Christmas - Well, maybe a little much

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son,and they will call him Immanuel,* which means `God is with us.'" Matthew 1:23

And so we entered another Christmas. This year, our house had so many changes. I remember sitting on my couch last year reading a book about one families adoption story. For 4 hours I sat and read and cried. This is when God first called me to adoption. It was a long road over the next couple of weeks. I so wanted to bring home a baby girl. Finally George felt the calling too and so we started 2006. Our year has been crazy. We went from 3 teenage boys to 3 teenage boys and 3 little children. God has been so amazing in His blessings and His provisions in our life. This Christmas I had a whole new outlook on what it means to celebrated Christ's birth. It is so hard to get caught up in the "holiday" season of shopping, food and family. I forgot what it truly meant. I took Jesus out of the equation of Christmas and put so much emphasis on it being "the new children's first Christmas". So, as we try to contain the sheer overload of emotions from 2 little Ethiopian boys, I am trying to regain my faith and living for Christ.

The last couple of days has been hard. For three days I have tried to get to Urgent Care to get meds for this cold that won't go away. Instead last night we ended up at the pediatrician's office for Sophia. Her eye looked like she had been in a boxing ring and lost. She has cellulitis of the eye (aka a deep tissue infection). They gave her a shot in her leg of antibiotics. By this morning, she wasn't any better so they gave her another shot. Tonight we gave her more antibiotics, but it still looks the same. We go in in the morning to check again. If it is not better, we will admit her to the hospital. Poor baby! I think I am more concerned than her.

We heard from Malcom. He is doing ok. Not great, not bad. Basic Training is hard and he is counting the number of days until he is done. It sounds like he is the top of his class. I am so proud of him. I miss him terribly. My heart still aches to hear those footsteps stumbling down the stairs, or the funny stories he comes up with, or just his listening ear. There is a huge void in my heart. I can't wait to see him in just 2 weeks!

We have another boy moving in with us. This time it is Nick's friend. His parents moved to Vegas but he really wants to be here to finish school. At least this time we know he has parents who love him.

We also have another surprise in the making, but it is not ready for cyber space yet, only a select few friends and family members. Once the time is right I will reveal all.



I leave you with some funny pictures of our Christmas. Have a wonderful New Year!






The yearly tradition and my father-in-laws. My family even went this year. It is chaos, but we love it!











Our insanely packed with presents Christmas Tree.
















Grandpa made his first granddaughter a rocking horse. It is so cute and she loves it!












Look who got robes. Hmmm, doesn't seem right.











Wait, this is the right one!












Sophia opening my best friend and sister and neighbor everything a girl could want in a friend - yeah her present all the way from Mexico.












Caleb's sombrero and maracha's from Mexico!














My brother, Uncle Bob, got them Captain Jack Sparrow costumes. They are so cool looking! They love to play pirate.










Here is Giovanni with his sombrero and a plaque Grandpa made for him with horses.

Here I come, Ready or not

"And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as membres of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful." Colossians 3:14-15

Life is so awesome! We have so much to be thankful for. In the last week I have really been hit hard on forgiveness. A week or so ago, a friend of our had his sentencing for murder. This guy is 19 yrs old. He got caught up into drugs and the worst that could happen did. At the sentencing, the mother of the victim pleaded for a reduced sentencing. She had forgiven this young man for what he did. Why? Because the has Christ in her heart and knows that at the root of life, is forgiveness. I was moved by her comments and love of the Lord. So, I have finally realized than when I don't forgive, in the same breath I hate those that I can't forgive. For months I held on to bitterness for my husband, and I finally released that bitterness by forgiving him.

Forgiveness is Divine. It is our wonderful example of God's love for us. Christ showed us this love and forgiveness when, on the cross right before his death, He asked for forgiveness for us! When we don't forgive others, how can we spread the word of the Lord? Why would anyone want to believe someone about Christ if they can't even forgive, just as Christ forgave us. As our pastor said at service, my forgiveness of others is the barometer of my appreciation of God's forgiveness. So, I ask, who do you have to forgive? An ex-boyfriend/husband, a sibling, a parent, a co-worker, a friend, a teacher, or most importantly - yourself. When we got to God and seek forgiveness our slate is wiped clean. Like a white board, there is no more evidence of our wrongs on God's white board. So, today I am going to forgive all that I can. And each time I am wronged I will search my heart for this forgiveness and as I wrong others, seek their forgiveness.

