2 to school...

for K and 1st grade. I am surprisingly peaceful about our decision to have Ry and Ethan go to school this year. We bathed the decision in prayer and had to admit I am not super mom. Chad and I feel strongly about keeping Annah and doing our best with T-Bella for however much longer she might be with us; so with 7 children I knew something needed to change. Between multiple counseling appts (3 per week), twins PIC appts, adoption appts and paperwork, social worker appts (3x/month) etc etc. For this season at least, I believe Ethan and Ryland will enjoy some time away from home and each other! I know this goes against much of what I believe (having all our children home, working together and tomato staking etc) yet I know this is what we need to do for right now. The twins are much more of a handful (delightfully so!) now that they are toddlers and I don't want to miss the joy for the business. We will continue to do SO much learning together however and since our lifestyle is one of constant learning and interaction; it will be good.

"Ry and Mom when Ry grows older and taller than her." ;o)

He is still the same...

yesterday, today, tomorrow. It's so very reassuring to remember that no matter what happens in the world, on this earth, our God does not change. His word does not change. His character does not change. His love is unchanged.

I'm on my knees praying for our country this morning. It's heavy on my heart, though I don't really know why it should be all that different now than any other time in history. I guess I'm seeing red flags and wondering why so many others do not. God is in control and it it needs to come to pass; it will no matter what we do to stop it. But I pray for His protection and provision today.

"Special Obama flags and an Obama presidential seal. A graphic with the portrayal of the globe and Obama's name on it, which adorns everything from Obama's plane to his street literature. Young school children singing songs praising Obama. Teenagers wearing camouflage outfits and marching in military order chanting Obama's name and the professions he is going to open to them. An Obama world tour, culminating in a speech in Berlin where Obama proclaims we are all citizens of the world."

The Obama Temptation [Mark R. Levin]

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will wait for Him.”
Lamentations 3:21-24

Ethan at 7...

~my early bird ~he often joins me for my morning coffee and bible reading ~he has hot chocolate and reads (or tries) his hero bible ~loves to set up his toys in scenarios of great battles ~still called Hunter as he is unchanged from the three year old who would walk around our yard, spear in hand, hunting the bears ~builds his bionicles or other lego creations sans instructions, much to his older brothers chagrin ~prayed the other night "please help me to want to pray more"~affectionate and cuddly still ~adores his Hoper-smacker ~my trouble maker, still ~loves to do math facts, as fast as he can~determined, decisive, delightful

Happy Birthday Ethan!

We love you!!!

pink

Do we really have 4 girls!?! Yep. For how long, only God knows. But one thing is for sure...we've got a whole lot of pink in our home right now and I'm loving it!

Nature boy

I don't think there is hardly a day Ry isn't looking up some critter in our Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. I love his enthusiasm. He came to me and asked me how to spell caterpillar so he could look it up in the index! Even more impressive was that he was able to find it and indentify the types we have. Way to go Ry!

great news

We're working hard to have the twins' adoption finalized by November 14th!!! The push is for us to participate in National Adoption Day and I'm just thrilled. What an amazing gift it will be to finally let our breath out before the holidays. Thankfullness will be bursting at the seams in our house this year!!! We appreciate your prayers. :o)

Silly Kids Part 2 - turn it up!

Silly Kids Part 1 - Crank up the volume!

Dancing Fun

I dare you to try to watch this and not smile. It's impossible!

Hope is such fun to have around! From the time she was able to move this baby has loved music. Are they happy little girls or what!?!

Happy Birthday Chad!

. husband . father . friend .

:: generous :: hardworking :: loving :: fun ::

:: God-fearing :: ingenious :: outdoorsey nautured ::

:: trustworthy :: even-tempered :: calm and cool :: honorable ::

:: honest :: handsome :: tender :: funny :: wise :: nice ::

:: able to ask for directions :: handy :: gentle ::

:: a true friend :: patient :: joyful ::

:: strong :: faithful :: shy ::

.mama's heart's twin.

.bestest daddy.

These character qualities were contributed by all 8 of us.

We love you Chad!

loving these bum wiggles

Together, Hope, Halle and Daniel Powter are a definite morning pick-me-up!

The video is too long to upload. It's SO stinkin cute though; maybe since Chad is working from home on Wednesdays now, he can work on it for me. {Hint, hint ;o) }

Ryland's finger

Sunday night, after church, Ryland managed to get his right index finger in the door jam of a large heavy metal door – and the door was then shut. At first, Becca and I thought it was just another boo boo – smashed finger in the door trick. A little crying and some cold water or ice, and all would be well. We quickly realized that this was more serious. We are both veterans to seeing and dealing with blood. But this was probably the single most traumatic thing either of us has experience with our kids. His finger, from about 1/8 inch behind the back of his nail (right index finger) was crushed (bone fractured) and completely severed, minus a bit of skin still holding it on.

