this is our life

It's Been a Long Time

2012-01-31T17:28:00.005-05:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Our tiny little peanut isn't so tiny any more, and the older kids are getting way too big. I don't think I'll try to cram everything we've done into one post, so I'll just upload some recent pictures :) Hopefully I do better this year about updating my blog (assuming anyone is still interested!).

Making Kool Aid Playdough

At Grandma and Grandpa's House

Sisters!

Celebrating Michelle's Birthday

Matching Church Outfits

How We Spend Our Days. . .

2011-04-06T23:16:00.002-04:00

One Month Old!

2011-04-04T22:57:00.004-04:00

It's hard to believe that Mabelyn is one month old today. Just in the past few days, we've seen a lot of changes in her. Her cheeks are filling out, and she's awake for longer periods of time. I need to get some updated pictures because all the ones I've taken in the past week or so are while she's sleeping, and I'm sure that grandparents would like to see pictures of her very blue eyes.

I'm finally starting to feel like myself again, and it helped that I was able to wear my old jeans again on Saturday :) Of course, they are low rise and were a bit big before I got pregnant, but still! It's nice that my incision area isn't hurting as much anymore--it hurt to wear even maternity jeans for a long time because it was all so sensitive.

Steven and Michelle have adjusted well to Mabelyn, and they both like to "help" with her. Steven loves holding her, even if she's crying, and Michelle likes to burp her and help with any bottles she may get. So far, I haven't gotten the sense that they are jealous of her at all, which surprises me. They have acted out, though, especially after the last family members left and Mark went back to work. It took a while to reassert myself as an authority figure and let them know that Mommy's rules are back in effect after several weeks of grandmas and Daddy being in charge. Overall, though, they are doing better than I anticipated. It's definitely been easier going from two kids to three than it was going from one to two, and I think part of that is their age and the fact that they have each other to play with while I take care of Mabelyn.

Big Sister Michelle

2011-03-25T17:03:00.003-04:00

First Bath

2011-03-20T21:25:00.003-04:00

Introducing Mabelyn Elizabeth!

2011-03-15T22:52:00.002-04:00

Mabelyn was born on Friday, March 4 at 8:30 a.m. via c-section a couple weeks early because of low fluid/possible placenta problems. She weighed 5 lbs., 13 ozs. and was 18" long.

Making Valentines

2011-02-24T21:27:00.002-05:00

Freezer Meals

2011-01-13T13:59:00.003-05:00

On the days that I'm not having contractions/confined to bed, I've been working on freezer meals and getting things made ahead of time for when Baby M makes her appearance sometime in March. I've been trying out new recipes, but I'm looking for more. Now that I seem to be done with the hyperemesis, I'm starting to actually cook (much to Mark's delight!).

So far, I've made and froze lasagna, taco soup, taco meat, and shredded chicken taco meat. It's a good start, but I need more ideas. I'm going to make meatballs (just thought of that one) and BBQ beef/pork for sandwiches, but that's about all I have left on my list.

I don't want to do anything too complicated since I'm still having contractions (although the antibiotic I'm on for an infection seems to really be helping in that area). I am also working around Michelle's food allergies (eggs, sesame, and tree nuts). I've been hitting different cooking blogs/recipe sites, but I don't want to waste time and money on something that I don't know if it will turn out.

If you have any easy freezer/crock pot recipes to share, I'd LOVE to have them!

Conversation at Dinner

2011-01-12T20:35:00.003-05:00

Preface: Dinner is always a challenge at our house anymore. It generally involves at least one child refusing to eat, and for the past week or so, that has been Michelle. We don't make her a separate meal, and we don't force her to eat. If she wants to eat, though, she gets what we're having, and she can't just fill up on bread (which seems to be her favorite right now). Tonight was no different, and Michelle was a basket case.

Steven: Mommy, is Jesus happy with me when I obey?

Me: Yes.

Steven: Is Jesus happy when Michelle obeys?

Me (wondering where this is going): Yes.

Steven: Michelle, Jesus is NOT happy with you right now.

Me: Okay, that's enough. Eat your jell-o.

Lovely!

Just 70 Days To Go!

2011-01-04T10:46:00.002-05:00

In some ways, it feels like I've been pregnant forever. That's probably because it hasn't been an easy pregnancy by any means. Most women struggle with morning sickness, but about 3%-5% have the pleasure of hyperemesis, which is the most extreme morning sickness you can imagine. At its peak, I was throwing up every time I got out of bed (despite being on two anti-nausea meds, including one that is used for chemo patients). I also had to go in and get iv fluids because I was so dehydrated.

Just about anything would trigger the throwing up--being touched (which the kids had a hard time understanding), smelling food, seeing food (even on tv), moving, and sometimes, it just happened without warning (like on the way to Bible study one day when I had to pull over to throw up in a gas station parking lot).

Thankfully, that has subsided. I rarely take the anti-nausea meds, and I'm only throwing up once or twice a week. However, I started having contractions back in November. They got worse after I carried Steven from his bed to the living room, and I ended up spending most of the following three days resting in bed. I was checked by my doctor before we left for PA, and everything looked good. I was just told not to lift the kids if I could help it.

While we were in PA, if I did too much, the contractions started up again, and then it got to the point on Christmas Day where they were just happening even if I didn't do anything. That's when we decided it would be best to get checked out at a hospital near my parents' house. Of course, the contractions stopped before we got there, but when they got me hooked up to the monitor, they were picking up Braxton Hicks contractions. It was the first time mark had heard the heartbeat since our big ultrasound in October, and he got to hear her kicking too. I'd been telling him that it felt like earthquakes in there because she is so active, and you could hear that on the monitor. Everyone who came in commented on how active she was and said that they had never heard such loud kicks (they could hear them down the hall despite the door being shut!). The midwife also said surprised by how neurologically advanced the baby was for her age :)

Mark and I were there for a couple hours, and they ran several tests and checked me again. Everything checked out okay, but they gave me two shots to stop the contractions, and they seem to have worked. I've only had a handful of contractions in the past week and a half.

We never got a clear answer on what was causing the contractions, but they think that it was a partly due to dehydration (which we don't really agree with because I had been drinking like crazy to try to make them stop) but mostly due to her insane activity, which I guess can cause contractions.

Since we've been home, I've followed up with my doctor, and everything still looks good. I am on limited activity, but I'd not on bedrest or anything. I just have to be careful not to do too much, and I really can't lift the kids (or anything else for that matter). I think I can handle that for the next 10 weeks if it keeps her from coming early!

Two!!

2010-12-29T10:40:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that the Peanut is two! She decided to celebrate turning two with a bang and threw a spectacular temper tantrum in Meijer (which resulted in her learning that even birthday girls have to behave if they are going to ride the horsie!). She also started potty training that day and has used the potty consistently the last three days (despite being a bit sick yesterday). Way to go, Sissy!

She is talking non stop, and I'm understanding most of what she says (and if I don't understand it, she just yells it louder and louder). She loves to play with her new doctor kit and has been busy developing her drawing skills on the Magnadoodle she got for Christmas (which was wonderful to have in the car for the long trip to PA and back!). She loves her brother dearly and walks around like a little lost soul if she wakes up before him. She's both sassy and sweet, and we definitely can't imagine life without her!

To read my post from the day she was born, go here . (We originally named her Abigail and then decided to keep her birthname, so don't let the name confuse you!)

Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma B.

2010-12-26T22:56:00.004-05:00

We spent the last week in PA, dividing our time between Mark's parents' house and my parents' house. We got to see all of our siblings and were even in town for my sister Lauren's college graduation. A lot happened during our 10 day trip, including two Christmas celebrations, an early birthday celebration for Sissy, many contractions (resulting in a several hour stay at the hospital on Christmas Day), Steven's first time ever throwing up (which he was very proud of since it meant he was "just like you, Mommy!") and a new (to us) minivan! I'll try to blog about most of those at some point, but tonight I just have the pictures from my parents' house.

My family does most of our celebrating on Christmas Eve (which worked out esp. well since I already mentioned that I was at the hospital for part of Christmas Day). We went to the early Christmas Eve service, where Steven was scared of the video clips of the Grinch (the movie version, not the cartoon), and then went home for our traditional dinner--pizza and shrimp cocktail. My mom also made her usual assortment of cookies (including egg/nut-free ones for Michelle), chocolate covered pretzels, and fudge, but after Steven threw up everywhere, most of us lost our appetite :(

We then read the Christmas story out of the kids' Bible, and my mom helped Steven and Michelle re-enact it with her angels and plastic nativity set. The kids were really interested, and at the end, we all blew out candles for Jesus' birthday. I think that will be part of our tradition from now on (since Michelle's birthday is so close to Christmas, I don't want to do a cake). After that, we opened gifts before going to bed. The kids did really well considering how late we were up (and how short their naps were). I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend with my family even if it didn't go how we had planned!

Waiting for the story to begin.

Watching Grandma and the angels.

Checking out the ornaments on the tree.

Right before he tackled her to the ground. . .

Playing with his train set from Uncle Andy.

Watching Grandpa's train go around the tree.

After the Christmas Eve service.

An attempt at a family picture

(before I almost dropped Michelle because of the contractions it was causing).

Three Years Ago Today

2010-12-17T11:36:00.002-05:00

We became a family of three! Steven James, we are so blessed to have you in our lives!!

Halloween!

2010-12-16T12:41:00.004-05:00

Now that I have a way to download pictures, I figured I should post a few of the ones from this fall that I couldn't get to before. Here are our little bumblebee and fire fighter :)

Chuck E. Cheese!

2010-12-08T10:45:00.003-05:00

For Steven's birthday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese with Grandpa Hal, Nanny, and Uncle Andy when they were out for Thanksgiving. It had been a while since we had been there, and the biggest change I noticed was that the kids wanted to do the games instead of the rides (of course, that could have been because we sat on the side by the games and not the rides).

Chuck E. Cheese can be really expensive, but they have a ton of coupons available that make it quite affordable. I've signed up for e-mail coupons, and then I also registered the kids' birthdays to get them free tokens (no purchase necessary!). On their website, you can also print off reward calendars that get each kid 10 free tokens (with a food purchase). There is no limit to the number of coupons you can use in one visit, so we stack them all. This last visit cost right around $30, and we got two pizzas (one large, one medium), four drinks, and between 80 and 100 tokens. Not too bad for a night out with five adults and two kids!

THREE!!!