On to the homefront, Malcom has been gone for almost 2 weeks. I didn't realize how hard it would be! When cooking I still make sure we save some for him! We go to see his graduation in January! Yeah! Warmth of Texas during our coldest month when it normally goes below zero! Oh, and Sea World and Six Flags. Oh the excitement of this small town girl.

Yesterday we went to see Santa. I wasn't going to instil in the boys Santa, but they have picked up on the fantasy from school. So, we are in a dilema. How do you tell them he (and superman and spiderman) are not real? How do you explain why there was no Santa in Ethiopia. This jury is still out on Santa, toothfairy, etc. We'll see. But, I must say, Santa is a friend of Malcom so it was hilarious to see Caleb and Giovanni's faces when he called them by name! Oh, Sophia freaked! We got pictures taken, so I will post them after I scan them.

We also went Christmas tree hunting and found one! It was so fun. Poor Caleb. Being the youngest boy he gets picked on by ALL his older brothers. I have never seen a kid get pelted by so many snowballs. Finally he said "I don't like flying balls. No more. I'm cold." Sophia didn't like the cold and rain much. We are hoping to get the tree up today.

Caleb is so funny. They play hide-and-seek all the time. Well, we taught them, ready or not here I come. But it always comes out, Here I come! Ready or not! They are so hilarious sometimes. Like last night after the hockey game, Caleb wearing the popcorn bucket on his head saying it is a helmet to protect him from snow! A giovanni always laughing at the funniest things! He randomly said "Lighting McQueen" fully! He also likes to say "My mama is belisamo!" Gee, I wonder who taught him that?

Here are some pictures in no particular order!





Our last night to see Malcom. This was taken at his hotel.












Our family Christmas Tree!













Sophia is walking around with her new toy. She does pretty good. Anyday now she will be walking!

Kevin's glorious pose Christmas tree hunting!

Nick's dive of Superman!















Nick and Giovanni racing through the Christmas trees!
















Ok, so I fully admit I love watching boys slide down our stairs in boxes. It is hilarious! Here goes Giovanni!
















Here is Caleb's face plant. No injuries. We need to get a laudry basket for better sliding.

Off into the wide blue yonder....

So, I always write about the little ones as if the older ones are forgotten. On Monday we will lose our oldest son, Malcom. He will check into his hotel and then on Tuesday will be sworn in for the Air Force. We are so proud of him and all his decisions in life. He has been with us for a little over 2 years and it has been great. From the moment he walked in, we knew he was one of us. So, today I will reflect on our two years with Malcom.

1. What used to be hard to get him to do (chores), he has done willingly over the last couple of months.
2. He loves the new little ones and is always ready to wrestle.
3. He is a hard worker - at everything he does.
4. He has a soft and genuine heart.
5. He loves swords and fantasy things.
6. He is a wealth of knowledge - always learning.
7. When he loves something, they are blessed.
8. We are blessed because of him.
9. He is a piece of our puzzle that will be missed.
10. He still doesn't have his driver's license (hmmm...)
11. He likes Superman and importantly - Smallville.
12. He doesn't like to get his picture taken.
12. He gets this quirky smile when he gets nervous or embarassed.
13. He will do great in the Air Force.
14. He is very dedicated to whatever he is doing.
15. Finally, he is our son and we are so sad to see him go.

We love you Malcom! We will miss you!

This is from our going away pizza party last night. We brought in over 2000 prize tickets and got like $10 worth of junk! :)




Kids, no matter what age, love playlands.















Superman! Don't you love the masks?

















Even Grandma and Grandpa got into it!













Surprise! See, there is that smile!













The gang - Most of these kids are always at our house. And yes, the guy in the back is that tall.












What's a party without silly string!

The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!

So, our boy's school has little phone books with all their classmates. We have gotten 3 phone calls since. The first was a little boy. Then 2nd and 3rd were from a girl for Caleb. Ooooohhhh, I think he has a kindergarten girlfriend! Have you ever truly listened to a phone call from a child from Ethiopia who speaks little english and some other 5/6 yr old? It is awesome! Giovanni and the little boy said "what" at the same time which then erupted into laughter for about 5 minutes!

