the little cousins

 

The little cousins (Amy, Anna, Grayson and Tate) dressed up tonight and hit a few houses in our neighborhood tonight. We aren't usually home on Halloween night, but since we were this year, we took advantage of an opportunity to pull a few costumes out and "find some candy" (as Grayson called it). Chris dressed up as Goofy and handed out candy at our house. The two big kids went on a hayride with their T & T AWANA groups.

(tomorrow is Anna's birthday!!!)

and

Happy "Gotcha Day" to our friend Katherine! Three years ago today GOD placed Katie in the waiting arms of Steve and Joy. We are sooooo very blessed that we are friends with Katie's family - especially since GOD would also choose to put Katie's Yangjiang sister Amy-Hui in our waiting arms about 17 months later!

Happy Birthday Little Man

Happy 9th Birthday, Austin!
For you - my little man - an acrostic of YOU this year...
A-adventurous! Wow! You are always up for an adventure (sometimes to Momma's dismay...) and that is an attractive quality in a person! I can't wait to see how that will play out in your life - especially as you choose a career!
U-unwind. You know how to "veg" and chill. I could take lessons from you on how to truly relax and live in the moment. Sometimes the ways you choose to unwind drive me NUTS, but it is still something I admire about you.
S-sensitive. Still my sensitive little guy; rough and tumble one minute and tearing up the next. I especially appreciate your sensitivity to those who don't know Jesus.
T-THRILLVILLE! As you will see in the pictures (below), Austin is ALL about roller coasters! He loves to research them, learn how they are made, scour the internet looking for new ones... He got a new game today for his Nintendo DS that is all about rollercoasters and he loves it!
I-investigate. More of the same. How does stuff work? Why?
N-(forgive me) eNcourager. Austin has the gift of encouragement (you might say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). He knows he has been blessed to be a blessing to others and he does that by encouraging others when they need it.



Grandma and Grandpa R gave Austin an awesome collection of classic "boys" literature - one of which was "Treasure Island" (which he is reading right now in our homeschool group!)



Ashleigh, Amy and Anna gave Austin a K'Nex roller coaster



We TOTALLY had him. We gave him the "Thrillville" game first and then made a BIG deal about how we accidently got him the one for the DS instead of the Gameboy. He fell for it and was very forgiving. Then he opened the DS!!!



Make a WISH!
(my girlfriend Shelley can appreciate the "birthday donut" tradition!)

Cheeseburger Soup recipe

for those who wondered...

Cheeseburger Soup

1 lb. ground beef
3/4 C. chopped onion
3/4 C. shredded carrots
3/4 C. diced celery
3 T. butter or oil
3 C. chicken broth
4 C. diced potatoes
1/4 C. flour
8 oz. Velveeta cheese
1 1/2 C. milk
1 t. basil
1/4 C. sour cream
salt and pepper

In 5 qt. pot, brown beef, drain and set aside. Saute onion, carrots, celery and basil in oil (same pot) for about 5 minutes (til onions are translucent). Stir in flour and add broth, potatoes and beef.

Cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes).

Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts.

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

MMMMmmmmmmmm...

We served it in whole wheat bread bowls :)
(poor Chris - he will never get a taste for wheat bread I am afraid)

Life without Amy and Anna...

I am especially "introspective" today - as I think about what my life would be like today without Amy and Anna. NOT that I wish they weren't here, but GOD has just struck that thought into my heart and I am wise to heed it. There are certainly moments in my day when I think how nice it would be to have some real quiet and not be actively correcting a toddler and a preschooler ALL day. So, as I sit here, a list develops...

-my two big kids would be at school right now (since the reason I am homeschooling this year is directly tied to our adoption of Anna)

-I would be typing this in my office instead of at the kitchen counter (office is long gone after all the "extra" rooms have been made into bedrooms)

-I could be driving the Dodge Charger I have been dreaming about (orange) a lot lately (I wouldn't need room for four kids/two car seats)

-we wouldn't be planning a penny pinching vacation for 6 right now (but could be planning a trip where we FLY somewhere, rent a car and eat out the whole trip)

-I would be wearing some new, trendier clothes (of course all four kids are quickly outgrowing shoes, clothes and such)

-I wouldn't be looking at dirty sippy cups on the kitchen counter, baby dolls on the floor or a puzzle on the floor

-my grocery bill wouldn't be $50 higher because I had to add formula and diapers

-leaving marbles on the floor wouldn't be a choking hazard

-my heart wouldn't be in China... somewhere yet to be determined

-the family picture on our family room wall wouldn't be outdated (taken 3 years and two little girls ago)

-I wouldn't have a finger painting and a,b,c magnets on my fridge

-places like Yangjiang and Guangzhou would never have been part of my life (and now they are forever in my heart)

and a few more...