2010-11-22T23:28:00.002-05:00

I can't believe the little boy turned three today! We didn't do much at all for his birthday today, but we celebrated it a few weeks ago with my family and are celebrating with Mark's family this weekend. Here are a couple pictures from earlier this month.

The Mickey Mouse fan with his Mickey Mouse balloon from the dollar store!

Egg-free cupcakes are still pretty yummy, esp. with sprinkles on top!

First time trying pop rocks, and they got in the nose!

Wearing his skateboarding outfit--now he's just like his hero, Shaun White :)

22 Weeks

2010-11-10T23:43:00.002-05:00

Don't miss the other two posts from today :)

Visit with Auntie E

2010-11-10T20:24:00.002-05:00

I realized that I never updated after our visit with Auntie E and the kids. We decided at the last minute to meet at a McDonald's, and it went really well. Steven always gets a little overwhelmed by the big kids loving on him, so I usually have to intervene and tell them to give him a chance to warm up to them again. Thankfully, he's doing a lot better now that he's older and remembers them between visits. He knows all their names and likes to talk about them, and I know his anxiety will lessen with each visit. Michelle, as usual, just goes with the flow and runs around like crazy. She also had her own way of dealing with the smothering at one point--they were a little too intense with her, and she responded by spitting up all over one of her brothers. Oh well, she got some space after that :)

I had Michelle wear her new "I'm a Big Sister!" shirt with a jacket over it, and shortly after they got there, one of her older sisters took off Michelle's jacket. It was sooner than I planned on doing it, but I asked Auntie E if she noticed Michelle's shirt, and at first, she was like "Oh that's nice." I told her to look again :) She was really excited for us and said that she was going to cry. We didn't know the gender at that point, and she said she hoped it was a boy so Michelle would be the only girl.

We spent several hours together, just chatting while the kids played. Steven never climbed through the play area, but he was happy hanging out in the bottom area. He gets really timid in new situations, and there was no way I was going in the climbing thing with him! Michelle went with her sisters, but Steven just didn't feel like it, I guess. He did run around like crazy, though, so I know he had a good time. I also found out that he gets his very (overly at times) sensitive nature from his birthfather and that his full brother is the same way. That really fascinated me because I never really thought of that as being a genetic trait. It's amazing how much he and his one brother are alike (Mark even got them confused during our spring visit!), and they are definitely their birthfather's kids (and Steven is actually a junior after his birthfather). I love learning these little things about them!

I once again made the mistake of waiting until the end of the visit to try to get a group picture, but we did get some hilarious ones of the three boys. Unfortunately, another kid kept getting into the picture, so I finally got up and told him that I didn't know him, so I didn't need him in the picture.

We will probably go up to visit again as a family next month for a combined Christmas/birthday visit. Last year, we met up at Chuck E. Cheese's, but there was a shooting at it earlier this year, so we've been meeting at other restaraunts and parks. I don't think we'll go until mid December, or even early January. I need some time to figure out Christmas presents for Auntie E and the kids (we don't do birthdays with them, so I try to get/make something for them for Christmas). Any suggestions??

Family (Updated with Pictures)

2010-11-10T17:44:00.004-05:00

I still haven't found my camera card adapter (not that I've actually looked), so I don't have any pictures to post :( However, I figured that I'd write at least a quick update on how we're doing.

This past week my parents and Katie came out to visit us, and it was so nice to see them again. The kids always LOVE it when they come, and we celebrated Steven's birthday a few weeks early with them. (I told him it was his "pretend birthday.") It was nice to have the extra help since I'm still not feeling great. I'm thankful that I'm no longer throwing up every day, but I'm still throwing up at least a couple times a week (despite being on two anti-nausea meds). I don't really expect it to go away at this point (it never did for my mom), but maybe I'll get lucky :)

My mom and I (and Katie at times) went shopping and bought a few Christmas presents, mainly for the kids. Mark and my dad went to the University of Michigan game on Saturday and sat in the 8th row. I think it was the highlight of the visit for Mark :) The other highlight for us was when the kids had pop rocks for the first time. That was priceless, esp. when Steven got some in his nose! I'm bummed we don't have it on video.

My family left on Sunday, and Mark's sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids (4 weeks and 12 months) came in on Monday. They were only here overnight, but it was fun to see them and get to meet baby Aaron. They are currently in Western Michigan candidating at a church. If they end up moving there, they'll only be two hours away. While they were here, we exchanged gifts for several birthdays--Steven's, Tori's, and Mark's (which was yesterday). Thankfully, Michelle didn't seem to care that she wasn't getting anything. She had fun seeing what Steven got and playing with the balloons we bought for them when my family was out. I'm not sure Steven will be so easy going when it's her turn, though!

I'm hoping that Katie uploads her pictures from this past weekend soon. Once she has them on Facebook, I should be able to save them and put them on here. The kids are getting tall. It's hard to believe that they are almost 2 and almost 3!

It's a. . .

2010-10-19T14:50:00.000-04:00

GIRL!!! I am soooo excited!!

Still Here

2010-10-07T11:28:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's been over two months since I've last posted :( I'm still here, still pregnant, and still sick (just threw up again this morning, and I'm 17 weeks!). I'm on two different anti-nausea drugs that do help, but they obviously don't completely take care of the problem.

I have been doing a lot better in the last few weeks. At the end of August, I couldn't keep anything down for close to a week and had to go in for iv fluids. My mom and Katie then came to help out with the kids for a week while my dad was traveling.

I'm up to about 50/50 on good days and bad days. It's really hard with the kids at time, but we're all making it. Steven just knows that my tummy hurts a lot, but we've been careful to not connect my being sick to the baby that is coming, and so far, he hasn't made the connection on his own. Michelle is just her usual self, but at first, they both were acting up more because their life was all out of order when I had to stay in bed for days at a time.

I haven't taken pictures in months (just found my camera last night after realizing that neither Mark nor I knew where it was), but the kids and I are going to see Auntie E this afternoon, so maybe I'll get her to take a belly picture for me :) She doesn't know about the baby yet, so that is part of the purpose for our trip. We haven't been up there since Birthmother's Day this spring, so we are a bit overdue for a visit. We've just been putting off telling her about the baby, and I've been way too sick to make plans anyways.

If you read this in time, please pray for our visit and for her to have a positive reaction. In the past, when I mentioned that we wanted four kids, she was shocked that we'd want more than the two that she'd placed with us. I was a bit taken back by her reaction, but I did remind her that she has four kids :) I just don't want her to feel displaced or to think that we'll somehow love this child more than the other two just (I cannot imagine how that would even be possible!).

Well, I had better start getting ready. One of my triggers is brushing/washing my hair, and that definitely has to be done before the visit :( I am so ready to be done with all the sickness!

Morning Sickness

2010-08-04T17:22:00.002-04:00

The morning sickness is getting worse and worse :( Today, I'm not even keeping liquids down, so the doctor is calling in a prescription for me. Please pray that it helps!

Chicken Pox and Morning Sickness (aka It Never Really Ends Around Here!)

2010-08-01T00:59:00.002-04:00

Yep, you read that right. It's always something at our house, and our most recent adventure is chicken pox. Michelle broke out last Monday, and it took me a while to realize what it was. She looked like she had bug bites all over her arms, shoulder, and legs, and since she is dark skinned, they weren't red. I was feeling sorry for her and trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong, and when I came home from work, it hit me.

I quickly searched online for pictures of chicken pox, esp. ones of dark skinned kids with chicken pox, but it was still hard to tell. Since she was just breaking out, she just had blisters, not scabs like I expected. However, all the descriptions matched, and by Tuesday morning, it was clear that she had chicken pox.

Thankfully, she has a relatively mild case (which fits since she had the apparently less-than-effective vaccine at her 12 month visit). Her torso and most of her face is clear, but the poor kid's arms and legs are covered. I don't know if I've mentioned this on here before, but she has a very, very high pain tolerance. That has come in handy because other than Monday/Tuesday, she hasn't acted sick at all. I think she's past the contagious part now, but we're keeping her home from church tomorrow anyways. We'll see if Steven breaks out in the next 1-2 weeks.

Oh, and morning sickness. See the ticker up there? We found out two weeks ago (the week between Michelle being in the hospital and then getting the chicken pox) that we are expecting a baby. We're still in shock :) Baby #3 is due March 15!

Catching Up

2010-07-23T16:39:00.004-04:00

The last two weeks have been chaotic, and a lot of that was because of Michelle's asthma. In her first couple days home, we were in and out of doctor's office and the ER. We discovered that she is allergic to the inhaled steroid they prescribed as a maintainance medicine. She first reacted on Wednesday night, and in addition to having swelling red patches, she was burning up and struggling to breathe.

We rushed her to the pediatric ER and were told that no one is allergic to inhaled steriods and that her fever was causing the breathing problem (similar to a dog panting). They gave her motrin, which took away the fever and the breathing problems, and the benadryl we gave her on the way to the hospital took care of the swelling. The doctor said no one is allergic to the inhaled steriods (which I questioned).

She was still burning up on Thursday, so I gave her tylenol every couple hours and was in contact with the doctor's office thoughout the day. We also were continuing with her breathing treatments. When I gave her the inhaled steroids, I stripped her clothes and waited for her to swell, and she did :( I started taking her to the ER again, but halfway there, the benadryl kicked in, so we turned around and went to the doctor's office. The doctor confirmed that she was allergic to the medication and said that she was probably coming down with either pneumonia or a bronchial infection and gave her antibiotics for it.

By Friday night (7 days after this all started), her eyes cleared up, and Sissy was starting to look good again. Her fever was gone Saturday morning, so we were finally able to go back to church (it'd been 6 weeks since we'd been in our church!).

We took her to her allergist, who is also an asthma specialist, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a treatment plan. We were continuing to do albuterol breathing treatments several times a day, but the doctor wanted us to do that only as needed. Michelle is now taking a chewable Singular tablet once a day, and starting tomorrow, will only be having breathing treatments as needed.

Michelle is definitely back to her perky, feisty, determined little self and is working on new words and commands ("more grapes!") every day. We are so blessed to have her happy and healthy again!

Sissy's Home!!

2010-07-12T02:53:00.003-04:00

Michelle was doing well enough that we got to bring her home earlier today! We had originally anticipated bringing her home yesterday morning, but her oxygen levels dropped during the night Saturday, so she had to stay until she could sleep without supplemental oxygen.

