Tag Archives: The Kids 2015

Happy 9th Birthday, Y the Brave!

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Y’s birthday was a week after he went home but we wanted to celebrate with him.  He asked for torte (cake) and chocolade (yeah, chocolate…boy after my own heart).

 Since Big Hero Six was a big part of our celebration, I made a Bay Max for the top of the cake.  It was late at night so any descrepancies are because of that.

When we asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said a phone.  Um yeah right.  Aside from it being against our hosting rules, we don’t let our bio kids have phones so that was a big no.  But, an inexpensive mp3 player was a yes.  And a big hit.  Just an FYI, he likes heavy rock like Mark!  We loaded it up with several native worship songs and then added on some Relient K, David Crowder, and the like.  He jammed with that thing for a looooong time.

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Ice Cream for Lunch

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Y’s last Sunday, Mark and I had a plan.  It included ice cream for lunch among some other things.  Convincing the kids that we were going to get ice cream for lunch was a bit harder than I first thought.  Upon hearing the plan from a sibling, Liam had to ask Mark if we were really getting ice cream for lunch.  
“Oh good!”  Liam exclaimed when it was confirmed.  “We thought mom had lost it!”  
At the ice cream store, I asked Liam if he really thought I had gone crazy. 
“Well,”  he said rather loudly.  “I just thought you were drunk!”
(For the record, I don’t drink and I wasn’t drinking that day)

 We thought this would be a fun treat because the first week Y was here, we took a trip to Aldi.  We were looking at several different things in the store and I was asking Y what he would like, etc.  He kept saying this one word over and over again and for once Google Translate was a big help.  Y wanted ice cream.  He loves ice cream and so a special fun treat of ice cream for lunch was a must on my to do list.

We split the kids up to share ice cream sundaes and they were all thrilled they got to choose their flavors and toppings, etc.  Y and Josiah not only inhaled their sundaes but they then made quick work on the rest of the siblings who said they were too full to finish their own sundaes.  We shall henceforth call them the duel trash compactors.

After ice cream we took Y to Build-a-Bear to get a stuffed animal.  We recorded a short message and had it included with his bear.  We were unsure as to whether he would even want to get one but he not only wanted it, he played it over and over and over again and cuddled with it during the night.  I’m so glad we were able to give him something with our voices on it to remind him of our love for him.

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In which Y becomes Y the Brave

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One of the requirements of New Horizons is that we have our host child go to the dentist.   It was clear after Y was here a few days that a dental trip was absolutely necessary.  Let’s just say there was a lot going on in his mouth!  We got him in two weeks before he headed back home.  True to Y form, he was excited about the opportunity and about the new experience.  After his first check up, I decided he was no longer just Y but Y the Brave.  He had two more visits after the initial to start fixing his teeth.  He greeted each visit with smiles and it’s safe to say he fell in love with the staff at the dentist.

I would say the feeling was mutual!
We are so blessed by our dentist and their staff.  Not only did they treat Y the Brave with such love, they also donated their services!  We were hoping for a price break at the least but when they said they would donate all of his services, my heart melted and my eyes filled with tears.  It was such a blessing to all of us.
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It’s all a bit fishy!

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We didn’t stay in the lakehouse the whole time.  Cabin fever soon took hold and we decided to go on an adventure.  The Georgia Aquarium was our destination.  Mark kept saying that he wanted to provide a good “Wow” moment for Y.  Something that he wouldn’t be able to do at home.  This was definitely it.

 Mark said he’ll never forget that face as the whale shark swam over head.

There was a dolphin show as well.  The rest of the trip he couldn’t decide which was his favorite, the shark or the dolphins.  All of our kids had a wonderful time and we are so glad we got to share this memory with Y.

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The Lakehouse

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We enjoyed our first week of the new year with Mark’s college roommates and their families.  Sadly, we missed one family but with good reason (twins who are not traveling well at their young age).  The house full of lots of laughter and smiles despite the outcome to the playoff game we were able to watch.
 Josiah and Liam watching a football game with R,
 Our view one morning.  Yeah, no filter.
 Enjoying some marshmallows at the covered pavilion.  The weather was not always agreeable but we managed.

 Some flashlight fun.

 We kept trying to hide the pool balls and sticks but these rascals kept finding them and then slamming the balls in to their fingers.
 We managed some fireworks between rain storms.

I took the New Year’s day supper and went all traditional.  Ham, black eyed peas, carrots, etc.  It was a lot of work but soooo yummy and afterward we crashed on the couch to watch Alabama (get stomped by Ohio State but that is beside the point).  Zoe and Ace crashed in my lap.

