Under the Weather

Our poor baby girl has not been feeling so well...actually she has been a bit grumpy. We could not figure out what was wrong! One moment she was completely happy and dancing around the house, and the next moment she was crying (or screaming) at the littlest things. Today I took her to the doctor...she has Strep Throat. Can you believe it? The doctor said that she should have a temperature of 103 and be lying around lethargic...instead she was dancing around the room at the doctor's office. Silly goose.

First Day of School

Our little one enjoyed her first day of school! She had a great time! So far this week, she has used glue, paint, markers, and many other fun things! As you can see from the picture, we think that she is going to be left handed! At times, she will color with both hands at the same time. She dances into class each morning, but then cries when mommy or daddy begin to leave. Thirty seconds after we walk out of the door she is off and playing with her new friends.

The boys think that it is SO much fun to take her to school and then pick her up in the afternoon. They are so excited to have her at our school. It's a big deal!

Thanksgiving here we come...

We are so excited about Thanksgiving this year. We are thrilled to head up to my grandparents' house. Z wrote a paragraph in school explaining that Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday...one of the reasons being that it was a great time to work on manners at the table. What a cutie! Last week Z was in the Speech Meet Finals at school. He did so well! We are extremely proud of him!

A had so much fun in our classroom preparing for Thanksgiving as well! We had a Thanksgiving party, did Thanksgiving crafts, and wrote what we were thankful for. A's answer to that question was, "I am thankful for special little B." I think that he loves his sister. :)

B has a new trick to make her family laugh. She does what we call "crazy eyes". She makes her eyes really big by raising her eyebrows and then CRACKS up at herself. She is such a ham! She is also talking up a storm! She is putting 2 and 3 words together now. It is exciting to watch her grow. I just wish that she would slow down! It's going by way too fast! She will be 2 tomorrow and will begin preschool after we get back from Thanksgiving! Crazy!

Let's Celebrate!

Wow...it has been an amazing few weeks! With the finalization of B's adoption there has been MUCH to celebrate. We had a birthday/adoption party for her a few weekends ago. She had SO much fun playing in the backyard with her brothers and friends. It was wonderful to celebrate with families that mean SO much to us! (B was not so excited about being the center of attention during her Happy Birthday song...she did not like that mommy was holding the cake and not her.)

Last Sunday, B was dedicated at church. Our wonderful pastor did a wonderful job of announcing the adoption and then praying for our family as we dedicated B to the Lord. That was an amazing experience!

ADOPTION

These pictures are from our amazing adoption morning. Little B was adopted on

Monday, October 29, 2007 at 9 a.m.

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Perfect Pumpkin Patch

We had an absolute ball at the Pumpkin Patch today! We went on a field trip about an hour away. It was a day long adventure! I am attempting to post pictures and a VIDEO clip. Here goes! B was even able to come to along with us! Her first trip to a Pumpkin Patch!

First Prayer

Our little one prayed for the first time tonight. It was precious! I asked if she wanted to pray and she said, "Yesh". So I would say a line and she would repeat. She did not repeat perfectly, but her prayer was PERFECT! This is how it went:

"Hello Jesus. Thank you food. Amen."

Way too sweet! She is growing up right before our eyes! We are incredibly blessed!

Our Little Monkey

We have known for quite some time that B is fearless. Fearless of water, heights, falling, you name it. Upon realizing her lack of fear and her crazy ability to climb, we removed Z's ladder from his bunk bed. This evening, B was being very quiet. We THOUGHT that she was in her room playing. We decided to check on her and headed to her room (which was empty). Z looked into his bedroom and saw her on his TOP bunk....ladder tucked away safely in the closet. This little monkey had climbed up the end of the bed all by herself. Boy, was she proud! She was able to touch the ceiling and had a HUGE smile on her face (see picture). I am going to go gray WAY too early. :)

Aside from being INCREDIBLY fearless, this little one is talking and talking and talking! She is starting to put two words together...so when M is tickling her instead of just saying "NO!" through her laughter, she is saying, "NO, daddy!" She is just growing up SO quickly!

New news of adoption...we should be finalizing within the next month (if all goes well with paperwork etc...) We were told by our adoption worker that we should finalize by November 5th. We will keep you updated! We are planning to have a huge adoption/second birthday celebration!

