I think of it I promise to ask before I do it :).

UPDATE: ISAAC MAN

2011-01-14T22:44:00.005-05:00

I don't like to do these updates so much because I feel like a bad parent that things aren't going better... or that our attitude needs adjusting. Isaac is the loveliest child with others. He's social, has a good sense of humor, and the smiliest child you've ever seen. Guess what? At home he can be like this too. Sometimes.

Other times he still screams for Joel. I've noticed our habit is to slowly let Joel do less and less for his care to avoid tantrums. Then I miss out on doing things for Zade because I am always doing for Isaac. I've also seen where we have avoided certain things to avoid the battle.

So we are arming for that battle. We are setting up a routine where Joel is part of care, and we're not giving in and prayerfully not changing the routine when the screaming begins. Praise the Lord our routine we started in the fall of me doing breakfast and Joel doing dinner has cut down on tantrums at meal times. Isaac does not like things that are out of the ordinary (unless it is Grandma driving our car, that is hysterical :)), so for example if he needed a diaper change at a different time than usual he will scream. I'd love to see him go with the flow a little better - especially for his dad!

So please pray for all of us as we do this. Pray for Isaac to have a change of heart towards Joel, and a heart to obey. Pray that he would do better with drinking... he hates drinking as a rule and I am trying to get him to drink more than juice... water and milk! Pray for bath night tomorrow as it's Joel's night and lately there's been only screaming for it. Pray for us to have godly wisdom, patience, love, and to be able to let go of the hurt and irritation caused by the tantrums. I'd like to know the line between too much expectation and too little.

If you're paying attention, Isaac is turning 5 in March! That means school. We've been praying about what to do all along. I have an idea of my options and am looking forward to a meeting in February about what school would look like for Isaac in our district. It will be nice to have him closer, his preschool is over 20 minutes away. It's just a big change to go from preschool to kindergarten, especially for special needs kids and their parents. I've gotten used to the preschool way of doing things :). I think I need to convince his current aide to work for our school district! She's great. So add that to the prayer list too... wisdom for Isaac's schooling. And that God would chose the best teachers, therapists, and aide for Isaac.

Fianlly, so you know often Isaac does perfectly well with Joel. I think we run into more trouble with the caretaking when I am around and could be doing it. I left for most of the day yesterday and Isaac got on the bus, went to school, and came home without me there and was fine. Vote yes if you think the solution is me leaving the kids with Joel more ;). Love you guys, and thanks for your prayers!

fLy

2011-01-10T21:38:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure where he learned this, he must be a natural. I looked where he was playing and this is what I saw. Note his shirt ("ace pilot") :).

jAnUaRy

2011-01-10T21:07:00.004-05:00

We had a busy start to the new year! Here's a bit of it in pictures...

Caleb wanted to stay up until midnight on New Year's and made it! He had the most energy of the crowd. Joel's parents were here and we had a game night.

Zade was dedicated at church! I'll have to ask my parents or in-laws for a picture. Zade refused to be held by Pastor Ray. Isaac was loving it, and smiled the whole time at everyone. I believe Caleb tried to hide behind one of us :). Caleb, after shedding his dress-up clothes (right after this pic was taken) said "The next person to where these will be Isaac." We'll see! Isaac on the other hand loved being dressed up and wanted to stay in his stylish duds all day.

That same day Zade had a dedication/1st birthday party at my parent's house. My cousin decorated the cake... she copied the bear from the decorations and gave him an Ethiopian flag (!).

Zade devoured the flag, cake, and part of the plate I think.

Zade just wants to remind you to "praise the Lord," for His goodness and faithfulness to us last year and in the year to come.

Zade is 1

2010-12-30T21:42:00.007-05:00

My baby is 1! For some reason it wasn't as painful as you'd think it'd be. He is such a jolly baby and so much fun that I look forward to all the fun we'll have this year. Being one is a fun age. Walking, talking, and all kinds of silliness will take place.

Zade got a tunnel for his birthday. Once he got the hang of it he really liked it. The blurred picture is appropriate ;). Then we went to Strong Museum, the new name being the National Museum of Play. It was Zade's first time and he liked the areas for him. Not only were the toys exciting, he was enamored with the carpet and would crawl with his head down looking at it - doing an injury free face-plant once or twice.

He took a nice long nap when we got home - the best thing to do at any age on a birthday! Then we had a family gathering. His grandparents were here and his Auntie Bubba. He ate the cake like a pro. He ate it methodically without hesitation or vigor. He did of course have to be stripped down, but no bath was needed. Now he's resting peacefully from his big day.

Zade has brought such joy to our home. He's a treasure from heaven and we praise God for choosing him for our family. The only sadness is in thinking about Zade's birth mother. She had him for nine months and gave him life... we've had him for 7 1/2 and he's given us so much. I have to believe she thinks of him. I pray she's not sad and that God can somehow reach through space and give her a peace about her baby. I wish I could tell her all about him and what a joy he is to our family. I just hope she is well, and knows her baby is well and abundantly loved.

