I got to spend the day with my "babies". Anna's kindergarten class and Abe's preschool class went on a zoo field trip this morning and asked their momma to go.
It was busy. And not cool. But, I enjoyed the time with these awesome kiddos, so we will call it a perfect day :-)
we have three spring programs in a week and a half.
last night was the first one. and all three littles were in it - together...
they sang beautifully. i think. of course, i didn't hear them sing, but my assumption is that they were moving their mouths and actually singing.
cute kids, eh?
*****
tonight,i get to go to the airport and welcome home my friend and her new baby boy from korea! i {heart} airport welcomes!
*****
i'm tired. so tired. no real reason why. i think part of it is my broken arm. and the other part is just crazy busy end of school schedules. crazy. programs. graduations (required for my big kids b/c they are singing/playing in them). track meets. field trips. six kids. no one told me about this when they were writing my homestudies...
*****
we leave for the beach in 24 days.
i really, really want to turn off our cell phones while we are gone...
not sure chris, ashleigh or austin will agree.
but, maybe my phone is the only one that needs to be turned off???
ahhhhhh. beaches. sand. sun.
i can't even tell you how much i need this vacation...
my fingers on my right hand look like sausages. i am right handed.
tami vs. the sidewalk drop off at school yesterday: the sidewalk won.
it appears that i broke a bone in my hand (connected to the thumb) and something in the area of my elbow. i won't know for sure until i see the orthopedic doc. on monday...
i cried hardest when the ER doc told me it was against the law to drive. i pleaded "but, i have six kids!" they weren't moved...
today, i am thankful for:
tuesdays are generally therapy days. a trip to the big city in the morning and errands after OT - since we are already in town. the new chick-fil-a is only a few miles from our therapist, so that may or may not be our plan for tuesdays...
but, yesterday was the 2nd grade sharing chapel at school, so we changed therapy day this week and headed out to the school to enjoy amy's class! she has a wonderfully small class - only 10! they sang songs, played piano, recited verses and did a fabulous mini-musical for us! the theme was "selflessness" and they all shared examples of how they were selfless.
amy shared about how she shared her favorite bear with her little brother.
after chapel, abe and i headed home to clean. and i did. really. of course, you would be hard pressed to believe that if you walked into my house right now :-)
the sun was shining, so we went outside for a bit. abe is loving his bike and rides it any time he can!
he so isn't a little boy anymore...
{sniff, sniff}
we have a wacky, off schedule rest of our week. that makes for hiccups - since my kids love routine. the most exciting things left in our week? tonight we are meeting with the lighthouse china board to talk about our trip and make plans! sooooooo excited about that! and that little boy??? he has kindergarten testing on friday...
{sniff, sniff}
in china, sometimes it's more of an adventure to randomly choose a bowl of noodles to go with your peach fanta:
and other times...
you know exactly what you are eating, and the adventure of a ramen bowl would be more appetising...
i read the most beautiful mission quote today...
"almost every page of the gospel of john speaks of mission as sending, with regard to jesus and with regard to us as well. jesus did not come on his own, but his father sent him. he did not speak his own words but the words of the father who sent him. he did not do his own works but the works of the father who sent him. these works were his miracles. he did not come to do his own will but the will of his father who sent him. like jesus, we must receive a supernatural message, a supernatural ministry and a supernatural motivation to enable us to fulfill our mission." - paul r. orjala
and speaking of beautiful...
this would normally be where you might expect to find a fancy easter blog post.
you know - with a picture of our entire family decked out in new easter clothes! a few pics of the kids with easter baskets and maybe hunting eggs. a picture of the boys. a picture of the girls.
not today, folks.
the camera is still stting... somewhere. not even sure where. i think it might be in my office - where i put it once i unpacked from china.
the kids looked pretty awesome, though. nothing new, really. we thrifted or bought at consignment sales this year.
we layed low yesterday. i'm not really sure how it happens, but somewhere over the past several years, things changed. some of my kids don't do great in crowded and loud places. so we hunkered down. those kids are doing better, now, but things have changed and the activities that once happened, do not now.
so, i made brunch. and everyone loved it. we tried naps. that didn't fly. :( we planted seeds in starter pots from our easter baskets. mom was really grumpy and decided brownie sundaes were necessary.
i am sharing a little about china with a homeschool group today! i'm so excited! i was going thru pictures i have taken and found some things that took my breath away...
some videos of anna. grieving. not the anna most people saw in those early 15 months... everyone thought she was so "happy" and "smiley". no. she would weep and cry and scream and then look me right in the face and stop. squeeze her tiny almond eyes SO TIGHT and shut down. she was trying so hard to shut us out...
anna sat next to me when she heard the crying on the video. she wanted to see who that was. she could hardly believe it was her. she snuggled in close and kept looking into my eyes to see my reaction. gosh... i can't believe this is the same girl...
i found this picture:
six years ago - today!
we've all changed a ton!
this little one is starting to ask those hard questions. i don't have good answers. the answers i give are the ones i have practiced in my head. she says it just feels good to talk about it. i tell her that my heart also aches for all that she has lost. i tell her it's good to feel sad. some people don't feel sad because they have turned off that part of their heart. once you turn that off, it's really hard to feel that again... we know that all too well.
she tells me later "mom - it was good to just talk and snuggle with you."
one day at a time. i don't do it perfectly. but, god did choose me to do it, so i walk in it.
i guess that means that some days, the camera doesn't come out.
but, i have a feeling i won't ever forget yesterday - even without the fancy pictures.
i'm a few days late, but didn't want to miss the opportunity to make note that tuesday - april 3 - was amy-hui's 6th forever family day! we are thankful that in god's sovereignty, he created this precious girl to be our daughter and sister!
i must add, that even though celebrating FFD is a joy filled day in our family (x4), the reality of what was lost in order that we might gain is never far from our hearts. adoption is the result of a great loss - a birth family. never before have we seen that more clearly than on tuesday night. a reminder that god is the redeemer of broken things...
I can hardly believe it! 18 months after our adoption. After losing the Certificate of Citizenship. Applying for a new one. Providing evidence. Waiting. Receiving new COC. Applying for Social Security Number. Waiting. Finally filing our 2010 taxes. Waiting. Providing evidence. Waiting.
We have a 2010 tax refund with the adoption tax credit!!! Praise the Lord! Jehovah Jireh!
wife to Chris, mom to Ashleigh, Austin, Aubrie-Li, Amy-Hui, Anna and Abraham and daughter of the King of kings
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