Sunday Snapshot - Christian

Well, it's official!

 We have a teenager in the house! 

Our very first teenager and I am oh so glad that this is the child who is leading us into teenagerhood!

 cause if it were this brother...

 or this sister....

 I'm just sayin'!  Hehe!

This child was born on a stormy night 13 years ago and as nervous as I was about having my first child, the moment the nurse put him in my arms, I knew I had found my purpose in life. 

 I had never pictured myself as a Mom but that child changed my life forever.  He was cute and I was hooked!

We have had our ups and downs, cause well, he is a boy (heh) but many more ups than downs.  He is sweet and smart and loving and interested in everything, especially now, girls (oh my) or should I say one girl in particular!  His first girlfriend.  Sigh!

I can so vividly remember rocking this big teenager in his favorite rocking chair when he was a lot younger and a whole lot smaller.  I would get so frustrated when night after night he would wake and ask to be rocked and just as he would fall asleep and I would ever so gently place him back in his crib, his beautiful eyes would pop open and in his sweetest 2 year old voice, he would say, "moe wock!" 

One night, however, as I held him in my arms, rocking him for the umpteenth time, I suddenly flashed forward to when my first born was far too big to fit in my lap and far too old to want to be rocked and I cried and tried to take in all of the moment and remember every detail and savior every single second of those midnight rocks - just the two of us.

Well, he might be too big and too old now to be rocked but I will always remember that time with him and savior the memories that I knew as his mother, I needed to lock away. 

His birthday came on a Tuesday this year (yawn), so he hasn't had a true celebration with his friends yet but we did have a mini little family celebration

complete with presents and a giant card made by his lovin' brothers

and cake

who knew you had to actually buy the decorator tip separately - huh!

did you know that a family of 7 can just about polish off an entire ugly, 2 layer chocolate cake in one sitting??

yeah, for real!!

unless of course you don't like birthday cake

Know what he got for his 13th birthday?

Money and clothes - no more toy trucks (his fav at 2 years old) - sigh!



My sweet, funny, athletic, smart and incredibly compassionate teenage child - Happy Birthday!

He is 13 and while he has his first job and his first girlfriend, and is almost as tall as me, when I look at him - he is my adorable little 2 year old playing with his dump truck and asking for "moe wock." 

We are very proud of the young man that you have become and cannot wait to see what your future holds.  Oh and your favorite rocking chair will be waiting - for - your - first - adorable - 2 year old!!  Yikes!

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Urgent Situation

I realize I have already published my "Waiting Kids" post this week but I have become aware of an urgent situation.  I have posted about this beautiful girl before but she still waits...

and she is about to age out.  In January, this beautiful little girl will "age out" and will not be eligible to have a family after that.  This is the email that I received about this precious child:

DL will age out on January 19, 2011. In just 12 short weeks she will lose forever her chance to have a family. Chinese law will not allow an adoption after the child turns 14. Please spread the word about her to anyone that may be interested. China now allows for two adoptions at once so a family that may already have a referral from China would be eligible. She needs a family and she needs that family to come forward for her now! There is no time to wait!

This is what is written about sweet DL:

DL is a lovely girl who will be 14 years old in just 12 weeks (January 19, 2011). What this mean for her is that she will no longer be adoptable. This means she has less than 3 months to find a family before she will forever be unable to have a mom and dad of her own. DL had been at the orphanage since she was an infant, and was placed with a foster family in 2005. She was born with a cleft lip and palate, both of which have been repaired. She received speech therapy after each surgery and her speech is said to be excellent. She is doing well in school, and is described as a delightful young lady. Her time is short to find a family...DL is such a sweet and gentle girl, she will be a wonderful daughter for a lucky mom and dad. But you need to hurry.

Please email Dick Graham at iaap2000@gmail.com or go to their website to contact them.

Please, please search your heart for this wonderful child!!!

Goodnight!!

I love it when I find a book at the library that the girls and I really enjoy reading.  About 2 weeks ago, I stumbled upon a very sweet little book called, My Goodnight Storybook.  It was written by Susan L. Lingo and Kathy Parks.

This precious book has "45 Devotional Stories for Little Ones" and is one of those books that just make you feel good while teaching you a little something.  Each story is only 2 little pages long but also includes a short Bible story and a related prayer.  The stories talk about everyday struggles for children (and big people too) and how God can help you through.  I have renewed this book twice now and should probably return it next week so another family might enjoy it.  The following week, however, is up for grabs!!!  Hehe!!

Family Time

We came...