Merry belated Chritmas!

2010-12-28T15:43:00.002-05:00

Minus the stomach virus we had a nice Christmas! Caleb said it was the best one ever and has been playing with all of his Lego's ever since. Isaac got the stomach bug Christmas Eve and was pretty mellow... but recovering on Christmas. Zade opened one or two presents and started pushing them away. So much work to unwrap - and then the toys are in impenetrable boxes, not fun!

We missed a family Christmas party on Sunday so that was disappointing. But we have more celebrating to do as Zade's FIRST birthday is Thursday. Joel's parents are coming to visit for the occasion. It is a party week :).

But can we stop a moment and remember what it's for? For Jesus. I find more and more that the only answer to my crazy busy exhausting days are thinking on Jesus. He's peace and strength. It doesn't matter what is crumbling around me because when I look to Him I realize He loves me and never expects too much of me. Thank you, sweet Jesus.

LoVeD iT

2010-12-26T22:17:00.005-05:00

In response to Martha wanting to know I thought I'd do an update on the concert. These pictures were taken at out church Sunday morning... I stole them from The Whosoevers FB page, I hope that's OK!

We did wear earplugs... but I didn't feel lame at all because the artists themselves did. As I am not a hardcore music fan I didn't know what to expect. I have to say it was a fun concert. Loved the crowd surfing... The Chariot had one of the band members crowd surfing for practically the entire concert. And this one guy would throw his gutair at least ten feet in the air and caught it every time. Ryan Ries and Brian "Head" Welch formerly of Korn shared their testimonies which are POWERFUL. Do you know Head, when God told him to leave Korn, did, losing $24 million and has not one regret? I have so much respect for these guys. They lived hardcore lives in the world and when Jesus saved them they now live hardcore for Him.

Saturday night gave more opportunity for follow-up. Thirty people came up to commit or recommit their lives to Christ. At the concert it's hard to know where the message reached, but seeds were planted. Saturday night many of the artists shared about their current walk with the Lord. Their love for the lost and desire to reach them puts me to shame. They reach people differently than us conservative people - their methods are hardcore - but how else are they or we going to reach those kids with hardcore hearts? The music is just a tool to get them to hear the message. They pointed out that we each have our places God has called us to. It's just that we go. And I don't know why, I just loved them and the kids that were there. I could care less about piercings and tattoos.

Zaders!

2010-12-20T20:47:00.002-05:00

Tonight Zade was meticulously clearing his tray by dropping all pieces of food on the floor. I told him "No no." He looked me straight in the eye, took a piece of food out of his mouth, and dropped it on the floor. I of course tried not to laugh and failed. aye-yi-yi.

The Whosoevers

2010-12-09T21:34:00.003-05:00

Next Friday there will be a free concert. It's heavy metal, hardcore stuff, and I wouldn't normally go, but I'm praying about it. I'm so excited about it because the guys giving the concert love Jesus. They use the music to reach the kids and tell them how Jesus changed them, how He healed them from drug addiction and all the other things that go with that lifestyle. On Saturday night there will be a follow-up meeting. I know I am going to that to be a "follow-up" counselor.

I was just mentioning it so you can pray. Pray for the event, and pray for many kids to come to know Christ. It all started when our friend and youth pastor prayed about what to do about all the suicides going on among the youth in our area. We're expecting God to do great things. Please pray too for our family as Joel will help with some security and I will help with the follow-up. They're small roles to play, but we've already felt the enemy kick it up a notch and know he's not happy with any role we play. But we'll be fine... pray for kids to get saved, that's what counts!

For school Caleb and I read in Matthew 9:10-12 today. Jesus was eating with sinners, and the religious people didn't like it. Jesus said that sinners were in need of a physician. I hope and pray I can be Jesus to some kids who need Him.

PS - WhoSoEvers, get it? Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Click here to see more about the bands.

Snowy

2010-12-06T20:25:00.002-05:00

The snow came on December 1st, being polite enough to give us a snow free November. It worked perfectly into my plan of making snowflakes with the boys that day. Now our inside matches the outside - but with the benefit of inside warmth. My favorite lake produced enough snow that the driveway needed shoveling today. Zade got up from his nap and was excited to see his dad and brother outside shoveling. He watched them finish up. Then he was ecstatic to see his Dada come in because he hadn't seen him much at all since Friday morning. You may notice he's standing at the window. He's pulling himself up and starting to cruise around the furniture. He's not walking yet, and we're fine with that. We have enough damage control with his current level of activity :).

The Weekend

2010-12-03T08:07:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to ask for prayer for this three day weekend (Friday-Monday afternoon)! It hasn't begun and I am tired. Joel is working a shift which means he won't be around (awake anyway) for any meals or bedtime. I can't tell you how thrilled I am when he comes home at six and can feed one of the boys and help me get them to bed! I am also teaching Sunday school and want to do it well. I need to get to church by 8:40a with my boys. It'll be an action packed weekend and I will miss my helpmate. We have fun things in store though, and my guess is we will make it through. Here's a picture of us at the Park Ave Holiday Festival last night.