 Another morning view.  No filter again.
 Twister.  Oh yeah.
 Best buds.
 Emmie only goes to a rare few people.  Uncle M was able to grab her up for a little while.  He’s pretty much magic with my babies.

One evening while we were all sitting around talking after the kids were in bed, R excused himself and came back like this.  This is the wedding outfits we had the groomsmen wear.  Fifteen years later and R still has it.  AND the dagger we gave as a groomsman gift!  So funny to see it again after all these years.

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New Year’s Day

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As hard as this is, I still want to share our awesome experience with Y the Brave (more on why we call him that later).
New Year’s Day is a big deal where Y is from.  So, we celebrated with a gift for each child and then driving an hour to a lake house to spend time with our Bama friends.

 Soccer ball…what almost every 8 year old European boy loves to have.  Y was thrilled and any smidge on it was a cause for concern.  We also got a pump (which he wanted to use constantly) so we could deflate it for the trip home and he could inflate it there.
 I think Ace was more excited than Liam!
 Ace got a practical joke gift set-that explains the maniacal face he is making.

Apparently, 12 year olds do not want to have their picture taken when opening a gift.

 They don’t do Santa Clause as much as they do Father Frost…nonetheless, Y knew all about Santa and thought his Santa sack gift was perfect to go with his hat!

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Nine is Divine!

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The end of October brought us a beautiful picture and much anticipation and preparation as we hosted an 8 year old boy who couldn’t speak English and, as far as we know, had never experienced a Christmas with family.  We wondered if he would love us the way we already loved his picture.  If he would think we were insane or just absolutely crazy…

Yeah,  he fit right in.
December brought that boy to our home and our hearts…well, they melted.  With each smile and simple request and heart attack (the boy would jump down several steps at a time to go downstairs, I honestly wondered if he would make it without an ER trip or two), we melted more.  He took our hearts back with him when he got on that plane in January and we knew that we needed to move heaven and earth to make sure he came home to us soon.

Our Y the Brave!
And here we are.  Starting our home study.  Starting this journey.  Scared, thrilled, nervous, and anxious.  The kids are thrilled that we are seeking to adopt Y.  As we started hosting they all agreed to host him and when we asked them if they would like for him to live with us forever there was a resounding yell of approval.  We have a great agency and tremendous support from family and friends.  
So, with all that said, we are happy to announce that we are praying to add #9 to our family by the end of the year!
There are a lot of unknowns so we are taking each step slowly and carefully.  We are anticipating everything yet expecting very little (the same way we walked through hosting).  
We would covet everyone’s prayers as we walk this journey.    
Our first step is to get our home study done.  We are anxiously awaiting on that paperwork to make it to us in the mail.  After that is a commitment paperwork for our agency and then dossier paperwork and fingerprinting etc.  We’re hoping to start our travel by the fall but we know that nothing is predictable and nothing is planned when it comes to adopting.
Our goal is to do this debt-free.  We obviously don’t have $30,000 lying around to do that so we are praying that God will provide.  Within the week we will be setting up a crowd funding site and planning fundraising events.  So, keep your eyes and ears peeled!
And Y, well, he’s a part of our family, now and forever, no matter what, no matter how goofy we all are.
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These people…

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These people are my people.  They were my first people and every time I look at this picture of the four of us, I get those warm fuzzy happy feelings.  This year has not been without its challenges and trials.  These people know that.  And more than that, they have stood by, between, and for us during each of those trials and uncertainties.  I am so blessed to call these people mine.  They are amazing and have such love for my family and I for them.  I don’t think I can ever thank them enough for all they have done for us in just this year alone.  So, all I can really say is, “Thank you.”

And show our true colors…
 Now we know who the real serious ones are and the, um, crazies!

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Wasp Attack

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We were able to attend our local minor league baseball game again this year.  The ball club was generous enough to give the kids who completed the reading program tickets.  We thought it would be fun.  Only, when we got there did the kids inform us that they didn’t enjoy the game last year.  Oops.  We invited some friends along but apparently, those friends didn’t enjoy it either.  Strike two.
And then, Ace went to the top of the stadium and put his hand right in a wasp nest.
Yeah, strike three.  Thankfully, he was not allergic to them and only had a sore head (three stings on the head and two on his hand) for a day or so.
This was the only picture I managed to get.
The game was a double header and we got there halfway through the first game.  After the first game, the kids were able to walk around the field.  So, our kids walked and then were ready to leave.  This will go down as the least fun ball game my kids have seen.  At least we got to visit with our friends.

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