New Year's Resolutions?

So here we are approaching the new year. Do you set Resolutions? I generally do not, but any new beginning is a good time to make some changes for the better.

Last year I had some goals (see here).

One of them was accomplished - Josephine and Elijah are home! Most definitely not in the manner we anticipated, but we're so glad God worked all things for good, and they are home!

The others all still apply, and I'm going to leave it at that.

Happy New Year! Here's hoping 2011 is a wonderful year!

Another Adoption?

Since Elijah & Josephine came home, many people have commented on how nice it is that our children came home after such a long wait, and that now our family is complete. My thought is, “complete for now,” but we feel like God has more in store for our family.

We know the Lord is not finished with our family yet, but at the same time, we don’t know what He has in store for us yet. For both of us, we feel led towards another international adoption.

Haiti still has a place in our hearts, but we struggle with the 2+ year timeframe to adopt from Haiti. Is this something we could handle again? I'm not sure. I do still follow the happenings with the orphanage our children called home for 2 1/2 years of their life (FHG/Maison), as well as another orphanage that does adoptions and some other. I am praying that maybe the process there could somehow become more efficient and more consistent for the sake of all the children and their forever families. At the very least, we would love to go back on missions trips when the time is right – even taking our children back on missions in the future is definitely a goal of ours.

I have become increasingly interested in another country’s programs, but I haven’t discerned yet whether it’s just my selfishness, God’s plan, or maybe a combination of both. We know of other families who are either currently in process or recently having brought a child home from there. We also know that this country’s program, while relatively new, seems to have a relatively short processing time, which is quite attractive as well. I don’t believe in coincidences, so perhaps God has placed these families in our lives for that very reason – to plant a seed, give us the interest, and maybe our future children are there. We don’t know yet. There are a couple other countries that have adoption programs or orphanages being started, that have recently came across our radar as well, but no direction or further thoughts on those yet either.

We also have felt that the Lord has a baby in store for us at some point, but that somewhat conflicts with the international part, because that is fairly uncommon given the length of time an international adoption takes to process. I've recently become a fan of the TV show "16 and Pregnant" and have wondered if maybe my interest in the show (other than evening laziness/boredom) might have something to do with our family's future. But really, could we handle an open adoption, waiting to be "chosen", and the heart-wrenching possibilities of a biological parent(s) changing their mind? We definitely are not feeling led to foster-adopt again, but private domestic? Who knows...

To say the least, we have a lot of praying and discerning to do. I must say that I have not felt very close to God in prayer in the last 11 months like I feel I should have. You know that old adage about only going to God in prayer when you’re in need, and when things are going well you tend to forget to keep that relationship in tact? That’s kind of how I’ve felt for the last 11 months since Elijah & Josephine have come home. During their adoption process, I grew a lot in my faith, spent a lot of time in the word, and spent a lot of time in prayer. It seemed my time in prayer and in the Word were used a lot to keep Satan from filling my mind with fears that tended to creep in and try to destroy me in the waiting. Since the kids came home, things are going well. Sure, we have our challenges in our home, but nothing like the previous 2 1/2 years of waiting.

Also, it still feels a little strange to me to be thinking of adopting again so soon, so I’m not sure if it’s just me or if maybe now’s not quite the right time yet to be starting again. So, until we know it’s the right time and place and children, we’re waiting. We’re trying to focus our energy on the children we do have (how couldn’t we, really!), and spend more time focusing on God’s will for our lives. A recurring theme for our family:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Christmas Photos

We have a couple more Christmas parties to go yet, but here are some photos from Christmas Eve with Jock's mom's side, and our family of 5 at home Christmas Day.

Jock's brother's ingenious wrapping - and yes, they contained what the wrapping suggests:

Emptying the Stockings:

She's read all the books, and has been wanting to see the movie:

The best expression caught on camera all weekend:

Firetruck!!!

Game Rugs for their rooms:

The line for battery installations that needed Daddy's screwdriver:

Getting the baby's spaghetti lunch ready:

The aftermath:

Merry Christmas!!!

