photojournal: Pullen Park

A day trip to the newly renovated Pullen Park is a favorite outing of ours.

This was Zoe's first trip, which included her first carousel and train ride. Watching your child experience (and enjoy) something new is one of the best parts of being a mom.

You can tell by her face that she was taking it all in. And not sure about the whole idea.

The apprehension quickly disappeared!

Feeding the ducks Zoe's leftover corn.

Not sure about sharing her corn =)

Round and round and round they go...

 Always. Wrestling. Always.

My dark eyed beauty.

The kids proclaimed favorite part of the park...the "magic tree."

Eli is in his element riding the train. Can't you tell by that sweet smile. 

A rare photo of me with my four favorites.

Memory Monday

For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

If we are to succeed in our calling of raising children with hearts for God, then we must see ourselves responsible for all of those who are like sheep without a shepherd. We must involve our family deeply in meeting needs if our children are going to understand that they were created to serve God by serving others.


- Sally Clarkson, The Ministry of Motherhood

_________________________________________________________________________________

Local folks, need some ideas that your whole family can get involved in? Check this out. 

lest you think it is all smiles around these parts...

I could say that this adorably cute frowny face was the result of her missing her Daddy...

We are going on day  #4 of no-Daddy week, after all.

But, no.

This face was the result of her being stripped of her phone privileges.

And you thought teenagers were funny about their phones.

zoe elizabeth: 11 (and a half) months

As much as I am sad that this little one is growing up and we are holding onto her baby status by a thread...

I have to admit that the stage she is in now is so much freaking fun!

She loves to play games (peek-a-book, catch me if you can, etc.) and give kisses and there is no more guessing game on what she likes and doesn't like. She has no problems at all communicating what she wants.

Namely the remote, cell phone, or xbox controller.

I have no idea how much she weighs, although I'm guessing around 21 or 22lbs. She is wearing 18 months sized clothes and a size 4 shoe. She loves her shoes and will walk up to them and try to stick her foot in them and get them on by herself. She also knows that when we get shoes on we are going outside or somewhere, so she is always excited for that.

She controls the older three with the greatest of ease. It really is like watching an expert princess the way they fall over her. We realize that she is greatly at risk of being the spoiled baby of the family.

She can say uh-oh, mama, dada, Ella, and a version of baby. Or it might be bye-bye. Hard to tell.

Loves baby dolls, anything forbidden, musical toys, balls, and books. Still loves her blankie and paci at bedtimes. Loves to climb stairs and be discovered at the top with a mischievous smile. Loves to be outside, and especially to stand directly in the middle of the cul-de-sac wearing a "please hit me" sign around her neck.

Can point (oh so cute) and dance (oh my, even cuter) and throw things in the potty.

She typically takes a  1-2 hour morning nap, a 1-2 hour afternoon nap, and sleeps from 7pm-7am-ish.

She is drinking less and less milk and eating more and more table food and is a master of her sippy cup. She has a strange dislike for carbs and won't eat bread, cereal, pancakes, pasta, or any kind of cookie. Weird, I know. She will eat pretty much any kind of fruit or veggie, loves yogurt, and will eat most meats.

I...gulp...moved her up to the "big girl" class at church last week. She was (ahem) a bit of a bully to the littler babies in the nursery and likes all the the fun new toys in the new class.

She still allows me to rock her to sleep at night, which I am going to hold onto as long as I possibly can...

I still can't get over how different she is from my other babies, how unique her personality is to our family. I love it. I know the Lord has fearfully and wonderfully made her...and I am loving getting to be a part of her developing little life.

Happy 11 months spunky sweet Zoobles!

the hair less wonder

Ezra: Hey Ella, watch this!

Ella: No, I don't want to.

Ezra: Aw, come on.

Ella: Hmph.

Ezra: It's gonna be ah-hairy-less!
              (translation = hilarious)

Funny, funny little man.

Not Me Monday

I am not extremely proud of the fact that we have had this toy for 6 years and still have all the pieces:



I am not completely obsessed with making sure we maintain this all-pieces-intact status.

Therefore, I have not been known to remove all the pieces before playdates or certain known toy-basket dumpers come to play and hide them on top of the bookshelf until the coast was clear.

I have not been known to search through all the toy baskets throughout the house until the missing piece was found. At the expense of delaying meals for my children. Or to pack it separately during our move.

Because that would be incredible obsessive compulsive. And I am not.