Life is good here. The boys are somewhat excited about Thanksgiving. The were really excited until I explained there are no presents (wrong holiday). It amazes me everyday how great they are doing. Caleb is speaking mostly in full sentences. Giovanni is still struggling with feeling like he is equally loved. He acts like he doesn't know how to count or his letters if he feels he will get more attention. They had their first birthday party for a friend today. It was pretty funny. I think they were kind of wondering if the presents were for them. It was funny. I feel bad because theirs aren't for awhile. :(

Malcom leaves for the Air Force next week. I am so very sad. I think the boys are going to have a really rough time of it. They have totally bonded to him. He has been a lifesave watching them for us. We are hoping to make it to his graduation in January. We'll see. He is cookie monster here.

Lately I have really been thinking a lot about my life. I am so incredibly blessed with my family, my friends, my job, my house and most importantly my God. He has totally filled my life. I know there is so much more He has planned and I can't wait to see what it is. He has given so much to all of us, why shouldn't I give a little back.

Here are some pictures of the kids. I hope life is treating you all well. I can't believe it has already been 4 months since coming home!




They can't wait till Hockey!















The boys gave their teacher a Thanksgiving present. Here is their first wrapping job. They picked out the wrapping paper (christmas). :) Please note Caleb's too small Nemo pjs. :)












Yes, unfortunately it is starting to get cold. This, however, was for her first hockey game of Nick's. Cold rink.
















This is what happens when your daddy piles tons of toys on his daughter. It was hillarious!

Beautiful One

"Beautiful one I love
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing

You’ve opened my eyes to your wonders anew
Captured my heart with this love‘
Cause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you"
-Beautiful One by Chris Tomlin





This song hit me hard one day at church. We were singing it (how many times have I sung this song before?) and God poured His Spirit onto my heart. I thought of more than just the beauty of Christ (OK, nothing is more beautiful, I know), I thought of the beauty of Ethiopia. God totally opened my eyes to ALL of His wonders. Ethiopia is truly beautiful. Before we went, I thought all it was a dirty place full of sickness, death and poverty. There is so much more than any of that. Along the dirty streets walks two men holding hands in friendship wearing beige suits - clean ones. There is the mother who carries her baby obviously in love. The girls talking on the side of the road roasting corn having a good time. These are not forgotten people. They are blessed so much by God. Their lives are so simple. There is no materialism (except maybe the upper class), there is no "one uping" each other, no fighting your way to the top, and especially not worried about what others think. I love Ethiopia. It is always in my heart. I cannot wait to go back. I know God has more planned for this family and I can't wait until we find out more!

God has changed me so much in the last few weeks. For the first time in my life, I get it! I get why I am here, I get why I go without, I get why I suffer, and most importantly, I get why He died for me, for you, for everyone. I don't want to deny Him anymore. When I approach God and Christ in the Throne Room I want him to say "Well done good and faithful servant". Our pastor has gone through the book of Ephesians the last few weeks. It is such an awesome book. He made the comment one day "Do I encourage others of the love of God or do I encourage the Devil to continue his path of destruction?" I know now that I encourage the Devil more times than God's love. I hold a lot of anger and bitterness at people and groups for "things they did to me". Through this study, God's Spirit and prayer I have learned to give these feelings to God to take care of. In Ephesians 4:31-32 Paul says "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." I also have realized that who we are in relationship with here on Earth and how we treat them is the type of relationship I have with God. So basically, when I treat a co-worker I don't like badly, I am telling God I don't like Him either. Sheesh! Kind of puts things into perspective, huh. I have found that rather than forgiving and letting go of things, I hold it in and find the bitterness building up and then the gossip comes out. I am an awful gossip. I hate it! But some days, I just can't stop. I have tried over the last week to not feed into the urge to talk about others. I have done ok. Do any of you suffer from it to? It is like you know what you are saying is wrong, but the words (and thoughts) just freely flow! I am really trying to talk to God about these things. I just know that God hears every word and action we do and think towards others. It is so easy to become consumed with the wrongs that others have done to me, that I really have to give it up!

Finally, I am really working on what God's plan is for me as a parent. I am constantly reminded that we are to adopt just as God calls us all to. We were (and are) adopted into His Kingdom. The perfect example is of Joseph. He is not the biological father of Jesus, but he raised him as his own. My boys have at least 2 mommies and 2 daddies. I will never deny them of their "Wolaita mommy and daddy". I wish with my heart their parents were still alive so that I could meet them. I hope to in Heaven. I think about the parents who give their children up - whether here in America or in another Country. I think for most parents to give up their children is the greatest sacrifice. A friend of mine adopted domestically. She met the birth parents and has pictures of them. They loved their little girl so much, but they knew they had to give her up. The same goes with some of the parents in Ethiopia. They give up their children knowing there is a better life for them. They know their children can grow up, graduate from high school, go to college and become succesful. They know their children will become orphans soon enough if they stay. They dream and pray for them everyday, hoping their children are safe. As Americans, we can not phathom what a parent must be thinking in Ethiopia to have to give up their child. Such was God - He loves us so much as His children, He sacrificed His only child to save His adopted children. How He must have wept the day Christ breathed His last breath. And with the same tears, the joy that He must have felt knowing we can have our relationship back with Him.