Number Two and Still Counting!

M and I celebrated our second anniversary this past weekend. We decided to head up to Ashland to watch Romeo and Juliet and take in the sites. We had such an amazing time just being the two of us. We both had to admit that we missed our children dearly, but the time away was wonderful too!

We watched the play in the outdoor theatre. That was AMAZING (cold, but amazing)! We really enjoyed it. We spent most of the day wandering around enjoying holding hands. It is not often that our hands are free to hold!

On Sunday (our real anniversary), we attended Applegate Community Church in Jacksonville. The church service took place outside in an ampitheater. We really enjoyed the message and seeing two people that we know from our home church! We live in such a small world!

We were thrilled to come home to our three beautiful children. They had spent time with grandma and grandpa feeding fish in the new pond and spending time down at the creek. (Thank you grandma and grandpa!)

Our time away reminded us to slow down and hold hands, to be silly now and then (see pictures), to enjoy each and every moment that we have together, and to keep our eyes on Jesus. We are truly blessed.

An Apple A Day

My sweet little ones were out in the backyard playing as I was baking corn bread for dinner. I had cut up an apple and was sharing it with my youngsters when I looked out to see A and B sitting on a step beside the hot tub. A had his arm around B and they were having quite a time. I almost feel like these pictures can't even begin to capture what I saw looking through the window. But it can at least give you a glimpse. :)

Z then went out to join in the fun! They are all are growing up so quickly! Where does the time go?

Speaking of time...M and I are celebrating our second anniversary this weekend! At times it feels as if we have been married for ages and other times it feels like it were just yesterday that we were getting married on that beautiful sunset filled night. We are planning to head up to Ashland to watch Romeo and Juliet to celebrate. We are really looking forward to it!

Losing Teeth

Our cute little A has lost his second tooth in a week! This particular tooth has an interesting story though... Our family was eating at Applebee's this evening and A was showing us how loose his tooth really was. I asked him if he wanted me to pull it out in the bathroom (sometimes pulling a tooth out can cause tears so I wanted to seek some privacy). He asked if we could tie a string around it and attach it to a door (something my grandpa did once to me). :) I told him that instead I would make it disappear using a napkin. ;)

He finally agreed so we walked back to the bathroom and his tooth was extracted in seconds. No tears, just excitement. He went running back to the table to show daddy, brother, and sister. He also asked if I would please tell the boy waitress. I did while he beamed. He later said that he needed to call his teasing grandma because one of his other teeth was lost in her bathtub...two teeth lost in a bathroom! Ha!

So now you can see a picture of his toothless grin. He is such a cutie!

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Phew...the last three weeks have been a blur. They have been filled with joy, frustrations, and MAJOR transition. Again I thank you for your continued prayers. I could not have made it to this day without them! The principal put the following quote in this week's newsletter to the teachers:

"Pain nourishes courage.

You can't be brave if you've only had

wonderful things happen to you."

Mary Tyler Moore

I felt that this was SO fitting to the last couple of weeks. God is developing my courage I guess! :) After a LOOOOOONG week of school my family enjoyed a very relaxing weekend! I have included pictures of our lazy Sunday afternoon. M enjoyed working on his motorcycle while B watched and drank out of her crazy straw cup (actually stolen from big brother A). Z and A enjoyed some time riding bikes, reading, and playing with the Leapsters. I just sat and watched my family with a HUGE smile on my face.

P.S. We got our camera back! Hooray!

My Favorite Job

Being a mommy is the best job in the world (next to being a wife)! There are times when I miss my "stay at home mom" status. I do feel that I am missing out sometimes, but I know without a doubt that I am exactly where God wants me to be! I tried so hard to add a picture that the boys' mom took of them, but it didn't work. It just captures what a neat relationship they have. Z is an absolutely amazing older brother and A really looks up to him. They play SO well together. I know that I need to count my blessings in this area. I remember growing up and needing to sit in separate seats in our mini van. My sister sat in the middle seat while I sat in the back seat (maybe it was the other way around). We just couldn't keep our hands to ourselves. :) I think that the boys would die if they were separated in the car! B is not enjoying sitting by herself in the middle seat very much lately. She would MUCH rather be in the backseat with her big brothers. Hmmm...maybe later.


