Wonderful Wednesday

It's a new day!

I love this excerpt from Above Rubies....


Begin! What an important word.

Are you dreaming about doing something? Perhaps getting that bedroom cleaned up. Or catching up with the laundry so that your laundry room looks spic and span. Maybe you have some great ideas about homeschooling you are planning to put into operation. Then there’s that habit you want to break.

Deuteronomy 2:24, “Rise ye up, take your journey..."

Wow, we ALL have a journey, don't we. Some domestic, some career driven but we ALL have a journey....how profound is our Bible to just tell us.... RISE UP AND BEGIN! and the Bible even calls it a JOURNEY. I love journey's, especially the one the Lord puts us on, they are never boaring are they?! The Lord always gives us twist and turns we never expect and if we allow them, they can be so completely exhilirating. Will you go with me today? Will you rise and begin the journey in front of you this moment? Together we will see what the Lord has in store. And if you are a stay at home mom....remember there is no higher calling! Don't fret that all you have to do is laundry just...rise up and begin!

Daybook Entry

With all that has happened in my life this past 12 months I am learning that what I thought was simple was not as simple as it could be and I long to live a much more simpler life than the one I currently have. I want to look around me and see beauty and not rushed, hurriness of a too-busy life that forgot to breath that day. My dear sister in Christ, Adeye, directed me through her post to this lovely idea of The Simple Woman's Day Book. What a simple journal idea, to keep the simple things important things and worthy of reflection.



For Today, January 27, 2009

Outside my window... It is a breezy and beautiful 75 degrees. The wind is blowing through the palm trees in the front yard and but is barely moving the tall pine woods in the back yard, where the birds and squirrels play all day.

I am thinking... about the peace that comes to my family really starts with me. How I choose to respond or how I choose to show mercy sets the tone for my children, my blessings from the Lord. I am also thinking about how hopeful my husband and I have become. We have learned so much these past 12 months. On Mondays the Lord gives us hope for that week, each morning we have hope for that day. We are learning to walk truly, truly one day at a time (sweet Jesus, one day at a time).

From the learning rooms... Autumn seems to have mastered her basic shapes. We are so proud since she is 5 years old and has really struggled with even the simplest things since we adopted her almost 3 years ago now. I have learned that Kya is struggling with a math concept. She is wonderful at math, does wonderful equations and writes her numbers well and yet I just discovered she can't really "read" her numbers. She can "read". She's reading words though, not numbers. If the numbers are in a sequential order, she can read them but hold up "19" or "23" individually and she struggles. Back to the basics of 'reading' numbers with her.

I am thankful for... 7 months of my husband being home with my children and I. This is a gift of time that soon will slip away and become part of our history. I want to hold onto it and cherish this time while we still have it together.

From the kitchen... the pots are out and ready for a family favorite dinner to be made, spaghetti. We will all go to bed with very full stomachs tonight. I have learned to be thankful each day for the Lord's provision in this area for my family.

I am wearing... blue jean carpi's and my favorite pink, soft-cotton, tank top and flip-flop style house slippers.

I am reading...Created for Work: Practical Insight for Young Men, by Bob Shultz ~ This book gives beautiful insightful tips for living with a simple soul and has proven not to be just for young men, but for everyone. I truly believe this book has made me a better person.

I am hoping... and trusting the Lord will complete his good work he began in my husband. ~ Phil 1:6 - being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

I am creating... a new schooling and daily schedule for my children so that our home and life can run a bit more smoothly.

I am hearing...my 5 year olds have a conversation in their bedroom about their baby dolls and my 1 year olds screaming with delight over a toy they are playing with together in their room.

Around the house... three loads of laundry are needing to be folded and put away, one of them is clean towels. I love folding the fresh warm towels. Toys are scattered through my living room as my four children run through and play with them and then run back to their own rooms to play with something else. I stand in agreement with my friend, Adeye, that I count it a blessing, a higher calling, to serve my family in this manner.

One of my favorite things... the way my house looks each night before I go to bed. It's all picked up and fresh looking and the memories from that day trickle in the air and are already moments we can't retrieve but will live in my heart forever.

