Wordless Wednesday {what goes up...}

Thanksgiving

I'm amazed at how quickly ~ and how un-photographed ~  it passed.

Three days with family and I only have a few photos to show for it.

Maybe it was because we were too busy either preparing food ~ spent a glorious day in the kitchen alongside my sister and my mother on Thursday ~ or eating it...

the kids' table in all it's chaotic glory

trendsetter ~ and for the record, there was nothing left on that bone when he was done

monkey see...

Or maybe we were too busy chasing children to take pictures.

They say a boy is noise with dirt on it.  Three boys, ages 4, 6, and nearly 8, make more noise than a herd of stampeding cattle and create the muddiest bath water you can imagine.  Armed with a play Honduran bow and arrow set , Captain America shields, and swords ~ including anything that remotely resembled a sword ~ those three fought countless bad guys and occasionally each other while we visited.

cleaned up to ride on the float for the parade

and where was the little one you ask?  you could say that nap times are not yet fully optional...

And if one girl can create countless works of art with pen, paper, scissors and glitter glue in an hour, imagine what three girls, 5, 6 & 7, can do over the course of three days.  Let's just say that "glittericious" could be used to describe clothing, the table and chairs...

pretty sure those jackets for the parade are hiding lots of glittery evidence

And did I mention the two frisky dogs?

It was a delightful weekend.  Pajamas late into the days.  Plenty of Mama's dressing and cranberry relish to go with the turkey.  Total of four pumpkin pies that were consumed at her house in three days. Lots of catching up.  Even more hugs.

And the reminder of how blessed we are to be family...

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving was both tasty,  noisy & glitterific!

Wordless Wednesday {tooth fairy take II}

kiddo date night

My date for the evening...  

Her choice of activity? Dinner at Chick-fil-A, free balloon and face painting there, browsing the Dollar Tree (without buying a thing) and dessert at Moonlight Swirl yogurt bar.  <3 my girl!

how it all started

We were blessed to have a new friend take some pretty incredible pictures of our family last weekend.  Right now we're looking them over, trying to select our Christmas card images, and deciding which ones to print for frames (both for our house and for our moms and Ian's dad).  There are some wonderful shots of our whole family and one of me and the kids that is definitely canvas worthy.

But this one?

 

Oh, it took me about 1.7 seconds while looking over our photos to declare it my very favorite.

Beyond being just darn cute, this one jogged something in my memory.  It took me back just over 16 years to the discussion when it all started...

When I was born Mama began praying that I would one day I would meet and marry a man with a huge heart for God.  I met Ian on May 31 of 1996, after we had both finished college, at the summer staff training for Carolina Cross Connection.  While we enjoyed each other's company, there were no sparks, just an amicable friendship that started that week.  We ended up being assigned to work at the same camp and our friendship grew as the summer progressed.  Without meaning to at all, we often gravitated toward one another and often could be found surrounded by campers, but together.

Still though, we had pledged ~ along with the rest of the summer staff ~ not to get involved in any romantic relationships as it would take our focus off of our campers.  Besides, I had a teaching job in NC to return to at the end of the summer and Ian already had been hired in an engineering position in MD.  A relationship simply didn't make sense.

Until the last day of the last camp week.  One of the adult campers from Cape May Courthouse, NJ asked me what Ian and I were doing at the end of the summer.  Clueless as to why she was asking, I told her of our job situations.  Undaunted, she then asked me what we were doing about that.  Still not clear where she was headed, I told her that I thought he and I would exchange letters from time to time and that I knew I'd miss him, but there was about 450 miles between our homes, so...

And I'll never forget either the look in her eye as Barb very clearly said, "It may not be my place to say, but be sure you never let distance stand in between true love."

Uh.  Wow.  I knew I enjoyed being around him, but true love?

Confused about what it meant that someone who casually watched Ian and I interact for a week could declare us in love, I did the only thing I knew to do...I gave Ian the secret signal our staff had developed for needing to have a conversation as quickly as possible and asked if we could chat later that night.

After all the campers had been tucked in their beds and we'd finished our staff meeting, we stepped outside staff quarters onto the porch.  Suddenly I felt pretty unsure and ridiculous about the conversation I was going to relay, so I asked him if we could sit back to back ~ so I couldn't see him if he laughed at me ~ while we talked.

