A boy, boy!

Ok, so I have this meeting at church this afternoon. I'm planning my day, laying out clothes, etc.... I proceed to tell my oldest son that I would like him to wear what I pick out today, instead of his usual and he tells me..."Mommy, I don't want to be cute, I don't want to be handsome. I want to be a boy, boy! I want my spiderman shirt, my jeans, and my flip flops and that's it. None of this cute stuff". A boy, boy? Is that anything like a manly, man? How do they get this stuff so young? I don't exactly remember, but I think at 4 or 5 years old, I was more into playing and not what I looked like. Who knows? I try so hard to instill a sense of self esteem and self worth, but it seems society is beating me to it. I can only imagine if I had a girl. More power to you girl mommies!!! As you can see from the pics above and below, there was a time he let me dress him as Prince Charming (of course it was a costume party)and now we are on t-shirts, ripped jeans, and barefooted. Where has the time gone? Going now to lay out the spiderman shirt, jeans, and flip-flops. I'm not picking that battle today! LOL :)

How SWEEEETTTT!

How sweet it was as I was going to bed the other night (although sleep is always sweet). My two boys were having trouble falling asleep. Somehow, everyone ended up in bed with mommy. We were laying in bed, I was telling stories, singing songs, anything to bore them to sleep (err. lure them to sleep). I looked over and both boys were drifting off. Seems all they needed was each other! They were hooked arm in arm and rubbing each other's hands. HOW SWEEEEETTTT!!!! We prayed before we decided to have another child. We so wanted our children to be siblings who cared for each other, played together, etc.... Not constantly fight, bicker, etc... (Not that they never will, but as a whole, we wanted them to enjoy being siblings). We couldn't have been more blessed! Our oldest son absolutely adores our youngest and vice versa. They play all the time, giggle, wrestle, and always have a smile for each other first thing in the morning. I tried my best to take a picture of their little hands joined as they drifted off, but alas.... both boys know as soon as the camera comes out, they are to perform, so it was completely railroading my plans to get them to sleep. Instead, the pic attached above is just one of them sleeping side by side recently. They really are quite a pair and I'm incredibly blessed to be their mommy!

Beth Moore

Ok, so who else has been keeping Beth Moore a secret? I "reluctantly" went to a simulcast weekend and had a ball!!!!!! I've heard how great she is, been invited to bible studies, etc.... But it was always "I just don't have time". From now on, I'll make time!!!!!! She is awesome and so easy to listen to. Even sick and on cold medication (which we all know makes us tired even though it says "non-drowsy") I could've listened the rest of the day! Her points really hit home and she definitely speaks an "inspired Word"! God is really using her in a mighty way! Going now to work on being "competently competent" (for those of you wondering, that's "fully equipped" but i like competently competent better!). Check out her blog- there's a link on my page- ENJOY!

Clean-up time!

Today our project was to get the outside looking better so we can put our house on the market. It's kind of a bitter sweet thing. We so need a bigger house, and I really can't wait, but this is the home we brought both boys home to. Christopher is so excited and the anticipation of having two (yes at least two) bathrooms is his favorite thing to talk about. Imagine nature calling two people at the same time and only one toilet- NOT FUN! Our home is "cozy" (that's a nice word for crammed full). I have tried so hard to keep it organized, but daily it looks like a toy box or the laundry basket exploded. As I said, today was our day to work OUTSIDE. James (our god-son) helped me scrub gutters (do you know how much grime gets on them in just a years time?), move toys out of the bushes, put the "pond" back in working order, haul off trimmed bushes, etc.... While Fred trimmed the bushes, cut down dead trees, cut the grass, edged the yard. It was a lot of work, but so worth it, our yard looks GREAT! Of course we still have LOTS to do, you know "esthetic" stuff- paint the numbers on the house, repaint the lighthouse, pin down those bricks that keep falling over (check out the (L) corner of the pic). But it feels so good to start accomplishing something! Thank you Lord for the energy to do it all and for my hubby some time off to help us out!

QUESTIONS!!!