Well, those are my thoughts. I have been processing so much lately. Thanks for reading. I hope I make sense and maybe this will help some of you who are struggling.

So, along with all the "deep thoughts by me", here are some pretty funny comments made by my munchkins.

"Are you ok, strong boy?" Caleb to mommy when she said ouch.
"1 more nite-nite till Trick-or-Treat" Giovanni on Halloween night, thinking they would go again the next day.
"Mommy, I am drinking the snow!" Our first snow fall and Caleb's beliefs of snow. None stuck. :(
"MOMMMMYYYYY, clock singing SCARED!" Caleb and Giovanni after the alarm went off on their alarm clock (mysteriously we don't know who set it).

Each day we hear and see something new from these boys. It is so awesome to have them. I couldn't imagine life without them. Sophia is now laughing at anything and everything. She'll laugh for 10 minutes - even at midnight! She is just such a happy baby. She is really starting to say mamamama and dadadadada knowing it is my hubby and I. I think she also tried to say Kevin (her favorite big brother) but it came out "Kay". She adores him! It is such a beautiful thing to walk in the room and see her look at you with pure love. She has become quite the daddy's girl. I know there will be a lot of "Daddddy, pleeeeease" with the batting of the eyes.

Life is going well. We are back into Hockey season (FINALLY!). Hubby is coaching Nick and they have their first game Saturday. I am so glad to start again. Next year we will start the little boys in Hockey.

Well, I leave you with some Halloween Pictures. We had a ball! The kids loved the school carnival and Trick-or-Treating. Thanks for reading!



This is the pumkin outfit my mom bought her. She is so stinking cute!












I think we have a spider in our midst! It took some coxing to get Caleb back into Spiderman. He became consume with Superman, but we already bought his costume.










Here is our other Super hero. We are an everything Superman house. Superman is STRONG so are the boys.











Their first cake walk. All the boys each won - and picked out cupcakes. We had cupcakes coming out of our ears!











Sophia had two costumes, the pumkin and this monkey. We never got pics of her in her full costume. Those will come soon. This is most of the costume minus the hat. She is enjoying her first sucker.














My cousin/Godmother and hubby sent this cool chalkboard paper for the boys wall. Too bad it didn't come the day before since Giovanni wrote on his dresser in permanaent ink!















Finally, our little girl with her common face. I love this look! She does it all the time, but I finally got a picture of her.

So, isn’t it amazing how we can justify anything? My husband started it (didn’t Adam blame Eve from the beginning?), you know. He made the justification of buying “Over the Hedge” with money already spent. He returned something from Wal-Mart and felt he really needed to get it. Little did he know I broke down and purchased Cinnamon Bears from Bulk. So, then tonight I was supposed to meet some ladies from church at Starbucks, so I used the “already spent money” to get a coffee. I know, I know, cheating. But I really thought they were going to show up and it is for a good cause – right? NOT! I guess we will have to tack on penalty days to our 30 days of nothing.

This weekend I went to an adoptive mom’s retreat. It was fantastic. I had more free time in those 2 days than the last 3 months! I met a lot of wonderful women and it was great to have someone there who understands me. The best part, aside from the friendships, the food, the late night talks, reading uninterrupted, etc, was coming home to my family who worked hard to do the dishes, clean the basement and do laundry. It was fabulous!

Life is going along great. We are growing the boys hair out to look “big”, as they call it. Sophia is doing wonderful. We just have such a great family. I love the blessings God has given us. I praise him everyday for all that I have.

Hockey season started with George coaching Nick again this year. We decided to hold off on the boys one year until next year when we can focus on teaching them more. They went to practice with George on Saturday and had fun. Dad unfortunately was tripped accidentally and fell onto the ice with a nice bump. Thankfully he doesn’t appear he had a concussion or a cut. Just a headache. I am so excited for hockey to start! I never realize how much I miss it, until it is almost time to start.