Michelle definitely has asthma, and it is pretty severe. We have to give her breathing treatments every four hours (including at night), and she has a follow up visit with her pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon. Depending on how she is doing at that time, we may be able to decrease the number of treatments she gets each day. I am sure that sometime soon we will be meeting with her allergist again. We were pleased to learn that he specializes in asthma, and that is a huge blessing. Michelle's pediatrician was glad to hear that he is her allergist.

Thank you for all your prayers, but please don't stop praying. We have a long road ahead of us as we adjust to a new way of life. We don't know exactly what we'll be doing long term, but we are thankful for a God who not only is there with us each step of the way but also provides for all of our needs. We have already had to spend a couple hundred dollars on her breathing machine, and I have no idea what kind of bills we're going to get from this weekend. Needless to say, we are very thankful for health insurance!

I'll be sure to update you again after her appointment on Wednesday. Again, we appreciate your prayers for Michelle, our family, and her doctors.

God is good. All the time. All the time, God is good!

Please Pray for Michelle

2010-07-10T14:25:00.003-04:00

Last night around 1:30/2:00, I took Michelle to the ER because she was really struggling to breathe. She received several breathing treatments and was on oxygen before we were transferred by ambulance to a better hospital. She was tired, cranky, and hungry (and I was getting there too!), but the breathing treatments were helping. Late this morning, right after Mark and Steven arrived, she was moved to her own room. It is a huge room with a nice size tv, dvd/vcr player for her favorite videos, bathroom/shower (way bigger than the one on our cruise!), and a very cute plush teddy bear just for her.

The plan was for Steven and me to take off since I haven't slept since Thursday night. However, we waited around until she was settled in, had at least one more breathing treatment, and were confident that Mark was sufficiently up to speed.

She is scheduled to have treatments every three hours (so she should have just had one), and they started her on steroids. When I checked in with Mark, she was playing but starting to slow down, which was good since she only slept until 1:30 or so last night and then took a 1 1/2 hour nap in the ER before they transferred her to her room.

The current plan is for Steven and me to catch up on some sleep and then head back to the hospital. Either Mark will return home with Steven or he'll go to a friend's house. We're just waiting to see how things go.

I was told this morning that Michelle would be there overnight. We're praying that she isn't there longer. At this point, they don't know what is causing the breathing problems. They have ruled out pneumonia through chest x-rays (so fun to do at 2:30 in the morning!). We really believe that it's asthma, but the doctors are hesitant on that right now. From what I understand, they don't like to diagnose it before the age of 3. However, with her medical history, it makes sense. Her allergist all but said that she'd develop asthma and that it was just a question of when, not if. At this point, there is no indication that this is an allergic reaction.

Thank you for praying for Michelle, for us, for the medical staff, for Steven, and for our families. My dad has been sending out updates through Facebook and Twitter, and I'll do my best to update when I can. However, I'm hoping to be asleep for quite a few hours :)

Adoption Blessings on Etsy

2010-07-05T22:17:00.003-04:00

I started making hairbows for Michelle earlier this year, and because of all the compliments I'd get on them (you have to admit they are stinking cute!), I decided to start selling them online. I've been very busy building inventory, and I now have over 50 different ones for sale. You can check out the complete list of them under Adoption Blessings on Facebook or see the majority of them at my etsy shop, AdoptionBlessings. Custom orders are always welcome too, of course!

All the hairbows/flowers are on fully lined alligator clips, and all ribbon ends are heat sealed to prevent fraying. I also stitch together the korkers (instead of just bundling them), so your child, if she's anything like Michelle, won't be able to rip them apart. The only advantage of Michelle's distructiveness is that I've refined and reinforced all my items. If she can't destroy, I doubt anyone can!

Korkers--$3.50

Large Flowers (5")--$5.50

Small Flowers (2"-3")--$3.50

Butterflies--$4.00

These make great gifts, so even if you don't have a little girl, you probably know one who'd love one! The large flowers also look great in Mommy's hair too! Again, check out AdoptionBlessings on etsy for about 35 more options!

New Words

2010-06-22T14:42:00.005-04:00

Michelle's vocabulary is growing at an amazing rate right now. We couldn't believe how many new words she was saying when we picked her up from my parents after the cruise. Most of them are helpful, but the one she picked up today wasn't the greatest--"mine!" Lovely.

Other new (and relatively new) words:

Blanket
Pineapple (and she says it very clearly!)
Welcome
Bless you! (which she says over and over and over again when anyone sneezes)
Up!
Diaper
Eat (at least I think she says this)
Trash
Michelle
Sissy
Truck
Ball
Fruit Snack
Duck
Quack

I know there are others that I just can't think of right now. I'm too exhausted to think, and it doesn't help that I just realized that our garage sale is this weekend (and I already have the required permit). Anyone want to join me? It's a sub-wide sale, and we usually do pretty well. This is my first year having to do it completely on my own, and that makes me very nervous because of the kids. I'd love to have some company whether you want to sell with me or not!

Conversation at Naptime

2010-06-22T14:29:00.002-04:00

You just never know what's going to come out of Steven's mouth, and most of the time, he's pretty hilarious. Of course, he doesn't always try to be, but just like I was probably at his age, he needs to cover all the bases.

Just a few minutes ago as I was trying to get him to walk from the bathroom to my bed for his nap, we had an interesting conversation. He's been wearing Mark's falling apart slippers today (which means that he is walking like a penguin), and I had just told him that he could not wear them during his nap.

Steven: Can I take my toys (bubble blowers) with me?

Mommy: No, no toys at naptime.

Steven: Can I take my popper?

Mommy: No. You can't take anything with you at naptime.

Steven: Can I take my arms?

Mommy: Yes, you can take your arms.

Steven: Can I take your shoe?

Mommy: No. Get into bed and stop asking! If you don't go to sleep, you're going to have to take your nap in your bed.

Steven's now in my bed, quiet as can be :)

We've Been Busy!

2010-06-20T00:52:00.004-04:00

We Saw Aunt Beth and Uncle Zach Get Married,

Mommy and Daddy Went on a Cruise,

And Steven and Sissy Went to Harrisburg!

**More pictures to come, of course!**

Sissy

2010-06-04T14:34:00.001-04:00

What We've Been Doing. . .

2010-05-30T00:46:00.005-04:00

It's been a while, and a lot has happened since I last posted. My parents and both sisters came out, Mark's mom came out, we celebrated Mother's Day, we dedicated Michelle, we discovered more food allergies, we've had playdates, we've played outside, we've played inside. In short, we've been busy! Oh, and did I mention that I am now pretty much in charge of our church nursery?! Yeah, it's been a busy May.

I hate the heat, and I don't like being outside, but I put both of those aside and took the kids out back to play twice this week. When I pulled their pool from the "attic" of the garage, I found a few other things in it. The kids had a blast playing with their toys and even had a bit more fun that I intended when they dumped an entire bag of cheese puffs onto their picnic table and went to town. And Steven did what must be logical to any two year old--he dumped all the cheese puffs he and the girl weren't able to down into the then empty pool and watched Sadie gobble them up :)

Riding the Airplane

Getting Caught Mowing the Dirt

Dumping and Eating Sidewalk Chalk

Dressing Himself and Wearing His Trunks Backwards

Grilling the "Crayons"

Relaxing in the Pool

Playing the Guitar while Riding an Airplane Sitting in a Pool

Charming Mommy into Forgetting all the Trouble She's Been Getting Into

Visit with Auntie E and Kids

2010-05-02T14:33:00.002-04:00

On Friday night we went to see Auntie E and the kids for an early Birthmother's Day celebration. She had recently discovered a nice park, so we all went there and had a great time. We brought KFC for everyone (although Auntie E's kids were too excited to eat much!), and she bought all the kids popsicles from the ice cream truck. My kids had never had one before, and both of them started chewing on the stick. I'm hoping that it's just because of the way I handed them to them and not that they are both that odd :)

We met at Auntie E's new house, and her youngest was the only one there. He knew where his siblings were playing, so we started walking down the block. The older kids saw me coming and all came running full speed yelling my name and tackled me with hugs. They had been waiting all day for us to get there, and it was so cool to see their excitement. They then ran to the car and gave the kids hugs. Steven did better with it than he has at times in the past. He didn't say anything, but he tolerated it and didn't start crying.

As we were leaving at the end of the night, the little 3 year old came running over to the car telling me he "needed to give his brother a hug good bye." It was so sweet! I am making plans to go see Auntie E by myself, so I can give her a Bible and have a real conversation with her. You just can't do that with six kids running around!

Riding on the Duck with One of her Big Sisters

Playing on the Giant Snail with Daddy

As Cute as Can Be!

Mr. Jake

2010-04-26T13:13:00.003-04:00

Steven's favorite person is Mr. Jake. He goes to our church and is in our small group. The reason why Mr. Jake is his hero is because he plays the guitar (and he's just one cool dude!). Steven always talks about Mr. Jake and asks to see him. When he is leading the "big kids" worship service, Steven and I will often go in there for the music before heading to his class.

However, the last few weeks Steven has absolutely freaked out when he saw Mr. Jake at church. I'm talking about heart racing, screaming and shaking, pulling my pants off freaking out. It's quite embarassing!

I'm not sure what happened, but our best guess is that he had a nightmare about him. He went through a period of nightmares around the same time this started. At home, he still talks about Mr. Jake, but at church, it's a different story :(

He hasn't seen Mr. Jake for a few weeks, and when he went looking for him yesterday at church, we found out he was sick. Today (while he was sitting on the potty!) we decided to pray for Mr. Jake.

Steven's prayer went like this:

Thank you for my day. Thank you for Mr. Jake. Thank you for his daddy. Thank you for him sitting. Thank you for his chair. Thank you for him standing.

I then intervened and helped him ask Jesus to help Mr. Jake feel better.

He continued praying, and it was quite interesting. Sometimes it quite hard to keep from laughing, and since we generally pray with our eyes open, its doubly important that I do my best to keep it inside.

I am so thankful for a boy who is passionate about praying and who is thankful for all kinds of little things!

Praying

2010-04-25T19:57:00.002-04:00

The kids know that we pray before every meal and say thank you to Jesus for just about everything and anything. From early on, both kids have folded their hands when they got in their seat/high chair, and Steven's been praying by himself for quite a while. Today, however, was the first time Michelle "prayed." We were at Wendy's for lunch, and when I put her in her highchair, she immediately folded her hands and said thank you. I know that she was doing it just so she could eat, but I'm thrilled that thankfulness and prayer is already instilled in her!

