Birthday Shout-Out

Happy Birthday to one Awesome Sister-in-Law.

"I carry your heart in my heart."

And apparently Todd and I scare you a little bit too. 

Love ya!!

And They're Off....

Well, my oldest two babies left for first and second grade this morning.

First and Second Grade. 

I can't believe how old that sounds.

(And yes, I know that is so cliche, but it is also so true. Time flies.)

And Emma Grace flew so quickly to the bus that she actually ran right into the yellow stop guard sticking out of the front of the bus. And then she had to run around it. And we were trying hard not to laugh at her. Sister was ready. And she was worried about being late.  Bless her little heart.

And this just may be one of the cutest pictures ever. EVER.

Although, I'm probably biased.

Happy Back to School!

There's No Place Like Home

Apparently we've pushed this little guy over the edge this summer with too many trips and too many transitions and not enough normal routine which he craves in his world.

The result?

He now screams anytime we leave the house. Any time. Every time.

He calms down once we're out and about, but the twenty minutes prior to exiting the driveway are not fun right now.

Enter this morning:

Me: Owen, we need to get dressed.

Owen: (Immediately screaming) I DO NOT WANT TO GO! I WANT TO STAY HOME! I WANT TO STAY HOME!

Me: Owen, calm down and look at my eyes. We are not going anywhere. We are just getting dressed. Do you understand? We're not leaving the house. We're just putting clothes on.

Owen: Stops screaming but continues to cry uncontrollably while I put his clothes on.

Me: Owen. You have your clothes on now and we're still staying home. Why are you crying?

Owen: I don't know. I just need to cry.

....................................

Me too bud, me too.

Here's Your Sign*

(If you're confused by the title of this post, read these lyrics. Or listen Jeff Foxworthy sing it. Hilarious. http://www.wowlyrics.com/j/jeff-foxworthy_songs/19739_lyrics_2433118.php)

I don't even know where to start with this one, but I felt I had to post about it because it is so skewed.

Read this and then let's reflect:

[A viewer of Robertson’s show, The 700 Club, wrote to the show for advice on dating problems. She wrote,

"I’m the mother of three adopted girls. I find the men I date are okay when I tell them I have three daughters, but when they find out they are adopted, and from three different countries and not my own biological children, they don’t want to date anymore.
Whether I tell them upfront or after a couple of dates, all the men are reacting the same way. They say that they would be okay with it if the girls were biological children and came with child support. Why are these men reacting this way?"

Robertson’s co-host reacted the way most human beings would react, by calling the men “dogs.” Robertson, however, did what he does best. He blamed the situation on the woman and on the fact that she adopted children (emphasis from Veracity Stew).

“A man doesn’t want to take on the United Nations, and this woman’s got all of these various children, and blended family. I mean, what is it? You don’t know what problems there are. I’m serious. I’ve got a dear friend, adopted some little kid from an orphanage down in Columbia, child had brain damage…you know, grew up weird, and you just never know what’s been done to a child before you get that child; what kind of sexual abuse has been, what kind of cruelty, what kind of food deprivation, etc., etc., etc. So, you’re not a dog because you don’t want to take on that responsibility.
“You don’t have to take on somebody else’s problems. You really don’t. You can go help people, you can minister to people – we’ve ministered to orphans all over the world – thousands of them. We love orphans, we love helping people. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that I want to take all the orphans around the world into my home.
“OK, let’s get to the next question…I’m in trouble…”]

 Okay now - here are my thoughts to the woman who wrote in.

1. Where are you meeting these men?

2. As a part of the adoption world, you have to know that not everybody is comfortable with the idea of adoption. And I would venture to say that men have a harder time with the concept than women. 

3. I'm not a single mom and haven't been in the dating world in a long time, but it seems to me, you could do some fun group outings with friends and your girls thereby giving these men a chance to interact with your daughters and see how "normal" your family is.

And my thoughts to Mr. Robertson:

1. You are stupid. Here's your sign.

2. You are right. Sometimes there is no way of knowing what has been done to a child before you get that child, but in my book, that makes that child all the more worthy of a healthy family to help them through the pain. Here's your sign.

3. An adoptive family is not the same thing as a blended family. Here's your sign.

4. You claim your "dear friend" adopted a child, but you don't even know the child's name? Here's your sign.

5. Just so you know, you may not hear from that "dear friend" for awhile. Here's your sign.

6.A child with brain damage is not "weird." He's special. And he's a child. And he needs love just as much as a child with a perfectly healthy brain. Here's your sign.

7. You claim to love orphans and love helping people all over the world. Perhaps you could show that love without judging them because of a past they have no control over. Here's your sign.