Not knowing how else to say it, I replayed the conversation I had with Barb, right down to the "don't let distance stand between true love."

Silence.

And then, "Hmm.  Well I wonder if we should do something about that?"

Obviously we did.

For the few weeks before he moved from VT to his new apartment in Maryland, we saw each other every weekend.  So began a long distance relationship from NC to MD with a phone bill bigger than the state of Rhode Island.  The rest is history...

I had no idea that night 16 years ago where our back to back conversation would take us.

I wasn't sure we were headed for marriage, much less four ~ going on five ~ children carried by other women but grafted into our family by the One who defined adoption.

I certainly had no idea.  But oh am I thankful that God spoke through Barb and gave me the courage to share her thoughts with Ian, even if it was in a back to back conversation.

Life has been an adventure with my very best friend at my side!

I'm blessed!

it's the weekend!

4:05 ~ arrival home from school
"WOO-HOO, it's Friday and NO homework or schoolwork for three days!!!"

5:05 ~ 5 minutes home from a bike ride around the "big block"
"Hey guys, you wanna play She Ra and He Man studying?"

...and there they sit at the little table copying information out of books...

hidden in his heart

Dusting off my preschool teacher hat has been fun.

I've loved watching Daniel learn, solve puzzles and fine tune his motor skills.

But there is one part better than all the rest.  

The (free) online curriculum that I chose focuses around a bible verse for memorizing each week.

[I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.] Philippians 4:3
Though for D it sounds more like "I can do all the things I want to do wif Jesus Christ."
close enough ~ I'll take it!

He now knows six verses ~ and how to apply them in his everyday life.

[Thou shall not steal] Exodus 20:15
He has nailed this one ~ and its meaning.
Don't get caught with your hand in his Halloween basket!

Each week he is hiding a little more scripture in his heart.

[Let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven]  Matthew 5:16

At the dinner table when the big kids get to share highlights of their work from the week, little D is happy to share his memory verse.  Which leads to a family discussion on what they mean.  And that is helping the others to re-learn their verses as well.  It's like getting little life lessons from the Bible via their little brother.

pleased with himself after reviewing his memory verses

Yes, I'm happy that he knows his letters, numbers, shapes and colors.  But my heart rejoices in his joy over learning God's word.

Wordless Wednesday {tights with a 'tude}

how we beat the Monday blues

I know that every day is a gift and that I should be grateful for each and every one.  And for the most part, I am.  But if I'm going to be perfectly honest, the weekends are my favorite.  

After all, for 48+ hours I'm surrounded by the five people that make this job of "family engineer" worth the salary.  It's a hubbub of noise, activity, hugs and kisses for family movie night, lazy Saturday mornings and Sunday.

But then comes Monday morning.  After the five alarm fire drill that is seeing Ian off for the start of a work week and getting "the big kids" out of the house dressed, hair combed, fed, and with backpacks, it gets really quiet.  Eerily quiet.

Daniel and I could easily stand around blinking at each other trying to figure out how it can go from a flurry of activity and laughter to silence except for the two of us, or we could choose to fight the Monday blues.  I chose the latter.  

Queue "M home preschool."  

After nearly a two year hiatus, I've added "preschool teacher" back into my job description.  My little guy LOVES it.

I've pulled many of the same fine motor skill, letter learning, number practice and color matching activities back out of my bag of tricks.  But it's all new for Daniel and he enjoys the activities.

It's been fun to watch him get excited about discovery, not to mention be amazed with how much he's soaking in.  Letter recognition (capitals and lowercase)?  He's got that.  Letter sounds?  That too.  He recognizes his numbers 1 - 20, counts with one to one correspondence, and finally,  finally, doesn't get blue and yellow mixed up anymore.

My joy in seeing him learn has made it fun so far.  Of course I knew that when I did preschool before that I eventually stopped because I lost momentum.  So this time I pulled a secret weapon into plan.  Not only do Daniel and I spend most of Mondays learning, but his little buddy Corrie joins us for the day.

