Saturday, July 31, 2010

the joys of boys: sprinkler edition

It all began as innocent fun in the sprinkler...
















Then he got a (slightly sinister) idea...













Come on Eli...you know you want some hugs!


















Closer...














Closer...













Ha! Eli broke free...













Run Eli...














Run...













He didn't want my hugs....













Huyah...I am the man!









Fine then...I'll just pee in the grass!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Butterfly Buffet

Back in the beginning of spring Ella planted a couple packages of sunflower seeds...

Which has had the lovely side effect (besides just being beautiful) of attracting hundreds of butterfly friends!












Thursday, July 29, 2010

(a short) Thursday Thoughts

I'm home. No throw up this time. Yay! (and Yay! and Yay! some more!)

I brought back my sister Leah and brother Isaac...for some extra moral support (and maybe a little lawn mowing help). And some help babysitting as we have Eli's cat scan in the morning and his pediatric neurosurgeon appointment on Monday. I'm pretty sure I didn't want wild man Ezra along for the ride for those appointments.

Being the complete angel that he is these days. You know.

We will probably try to squeeze in a date or two while these two are here also. Goodness...I love my family! We had a great week and everyone had lots of fun. But I am so very glad to be sleeping in my bed tonight.

Here are some more random pictures of the fun we had:


Of course Nana said it was ok to ride in the baby swing...silly boys!























Both boys loved this boat...















Matching hats...














Photo shoot with baby Maddy...















Ella and Mya doing their "quiet time" together...






Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Ethiopia: Day Four

I think I have hesitated writing about this day because of all the emotions it brings fresh to the surface. I needed some time to process my feelings before writing about the day.

Day four in Ethiopia was by far my hardest day there. It was the day we met with Eli's birth family.

Eli was up right at 6am...so we were too. We ate breakfast together, eggs and ferfer and toast. Oh my, Eli loves him some bread! I think we finally stopped him after five pieces. Afterward we just played around at the guesthouse with some of the other adoptive families. Jeremiah and Eli got into a game of soccer with the other dads and kids. Eli loved being carried by Jeremiah and included. He was definitely becoming more comfortable with us. We noticed a strange way he has of showing affection...by hitting. Hmm. We are going to have to work on that one.

About mid-morning we walked to Layla House (the orphanage) to have Eli checked by the resident doctor. He checked his ears and chest and said that they were clear. We also asked him about the shape of his head and he said there was nothing that could be done. Hmm. Jeremiah and I felt that while the doctor was thorough enough...he seemed to have an air of resigned negativity about him. I can't blame him though, with all that he probably sees and treats. We were anxious at this point to get Eli checked out by our doctors though.

We left Eli with his friends while I went and took pictures for all the other families from our agency who were waiting for their children. I took this task very seriously as I remembered how incredible it was to get photos of Eli while we were the ones waiting. When we picked Eli back up he had streaks running down his cheeks from where he had cried after we left his sight. So sad. But a good sign of the beginning of the attachment process.

We walked to the local restaurant (by now...our favorite place in Ethiopia!) for lunch and a perfect latte. (Which cost about a nickle) We walked back to the guesthouse to put Eli down for a short nap. We woke him up at 1:45 and walked back to Layla house for our meeting at 2 with his family.

I felt like throwing up the whole day...but especially on that walk to Layla. I could barely hold Eli my hands were shaking so hard. Upon entering the gates of Layla we met up with the agency social worker who introduced us to Eli's mom and brother. Out of respect for Eli's privacy (it really is his story to decide to tell one day) I won't give the details of all our questions...but we did ask a lot of questions. And were so saddened by all the answers. I couldn't keep the tears back at times. Especially when she would drop her head and cry too. We took a lot of pictures and some video. We gave her a photo album full of pictures we had of Eli as well as a tracing of his hand. I traced her hand for Eli too.

I'll never forget the end of our meeting as she gave him one last kiss and stood up and handed him off to me. What do you say or feel or how do you react to such a significant interaction? I still don't know. Jeremiah and I walked back to the guesthouse almost in silence as we both struggled to process our feelings. I know I left with a tremendous sense of responsibility for Eli - to raise him in a way that will make her proud.

I carry that sense of responsibility with me even today. For a lifetime I suppose.

That night Jeremiah and I were really homesick. I missed the kids. I missed my bed. I even missed the dog. I just wanted to be home. To feel something familiar and comfortable.

Sleep eluded me that night (even after four benadryl!)...but I think it was because I knew that the next day would bring us on our way home.










Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Pretty Ladies

We are getting to spend lots of time with my two nieces Ava (3) and Maddy (1month) this week.

Oh my...are they are precious or what?!





Monday, July 26, 2010

Detour

We started out in the mountains of North Carolina...

Where it was cooler and refreshing and I (the idiot) forgot my camera. Sigh. The incredibly fun photo opportunity at the water hole with rope swing will remain forever captured in only my head.

But today...we are (surprise!) up in Maryland with my family!

I got a wild hare and decided that I would take all three littles up here by myself yesterday. So that's what we did. And here I am.

Sidenote: I learned that Eli gets carsick and that once again...throw up in the car is really my idea of hell on earth. That and tiny little windowless doctor office exam rooms. Nevertheless, we made it.