Another favorite job is teaching. It is amazing when you know that you are doing exactly what God created you to do. I am in heaven in my classroom...a little busy, but in heaven. It has been a HUGE adjustment coming from a different school. I have found that different schools have different ways of doing things! It is amazing how we become creatures of habit. Slowly, I am making the adjustments! I do miss my friends and families at RCS, but I am thrilled that I can teach at a Christian school again. The boys are SO happy here! It will be a blessing when B can begin attending the preschool. Two and a half more months!


Speaking of B...we just signed our Home Study report at State Adoptions today! That is one HUGE hurdle cleared! We have a few more hoops and then FINALIZATION! We are looking at mid October! Woo Hoo!

So Proud...

I just need to share how absolutely proud I am of A. He has been an absolute joy to have in my class! Today when I went out to pick up my class from their morning recess, the yard duty came up and told me that she needed to talk to me about my son...uh-oh...that sometimes makes the hairs stand up on the back of a mommy's neck. :) Instead of telling me what I was dreading to hear, she told me how A had blessed her during recess. She was picking up garbage around the playground and picnic table area and our little A volunteered to help out! Way to go, buddy! He has been doing so well the first two days of school. I am really impressed. His reading has improved SO much this summer as well. I tested him today (in order to place my students in reading groups) and he FAR surpassed my expectations of his current reading level. I was actually BLOWN away!

We were sitting together in the living room this evening and he began to tell me the story of how he asked Jesus into his heart at Sunday School. It was absolutely precious. He told me that he would like to be "babatized". I am one proud mommy!

Please continue to pray for me as I teach my precious son, but know that God has done a MIGHTY work in him this summer!

First Day Hooray!

Thank you all for your love and support on this first day of first grade! The boys had an absolute ball! (I do have a first day of school picture, but it was taken with my teaching partner's camera as ours is down for the count. I will add it to this page as soon as I get it!) M was Super Dad as he brought all three of our children to school this morning as I had to be there early.

B did well leaving with her babysitter. (We are absolutely loving her! She is such a blessing from God!) They played and played all day.

I have to remember that every first day of teaching is exhausting. Sometimes I think that I will fly through with gobs of energy, but then I hit a wall! :) My students were absolutely amazing...little sponges soaking in all of the information I was giving them. Tomorrow we will have more of a normal day as we will begin our math and Bible curriculum. I'm excited to get started! I have so much that I want to teach them this year!

I arrived home around 5:30 this evening and pulled up to our mailbox (a few houses down the street). I sat there contemplating what I could cook for dinner. Just then I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw a "pizza guy" parked in front of our house. "There must be a mistake." After checking the mail, I drove home and spoke to him as he was getting out of his car. Sure enough, he was at the correct address. He handed me the two boxes (with a card on top) and said that it was already paid for! My Sonshine Buddy (secret pal) had ordered a pizza for our family on this first day of school. The card read, "Sit down, put your feet up, and relax." I cried and cried when I realized the magnitude of this gift! What an amazing school! :) What an amazing God to put me exactly where He wanted me to be!

Thank you for your continued prayer! This first week is absolutely exhausting, but full of blessings! Please pray that I will be the teacher that each of my students need me to be!

Sneak-A-Peek

Yesterday, we had Sneak-A-Peek in our classroom. This allowed parents and students an hour to come in and meet the teacher, check out their desks and cubbies, and see friends. It was SO much fun! I now wish that I had pictures to share with you, but I was a little busy to take them! I am SO looking forward to my time with these little ones. We are going to have a great year!

Oh What A Day!

For those of you who have had days like these...

Everything started out perfectly. All three of our children joined us for some snuggle buggle time in our large King-sized bed this morning. This amazing activity has not happened in quite a long time due to the craziness in our lives. It was pure heaven! We all decided to rise and get breakfast going with our little one signing "milk" over and over. :)

My husband decided to go for a motorcycle ride (something he has not done in far too long), which left me at home with my beautiful children. We played and laughed and got ready together - something else that I SO took for granted before going back to work. M returned to allow me to take Z to his class "Welcome Back To School" party at a new friend's house. He had a BALL!