A few plans for the rest of the week... to spend my birthday with my amazing husband, my wonderful four children, my beautiful mother, my beloved step-father, my incredible little brother and spirited baby sister. And even an afternoon date with my dear husband, while my sweet mom and step-father watch all six children.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... it is of the book I am reading. I truly love this simple book.

What is it?

This appeared in our house this week. We are not quite sure exactly what it is. A Character, A Creature, A new rock star? Hmmmm.....

The Kids on Barack

~You have to turn the music player off at the bottom of our blog, to view this video.~




*As a side note, I was a *1 issue voter* this year and that issue was LIFE. But, Barack is our President and our children still need to learn about him.

Can you trick the tooth fairy?

Since we do not do the whole Santa thing in our house, we were not quite sure if we would have tooth fairy visits either (still a reward and fun system, just not a made up character). Well, well, wouldn't you know one of the kids TV programs was nice enough to introduce the tooth fairy for us to our children. To which they became extremely excited about this prospect. And, now, the tooth fairy must visit. My children will have no reasonable conversation about this made up character. She does exist and that is that. My children just turned 5, so losing teeth anytime soon will not happen, but that does not prevent the excitement. No! Instead it provokes creativity. At first they thought maybe they could stop brushing their teeth and one would fall out. When we protested this speedy version of the process, they thought maybe they could just pull one out. More protesting from Mom and a new idea was sparked.....

Let's make a tooth! We'll draw one on paper, fold it so it's thick like a tooth and put it under our pillow. Now we have a plan! To which, I thought it would be rather funny to keep the drama going and explain, you cannot, cannot trick the tooth fairy. For if you try when she shows up and finds a fake tooth, she will never, ever return again. Oh! That settled it for a day, only a day. The invention of the fake tooth returned tonight and tomorrow, they are all set with their plans to make their fake tooth!

And while we are on this topic, look at this most disgusting site (IMHO).
The Original Tooth Fairy
I'm sorry, but I do not want to make a jewel out of my child's tooth nor wear it around my neck...to me, that is just nasty!

New Years Eve Memories

Kya and Autumn were so excited it was New Years Eve. They remembered how fun the holiday was last year.

They first chose to celebrate with a tea party.

They were both very upset we could not find party hats this year, so we made them.


Then Autumn snuggled up with popcorn.

Kya partied with her instruments and Hannah Montana. Autumn did join in and the girls danced and sang and beat on instruments for over an hour.

This was the babies 1st New Years home but they were a bit young to really celebrate. So, somehow, they slept soundly through the noise. I'm not quite sure how though!

Kya finished up her school work for 2008. It was "P" week and she was painting a penguin (on her hand?).




2008 held such wonderful memories for our family. Our babies came home from Guatemala, they both celebrated their 1st birthdays. Kya and Autumn both celebrated their 5th birthday. Autumn had surgery. We had two family vacations. So many memories for just 1 year. I look forward to another year with all 4 of my children home in my arms!

Happy Gotcha Day Babies!

A year! It's been a year! This moment comes to every adoptive parent and we have even celebrated 2 one year gotcha anniversaries before, but each time it's special and a reminder of God's love for us. That God loves us so much he blessed us this much, that each time he created sometimes large and sometimes small miracles, sometimes he moves hills and other times mountains, each time we are blessed with the miracle of a new life. Each gotcha anniversary we celebrate all that brought our babies into our lives and the memories made with them now that they are here. We love each of our children, intensely, and today we celebrate Lily & Aaron!

Lily Bug's Gotcha Moment


We love you Lily Bug and celebrate the promise that God gave to us, that you would be ours, the promise of a new baby girl was given to us 3 years before you arrived home. Though God may tarry, He will always fulfill His promise.

We love you Aaron and we celebrate the surprise God had for us in you. We never planned or expected a fourth child or a son. Aaron was a special gift from the Lord. One day God said "you will have a son" and 4 months later you were home! We cherish you both and we thank our Maker for making YOU!

Aaron's Gotcha Moment