Happy Birthday Mary!

Mary could not WAIT for her birthday! She's definitely the more patient of the two girls, but after hearing Allie ramble on and on about her  birthday, and knowing full well that hers was right around the corner, she was READY.  Every morning this week, when she ran in the kitchen for breakfast, she would say, "4 more days until my birthday!"

WOW....my sweet Mary is 5.  

Mary's cousins Anna Kate and Grace drove down (well they actually rode with Nanna and Amber) to stay the weekend and attend her party! Anna Kate and Mary are 6 months and 6 inches apart! No not quite, but AK is very tall!  The girls had a great weekend. I took this pic this morning before donuts!

We went out for mexican food per Mary's request after church. Garrett is finally getting the "say cheese" thing down! Can you tell he liked the spicy chips?

Sweet SISTERS!!!!! Love those two:)

Two peas in a pod right there!

Nice job taking the pic Allie!

Oh Mary, you are killing me! Has it really been 5 years ago??  Anyone who knows you would say, oh that Mary is so sweet. She's easy, mild-mannered, sensitive, and caring. She's turning into a great little baby sitter for Abbott!  Just the day before her birthday she was SO EXCITED to read her first few sentences from some early readers sent home from pre-school. Five is one of my favorite ages so far, and I can't wait to watch her as she grows this year. I don't want her to go to kindergarten! My sweet little shadow will be missed during the day!

Here are a few pics from her party yesterday!

Date night....and thoughts on adoption

Mary in the middle and I had our date night last night. By the skin of my teeth, I avoided the McDonald's play ground, and she chose to "take me" to a mexican restaurant. There are tortillas doused in butter and free ice cream to wash it all down. Mary and I share the same love for food, so we are great pair.

She's SO different than Allie.  I asked her many questions because her little voice is squelched by "loud" and "louder" at this house.  Ten minutes into our conversation, she politely asked me to quit talking because she was tired of talking.  She smiled, and happily, we sat in silence. 

She did tell me who she likes to play with at school, and that she is so ready to learn how to read.  She started talking about her daddy, and I'm not even remembering what she said, but I commented that he is such a good daddy, and that I love him very much. She replied without hesitation, "Do you love him as much as you love me, Allie, Garrett, and Chubby Cheeks?" 

The question threw me off guard....not because she asked if I loved Daddy more than her but because when she grouped her siblings together, she named off Chubby Cheeks without even hesitating or forgetting that he will be her brother.  We told her about 2 weeks ago that we were adopting, and it's just fascinating to me that she at almost 5 years old seems to wrap her mind around it all better than I do...as an adult.

You may be thinking..."oh there was not THAT much to her question", but to me there was.  We have not had deep discussions about all this with her, but upon hearing that we are adopting a baby brother, she has accepted the fact already that he is included and that we love him as much as we love her. That is a big statement of faith on her part I believe.  Children are amazing that way.  She doesn't worry about whether she will love him like she loves Allie or Garrett....she has already "adopted" him in her heart as her brother whether she realizes it or not because when she speaks of Allie and Garrett, she always includes Chubby Cheeks as well. The method of arrival to our family is not an issue.

One of my dearest friends on the planet said to me today, "I don't know if I'd be a good adoptive mom because how could you love an adopted child as much as your biological children?"...or something like that.  We talked about it a while. You think I haven't worried and thought about this? I think any normal human in the early stages of adoption asks themselves this very question.  I told her I spent several months going over this in my mind repeatedly. How is it possible to love a child unconditionally as I do my current children? To you who have adopted, feel free to comment. I would love to hear your perspective, as I'm on the wrong end of this conversation to have any experience in this area. I know you if are adopted or have adopted that this whole notion will seem RIDICULOUS, but I'm exploring the range of emotions that come into play.

It is something I do not worry about anymore, and that is the point I'm trying to make.  Our love for even our children is imperfect on this side of heaven. We think we do it well, but only God loves perfectly.  He loves us perfectly, and He adopted us as his children.  I feel FULLY confident that time will be necessary to cause a bond  to be formed between me and my new son, but isn't the same thing necessary when you bring your newborn home? Those of you who haven't had a SCREAMING newborn, don't be so quick to answer. There is no question that when you look at your newborn baby, that immediately you are overwhelmed with love for him, but I also think that the bond is sealed over time as we care for, nurture, pray over, worry over,  and get to know them daily as they grow up before our eyes. I think God teaches us through his daily refining of our selfish will to love our children and others like He does. 

I'm reading a book called, Adopted for Life by Russell D. Moore.  and I'd like to share an excerpt from the book that hit me like brick.  I've read it over and over, and I feel like there is so much truth to it.