Preparing for Birthmother's Day

2010-04-24T00:51:00.001-04:00

Birthmother's Day is only two weeks away, so Auntie E's been on my mind, and I've been trying to think of the perfect gift for her. I called her yesterday and made plans to go see her on Wednesday, just the two of us. I'm so excited to get to spend one-on-one time with her like I did when she was pregnant with Michelle. It's pretty much impossible to have a meaningful conversation with six kids around. I'm hoping to get a family tree together for the kids and to ask her when she decided on adoption.

Most importantly, I want to talk to her more about our faith and relationship with God. I bought her a Bible quite a while ago, and I've gone through and underlined most of the verses that I have underlined in my Bible. Otherwise, it'll just be a huge book to her. I want her to be able to open it and be able to flip through it and be blessed by what I've marked in it. She wasn't really open to talking about God with our social worker, but she's been more receptive about it with me. It is my prayer that Steven and Michelle will have their entire family with them there in heaven. What a blessing that would be!

I absolutely love Mark Schultz's song Everything To Me, and it definitely makes me think of how blessed Auntie E, the kids, and I are to have an open adoption.

I must have felt your tears
When they took me from your arms
I'm sure I must have heard you say goodbye
Lonely and afraid had you made a big mistake
Could an ocean even hold the tears you cried

But you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And you made the only choice you could that night

(Chorus)
You gave life to me
A brand new world to see
Like playing baseball in the yard with dad at night
Mom reading Goodnight Moon
And praying in my room
So if you worry if your choice was right
You gave me up but you gave everything to me

And if I saw you on the street
Would you know that it was me
And would your eyes be blue or green like mine
Would we share a warm embrace
Would you know me in your heart
Or would you smile and let me walk on by
Knowing you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And I hope that you'd be proud of who I am

(Chorus)
You gave life to me
A chance to find my dreams
And a chance to fall in love
You should have seen her shining face
On our wedding day
Oh is this the dream you had in mind
When you gave me up
You gave everything to me

And when I see you there
Watching from heaven's gates
Into your arms
I'm gonna run
And when you look into my eyes
You can see my whole life
See who I was
And who I've become

(Chorus)
Cos' you gave life to me
A brand new world to see
Like playing baseball with my son late at night
And reading Goodnight Moon
And praying in his room
I'm so grateful I have this life
When you gave me up
You gave everything to me
Everything to me

Found!

2010-04-22T11:26:00.001-04:00

Tiffany was found safe in Florida. For more details, visit www.TiffanyTehan.org.

Update on Tiffany

2010-04-20T14:54:00.001-04:00

www.daytondailynews.com%2Fnews%2Fdayton-news%2Fpolice-said-missing-mom-seen-with-unidentified-man-662840.html&h=166a5

Please Pray!

2010-04-19T15:06:00.002-04:00

Please pray for Tiffany and her family. We used to play together when we were little and then ran into each other again at Cedarville. I can't imagine what her family's been going through!

Tiffany (Tabor) Tehan went shopping on Saturday morning, 17 April 2010, in the Dayton, Ohio area (The Green, Kettering, etc), and has not been heard from since. Please help us find her by spreading the word of her disappearance and keeping your eyes open. Please invite everyone you know to join us in this search. She could be anywhere in the nation (or out of).

Description:
5'6"
150lbs
Brown hair
Blue eyes

Her empty vehicle was found locked with a flat tire and keys inside at the Indian Ripple Park near The Green shopping center. She had made plans to be there at their recreation center for a baby clothing/item swap. We are unsure if she actually made it to the swap even though her vehicle was nearby the location. Any information or leads should be submitted to the Xenia Police Department (937)376-7200 (937)376-7200.

We will continue to pray that the Lord will hold Tiffany in His hands and keep her safe. Pray that angels will surround her and that the Lord will reveal her location to us somehow. We have hope in Him, and we believe that the enemy's plans will be foiled. Please pray, even if you don't normally pray; Tiffany could use your help.

Conversations with a Two Year Old

2010-04-16T12:36:00.003-04:00

Steven is a non-stop talker, and he narrates his way through life. It's interesting to see people's reactions at the store as we talk our way through it. He has to discuss e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g! He definitely brings smiles to most of the people we pass.

I think that public restrooms are the most interesting. I think that he has to go every time we are at Target, and thankfully, they have clean restrooms. Both kids have discovered the acoustics of the restroom, and they love to hear themselves. Fortunately, I've broken Steven of that habit (for the most part), but the Peanut still likes to do her own thing. As Steven's sitting on the potty, he has to tell me every thought in his head. It gets even more "fun" when someone else comes in. "What her doing? She going potty too? I go say hi!" I then remind him that we don't go say hi to people while they're going potty. "She going yucky yuck? I going yucky yuck!" At this point, I usually hear at least one person snickering :)

Steven is the same way at home. He talks about the most random things, and sometimes, I have a hard time figuring out where he came up with something. For example, right now he's sitting in his booster seat eating pineapple (he and the girl just polished off a 20 oz. can!), and when I gave him a second serving, he told me that he understands the pineapple. I'm not too sure what there is to understand a pineapple or what a pineapple might need understanding of, but he's got it covered :)

Steven is quite smart and very logical, so when he gets in trouble, we usually talk about it. The last two days we've had to talk about what is appropriate to flush and what isn't :( Yesterday he put an entire (new, of course) roll of toilet paper in the toilet (without unwinding it). That resulted in a long discussion, and we went over in detail what he could flush (pee pee and poopies) and what he couldn't (everything else!). We talked about it again last night with Mark and reminded him of what he could and couldn't flush. He was also reminded that he is not allowed to touch the toilet paper. I thought we had it taken care of.

Apparently not. This morning, he unwound most of the (new) roll and put a good part of it in the potty. He was still sitting on the potty when I came in, so I'm guessing he was "wiping." I wasn't happy to see all the toilet paper on the floor, and then when I picked him up, I was even less happy about all the toilet paper in the toilet. We had another talk (and another punishment), and he was warned that he'd be in "big trouble" if he broke the potty. I think I've found my new angle there :)

With all of Steven's talking, it's no wonder that Michelle doesn't say much. For now, she's sticking to shrieking and screaming. . .I think I'm going to have to figure out a way to get Steven to be quiet because I don't know how much more shrieking and screaming I can take!

Easter Pics

2010-04-15T23:09:00.002-04:00

Changing So Fast!

2010-04-11T23:30:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe how much the Peanut is changing. She is definitely not a baby anymore! She knows what she wants, and she does whatever it takes to get it. Determination is good. Stubborness, not so much.

She loves playing outside and keeping up with her brother. She enjoys swinging and wants to be pushed as high as possible. It's so fun to hear her laughing and squealing. She is fearless and a climber, which is a scary combination. She climbs in and out of the wagon and her toy car and tractor. She has no problem standing up on things that really shouldn't be stood on.

She adores her big brother, and for the most part, he adores her. However, he doesn't adore it when she eats off his plate (which happens mainly when we eat outside). After dealing with this during lunch today, he ended up trying a different tactic--feeding her. He came at her with a spoonful of mashed potatoes, but she only wanted his chicken.

Her daddy is her favorite person, pb&j is her favorite food, and screeching is her specialty. She gives us a run for our money, but we are so blessed to be able to call her our daughter!

Prayer at Lunch

2010-04-09T11:37:00.006-04:00

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for Grandpa. Thank you for Grandma. Thank you for Katie. Thank you for Sissy. Thank you for you (Mommy). Thank you for Maddie Dog and Sadie. . .and Katie's shoes. Thank you for my eyes. . .and my eyebrows. . .and for you's (Mommy's) eyes and eyebrows (as he jabbed my eyes) and for Katie's eyebrows and for Sissy's eyebrows.

And at this point, Mommy intervened and said amen :)

Ice Cream!

2010-04-02T22:46:00.003-04:00

Tonight we decided to go to Dairy Queen while while were out on our nightly walk, and the kids each got their own cone and got to eat it completely unassisted. When Steven was done with his ice cream (he licked it out of the cone instead of eating it), he held up his cone and asked for a refill :) As you can see from the pictures, we went home and took baths before bed!

The ice cream on her forehead is from her yanking the cone back when Mark tried to take it away :)

Conversations at Breakfast

2010-03-29T11:08:00.004-04:00

Steven: There's dirt on my applesauce! I want cinnamon.

Mommy: That is cinnamon.

Steven: Oh. Okay!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Amidst much screaming and crying)

Michelle: Please

Mommy: It's about time :)

Talking

2010-03-17T23:06:00.003-04:00

Steven has always been a huge talker--he started talking words in context at 5 1/2 months, and by the time he was Michelle's age, he was speaking over 40 words. I've since learned that he is the exception.

Michelle has been slightly behind average on talking, but she's added several words to her vocabulary in the past week and has even started yelling "Daddy!" when she wants him. She now says cracker, Mommy (or maybe it's Momma--she doesn't say it much), Daddy, sock, Sadie (our dog), Katie (my sister is here visiting), yay (her first word), hi, bye, uh-oh, and hey you :) She generally doesn't say much, but she's babbling more. Of course, Steven rarely shuts up, so she's going to have to fight him for a turn to talk!

How to Eat a PB&J Sandwich

2010-03-15T18:02:00.004-04:00

Steven and Michelle have their own ways to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and of course, each would argue that their way is the best.

To eat like Michelle:

You shove the entire in your mouth at once, even if it doesn't fit.

Steven's way is a bit more complicated.

First you give a cheesy smile for the camera.

Then you pull the sandwich apart and lick off all the jelly.

Finally you shove both pieces in your mouth.

Yum!

And Sadie's strategy is to sit by Michelle's chair in hopes that she drops something!

And there you have it. The best (and messiest) way to eat your pb&j!

Confirmed

2010-03-10T23:48:00.003-05:00

Well, it's official--the Peanut is allergic to eggs and most tree nuts :(

We went to the pediatric allergist today (whom we LOVE), and Michelle had scratch tests done. Basically, the pricked her with a 10 pronged thing (in two different spots!) and then put a drop of different allergens on each spot. Michelle cried and cried and cried, but not because it hurt or anything. She was angry as can be that we were holding her down. Michelle does not like being restrained at all, so keeping her flat (to prevent the drops mixing) was a challenge. Mark went with me, so he held down her legs and hips, and I held down her arms and shoulders.

