SISTERS

Well, if we weren't crazy enough around here, we had to go and get 2, not one, no 2 foster puppies, and right before Christmas no less!! Hubby blames me and I suppose I have only myself to blame, but he coulda stopped me!!! At any point in time, he could have said, "Are ya crazy woman???", but nooooooo!! He has to say something sweet like, "I am so glad I married someone who would say, 'we'll take 2 puppies!'" Gee thanks, hun, that is so sweet!! So I blame you!! Hehe!! Aggie and Sophie are sisters and are the cutest little hound mixes. They are sweet and cuddly and ALL puppy!!









They have NO table manners and love to chew but don't have a mean bone in their adorable little bodies. I really hope they get adopted soon because they are so cute and because chasing after 4 little girls is killing me!!!! The up side - I realize now that having 2 little girls is nothing compared to having 4! Hehe!!!

This week's blog hop theme is your favorite Christmas photo. I have lots of really cute Christmas pics but this video actually stands out in my mind. This was Christmas last year. Lizzie had been home for about 6 months and had already endured 18 clubfoot casts and her first hand surgery and was amazing us all. This video was taken after Lizzie had been fitted with her brace and had actually learned how to "walk" while wearing it. We called it the brace shuffle. On this day, she had made a Christmas ornament and wanted to hang it on the tree. She, being the determined little girl she is, walked all the way to the tree in her brace to hang her special ornament. When I got that ornament out this year, it reminded me of how far Lizzie has come and how incredible she is!!



Cornbread and Chopsticks.

Sunday Snapshot

This week's Sunday Snapshot is all about my sweet baby boy, Caleb. You can join in on all the Sunday Snapshot fun by grabbing this button over at ni hao yall



So on to my sweet Caleb.

Caleb (or peanut, as he was "affectionately" called by his older brothers) is somewhat of a puzzle to me. A puzzle that I am still searching for right pieces to fit and complete. He is my old soul yet he is my baby boy and very attached to me and I to him.



He is full of wisdom at times and seems to have an ability to see beyond his years. Caleb does see things differently and expresses himself in a way that shows great depth of character and an instinct that allows him to put into words what most 6 years cannot. He is a deep thinker.



He had terrible reflux as a baby and still deals with his sensory issues and in particular his inability to eat without fear. It is something he struggles with and we work on, daily and I am determined not to let it color his world. I have walked a mile in his shoes and it can be hard but he is strong and more determined (or should I say, hardheaded) than I and he will end up stronger than most. Even though Caleb had such pain in his early years, he was soooooo cute and funny and just had this way about him!




His older brothers doted on him...



and his sisters think he hung the moon!!



Caleb can "hang with the big dogs" (ie: his brothers and all their crazy friends) and then there are times when he comes crashing down into his 6 year old reality and those are tough times but they help to remind us that he is just 6 years old, because we honestly do need to be reminded, with him. I call him my "floater" because he seems to flow effortlessly from one generation (his brothers) to another (his sisters) and is comfortable in both. He is very social and makes friends very easily but on "hard" days and especially on "hard sensory" days, it can be difficult for him to be social.



He, like his siblings, seems to good at just about everything he tries, although he doesn't think he is.

He is a great soccer player...



and a natural at whatever he does. I just wish he recognized that in himself!





He is very bright and enjoys all kinds of creative things (definitely NOT inherited from me) like leggos and puzzles and art. He is my little artist and really enjoys drawing and creating. He loves to leave sweet notes and doing small things for his family members that he knows will mean a lot. He can read people and loves to make others happy by doing for them.

He looks just like his father...





but acts a lot like me.



He is my sweet, ever mysterious, ever intense, ever loving Caleb. His capacity for greatness is limited only by his own self doubt. However, his self doubt is so trumped by his greatness that it is a mute point anyway!!! Hehe!!

So, there you have my boys!!



Next week, watch out, here come the girls!!!

Flag Football 09

So today was the day!! The day that we (I mean the girls) have been waiting for!! The laces were tied, the hair was pigtailed and the jerseys adorned, it was Flag Football day. It was a day of firsts. The first organized (sort of) sport for the girls, the first time Christian played in the QB position (whoo hoo), the first time EVER that Charlie has admitted to being cold (hehe), the first safety for Caleb (another whoo hoo) and the first time Daddy has ever coached his daughters, pigtails, pink princess sneakers and all!!! We all had a great time, even in the drizzly cold (perfect football weather,right?) The girls were so excited but not not quite as excited as we were (boys included) to watch them play!

As we arrived at the field, the excitement turned to nervousness, a little pre-game jitters so to speak.





