Sold Out

Obama tickets are sold out for his visit in town today. Shucks!

Back To Church

We all went to church yesterday for the first time since bringing the baby home. Whoa!!We attend a church which practices family worship. There is no children's church or nursery. We love that, but when you are out of practice, watch out! First, getting up and out the door by 8:00 with 7 people proved to be a little tricky. We thought we were doing good. We were not late, everyone was dressed, things were lookin' good(Even though I had to put my make-up on in the car.). We get to church and realized we forgot Jackson's blanket. That is the only thing that really keeps him quiet. He knows the routine. Get the blanket, sit on mom or dad's lap, suck my fingers, and have the occasional Goldfish or sip of water. He immediately starts looking for the blanket. He dumps out the diaper bag and starts crying. I am thinking, no problem, we have food and a cup. No cup. He whined or cried the entire service. On to the baby. He is a really good baby. Give him a pacifier and he will cuddle for hours. No pacifier and he is not so quiet. Guess what? We forgot it. It was rough, but we made it through. Any bets on if we pack the diaper bag the night before next week?

We are Sad, Sad People

So, Bruce and I were given the gift of a free night of unlimited babysitting. Great! We found an incredible new tapas restaurant and ran a few errands. We even went somewhere else for coffee and dessert. At 8:00 my husband says it would be a shame to go home already. The girls said to stay out as late as we would like. We could not think of anything else to do. I was so tired and just wanted to sleep. So, we were home by 8:15. Please tell me it is just life with a newborn and I am not getting old.

Daily Bible Reading

I have felt the need recently to revamp my Bible reading. I think I am going to follow Christ Church's lectionary schedule unless someone has a better suggestion. I am doing a New Testament study, but I feel when I stick to studies there are certain parts of the Bible I never read. Any suggestions?

My Time in Hawaii

I have been asked about my time in Hawaii so I thought I would tell you a little about it. First, it is so amazing to me that we can live in the same country, but really be in two different worlds. The mere fact that I stepped on the plane to rain and 30 degree weather and stepped off to clear skies (I think, it was dark.) and 80 degrees was enough to rejoice over. The very next day was the day the baby was to be born, so I did not see anything but the hospital for a few days. I wish I had a picture of the view from the hospital, it was amazing. I was told I was given a real treat. It never rained while I was there and the skies were so clear you could see the peeks of the mountains. This is evidently rare. On my 4th day there I took a break from the hospital and some friends took me to take in a few sights. We drove to the beaches where a lot of surfing competitions take place. This East coast girl had never seen those kind of waves or "real" surfers before. It was great. It really was breath taking at times. I have always wondered what it would be like to live at the beach. I have decided I could really get used to it. The thing I would have to get over the most, would be the lizards and geckos. IT was strange to see them roaming about all over the place. I was laughed at more than once because of my squeamishness towards them. Okay, maybe laughed with. I thought it was pretty funny too. I really did okay with them until Bruce says one night, "So, what do you do with a gecko that is crawling along the wall inside the house?" I wanted him to take care of it, he just laughed,and I pretty soon became used to living with them. I had a great time. We met what we hope to be life-long friends (Thanks again for everything you all did for us.), developed a wonderful relationship with the birth mother of our child, and saw what had to be some of the most beautiful sights in out country if not world. If I did not have four children at home waiting for me, I could have easily been one of those people who say, "I came to Hawaii on vacation, and just never left."

Gettting Back into the Swing of Things

Well, Easter has come and gone. The egg dying was a much better success this year. My hands seemed to have more on them than anything else, but it was fun and the kids really got into it. We had a great time with friends and the kids really enjoyed their Easter baskets. I did not go to church, but Bruce went with the older children. We are giving the air another week to be free of flu germs before going back to church. We are getting back into the swing of things and trying to have some routine in the midst of everything. Routine is key for me and raising our children.

I have received a lot of emails about the adoption. I do not want to go into details here, but it will be a few months before things are free of risk. We thought it would only be a few weeks until we went to the table last week to sign papers. Needless to say we were a bit frazzled, but in the end the risk is really no more than it was before, we just have to be patient longer than anticipated. You can pray for my anxiety level. We love him so much and it is hard to not know what the future holds. More and more I am realizing this is true of everything and I need to strengthen my faith and walk with God. After all, this is His child and He will take care of him. Thank you for praying for us.

Easter Traditions

We have not had very many Easter traditions. Someone has been sick for the last three Easters. Growing up in Virginia, I am used to Easter being the kick off to Spring. We have not found that to be true here. The idea of spring clothes and outside Easter Egg hunts in 40 degree weather does not sound like too much fun. Nancy Wilson has a great post on why I should change my attitude. We do have some traditions. We always dye eggs the night before. We will do that tonight. I am trying to erase images from last year so I can be excited. Every cup of dye was spilled at some point. For weeks every time I mopped the floor I found a new pastel color to remove. I usually do fix a good Southern style feast, but since we have had sickness for the last few years it has gone virtually untouched and we eat on for the next week. Friends invited us to be with them tomorrow for brunch.We did not know if we would be back from our trip in time to plan a big feast. So, we will be joining them. Their kids are grown and it is always fun to see the fruit of raising a family and the blessings that abound when they all come together. I do always buy new outfits for the children. Although it always seems silly to dress them up and then bundle them up in their winter coats. But, we do it anyway. That's what we do. What about you?