The tree nuts aren't a huge deal for us. She can still eat peanuts, and that's the main type of nut we have in the house. (Although for nursery/sitter situations, we're just saying she can't have any nuts.) However, the eggs are a pretty big deal. She's never liked eggs, which is a huge contrast with Steven who would eat a carton a day if we let him.

But, she LOVES baked goods--especially breads, bagels, noodles, pancakes and muffins. Her bagels don't have eggs in them, so those are still fine. I can easily find noodles without eggs, so we'll do okay there. I haven't checked the bread yet, but I'm pretty sure it's safe too. Pancakes and muffins are a huge deal. She would eat them for every meal if I let her. In fact, I just made a double batch of waffles yesterday, so she could have them for breakfast or snacks for the next week.

I've found several recipes for egg substitutes to use in baking, but I have no idea how they'll taste. She'll be fine at home since I love her enough to do that :) However, when she's out of the house, it'll be harder. I'm planning on making laminated tags to pin on her back listing her allergies when she is in someone else's care. There are just too many things with eggs or nuts in them to expect someone to remember verbal instructions, esp. when she's in a room with a ton of other kids.

One upside to all of this is that eliminating eggs should reduce or even eliminate her excema. I had no idea that egg allergies are the number one cause of excema. I'm still amazed that the doctor picked up on egg allergies when we've never see her react to it!

Little Girl

2010-03-06T00:42:00.002-05:00

Little Strippers

2010-02-26T00:49:00.002-05:00

This morning when I went in the kids' room, I noticed two things. One, there was a dirty diaper on floor, and two, Michelle was 100% naked. Before I had time to process that, I realized there was a second diaper on the floor (fortunately this one was only wet!), and Steven was fully dressed. Hmm. . .

Steven said that Michelle did it first, and I am pretty sure that's right. Of course, he had to do what she did, so he took off him pj bottoms, removed his diaper and threw it overboard, and then put him pj bottoms back on. You wouldn't want to get cold you know!

Thankfully, neither kid had accidents in their cribs, but I did throw Michelle's sheets in the wash since she was the naked one.

Truly Blessed

2010-02-19T14:02:00.002-05:00

I finally got a hold of Auntie E last night after trying for several days (she lost her cell phone). It was the first time we had talked since our visit before Christmas, so it was so good to get caught up on each other's lives. I was able to tel her a million stories about the kids, and she just laughed and laughed. She told me that she knew Michelle would be a "Diva" the moment the ultrasound tech said she was a girl. Michelle's definitely a drama queen with a mind of her own!

I was really excited when she said she was taking a computer class and is working with an advisor at a local college with the hopes of becoming a case worker someday. It is so cool that she's taking steps to better her life instead of just talking about it! Of course, it also helps that the older three kids are in school/preschool.

I was also able to ask her some questions about her/the kids' medical history and allergies. I cannot tell you how blessed we are to have a relationship with her. I can't imagine raising our two kids without them knowing Auntie E and their siblings. Both Auntie E and I have said over and over that we couldn't have asked for a better adoption experience. She knows that she can call me any time and check on the kids. She doesn't have to wonder what happened to them or if they were okay. She has gotten to know us and knows that we are great parents. She knows that she made the best decision possible.

I love that my kids will grow up knowing their birthmother and see how much she loves them. Every adopted child wonders about his/her birthfamily and why they chose adoption. Adopted children can easily both fantasize about what life would have been like if they were in their biological family and question why they were "given away" (which is an awful/incorrect term but one that kids will still think about). I know that Steven and Michelle will still do both of these things, but they will also have the opportunity to see for themselves what she is like and hear her tell them over and over how much she loves them and be able to ask her their questions.

As I've told Auntie E, this is exactly the kind of adoption we prayed for. We are truly blessed.

So Sweet

2010-02-18T13:37:00.002-05:00

This afternoon, when I was finishing up changing Michelle's diaper, she gave me quite the kick in the gut. Needless to say, it hurt! I was bent over, and Steven asked me what was wrong. I told him that I was hurt because Sissy kicked me.

Whenever Steven gets hurt (or thinks he's hurt), he want's us to rub where it hurts. If I cut my lip, I wouldn't want someone rubbing it, but that's what he wants.

So when he found out what happened, he told me, "I rub it and make it better Mommy, I rub it."

He did just that, and even though it was the wrong side of my stomach, I have to say that I felt a whole lot better :)

Allergy Update

2010-02-17T19:15:00.003-05:00

I took Michelle to the allergist today, and I absolutely LOVED him! He spent a lot of time with us and answered every question I could think of (not that I had very many, but still). He thinks that Michelle is allergic to both walnuts and eggs, which would explain why she always spits them out when we give them to her. She's probably allergic to pecans as well because most people allergic to walnuts are also allergic to pecans.

He also looked at her leg because that's where her excema is the worst, and it really flared up when she had the reaction to the walnuts. He gave me a prescription cream and told me that even though it is darker brown and not red, it is flared up. The doctor has darker skin that I do, so he's more of an expert on this than anyone I've talked to so far. He also told me to stop using cocoa butter and go back to Eucerin (which is considerably more expensive, even when you buy the store brand).

After the visit, I took Michelle to get blood drawn. At first they told me that they could do it through her heel (yay!!) because she isn't walking yet. However, once we got there, they said that they needed too much blood to do that. I was nervous about how that would go since I have a hard time when they draw blood from me, but she acted as if it were no big deal. She didn't even flinch!

We go back in two weeks to find out the blood test results. The doctor already warned us that they might come back as false negatives because she still has some Benadryl in her system. (And if that happens, they'll repeat the tests.) She'll also have further tests done in the office, and we'll come up with a diet/treatment plan.

Michelle was definitely a trooper, but we both came home exhausted (although she had the luxury to take a nap in the car). I was definitely impressed with the doctor, and I was encouraged by what he had to say.

Overwhelmed

2010-02-15T21:59:00.002-05:00

That one word pretty much sums up how I'm feeling most of the time right now :( It seemed like everything came to a head last week, and it didn't help that Mark was out of town most of the week (and got snowed in for an extra day in Cleveland).

It's really a lot of small stuff, but together, they seem pretty overwhelming. I just typed out my saga with painting the living room only to have it be erased, so you'll just have to trust me that it hasn't been the most fun here recently.

However, the current issue may not be that small after all. Michelle had a pretty decent allergic reaction to walnuts yesterday afternoon, so we're meeting with a specialist on Wednesday morning to see where we go from here. She's completely fine with peanuts/peanut butter, but the only unusual thing she had yesterday was a banana nut muffin, so we're pretty sure the walnuts caused the reaction. I was on the phone with a nurse off and on yesterday, and she responded well to the Benadryl, so we didn't have to take her to urgent care or the ER. I'm praying that it's nothing too severe and that it won't impact her life as much as it has for other kids we know.

Sorry this is such a rambly post, but it's the best I can do right now :(

Missing Them

2010-02-08T00:52:00.002-05:00

Today's one of those days when I really miss my family, when I really wish they still lived here, when I would have been able to get my mom's input on the paint color we're looking at for our living room. I just miss my family, and I know the kids do too :(

Michelle

2010-02-05T00:40:00.005-05:00

Since Steven had a full post last week, it only makes sense for the Peanut to have one this week. It's hard to know where to begin with her. At her one year visit two weeks ago, she was 22.6 lbs. (compared to Steven's 33), and 30" tall (SJ--36.5"). She's definitely catching up with him! She's up to four teeth now--her bottom middle two and her top fangs. It's quite a look, but she wears it well :)

Michelle thinks that her big brother is absolutely hilarious. Now that they share a room, I hear them squealing, giggling, yelling, and talking when they should be sleeping. She likes to do a high pitch screech that kills my ears, and Steven has started doing it back. Of course, that just eggs her on, and they start going back and forth, driving me crazy. They're doing it less and less, though, as they've learned that they will probably get in trouble for it :)

Michelle wants to do everything that Steven does (and he wants to do everything that she does!). This means that they get in trouble together quite a bit. However, Steven has taken on the role of disciplinarian with her and is quick to tell her "No, no!" He guards the dvds and gets after her when she pushes the buttons on the cd player. I think he feels the need to either join her in doing something wrong or "correct" her when she is doing something she shouldn't.

The Peanut is a pretty picky eater. She turns her nose up at vegetables, but she eat any type of bread. She LOVES Ritz crackers, jelly/peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, tortillas with cheese, rolls, muffins, pasta, bagels, and even just plain pieces of bread. She eats fruit and cheese but only tolerates meat.

Michelle is needier than Steven--she wants to be held and to needs a lot of attention. But, she's a great sleeper (well, as long as Steven lets her!). They've been getting up earlier (9:30-10:00), but today I finally went in and woke her up at 1:30. (I don't usually let her sleep that late, but I had some major computer issues that I had to get resolved before class tonight.) I wonder how tall she'll be tomorrow after all that extra sleep. . .

I just love my big eyed, crazy haired little girl!

Thirteen Months and Five Days

2010-02-01T19:03:00.002-05:00

Thirteen months and five days--that's how old Steven was when he became a big brother. He was barely walking, he had no idea what was going on, but like it or not (and at that time it was a definite NOT), he was a big brother.

And thirteen months and five days later, Michelle is the same age as he was. And she's definitely NOT going to be a big sister anytime soon!

Things I never thought I'd be saying. . .

2010-01-29T13:21:00.002-05:00

1. Share your underpants with your sister! She wants to play with them too.

2. We don't stand on the dog. Or jump on her. Or sit on her.

3. The rule at Bible study is that you have to wear your clothes. You can't go in just your underpants.

4. You have to wear your clothes to church. You don't see Uncle Andy or Grandpa Hal going to the Chrsitmas Eve service in their Elmo underpants, do you??

5. The carrots want to go to the party in your tummy. You don't want them to be sad, do you?

Steven

2010-01-25T14:19:00.003-05:00

I took the kids in for their 1 year and 2 year appointments last week, and Steven is still growing (of course!). He is now 36.5 inches and 33 pounds. That's an inch taller than he was two months ago. He is very, very busy and loves to dance and listen to music. His favorite show is Yo Gabba Gabba, and he listens to their cd at least once a day. Interestingly enough, his favorite song is "Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose."

