Little Man Jake

Jake had a yearly physical yesterday.

Routine.

Or not.

The doctor checked his eyes and then turned to me and said, "You've been told about the iris in his eye?"

Huh?

All those trips to the pediatrician in Michigan and it was never mentioned.

It turns out that Jake has 'iris coloboma.' One eye is fine. The other has an iris that is oval and goes all the way down to the outer edge of the brown part of his eye. His eyes are so dark brown that I never noticed.

Sometimes the condition affects vision, sometimes not, so he needs to go see an eye doctor. Sometimes iris coloboma is associated with a syndrome that affects the kidneys, so Jake is going to have an ultrasound on Friday. In my over-zealous research on the Internet, I learned that sometimes it can mean a missing kidney.

Since Jake was born with six fingers on each hand, it could be part of a syndrome.

We will find out in a week or so when the results are given to us. In the meantime, I will not give in to the icy fingers of fear that are trying to grip my heart for my little Jakie. I am just very thankful for a thorough doctor who noticed his Jake's eye and wants to check everything out.

Fun with Ryan

We have been greatly enjoying Ryan's visit. He has been catching up with friends and snapping his brothers with towels (making them wonder why they missed him?).

We cajoled him into joining us at the beach on Saturday--not Ryan's favorite activity, but a good way for him to hang out with the kids. The water was FREEZING. I mean, ICE cold. I couldn't stand to have my feet in it for more than 2 seconds. Needless to say, we stayed on the sand.

Katie gets her swim suit on to go to the beach. Um...Kate...did Jake help you put that on?

Little boys, sand, and buckets...

Kate worked very hard carrying buckets of water to the sand castle

The teenager braved the frigid waters out of sheer bordom

When did he get so grown up?

Deciding to be those annoying people who feed seagulls

Ryan finds a volunteer who is willing to get buried in the sand

"Oh Ryan...I miss you when you're gone!"

Little mermaid, with a towel on her head to keep the sun out of her eyes

"I can get out of dis...no pwoblem!'

All washed off and wrapped up in a towel

Our Father's Day was pretty low-key. Molly had a soccer game and she was so excited that Ryan was going to get to see her play. Sadly, it was very hot and humid and the players were dragging. So he didn't get to see Molly at her best--but he did get to see her play.

Gathered around big brother before the game started. Everything he does is so fascinating.

Going to lunch after the game. The little girls all want to hold hands 'wif Wyan.'

He's not too fond of my camera, so I haven't taken any more photos since Sunday. The days are going by too quickly and soon we will be heading back to the airport. Trying not to think about that yet, though.

All The Chicks are in the Nest

In just a little while, our Ryan will be here (but the little kids didn't know. We kept it a surprise for them.)

How much longer until the big surprise?

"Why are we here? I have no clue but I'm having fun!"

Obviously, the little kids can't read our signs

Waiting...

The doors just opened again...does anyone see him?

I love my Daddy

Waiting for her Ryan

Details...

Still waiting...

Wishing the doors would open again

Bedlam ensues after Jeff receives a text that Ryan's plane is on the ground

Our first glimpse

Bending down to hug Katie-bug

Group photo with lots of happy faces

Special buddies

Not sure who is happiest...parents or son

Heading home...

Holding hands with her hero

These boots were waiting by the door when I came downstairs this morning

And this coat was draped over the chair.

Sorry for the blurry photos. There wasn't a lot of light in the airport and I thought I had the settings correct, because the photos looked fine in the camera. Urgh....

Although it is hard to have Ryan in the Army and away from home, the bear hug he gave me at the airport is something I will not ever forget. He held me tight and didn't let go for a long time. Ahhhhh....it was the best!

The first thing he wanted to do was DRIVE. During basic tr*ining, he wasn't allowed to drive, so it's been six months since he was behind the wheel.

Yesterday was Molly's birthday and she has told me more than once that it was 'the best birthday ever!" Ryan took her to Bu*ld-A-Bear today to pick out a birthday present. She had so much fun spending the afternoon with him.

Our Boy is Coming Home!

In a little more than 24 hours, Ryan will be coming home for a week of leave! We are so excited to see him, love on him, and spoil him for a few days! It's Molly's birthday tomorrow and she is getting a wonderful present of her big brother's arrival.

Unfortunately, his leave was shortened from 10 days to 7. ugh. And Jeff has a mandatory, out-of-town trip next week and will miss two days with Ryan. But we will make the best of it.

