Two for Two

I can now say I have called poison control for both of my children.

Here's the story:

Ezra came up the stairs and straight to me saying "gucky, gucky, gucky" while pulling at his mouth and whimpering.

Now other moms of boys will understand that when your little guys who normally loves all things gucky is actually complaining about something being gucky...that is not a good thing.

Oh yes. Did I mention that I could smell him before he made it to the top of the steps?

No. Not poop.

(Why do our minds always go to the thought of poop first?)

Besides, Ella has already won the award for eating poop.

I know the Lord wouldn't have me deal with that kind of a situation again. Something about Him not giving me more than I can stand?

Anyways.

It wasn't a bad smell that surrounded Ezra. It was actually rather pleasant.

Kind of like a field of lavender.

Or lavender fields scented Febreeze noticables wall outlet air freshener.

He had unplugged it and then disconnected the jar that holds the liquid and sucked on the nozzle thingie.

I rinsed his mouth out, washed his hands, changed his clothes, cleaned up the floor, and called poison control.

Thankfully, they said not to be concerned and just to offer lots of fluids.

Shew.

Being a parent is never boring!

Done.

I got the call I've been waiting for from my doctor today.

After 4 months of weekly bloodraws followed by 6 months of monthly bloodraws...

I am officially considered in the clear and free of all risk of abnormal cell regrowth.

Thank you Lord!

Scribbled Reminder

While doing my quiet time last week I turned the page in my journal to start a new entry.

Only, the page wasn't blank...










I talked with Ella later in the day and asked if she had written in my journal.

Her reply: Yea, I was just writing to God like you!

I'm glad to have her follow my footsteps in this area...but I was reminded once again of how closely my children are watching me. Everything I do is under their scrutiny. Even at their young ages. Even when I think it will go unnoticed.

They notice.

Memory Monday

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the Lords purpose that prevails.

I Love

my wife!!!!!

Simple Pleasures...

Watching Saturday morning cartoons with the kids while still in pajamas.

A cleaned out closet.

Hot coffee and homemade cinnamon rolls.

Holding sweet baby Micaiah for the 1st time.

Fall weather!

Seeing the Lord reassure us of his provision in tangible ways throughout the week.

Late Night with Ella McKay

Ella: Hey Mom! I've got a joke for you!

Me: Go for it.

Ella: Why did the man climb up the cup?

Me: I don't know, why?

Ella: Cause he didn't have any voice!!!

Me: Laugh!! How could you not laugh at that one =)

Ella: Here's another one.

Me: Ok.

Ella: Knock, Knock.

Me: Who's there?

Ella: Banana.

Me: Banana who?

Ella: Banana pooped in her pants!

Oh yes...we forsee a long comedy career ahead of her!

Thursday Thoughts

I love these because I can be as random as I want. Which is a good thing these days.

Where is fall I'd like to know? 90 degree days and enough humidity to curl even my hair. Well, not really, but you get the point. Bleh. I say bring on the cool and crisp days! Of course that means leaves to rake...but I'll just choose to think about the good things of fall.

Like an all new season of Lie To Me.

Jeremiah and I got into the show last year and loved it. Smart, clean, creative...and we both felt like we became experts at reading facial expressions and body language after each show. Ha!

We were surprised to get our adoption application acceptance back on Monday of this week. Only 6 days after we mailed it. We were told it would be a good two weeks before we heard anything once they received it. Onto the next stage of the process! We also are well into the homestudy process...at least the document gathering part of it. We should start our visits with our social worker next week. So exciting!

Continuing on with the theme of our adoption...

We are holding a yard sale to help with the funding of our adoption next Saturday, October 3rd from 8am-12noon for those of you in the Durham area.

Good friends of ours (in a prime location) have generously allowed us the use of their front yard for the sale...as we didn't think anybody would actually come out here to the farm =) If anybody has any items they'd be willing to donate for us to sell...just let us know!

I'll be posting more details about it next week.

I am taking the week off from couponing and cvs-ing. After last weeks Harris Teeter triple coupons and Krogers Mega sale...I just needed a break. I've enjoyed it.

What I've not enjoyed is meal planning this week. For some reason I feel stuck in a rut. I need to pull out the cook books and get re-inspired. Any suggestions?