We wish you all a very merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! We pray that you are filled with the hope of the gift of Christ this Christmas, and that your celebrations with your friends and family are filled with joy!

Our family photos taken by my awesome sister:

Visiting Santa!

Our visit to Santa was so fun. We went to Bass Pro Shops.

They really have a great set-up there. They give you a card with a time on it, and when they say your time, you can go get in line. Then while you're waiting for your time, you can shop, the kids can play various games, and they can color a picture and do a craft - which while we were there was coloring a wooden ornament. Jock went to stand in line, although we missed our time announcement. It actually worked for the best, because he was standing in line for a very short while and got to skip the rest of the line since we had a time before everyone else in line.

We'd talked to the Elijah & Josephine about what we do when we go see Santa and had asked them about what they want for Christmas. Jock started listing things (toys, cars, games, candy, clothes, ...), and all Elijah heard was Candy, so he told Santa he wanted, "Tanny!" - although he was VERY much distracted by Santa's reindeer, and kept pointing and asking Santa, "What's that?!"

Josephine is confused about the presents under our tree, and thinks it's for a birthday. So when asked what she wants for Christmas she says, "Birthday", and sometimes will say, "Pwesents."

Kaylen knows the drill, and asked for an ipod, then tried to get her siblings to do it right. :)

We didn't even do any shopping - hadn't intended to, although Elijah had a wonderful time looking at the four-wheelers and other ride-on toys. We did, however, have some cozy critters jump into our carts. They were right by the Santa time-card pick-up location, and they were so cute! Kaylen's is a puppy, Elijah's is a moose, and Josephine's is a reindeer.

Santa Claus???

Kaylen is getting more and more skeptical of Santa Claus. We decided years ago that we would tell our kids the truth if they asked us point blank. But she's not quite there. She's getting close though. She asked me one day, "Is Santa Claus real, or is it just Mom and Dad getting the presents?"

If she'd asked me the second one by itself, I'm not sure what I would have done. I instead couldn't bear to tell her and break the wonder, so I responded with questions back to her: "Would you be upset if I answered one way or the other?" and "Do you think what you asked me was two different questions or just one?" She got all confused and then changed her question to something else. But she keeps coming back to it, as I know she's hearing from her friends that it's just your parents that put the presents under the tree.

Jock pulled up the, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" letter online when she asked him, but again, she's asking the same way she asked me, so he couldn't do it either. He said he was totally let down, even angry, when his parents told him the truth about the presents under the tree. Although, I'm not sure that they were as careful about not breaking the spirit of Santa Claus, which we are strong believers in.

Going to see Santa Claus isn't an issue for her. She knows there are many helpers, because Santa must be awfully busy this time of year and there are Santas everywhere. She still asked if the one we went to see is the real one, to which I replied that I didn't know, that maybe she should just observe carefully and see what she thinks since she'd be up close. We also watched Miracle on 34th Street, my favorite Christmas movie together, and talked about that again. She's been watching all the movies about Santa with extra attention this year.

As a child, I don't even remember how or when I learned that my parents were the ones that put ALL the gifts under the tree - not just the ones that said they were from Mom and Dad. I don't remember being upset or angry like Jock remembers - I don't think it was a big deal for me. I'm guessing I heard from my classmates or older siblings. And we used to sneak into the closets and Mom and Dad's room to look for our gifts - although I don't remember being as brave as my brother to unwrap the gifts when my parents got smart enough to wrap them right away when purchased - and I don't remember ever realizing on Christmas morning that I'd previously seen a "from Santa" gift in Mom's closet. We always put out a snack for santa and a glass for milk - and we knew my Dad ate/drank that. But we NEVER figured out how my Dad removed the hay we left out for the reindeer - in snow, and there were no tracks... To this day, he still says it was the miracle of Christmas - Santa! :) Also, my Grandma W always signed her gifts from Santa instead of from Grandma. That was just a funny Grandma thing.

So, what are your family's traditions about Santa Claus? Do you tell them there is one? If so and your children are older, how/when did they figure out the presents were really from you? Do you not even start and your children are one of those telling the others that he's not real? Share on your blog then let me know so I can come read. We're too new at this older-child-starting-to-figure-things-out thing.