GoTcHa!

2010-11-21T11:33:00.003-05:00

3 years ago

Friday was Isaac's 3 year Gotcha Day! We celebrated Thursday. Isaac's favorite food is a brownie, so we made brownies. We were talking about his party (it's always a party if there are brownies :)) and I said we could play some Colombian games. He shook his head no. He kept looking at the stairs. Hmm... it took me a while, but I got it. A maraca that Caleb had made was on the stairs. I asked if he wanted to make one too. Yes! So we made maracas, and Isaac chose to paint it all yellow, his favorite color. We had some yuca and empanadas too - which Isaac tolerated for the sake of getting to the brownies!

We are trying to help Isaac understand this adoption thing. He has been very sad when we've talked about it before. I think it's a combination of a normal realization of "I've not always been here," plus the adoption part. And the poor guy can't vocalize his questions or fears, so we do our best to assure him. We pray, pray he can understand, pray he sees it as a good thing, pray we come up with the right words to satisfy him. Our journey with Isaac has been difficult, but I do have to thank God for a great Gotcha Day celebration. We even bought him a present to seal the deal, this is a special day; the day God put you in our family for good, and we celebrate that!

Zade-Zade

2010-11-16T20:45:00.004-05:00

Zade is a delightful, happy, busy, loud baby. The little guy hears "No, no" a lot. Tonight he crawled to the TV armoire and was looking at poking some buttons. Then on his own he said "na, na, na, na," as if repeating the directive he hears so much. Also upon hearing "No," he will smile sweetly at you... oh he's a smart one! He also says "ti-tee" for kitty, and recently is attempting the "k" part of that word. Of course "mama" and "dada" are said, but not necessarily in context. Kitty is surely in context. He loves the cat and she is very tolerant!

Zade also had us all laughing tonight as he shunned any crumb left on his tray by quickly tossing it over his shoulder. Probably shouldn't laugh at that :). He is trying to teach himself to do the thing where you go "aaaaaaah" and pat your mouth to make an "ah-ah-ah-ah" noise. He saw me do it and found it so entertaining he knew he needed that trick for himself.

He'll chew anything, yell randomly and explore all things in his path. He will play contentedly in the family room for 1/2 an hour, but as soon as you block him in there he's mad. He loves his freedom. He is a maniac in his jumper. And for now, we are glad he can only reach the lower level of our house. Trouble is coming! But goodness he's an adorable one, isn't he?

Strange things are happening...

2010-11-13T20:45:00.006-05:00

Tracks in the woods...

A cat hiding from a baby...

An ugly votive makes its way to the Goodwill pile...

Isaac tries coffee and likes it after...

almost three years.

And a dent in the island, that may or may not have been caused by one of my children running and slipping into it head first (ow!).

Fritz

2010-11-10T13:15:00.004-05:00

Today I will write about a godly man who went to be with Jesus yesterday. I only met Fritz once, but he and his wife Ellie made an impression on my heart. Fritz battled Parkinson's for many years, and more recently cancer. He loved the Lord, and was an encouragement to my mother, and when my grandfather was sick and dying Fritz wrote him letters about Jesus. Fritz and Ellie read our blog and Ellie at one point told me they prayed for us every day. Isn't that humbling? It is something I have thought of on occasion and have appreciated so much. I see how he lived in spite of his weakness and believe he had more impact on the kingdom of God by praying and giving encouragement than most men do by working.

What little I can do to thank this couple for praying for our family is ask that my readers pray for Ellie and her family and friends. We rejoice because he is whole and in heaven. But we cry too for this godly light gone from our lives.

Sing O son of Zion

Shout O child of mine

Rejoice with all your heart and soul and mind...

Dance with all the strength that you can find

For you are finally home

Todd Agnew... The Martyr's Song

1-2-3

2010-10-22T17:31:00.004-04:00

Son #1

Son #2

Son #3

Our sons are ever changing. They're all growing up at a speedy rate. Caleb got glasses this week and loves them. He can see blades of grass and all kinds of things that were once blurs. Caleb is also my ever-vigilant watch-guard for Zade trouble. He and Zade also like to play... but we'll get to that. Isaac too is growing up, today the boys had a friend over. I was pulling my usual silliness while Isaac was being streched, and he was like, "Not now mom, you're not funny." Apparently I am not cool when there are other kids around. What?! And Zade. Zade is very entertaining. He screams when he doesn't get his way, could care less how many times he is pulled away from the cat food and gets a firm "No," and has learned to play peek-a-boo which is so cute I can hardly stand it. Remember, the 1/2 covered eye, and they stare so seriously at you until the hand comes off? Love it! He also is into boy humor already. He grabs Caleb's nose, Caleb falls over and Zade laughs.

