Family days

We went to our first bonfire last night. What fun! My Sister-in-law and her husband are great at hosting parties!! Lael loved the music.... Cheyenne captured us dancing...


We had a sweet afternoon... Bob Evans for lunch followed by a SWEET nap!! Then family time. I loved capturing this precious moment... Tim and Eli soaking up heat from the fire, reading the Dangerous Book for Boys with Daddy and Lael gathering close...


She saw me and began to jump up and run over to me... And my camera wasn't quick enough to catch her until she got right to my side;)

Funny!! Lael was given an antibiotic to help clear her face. She LOVES it!! I'll ask her if she wants her antibiotic and she drops her toys, stops mid stride and runs to the kitchen. If I am getting it out already, she drops to the floor (sitting), waiting patiently for us to give it to her. She smiles and giggles and sucks it down. Then claps her hands and wants more. Guess it's the sweetest thing she gets since we haven't done much with any sweet foods other than fruit.

So thankful she likes the antibiotic and doesn't fight us with each dose!!

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Bizarre change

This morning started out well;) we were able to discuss (Eli and I) a new book I just started reading about the power of words. We decided to have an experiment of sorts... For 2 hours we were going to try to only say nice, positive things to people. It was such a nice morning!!

I even took the time to curl my hair and leave it down... A dress and dress shoes completed the ensemble... Making me feel pretty;)

Tim sang with the choir, so the kids and I went in later. When we got to church we went in as usual, and I let Lael walk from the car. She loved it!! But as soon as folks came up to say hi, she wanted to get in the carrier with me. The usual flow for Sunday.

She soon fell asleep and was sleeping quite soundly. Her only issue with sleeping on us (holding or in the carrier) is that she likes to lay down and when she wants to move, she will wake up if she can't.

Tim soon joined us in our seats as the choir finished. We were settling in to listen to the sermon when she attempted to roll over and woke partially. I took off the carrier, handed her to Tim and went to the restroom.

When I returned, she wanted nothing to do with me. She actually started crying when I took her back from Tim. When Tim had to leave to go up front and sing she began sobbing uncontrollably, as if she had been hurt. I walked her out of the sanctuary, around the lobby and even into the nursing room (she was crying so loud the whole time!!) I even took her back to sanctuary when she slowed to hiccup sobs and offered her a snack... Which usually solves all wrongs for her. She wouldn't hold her cup, or move, and when she saw me, she started wailing again!

This behavior was so extremely bizarre. We couldn't figure what would have happened in a few minutes time!!

Since we were not staying in sanctuary and church was almost over, we went to get Eli. She saw Eli in the room before we got there and the worker commented on how her face lit up when she saw her brother. (feeling a little like chopped liver at this point, worrying a bit what was wrong, if she was in pain, etc)

We went back, got close to Tim and she leaped into his arms and wouldn't look at me... When she did, She would cry again!!

After talking for a few minutes we gathered our things and it suddenly hit me.

I wear the carrier on Sundays so she can rest comfortably in my arms without stressing my shoulder. I didn't have it on.

I never wear dresses and heels at home. Here, today, I had both on.

I usually have my hair pulled back at home... Out of my face... Today it was down and softly framing my face.

I pulled out a rubber band and put up my hair. I picked up the carrier to carry out.

Suddenly, she realized who I was and came to me. She laughed and giggled all the way home and was right back to normal as soon as I got her out of the carseat.

So, I learned;
Lael is bonding well;)
I look really different when I dress up
Lael thought Tim handed her off to some strange lady after she woke from her nap... No wonder she was terrified
I need to dress up more at home;)

Thank you, God, that there was nothing wrong with Lael today, and thank you for helping us solve the riddle. May we always be able to comfort her with your guidance.


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Thank You!

We sent out thank you cards to a few hundred folks a few weeks ago at our one month Home from Russia anniversary date. There are several hundred more we would love to personally thank!