Winter Illnesses

December was barely underway, and we had started the rounds of winter illnesses. We had one child down with strep throat on Dec 2nd. The doc said to call if anyone else in the household got it within 4 days and he'd call in the prescription(s).

Well, it was 5 days, and it was after 5 pm. I picked up the kids at daycare, and drove immediately to urgent care. Child #2 had complained that morning of a "sore mouth" (pointing to the back of the throat) but otherwise seemed perfectly fine... complained again at pick-up. But more the reason for the urgent care trip, was the third child who was gagging/near-choking in the back seat, and also complaining of a sore throat. :(

I wasn't finished filling out paperwork, when the gagging child was crying (no, not just crying - the loudest and saddest cry you've ever heard) in a very crowded waiting room (I think the whole varsity wrestling team was there). A fever had spiked in those few minutes causing the cry. We were seen fairly quickly, the doc made a quick call to the closed peds office down the hall, and they wrote the scrips for suspected strep without even a screen.

4 days later, our thumb-sucker had a very sore, enlarged thumb. That night at bathtime, Jock noticed a few sores that he tried to lance. We kept ointment on it and a sock to curb the thumb-sucking. We're guessing this child (the gagger) didn't have strep after all, because a nasty cold/cough proceeded the possible strep diagnosis... and that the cold virus entered her thumb somehow. Well, since it was the weekend, not much thought was given the swolen thumb until after Sunday naptime, when we realized it had grown more (by size and soreness) but now was too late for an urgent care visit. Daddy made the trip at 7 am Monday morning, and found out that, yes, it was in fact a viral infection, and off they go to the pharmacy for an antiviral.

So, just for review, we have one child almost finished with a 10-day round of antibiotics, two children about half-way through their 10-day rounds of antibiotics, and one child starting a 5-day round of antiviral. Sheesh! Line up those syringes! Yup, all different dosages. Nice!

Two weeks later, just as we'd finished with those meds, and one child throws up. At this time it was 9 days before Christmas. Said child only threw up once (and at our friends' house as we were leaving our Thursday night Bible study), was fine the next day except for an unusual 4-hour nap, fine day 2 post-vomit (when we all made a break to go see Santa), and then woke up day three covered with diarrhea. :( The next day, an adult in the household comes down with the same stomach virus (sans vomit), which, three days later is still plaguing said adult. Oh, and the one-vomit child now has a cough too.

So here we are, three days before Christmas, and we're hopeful, but not very optimistic, that ALL of us are going to have a HEALTHY and happy christmas. Please pray for health to return and the illnesses to leave. Maybe January will be healthy. December sure wasn't!

My next task after surviving the holidays, is to deep-clean my entire house. You may not want to visit until after that, unless your house has already been plagued with any or all of the above-mentioned illnesses.

Christmas Music

I'm a little slow, but finally got the music player on the sidebar switched over to my Christmas Playlist. It's one of my favorite things this time of year! If I want to listen tosome of my favorites, without ads or talking in between, I just turn up your volume. :) I'll switch back to the normal player sometime in January.

These Two...

These two have so much in common. They are both very sweet with others. They both relish attention. They are both stubborn. They both like to be in charge. They both like to tell others what to do. They both like sweets. They both pout and sometimes throw a little fit when they don’t get their way or when asked to do something they don’t want to do. They both are super-slow at finishing any task (esp. getting dressed, going to the bathroom, washing hands, picking up, etc without parental supervision) – either getting distracted by something along the way or by simply daydreaming while sitting on the toilet. They both are super-smart, and pick up on things really quickly. They’re both competitive. They both like to be the first, or the one, to get to do something.