My biggest feel-good-about-myself-accomplishment for the week is that I got the kids fall and winter clothes all organized and switched out. I kept a few summer outfits in their drawers because of our crazy North Carolina unpredictable fall weather. Shew. That is one job I am happy to have behind me.

Happy Thursday!

Beyond Baby Brain

With all my pregnancies I had pretty severe cases of baby brain...absentmindedness I would blame on being pregnant.

I would walk into a room and have absolutely no clue why I went there. Call friends and forget why I called. Send my husband back to the grocery store for the bag of items I just knew I had left in my cart...then find those items sitting right where they were supposed to be in my pantry.

Then there was the time I tried to make a milkshake in a vase.

You know, things like that.

Well, I've decided that the same phenomenon that caused my baby brain applies when going through an adoption as well.

I shaved only one leg last week. Forgot to bring my coupons to the store with me. Walked into numerous rooms only to forget why I was supposed to be there. Started numerous conversations only to lose my train of thought in the middle of them.

We are only weeks into the process too!

As long as I don't get a hankering for a milkshake I should be ok.

Throwing

Ezra is in a throwing stage.

He throws. Everything.




















The laundry basket (and Ella's barbies) down the stairs.

His cars and trains across the room.

His food off his high chair.

His pillows from his bed.

And so on and so forth.

Of course, this is not acceptable to us. We discipline him for throwing. We take him outside and throw a ball with him to show him what is appropriate to throw. Consistently.

He still throws. Everything.

Is this a stage?

A boy thing?

Perhaps a boy stage?

Anybody have a thrower and what worked to help teach them appropriate things and times to throw.

Wedded Bliss

As promised.

Here are some of my favorite shots from Mary Kate and Keith's wedding...

We did a mini-photo shoot the day before the wedding at The Whalehead Club in Corolla


































































It had been very stormy all week with red flags every day...but wedding day broke absolutely beautiful!






































The Reverend Jeremiah Hambrick...did a great job on his first ever wedding!

































Married!



















The wedding party














Da' boys...















Da' girls...














How fun is this...they had the best pizza the outer banks can bring for their reception!














My family...














So happy for them...

No Going Back

We sent off our adoption application packets last week!




















Complete with our non-refundable application fee's...

There's no going back now!

Memory Monday

Exodus 14:14

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

My Hero

Jeremiah (NOT our internet service provider) fixed the technical issue that caused our internet and phone problems of last week.

Well at least we think (hope and pray) they are fixed.

Planned disconnections from the outside world are a good thing.

Un-planned ones...um, yeah, not so much fun.

Now...time to get caught up on everything...

p.s. My husband is absolutely incredible!

Technical Difficulties...

We switched phone companies this week and have experienced, um, more than slight technical difficulties with our old company accidentally turning off our internet as well.

Which in turn means we have no phone because our new phone works through our DSL line.

Then, to further frustrate things we get almost no cell phone signal at the farm...we have to walk to our mailbox to make a call. Even then you never know if you will get a signal or not.

So...

If you've tried to call or email or facebook me this week...I'm not ignoring you.

I'm writing now from Jerermiah's computer at work. Thank goodness for the post scheduler on blogger.

We've been told by our internet provider that (and I quote) it will be fixed in the next 10, or 24, or 48 hours.

Here's hoping!

All About the Ezra

Tuesday is kind of a funny day to have a birthday on.

Nonetheless, Tuesday is the day Ezra's birthday fell on...so celebrate we did!

His "real" party is this weekend.

But we couldn't let his actual birth day go uncelebrated!

We decided to make this day all about Ezra.

After waking up he opened up his presents from the grandparents. Cars, cars, and more cars!!! Woohoo...they know him well!




















Breakfast included his favorites: frozen blueberries, eggs, sausage, pancakes, and yogurt. Daddy was happy too =)

Jeremiah had to go to work then...but we carried on the celebration without him.

We played with his cars, and played with his trains, then watched the Cars movie together. Yes, I actually sat, with him in my lap, and watched the whole movie with him.

That is what I call love =)

Afterwards we headed to the museum and rode the train. A big hit! Then we walked the dinosaur trail. Then we played with the dump trucks in the sand.


So excited to get on the train...

































He was afraid of the dinosaurs...but I managed to coax him to touch the tail of one.














