Brotherly love

Jeff was out of town last night so I was alone on kid duty. As I was putting the kids pajama's on and trying to get everyone all settled down, big brother, Ryan, came in to say good-night. Being a teen, he has little appreciation of the need for children to have quiet right before bed. He came in waving Chloe's blankie, rolled it up and began whapping the child nearest him. Screams came from all directions as they scattered in horror. Chloe tried desperately to get her blankie back, to no avail. Molly and SaraGrace distracted him while Jillian escaped to gather more ammunition. Soon they had all retrieved their blankies and returned--trying unsuccessfully to thwap Ryan with them. He grabbed each one as it came and they were left standing there--foiled. He then sat on the pile of blankets, and said he was going to pass gas on them--which brought him the rewarding shrieks he had been hoping for. Not to be outdone, the girls left the room, coming back with an assortment of pillows, sleeping bags, blankets, etc., and began pelting him. He was eventually overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fabric. He slid to the floor and they jumped on him, yelling in triumphant victory. He played along for quite awhile, growling and grabbing their feet, they all the while giggling and laughing hysterically.

It reminded me of when I was a child. I have an eccentric Uncle Dave who used to visit. He would arrive in his VW Bug, which he had painted to resemble an egg (over easy). I once had to endure a ride to school with him. It brought humiliation not to be believed, to arrive at school in an car decorated like an egg.

Each time Uncle Dave came, we would run to greet him begging, 'Please play Ugly Ogre with us!! Please..Please." He would comply and my brother and I would dash off to psuedo hiding places so that he could find us quickly. When found, we would be carried to our dark basement, where Uncle Dave would put us on our backs on top of the washing machine. He would grab one of my dad's high top basketball shoes and cover our nose and mouth with them. He kept them there until we were forced to breathe in the reeking stench. We BEGGED him to play this with us!!

The little kids had so much fun being tortured by Ryan tonight. It just cracked me up to watch them--and to watch how each kid interacted. They all had a blast. I noticed in all the pictures that Jordan was off to the side, having more fun watching the show than participating in it.

Results are IN!!

I bet you didn't even know that we were having Zoey Faith tested.... But yes.... There was a highly sophisticated test performed to determine whether Zoey looks more like Mommy or Daddy. To get the results, please go to www.zoeyfaith.blogspot.com . Scroll to the bottom of the page and find out! Guess first and then go see if you're correct!!

The Chipmunks

The Chipmunks...ah yes, they make us reminisce fondly of our childhoods. For about five minutes.

I like them briefly around Christmas time. Our family has a tradition of getting egg nog (in sippy cups) and driving around looking at lights while listening to the Chipmunks sing their cute little hearts out. But after awhile, they really start to get on my nerves.

Not long ago, Jeff took some of the kids to see the Chipmunk movie. They came home laughing and repeating the lines. A few days ago, it came out on DVD and my sweet husband brought it home for the kids as a special treat. It WAS a treat--the movie is very funny.

Here is where the diabolical plot against unsuspecting parents begins. WalMart carried two options. One, the movie only for $19.98. OR... Two, the movie AND a CD of 'some' of the movie songs for $19.98. Now, certainly, any bright parent will choose the obvious better option--#2. What a great bonus to have a CD for the children to listen to...and it's FREE! I mean, really, who could resist such a great deal?

You've heard the overused phrase that nothing is ever free, and that proved true in this case. It's not free due to the need to return to WalMart to spend $49 for Tylenol or Bufferin to cure the headache you will get from hearing adults-singing-in-warp-speed-so-they-will-sound-like-chipmunks. Just this morning, my kids put the CD on. Of course, none of the favorite songs from the movie are on this particular CD--in fact no one can remember EVER hearing any of these particular songs. I guess they didn't stay to watch the credits. Anyway...while the CD is playing and beginning to become very annoying, I suddenly realize that NO ONE is listening to it except me. The kids have long tired of it and vacated the area, but I--poor sap that I am--am still in the vicinity, being tortured by Chipmunks singing rap. (I really think they should stick to Christmas music, since we Americans seem to have an extraordinary ability to tolerate it for long periods of time, regardless of who is singing it.)

So my great parenting pearl of wisdom for today is....skip the CD. The movie ALL BY ITSELF is a better deal. Resist the urge to get the FREE CD of music that no one ever heard of (I'm thinking it didn't make the cut--for very obvious reasons.) Heed my advice....You'll thank me for it.

Giddy-up Cowgirls and Boys

Ryan's girlfriend, Shelby, is an avid horse-woman. She and Ryan often go to a nearby horse stable and take care of three horses, owned by a friend. They have been wanting us to bring the kids out to take a ride, so we promised that the first warm day, we would. And have I mentioned how much I love Shelby? She is such a sweetie. Ryan couldn't have chosen a better girl!