They are pretty happy boys. We are blessed! We are busy and always praying for wisdom. They are all so unique and need a unique way of parenting. Oh! This is why Solomon said "How much better to get wisdom than gold, and understanding than silver!" Proverbs 16:16

Zadar Trouble

2010-10-12T23:14:00.005-04:00

I invented a word today. It is Zadar, "the ability of Zade to find, in a large room with a sea of toys, the one thing he should not have." Zadar however is not the ability to perceive when a wall is not a passageway to further exploration. Zade ran into the same wall twice and since he wasn't hurt we laughed hysterically.

These pictures were taken by my sister on my dad's birthday. It all looks innocent at first, sitting with his great-grandmas. Then you see him eating a shoe, pulling my hair, and untying his great-grandmother's shoe. You also see him thinking "When I get to drive this thing, boy are they in trouble." We are in for it, but we're loving it! He knows how to put the charm on. I am quite certain he knows what "NO" means, because he smiles sweetly at me whenever I say it, as if his sweet face will change my mind. Tonight though, he smiled sweetly and moved on... could there be hope?!

Crawling

2010-09-30T17:22:00.003-04:00

So cute in their blue PJs

Baby octopus has an octopus shirt.

Not so keen on the scooting.

Stuck under the couch, but still having fun!

Cuddling with the cat - before she ran away from his "gentle" touches.

Zaders is crawling now. He's not on his knees yet, but he gets better everyday. Caleb tried to teach him to scoot (see the pic) like Caleb did when he was a baby, but Zade is definitely a crawler. It makes my big boys laugh to see Zade's antics. He loves going after the cat, so far they have gotten a long OK :).

I'll have to get a picture of Isaac today... he went to school as trooper Isaac and informed them that's what he'd like to be called from now on :). Joel found some "junior trooper" badges at work and the big boys have been diligent in their fight against crime.

This blog post is dedicated to my mom and aunt who came over to watch the boys and help me clean. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you :)

Bugged.

2010-09-29T13:20:00.003-04:00

I have something I'm irritated with. The curriculum we use requires a lot of books from the library. It's never been an issue getting the books. This year it is obvious others are using the curriculum! Ugh, it's been a struggle to get the books. If I'm not on the ball (which is usually the case) then I have pittance for books. I took a risk and got some books out early hoping to renew them. CAN'T. It's on hold. I can't win and it makes me tired. There are too many other things to think about.

There's a lesson here. I need to be more loving to my library foe. I am sure we would be good friends, we are using the same curriculum. Maybe I need to let go of some perfectionism... the library books are one of my favorite parts though. Maybe I need to take a nap and ask God to help me get the books because I am too tired to!

Leaves, already?

2010-09-20T20:22:00.002-04:00

Sunday we raked up our first pile of leaves. I love the first pile of leaves, and if I look back I am sure from when Caleb was a baby on through we have pictures of kids in leaves. Zade thought it prudent to try a lick of each leaf. He is definitely a wild man. This morning he was up early and actually willing to rock while quietly sitting with me, usually he lives up to his nickname of "baby octopus."

I'm not sure why I thought this, but for some reason I thought we'd have more time this fall to get some projects done. HA! School seems to be taking longer, due to more school work and a baby octopus. Joel's been sick too, so we get nothing done except keeping up with dishes and laundry (sometimes) which I suppose isn't too bad.

Countless times a day I utter, "Lord have mercy," Lord strengthen me," I feel like I am so demanding! Thank you God for understanding! And with that, goodnight, or rather, it's time to do dishes.

Prodigal Cat

2010-09-15T21:19:00.004-04:00

Sadie is back! My aunt asked if we wanted to borrow a live trap for her. We were pretty sure she was around since the neighbor had spotted her a few times. She had been eating food too that we left out. We put the trap out last night and she (or someone) ate from it and did not set it off! We planned to close it while we slept so we didn't catch anything wild. An hour after we noticed the missing food I heard a noise, and low and behold our Sadie was trapped!

She mewed immediately, and continued to mew whenever we saw her. We left her in the cage (of course giving her food and water) until she could get to the vet. The poor kitty was dehydrated and is a skinny girl. She got a bath and treated for worms and fleas and has made her way comfortably back into the house. She explored everywhere, stayed with the boys as they fell asleep, and is now sleeping on the couch. I think she is very glad to be home and we are glad she's back. She was gone 4 weeks and a day.

We are thankful God chose to bring her back. At the beginning I prayed that God would prepare me (so I could prepare Caleb) if she wasn't coming back. I think we all felt an assurance she'd be back. Joel felt it was a good chance for Caleb to learn about the power of prayer and we let him take the lead in praying for her.

And on this prodigal cat. It reminds me a lot of the prodigal son. Sadie wanted so much to experience the wild kitty life that she forgot she had a good life here! She let herself get hungry and thirsty when she could have come home to all she needed. Need I remind you that God always has His arms open waiting for an errant child to come home to Him? He'll get rid of your worms and fleas... bathe you up and welcome you home. He's even better than us, He'll embrace you before you're clean :).

In Person

2010-09-12T14:36:00.002-04:00

Martha, Me, and Heather

Caleb and Zade in the back, then in front Isaac, Simon, Josh, Davin, and Lucas. I still can't believe they were all boys!