Ah, yes...a dump truck and dirt...his element!

Home for a nap...then Daddy and dinner and pudding and a massive choo-choo track built in the basement.

Ahh...the life of a two year old!

Two

Our little guy turned two years old today.

Wow.

I still remember my tiny baby boy...
















Who grew into a deliciously cute roly-poly...
















Then morphed into a curious and exploring toddler...
















And now, he is ready to drive away from us...




















What joy his life has brought to our lives.

Here's a little bit about our Ezra James...

He still is a great sleeper and takes one afternoon nap lasting around 2 hours. He sleeps about 12 hours at night. He is extremely connected to his two (oh Lord, why did I let this happen?!) blankies and his paci. We are going to have to really work on breaking the paci habit here soon. He is still in his crib, but we will transition him to a big boy bed sometime this month.

He still loves fruit. It makes up about 80% or more of his diet. He also likes yogurt, chicken nuggets, cottage cheese, broccoli, carrots,peas, corn, beans, pizza, peanut butter, eggs, sausage, pork chops, macaroni and cheese, and cereal.

His first love remains cars, trains, and airplanes. Daddy is a close second =) He LOVES the Cars movie. He will sit and listen to books as long as 1) the book is about cars, trains, or airplanes or 2) We make up crazy voices to go along with the characters in the book. He is starting to like puzzles. Or rather, throwing the puzzle pieces. Yes, he is in quite the throwing stage. We are still working on that one.

He loves to be outside...pushing his cars, riding his car, making me swing him like a helicopter in the swing, jumping on the trampoline, swordfighting with sticks, throwing rocks, chasing Levi, catching bugs, or any other boy activity.

While he is still way behind verbally where his big sister was at two, he is starting to string 2 and 3 words together like, "go, Ella, go" or, "see a big car!" He will also attempt to repeat almost any word you ask him to. My favorite words he says right now are helicopter and motorcycle. They don't sound anything like the actual words...but his attempts are just too cute.

He has definitely mastered the art of throwing a two year old tantrum. He can be extremely stubborn at times...but quick to apologize or offer a hug after being corrected. He has started to say thank you and yes, ma'am (unprompted!) just this week.

He remains quite the cuddler and still runs up to me numerous times a day for hugs. I am trying to savor each one because I realize just how fast he is growing up. I have loved every moment of being his Mommy.

Happy Birthday my sweet Ezra James.

You are loved.

Memory Monday

Psalm 62:1-2

My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

The Happy Family

Congratulations Keith, Mary Kate, and Ava!



More pictures to come later...

The Rehearsal Dinner: Luau Party!

Only with my family...

Can you look in a kitchen cabinet and find a cup labeled: Jonas Eye













Yep.

Jonas' eye really goes in this cup when he goes out to the beach.

Wouldn't want to lose his eyeball now would we =)

Actually, the week after he got it...it did get lost in the pool. Ha! Can you imagine trying to find a glass eye in a pool?!

Only in my family!

The Beach

Seeing the familiar sites of the Outer Banks as we drove in yesterday made me feel like a kid again...

Our putt-putt place...
The sand dunes...
The place (you know, the place) where we always got salt water taffy...
Kitty Hawk kites (we stopped and climbed the tower)...
The shops at Duck...
Nags Head Hammocks...

You see, my family has been coming here for over 15 years.

Most of my summer vacation memories are wrapped up here at the beach.

There is just something about the beach that instantly dissipates your stress level.

Even when you are sharing a house with 3,763 other people =)

The coolest part about the house we are staying in (besides the indoor theatre!) is that we are right on the beach.

As soon as we got here the kids instantly gravitated to the ocean. And promptly fell in the water. Clothes and all.

Oh well. At least they laughed about it!













Ella's sensitive nose didn't like the smell of the ocean =)













It's going to be a fun weekend!

One last hurrah...

Of summer, that is.

We head to the Outer Banks today for Mary Kate and Keith's wedding.

Should be fun, fun, fun.

I'll be sure to post some pictures later...

Not Me Monday

I did not take an unscheduled blogging break this weekend due to the fact that I was entirely unmotivated. No, I only take blogging breaks when I am extremely busy and doing cool things.

I did not catch Ella this week making a list of what she needed to paint before she started painting. I have not created a monster.