He loves his sister and is (usually) very nice and somewhat gentle with her. They wrestle together, but Michelle dishes it out just as much as he does :)

His favorite food is peanute butter and jelly sandwhiches, which he pulls apart and licks off all the jelly before eating. He also loves cheese roll-ups (cheese in tortilla shells) and calls them "Taco Bells."

He is day time potty trained, and I'm just about ready to work on nap time and night time potty trained. The tricky part will be that he still sleeps in a crib, and we aren't ready to move him to a toddler bed. He would spend half his time playing instead of sleeping, and now that he and Michelle share a room, he'd probably harass her half the night too. He's sleeping through the night again after having a period of nightmares, so we're sleeping through the night again too. (Yay!!)

He's still a snuggle bug, which we love. . .most of the time :)

He insisted getting his picture taken in his outfit of choice--gloves, underpants (although he wanted to skip those!), and Michelle's headband. However, he wouldn't turn around, so he must have wanted it of his backside!

Notice the layer of stickers on his chest?? He is a sticker fanatic, and he piles them on his chest every chance he gets.

I never really wanted to have a boy, but I'm sure glad we did! I can't imagine life without my Little Buddy!

Rocking Chairs!

2010-01-22T21:10:00.002-05:00

The Mysterious Case of the Naked Peanut and The Three Way Call with the PD

2010-01-21T23:45:00.007-05:00

Can you tell what kind of day it's been around here?? The day started early when the kids woke up before I was ready for them to, so I did what any good mom does--I let them watch tv :) For soem reason, Steven thinks it's the coolest thing EVER to watch his Raffi dvd on the computer while sitting in his crib. Throw in raisins and ritz, and it's his own personal heaven. I don't let him do it too often, but when I need some time to myself, I let him have this little treat. How can I say no to him sitting in his crib for an hour or so?!

Today I put Steven in Michelle's crib, gave them sippy cups and some crackers, and turned on Raffi. An hour or so later, I hear Michelle screaming. I could tell that she wasn't hurt, but she was MAD. Seriously mad. I didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what I found. Michelle, stark naked. Footie pjs? Gone. Socks? Gone. Diaper? Definitely gone. Of course, I ran and grabbed the camera before helping her, but unfortunately, this is the only picture appropriate to post :(

I asked Steven what happened, and his response was "She no want it on! She no want it on!" I also asked him where the diaper was since I couldn't find it, and he pointed it and told me that it was in the basket of clean cloth diapers.

I still haven't figured out how it all happened. I don't think Michelle could have gotten her pj's unsnapped, unzipped, and off. Now taking the diaper off she could have done. She's tried to get her diaper off in the past, but I've always caught her in the act. If only we had a video monitor. . .

Tonight, while Mark was changing Michelle's diaper, Steven got a hold of my cell phone. (I forgot it when I ran out the door for work.) Mark grabbed it from him as soon as he saw him with it, not knowing that Steven had placed a couple calls until his parents called him. They had the most unusual message on their answering machine. It was from our local police department and was listing the different departments and their extensions. (They live 8+ hours away.) When they listed to it again, they heard a little boy talking too. Apparently Steven called the police and then my in-laws, facilitating a nice little three way call. I swear, this kid never stops!

Praising God. . .

2010-01-19T23:49:00.002-05:00

That Ian and Alec are finally with their forever parents. . .forever!! God provided a way to get them from Haiti to Florida, and Pedro and Stephanie met them there.

What I've Been Up To

2010-01-17T23:41:00.003-05:00

1. I ordered and picked up our Christmas cards. Yep, you read that right--Christmas cards. My goal is to get them mailed this week!

2. I started a new Bible study, and I'm very excited about it. I couldn't do it in the fall because it was going to be too much with my teaching schedule. It's a lot of work to get the kids out the door by myself, but it was so worth it!

3. My class started this week, and it went well. I have about 25 students in a rather small classroom (the smallest I've had in my 5 years there), so that makes it a bit of a challenge. The room is in a main hallway, so I can't keep the door open too much. It's also the only room I've ever taught in that doesn't have a thermostat. (Of course, they locked them all a few years ago, but still!)

4. I got pulled over for the first time ever. It was on my way home from class Thursday night, and the yellow light I went through turned red sooner than I expected. Seriously, though, if you slam on your brakes to stop here in Michigan, you're just asking to get rear ended! I got a ticket, but at least the officer wrote it for a seat belt violation instead of running a red (or more accurately, yellow!) light. It won't affect my insurance or give me points on my license, and it is a lower fine. It was an interesting experience, esp. since the officer had a lollipop in his mouth the entire time. Good thing Steven wasn't with me--he would have wanted it for himself!

5. I rearranged the kids' bedroom. They now share a room, and I had to take out one bookshelf, but I managed to fit everything else in without it looking crowded. I'm thrilled that it's working out for them to be in the same room--I love having the office back!

6. I got Michelle's scrapbook completely caught up and am ready to start working on Steven's. I have a huge pile of pages for Auntie E, but I don't know when/how I'll get them to her. Mailing them would be convenient, but we aren't really comfortable putting our return address on it, and I've worked way too hard (and spent too much money) to risk them getting lost in the mail. I'm going to be stuck soon, though, because I've run out of plastic pages, and the scrapbook shop I get them out went out of business. They don't carry them at JoAnne's, and I'm pretty sure Michael's doesn't have them either :(

Other than that, I've just been busy with the kids, folding laundry, and doing stuff like making three pounds of meatballs :)

What You Do When You're Two. . .

2010-01-17T01:04:00.004-05:00

You take off your pjs for the fun of it.

You think you're hilarious.

You get all the cloth diapers you can reach and put them in your crib.

You ask your mommy to take a picture of your foot.

And then you decide you're done with pictures!

It's FUN to be two!

As Cute As Can Be!

2010-01-13T22:03:00.002-05:00

Visiting the Neighbors

2010-01-08T16:33:00.003-05:00

This afternoon, the kids and I headed out to visit the neighbors. I try to do this every once in a while, but with the holidays and Michelle being sick before that, we hadn't been over for a while. It has been important to me for us to get to know our neighbors. I don't want us to just wave hi and have that be the extent of our relationship, so I've made it a priority to get to know two of our neighbors.

The first person we went to see is our neighbor right across the street. I bundled up the kids and picked up Michelle to carry her across the street. We weren't even off the front step before Steven insisted that I carry him (snow boots and all!). I agreed because he was already cranky, so I picked him up and started walking. It was all fine until we hit the street. We got several inches of snow yesterday, and our roads haven't been cleared (nor were they from last week's snow). I was half way across the street when I skidded and slid and fell smack on my bottom (while still holding both kids). I must have sat in the street for a minute trying to figure out what happened before coming to my senses and getting myself and the kids up and out of the street. (And yes, there were witnesses!)

We made it to Jon and Cathy's house without any further problems only to find out that Cathy was too sick for visitors and was sleeping. Steven and I had picked a picture of a hippo out of his coloring book to take to her as a thank you for the Christmas gifts she had given the kids on Sunday. She was our priority visit because I thought the kids might be an encouragment to her after her chemo treatment on Wednesday. She only has one more, but they are getting more intense. This time she started getting sick before the treatment was even finished. She has early stage breast cancer, and we've been going over to visit her and encourage her regularly this fall/winter. Her prognosis is very good, but she does not know God. Our neighbors know that we go to church (and notice when we don't!), and they appreciate that we pray for them.

After dropping the picture off with her mother, we went to the next neighbor's house, this time crossing the street without falling :) We hung out with Dave and Judy for a while, and Steven loved that they gave him a box of crackers to eat. He was very good and made sure that Michelle always had a cracker too. He enjoyed giving their dog treats, and he even told me when he had to go potty. It was nice to catch up with them after not seeing them for almost a month.

Both of these neighbors are older than us (they have kids our age), and I think we're kind of their adopted kids at times :) Neither have grandkids, and they love to see Steven and Michelle and play with them. Even more importantly, neither of these neighbors know God, but they are both open to what I've had to say. It's hard to know what to say, but it's far harder to have the courage to say what you need to say. I'm praying that when we dedicate Michelle they'll come to church with us. I'm pretty confident that they will, so I'm anxious to get a date set for her dedication.

I'm also getting ready to start visiting another neighbor. Her name is Rodi, and she is Romanian. She has two boys, one in school, and one who is a year(ish) older than Steven, and just had a baby girl last month. Her husband is a truck driver, so he is gone for extended periods of time. From what I understand, she doesn't know too many people, and all of her family is still in Romania. When I talked to her in October, she was scared to death to have another baby and didn't know how she was going to do it. I'm planning on going over and inviting her to the mom's group I go to at our former church. I don't know where she is spiritually, but I'm pretty sure that she doesn't know God either, and I want to be there to show her Who He is and be an encouragement to her as she adjusts to life with three kids.

Would you join me in praying for our neighbors?

Did I ever mention. . .

2010-01-07T16:08:00.001-05:00

that my dad got a job?! It's with an organization that he's been involved with for many years, and it's the perfect position for him! Yay Dad, and definitely yay God!

It's Been How Long?!

2010-01-04T21:08:00.003-05:00

It's been FOURTEEN years since Mark first asked me out and ten years since I agreed to marry him. Wow, do I feel old! (Of course, we did get engaged when I was still a TEENAGER!)

Today So Far. . .

2010-01-04T14:59:00.002-05:00

Steven (upon bringing me an empty plastic container): "Sadie wanted them." After scrambling for a minute, I remembered what was in the container--peanut brittle from the neighbor. The peanut brittle they gave me yesterday. The only peanut brittle worth eating. I ran to the living room (smashing my toes on something in the process) and grabbed what I could off the floor. I guess it's a good thing I ate so much of it yesterday after all because, yes, Sadie wanted them.

Later, after falling off the toy box (that he is allowed to stand on to look out the window), Steven kept crying that "All I need is love!" (I had asked him if he needed it rubbed--which he usually wants--or if he just needed some loving.) He also got a reprieve from going down for a nap since my toes were still hurting and Yo Gabba Gabba! would buy us both some time :)

Playing the Piano

2009-12-30T16:08:00.004-05:00

Steven LOVES playing the piano, and he LOVES being with his grandpa, so when he got to do both on our recent trip to Pennsylvania, he was in his own little heaven. He had no idea that Grandpa was so talented--he could play "Jesus Loves Me" with chords! He even got to "play" with Grandpa by putting his hands on top of Grandpa's.

Playing the piano is serious business!

Looking at the music.

Checking to see if Grandpa is too.

Watching his hands.