I have many friends that I haven't met in person, mostly adoption friends, but over vacation I met a special blogger friend that was a friend of a friend to start with. When we came home from Colombia with Isaac my friend Martha from church put me in touch her friend Heather. Heather's son Davin also has the spastic quadriplegia variety of CP like Isaac. Heather had a blog so I "met" them through the blog. Heather was in town for a visit and we didn't go too far away for vacation so Martha and her three grandchildren came to visit and Heather brought Davin.

It was so nice! The boys found things to do and the girls were able to chat some between diaper changes. Martha hadn't been able to meet Zade yet, and Heather loves babies too so we passed babies. I found myself smiling as I saw similarities between Isaac and Davin, even their noises! I was hoping Davin wouldn't find my interaction with him too much like he was a preschooler, he is a teenager you know. But he seemed happy with the events of the day.

In this journey with Isaac Martha has been a great in person encouragement, and Heather has been a great blogger encouragement. It was nice to be in the same room together all real :). I was glad to learn Heather will be making more visits so we can be together in person again.

The Boat Ride

2010-09-07T14:19:00.005-04:00

After a clash of wills (between one who is very cautious and one who thinks herself invincible) we rented a boat for the afternoon on our vacation. The reason for caution was thunderstorms. We found they weren't expected until later, so we went on ahead. On our way back the wind was picking up. My beloved Lake Ontario was turning colors. It had no right to look so beautiful in the changing weather. My husband did very well, in a slow boat, getting us to safety before the rain started. We all agreed in the end it was nice afternoon, and there were a couple things that happened that made me think about the Lord...

First, when we anchored off the shore I noticed we were getting really close to another boat. Joel was getting in the lake to swim so I wanted to make sure we were all good since I had little clue of how to drive the boat. He pointed out that which I already knew, we were anchored and just drifting around the anchor. It made me think of being anchored to the Lord. How much give is there in our rope to our anchor? Is there too much, are we about to be in places we're not supposed to be? I would think the perfect amount would be a straight drop from boat to anchor. This became a prayer and a comfort. If I'm drifting I know that the anchor is still there, and it will keep me. Maybe a close brush with another boat will make me want to pull that line a little tighter.

When we were coming back to shore and the waves were getting friskier I felt like no matter where I sat I was getting pelted. I was trying to protect the sleeping Zade, who had taken my past advice, and was asleep in the boat. Joel told me later he was getting drenched trying to take the waves for us. It made me think about trials, and how we think we're getting more than we can take. We wonder what the Lord is doing to allow all of this. I have to believe that He is right in front of us guarding us, and taking most of the hits for us. He's not going to allow any more water than necessary pass. If you're like me you cry out at the waves not seeing the Protector between you and the storm.

So, I would highly recommend boat rides as they afford one great spiritual insights. That and little boys and mothers like them a lot. If you go out before a predicted thunderstorm I'd recommend a speedier boat than a pontoon if it's available :).

The truth :)

2010-08-23T22:40:00.003-04:00

I don't think busy describes it. Hmm... a thesaurus please? The results, full, slaving, buried, and my favorite "up to one's ears." Ask Joel, how often have I said, "I am up to my ears in ____ (usually poop or puke). My friend wisely said adding a child just means you die to self more... that is dying to what your wishes and wants. Strangely enough, even though I am constantly going, and nothing is ever really done, it's OK. I know the Lord is strengthening me because I am often tired of being puked and pooped on, two in diapers and two urping, thank God it's not three! Really, not much can phase me. And for the final call on poop, my friends son handed me something a couple weeks ago, what was it? Oh I think it's, oh my, "It's poop!" For a moment I didn't know what to do, but I threw it in the toilet and washed my hands. Is it normal not to be grossed out by that?

But, fatigue and poop aside, we wouldn't change it! We of course love having Zade in our lives. He's a bundle of happiness. In the morning when I get him he nuzzles in grabs my hair and pats my arm. He's so glad we're together again. He rolls like a wild man... grabs like a wild man... screams and yells like a wild man... and will be a wild man on the move soon enough. We're planning gate positions :)

Isaac is off from school again. It's easier in a way, not to have to get him ready to go to school. Isaac is regressing to some of his old Joel behaviors. Please pray for that. We know the enemy is trying to work both of them over. Even though we know it's the enemy, it's still hard to deal with the screaming and his possessiveness of me. Oh, tiring. But we know that God is working something good in Isaac, and we trust Him for good.

Caleb is ready to start school, and crazily enough I am too. I feel bad as he mostly putzes around the house. He reads a lot and entertains me and his brothers. It's been a redundant summer in many ways... but what can you do? Caleb is playing soccer and Joel is helping to coach which is nice. I think Caleb needs glasses... he doesn't want them.

We're going on vacation, the first ever week long vacation with just our family. YAY! We need it... can I just sit, at least some of the time? We're praying for a blessed, peaceful vacation.