8. Thank the Lord you are not an adoptive parent. Here's your sign.

PS. Mr. Robertson, 

The adopted child on the right started his life severely malnourished in a third world country. He is now perfectly healthy and thriving.

The biological child on the left was born at Duke Hospital and has had all kinds of health problems.

They are not weird.

We love them both the same.

They are brothers.

Real brothers.

Here's your sign.

Just Because

Sometimes when you're stuck inside a restaurant during a torrential downpour, 

you have to do this:

Just because you can.

We were out celebrating somebody's birthday because he rocks.

Happy Birthday, Todd!

You don't look a day over 34. Seriously.

:)

Dare I say it's working?

Well it's 10:00am here.

And the kids have been up since 7:00ish. And today was the first day in weeks that our alarm clock was not the sound of a screaming three year old.

And not only that, but there has been no screaming yet this morning.

None.

Zilch.

Zero.

He's upstairs playing happily.

So way to go, steroids! 

Keep kicking those nasty white blood cells to the curb! 

Let's make this the fastest healing of a flare up in the history of EE flare ups.

The week from.....well, you know where.....

We had "that" kind of week this week.

You know the kind I'm talking about? 

The one where the youngest doesn't feel well and the older two ask so many stupid questions that you can literally feel your brain cells deteriorating. (Questions like, "Mom, is this a hot dog on my plate?") I had teachers growing up who told me there was no such thing as stupid questions. I realize now that they were clearly childless. Bless their hearts.

In case you happen to be one of those moms who never has this kind of week and finds every moment spent with their cherubs a true blessing, I feel this text sent to my husband best describes the feelings of other moms like myself:

And this is the part where my husband rocks.

He came home from work on time, swooped in and dragged two boys from my lap, told the children to pretend I was invisible for the rest of the night, and convinced me that running in the rain was a swell idea.

And I'm talking pouring down thunderstorming kind of rain.

And I got out there and felt like a badass Olympian. Unfortunately I looked more like a sopping wet geriatric chimpanzee who struggled up the hills, but no matter, it did the trick. I came back and felt rejuvenated. I think we just might survive the last two weeks yet.

Truth? This parenting thing is hard.

Truth? I wouldn't trade my life for anything. It's just that sometimes an hour of dodging lightning is more appealing than staying home to feed the kids dinner.

Truth? These people are crazy but I also love them like crazy.

And (the majority of this week excluded) I also find them to be pretty stinkin' cute.

Most of the time......

And yes, it was a hot dog on his plate. The same kind of hot dog that we've had at least once a week for the past six years of feeding the kids hot dogs.

Goodbye and Hello

We said goodbye to Yelizaveta today.

She is such a sweet girl and we will miss her, especially my seven year old. She is very blue and was sobbing at the airport. Broke my heart. Little Lamb.

We're excited though about having new friends half a world away.

And Todd and I are excited about getting back to a normal bedtime routine. Let's just say sleep was not a high priority for Liza...... and it was definitely awkward to go to bed at midnight (or later) and know there was still an eight year old awake upstairs.....

Unfortunately we're saying hello to Steroid Medication once again.

Those blasted eosinophils are back and growing in number.  We are not shocked after the past week full of nasty rashes and more screaming than normal, but we are sad to take a step backwards. 

If you're so inclined, prayers for my lil' man to start feeling better soon would be much appreciated!

And that's about it on the home front. Just another week of swimming, crafting, reading and enjoying the dwindling days of summer.

Summer Winding Down

Our summer adventures are winding down. We've done the beach with my family, the sound with Todd's family, the pool, and we only have three full weeks left before certain people start 1st and 2nd grade. Three weeks. :(

Liza leaves Monday afternoon to head back to Belarus. There is a major part of me that will be sad to say goodbye and also another part of me that is ready to have things back to normal. Whatever "normal" is for our crazy family.

There are lots of posts swimming around in my head right now regarding today's crazy headlines. Posts about certain chicken selling restaurants, and Olympics, and movie theaters, and the craziness that seems to surround this world. But for now, I just quiet those voices and focus on trying to see the many ways God will make sense of all the craziness. Because He is working. Of that, I'm sure.

So instead of delving into the depths of my mumbled jumbled thoughts on world issues, I will just give you cute pics of my kids. I know, I know.....I'm so deep.

WHAT?! After begging and begging. Isaac finally got his hair shaved off. He loves it. We patiently wait for his precious curls to grow back and enjoy calling him Baldy.

The finished product:

"Owen, you want to go swimming now?"

Kids being spoiled by their grandad who patiently pulled them each around on the tube.

Jumping off the dock without hesitation or fear:

And while these two boys who continue to prove that blood doesn't a brother make stayed on with their grandparents,

the girls and I headed back to Raleigh for some girlie times. Fun.

and Yum.