I think Grandpa enjoyed it too.

Snow!

2009-12-30T02:11:00.003-05:00

When we were in PA for Christmas, Nanny took Steven out to play in the snow for the first time. . .

She tried to get him to follow her around,

but he wouldn't.

Instead, he gave her his special "You want me to do what?!" look.

So she put him on a sled and pulled him around,

but he stayed so stiff that he nearly slid off.

However, Nanny's persistance finally started to pay off when he managed a small wave at the camera.

And she knew it was a complete success when she had to let him bring a sled full of snow in the garage to save for Grandpa Hal in order to get him inside!

Miss Michelle

2009-12-29T00:55:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2009-12-27T23:38:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated Michelle's birthday with both my family and Mark's, and she definitely had fun! Unlike Steven, she enjoyed her birthday cupcake, and she even had some fizzy punch that Grandma gave her.

Despite the look on her face, she really did like it!

Next we opened the presents. Michelle got a tea party set, a stuffed dog, a photo book, pj's, cards, and some puffs. Steven got ahold of the puffs and spilled them, and they both went at them! You'd think we hadn't fed them all week!

Playing Together

2009-12-23T21:36:00.000-05:00

Family Picture

2009-12-23T00:23:00.004-05:00

On the floor (L-R): Mark's brother Andy,Mark's sister Beth, Beth's fiance Zach.

Sitting: Ron, Mark's sister Rachel (married to Ron), baby Tori, Me, Michelle, Mark's mom Nancy.

Standing: Steven, Mark, Mark's Dad Hal.

(Click on the picture to make it bigger.)

Sad News

2009-12-20T21:47:00.002-05:00

Last night at 6:05, my Uncle Gene died. My parents, his wife, and her sisters were there with him, and the kids (ages 5, 7, and 9) had had the opportunity to say goodbye to him earlier in the day. The kids weren't told until this morning, which is why I didn't post this last night.

The funeral is scheduled for the Tuesday after Christmas, and my dad was on the phone today with Marion (his wife), helping her with the obituary and other arrangements.

Thank you for all your prayers, especially for Marion and the children.

Two Great Giveaways!

2009-12-20T21:22:00.001-05:00

Check them out here and here!

Please Keep Praying

2009-12-18T11:46:00.003-05:00

Please continue to pray for my Uncle Gene. The latest news was not good at all. The tumor is malignant and is the same type as Ted Kennedy had. Uncle Gene is still in a coma, but the doctors have assured my family that he is not in pain, which is a blessing. My parents are still at the hospital in Columbus with him, and his wife, Marion, is driving home today to pick up the three kids so they can see him tomorrow. Their oldest, Joseph, is only nine years old, and the other two, Gracie and Ethan, are both in elementary school as well.

Thank you for praying for him and for his family. We really appreciate it.

Two Years?!

2009-12-17T22:01:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's already been two years since we brought Steven home! Two years seems impossibly long, but at the same time, it's hard to remember life without him.

Please Pray

2009-12-15T18:19:00.003-05:00

Please pray for my Uncle Gene. He was very recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and had a biopsy today. They found that the tumor had doubled in size since his MRI last week, and while in recovery, he went into a coma due to pressure on the brain from a bleeding artery. The doctors did emergency surgery and removed a significantly large blood clot.

He is now in ICU, and it looks very bleak. His three elementary age children are on their way to the hospital now, and it looks like he is dying.

My parents are heading to Ohio tomorrow morning, but we haven't talked about what we might do. Our situation is complicated by the fact that Michelle is sick.

Thank you for your prayers for Uncle Gene and his family.

~Rebekah

Favorite Ornaments

2009-12-14T20:33:00.003-05:00

Some of these ornaments have quite the stories behind them, especially the first two which are from my dad. Notice the second one doesn't have Michelle's name on it. He had Abigail put on it, and when we changed her name, my mom painted over it. I can't believe this is Michelle's first Christmas!

Oh, how are family has changed!

Mark always hides this in the back, and I always move it to the front :)

Michelle's Ornament for the Year

I have many other favorites, of course, but I don't feel like taking the time to upload them all. I've been feeling sick today, and I still have a paper and a half left to grade :(

Two Years Ago Today. . .

2009-12-13T23:22:00.000-05:00

Auntie E picked US to be the parents of a little baby boy!

Two Years Ago Today, No, Yesterday. . .

2009-12-13T22:30:00.003-05:00

Apparently I'm not as good with dates as I thought.

Two years ago yesterday, our social worker took our portfolio and one other to Auntie E's house to show her. At that time, there weren't any approved families with our office open to adopting a black baby (which is a national problem to the point that foreigners come here to adopt them), so Auntie E's options were limited. The other couple was in the same situation as we were--almost finished with paperwork but not yet approved.

It was a very long day for me as I waited to hear back from our social worker. I knew that she was going up there in the morning, and as each hour passed without hearing something, it got harder and harder. At this point, very few people knew about the situation, but it was obvious that they were praying for us.

That afternoon, I finally called our social worker to find out what happened. I was discouraged when she said that she had driven to Auntie E's house only to find that she wasn't there, and despite repeated attempts, she never did get a hold of her that day.

We ended up meeting with our social worker that night to talk about the financial aspect of the adoption. We had taken out an adoption loan for Steven's adoption and really didn't want to take out another one. One reason we went with our agency (Bethany Christian Services) was because they work on a sliding scale. They discount every adoption through fund raising, and that made a huge difference for us. The agency helped us out as much as they could, and we had complete peace about the situation, well the financial aspect at least :)

The waiting wasn't quite so easy!

Putting Up the Tree

2009-12-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

I didn't take any pictures of the ornaments going up since I was helping, but I did take a few pictures afterwards.

Steven was a big "helper" this year. We finally got a system down where I unwrapped the ornaments, handed them to Steven, and then he told Daddy where to put them. Of course some of the ornaments were off-limits, but there were enough that he could have to keep him busy.

We also pulled out his Little People nativity, and Mark spent some time setting it up under the tree and telling Steven who the different characters were. Last year he knew who Baby Jesus was as well as the sheep and maybe Mary (Jesus's Mommy). I'm not sure that Michelle will catch that much this year, but we'll definitely be working with her.

Working with Daddy

Baby Sis Going to Investigate

A Full View of the Tree

Playing with the Nativity
(and upset that the wrapping paper she was eating got confiscated)

The Over Tired Girl Having a Melt Down

Work With Me Here, Buddy!

2009-12-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

As you know, we're in the midst of potty training around here, and Steven is doing well. I decided last week that diapers are only for naps and nighttime, so that meant that Steven wore his Grover underwear to small group tonight.

I wasn't convinced that he had gone before we left, but he woke up with a slightly wet diaper from his nap. He made it through just fine, and before we left, I asked him if he had to go. He, of course, said no. I shouldn't have listened to him.

We were barely on the road when he shouted from the backseat that he had to go potty. I tried to convince Mark to stop somewhere for him to go, but he thought that Steven would be fine until we got home.

I kept telling him to hold it in, and he answered, "No, let it out!" And that's what he did.

Thanks, Little Buddy. Thanks.

Check This Out!

2009-12-09T18:44:00.000-05:00

Check out this great giveaway!

Two Years Ago Today. . .

2009-12-07T21:42:00.003-05:00

We got a call from our social worker wanting to now if we had our adoption portfolio finished. There was a little baby boy needing a home. . .

God was beginning to show us the answer to the question we had had for so long:

How Will God Send You?

Will you be our own flesh and blood,
A blending of Mark and me,
A tangible result of our love?

Will you be a sacrifice of love,
Tearfully given by the one who
Conceived you, carried you, and delivered you,
Only to give you to us,
The ones chosen to raise her child?

Will you be matched to us
By an oh-so-far-away agency,
Trying to create families,
Making the careful matches,
Holding others’ happiness in their hands?

Does it even matter how you come?
You will be ours regardless
Of how you arrive.
You will be the answer to so many prayers,
The product of years of waiting and believing,
God’s gift to us.

Just One More Week

2009-12-02T23:10:00.002-05:00

I keep reminding myself of this over and over again. Just one more week left of the quarter. Surely I can make it just one more week.

This is my first quarter teaching since Steven was just a few months old, and I'm exhausted. I've been tutoring in the Writing Center this whole time, but now I'm back to doing both. I'm teaching a day class, so I drive up to school two days for that. I stay late on the one day to tutor for a couple hours, and then I go back up on Saturdays to tutor for another five hours. Being gone three days a week has been hard. I'm used to working on Saturdays, but that wasn't too bad because Mark was home with the kids, and I didn't have to worry about them at all. It doesn't help that it's at 45-60 minute commute one way, depending on traffic :(

I only have one more Saturday, one more Monday, and one more Wednesday. It's just one more week, but it feels like so much more! My students are giving presentations both days next week, so it'll be super easy. I'll just grade them as I go, and the presentations are instead of a final exam. (Yay!)

However, I just collected research papers today. Six to eight pages per paper times however many students actually turned theirs in. I am not looking forward to grading those. So much is riding on these papers because they are a huge percent of their grade. I hate to see students that who have worked hard fail (or not pass with at least a C) the class. The ones that only come on partially cloudy days or every fourth class are a different story.

I had a student reappear today after weeks of missing class. He didn't have a paper, nor has he ever turned in a paper. Part way through class, he realized how pointless it was to be there (and I think he had a doctor's appointment or something) and left. I just don't get it.

Just one more week and then I get a whole month off. I can't wait!

Bye Bye Froggy Potty!

2009-12-01T15:49:00.002-05:00

The Little Buddy has apparently decided that he will only use the "big potty" and is no longer willing/interested in using his froggy potty. I had forgotten that I had picked up a seat that attaches to the toilet at a garage sale who knows how long ago and pulled it out a few weeks ago. It's quite the seat--high back, arms rests, what more could you ask for?! He loves it, and even better yet, he's been using it.

He still wears diapers when sleeping, and since he's in a crib, I don't see that changing anytime soon. He does wake up dry from his naps a good deal of the time, but it isn't worth risking him waking up early because he's wet and having to always change his sheets.

He has also been wearing them when we leave the house, but honestly, that just a convenience factor for us. It's really time to start changing that, so I had him wear his underwear out today when we took Michelle to the doctor, and he did just fine. He went both before we left and after we came home without any problems. I think it's about time we cut out all daytime diapers. Exciting? Yes. Scary? Even more so.