Sadie Girl

2010-08-20T13:26:00.004-04:00

Sadie has escaped! She has done it before, but came back that night. She broke through the screen door. This time I ran after her, caught her, and she turned on me yelping and lunging so I accidentally dropped her. Now she's been out in the wilds since Tuesday night. Caleb is very attached to her and has had moments of sadness, but has been handling it pretty well. It's my opinion that she'll be back once she has had her fill of being free. Last night I dreamt that she came home after the first snow, let's hope it's not that long!

Caleb said he was reading the bible story about Jesus leaving the 99 sheep to go rescue the one to help him feel better. We read the whole chapter and I feel Sadie is like the prodigal son. She'll come back after she has wasted her time on wild cat living and realizes having a home is a good thing. If you think of it pray she comes home.

We'll keep him!

2010-08-09T17:29:00.003-04:00

Today there were substitute bus drivers. On the way home the wrong boy was wheeled out. Isaac's friend Drew was all smiles and very cute. If he's anything like Isaac he realized this was so silly. I had to tell them a couple times, "this isn't my son!" Then I chatted with Drew as they put him back on. I'm not sure what Isaac thought, but I am sure he was glad when they realized the mistake, he wasn't ready to agree that it was funny. He might have been a little nervous!

Getting around...

2010-08-05T14:27:00.003-04:00

I was getting ready this morning and I heard a crinkle crinkle. There was Zade in the pile of my birthday wrappings. He's been rolling everywhere, and I am beginning to suspect that he will soon be crawling. He's been hanging out on his belly more and I my suspicions are he's thinking this type of training will be advantageous. Maybe this behavior will train me to pick up a little more. I can always hope!

31 on the 31st

2010-07-31T21:15:00.004-04:00

Today I turned 31 on the 31st. It was a very relaxing day, for me anyway! Joel is not so relaxed, as he did most of the child care taking. I went to breakfast with my family, my parents, and sister to Simply Crepes along the Erie Canal. We came home and I lounged in the pool. Isaac found it hilarious, mom actually just laying in the raft doing nothing. The boys left me alone and Caleb was concerned I'd be lonely. I had five minutes before Caleb was back outside asking when I was getting out to spend time with him.

We relaxed at home and I took the boys on a forced tour of my garden. We got Chinese takeout. Then we had a birthday brownie. We went to a jazz concert in the next town over. It was very good, but we could only stay for half. Zade entertained the people behind us by smiling and slapping his dad on the head. Now... we are really going to have dessert. The kids are in bed and we have Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake in the fridge. Lovely lovely, Joel's even singing. What a nice day :)

I have a random 31 for you... click here.

My Weekend with the Masses

2010-07-18T22:12:00.005-04:00

Well, I'm better off than this guy.

My "Yankee" Soldier

Sometimes Joel decides with another trooper, it's time to do a 4pm-4am shift. Despite my dramatic efforts (begging, pleading, etc.) Joel decided to continue on with this plan. I girded up and said, "I can do this." I don't know why this shift exhausts me, but it does. It's nice to have Joel home to help with bedtime, and the post-bedtime trauma to the downstairs (dishes, laundry, toys, oh my).

1. Friday night I was up cleaning and getting ready for mine and Caleb's Saturday outing until midnight.

2. Saturday I was up early to get ready. My sister (yay Bubba, she rocks!) came to watch the younger ones while Caleb and I went to a Civil War reenactment. It was fun... I came home with a union soldier.

3. Saturday, 6:50 pm. We have a combined 8 oz of formula in this house. Nooooo! Not enough to dare try for getting some after church. I gathered the masses and off we went to Target, leaving a myriad of dishes because I actually made dinner and didn't scrounge from the fridge (yay me!).

4. Saturday, 7:35. Home again, Joel had come home to eat and started the bath water. I bathed and dressed Zade. I gave Isaac his juice, and then bathed and dressed Isaac. Caleb is wonderfully self sufficient. Then the big boys were bedded by 8:20. Woo-hoo!

5. Saturday, 9:00. Zade's about to be bedded, he took some good naps and was a bit of a night

owl. Then I was up late doing dishes, cleaning up, and gathering myself together for church and a trip to Geneva for a graduation party. I also tried to take a break and watch a DVD I had gotten from the library. It was lame and disappointing!

6. Sunday, 6:40. Zade's up, we won't go to 1st service because Zade will want to be sleeping. I text my sister to tell her and she gladly stays in bed. By 8:30 Zade is asleep and I have a busy morning of preparing food for Zade and Isaac and getting everything (and everyone!) in order.

7. Sunday, 2:00. We've made it to the party... I remembered to refrigerate Isaac's food at church and pick it up after service, except that I grabbed the wrong bag. I hope no one was missing those rolls... Oh yes, also by now Isaac has leaked through two outfits and Zade one. Isaac is in his bathing suit, thankfully not his birthday suit... since he was on his last diaper.

8. Sunday, 7:10. Home again! We had a nice time at the party. I exchanged the rolls for Isaac's food on the way home. We ate, and Zaders was in bed by 8:30 and the big boys by 9:00.