Quizzing each other on numbers while I get lunch ready

It's a win-win as Daniel gets to hang out with one of his best buddies and I have the added incentive to keep up with planning activities.

Corrie is a welcome addition to our weekly routine.  Her smile and little bit of adorable sass certainly help beat the Monday blues!

what happened here?

A good bit of the time it feels like, as a family of six, that we're a well oiled machine.

And then there are days, or a string of them in a row ~ like last week, that leave me scratching my head and asking, "What just happened here?"

Laundry went unfolded, the floors may have been swept but certainly were not mopped, meals were tossed together on the fly, toys were strewn about in every room (not just the playroom), it seemed like we were running hither and yon, and my big kids got "the treat" of getting to buy their lunch (which of course was a way to thinly disguise my lack of organization in getting to make their lunches).

It would not have been a good week for Better Homes and Gardens to drop by.

Let's just say we wouldn't have made the cover.

Our social worker did come though.  And while the house was what it was, she seemed to like what she saw.  I think I was almost surprised.

But then I stopped to think about it.

Our house, in all its occasional disorganization, is truly lived in.  Now I'm not so much advocating for lackadaisical housekeeping and poor menu planning, but rather embracing the life in the moment...for within these walls as they are, life happens.  And while it may be loud, boisterous, and often slightly messy,  we do love.  And love is BIG here.  After all, as we were reminded at church yesterday, we were created in the image of love Himself...

More on that thought to come.  But so far this week, I'm still scratching my head and wondering what just happened here.  But when it all gets back under control, I'll be back.

Because big love leaves lots of fun stories.

room for FIVE

Not bad for $50 and a day of hard work (clearing ivy, relocating azalea bushes, moving the structure, leveling, assembly...) 

As soon as we buy new swings we'll have a place for FIVE kids to swing at a time (three swings + the two seater). 

Wordless Wednesday {bike riding buddies}

*10/16/2012*

exercising my right

My sidekick went with me this morning to assist. 

Made me think back to 30ish years ago when I remember going with my mom for the first time as she voted for president. Many elections have been held since then, I myself have now voted in six presidential elections. Sometimes the candidate I voted for won, sometimes he didn't. But still, I have the freedom to make my voice heard...

lives be healed {part II}

**this written on September 16, before we went public with our news of family expansion ~ His role in this story is a part that needs to be shared...**

It's been an interesting two weeks as we've tried to still ourselves one last time to make sure that the whisper was from Him.

Just last night we said a final prayer, again felt peace about about our decision, and hit [send] to request our agency to have her file transferred on our behalf.

And there we were.  Too excited to sleep.  So many questions.  So many yet unknowns.

What if, what if, what if...

One of the last things Ian said before we quit talking and pretended to be asleep was, "I wonder if tomorrow's message will bring any confirmation or if God will just leave this quiet in our hearts for now."

Wouldn't you know that in something only He could orchestrate, there was confirmation.

The same song that brought me to weeping over her back in May.  The one that confirmed in my heart that I had to let her go, to advocate for her to find a family.  Quiet, happy tears of thankfulness welled up this morning as I recognized the song with the first few chords from our worship pastor's guitar...

"Chains be broken

lives be healed

eyes be opened

Christ is revealed"

Yes, today that song washed over me in a new light and the tears came from a different place in my soul.

For Natalie, the chains of being an orphan are already in motion to be broken.
In time, some of her physical ailments, but also the broken heart of not having a family of her own will be healed.
We pray that medical intervention from her nationally ranked pediatric glaucoma specialist will help open her eyes for restored vision.
And in the process of realizing that she is indeed our daughter, Christ has been revealed.

Oh how I praise Him for continuing to whisper until we were obedient enough to listen...

**And one other small, but fun confirmation.  I somewhat flippantly said last night that it was a shame that I was going to have to retire yet another necklace from the Vintage Pearl.  First I had my "you are my sunshine" that had room for three kids names.  Last year for Mother's Day Ian thoughtfully replaced it with "my hands are almost as full as my heart" with the inner circle that had room for four names.  Wouldn't you know that today I had an email from the Vintage Pearl (the first one in over a year) complete with a coupon for a new purchase?  It's even the little things that He oversees that overwhelms me sometimes.**