Do you remember when...

This...

just somehow magically turned into this...

and this...

and this....

Yeah.  Those were the days! 

Side note :  yep the bed with the construction trucks belongs to the girls (that's what happens when you have big brothers and parents with NO money - hehe) and yep Santa may have to bring them a pretty pink puppy spread (that's what happens when your mother decorator loves dogs) - or a Spiderman spread if Em gets to Santa first!!!  Heh!

A Box of Mints

Yep, a box of mints,

Apparently that is all it takes to cure my sweet Lizzie of the, "I don't want to go to school - I want to stay home with Momma" blues!!! 

Sigh, I am worth nothing more than a measly mint???  Hehe!  I'll take it!

Seriously though, I knew this was going to be hard.  I knew Lizzie would not understand why her sister gets to stay home with Momma and she has to go to school - every day!  How do you explain to a 4 year old that she has to go to school because she still needs speech therapy and occupational therapy and that her brother's school offers that for her - and that her sister doesn't go because she doesn't need all that stuff???

The funny thing is, this time with Em has really helped to get Em over whatever she was working through for well, most of the summer.  The time that Emmeline gets to spend with me in the mornings seems to have renewed her relationship with her sister.  However, Lizzie would beg to differ! 

Sweet Lizzie has worked so hard to feel confident in our love for her.  The bonding that occurred so quickly and so seemingly instantly was real but she has not yet been able to overcome the fear that one day I might be gone - too.  I know that she is 4 and that many 4 year olds go through the clingy, I want mommie stage and some days it is hard to separate the "normal" 4 year old angst from the "abandonment" 4 year old Lizzie angst, but mostly, this is different.  It is primal and it is at the core of her being. 

She knows that we love her and she knows that she is never going to leave us but deep down inside herself in a place where she looses all reason,  I am afraid that she fears we (mainly I) will leave her and that breaks my heart. 

We talk about China a lot.  We also talk about her birth parents.  Sometimes she is curious, other times she definitely is not.  She still wonders why she didn't grow inside my tummy and doesn't seem to be ready to recognize it and ask questions about it, about the tummy she did grow inside.  She can tell me that she didn't grow in my tummy but that she grew in my heart but she is just not ready to make her birth parents a part of her reality by asking questions about them - yet. 

So my Lizzie is sometimes a little bit clingy and sometimes a little bit fearful and really doesn't like me to be too far away from her for too long.  Some days, I cannot even go to the bathroom without my girl at the very least wondering where I am and many times she is parked right outside the bathroom door waiting for my return. 

It can be exhausting some days but I try to remind myself of her heart and that piece of it that I will never be able to repair. 

I know that this is what Em has been reacting to and I know this time apart for them has been good but I also know that being away from me has been hard for Lizzie, so if an Ice Breakers Mint makes it easier for my brave little girl to get out of my car and walk away from me, then so be it! 

Maybe I should stock up for when Lizzie is a teenager!!!  Hey, a momma can dream, can't she???

Friends

OK!  Too cute not to share!!! 



and some people say that animals don't have feelings!!  Shame:)

Sunday Snapshot - Josiah

I know Sunday Snapshots are usually about your family and the things that touch your heart.  Tonight my Sunday Snapshot is not about my family but is however about a very special little boy who has touched my heart and many others' hearts.  That very special little boy is Josiah.

If you have been following my blog and my weekly "Waiting Kids" posts, you are very familiar with this precious boy.  Josiah lives in a wonderful group foster home in China called Harmony House where from what I understand, he has totally enchanted any and all who meet him.

Josiah was born without the use of his arms and with double clubfeet but that has not stopped this amazing little boy.  He has learned how do things for himself using his feet. 

At a very early age, Josiah has overcome so many obstacles and yet continues to smile and to love and now...

He finally has a family, a wonderful family, to love him back, to help and support him as he faces future obstacles.  No longer will he struggle without a family to encourage him, no longer will he overcome without a family to celebrate every single, little triumph with him.  As wonderful as the loving staff at the Harmony House is, and they are WONDERFUL, they cannot be what a true family can be to a child.

I have been in touch with Josiah's beautiful new family and they are working very hard to bring him home and are praying that God will provide what they need to do so.  They have started a blog, Waiting on Him and have a donate button to try and raise the much needed funds that as we all know can be a financial burden.  If you feel lead to do so, please go to their blog, Waiting on Him and donate whatever you can to help them bring Josiah home.  If you cannot donate (because I know how many of us are hurting right now), please just help to spread the word.  I know they would appreciate it so very much and when you look at this sweet face, you will have faith that those wonderful smiles will not fade!!

So while this week's Sunday Snapshot is not about my family, it very definitely is about a precious child who has touched my heart and I feel very blessed to be able to "know" his family and rejoice in their journey!!

Next week, I will get back to life with 3 wild boys, 2 precocious girls, 3 needy dogs, 1 crazy cat and one very tired hubby!!!  Hehe!