"  Imagine for a moment that you are adopting a child.  As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you are told that this twelve year old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three.  He persists in burning things and in and attempting repeatedly to skin kittens alive.  He "acts out sexually" the social worker says, although she doesn't really fill you in on what that means.  She continues with a little family history.  This boy's father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great great grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder.  Each of them ended life the same way, death by suicide--each found hanging from a rope of blankets in his respective prison cell.

     Think for a minute.  Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn't you keep your eye on him as he played with your other children? Would you watch him nervously as he looks at the butcher knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on tv with your daughter, with the lights out?

    Well, he's YOU. And He's ME.  That's what the gospel is telling us.  Our birth father has fangs. And left to ourselves, we'll show ourselves to be as serpentine as he is.  But the New Testament addresses former Satan-images with good news.  It's not just that we have a stay of execution, a suspension of doom. It's not simply that those who trust in Christ have found a refuge, a safe place, or a foster home.  All those in Christ, Paul argues have received SONSHIP.  We are now Abraham's offspring (Gal 3:39). Within this household--the tribal family of Abraham--all those who are in Christ have found a home through the adopting power of God.  Because we've been brought into an already-existing family, we ought not to be proud, as though we were here by family entitlement (Rom. 11:11-25) We're here by GRACE."

Praise be to God that He adopted me.

Chew on that...it's good stuff.

We received an update on our son, yesterday. He's doing the army crawl, gets impatient when he's hungry, and has a bit of a serious side to him, but a lighter side too.  Thank you Lord for this baby boy. Hold him safe until we can...and then keep holding him after that too.

Party pics

One thing I've noticed about January is that there is NOTHING else going on....so if you invite them, they will come! My sister did an owl theme for Abbott's birthday last July, and at first I thought she would have a hard time finding things for the party. Boy was I wrong! I decided to copy off of her, since they are still easy to find.

I'm finding it harder to find party favors for "older" kids.  Allie's age group seem to be "into" Mad Libs, so I found a great deal on Amazon.com....every 4th one free, so these averaged our to cost $3 per favor since I found the pencils at the dollar store 8/$1.  I'm always looking for a good deal. Just thought I would share if anyone needs a good party favor. The kids liked them. I took the owl from the invitation and made the labels.  When you buy an Avery label package there is a program called Design Pro that you can download to make your labels which are formatted to Avery labels.  It's actually very easy...no photoshop required.

We've been working on thank you notes today.  The rule here is that you can't have your present until you've written the note for it.  It slows her down, so that I can have time to get them organized, and it motivates her to get them written! I made these cards on photoshop.  I took a regular bifold notecard and printed them on top and bottom, then cut them in the middle, so it's basically just a post card.

One party down, and one to go! Sweet Mary has been very patient!

Traits at Eight

I was reviewing the terms and licensing agreements set fourth by blogspot.com last night concerning content "appropriate" when blogging. This is what I found:


At blogger, we understand that it is impossible for parents to be completely objective about their children, and so not only do we allow bragger bragger content, we encourage you to be even obnoxious at times when it comes to bragging about your child.


In reading this, I felt like I needed to stay within the guidelines that I signed up to uphold when I started this blog 3 years ago. It is my kid's birthday, so I'm going to be totally nonobjective about my fabulous girl!


I can't believe she's 8!  Allie is the life of the party around here; she is loud, energetic, fun-loving, silly, and has a helpful heart.  She likes to help so much that her sister may call it "bossing me", but we are working on it.  She is excited to be alive and that is the BEST way to describe her.  Some people aren't so excited about being alive...and they should be! She's contagious. Her jokes are terrible at 8, but how can one not laugh because she thinks they are the best thing every shared!


Her teacher shared this on her report card the first 9 weeks, and it made this mamma proud.


"Allie is a sweet and vivacious girl with a very quick mind. She easily grasps new concepts. She is a very strong in her reading and math skills. Allie has a teacher's heart and would easily become a teacher's assistant - even at age 7! She always wants to help others understand. I can see a heart for God in her as she is always eager to serve others. She is a great storyteller, and sometimes will get carried away on the wave of her own story! At these points, I just remind her of self-control and she immediately responds. She is always very respectful and responsive to any correction, and is always so full of joy that she lights up the room! I am so glad she is in my class."


More than being proud, I'm just thankful. I am thankful that she loves her life, that she is healthy, and that she is learning to think about others besides herself. That is a process for all of us, but we are seeing signs of humanity! Allie you are loved;Happy Birthday!


Now don't go looking up the licensing terms....I didn't put that in quotes if you know what I mean ....

Inspection

My mom texted me today and asked how the "inspection" went.  She was referring to our homestudy yesterday, but the word "inspection" made me smile. It REALLY felt that way! 

I'm not sure this would have passed. I keep a bowl of apples on the bar, and a little rat around here keeps finding his way to them.  At noon yesterday, I had 4 perfectly good apples. By snack time, I was down to 1. I think I'll put them back in the fridge.