Sometimes All I Can Do is Shake My Head

Here are some nice influential role models for your children.

Nothing Else Really Matters

We are a family who loves traditions. We love celebrating holidays and birthdays. We love finding reasons to feast. With all of the craziness in our lives some of our traditions this week have not happened. Okay, none of them have happened. There is a lot to catch up on after being gone for 3 weeks and then of course there is the sickness going around. I usually plan a huge St, Patricks Day feast, but I forgot until I was in the grocery store that evening getting something for dinner. The great thing about where we live is there is always something fresh and homemade and good in the bakery section of most grocery stores. So, instead of a feast I opted for a pistachio cake with green icing. Last night we finally got it together enough to sit done to a family dinner. Bruce apologized to the children for practically forgetting that it was Holy Week and we talked a little about what that means. You see, our busyness and anxiety have been the focus for us during this time. My husband went through the events of Holy Week and the significance of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Then he said something that was profound to me. He said, "In the past 2 days our family has been frustrated, angry, sad, scared, and exhausted. None of that means anything in light of what Christ has done for us. No matter what happens in our life, we still have Holy Week which culminates with Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Nothing else really matters. Life without this is basically living in Hell." I know it is not that profound and is really common sense for most believers, but I really needed to hear that and to be able to refocus my thoughts and emotions. So I just thought I would share on the chance that someone else needed to hear it as well.

Changing Focus

Bruce and I have to make a decision about my blogging. The adoption process is not as open and shut as we had thought. We are okay now, but it will be much longer than we anticipated until it is final and we are free of risk. We knew there was some risk, but it is a little more than we thought. Therefore, for the time being we are feeling the need to keep our family a little more private. I will still blog, just not so much about the kids. Please keep stopping by to visit.

Here We Go

We were all ready to hunker down and not leave the house until flu season is over. People are dropping like flies around here. We had prepared everyone that for the sake of the baby we would not be bringing him out until the coast was clear. Well, too little, too late. Isaac woke up this morning with a fever and all of the symptoms. We have too many children for it not to go through at least one or two more,if not all of them. Micah is sequestered to my bedroom or Bruce's office. Isaac has the basement. There is a television down there and I am taking food and other treats down quite often. Isaac was disappointed, but I explained how dangerous it would be for Micah if he caught it. Isaac, the forever martyr, responded in a very pathetic voice, "Well, I guess I am old enough to learn how to take care of myself when I am sick. It is okay to leave me all alone while I feel so bad. Even if I am having migraine headaches." He does not know what a migraine is, and I am sure he is not having one. So, I have lost my help on the first day of taking care of 5 children without Bruce. Hopefully he will be better soon.

Oh, as soon as things calm down I will post a good picture of Micah.

We're Home

Well, we made it home. It is so nice to be home after almost 3 weeks away. Micah was a great traveler. When we first got on the plane he was crying and the people around us had that look in their faces, but as soon as we had a bottle ready he was fine. He either slept or ate the entire time. We were so anxious to see the kids here. Everyone wants to know their reactions to Micah. Issac is so proud and doing whatever he can to help out. He even asked to change a diaper. Sarah just wants to hold him and stare at him and gets upset if anyone else holds him. Zachary wants to hold him, but has decided he only needs to give him one kiss a day. He has already had one from Zach, so no more until tomorrow.He keeps saying, "Micah is the cutest baby I ever saw." It took Jack a while to realize things were different. Now he is trying out all of the baby equipment and wants his picture taken in everything.His favorite is the pacifier. Keep in mind he never took one. He is a finger sucker. His only interaction with Micah has been to stand over him in awe when he cries. He jsust looks at him as if he is amazed that such a little guy can make that kind of noise. He could also be trying to figure out how to get the entire household to run to him just by making a little noise. He also apparently forgot me while I was gone. When he saw me he got this really strange look and it took him a while to remember me. Oh well.

On another note. I am freezing. 3 weeks on a tropical island can really spoil a girl. We can bundle Micah up, and he has done fine. I, on the other hand, can not get warm. I am sure it will come, but in the mean time our heat bill will be record breaking.

We Are Still in Hawaii

I am sorry I have not been very quick to give updates on Micah. Every time I think I have time to write a post it is time to feed, change,or coax him back to sleep. We are enjoying our time in Hawaii. It has been wonderful to have time with him and the birth mother. We have been overwhelmed with the generosity of those who have seen him and his mother through all of this. It has been great to meet and spend time with new friends. Words will never express the gratitude we have for everyone here. Though it has been an extremely emotional time, things could not have gone any better. I do not believe the word miraculous is an understatement. If you had told me months ago, or even weeks ago, that we would have the relationship with the birth mother that we have now, I would have said you were crazy. She is a beautiful person and we are so thrilled to have spent this time with her. All of this said, I am ready to go home. I will miss our birth mother, but for everyone to move on, we need to leave. We cannot terminate the birth father rights until we are home. WE are all anxious to get that over with. My children at home are needing their mommy. It has been almost three weeks. We are thinking we will be able to leave this weekend. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement. God has been so evident in all of this. Just keep reminding me of that, as I am anxious about the birth father. Thanks again and I will post a picture once we are home.

He is Here

Micah was born Thursday, February 28. He is doing great. God's hand is so evident in the situation. We would appreciate your prayers over the next few months. There are legal issues and such which still have to be accomplished.