I have included a picture of the card below. To our many friends and family who have been a part of our adoption, bringing home Lael and encouraging us as we form these new bonds, thank you!!












The last picture is of a note we tucked into each card. It has been amazing!! We have received several cards... They have arrived just one or two a day. It has been such a blessing to watch his face light up as friends and family alike have encouraged him and made him feel so special. So an additional thank you to those who have had time to send a card. You have made our little boy feel so special!!

Thank you, God, for the people you put on our paths to walk all or even just a part of our journey together. What a wonderful concept... Community!! May we continue to foster these relationships and grow more into the people you want us to be!!

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2 month gotcha!!

I can't believe we have been Lael's parents now for 2 months!! What an amazing thing God is doing in our lives!

We have been so busy lately!! It is very different with 2...much more exhausting in many ways, even with Eli gone for 8 hours a day for school.  I have been trying so hard to stay caught up with documenting our first few months...

We had an impromptu visit with my Grandmother- didn't realize until later that it was on Grandparent's day:)  It was wonderful to be able to introduce my new family to Grandma.

It is still such an adjustment time for us.  Though it feels as if Lael has always been with us, and our love seems to grow more each day, there are still so many new things we are learning.

We had learned from our trips around the world to Russia (we have made 5 so far- 2 for Eli and 3 for Lael) how to pack very lightly.  No need to overpack!!! .....

Then... we traveled with children.  And forgot our church clothes (our only other outfit:/) Needless to say, the laundry machine was busy when we got home, and I sure was glad that Grandma had an outfit I could wear after my only pair of capris got soaked by a leaky diaper just before we left for church. The foibles and joys we can tend to be so upset with during this far too brief period of childhood... oh that we could laugh about them as they happen as we will when recounting the story years later.

Lael is getting much better at communicating.  She can now tell us when she wants to get down- saying, "down" as well as our names.  It is so hard to discern what all she can understand.  I tend to err on the side of believing she understands everything I tell her:)

Had a great weekend.  My brother and his family gave Eli a bow and arrows as a birthday gift.  We took it to Mom and Dad's house a few weekends ago and Rick discovered that the bow was bent.  He took it back and traded it in and they sent Eli a new bow.  It arrived on Friday... Just in time to go out and have fun with the new target we had.

There is no arrow here in this picture because he had just released it...

What a fun day!! I even got to try out my prowess at the bow:)  Eli was a great teacher:)

Then the kids played on the playset for a while.   I kept trying to get some good face shots... however, my children, especially Lael, are more concerned with enjoying every moment, rather than posing to capture moments.  Hopefully, they will always savor each moment they are given.  My, how fleeting these moments are!!

I know these are all almost the same, but the differences are charming... so many different emotions captured...

 I mentioned trying to get shots of Lael's face.... here are the many faces of Lael.  Some make her look like a totally different child.  So Precious!!

We went to the doctor's office on Monday to have a spot on her face looked at.  It didn't seem to be responding to treatment.  While we were there, we found out she has gained 3 pounds already (in 6 weeks!!)!! She is so tall and slender.  I was able to preserve her hand and footprints in clay- the little kits that have the picture on the other side of the frame...I had done one for Eli each year since he came home...and, unbelievably, her hand and foot prints are the same size (at 14 months) that Eli's were (at 24 months)!!!

God has so abundantly blessed us with friends whose little girls are a little bigger than Lael, and my mom, who has found many bargains at the ACTS shop as well as the darling little outfits we have been given from friends and family.  She LOVES them all!! It is so funny to watch her get so excited about her outfits, clapping her hands, almost squealing with joy each morning as we get dressed.  And she LOVES shoes.  It is the highlight of her day when we put on shoes to go for a walk or outside to play.

Lael and I were outside playing the other day and I was able to get a few shots....


Looks like she is leading the troops!! CHARGE!!!!


Conversations with God?

We are having so much fun exploring our world together!!