Sunday afternoon, we headed to the stable. What fun! Jeff wanted to stay at home with the little boys who needed a nap, but I was having a Chevy Chase "this-is-going-to-be-a-fun-fun-family-outing" moment, and begged him to join us. Jordan had his heart set on seeing the 'horsies' anyway. A nap for him was going to be out of the question.

We gave the kids a lecture on how they needed to be quiet around the horses, so as not to spook them and make them skittish. You know...I could have saved my breath. It is nearly impossible for certain unnamed ones to be quiet. Under threat of danger or death, I doubt they could manage it.

I was happily looking forward to riding again--it had been more than 20 years since I'd been on a horse. Jeff, on the other hand, was not so sure this event was going to be anything but stressful. This kids did have a good time--but baby Jake was over-tired and LOUD about his unhappiness at being strapped into the stroller. With all the kids clamoring for 'another ride' it did get a bit chaotic, but most of us had fun. hehe

Thankfully, SaraGrace has out-grown the phrase she used last year, 'Giddy-up Cowpie."


WAITING TO SADDLE UP

I LOVE THIS KID!

MOLLY GETS BRAVE AND FEEDS THE HORSE


A BEAMING JORDAN GETS A "HORSEY" RIDE


DOES JEFF LOOK STRESSED AS HE TELLS A CHILD TO "STAY BEHIND THE FENCE?"


SARAGRACE THOUGHT THIS COWBOY HAT LOOKED FETCHING. IT WAS SIDEWAYS FOR MOST OF HER RIDE.

Our Friday adventure

I guess, to be fair, I should start with the statement that we are very happy that our fingerprint appointment for Zoey's adoption came so quickly from Immigration. That truly is a huge blessing, and one we were not expecting.

We have had our house on the market for almost a year and in our slow Michigan real estate market, we have not had a showing request for almost 5 months. Thursday afternoon, we got a call...could they show the house Friday morning? Panic! We had let the deep cleaning slide and our house was definitely not 'show ready.' Thankfully, Jeff was not out of town, and helped me get it cleaned up. We worked until almost midnight touching up paint, cleaning, etc., since cleaning when the kids are awake is usually an exercise in futility. Exhausted, we sank into our bed.

Our fingerprint appointment was scheduled for 9:00AM on Friday. The fingerprint office is an hour from our house, which meant that we were going to have to get the kids up early. Being a non-functioning person in the morning, this was not good. ha. Murphy's Law instantly went into effect. Our kids will wake up at the crack of dawn on any day that we want to sleep in, but if we need to get up early for something, they act as if they are under anesthesia, limp and unmoving when prodded.

Because of the house showing, we also had the leave the house immaculate. This presented a breakfast problem. No way were we going to let them eat in the house! Jeff dashed out to the grocery store for some granola bars they could eat in the car, and we called it breakfast.

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we finally wrestled their sleepy bodies into their carseats and off we went. We were just going to make it. Well, that is until we hit several traffic snarls and got off at the wrong exit. But...we made it, only 10 minutes late. Thankfully, the folks at the fingerprinting office were kind and gracious (yes, this seems like an oxymoron--but they have some new staff and they were VERY nice).

I must be getting old because I was completely spent for the rest of the day after that. ha. I just wanted to sit in a chair and not move. It WAS nice to have a clean house for a few hours. (Notice that I say only a few hours....)

Our paperwork is all done for Zoey's adoption, except our immigration approval. Ryan's girlfriend took this family picture for our dossier. Finally...a family picture...not exactly professional, but better than nothing.

Is it Spring yet?

Why is it that kids want to wear their swimming suits around the house in the dead of winter and dress up in their winter coats, mittens and boots in the summer? SaraGrace has been running around the house in her swimming suit for days!

Jake will not stop taking his diaper off during his nap or at night, so we have come up with a plan. Duct tape to the rescue! Really....what would the world do without duct tape? At night, we duct tape the top of his sleeper so that he can't unzip it. At naptime, I duct tape the front of his diaper. Ta-da! No more disgusting messes in his bed....

Who says duct tape can't be worn as a fashion accessory?

We are all longing for spring to break up the monotony of cold winter weather. The kids were back to tobogganing down the steps on the crib mattress again yesterday. This time they were charging admission. Not sure if they got any takers! Probably not, since the little guys have no money. haha

I started a new blog for Zoey with the few pictures that we have. I will not be posting there--just putting pictures into a slideshow as we get them. You have already seen what is there, but if you want to look again, here is the address: www.zoeyfaith.blogspot.com .