Nope. Not me. 

spaghetti

I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to be blogging less, huh.
This week (and the past few weeks) have been jam packed.
Packed jam.

I (gasp) haven't even taken many photo's lately.

We went up to Virginia and got to visit with our Momma Via while Jeremiah did some construction work. The kids loved their one on one time with their Meme. And Meme learned that she is going to have to "adjust" her $1 for every book read rule for Ella. The girl read 25 books in 1 1/2 days people. Apparently she is kinda sorta motivated by money.

We came home and had my mom, 4 of my siblings, and 2 of my nieces come in town for the huge Kids Exchange consignment sale. We had a blast, as usual, and walked away with great stuff for great prices. I got all of Zoe's winter clothes (as she can't wear ANY of the ones I saved from Ella), birthday and Christmas presents, puzzles, costumes, and shoes for both girls.

Yes, my baby girls is officially wearing shoes when we go out now as she pretty much insists on walking everywhere!

I'm in the throes of planning and organizing my 2012-2013 homeschool year for, gulp...THREE children. The kids are so excited. Ezra asks me every day if he can start school today. I admit, I am kind of excited too. I love learning with them. I really really do. I know I have my moments and feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped, but I genuinely love it.

I got my 2 year post-placement report filed with our agency for Eli for this year. Ethiopia requires a 1month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and then a yearly report for any adopted child until they reach the age of 18. I know I've already written about it, but it really is hard for me to believe it has been two years...and yet, it feels both longer and quicker than two years.

I still have yet to write Zoe's 11 month update.
Can you say denial?
I'm totally living in denial.

She even makes eating corn look cute. A rare superpower.

This is how she eats these days...chillin with her foot propped up on her tray. She's cool like that.

Jeremiah leaves tomorrow to take our students from church to camp. I admit I am not too excited to fly solo at parenting, however, I am determined to make the most of the week. Aka: put on a brave face for the kids. Ella also has a science camp all week, and I will have to be out of the house with all four kiddo's by 8:30am every day. I think this week will remind me of my number one reason for homeschooling.

Kidding.
Kidding.
It's really reason #2.

Here's to survivng (and thriving!) the week ahead!

Update: Summer of Fun 2012 (and tie-dye photo dump)

I posted at the beginning of summer that we had made some goals for our Summer and I am excited to say we are moving right along on crossing off our list...

All you list-crossers out there will understand how immensely pleasing this picture is.

Yes, I know. I spent ALOT of time on making up this list and chart. The creativity and professionalism just blows you away, eh.

One of our favorite activities and a new activity to us was tie-dyeing. And you know what they say about the family that tie-dyes together right?

No?

Me either.

Some pictures of our venture into the world of tie-dyeing...

Prepping the shirts and showing off Ezra's muscles. You are blown away again, huh.

Concentrating hard on their creations.

 We interrupt this tie-dye photo stream to bring you a picture of the cutest cows EVER...

We took a very impromptu break while the dye was setting to Chick-fil-a to take advantage of cow appreciation day.

Hanging up our beautiful creations to dry.

My personal favorite. Mine, of course.

Oh yes we did.
All wear our tie-dye shirts the next day, that is.
 The cloying cuteness is again, overwhelming, I know!

I have loved having this list to pull ideas from on days when the kids are getting a little antsy. It keeps me creative and motivated, it keeps them from fighting, and it is making us build some really fun memories of doing things together!

once upon a rainy day

thursday thoughts (a book review, one of the best weeks of my life, and the never-ending story of the hilarity of poop)

I just finished reading this book:

While Ella isn't technically a "tween" yet, I am realizing how quickly those years will be upon us. I thought this book was extremely practical for giving me ideas on how to navigate issues such as body image, modesty, boy-craziness, and the media in a biblical way. And since Ella and I have already had "the talk" (yes, you know the talk I am talking about)...it confirmed that I did an ok job with it, ha!


This has been an incredible week for me.


I can't put my finger on it...


the kids still fought at times,
i still lost my temper at times, 
the dishes still piled up,
the crumbs didn't sweep themselves up,
i had stuff i had to get done...


But I also got to see my kids show some real "fruit",
jump in rain puddles with them,
exercise and be productive each day,
draw fairies, fold airplanes, build forts,
cook a homemade dinner every night,
get up early and spend time in the Word undistracted,
see my husband fulfilled and happy doing a job he loves.