We got lost...

and tired...

and found...

We petted...

We picked a pumpkin!!!!

Yeah, good family time!

Sunday Snapshot - Perseverance

Perseverance was the school word of the week for Em and myself, last week.  We talked about the turtle and the hare and we talked about how God gives us things to do that might be hard but we don't quit - we persevere. 

Now if you have been around here long enough, you know that our little Lizzie has an abundance of perseverance.  This is something she is certainly not lacking in - at all! 

Sometimes when I stop and think about how far this precious child has come in just 2 1/2 short years, it literally takes my breath away.  She was 2 years old, non verbal, tiny and sorely lacking in the knowledge of what it was to belong.  She was 17 pounds and wearing 3 month size clothing.  She drooled excessively because her mouth muscles had not been used enough to have any kind of strength and she would hold little bits of food in her mouth for hours on end. 

Lizzie had a clubfoot that was turned completely backwards and upside down as well other differences in her hands and feet.  After enduring 18 clubfoot casts, a brace, two hand surgeries and much perseverance, Lizzie continued in her usual "me do it" style.  This is Lizzie walking for the first time after all of her 18 casts had come off - for good!!!

Yeah, we knew she would excel at whatever she put her glorious mind to and soccer was something that Lizzie and Em had been exposed to from the very beginning.  Our boys play soccer, hubby coaches them in soccer and we helped to start our own soccer club here as an outreach to the community.  So when the girls started playing last Spring, we were not at all surprised that Lizzie walked right onto that soccer field and took over!  She scores so many goals that hubby has to take her out periodically to give other players a chance to score or at least touch the ball!  Hehe!!

Emmeline, on the other hand was not so confident in her soccer abilities.  She hung back and many times wouldn't even venture out onto the field.  At home, she would beg her brothers to kick the ball around with her and we saw how good she was, but on Saturday's she just had a hard time with the crowd . and . her . sister.  I think that Em just felt overshadowed by her soccer star sister and it shook her confidence.  You see, Lizzie is still SO tiny and SO cute and SO sure of herself.  All good.  Unfortunately, Lizzie tends to get ALL the attention.  It is so bad sometimes that the boys' friends (in particular) will walk right by the girls and say, "Hi Lizzie," and totally ignore Em.  She had not ever mentioned it until one day a few weeks ago when we were at the boys' school and it happened again, over and over and it was SO obvious.  I knew it had to affect her and I think it had begun to effect Em's feelings for Lizzie.  She was jealous. 

Much of the first year that Lizzie was home was spent on her treatment and her adjustment and her bonding and her amazing accomplishments.  It was necessary for her and looking back I would not do it any differently.  However, we have come to realize that as Lizzie has blossomed, Em might need a bit of that extra attention for a while. The decision to home school her and only her has been such a blessing and although she will still tell you that she wants to go to a "real" school next year, this time has been good for her and for her relationship with Lizzie.  We have also begun to see a change in Em's confidence and perseverance on the soccer field.  Lizzie is still scoring many "goalies" but her sister is now scoring her own "goalies" and loving it! 

The two girls rule the field and at 4 years old, seem to really "get it."  Soccer has now become something that they can share - together - as sisters.  Hubby, of course, is already salivating over planning his dream team as the girls get old enough for competitive soccer!!!  Heh! 

 

I hate to break it to him but they are already talking about Flag Football and T ball!!!!  Hehe!

Until then, however, we will thankfully persevere with our two very competitive, very headstrong, very sweet and very loving 4 year old soccer stars!

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It was a good day, until...

It started out to be such a good day.  There was no,

OR,

for anyone!!

Wow!  An entire day with n.o.t.h.i.n.g to do!!!  It started off great! 

We made breakfast...

chocolate chip muffins to be exact...

and bacon...

and scrambled eggs...

we had a couple of extra boys for breakfast...

it was a bit early for some of us...

but after some clean up...

and some snuggle time on the couch...

the girls were ready to go...

They started with some Lacrosse...

and then some football...

next was baseball...

Yes, it was a good day, until...

the boys showed up!  Yes, that is a broken window!  At least he broke his own window!  The "he" in this scenario would be our 10 year old, Charlie.

The one voted most likely to, well, break a window!!!  Sigh!  You would think he would have learned his lesson with the big screen t.v., but sadly, no!  He and his "not completely innocent" brother will pay for the window and hopefully learn their lesson, now!!  A mother can dream, can't she!  Oh well, I guess every family has to have their "break the window" moment!!  We're done now, right??  Hehe!!