Re-Adoption Day!

Today we went to Court to have the six youngest kids' adoptions recognized in the United States, enabling them to get a US birth certificate. Little Jake came home on a different type of visa, so he still needs more paperwork filed with Immigration before he can become a citizen, rather than a resident alien. The other kids are citizens with no US birth certificates! It's not required to get them birth certificates, but it can save them a lot of headaches later.

We made the mistake of not explaining courtroom protocol before we took the kids to the hearing. What were we thinking?? They had NO CLUE that it was supposed to be very serious and they were embarrassed at being directly addressed by the judge. This combination made for a lot of giggling, acting goofy and twirling around in the swivel chairs. They acted like they had ants in their pants--still probably on a sugar high from all the candy Grandma gave them yesterday. ha. The fact that our hearing coincided with nap time didn't help either.

Thankfully, the judge was very gracious and was obviously enjoying the moment. She asked the kids if they knew what we were doing today...that it was very special. She told them that their names had been written down in China, but now they were going to be written down in a book in the United States. I immediately thought of how God writes our names in His Book of Life when we are adopted into His family.

The judge went one by one with each child, reading the legal words that made everything final, and after each child, we all clapped and cheered. SaraGrace started clapping for herself at the beginning of her turn with the judge. haha (I know...you're all shocked!)

At the end, the judge had a bag of goodies prepared and presented it to each child. It was quite touching. We were utterly shocked to be told that the local bank had given each of them a certificate for $100 to start a bank account! Wow... The bag also contained soft, spongy gavels. Within 2.5 seconds, the kids were konking each other on the head with them. So predictable.

The bailiff handed us a video at the end--they had taped the entire thing for us! It was a truly amazing afternoon--they were definitely happy about doing adoptions. The judge also told Ryan and Taylor that she was one of eight children and that they would come to love having so many siblings someday. It seems like we have had so many doctors, dentists, and others in our lives who are part of large families. It's very encouraging to hear them say how much they love it!

Daddy and Jordan waiting in the hall for our turn in the courtroom

Jake has a rare moment of stillness....

Sweet Zoey Faith

A traveling family was able to visit Zoey Faith's orphanage and take some pictures for us!




Zoey is being shown photos of her new family--in a photo album we sent for her.

We are anxious to go to China to bring her HOME!

Easter Pictures

EASTER AT GRANDMA AND GRANDPA'S HOUSE...Taylor and Aunt Kris get ready to watch the egg hunt

Ryan tapes the event

Ready...Set...GO!!!


Grandma and Jillian play with baby Hudson

Easter?

We woke up to THIS! ACK! A foot of snow! My girls are looking forward to wearing their fancy Easter dresses and sandals to church tomorrow. Hmmmm....I think they might have to wear boots instead.

Christ's death and resurrection are what this holiday is all about anyway. Sometimes when I do not understand the circumstances in my life, I remember how hopeless these days must have seemed to Jesus' disciples and friends. They surely were grieving and unable to make any sense out of His horrific death. They didn't know that this was THE PLAN...the only way of salvation for all of humanity. In a few days time, the PLAN was revealed and THEN...what JOY they must have felt when they began to realize that His plan was so much bigger than they could ever have imagined! He didn't come just to save a few--but to save all who would respond, for the rest of time.
Thank you, Jesus, for your amazing gift of salvation and for adopting us as daughters and sons of the King of Kings.

Time for tea

Yesterday, my Mom took my girls and I, along with my sister-in-law, Meredith and her daughter, Maddie, to tea. It was amazing! The girls' plates came and we oohhed and aahhed over how pretty the food looked. Molly has dubbed it 'the bestest tea party EVER.' They are all begging to go again!

Meat Pulverizer

Every family has at least one child who can't swallow meat. Some of us have more than one. Despite the fact that Baby Jake only has seven teeth and not a single molar, he can consume a plate of meat in minutes. Jordan on the other hand, chews laboriously with a full set of chompers. Tonight at dinner, I looked over to see that he had deposited several pulverized globs on his plate. Gross. No amount of explaining that he needed to take tiny bites proved helpful, so he posed for a squirrel-cheeked picture and scampered off to play. I DID let him spit the meat out before he ran off!


In other news, Jillian and Molly recently needed to get glasses. Our girls are getting so big! wah....


And last but not least, Ryan thinks it would be a good idea to wear this to prom:

We have enjoyed two spring days in a row--especially today. The kids were able to get out and get some sun on their faces. Hooray!