To join in on Stefanie's Sunday Snapshots go here:





 

WHY????

Why does he do this to me???

I swear, there are some days that I really think he is trying to give me a heart attack!

It's not like we have a lot of money or um any money that he would inherit and by the time it got diveed up between them all, they might be able to buy a pack of gum and while that would thrill the girls, I think Charlie would be sorely disappointed.  You know, all that work for nothing!!  Hehe!

Out of all of my children, he is the one voted most likely to send his parents to an early grave! 

However, his little sister Em is trying her best to usurp his title!

A friend of mine today described Charlie as being very "Tigger" like and I have to admit that suits him to a tee

and I love every bouncy ounce of him!!!

Survivor

Well we survived our first official home school day!!!  Yippee!!!   Little Miss Prissy Pot did so well that we actually tackled 2 days worth of lessons in one!  I did notice that she started getting a bit fidgety once we had been at it for about an hour or so.  She rallied though and we finished the lessons with a little tweaking.

I am not above a little marshmallow tweak!  We used them to mark letters on her ABC chart.  She could eat the ones that she placed on the correct letter and that got rid of the fidgets for a while!

dry erase board from Target for one dollar

Next it was time to pull out the rice!

No, she didn't eat the rice (I wish)! 

We poured the rice in a cookie sheet and practiced drawing her letters with her fingers in the rice!  That was the hit of the day.  However, after a while it became a rice drawing fest with little sister joining in and rice flying all over my kitchen!!!

I didn't mind, though.  We actually (dare I say)

had fun and more than survived the day!  I would love to ask all my BTDT homeschooling friends, for a precocious 4 year old, about how long should I plan for each day?  She really did so great with the first lesson and wanted to do the second but did start to get bored a bit after the first hour or so.  How long each day did you spend home schooling your 4 year olds???

As for the other poor, tortured souls that went off to prison school last week...

they too survived their second week and lived to tell the tale! 

Thank goodness everyone seems to like their teachers.  The jury, however, is still out on one or two of them with Momma Bear!  Heh!

Then there is my eldest who swore that we were out to get him this summer by making him change schools!! 

He was not at all excited about starting a new school this year but we just love to make him miserable and so, off he went! 

Seriously, my heart ached for him that first day and I was just praying he would have a good day.  Of course on the way to his new school on his very first day, what did we run into but...

the daggone train ya'll!!!  This is a boy who DOES NOT like to be late.  Let me repeat that, he DOES NOT like to be late and on the very first day of his brand new school!!!  Well you get the picture - not pretty people!  After some reassurance that we were 30 minutes early (I knew what I was doing), he was fine and ended up not hating it!!!  I will take it!!!  Hehe!!

So off we go into a brand new school year!  Right back to rush, rush, rush and get up, get up, get up and go, go, go and oops

somebody please let the dog out!!!  Hehe!

And speaking of dogs, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our crazy clan...

Yep, Lily our 3 legged foster dog is now Lily our adopted dog - but you all already knew that was coming, didn't you!!  Everybody else did but me apparently!  She has just attached herself to my hip and into our hearts and we just couldn't let her go!  It's already crazy around here, what's one more!

Misty

Please everyone take one last look at sweet Misty. 

Her file is to go back probably today. 

She is a beautiful, healthy, fun loving little 9 year old girl who needs a family.  She has been listed with ASIA for a long while now and I really do not understand why she has waited so long.  Please take another look and help spread the word about this precious child. 

You can go to ASIA's blog to read more about Misty and Jillian and Gregory.  All of their files are to be sent back.  If you think you would like to just see Misty's file, please, please email Marci this morning at marcisk@asiadopt.org.  I am certain, she would be overjoyed to send it to you!!!

Sunday Snapshot - Total Wimp Out

OK, I am gonna totally wimp out on this week's Sunday Snapshot - but with good reason!

This first week of school has totally kicked my...

Yes, this is the sweet child that I will homeschooling this year!  Sigh!

We start tomorrow!!!

So we prepare...

another reason I am wimping out this Sunday...

I have got to study!!!

Yes, wimping out I am because school and these two...

are again, kicking my...

The kids did take pity on me yesterday, though.  It was a rainy Saturday which could have been trouble, serious trouble.  However, they built a really cool fort,

and actually played in it,

and left me alone - for a while anyway,

and this was the last thing I saw right before I went to bed,

God certainly did know what he was doing when He made sleeping kids so stinking cute!  More than makes up for days like this,

Again, this is the girl I have chosen to home school????  Help!

So anyway, I am wimping out but with good reason!  Hopefully I will be back next week with something extra fabulous:)  Of course after our first week of home school and our first week of soccer...

 I will be lucky to be back at all!!  Keep your fingers crossed for me this week!!  Hehe!!

To join in on Stefanie's wonderful Sunday Snapshot go here,