9. It's currently 10:30, the earliest I have sat down this weekend. But, I do need to go prepare for another busy day. Isaac's appointment was made for Joel's day off purposefully... but Joel has to appear at court (for work) so off I go with the three to the appointment. If I won't make it home in time for Isaac's bus I will bring Isaac to school, and rush home to get Zade for his doctor's appointment. Joel's hoping to meet us at Isaac's appointment to get Caleb and Zade (this appointment has run up to two hours before - ughh). I told Joel... when I get home from Zade's appointment I am just going to sit on the couch for a bit.

10. I am sure this is normal for moms, I know other moms could top this. It's tiring isn't it? But God gives the strength and keeps me going. And I had a sister who helped immensely - this day would have been no fun without her hands and others to help at the party.

And how did the other trooper's wife fare? Well, she found out she is expecting their third on Friday. I don't think she should read this ;).

Back to school

2010-07-12T22:30:00.003-04:00

Isaac showing Zade how to smile for the camera

Hanging out at the beach

Happy baby!

Us at a wedding

It didn't seem entirely natural to put Isaac back on the school bus today. He doesn't know any better, but this is never how I pictured my family being. I'm a homeschooling mom which should indicate my desire to keep my kids with me teaching them my way! For now we trust God knows what's best. Isaac seemed to calm down to the flow of our household over the two weeks he was off. He became more patient. I think at school when he is always tended to and entertained he comes home and it's hard to adjust to being one of three. I do know I am not as consistent in streching him and doing all those things that would be good for him at this point, so it is good that others are helping in that area. I think Caleb missed him, he was excited Isaac would be the first one off the bus (he usually is last) and was happy when he came home.

Speaking of Caleb I don't know where I'd be without him! He's such a reliable helper. He even thinks of ways to help that I wouldn't have suggested. He is a great entertainer and often has his brothers in fits of giggles. I think he's a homebody - today I asked if he wanted to go out anywhere and he smiled and said "Outside." He loves to play detective. He has a great imagination. It's a good thing that I still pretend things myself.

Isaac was funny today. He is very specific. I asked if he played with Kim (his speech therapist) today. He shook his head "no." I knew he had, it said so in the note. Then I asked if he worked with Kim and he shook his head "yes." Oh, I see! But he did play with Sarah (the physical therapist). I suppose it all depends on what he thinks playing is :). I haven't got it nailed down yet what he thinks his aide does, so far she does not help him, or put him in his chair. But she did give him snack. I wonder what he thinks she does?! He also shakes "no" when I ask if Zade is eating something (e.g. my fingers) but shakes yes for "chewing on (my fingers)."

Zade is also entertaining. Tonight when Caleb did a "trick" for him he clapped (I know it couldn't have been on purpose, but it was so cute!). He has loud giggles and likes to hyperventilate. He's been getting up at night :(. He has two bottom teeth. Everyday I feel he is more of the family. He definitely shows a preference for his family, and is a bit of a homebody himself. He always seems happy to be home. He is a wild monkey baby, that is a wiggle worm. When he moves it will be trouble. I'm very concerned he will have to be a leash child {:(. Our hair and faces are always in danger. He started rice cereal last week and has a love hate relationship with it. He thought from the get go that he could grab the spoon and feed himself. He loves his jumper, and loves to jump when you hold him too. I think he will learn to jump before walking. He still is a talker and is so loud he wakes his brothers up. What do you do about that?!

So summer is rolling on too quickly as always. Does anyone know how to make it go slower, or how to savor it more? If so please tell me the secret.

Summer heat...

2010-07-07T17:12:00.002-04:00

I came downstairs after putting Zade down for a nap and found this! Poor guy, he had too much fun outside I think. Now I am going to grab a shower while the two youngest doze. It's been a cranky day for Zade, is it teeth? I wish he could tell me what was wrong! Sorry there is less posting, it is busy here :).

SiX mOnThS!

2010-06-30T23:12:00.004-04:00

Bouncing on his big "1/2 year" day
Caleb took this one yesterday

Zade is six months old today! We're so glad he's home to celebrate. He's shown us how big he is by cutting his first tooth this week. He also is now almost 18 lbs and 25 1/2 inches long. What a baby :). We can't express how happy we are that we're his chosen family and that we have the privilege of seeing him grow and change in the months to come. As you can tell he is a happy smiley boy. Thank you Jesus!

Timing, Prayer, and Mutiny!

2010-06-27T22:47:00.007-04:00

I just noticed that it was exactly two years to the day from sending in our application to getting Zade. It's nice to look back on these things instead of waiting with no clue! Thank you God though, for that sweet timing.

This is for my sister who requested another video:

Please pray for me this week as Isaac is off from school and I need to have more patience :). Not that it is Isaac in particular, I think it is that there are three in particular. The care taking for both Zade and Isaac can be tiring, but if I have the right attitude it is usually fine!

We were playing pirates on the hammock and Caleb was the captain. He ordered Isaac to hoist the sails, Zade to load the cannons, and me to walk the plank. We decided instead to perform the ill deed of mutiny, and have Caleb walk the plank. Caleb said "Why, am I too demanding?" Where did he learn to use that word in context? I plead the 5th.