Now if I can only get Jake and Jordan to stop taking their diapers off during their naps, all will be right with the world. ha! Today, when I went in their room, they were both in Jake's bed. Jake was naked and Jordan had stripped down to his diaper (at least he kept his on this time!). Jake had thrown his dirty diaper over the rail and wiped the rest of what was sticking to his bottom, on his sheets. Gross. He looked up when I entered the room, and flashed me a big grin. Augh...the kid is irresistible! I can't get mad at him! I lifted him up and took him across the room to clean him off and put a new diaper on him. He looked up at me, gave me another mischievous smile, eyes twinkling, and said, 'Ba, ba, bone." (Translation, "Bad to the bone.") Of course, I cracked up even more, while big brother, Jordan, let out his breath in a sigh of relief that Mommy wasn't mad.

In Zoey Faith news, our agency received our approval from China in writing yesterday! Until then, our approval was only verbal. Relief....ahhh.... We sent our paperwork yesterday to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). We will be waiting for months for approval from them before our paperwork can go to China.

Girlfriend weekend and Steven Curtis Chapman roadie

YEP--We really did get to sit this close to the stage!


Several weeks ago, Steven Curtis Chapman's organization, "Shaohannah's Hope" emailed me about being a volunteer at one of his concerts. They needed adoptive parents to help at the information booths as SCC seeks to share the burden of God's heart for orphaned children. The concert was in a town where we used to live, but hours away from where we are now. I mentioned it to Jeff and he, being a very sweet guy, said, 'Why don't you go? You could spend the weekend with your friends and help out at the concert." WOOHOO!! :)

So, I was able to get away for a few days--all by myself! I saw old friends, went shopping with my girlfriends and had a blast! The 'Girlfriends" attended the concert with me--and we all ended up being able to be volunteers--and get free, matching t-shirts. Sadly, despite taking pictures of other friends, the Girlfriends forgot to get a picture taken with just us. DUH! I do have a few photos to share, though. I also had the fun of spending the evening volunteering with some of the couples who now run the Father's Heart Orphan ministry that Jeff and I were just starting when we had to move away. The families that are running it now are doing a great job and have taken it to levels that we couldn't have. I love how God uses different people to accomplish His purposes! The concert was great--our seats were great (like 30 feet from SCC), and the whole weekend was just a big hug from God. (I should give my friend, Brenda, credit for the great seats because the volunteers are just told they can sit wherever there is an empty spot. She spotted the seats way up in the front and dragged me up there!)

Friends who share the FATHER'S HEART for orphans in distress

"

I missed my kiddos quite terribly and they missed me. Jeff had them all lined up to welcome me home. It was soooo cute. They each had a sign with one word that they had colored themselves....

"WELCOME HOME, MOM, WE LOVE YOU!"

Yep, my husband is a great guy, and I am very blessed! He is even remarkably sane after spending three days alone with the kids! I'm told that they only crisis of the weekend was when Jordan wet through his diaper at church and soaked himself and Jeff.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jordan!

Sweet Jordan turned three today. We celebrated a few days early at Grandma and Grandpa's because they and Jeff were going to be out of town today.

I brought his cake mix and frosting home from the grocery story on Saturday (go ahead and snicker that I don't make it all from scratch). When I told him it was his, he wanted to carry it around. It soon went into his already overflowing backpack, where it stayed until Monday when I had to bake it.

When he awoke from his nap, he came down and looked at his cake. His eyes grew round as saucers and he said, 'Mine? My birfday?" When asked what he wanted for presents, he always said, "Cars, cars!"

He got lots of cars--and Hot Wheel tracks--and we are all having fun playing with them. Ryan and Taylor had to put them together, but it's amazing how much fun some cheap plastic tracks and little cars can be!


This morning, he decided to commemorate the day by presenting himself in his birthday suit while still in his crib. Jillian and Molly had gone up to get the boys and came running back shouting, 'Jacob and Jordan are standing in their beds buck naked!" I was on the phone with our social worker about some of our adoption paperwork, so I waved them off. They apparently thought this was a pressing emergency, so they said it louder...and louder. No matter how many times I tell them that when I'm on the phone and wave them off, it means, "GO AWAY," they still don't get it! I soon excused myself from the phone call and went to check on the situation. Sure enough, they were standing in their cribs, naked as jay birds, grinning from ear to ear at their stunning accomplishment. Thankfully, they hadn't relieved themselves anywhere, but they had thrown their diapers over the side of their cribs in an apparent Boston Tea Party show of protest.

Relaxing on a Sunday Afternoon...

"AAHHHHHH....I have the Sunday paper all to myself..."


"Hey, Jordan, do you see any great bargains?"


"How about this one right here?"