We are planning to dress in red, white, and blue, get some balloons, make signs and generally make a nuisance of ourselves to pick him up at the airport. It was his request, so we can be as patriotic as we want!

The house isn't totally put together, but it's decent. I have had the week-of-stress-not-to-be-believed. God had to remind me yesterday--after I cried from frustration--that I needed to lower my expectations about getting everything done while trying to keep up with the regular chores and keep an eye on the kids who are eagerly exploring their new environment.

Outside.

In the yard that has a serious lack of grass. IE: dirt.

They also decided to turn their riding toys into makeshift luge's and ride down the sloping sidewalk at breakneck speed. How many times can they wipe out and faceplant before realizing that this is a very bad idea? Apparently, to infinity and beyond because I am still having to go out there and reprimand them for going too high up the hill. Despite losing their luge-mobiles yesterday for an entire afternoon as punishment, they went past the boundary line again today. No pictures of it because...uh...it's hard to take photos when you are yelling and angry, ya know? Not that I was...I'm just sayin.'

Oh yeah, right, who am I kidding?

The landscaping guy keeps coming over and teasing us by moving dirt around, raking it, etc. which raises our hopes of some hydro-seed being forthcoming. Alas...nothing yet. It has rained almost daily for the past 10 days, which would have been great for newly planted grass. Why do I just KNOW that our grass will be planted when it decides to be 90 and humid for about a month? I so love slogging around in the mud carrying muddy hoses. Oh...and we are not allowed to use our outdoor faucets between 9AM and 4PM---EVER. And we can only use them every other day during the other hours. Argh. This means that I will be out in the early morning hours moving the sprinkler around to get the grass growing. There are some things I don't like about Mass. and the absurd water rationing is one of them. That means that during the nice hot days of summer, our kids will not be allowed to experience the joys of running through the sprinkler, because we won't be allowed to turn it on. This actually ticks me off. Maybe I should write a letter to someone.... ha. How dare they rob my kids of this childhood joy?

Thankfully, we didn't know of this dastardly rule when we got our new, uber fun sprinkler out a few days ago.

"Da water is fweezing cold."

SaraGrace figures out she can spray her brothers with the squiggly thingy's

"I guess I'm not taking my car to da car wash, afterall."

"I take da car to da carwash. I not 'fraid."

Count the Cost?

Recently, a friend of mine posted an amazing animated video that her son produced. It's short and very touching. SaraGrace watched it and sobbed in my arms for a long time...bless her tender heart.

Hope is Fading from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago, a well-known pastor made some comments about adoption--and how a family should 'count the cost' before considering bringing an orphan into their homes. I understood the point he was trying to make but I completely disagree with his stance that 'counting the cost' before obeying God is a Scriptural principle. The term 'counting the cost' is in Luke 14 but the context is deciding if one is going to follow Jesus or not. Counting the cost of following Christ...of whether or not you want to live the Christian life is Scriptural. I cannot find any example of using it to decide if you want to obey.

• Did Noah count the cost of building an ark? If he had, I doubt it would have been built.
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• Moses did not count the cost of feeding and clothing all the Israelites in their 40 year trek through the wilderness. If he had, they would still be in Egypt.

In our experience, God has provided for us AFTER we obeyed...not before. How could we accurately count the cost of raising another child if God had not yet provided the amount? If we 'counted the cost' of our parenting abilities at the time of the decision, we surely would not have proceeded. If we counted the cost regarding our finances, we would have decided we were maxed out.

No, counting the cost is not about obedience. If God tells you to do something, step out in faith. He already knows the ACCURATE cost and He knows that His wells of supply are limitless. Each time we have stepped out in faith, He has increased our abilities to do what we needed to do--be it energy, endurance, patience, finances, etc.

So if He is calling you to do something, STEP OUT in faith! Don't hide behind excuses and Christian cliches.

"I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Update on Ryan

Ryan is scheduled to graduate June 17th from his current training phase. Jeff and I had planned to try to fly down for the big event but Ryan had a different idea.

He gets 10 days leave and will be coming home the day he graduates. He wants a big airport welcome!

He didn't want us to come to graduation because the milit*ry is flying him home and he was afraid he would arrive in Boston before we did.

So...we are not watching his graduation. We are planning a red, white and blue celebration at the airport next Thursday night! We can't wait to see him! The little kids ask about him all the time and miss him so much.

I don't know any details about the actual date he leaves for Korea, but we know that he will only be home for 10 days. He will find out where he needs to report when they think he needs to know. ha.