Well, since I have a few minutes of free time I am going to read. I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for reading!




Caleb loves to have Reeses in the room with him. On this night he moved away from his pillow to be with him. You can't see his hand resting on Reeses' neck.

We have a new weight lifter in our house! The boys love Superman and will do anything to be like him. Giovanni loves to lift weights, and drink milk, and eat things he doesn't like just because Superman does.

Day 11 (but who is counting?)

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26

So this week in bible study we studied this passage. We talked a lot about God's righteousness and our. I still am in awe of the grace he gives to us. How can he forgive me when I curse Him, forget Him, deny Him? But the awesome thing is - He does. I caught a little glimpse of the love He has for us. On Monday, Caleb was messing around in the bathroom sink making a mess. He has been told many times not too. So, he got "talked" to. I didn't yell, I was just very firm. He started crying. My heart broke. Eventhough he was in trouble and I wouldn't back down on that, I knew he needed to understand why. How do you explain to a 5 yr old kid who doesn't speak your language? I realized this is how it is with God. We mess up and feel so bad. We wonder how God can love us because we messed up. Just because Caleb didn't obey does not mean I love him any less. I love him more and more each day. God loves me even though everyday I mess up. How many times have I gone to God crying out of shame and sadness for what I have done. After explaining to Caleb what he did, I held him in my arms and told him how much I loved him, that I wasn't going away, and that he wasn't going anywhere. I realized, God holds me in His arms and comforts me ALL THE TIME. Caleb let me hold him, rock him and wipe the tears away. Do we let God do this? I know most of the time I push Him away saying "I am fine, I will be ok. I don't need you." I am so wrong. Isn't it a shame we push God away so many times when all He wants to do is rock us, pat our backs, and smother us in kisses (ewwwww Mommy! No kissing!). I love God and I love my kids.

I have this great friend who just sent me a CD of Mark Shultz. In one of his songs he talks about being a child and waiting. I cried when I first heard it. It is beautiful. Here is part of the song:
Oh child, precious one
Let your life shine like the sun
But you say “How long ‘til I can come home
‘Til I can rest in your arms again”
And I say “Not long but don’t miss this life and I’ll beWaiting ‘til then”
Live with the wonder of a child
Pray with your arms thrown open wide
Love with a love that has no end
Until I see you again
Oh child, precious one
With each breath know you are loved
But you say “How long ‘til I can come home
‘Til I can rest in your arms again”
And I say “Not long but don’t miss this life and I’ll beWaiting ‘til then”

How true. Everyday I pray for the childlike faith. I know I will see Christ again and then I will truly rest. But for now, live with Spirit, Love, and hope of the Lord.

OK, so finally I get to my discussion of "30 days of nothing". We are on day 11. Well, we have done really well with nothing. I admit we did break the rules for two nights. Every year we go to the corn maze. We splurged and went with the whole family. It was by God's grace we were all together (well at least until we entered the maze). It was so fun! For about half the time we pushed the stroller and then I decided to carry Sophia. The boys were hilarious! They didn't know if they should be scared or excited. At one point, Caleb said "Ohhhhh, scary over there. Giovanni you go!" It was so Caleb-style. I think they enjoyed carrying the flashlights more than going in the maze. It was great to have the big boys "scare" them from time to time and hide the corn.

The other thing we did was dinner with 7 other adoptive families that were here for training. It was well worth the "cheating" to meet them all. Other than those two times, we have had no lattees, fountain pops, fast food, restaraunts, ice cream runs, etc. It has been great getting into a schedule of dinners, lunches, and evenings. I miss lattes the most. We have pop at work provided by our boss, so fountain drinks are not that missed. I miss Starbucks on an early Saturday morning or before church. I know the boys miss chicken and french fries, but they are starting to learn we aren't doing that anymore. The sad thing is we still have so much! We act like it is some big sacrifice we are doing, but we really aren't.

We have had a great week. The boys are really starting to pick up everything. They are starting to recognize the sounds of letters and what they are, they almost have their ABC's down, they can partially count till 20, they are slowly getting better at puting lotion on and brushing teeth, and their language is awesome! We communicate so well. They even are starting to tease with us. They eat almost anything and have learned to say "I like ____" I don't like ____". They only really don't like soups, pb&j, and sausage and gravy. They have learned to eat whatever is put in front of them. We haven't had a "throw up" incident with Giovanni for quite awhile.