We received Lael's Certificate of Citizenship this week.  How exciting to see it officially done.  I was quite surprised, and felt even more special than before, when I realized that the letter from President Bush, welcoming Eli into the country as a citizen, was something that must be up to the current president at the time.  Not a standard form letter, per se.  We treasured that letter and had wondered what Lael's would look like from a different President.  There was not a letter with Lael's certificate.

So hard to believe we are already planning our 6 month post placement, for though it seems as if Lael has always been here, it also seems like we just arrived home yesterday.

The kids had their first sand party a few weeks ago.  Lael wasn't too sure what to think about it at first...

Then Eli jumped in and began to show her how to dig and build and make castles....

 What a great big brother he is becoming!!

The next few weeks will find us both going back to work... hopefully!! We are holding our jobs to God and asking Him to be glorified... in our attitudes, our speech and our actions.  Thanking God in advance for His guidance and making the path straight. 
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Guidance

Had the most amazing experience on Sunday.  It was confirmed through a devotional I did on Tuesday morning. I was really praying for my family.  For the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.  I felt God impress so strongly on my heart that I was a bit skewed in my praying.  I was praying for God to change everyone, starting with me, to bring peace to our house.  For the anger (which, as our pastor pointed out a few years ago, the easiest emotion to come out when you are tired, in pain, etc) to stop and all the Fruit of the Spirit to prevail. For physical healing for us and an end to the pain we have been suffering through.  

Then, it was as if I felt him say to stop trying.  WHAT???? I countered??? unbelieving...yet, His gentle voice reminded me, my husband is His- he is responsible for his relationship with God and that closeness God desires with each of us.  As head of our house, God is continually calling him to Himself.  My son is working on that relationship... and while I am called to set a good example and correct him in his actions, I am not responsible for changing how anyone else thinks.  Each person has their own free will.  Lael has been His for so long, I pray she will continue to be close to him all her days and will encourage that all I can.  However, I am not to be always strivng to DO God's work for Him.  My job is to draw so close Him that He can flow through me and accomplish what He desires.  

I guess I have a bit too much of the Martha in me.  I want to DO SOMETHING and I often feel as if I am failing God if I just bask in His presence, soaking Him in.  There has to be something I can do!! And then we get so busy that we lose touch with the One who can direct and guide us the best.

Guess what I'm going to start doing?  And as I let go of my preconceived notions that I can change the world and join God's team and watch Him do it through me and others around me, I can relax.  Take a step back.  Bask in His glow.  Reach out to others.  Let my heart show more.  Love my husband and children better.  Shine His glory for those around me to see.  

Thank you for your prayers and support for our family.  It is a wonderful, but very trying time when adding a new addition and several players in the family are in a great deal of pain.   We are so thankful for all God has done, is doing and will continue to do in our family.  Praising and blessing God for everything!!!  

Family time

Ah, the joy of family time!

Tim has a tradition with his Fire family of homemade pizza every Sat he works.  He has carried on this tradition while he is off.  Here he and Eli are decorating their "pie."

 Of course, Lael wants to be a part of the action, too:)

 Sweetness... Here he is giving her a kiss to calm her as she whimpers the food isn't ready yet...

 Cleaned out some big toys we were given yesterday.  Turned a table over and saw a spider "egg" hatching.  Those spiders are smaller than the period on the page, and moving like crazy.  Of course, all I could think about was poor Wilbur, crying as all but a few of Charlotte's offspring were carried off in the wind...but then I got over and cleaned them all up:) (See the end of Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White)

Well, last night it finally happened!! Eli pulled his second tooth.  Yeah!!

We wanted to get a picture of the two of them together, to show how they fit like a puzzle... Eli missing the 2 prominent  teeth Lael has... Eli tried really hard to be helpful...



But Lael wasn't interested in pictures last night...hehe...

But that didn't keep Eli and Daddy from having a good time.  I almost cried I was laughing so hard... I said, let's pray, looked up to this and quite lost it!!