-I wouldn't have had the most amazing moments last night when 1) Chris came home and Anna said "DadDY!" and ran and hugged his leg and 2) When I got home from the chiro and Anna heard my voice and said "Momma!" and ran full force to throw her arms around me and kiss me

-I wouldn't have a picture on my family room wall of the saddest little 17 month old orphan named Yang Guo Hui - that still brings tears to my eyes when I consider who GOD has made her to be today - Amy-Hui Carmichael

fall has arrived!

I love fall.
I am not quite sure what it is - but something about this season beckons me back to home and family. I never stray too far away from those things, but my life can often get so busy with "stuff" that I forget the peace and comfort that being at home can provide.

Life in our home has been sooooo busy lately (and won't really slow down again until after Judgement House), but we have had the awesome gift of being home this week. Last night (Monday) and tonight we are "just home" - without plans or an agenda. We will have a pot of cheeseburger soup simmering in the next few hours and if my little girls will allow me the time, I will bake some bread bowls to serve the soup in :) YUM!

I wish I could figure out the balance of "being still" and the call to "go" into the world and share the gospel. I think that maybe GOD provides a sense of peace when we have the harmony of that figured out. Right now I have that peace. I know that the days ahead hold a LOT of hours away from home and from my little girls, but we have also carved out a lot of family time in the middle of those busy weekends.

If you look at the calendar hanging on my wall right now, you will see "family" written on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and "Judgement House" written on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Then next week - it says "family" again for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday is a special treat for my big kids with their AWANA group and then Thursday, Friday and Saturday say "Judgement House".

For now, I think I have that balance. I guess I have blogged enough for today. The kids beckon me to "see what" they have been up to. Dough is calling. Fall is in the air. I hope we can take a walk in the next few days and see the changing of the leaves and enjoy the crispness in the air...

Austin's Birthday Party!

I will save the "birthday" post until his actual birthday (Thursday), but wanted to post some pics from Austin's birthday party last night!
We had a bowling/monster truck party at the local bowling alley. Five of Austin's friends (from school last year and from church) were able to join us and we had a blast!

Ya gotta love it when you are walking to your car after a party for your son and he stops, looks up at you and says "thanks Mom. That was a great party!"


Austin and his buddies get ready to tear up the lanes!

 

The style!

 

Real bowling pin for the birthday boy

 

Blowing out the candles on his 9th birthday cake

 

You are invited -

to come and see just what is keeping us OH so busy these days...

Judgement House: Behind the Family Portrait

Now - I know that I have a lot of fellow blog readers that don't live near us, but for those who are within even an hour or two, I promise that you won't regret checking this out.

I am so, so, SO excited that our church is presenting this walk-through drama to our community and outlying areas! Chris and I have taken our jr high kids to this the past two years in Wichita and it is powerful.

We are presenting the drama (which takes almost 2 hours from start to finish) on October 25, 26 and 27 and then again November 1, 2 and 3. Reservations are strongly recommended.

If you are "into" dates, you will notice that the first night of JH is Austin's 9th birthday. You will also notice that the fourth night is Anna's 2nd birthday. It's kind of a bummer that we will have to be SUPER flexible on celebrating these special days, but I promise that it is because JH is THAT important to our entire family that we have made the committment in spite of the conflict.

You can link here for more information and to register online to attend. The intense nature of the drama necessitates that children under 9 years of age will not be admitted.

If you have any questions - please email me (or post on the comments section) and I will do my best to answer them!

Amy's arm update

This is why I married my man...

 

Daddy was confident that Amy needed flowers along with a wish to get well soon! What a great guy I have!!!

 

A silly broken arm will not keep Amy from her finger sucking ritual :)
(I woke her up when the camera flashed!)

 

This pic was taken at the pumpkin patch on Saturday (more pics from that to come...) and shows Amy's stylin' hot pink cast!

McDonald's for supper at 9:45???

