my littlest man...

Things are going pretty good around here.

The boys are continuing to figure things out...
which is way easy for Little Dude...
and a little harder for Eli.

It's just so much easier to mesh into a new family as a little one.

But they both doing well and spending copious amounts of time
playing outside.
They really have the greatest time being out in the sunshine
riding scooters, bikes, and well, anything with wheels.

Last Sunday we had a little pocket of time that my parents
were home and offered to watch all the kiddos (the 15 & under crowd).
So we didn't miss a beat on that one and
took them by to hang out there for a while while K-man and I
had a MUCH NEEDED mini-date.

It was so nice.

So.Nice.So.Nice.

We had lunch.

In a restaurant.

Alone.

But here's what we came back to...
My littlest man playing with a purse in a coon-skin hat.

The props at their house are endless.

This is what happens when you are offered
free babysitting.

I'll take it ANY DAY.

:)

rejected

Would you please stop by Lynsay's blog?


She and her husband Bill have an amazing ministry in Beijing,
if you don't already know that...
and they have some pretty darn AMAZING babies
that need families.

Her latest post is completely heartbreaking to me.
Please go read it...

and pray about what God would have you do
with what He puts on your heart.

Our little guy Isaiah is such a hoot.
He's very much a busy little boy...but not dreadfully busy.
He doesn't get into things he's not supposed to
and he is very good about playing nicely by himself or with the other kids.

And I'm catching onto mothering him quite easily.
Well, except for the fact that I forgot to put underwear on him
for Brenden's graduation.
Imagine my shock when I discovered this little overlooked
detail just minutes before the ceremony.
And his pants barely stay on him with underpants.
I was in a cold sweat all evening that
they would drop at any moment.
Oh well...he's a boy...going commando is an honor.

**Don't tell my social worker I just said that.**
Oh wait, she reads my blog.
Never mind.
It is what it is.

And he just loves the little play kitchen and all the plastic food.
Here he is, bringing me breakfast.
I think he'll make a good husband after all.

congratulations, brenden

Brenden's first day of kindergarten...I remember that day so vividly...partly because it was a huge
milestone in my little man's life...and partly
because he told me I could drop him off at the curb and
be on my way.
Nice.
Well, I did walk him in and I recall that across the entrance
of his kindergarten door was a banner that said,

"Class of 2011"

Well, that's so cute...how they are thinking
so far into the future.
As if that date will ever, ever get here.

Well, it got here.

Dang it, it got here.

How in the world can a Mama feel so extremely
happy and sad at the very same time?

And when will these spontaneous bursts of tears
quit happening?


Congratulations, Brenden!!
We are so proud of you!!

please consider...

Hey, guys!

Would you please skip on over to my
dear, dear, dear
friend, Sarah's blog...

**Uganda Considered**

She is getting ready to go to Uganda with
the Saunders' crew and
she could sure use some help with fund raising.

She is such a darling girl who loves Jesus so much!
Please consider helping her a big, would you?

Thank you!!

sucked into a mess

What's wrong with these pictures?

What's wrong is...a mother with 18+ years of parenting
experience should know better than
to get herself sucked into
this kind of
mess.

a boy and his...barbie {?}

All the adoption "experts" say to hunker down for the first
few weeks...months (gasp) with your new
child(ren) and focus on building attachment.
Stay home.
Don't go anywhere.

I am getting really close to telling those "experts" what I think about
that nutty advice.
Because...we are all going a little nutty.

Although one particular little fella seems to find joy
in everything he does.

And today, he discovered Lucy's princess Barbie doll.

His future wife has much to look forward to.

Much.

Very much.
???

Brenden did what he could to distract him.

But he pressed on.

Thank goodness he found his rubber lizard along the way.

wordless wednesday...

Eli {unleashed}

One of the concerns we had about adopting a little guy along with
a bigger guy was that little guy would steal the attention
with his massive cuteness.

Well, in a way...that's true.
Isaiah is a burst of hilarity and is limitless with his innocent bravery in
his new surroundings.

Eli, on the other hand is more guarded.But having his new little brother has proven to be very good
for him in many ways.
One being that he helps soften the awkwardness that comes with
older child adoption (for us and for him).


But this post is fully dedicated to my big brave boy.
He is the sweetest young man you'll ever meet.
He won't let you lift a finger if he can figure out a way to
do what you're doing for you.
He is eager to help the little kids when they are hurt or
need a push on the swing.
He is so sweet.
Did I mention that?

I'm so proud of him.

Oh and he eats like nobody's business.
He apparently thinks I cook the most incredible things because
he asks for second...third...and fourth servings.
Does my heart good.
Finally, someone appreciates my fine culinary skills.
I knew my 4 years of high school home ec would
eventually pay off.


I think he looks so much like his Chinese brother, Xiao Dong,
here.

Basketball.
He loves it so much.
And is also working hard on pronouncing it correctly.



And umm, I caught a glimpse of another side of him
last evening when I started taking pics...

Impromptu martial arts.

And a gun show.

And if you didn't know,
I'm a black belt in Drive-way Karate.

Don't mess with this.

We're cool.
Don't you forget it.

Having fun.

getting you up to speed

Got some catchin' up to do with ya'll.
My 'puter is back and she's working just fine.
Nothing was lost from that
nasty virus.
Saying I'm thankful just doesn't quite capture how relieved I am.


So yesterday afternoon we went to a little grad party for Brenden
and his friends.
And since I was going to be seeing people (other than Wal Mart clerks),
I put on mascara and everything.
We loaded up the crew and went to the par-tay.

Just a few pics of some very good friends...

Now I must stop or I'll cry again.
And the grad events have just begun.
Stupid kids growing up.


Back on the ranch, where I've managed to widdle down my
getting-ready time to about 7 minutes (hence the lack of mascara most days).
Priorities, people.
And survival.

Nick is crazy about our littlest dude.And little dude, as I mentioned in an earlier post,
is terrified of our dog, Domino (well, Zeke too but he doesn't roam free like Domino).

So here is Eli on the porch trying to convince Isaiah that's it's really
okay to come on out and give Domino some lovin'.

Nothing doin'.

Ain't gonna happen.

UNTIL, finally the Amazing Macy lured
him to our harmless canine and he quickly found that,
hey, this doggy isn't so bad!

I'm pretty tickled at how well Macy has been since the boys
have been home.
To say that she's feeling settled into our family like never before,
would be an understatement.
To say that she feels empowered to NOT be the newbie anymore
goes without saying.
To say that she is beyond helpful in every way, well, just makes
my heart leap with joy.
She loves her new brothers.
And she seems to love being in our family like never before.

She and Eli love playing the Wii together...

Little Mr. Curiosity is busy discovering all the toys.
Which is proving to be a tad stressful for Lucy-bug.
We are working on that.
My sweet littlest girly seems to be the one struggling the most
with all these new changes.
Don't worry, we're giving her extra TLC.
She had the same unsettled feelings when Macy came and now
they're the best of friends.
Lots of love and time will get her through.

But here is Isaiah-man as a rock-star...

Our little guy's fine motor skills seem to be really great.
He loves to color.

And yes, those cheeks are irresistible and
get a gazillion kisses and nibbles every single day.
I just can't resist.

Well, I think that gets up to to speed on things for now.

This afternoon is Brenden's Baccalaureate.
So, more boo-hooing is in my near future.

Have a blessed Lord's Day!!