I did not buy Chips Ahoy cookies with the m&m's in them under the guise of them being for the kids.

I did not become ridiculously motivated to rearrange my house after yesterdays trip to Ikea. Therefore I will be spending my labor day doing cool things and definitely not rearranging my furniture.

and finally...

Being the mature person that I am, I do not find the photos on this site absolutely hilarious.

Nope. Not me.

If you'd like more not me monday stories, click here.

Thursday Thoughts

Time for another random posting of my random thoughts.

Guess Ella isn't too different from her Mom, huh.

What an incredible week weather wise. My idea of the perfect week. We spent hours outside every day, turned off the air conditioning, and opened up the windows every day. Picnics, nature hunts, park visits, and reading our new library books on a blanket in the yard...just perfect.

We also added a new member to the family this week.

Levi, our new dog.

Technically, he is not really ours. We are keeping him for Aunt Joy until she graduates college in May. But that is just a slight technicality according to Ella and Ezra. They already are in love. I can't blame them...he is a great dog! Ella discovered tonight that he will do tricks for her on command. Poor Levi rolled over so many times I finally took pity on him and made her stop. She decided to see if her brother would do the same tricks. He did.

We are going to have a lot of fun with the newest member of the family.

We went out to dinner tonight at a new mexican restaurant. El Cuscatelaco in the Riverview Shopping Center for those of you D-towners. Excellent! I highly recommend. An added bonus for my frugal self is that kids eat free Monday thru Thursday. All of us ate (way too much!) for under $15. Not bad, eh. We will definitely be back.

The adoption process continues to move along. We have 99% decided on Ethiopia. We have 99% decided on our placing agency. We have 99% decided on our homestudy agency. Our first choice would be to adopt from Haiti. Unfortunately, I am too young to meet the Haitian adoption requirements. We both have to be over 30 (some agencies require 35) and we have to have been married for 10 years. Crazy, I know. I have one last communication out with an agency and lawyer in Haiti. As soon as we hear back from them...we will move forward with the Ethiopian process. Give me a couple more years to grow up (ha!) and we'll try Haiti again.

For now, we are extremely excited to begin this new journey to bring our little one(s) home from Ethiopia.

We got tomorrow for a 6 month check up visit to Ezra's ENT doctor. It's hard to believe it has been that long...but I am so thankful that it has been months since his last ear infection!

Can you believe that he turns 2 in less than 2 weeks?!

Happy Thursday!

Disconnected Train

Our conversation coming home from church last night...

Ella: I was giving cubby bear a hug tonight.

Me: Thats nice.

Ella: Do you think that I could go to your class next time?

Me: Well, we got to go to church together last week and you stayed with me. Remember?

Ella: Where is Michael?

Me: I don't know. Probably at home getting ready to go to bed because it is sooo late.

Ella: What does his bed look like?

Me: I don't know.

Ella: I'll bet it looks like a big shoe!

Me: Maaaybe?

Ella: Mommy, are you a good fighter?

Me: Only when I am fighting to keep you safe.

Ella: Not as good as Daddy?

Me: Not as good as Daddy.

Ella: Remember when I frowed up my food at the table?

Me: Yes.

Ella: All my eggs came out of my tummy!

Me: Yep, they did.

Ella: Did you use a napkin or a towel to clean it up?

Me: I don't remember. Probably a towel?

Ella: Can I have two yogurts when we get home?

Alrighty, then.

On The Hunt

I think yesterday was the perfect weather day...

Warm sun, cool breeze, and temperatures in the mid 70's!

The kids and I had packed up a lunch and were on our way to the car to head to the park when we realized that Jeremiah still had Ezra's car seat. We weren't going anywhere.

Time to improvise!

I put the kids in a quick roomtime while I made up a nature hunt...

Purple Flower

Oval Shaped Leaf

Stick

Feather

Bug

Yellow Flower

Berry

Pink Flower

Star Shaped Leaf

We went out on the hunt for our items and checked them all off...one by one. The feather was the last to be found...hiding in the weeds along the pond.

Ella really got into it...I think this will become a favorite game for her.

Ezra trooped along and captured the bug for us =)

Our reward?

Picnic lunch in our own yard...

Food just tastes better when you eat it outside!

How have you been enjoying the incredible weather this week?