snapshot: sliding with barbie(s)

lost blocks (and the benefits of having younger siblings for older adopted children)

I was watching Zoe cross over a wobbly bridge at a park recently.
She crossed it, then turned around and ran back.
Again.
And again. And again. And again.

Then later that same day I watched her stack up a set of wooden blocks.
Up, up, up.
Crash.
Again.
And again. And again. And again.

Then later that week I played peek-a-boo with her, surprising her from the door going into her room.
Peek-a-boo.
Squeals.
Again.
And again. And again. And again.

Having Eli has given me a whole new set of eyes in how I view this desire for repetition from Zoe. I see her comfort in learning the predictability of an outcome. I see the confidence she gains in knowing what to expect. I understand the neural connections that are developing, leading to passageways of learning.

I know what the lack of experiences and opportunities for repetition do to a child. I see those unfortunate consequences in Eli and the extra work he has to do. I'm not gonna lie and say that my heart has never broken when I've realized the moments my boy missed out on and how it has impacted him.

I've been realizing lately how much he still (even after almost three years home) needs the opportunity to have these building blocks of learning experiences...regardless of his 6 year old age status. He needs the chance to do those baby and toddler things. And do them again, and again, and again.

Thankfully, having a little sister allows him the "excuse" to recreate those missed experiences under the guise of just playing with Zoe. It feels natural, not forced, for me to tell him to "help Mommy out and play open-shut-them with Zoe" or to teach her how to do a puzzle, etc. It's not too embarrassing for him to sit with me while I read a "baby" book to Zoe...because I'm reading to Zoe, not him in his mind. It allows him to maintain his dignity while still building those skills and having those experiences.

I'm pretty sure Zoe doesn't mind having an adoring older brother to participate in her play either!

 Oh, the sweetness of their relationship.

remember

Then take care to remember, lest you forget the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 
Deuteronomy 6:12

Scripture is replete with examples of the importance of remembering. 

And full of examples of what happens when people fail to remember.

I have never read a story of anything good happening when people fail to remember. Ever.

Therefore, I try to be intentional about the practice of remembering...

What God has done, 

what he has brought us through, 

what he has taught us, 

how he has provided, 

and what he has called us to.

It's why I blog and why I keep a journal and make the habit of looking back through them...what a faith builder!

Today I am remembering where we were two years ago: Sitting in the hospital room at Duke, waiting on discharge papers for us to finally go home after a complete and successful cranial reconstruction surgery for Eli. I was very 8 months pregnant and completely over the hospital scene. I was wondering how in the world we were going to keep Eli from bumping his head for the next 6 weeks. I was missing my other two kiddo's who were living it up with Gramma and PawPaw in Florida. What a week!

I learned so much about trusting in the Lord during that time period. Everything...from the surgery to my pregnancy fears about pre-term labor again to our concerns about insurance not covering the surgery...was out of my control. I was completely dependent on Him. 

Which, I remember, is a very good place to be.

The surgery was completely successful, Eli could easily wear a bike helmet, and his frontal lobe had room to breathe for the first time in his 3 1/2 years of life.

Zoe held off and came full-term at 38 1/2 weeks.

Insurance ended up covering 100% of it. We didn't pay a penny.

Yes, dependent on God is a really really good place to be.

Our first week back at home and Eli perked up enough to give Daddy a wet-willy. 

Of course, it was reciprocated.

**You can read all the old posts written during that time here and here.**

thursday thoughts

Let me first say that I'm not pregnant.

However, I have been so hungry this week. As in, raiding the pantry, fridge, and freezer after the kids go to rest time or bed time kind of hungry. I'd say growth spurt if it was one of my kids, but I'm pretty sure I can't use that excuse.

Ezra made a roller-skate. He disassembled a truck for the wheels, drilled holes for the axles, and duct taped the block to his flip-flop. He only made one because he said he only wanted one, for it to be a "roller-skate-scooter". Of course. That makes perfect sense.

That boy is happiest when working on a project.

I found these flowers at a park during a recent photo shoot and they me think of a Dr. Seuss book or movie. Yes?! Pretty, but also just a little bit weird looking. Anyone know what it is?

Our vegetable garden is doing great! We started eating cherry tomatoes, squash, and zucchini from it last week...yum! A strong gust of wind knocked over our cucumber trellis and broke our pepper plants in half, so I'm pretty sure we can take peppers off the menu for the summer. Bummer. 

We got our text books in that I ordered while at the homeschool book fair a couple of weeks ago. Its a little crazy to think I'll be teaching a 2nd grader, 1st grader, and kindergartner. I think I'm gonna feel like that with each new transition to the next year. 

Ella was playing with my shoes in my closet one night this week and tried on my wedding shoes. She is this close to fitting into them...geesh. Talk about crazy and transitions.

We've been to the pool a lot this week and in true Zoe fashion, she has decided she wants to proceed on the fast track to learn to swim. The girl has become so brave in the water and will jump right in off the last step. I will not be surprised if she isn't starting to really swim by the end of the summer, cause she is crazy like that. 

I think the kids were hinting that they were ready to go swimming in this picture?! 

Well, I'm off to the gym in an attempt to counter attack all the all the extra food I've consumed this week. I think the only thing that has saved me a growth spurt of the wrong proportions is that I've been extremely active this week. Or... maybe that is why I've been so hungry?!

Happy Thursday!

snapshot: don't wake the baby

It's a very complex game...

fake it till you make it

Yesterday was one of those days.

I won't bore you with every detail, but lets just say the day involved the news that the van was still not fixed so why not throw more money into it, a cancelled playdate for the kids, and NUMEROUS spilled cups, bowls, and food items. Oh, and Jeremiah was stuck in our favorite town of Walterboro, SC again with the supposed to be fixed van and I was unexpectedly single parenting it for two days.

Everything seemed to go wrong (in a first world way) and I am not going to lie...I was fighting off a bad ugly attitude.

I knew things could be worse.
But I also knew things could be a lot better.
And I just wanted better.

It didn't get better.

And I don't have any magic words of how a butterfly landed on my arm and reminded me of the promise of ___________. Or how I saw a triple rainbow. Or a dove. Or a vision of the Lord.

What did happen was I faked it. I pulled Ella aside and told her that I was really struggling with a bad attitude and I wanted to just wallow in it...could she pray for me. Hearing her sweet prayer didn't change anything other than I determined that I wasn't going to take it out on my day with the kids...and I set out to fake it.

For their sake, of course.

But a little later into the day I realized I wasn't faking it anymore.
I was making it.

Who knew that some good parenting and life practice would include faking it?!

I love everything about this picture, from the scraped knee on Eli to the sweet return of Abby... and the sunshine after many  many days of rain. For the record, Eli scraped his knee while chasing after Abby, whom he had tied up to the baby stroller as a "chariot". That boy. 

**I loved this post by my sister in Uganda about her (un)glamorous day!**

happy ending

I am happy to share that Abby was found, safe and sound, albeit a bit traumatized from an overnight stay at the local animal shelter.

Here's proof:

Yeah, Abby is going to be a really really good thing for Eli.
For all of us.

Now if we can just get through the next 24 hours without losing her again!