I can't believe my Little Buddy is getting so big!

Jammin' with the Band

2009-11-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

Steven LOVES music and anything related to it. His favorite instrument is the guitar, and he pretends that just about everything is a guitar--his popper, a blanket, a rattle. . . My sister Lauren and her husband, Robert, gave Steven a guitar as a thank you gift for being their ring bearer, and he plays it all the time. I picked it out very carefully--there are some songs that I definately do not want to hear over and over and over again. His guitar plays "real" music, like the Beetles. I can handle that :)

Playing the Popper is Serious Business

A Camera Tripod Makes the Best Microphone

Getting Nanny and Sissy Involved

Having Fun While Looking So Serious

One-Socked Sissy on the Drums

The highlight of his band practice had to be when he had Nanny, Grandpa Hal, and Great Grandpa ready to go and yelled "One, Two, Three, Four!" before they started playing. I wish I had been there to see it!

So Much to be Thankful For

2009-11-28T00:35:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, Steven turned two, and I spent a good portion of the day thinking of Auntie E and what it was like for her two years ago. We had no idea that our son was being born as we celebrated Thanksgiving that day, but I know the day was drastically different for her.

I've talked to her about that day before, and it was interesting to hear some of the details she remembers. She was in labor for a long time, and she kept insisting that something was wrong. The doctors ignored her for several hours before deciding that something was wrong. She remembers being terrified as they sped her away for an emergency c-section. She also remembers how upset she was that she was missing Thanksgiving dinner and how she later regretted throwing away the food her family brought her in a little fit :)

She also remembers that everytime she visited Steven in the NICU/nursery, he had his eyes closed. She said all she wanted was to see his eyes before she left, and on her last day there, he opened his eyes for her. It was so important to her to be able to look him in the eyes, and even now, she loves pictures that are close ups of his eyes.

I later learned that the little blue bear he brought home from the NICU was not standard issue. Auntie E went to the gift shop and picked out the bear and bought it for him. I've always loved how it has his little information tag on it (which included both his last name and hers and no one thought to black it out). It's one of the few things we have from his time in the hospital, and the only thing we had from her to him.

Yes, I thought about her all day, and I thank God for her continually. I thank Him for the amazing gift she gave us when she chose us to parent the child that she knew she couldn't. I thank Him for giving us the adoption we prayed for--a semi open/open adoption with the birthfamily within easy driving distance but not in the same town, a relationship like an aunt or uncle that we see once or twice a year.

I also thank God for the continued contact we have with her, and I sincerely thank Him for her calling Steven on his birthday to twll him that she loves him. And I thank Him that my little two year old ended the call by telling his birthmother that he loves her too.

What more could I ask for?

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

2009-11-28T00:25:00.001-05:00

We had a little party tonight to celebrate Steven's 2nd birthday. Grandpa Hal and Nanny and Great Grandpa were all in town to help him celebrate, and as you can see in the pictures, he had a great time!

Showing Off His Tux!

2009-11-08T22:54:00.000-05:00

Yep, I think he's ready for the wedding!

Making Cookies

2009-11-08T22:35:00.004-05:00

I decided to make cookies with Steven for the first time, and you can see how excited he is, even though he didn't completely understand what we were doing. We put them into nice little balls, but as you can see, he decided to make one big ball. He was quite proud of himself too!

Cheese!

The End Result

Evidence of a Little Thief!

Yummy Yum!

Daddy's Truck!!

2009-11-08T22:16:00.002-05:00

Mark works for a company that delas with trash and recycling, and his company picks up our trash. Whenever I hear the truck, Steven and I run to the window to watch. Since neither of us is a morning person, we don't get to see it too often. However, now that they are doing leaf pickup, we get to watch.

Steven LOVES trucks, and all trucks are now "Daddy's truck!" (even pick up trucks!). This week we were watching the trucks pick up our leaves, and Steven started yelling instructions to them out the window. They obviously couldn't hear him, but that didn't stop him. It was definitely one of the highlights of his day.

We also got to see them picking up the trash, and on a whim, I grabbed Steven and his little trash truck (identical to the one outside) and ran to catch up with the truck. We said hi to the driver and explained our connection, and the driver honked the horn for Steven.

It was a big day for Steven and trucks--we also saw two garbage/yard waste trucks while we were out, and we stalked them. They waved for us to go around them, but I shook my head no. I explained what we were doing to the one in our neighborhood. I don't think that people without little boys understand the value of free entertainment!

So Much to Think About. . .

2009-11-01T21:29:00.005-05:00

My English 101 students are writing a paper right now on two pieces of literature about the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. One is a New York Times article by a (white) Civil Rights activist, and the other is a poem by a black poet. They are comparing and contrasting the two, and it has a lot of us thinking about race issues.

The majority of my students do not know the race of my children, and I've taught these pieces for years, but this is the first time I've taught them since the adoptions. It definitely makes it more person, and therefore more difficult, to read.

We also talked about race in church this morning and how we live in such a diverse area, yet most of the churches in our area do not reflect this. Our pastor mentioned something that my dad has said in the past, and it is painfully true: Sundays are the most segregated day of the week.

We've been conscious of this since we first started looking into transracial/international adoption close to 8 years ago, and it is one of the reasons we don't feel comfortable ever moving back to the area that we grew up in. We knew that by adopted kids of a different race we were eliminating that opportunity.

We also were painfully aware of the relative lack of diversity (especially of visible minorities) in the church we attended here for many years, so when we started looking for a new church, this was one of our key requirements. The first church we went to for an extended period of time was better, but we left because of theological reasons. There was an African-American church we were really interested in, but they didn't have childcare for those under two, and that would have been a nightmare.

The church that we have now chosen and are getting ready to join is the most diverse we've found in the area. Our kids are not the only black ones in the nursery, and there are black families, not just moms and kids. We are really excited about that, but the pastor was so true in saying that we weren't diverse enough (not just in race, but also in age, background, social-economic status, etc.).

We were challenged to pray for God to grow our church and make it more diverse, and this involves asking Him to show us what He wants us to do. It doesn't just happen; we have to work very intentionally to change it. He pointed out that Heaven will not be segregated like we are in churches (and in life in general) today. I left with a lot to ponder, especially as I am reading my students' papers tonight.

Here is a copy of the poem that we are studying. When I read it aloud to my students, the room was so silent you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

Ballad of Birmingham
by Dudley Randall

(On the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963)

"Mother dear, may I go downtown
Instead of out to play,
And march the streets of Birmingham
In a Freedom March today?"

"No, baby, no, you may not go,
For the dogs are fierce and wild,
And clubs and hoses, guns and jails
Aren't good for a little child."

"But, mother, I won't be alone.
Other children will go with me,
And march the streets of Birmingham
To make our country free."

"No baby, no, you may not go
For I fear those guns will fire.
But you may go to church instead
And sing in the children's choir."

She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,
And bathed rose petal sweet,
And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,
And white shoes on her feet.

The mother smiled to know that her child
Was in the sacred place,
But that smile was the last smile
To come upon her face.

For when she heard the explosion,
Her eyes grew wet and wild.
She raced through the streets of Birmingham
Calling for her child.

She clawed through bits of glass and brick,
Then lifted out a shoe.
"O, here's the shoe my baby wore,
But, baby, where are you?"

You Just Can't Help But Laugh

2009-10-30T18:17:00.002-04:00

Um. . .No!!

2009-10-13T15:44:00.003-04:00

This morning when I went to get Steven out of his crib, he asked me for cheerios. He knows he can have a snack while sitting on his potty, and he usually has it picked out by the time I get in his room. (Last week he wanted enchiladas!!) Since he didn't say please, I asked him what do you say? to remind him. His response? Do it now! Do it now! Um. . .no, that's not the correct answer!

He did get his cheerios after giving me the correct answer and then proceeded to dump them in his potty (after going!) and finding me in Michelle's room to tell me. Needless to say, I rushed to the living room to take care of the cheerios in the potty before he could decide he wanted them back. He's all boy--he'll eat anything!

Yay Issy!

2009-10-09T18:13:00.003-04:00

Michelle (aka Issy) has been very very busy. Last weekend she started pulling up to furniture, which she now practices at every opportunity in hopes of finding some puffs to eat. Today, I discovered her first tooth (front bottom). So far, she's the same kind of teether as Steven--you don't know they're teething until you find a tooth. That's my kind of teether!

Maybe one of these days I'll have pictures to show you all the new things she can do. . .

Will You Pray?

2009-10-04T20:32:00.003-04:00

My friend Stephanie posted this on her blog (Ian and Alec's Adoption blog) yesterday. She is heading to Haiti to visit her two little boys, Ian and Alec, and we are praying that God would move mountains and let her BRING THEM HOME with her! Will you join me in praying for her and her boys?

In less than 48 hours, I will be winging my way on the first leg of my journey to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The closer it gets, the more anxious I get. I have handed my anxiety to the Lord several times today as I review my lengthy lists and weigh my weighty suitcase (and then remove things and weigh it again!) but it is a moment by moment challenge.

I look forward to seeing my boys in Haiti. I don't look forward to kissing my kids and husband goodbye here in Chile.

Being that this is my third trip to Haiti, I feel somewhat more relaxed and somewhat more nervous. Relaxed because I feel safe at the orphanage and know more of what to expect than last time. Nervous because I know more of what to expect than last time, so I especially don't want to forget anything important (I can't exactly go to the corner store if I do!) But mostly nervous because I am facing the "moment of reckoning" when I learn what God has decided to do for us in response to our prayers for a miracle.

Will the boys come home? or won't they?? ... Will I react correctly? or will I crumble??

I would so appreciate your prayers for the four of us - my mom, the boys and me - on this trip. Please pray for Pedro, Eva, Isabel and Owen as they stay behind in Chile. Please pray for Ian and Alec - that they will remember me, feel comfortable with me and that bonding will take place between us. Please pray for health, as there has been a stomach virus in the orphanage recently. Please pray for flexibility and a positive attitude in a very hot climate and rustic living conditions. Please pray for the opportunity to be a blessing and encouragement to others. Please pray for protection on our flights and as we move about the city of Port-au-Prince.

Most of all, please continue to pray for a miracle ... asking God to supernaturally intervene on our behalf, touching hearts and spurring our paperwork on to completion so that our sons might be able to come home on this trip.

Will you pray? If so, please leave a comment either here or on Stephanie's blog. It will be such an encouragement for her to know how many of us are praying for her and her boys!