PS - I noticed my friend on FB liked Bible and Minions. I wondered if that was sacrilegious, but I see that I have prayer and mutiny in the same breath. I am glad God has an excellent sense of humor.

Things Zade Does

2010-06-22T13:06:00.002-04:00

You forget those things you know, the things babies do. I am squeezing my brain trying to remember if "Caleb did this," and I just can't remember. So here are some things Zade does:

1. He started to say Dadadadada and Bababababa just over a week ago. He loves saying them, and thinks it's so funny when you say it back.

2. He's a grabber! Hair, neck, ears, face, and all things on the table.

3. He breathes heavy and loudly when he's excited. It usually is accompanied by squeals.

4. He tolerates being on his tummy, he can roll to his back though when he is done. He sits pretty well, but not without someone near by yet!

5. He still loves a good old open mouthed kissing on Mama's lips. He'll grab my face and pull it in. I think I do remember Caleb doing that too.

6. He's moved up to 6-9 month clothes and I may have waited too long! He fills them out quite nicely.

7. He loves to be held and played with.

8. He goes nuts in his bouncer.

9. I went to check on him late the other night and he was awake! He was so excited to see me that I didn't mind staying up an extra hour to get him to sleep.

Here is Zade talking :)

Baseball

2010-06-19T11:51:00.003-04:00

Love this one!

Practice swing

Caleb has been playing baseball in a homeschool league. We've all enjoyed it. My dad has come to most of the games and Isaac is very happy to have his Grandpa there. They talk and Isaac thinks it's great.

Caleb has improved this season, we're thankful for a low key league and a Christian atmosphere. There's only one more game and after that Caleb says he'll be glad to play with us in the backyard.

A sidenote: A couple weeks ago I played baseball against Caleb and Isaac. I found it funny that Caleb had no concept of why I was so long in getting outs. I helped Isaac bat and run... no time for outs! Poor mom was sorely beaten :).

Yay Zade!

2010-06-14T13:24:00.003-04:00

My sister thought this photo should go in a baby photo contest. It's been selected (among many others) as a "weekly readers choice finalist." So I'm asking my blog winners to vote for Zade! Here's the link: http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/326605

The grand prize is a trip to NYC and Zade's pic in magazine. You all know how I feel about NYC don't you?

Big Brothers

2010-06-07T15:22:00.006-04:00

These are their Lion of Judah shirts from Ethiopia

The boys are awesome big brothers. Caleb is always willing to help both his brothers. He loves to give Zade his bottle. Caleb also likes to vie for the first smile of the day! Isaac thinks most of what Zade does is funny (including crying - at least for the most part he doesn't cry along with him!). Isaac loves to hold him and lay next to him. Isaac chatters away to Zade, and laughs as Zade whacks him in the face. Ahh, brotherly love. We thank God for how well the big boys have adjusted and how happy they are together. It hasn't been perfect, but it has been very good :).

Chunky Monkey

2010-06-07T15:18:00.004-04:00

Zade earned his nickname today, as he gained almost 2 lbs in just over two weeks. You can tell by his face that it's hard work gaining two pounds.

Zade-o-rama

2010-05-29T21:30:00.003-04:00

Smiles for Isaac!

Smiles for Dada

Smiles and laughs for Caleb

Zade has become the boy with the nicknames. Zade-o-rama is one, but it doesn't get that much use. Zade-a-rade is popular (with me anyway). He also goes by: chunky monkey, chubby bubby, chins (until it was declared too mean), Z-man, coconut (I put coconut oil in his hair, smells good!), baby, Rediet, and lil' bro. He is also called Zadie, even though I outlawed it because our cat is Sadie. He is even called Zadie-boy while the cat is Sadie-girl. I wonder which of these will stick?

Zade is teething, we think. He immediately stops chewing the life out of his hands when I put some orajel on. He became the happy boy in the pictures once the Tylenol kicked in. Sigh... teething already? Poor baby. I ordered an amber teething necklace that my friend used with her son. It can't come fast enough!

Wednesday night we spoke at church about how God led us to adopt Zadok, and about our trip. It was just 20 minutes or so, but it was a blessing. I have always wanted to share our testimony but I almost became chicken. I think we did OK though, thank you Jesus!

So... about Zade. He is sleeping through the night (!) and he takes good naps. He eats like a champ. He is often happy, but can be cranky. When he falls asleep he is loud. He'll have his eyes closed and he'll be talking and yelling. He loves to be held. He loves his big brothers and gives them his best smiles (am I not the one getting up early to feed him?!). He loves kisses on the lips, and I am the only one brave enough to do it. He drools and urps a lot :). He likes to get undressed and likes being naked. He has dimples in his elbows. His hair is growing in faster on the sides, making him look a little like a bald man. He belly is so big it hangs over his pants and I can't put him in anything but elastic! He's a delightful dose of baby. Sometimes I just want to saturate myself in the wonder of having a baby again. It's lovely.