This morning we got a pic of Lael's new do... 2 top sprays... I think I like this much better....

Posing so pretty!! Then Daddy got out the SLR... these photos are much better:)
Look Mommy and Daddy, can you see ALL 6 of my teeth??? (She is actually squinting due to the flash:)

 Then the phone rang while we were taking pictures... This is her pose for the phone ringing... see the hand on the ear...

 Oh. My. Goodness... does this capture her onery, or what???

And then the side of her when she gets tickled...

 Pure enjoyment on the rocking horse Papaw made for the grandchildren...

 I think she is enjoying herself:)

 "Hanging out" with Mommy...

 The elusive picture with the bottom 2 teeth.  Another just broke through, so we'll have to hurry to get the puzzle pic before Eli has to pull another tooth:)

Thanking God for the preciousness of each moment He gives us.  May we develop our hearts in tune with His, may we reflect His glory to others and may we listen for His guidance as we raise these precious children He has entrusted into our care.

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Blue Moon...

What a fun week, with an exciting ending:)

We started out by playing with play dough... after a few tries at eating it, she began to play with it.


Soon, Eli finished his homework and joined in the merrymaking... Showing her all the fancy devices.

I think she likes it!!


She had a blast as we were in Eli's room, playing on his drumset.   Not too hard as she was hitting the drum heads... and she really enjoyed herself!!

As Eli was setting up to show us how to play soccer as he is learning in school, Lael decided to give a hand at it... Literally:)


She then decided that she needed to wear a helmet while riding her bike like Eli does.  Wanting to be just like her big brother already:)


Last night we were talking about pulling Eli's tooth.  He reached up and, next thing we know, with a look of pure amazement, he holds out the tooth... his first tooth pulled!!


After our family movie night, we were able to go out and enjoy the blue moon... so pretty in our back yard!

Even as the clouds soon gathered...

Soo cool to hear the exclamations of joy and amazement as Tim explained to Eli just how the big binoculars work.  Such a clear picture of the moon for a few minutes as the clouds parted:)

This morning showed Lael's second day sporting her new hair do.... the top spray:) I snapped a pic on my phone...

here is the photo I took of her on my lap this morning... love the look....

Then Daddy stepped in and she started doing her La la la's at the camera:)

A little while later, Tim decided to put the new floor plug in the floor of the living room.  Most of the work he had done during our lunch/snack time... and once finished with the sawing and drilling, Tim moved downstairs to the basement to begin hooking things up.  Lael quickly moved over to observe what was going on.  Here she is trying to help pull the wire up (IT IS NOT LIVE).

Then she was peeking through the floor and saying, "Hi!!" to her Daddy in the basement.

This was the look for much of the time... she was totally entranced with what he was doing:)

And here is Eli, sporting his missing space... and the tooth next to it, without the support of the tooth pulled last night is looking perilously close to coming out as well.  Soon we'll be able to show a picture of our children looking like a puzzle piece... Eli missing his bottom 2 teeth, Lael sporting only those 2 teeth for the camera...

 Eli got a note overnight from the tooth fairy with a quarter, telling him what a grand job he did, so brave pulling his own tooth and asking him to place the quarter and the second tooth back under the pillow tonight for an even bigger surprise.   Imagine my surprise when Eli, with a huge grin on his face, and an eager pace to his step as he sailed up the stairs to his room, said he was going to give the tooth fairy a dollar in with the quarter and second tooth so "she could get something for herself...." Oh my!!

We are so thankful for the opportunity to be parents to these amazing children.  We pray God will raise more folks up to open their homes so they can be blessed as we are, and the children... oh my, what their lives can be like!!

Thank you, God, that you call us to care for the widow and the orphan and that we are all called to be adopted into Your family.  May we always hold these special folk close to our hearts!! and we thank you so much for holding the lonely and abandoned close to your heart and bringing them into families. 

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