So, today is the 3month anniversary of returning home with them. Soon I hope to post some then and now items to remind me and everyone else, how far they have come.

With that, I leave you with pictures (did you think I would forget?).

How can you not go "Ohhhh, she is so cute"? This was a gift from my mom.

Dancing babies. They love to dance!

I definitely think the fro is George and blond is Sophia. What do you think?

Day 2/3

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:13-16

So, we are well into Day 3. I am doing pretty good. I admit this morning I craved a latte. I think it is because I can't have it. So far we have had sandwiches, chicken and pasta, rolls, pizza, left overs, and pork and potatoes. Tomorrow - lasagna. We did have to break down and go to the store to get some night-time undies for the boys. Still unprepared.

So, Sophia grows more and more each day. She had her check-up yesterday along with 5 shots. She cried for about 10 minutes and then was happy again. She is happy all the time! She also slept through the night last night. I know she has a cold, so that probably helped. I know I slept good!

The boys continue to thrive and learn more and more words each day. George and I get the priveledge of meeting a lot of families who are also adopting from our agency. It will be exciting to meet them and be able to give them insight.

So, what was wonderful about today? As stated in James, prayer goes so far when we earnestly pray. Today we received a donation from my aunt and uncle. We need this money for our readoption. Then we found out we can do our readoption ourselves, thus saving money. So, this money will pay for all the court fees and we won't have to come up with any other money! Then I received a call from one of the pastors at our church to pray over us and our future ministry in Ethiopia. We go to a large church and typically they pray for each prayer request and send a card. This was the first time we have received a phone call. I just know God has something planned for us. I just can't wait to go to Ethiopia again.

Well, I better get back to work. I have some hours to catch up on. I hope life is treating you all well.




I finally found our camera I lost after our trip to Montana in early August. Here are some pictures at Bozeman's Sweat Pea festival. We stood in line for face painting just to find out they were closing, so I attempted Sponge Bob and an Ethiopian Flag.








Grandma Mabel playing with her great-granddaughter Sophia.













Here is Nick, Caleb, Giovanni, Sophia and Mommy at the North Entrance to the park. Pretty cool to have most of my children there for a picture.












This is at Old Faithful. The boys were pretty shocked to see the water "on".

Day 1

So, I made it through the first day. I never realized how many times I stop at the store to buy things. Last night in a 2 hour period I wanted a Sprite from the gas station (we all know fountain pop is better than canned pop). Of course the first day really wasn't bad. I am really curious to see how Day 15 is once a lot of the food is dwindling.

Giovanni, Nick, and Sophia are sick with chest colds. We have the revolving colds in our house. I wonder who will be next? Malcom, George and I just got over it.

I have been humbled a lot lately thinking about what "the perfect family" should be. I grew up thinking I would have a boy and a girl - only. They would be the perfect children, getting along with no fights. Then I married George with teenage boys. I have actually become immune to boy antics. For example (I LOVE YOU MOM!) this weekend Nick farted in on of the little boys' faces. This is a reality in our house. There are 2 females there - me and Sophia. According to the boys, I don't count and really Sophia doesn't either because she is a baby. Boys rule our house. My mom was appalled that those things occur in our house. I reminded her that they are just boys and that my brother did it to me and she was more appalled. It was quite cute to see her face. It was then that I realized nasty boy stuff really doesn't bother me anymore. They smell just as bad as the dogs and Sophia's diapers, so who cares. Bless my mom for having never knowing the full impact of my brother and I. I stress a lot about having our house clean, quite, perfect. Why? Really, does it matter? No, these kids are having fun. So what if I don't get to putting things away? We are dancing, or singing, or laughing, or playing. My kids rock - all of them.

So with that, a lady I know mentioned once to put down the simple pleasures of life. Here are mine today. What are yours?

Baby smiles
Baby laughs
Baby feet
Caleb's copying
Giovanni's eyes
Fresh caramel apples
hugs from the hubby
little boys dancing to German music
Sophia crawling over and putting her hands on my legs
Brutus slobber (one more day that he is here!)
Reese's kisses
Kevin's smile
Nick's screams
Malcoms stories
Quiet moments with God
The Spirit in me
Caleb singing, singing, singing



Giovanni at Greenbluff in the hay maze.












Our little guy, always smiling.



















The boys all pickin' apples. They are delicious! Washington home grown apples - now that is definitely a simple pleasure!











Even Sophia picked an apple. She definitely likes the taste of them.