For these reasons, sometimes they fight like mad people! They race up and down the stairs - I swear one of these days they’re both going to fall down the stairs, arms and legs tangled up in each other’s! They race to the car or van in the morning – much yelling and pushing and shoving and occasional minor injuries have occurred in the process – such that now I usually release my kids one at a time to go to the car. They tell on each other when one rips an object out of the other’s hand. They sit next to each other at the kitchen table, and we often catch them glaring at each other and annoying each other by copying the other’s picking up their cup to take a drink, taking a bite of a certain item on the plate, or wiping their face with the napkin. They argue about who gets to push the button to automatically open/close the minivan doors, and will push each other to stand in the way until Mom gets annoyed and does it for them for them.

Their fighting is sometimes annoying, but also sometimes very humorous when we realize just how alike they are and how well they can get under each other’s skin!

Then again, sometimes they get along like the other is their best friend in the whole entire world!

More Preschool Learning Stuff

I’ve been working with Elijah & Josephine on coloring/drawing and learning letters and numbers. I began to realize now that their English is picking up quite well, just how far behind they are in these areas. When they color pictures, they basically just scribble. They can (mostly) sing the alphabet song, but they don’t get what it means yet. They can count too - Josephine only sort-of, but Elijah does pretty well.

So, on one trip to Walmart, I picked up this book. (I also got a few other books, but they are for a little later - after we've gotten a little ways into this first book.)

The first section is for learning to make lines - not just scribble. It actually has paths the kids are supposed to follow with a pencil or crayon. I am making photo-copies of the pages as we go so we can go back and redo and review the pages as needed. I also have them color in certain shapes or pictures, which I think is helping them learn shapes and vocabulary. They also are learning their colors, as we’re only using primary-color crayons and no pencils at this point. I have them tell me what color they want and if that’s not really the color they wanted, I have them say the correct color before handing one to them.


We’ve only been doing this a couple times, but so far, I think it’s going well. We are going to try to consistently work on it in the evenings while Kaylen is sitting at the kitchen table doing her math homework. I think it’s a little distracting for Kaylen, but it's worked out OK so far. I also can be preparing supper at the same time, so that helps too. Multi-tasking is a requirement in our house, where we only have a couple hours at home on week-nights (if that) before baths/bedtime.

At the same time, we’re working on them being able to write their names - although starting very slowly, with the first letter of their names. Elijah actually came home from daycare one day with a piece of paper with a bunch of upper-case letters and numbers 1-20 on it. I think they periodically test the preschoolers to see what letters and numbers they recognize. The letter “E” was the only one that the teacher circled. :) Josephine recognizes her “J” also – although they don’t focus on that in 3-year-olds’ classroom. Elijah can write his “E” fairly well now - although we’re still practicing it, as sometimes it’s sideways or looks like an “H”. Josephine can trace her letter “J” really well, and can free-hand draw the hook part of the “J”, but then gets confused by me having her put the line across the top. She’s starting to figure it out though. When we have “E” and “J” down, then we’ll work on “L” and “O”, which I’m guessing will be a little bit easier - they already know what a circle is and (sort-of) how to draw one!

The biggest thing I’m struggling with right now is helping Elijah hold a pencil or crayon correctly. The new big crayons I got are triangle-shaped, so I think that’s helping. But, he doesn’t hold his wrist down on the table when he’s writing/drawing. I’ve held it down for him, but sometimes he gets frustrated because he struggles to move his fingers to color/write, while still holding onto the crayon correctly. It’s really hard for him to write without moving his wrist instead of just moving his fingers like he’s supposed to. I guess it’s just something we’ll keep practicing though - he’s just not that coordinated yet with the small motor skills. I need to mention it to his daycare teachers - I’m sure they will work on it with him too, they just probably haven’t noticed. Hopefully it improves quickly, because he’s beginning to color/draw more and more, and I don’t want him to continue practicing it wrong. Better to correct it at the start, right? I can’t always sit by him and hold his wrist down the whole time he’s coloring, though. I had a funny thought about trying to find a wrist brace with a heavy weight on it, but probably not an option - ha! He’d probably get really mad at me then! :) Has anyone else had this issue with their child(ren)?