Then it was time for pics...





and a little pre-game instruction from a "veteran"





then the "warm up"



and a little "practice"



and they were ready to rock and roll!!!








And finally, the aftergame handshake, where through gritted teeth (um, I mean, with a sincere smile) opponents offer up a "good game" and then attack the long a waited for SNACK!!



It was a great day and we all had fun. I did manage to get a few pics of the boys but they seriously move way to fast for my pitiful little camera to keep up!! I don't think I have mentioned recently how much I want a better, bloggy camera!!! Hehe!!






By the end of the day, however, we were wet and tired and cold, with one sweet benefit to the weather...


a little extra snuggle time!!!

Lizzie's ABC song - the next classic!!

Lizzie's version of that all time classic, The ABC Song.



After all the work that she has done in speech therapy, I wasn't going to say a word!!! Can you tell she has 3 big brothers??

And now, of course, the out takes, with help from the peanut gallery!!

LAST CHANCE

This was posted at LWB.

Robert Frost’s poem “On Looking Up by Chance at the Constellations” reads:

You’ll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch…

At 13 years old, a child in an orphanage in China has waited a long time. This is now their last chance for their sun and moon to touch.
Any hope these children have (or that we have) for a family will be lost once they turn 14, by which time they are no longer eligible for adoption.

The boy pictured here, Li Qu, is 13 now. He is an active boy with lots of energy and so much potential.

Although born with a cleft lip and palate, Li Qu has had surgery to repair both. Now he is a strong athlete and loves sports; Chinese Kungfu is one of his favorites. He is respectful of his teachers, loves his big orphanage family and is helpful with his classmates.

We hope that this handsome boy will get the chance to go to a home of his own. If you think you might be the family for this young boy or know someone who might be, please contact a China Waiting Child Program to find out more about him. If you are not sure how to do this, please feel free to e-mail adoptionassistance@lwbmail.com and we will be more than happy to help!

You can go here to see pics of this handsome young man. Please help to spread the word. His time is running out!

Sunday Snapshot

This week's Sunday Snapshot is all about my sweet, funny, crazy Charlie! You can join in over at Ni Hao Y'all . Grab the button and go!!!



I should have known from the get go that Charlie was going to be a handful! He came FAST and furious and wasn't going to wait, no matter what!! He was ready to start his life and has lived every single moment to the fullest, since then!! At the beginning, however, he was living every moment to the fullest but not very happy about it!



From the first few days of his life, until the day Charlie turned 5 years old, my sweet boy cried and cried and cried!! He was always my sweet, funny, active and loving child but he cried, oh how he cried! I have always said that on that day, the day Charlie turned 5, it was as if the clouds parted and the sun began to shine on my baby boy and since then, he has not stopped laughing and making all those around him smile! Looking back, I believe Charlie suffered from reflux and we just did not know about reflux in kids back then, but he overcame and LOVES life! He is a wonderful brother, both big and little and has a heart of gold. He and his big brother, Christian are attached at the hip and are tight. They are always together and always have fun.





He is a great big brother as well and while quite the entertainer, Charlie can also tend to be the mediator between his siblings and sometimes the instigator as well, but always a caring, loving big bro!!





He, like his brothers and probably his sisters, is a natural athlete. He is all boy and loves swimming, biking, ripsticking, boogie boarding, football and the sport of choice (most of the time), soccer. He is at times, my laid back surfer dude...



and at times, my very intense soccer star.



He plays hard and I am thankful (most of the time) for his hard head.



Parenting Charlie can be challenging, but it is always rewarding and I think most people just smile when they think about Charlie. He is fun loving, easy going and loves to make you laugh. Part of his appeal is his ability to laugh at himself which was either born in him (thank you hubby) or simply a side effect of life in a large and loud family.



And speaking of loud... Charlie has only ONE volume setting and it is MAX, baby!!! You definitely know when Charlie is here and when he isn't! Hehe!!



But as loud and wild and crazy as my Charlie is, he is also sweet and caring and loving and gentle.



He is like his father in that he can just go with the flow and enjoy the moment and he is like me in that he feels intensely and cares deeply for those (people or animals) that are in need and wants to make a difference. Like the time he begged me to take him around the neighborhood so he could collect money for a charity for those less fortunate. He ended up raising $36 and was so excited about what he had done and what that money could provide for a child in need.



So when I think about my Charlie, this is what comes to mind..

The perfect combo of cute little boyness



and little boy impness.



Throw in a lot of little boy outrageousness



and big boy sweetness



add a dash of "cool man"



and you have got yourself a Charlie!!!



Next week, my old soul, Caleb!!! See ya then!