My goal is to have the new house looking unpacked and relaxing by the time he gets here. That will be challenging, but hopefully do-able. The kids are still in school all next week, so I continue to drive them 20 min. across town morning and afternoon. Thankfully, SaraGrace's kindergarten class is done tomorrow. This past week, I have just stayed on that side of town, gone over to the other house and continued packing and cleaning everything until her bus drops her off around noon.

Then home to unpack...then back to school at 3...then to the doctor...then home.

Yes...the doctor. Like we really needed that?! One was just a routine check-up but today, Kate had to be seen for yet ANOTHER case of cellulitis. UGH. This time we caught it really early, but the doctor wants to wait for the culture to be completed before she gives any meds. There is no way I am going to wait beyond tomorrow afternoon for results. I really don't want Kate to land back in the hospital. Anyone have any tips on keeping a kid from scratching her mosquito bites or healing scabs?

Moving, Schmoving

I am so over this whole moving thing. Oh, except the moving isn't over because a bunch of our junk lovely possessions are still in the basement and garage of the 'old' house.

The little kids and the dog are totally confused. A bazillion times per day I hear, "Mom, are we donna lib hewe? Are we going to da new house or da old house?" At first, I patiently explained. After the millionth time, I became annoyed. At this point, I'm trying very hard not to be sarcastic. The dog...well, we won't even go there. Needless to say, she is banished to her crate whenever we are gone.

Jeff had to go out of town on Tue. and will be back Thur. night, hence my mindset,

"When I got up this morning, I had one nerve left. And now you're getting on it."

When I have too much to do, I tend to get cranky with toddlers who keep getting underfoot.

Just when I was at my crabbiest and was putting the kids to bed tonight, God changed my perspective as I listened to SaraGrace say her prayers.

"Dear God, thank you for giving me such a great family. I love how you did dat. And thank you for how good You are to me. I like how you do dat. And thank you for my great family and friends. I like how you did dat for me...." She kept thanking God for her great family and I felt like such a heel that I had been so short with everyone all day.

Even when I am a crab, my sweet girl finds it in her heart to tell me, "You're da best mom, ever."

My sweet little punkin was diagnosed with ADHD this week--not a very big surprise. She now has an IEP at school and will hopefully get lots of extra help.

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Last week, Ryan was almost positive he was going to be discharged from the Army. He consistently failed the running part of PT, which is required to stay and graduate. We began making plans for what he would do when he came home. Adding a bedroom in the basement, car, college, etc. Our brains and emotions were spinning. He took what he thought was his last running test and failed it.

The next day, he sent me a text..."I passed PT!!!!! I'm goin' to Korea!" I couldn't believe it! He had run again that morning and he suddenly ran a minute faster than he had been running previously. We had been praying that if God wanted Ryan to stay in the military, He would enable Ryan to pass the run. If He wanted Ryan home, He would not help Ryan pass it.

I would call that answer miraculous--even though I'm not totally sure that I like the answer.

Readjusting emotions again....

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All spring, we have been watching for our swan friends to show off their babies. The mama swan was gone for so long, we began to fear that she had died or something. But no....this week, they debuted their six adorable babies! We went over there today for a little bit to see if they would allow the babies to get close to us. Surprisingly, they did! We were hissed at quite a bit and the Mama positioned herself between us and the babies, but we got a great view of them. The big girls were dying to hold one.

This little cutie climbed onto his Mama's back and rode for awhile.

Cleaning up after a long swim

Going into the cone of silence

This weekend is the official move, so we are going to be disconnecting the internet tonight. Hopefully we will only be without it for a day.

I have been packing, packing, packing--and then driving the stuff over to the new house and unloading it and putting it away. It's tiring but it's good to have it partially done already.

Try not to envy me, ya'll. hee...

This morning, the little kids stripped the top sheet and comforter off my bed while I was talking to my mother-in-law on the phone. When I eventually hung up, I asked them what in the world they were doing.

Jake: We jumping in da fwimming pool!

Me: The swimming pool?

Jake: Yep...da blanket is da water. We jump of da bed into da water.

Well, ya gotta love their ingenuity.

"Diving" into da pool

Wheee...the water is warm!

Oh...and before I forget...

Jillian had a birthday party last Saturday. She and her friends were sitting out in the screened-in porch when all of a sudden, Jake went running over to the door. He flung it open, grinned at them and said, "Hello, Ladies!"

Oh my goodness, it was SO funny!

The Place God Calls You