Elijah & Josephine - other updates

Let’s see... at home, Elijah and Josephine can now pretty well dress themselves, including their Velcro shoes (although sometimes keeping the tongue pulled up is a challenge. Shirts and jackets can be a challenge if the sleeves are inside out, and they can’t start their zippers. Snapping pants is a challenge for Elijah - but actually he can usually do it (depending on the pants) - he just usually chooses to walk around with his pants undone until someone tells him to do it. Footie pajamas are a new challenge - getting all the limbs in the correct holes. Josephine calls them "Footie jajamas" and loves them! Both Elijah and Josephine are good at using the right words to ask for help now: “Help me please!” instead of whining.

They can “brush their teeth” themselves, although Josephine usually needs help with the toothpaste. I’m not sure how many of their back or upper teeth actually get touched, so we still help them at least once a day, and on occasion, we also brush our teeth at the same time, so they can see for themselves.

Dinner is always a fun time at our house. We’re now working with Elijah and Josephine on some of their table manners – chewing with their lips closed, not talking with food in their mouth, etc. They’re already AWESOME at saying please and thank you. Kaylen is still working on some of these things, and I think they might just pass her up on them. They already have on the please and thank you – it became automatic to them as those were some of the first words they learned when they came home.

Kaylen is our awesome dishwasher loader/unloader. We are starting to teach the little kids how to load their plates, but it’s so funny, because they’ll hold their plate over the spot, and ask, “This way?” They’re so proud about their ability to help though, and get mad sometimes if someone else clears their plate or throws away their napkin for them! And they fight over who gets to put away Mom & Dad's dishes after a meal if we are busy putting the food away and they're still on the table. Too funny!

They're learning how to do other household jobs too. They're getting pretty good at scrubbing in the bathroom - floor and countertops. Kaylen's happy about this because this used to be her job and she hated it. They're awesome at picking up their toys when it's time for bed or supper or whatever. At least when someone's watching anyway! Sometimes a little playing gets in the way and makes it take much longer - or sometimes the girls get annoyed that they did all the work while their brother played.

Elijah & Josephine still both sleep very well. They eat very well too - pretty much they know they're expected to eat what's served. Elijah gives us a hassle sometimes on veggies or hard-to-chew meat, but not nearly as much as he used to. And we're not above bribing our children with a fruity or sugary dessert to get them to clean their plates or hurry faster. :)

General Kid Updates - Josephine

Josephine is 3, and is a bundle of energy! She likes to play with her baby doll and makes such a cute mommy. She loves to look at books, and her recent favorite is the children's Bible story book, where she's always looking for Baby Jesus, and in case you didn't know: "He's a boy"! :)

She remains in the 3-year-old classroom at daycare. She is quite the talker – just like Kaylen! She loves to tell us stories of what she did, or sing songs she learned at daycare. I can’t always make them out, because when she starts putting too many words together at a time (especially singing, not just talking), it kind of gets jarbled up. But she's getting easier to understand by the day - practice makes perfect, right?!

She likes to sing “Baby bububu… Won’t my mommy be sasah-dadee", and knew it was the Baby Bumblebee song. We’d sung it in the car once and about a week later she came home from daycare singing it. That song is so silly and fun for the kids. You should hear her say, “eeeeeeewwwww!” after the mashing or licking parts! So cute!!!

Josephine is our queen whiner. Kaylen used to be but she’s been dethroned. Josephine whines when she wants a toy someone else has, when someone picks on her, when she doesn’t want to go upstairs by herself for any reason, when she has to be the first one to go downstairs in the morning and nobody will carry her, etc. We’re working on making her repeat her request nicely without whining before we respond at all. When it continues the answer is always no (or sometimes is no anyway), or she gets time-outs, which she does not like.

Like Elijah, Josephine knows the alphabet song. She does sometimes skip letters, but she has the basic phrases. She no longer says ABCDEIEIO like she used to. She can count, but isn’t as good with the one-to-one correspondence and usually has trouble getting started, and then once started gets mixed up at 4 - although I have heard her get to 6 before getting confused. I haven’t noticed that she’s had breakthrough on learning her colors quite yet, but we’re working on it.