I have totally enjoyed my kids, my days, my husband, and my God this week. It has been such a gift.

Watching Zoe enjoy her first time playing in the rain...

And finally, why is the subject of poop still so funny to my kids? Does it ever get old? I had to officially lay down the law and declare that there will be no more conversations with the subject of poop in them conversated (just made that word up, i think?)  at any meals in our house. End of discussion.

We shall see.

Happy (happy!) Thursday!

Remember, part 2

Big eyes.
Sweet lips.
Sweet face.
Oh. My.
Is this really happening?
So fast.
Really fast.
Lord, is this my son?

Just a few of the hundreds of thoughts flying around my head the day I first saw Chala's picture...

Big eyes.
Furrowed brow.
Quiet.
Scared.
Tiny.
Very tiny.
Freaking out.
Oh. My.
Is this really happening?
Lord, is this my son?

Yep, just a few of the hundreds of thoughts flying around my head the moment I first met Chala-Eli...

HOME.
Oh, thank you Jesus, I am home.
So good to see friends and family.
Tired.
So very tired.
Ella and Ezra's eyes seem so little.
Is this really happening?
Ella's sweetness is melting my heart. Mush.
I have 3 children?!
Oh. My.

Again, just some of my thoughts upon the re-uniting of our family in the airport...

Who is this boy?

This is hard.

Really really hard.

Small short glimpses of the real Eli.

Will it ever feel normal again?

Oh, Ezra.

Oh. My.

A sample of my thoughts during those early weeks home...

And now.
Today.
2 years since Eli joined our family...

All I can do is thank God for the incredible privilege of being his Momma. I was so scared. So unsure I could do it. I felt guilty. I felt ill-equipped. I felt overwhelmed.  I had to get on my face every day and cry out to the Lord to help me.

And he did.

I recently have found myself just staring at Eli...heart melting at a sweet (or silly!) expression he makes. The significance of these moments are not lost on me. We have come so far. I am completely in love with him.

He is strong.
Silly.
Confident in his place within our family.
Partner in crime with Ezra.
Sweetness personified with Zoe.
Fascinated with animals (of the furry variety).

I have learned so much these past 2 years. Nothing else in my life has shown me more of the character of my God than experiencing Eli becoming a part of our family. I am so incredibly humbled and grateful that I have been allowed to be a part of it.

And if you have ever considered adoption...let me encourage you...when God calls you to something, HE WILL equip you with everything you need.



My sweet Chala-Eli,


 I love the way you give your brother the stink eye when he does something you don't like. I love the way you tenderly kiss Zoe's cheek. I love the way you joyfully do Ella's bidding. I love your silly faces. I love your adventurous eating habits. I love your play-by-play descriptions when we watch movies. I love your crazy hair and oh so soft skin. I'm so glad you have learned to open up and trust us enough to show us the real you. Because I really like the real you. 


You have quite the story to tell...and it is my prayer that your Daddy and I can raise you to realize the love of your heavenly Father and his presence in your life.


You are loved to the farthest moon and back. You are my hero. 

Forever, 


Your Momma

Not Me Monday

I am always fastidious about checking pockets before washing clothes. Always.

My children are always extremely fastidious about checking their pockets before throwing their clothes into the laundry basket. Always.


My husband is always fastidious about checking his pockets before throwing his clothes into the laundry. Always.


Of course.


Therefore, I was not thoroughly impressed with the durability of my PNY SD memory card. 


I was not minimally impressed with the durability of a certain yellow tonka truck that went for the car wash ride of its life.


And I was not completely un-impressed with the water solubility of our church's 1st time visitor cards. 


Ahem.


Nope. Not me. Not ever.

independence day and a re-introduction to the world wide web

We've been at surfside beach all week with the Hambrick clan.

We celebrated being together.
We celebrated our nations independence.
(I've decided that fireworks on the beach is the only way to watch fireworks!)
We celebrated eating lots and lots of food.
(I've decided that the Hambricks are really good at eating and laughing!)

We didn't have internet all week. It was quite nice. Quite.

Some pictures from the week...

"Great-good-Granny" (as Ezra liked to call her) with the great-grandkids.

The Hambrick Clan (minus Donna's kids) July 2012 (Eli was once again King of the silly faces)

Our 4th of July beauty...taking everything in.

The boys "practicing their surfing"

And wrestling. Always wrestling.

And now, its back to normal life.
And the great game of catch-up.