How is it that my 4 1/2 yr old knows so much? Did we really teach him this all? It never fails... 11:39pm, mommy is drifting off to sleep (finally)and from out of nowhere I hear, "Mom, why did God create Hell?" Ok, now there's a deep question I want to answer in the midst of going into a deep sleep! I promise him, "honey, go to sleep and mommy will have a good answer for you in the morning". "But mom, I want to know now". CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!!!! Just the night before, as I was rocking him, I asked "Son, please don't grow up so fast". His reply...."Mom, I'm not God, and I can't control that. If you don't get it, you might need to talk to Pastor Mike". NO HE DIDN't! Yeah, he really did. I have to get up early to get ahead of this one! What does this lead me to suspect about the baby--- He's already doing EVERYTHING his big brother does- I'm definitely in trouble!!!!

It's Official!!!!

What a perfect day! Yesterday, July 11, 2008 was honestly one of the most perfect days I have ever experienced. After 9 months of anticipation, we headed off to court to finalize our son's adoption. We had family there, we had friends there, we had our amazing little boys there. PERFECT! Our judge was in such a jovial mood and he was so complimentary of our family, our values, our beliefs, etc... It was definitely not your normal "courthouse" experience. It was a HAPPY day. We are officially family forever and always! Our two boys will hopefully realize one day what this day meant for us. We love them so much, and we thank God daily for them. God blessed us with revealing "our purpose" to be these two precious boys parents. I can not fathom the love God must have for me, knowing it is so much more than I have for my sons. I can honestly say I could not love them more had they been flesh of my flesh... After court, our day was just "normal" (what exactly is normal?) up until family picture time and our big PARTY! Pictures were fun and I can't wait to share them. The party was as everything else in the day PERFECT! The people that came and shared with us were all there because they loved us and wanted to celebrate with us. They all love our sons. How much more could we possibly ask for? This journey that started July 1, 1992, when I met my amazing hubby, could not have gone in a more correct path than this. Is it over? Definitely not! The journey has just begun. The love, parenting, fun, adventures, memories are just starting. Really, they just got their official "green light" yesterday. Would I do it again? WITHOUT A DOUBT! Adoption has changed our lives forever. We are a family! We have two amazing beautiful sons whom I'm pretty sure love us just as much as we do them. Funny question- Judge Woods asked "do you feel your family has bonded". Um well.... As I looked out in the courtroom, there's my husband, holding our 4 1/2 year old whose playing with daddy's ear. On the other leg, our 9 month, both hands wrapped around the 4 1/2 year olds head, as he lickes on his nose- ummm.... YEAH, we've bonded! I love my family. I have an amazing husband, and two gorgeous sons! God must really love me!!!!!!!!

A Mom's Prayer ( I finally get it!)

Seems like I have never prayed more in my life than since becoming a mother. Everything I now do, revolves around "Lord, take care of them". I never used to worry about taking long car trips, being in large crowds, being away from home for long periods of time, or anything like that. Now it seems like the least little thing evokes a prayer for my children. Now that's not a bad thing! I decided yesterday, I have to have a little more faith. After leaving on an afternoon outing with his Nonna, I suddenly had an unexplained fear that something was wrong with my precious 4 yr. old. I knew who he was with, supposedly where he was (they took a side trip, as Nonna's like to do), and when I would see him, but suddenly, my heart was gripped with fear for his safety. After several attempts on the cell phone, I resorted (which should have been my first response) to praying. My prayer was simple "Lord, he's in Your hands, protect him". An understanding of my mother's repeated cries that "I just can't sleep when your out late" or "I worry about you when your not home" suddenly hit me square between the eyes. Is that how she felt? EXACTLY! After my prayer, I had immediate peace. Of course, all was fine, and my little angel was having a ball with his Nonna. I am so thankful for the endless prayers my mom prayed for me, and I now am so much more understanding of the feelings she had. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to be a mother and for a loving Christian mom who taught me the importance of being a Godly example to my children. Help me be a the kind of Mom you want me to be and always trust You to take care of my little boys!