Childproofing. This is an interesting concept. We've had a toddler in the house for roughly 8 years give or take about 6 months.  You would have thought that we were "CHILDPROOF" by now!  I've spent what seems like a full month childproofing our already "childproof" home. I didn't realize how UNSAFE our children have been...ha!  


We NOW have a medicine cabinet which is locked with a key!  Probably not a bad idea....


...and who ever thought we needed a fire extinguisher upstairs and downstairs?

Check!


I cleaned out every drawer in our house and locked away every cleaner or chemical, and the social worker didn't even check the drawers.  Do you know what it feels like to have a house that is finally organized?  It's awesome and quite a new concept for me! 


The only thing we were were lacking????

Yep....ordered one today. I guess I need to order some acceptable jammies to wear at night in case I have to help the children down the ladder in the middle of the night!


Chubby Cheeks, we are going to be ALL SET!


Last night I was very relieved to have that portion of the process over. I realized that I was very hungry. One thing I LOVE to eat when it's cold outside is CHEESE SOUP!!!
It's my mom's recipe, and it is WONDERFUL!


1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can chicken broth
1 cup of milk
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1/2 stick of butter (I've been known to accidentally use a whole stick...and it never hurts)
6 or 7 slices of american cheese


Sautee butter, onions, and carrots.  Add the remaining liquid ingredients. Lastly, stir in cheese slices and stir until melted and soup heated through. 


DELICIOUS!!!

The white stuff....sugar and snow

We snuck away to New Orleans to watch the Razorbacks play in the Sugar bowl. WHAT A GAME!! We shopped a little, museumed a little (I just made that word up), ate a LITTLE, and walked a lot.  Arkansas fans and Ohio State fans are PASSIONATE about football, so it was quite an atmosphere.

...before the game

We ran into our brother-in-law Jason.  What are the chances of that?...no texting involved either.

This was taken the night before at the Darius Rucker concert.  Hootie Rocks! HA!

You can't leave New Orleans without catching some beads!

I am ordering my 2010 Shutterfly book tomorrow! It's never too early to start 2011! Here are the first 2 pages. I was supposed to go to my sisnlaw's baby shower two hours away, but I didn't take my chances with the "Blizzard" coming in.  It wasn't a blizzard, but it was PLENTY for the kids.

Whoohoo...what an exciting way to "kick-off" 2011!

A new year...

a BIG year.


I have given the blog a new look. For starters, my kids' pictures were a year out of date, but there are other reasons.  This year will usher in a new look for our family as well.  There are many unknowns at this point, but by the end of 2011, it is looking quite certain that a fourth picture frame will be added--a sixth family member, a fourth child, a second son, a new baby of the family.


No, I am not pregnant.
Yes, we are adopting.


Adoption: It is not a word that had crossed my mind too many times before last year. Now it is a word that enters my mind over and over throughout each day. It is something the hubs has always had a desire to do, but after our third was born, he became used to the idea that our family was complete likely because I had a tough adjustment to three. I was overwhelmed for a while, and some days I still wonder when it will all get done.


God had a different plan than I did....as He often does.  He began stirring something in me mid year, and it was something I could not just dismiss or ignore. I prayed that He would "stir" someone else, but He didn't. I wanted to be done. Life was just starting to get easier around here!  After a time of this, I had the nerve to bring it up to the hubs. I knew once I voiced it, that we would have to pursue the issue further.  The hubs reacted as I thought he would. He smiled and looked at me through excited yet cautious eyes, possibly realizing that sometimes my "great ideas" are fleeting.  He readily admitted it was something he'd thought about for quite some time.


And so it began. We spent many evenings discussing all aspects of it...domestic vs. international, the time frame of it all...this list is exhaustive really. What we finally came down to was this; Why would we NOT go through with it? God obviously placed the desire in both of our hearts, and it became clear that we would trust Him on this journey.


The verse I have chosen to banner the blog for this year will be my biggest challenge yet biggest comfort.


In Proverbs, it says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.....and in ALL your ways acknowledge Him, and HE WILL make your path straight."  We set out on this journey September, 23rd if you want to track the paper trail.  I am acknowledging now that I'm not doing this out of my own understanding. It is in my understanding, that this is CRAZY. God, however, is not crazy. He promises that He will make our path straight. He does not promise that the path will not be very curvy and bumpy along the way though.  I am expecting some bumps this year.


Thank you Lord for stirring our hearts.  Because of you, a baby boy around the world awaits us.  Son, we anxiously pray for you and think about you every day. Our kids are excited to have another brother, and they don't even sound surprised that you come to us this way. We cannot WAIT!

(For the sake of the child's privacy, I cannot blog any information regarding him! sorry! He's super cute, and the girls have affectionately named him "chubby cheeks")


So with that said, HAPPY NEW YEAR!