Becca and I just lost it when we saw the smashed finger tip just flop over and dangle there. A total of only 1\2 inch, and thankfully not as far back as the joint. But it did mess up the ‘nail bed’, so he may never grow a fingernail on that finger again. We rushed him to the ER and they took him straight in and began working on him. He’s about as stubborn and hard headed as a kid can get, and it took Becca (I went home with the kids) and nurses all they could muster to keep from getting totally beat up by his kicking and punching and grabbing as they poked him (often right into the open wound) with needles over 8-9 times just to try and numb him enough so they could sew the finger tip back on.

I think this process was more traumatic on him than the initial injury. Becca is frazzled and completely spent after having to go through that with Ryland. And based on my ‘post traumatic stress’ (can’t close my eyes without seeing that finger tip flopping over like that), I can only imagine she’s even more traumatized. The other kids (who didn’t see the same thing we did) are doing fine. They were a little freaked out at first, not knowing if Ry was going to be OK or not. But now they are more interested in seeing the stitches and stuff out of morbid curiosity that most boys seem to have (and girls – TBella is still with us).

Ryland is doing great. He has some pain that shoots through now and then. He takes children’s Motrin and that helps a little. I think soccer will be put on hold for a week or so though, but he’s already back to wrestling with his brothers… Tomorrow we are taking him to see a specialist (surgeon who works with amputations and severed limbs) based on the recommendation from the ER doctor. We are praying that he’ll say all looks well. But he could say that the finger tip needs to be re-done and that would be not be good! I know it’s just a finger tip. In the long run it isn’t that big of a deal. But this really shook us up and we can all use your prayers.

-Chad

If you're brave click on the link to see his wound. It may serve as a strong warning to other kids to not linger at door jams.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v623/sonkissed/Oct08152.jpg

I agree

Skirts are better

This was some much needed humor today. But I do love skirts and dresses!!!

more Charlotte Mason wisdom

"We are not unwilling to make efforts in thebeginning with the assurance that by-and-by things will go smoothly; andthis is just what habit is, in an extraordinary degree, pledged to effect.The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take careof themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children." (Vol.1, p. 136).

Welcome to Annah!

Annah O.

14 years old in Dec

silly, funny and fun-loving

born in the Ukraine

came to the USA at age 2

girly~loves to shop

a good cook ~ likes to bake

genuinely loving

likes sports

joyful

This 16 month old girl...

Hope Noelle at 16 months

~22lbs, 33inches

~wears 12-18month clothes ~size 4 shoes

~SCREAMS when anyone but me (and daddy) picks her up

~said "duck, Duuuuuck, DUCK!" at the lake yesterday as she sat in my lap in the sand, as still as can be watching the ducks swim nearby

~loves to play outside, our newest little explorer; she also climbs and get's stuck purposely!

~will lay in your lap, chilling, while you watch a movie

~also says eye, as well as bye-bye, hi daddy, num-num (eat), mama, bubba, aj, all-done, and birdie

~is getting frightful at night and doesn't like to be laid down; needs mama to leave the door open at bedtime

~loves her floppy sheep and cuddles him while sucking her two fingers when it's bedtime

~enjoys building block towers

~still adores music and shakes her bum to the beat

~loves to be carried in my mei tai sling, and will bring it to me

~eats like there is no tomorrow, ALL day!

~ has all but completely weaned herself from her bottle

~ eats more fruit in one day than all the other kids combined

~prefers eating at the table, all by herself, and thinks she's a BIG girl

This 16 month old girl

Halle Faith at 16 months

23 pounds ~ 33 inches

~said "eyyyyyee" last night while pointing to her eye, then my eye, then her eye, over and over again; she also says ball, mama, daddy, birdie and kitty~weighs 23 lbs, wears size 18-24months clothes and size 4.5 shoes~has a great sense of humor and makes us laugh daily!

~walks around the great room swininging her arms all around, smilling a bashful smile, giggling~drank her first super smootie this morning (carrots, orange, frozen mixed berries, yogurt and ground flax seeds) and she loved it~sleeps 12hrs a night (8-8) and just went down to one nap a day (3hrs from 12-3)

~likes her baby dolls~loves to dance in circles, and tries to sing too~on a whole, is very mellow and easy-going~likes to "help" me with laundry; she really does like to "work"~is always reading one of books when I come into her room in the morning; her faves are Guess How Much I Love You & The Very Busy Spider

~one of the GREATEST blessings God has given me~adores kittens, lizards (have I not blogged about our new bearded dragon & our water dragon? these are chad's birthday presents), birds and squirrels; chickens, dogs and horses...not so much~throws fits when she is frustrated and cannot communicate her wishes, but is so sweet and communicative when she can~Lastly, this girl has the best daddy in the world, whom she loves!