Once the party was over, the plan was for me to go to my classroom to get some lesson planning accomplished. I had been there for about 1/2 hour when M called me on my cell phone saying that B had fallen and he was having a hard time consoling her. So I gathered my things up in my arms and ran out the door. In my haste, I threw my bottle of Diet Pepsi into my purse (not realizing that the lid was not all of the way on). You can guess the rest. By the time I arrived home, my purse had a pool of Diet Pepsi in the bottom of it...everything (but my wallet and cell phone) was soaked! This included our digital camera!!!! I dropped my purse at the front door and ran in to see to B. She was very upset as daddy had put a band aid right under her eye (she's not too fond of band aids). I held her and loved her and handed the dripping camera to my WONDERFUL husband. (We still do not know the fate of our camera...will it dry out and be functional, will we need to send it in for repair, is it a lost cause?)

M then left to go to church to hang a banner that needed to be in place. I began making dinner. While I was doing so, our little B let out a scream right behind me. Z was heading out to the garage and got B's hand in the door. Poor thing! This was the worst day of her short little life! I ran it under cold water while I prayed. Could anything else happen, please Lord, NO! :)

My dear A thought that it would be funny to pretend that his fingers were in the door and so he found himself placed over in the "naughty spot" to think about that for a while. As he was sitting there, part of our chair (that is being taken to be fixed) fell over onto him. He let out a sharp scream and then continued to cry. He was easily consoled, startled not hurt.

Fortunately, the dominoes stopped falling about that time. M had just returned from his errand and dinner was almost ready.

So we sat down and Z prayed before we enjoyed our delicious meal. He thanked God that we could all sit down together to eat dinner. THAT is what makes a WONDERFUL day.

**Note: You may have noticed that I used initials throughout this BLOG. I have copied a very dear friend of mine who does the same since this is open to the public. We want to protect our family, but still want to share with you, our family and friends! (Fortunately, we all have different initials so it should be easy to follow!)

Please continue to leave comments here on this site (I am able to read them) or send an email!

Working...Working...Working...

I am having so much fun working in my classroom, but I must say that it is a lot of work! Every time I cross something off of my list, I turn around and add two more tasks! :) Sometimes it feels that I will not be able to accomplish all that I need to, but then I am reminded in one way or another that God will provide me with the strength that I need because "His strength is perfect".

The boys have enjoyed helping out in the classroom (actually playing on the computers in the classroom...) They really have been a huge help! Our little one is REALLY enjoying playing at her "babysitter's". She has spent the last two days playing with their 6 year old daughter (who is in my class). She is so excited in the morning when I tell her where we are going! (And today she did not spit when I picked her up...a huge accomplishment! She has been showing her displeasure of me leaving her all day by spitting when I arrive to pick her up...not fun for this mommy.)

Michael has been the BIGGEST help. I know that I could not do this without him! God has blessed me with a perfect partner. Tonight, I got home from working in the classroom (at 9 p.m.) and the kitchen was clean, tomorrow's lunches were made, and the children were tucked in all cuddly in their beds. WOW! If you ever catch me complaining about my husband, will you please remind me about this Blog? :)

Thank you for your continued prayers as I have a few crazy days left until our "Sneak-A-Peek" hour on Friday afternoon. The classroom needs to be ready by this time...tick-tock...tick-tock!

I hope to add new pictures soon...I haven't had time to take any in the last couple of days!

Please feel free to post a comment right here on this page! Just click on the link below! I would love to hear from you!

Aprons

My mom visited late last week and brought wonderful gifts for the girls of the house. Mom had (very graciously) made curtains for my classroom earlier in the summer and used the extra material for matching aprons for us! Our little one wore her apron all day long. She loved it! Thank you, mom!

Just Getting Started...

Ok...here we go! I am always up for something new, so I thought that I would try to start a blog about our family. There is much to learn and much to do on this page. Please bear with me as this is UNDER CONSTRUCTION! I hope to save pictures on here and update you with what is happening in our lives in this format instead of through email. Please continue to keep in touch with me as you do so wonderfully!

Let me know if you have any requests (or input!)