There was no other option. I know - you say "you are the Mom! Of course there is another option!". There isn't another option when your poor little 3 year old didn't get to eat dinner at a normal time. There isn't another option when she says "I want McDonalds". Not when THIS is the reason...

 

Yup. Amy broke her arm.

Apparently she was chasing big brother and she tripped and fell on her arm on the step leading up into our kitchen from the family room. All I know is that she fell and then there was a "thunk" sound followed by silence. Then the wail. Chris stood her up and I knew at that moment that she broke it. Her arm just "hung" there. It wasn't obviously broken (no bones protruding or anything like that). But Momma just knew. I scooped her up and a nasty feeling of dizzynes and queeziness swept over ME! "Chris - I need to sit down..." It's that Momma Hen thing :)

Can I make a little confession? Those three hours in the ER with my precious Amy-Hui were the best three hours I have had in a long time. My third little peep seems to get lost sometimes in this hen house. We snuggled, sang, read books, laughed, drank sugary pop and prayed.

She broke her humerus just above her elbow. A "non-displaced break" that should heal quickly without a "real" cast. She is wearing a splintfrom armpit to fingers.

I am thankful that it wasn't one of those "bone protruding" breaks. I surely would have passed out!

full circle? or maybe 1/2 cirle?

Soooooo wierd!!!
11 years ago I started attending a para-church ministry at Grace called "Mom to Mom". It's a ministry based on the Titus 2 passage about older women mentoring younger women. I was invited by a gal that I met at the county fair that summer. I was QUITE pregnant with Ashleigh the first time I went!
We eventually decided that Grace should be our new church home (January 1997).
So I am getting ready to go to the first "Mom to Mom" of the year this morning - getting four kids ready :) Last night the child-care coordinator called and asked if Ashleigh wanted to help babysit! Oh my goodness! This is the same mom that held my precious newborn Ashleigh at the December "Mom to Mom" in 1996 and gave her a bottle for a totally frazzled, sleep-deprived new mom...
Pretty cool to see what GOD has done in 11 years. At Grace. In Ashleigh. In me.

Mythbusters

I am out to "de-bunk" a myth today. I love Mythbusters!
No - this is not a scientific "mythbusting" - it's actually just me setting the record straight...
I am not supermom!
To prove this (so maybe this is scientific!), let me share with you my day yesterday...
-alarm set for 5 am goes off; I snooze
-alarm finally pulls me from bed at 5:30 am
-restroom and BACK to bed until Chris's alarm goes off at 6 am
-turn OFF Chris's alarm and sleep until 6:30
-get up (finally)
-don't talk to me; I need coffee to be nice
-dressed
-catch tail end of "Focus on the Family" while hushing my two "awake" kids
-throw waffles in toaster for said kids
-start school (or at least try!)
-kids whine
-more whining
-me yelling
-tv on for two little ones to distract them
-more whining
-more of me yelling
-crying (me and whiney child)
-load kids up to library
-mom runs back and forth between play area (godsend for little ones) and trying to find books for school
-change dirty diaper (because SOMETHING at the library triggers this repsonse in Anna)
-leave library, yell at kids, drop book bag in frustration, yell more only to look up and see someone walking towards me with the look of "you apparently wanted four kids and to homeschool! Why are you yelling?!"
-lunch
-collaspe on sofa for 5 minutes off my feet
-girls down for happy nappy
-finish up school
-help Ashleigh with math (which is as frustrating to me NOW as it was to me in 5th grade!)
-whining has at least subsided...

and so it goes.

We went to my Mom's last night and thankfully at some point after lunch I was able to "chill" a little bit.

For those that would say to me (in kind of an attitudinal type way) "This is what you wanted!" I would respond (with every ounce of sincerity I could muster) "Yes - this is EXACTLY what I wanted." All of this. And I couldn't be more thankful that GOD has blessed me like he has. But - doesn't every mom have the right to have a rough day? Why is it that a stay at home, homeschooling mom of four (two of which are adopted and obviously were chosen) is supposed to be supermom and be happy and not have a tough, PMS kind of day? I don't know.

I know that this is temporary. Heck - I was thinking the other day about when Ash and Austin were 1 and 3! I called Chris at work nearly every day - threatening to have my bags at the door, ready to leave - when he got home! I am not nearly there! Now I look at my nearly 11 and 9 year old and realize that those days are gone forever with them...