And we are having a blast:





















































































More to come later!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Thursday Thoughts (on Friday)

We head out today for a weekend trip to the mountains with our college students from Grey Stone. Eli's first trip with us. Besides the trip around the world that brought him here. I am excited to "get away" for a few days...hopefully into cooler weather. Oh my...has it been hot! We haven't played outside all week, but instead have gotten our energy out at the local chic-fil-a, library, and a playdate at a pool. And we still have August to get through.

After my attitude adjustment (and two nights of uninterrupted sleep) the rest of my week has gone much better than the beginning. I wouldn't say Ezra has changed too much...I've just been a lot more patient and understanding with him.

I took Ella with me last night to Kroger's to take advantage of their Mega Sale going on this week and I think I have found a new partner to grocery shop with. Up until now I have only liked going grocery shopping by myself. I felt like losing my mind (and always ended up spending more) if I took all the kids with me. However, last night Ella truly was my partner. She pushed her own cart, had her own list, loaded up her items onto the belt, and even paid the cashier. She took it very seriously. Except for racing her mommy down the empty aisles. The beginning of a new era I believe.

Eli has learned how to say "awesome" and "amen" and finally figured out "bye bye" this week. Oh, and I learned that he has got a thing for any music with Beyonce in it.

I added up all the laundry I have done in the last week. 32 loads.

Yeah. I don't need to make any comments about that.

Thankfully, we really think we are in the clear with the scabies. Two treatments and two house scourings and 32 loads of laundry later. When we get back from the mountains the kids get to "release" all their toys from their trashbag prisons. It is going to be like Christmas around here for a few days.

I am working on getting caught up on the rest of my posts from our trip to Ethiopia as well as an update on how Jeremiah and I are adjusting to the new family dynamics. I really am. But for this weekend...I am just going to enjoy being with my family. And a van load of college students.

Happy Friday!















p.s. I thought this picture pretty much sums up their relationship at the moment =) Got any ideas for a caption for this photo?

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

craigslist update

Thank you to all who commented on my craigslist post...I was much encouraged.

Today was a much better day. After spending time in the Word this morning I decided that I needed to do two things differently:

1) Be intentional about my attitude - and more specifically - be more thankful!

When I have a bad day (or week) with the kids it is so easy to let myself get focused in on what is not going right (or at least the way I think things should go) and forget about all that I have been blessed with.

So, today, I made a point to be intentional and think about how thankful I am for the health I enjoy, thankful for the blessings of my children, thankful for an incredibly sensitive husband I have, thankful for the family and friends that support us, and most of all thankful for a God who is relational and compassionate and makes his mercies new to me every day. Oh, and thankful for air conditioning in this hotter than hades weather we've been having. And ice cream.

2) Be more permissive with Ezra.

I know..shocking, huh. Me. Saying be more permissive. But I realized (after reading through 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13) that I have not been the most patient and kind and not easily provoked kind of Mommy to him these last few days. I have been keeping records of wrongs. I have been making battles out of things that really didn't need to be battles. So, after breakfast today when he asked for a lollipop...I said yes. After all, it is just a lollipop. And it is something I could say yes to. And I need a lot of those opportunities these days.


Oh, and a quick shout out to my awesome husband who made me sleep in the guest bedroom (aka: away from where I could hear the kids) the last two nights in order for me to get caught up on sleep. Two full nights of uninterrupted sleep has made an incredible difference in my attitude today as well. Who would have thought (especially in those early honeymoon days!) that I would find it incredibly endearing that my husband forced me to sleep away from him. Oh, but nothing says love like "go get some uninterrupted sleep!"

Question of the Day

Ella: I wonder why God didn't make two hearts for us...one for the red blood and one for the blue blood?














She's a smart one...my Ella McKay.

My Choice

Today I choose to start the day in a Psalms 100 kind of way:


Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

a craigslist post

I have all three kids split up into three separate bedrooms for nap this afternoon.

Because naps ARE. NOT. AN. OPTION. today.

Ezra is having what I fondly refer to as a craigslist week. Not a craigslist day. A craiglist WEEK.

For those of you not in the know...that is when I feel like putting him up for sale on craigslist. Bless his little heart.

I know he is jealous of Eli. I know his little world has been rocked. I know he doesn't have the vocabulary or emotional capacity to express those feelings. I know it just takes patience, a little extra attention, and time. Lots of time.

I know. I know. I know.

Really. I know.

But tell that to my wedding album which is now missing two pages. And my headboard on my bed which is now completely broken. And two of my bedroom lamps which are missing shades. And my heart that just aches for my happy boy again.

I want to just squeeze into him these messages...

Mommy and Daddy love you.
It doesn't matter what you do...we will still love you.
You might as well get used to things...cause they aren't changing.
Having to share and wait are really good things...you will thank us someday.
Naps. Are. Not. Optional. (neither is bedtime)
Trust us.
























I'm pretty sure there is great spiritual implications for all of us in this stage Ezra is playing out.
I am just too tired at the moment to write it all out.

So, there you go. You now have an assignment. Leave me a comment with a verse or application for this situation =)
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