I think they aren’t working quite as hard with her at daycare in the younger and larger classroom as they are with Elijah in the preschool room with fewer kids. She's also developmentally closer to other kids her age, so we're not working on catching up so much as just continuing to learn new things. At home we're working on the same things together - and she likes that. She's very much a kid that doesn't like to be left out of something someone else (especially Elijah) is doing.

General Kid Updates - Elijah

Elijah is 4, and all boy! He likes to play with bikes, balls, cars, trains, tractors. He is probably my best snuggler, but also likes to play rough and tough and make lots of noise. He's obedient, naughty, stubborn, and sweet.

Elijah is in a preschool class at daycare. This is something we felt strongly about moving him up, because of his age - even though we know that he is behind the kids in that group developmentally. He was/is learning things so quickly and we didn't want him slowing down when he caught up with kids younger than himself, but to keep learning and catching up to kids just a little bit older than him.

We've noticed many changes in Elijah since early fall. The biggest is that he is talking a lot more. I think this has a lot to do with him learning more vocabulary and becoming more confident in his language skills. We had talked to a speech therapist a couple months ago, and we'll see her again in January or February to discuss his progress.

Elijah can count fairly well. He tends to make it to 13 and then skips back to 4 and 5 and it becomes a never-ending loop. He knows the alphabet song, although sometimes parts of it get dropped or mixed up - I think due to the fact that he can't say some of the letters right and they sound like other letters when he says them - so he skips to that part of the alphabet. Elijah knows several colors as well, although sometimes he gets them confused. I think his favorite is still yellow - and not anymore simply because it's fun to say, but he does know the color. Writing/coloring skills are still lacking, but getting better. Mostly he just scribbles still, and doesn't always hold the pencil/crayons correctly.

I'll be posting a little more later on how we're working on colors, numbers, shapes, writing and letter recognition as well. Currently Elijah & Josephine can recognize the capital E and capital J - and they emphatically point them out any chance they get.

General Kid Updates - Kaylen

Kaylen is enjoying 2nd grade. The first day of school, her favorite things were recess, PE, and lunch, where the 2nd graders are now allowed to choose salad bar instead of hot lunch if they don't like the hot lunch and didn't bring their own lunch. She is doing great in school academically. Her biggest challenges are following instructions, slowing down and doing things carefully and neatly the first time, and not interrupting classmates whe she finishes before them.

She's an excellent reader - I think I've said this before, but it's hard to keep enough books for her. They're always on her birthday/Christmas lists. She checks out as many books from the school library as she can at a time (2), and her class goes once per week. She can read faster than I can, and still comprehend very well. We challenge her with books that are beyond her understanding, because of her reading level, and then get a lot of questions like, "What does _____ mean?" She is learning so quickly!

Although she doesn't know it, Kaylen is enjoying science and social studies in school. They aren't called that - which is why she doesn't know it - but they incorporate these topics into their reading and group times. Recently she's been learning about communities and community helpers. They also are doing a project related to a book called Flat Stanley.

Kaylen is excelling at math as well. This year, they've worked on basic addition/subtraction facts (building on what they learned last year), money and making change for purchases, and now adding double-digit numbers. I haven't been the biggest proponent with the new-fangled math program the district started last year. However, they are teaching the concepts, and they're using some interesting strategies to help the kids learn how to solve problems.

Kaylen played soccer this fall, and really enjoyed it. She's in a more formal league, and will continue playing on the same team in the spring. We considered signing her up for a winter soccer camp, but decided against it due to the scheduling issue.

Kaylen has enjoyed Awana this fall. Her being behind her 2nd grade peers in Sparks was a really big motivator for her, and she completed her first book in November - only about 3 months into Awana. She decided to start on the 2nd book instead of doing a book review, but if she goes through this book as fast, she'll definitely be doing both book reviews before the end of the year. She's also looking forward to making a race car for the Grand Prix next month. Daddy remembers doing the same thing as a kid in Boy Scouts, so is looking forward to helping her with it.

And with Christmas coming in two weeks, she's definitely looking forward to that. She's also looking ahead to her birthday which is only 6 weeks away too. Hmmmmm... We're trying to decide what we should do to celebrate her turning 8! Any ideas?