A Little Bit More...

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." ~Dr. Seuss

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11

From Our Family to Yours ~
May you have a very Merry Christmas, experiencing great joy and receiving wonderful gifts from our Father!

Seasons Change

This Christmas season definitely looks much different than the last several.

It's not bad, just different.

It's funny because you would think with having H&G here on the weekends we would have eased into the transition. In some ways we have. She definitely eased into it and having been here on the weekends, she is very comfortable with us, our home, and her bed. She transitioned very well.

We on the other hand, are still transitioning. Having a baby on the weekends is much different than having a toddler full time! I'm learning to balance again, to let things go, and to not feel guilty.

But I do feel guilty.

This has probably been the least thoughtful Christmas when it comes to gift giving. The teachers got last minute gift cards, the family is getting whatever I could grab in between keeping the leaping baby in her stroller and bellowing screams that emerged when she couldn't escape, and forget the others that I wanted to buy for like my ever-smiling, ever-so-helpful pharmacist, some friends far away, and others that were on my list.

It's also been hard to sit and watch Christmas movies with the older kids, do Christmas crafts, or go out and do Christmas activities like we usually do.

It's just been different!

Someone told me that it takes a year to adjust after an adoption and I needed to hear that and release some guilt because it's only been a month for us. And in that month we have had more transitions than just adding a family member.

We've had a death in the family
We've added sports programs at school
I've added a job
I've quit a second job
Management is still transitioning into his new job
It's the holiday season
And other emotional things that loom

So I'm learning to be easy on myself (as you've seen with the messy house pics).

And I'm learning to not take things for granted.

Not having a lot of time sure makes you appreciate the time you do have! And I'm so thankful for it!

And I'm beyond thankful for the older two who are such great helpers! Everyone really should have older kids before having babies! If only I had them with my first two! :) They have been wonderful! And again, I'm learning not to feel guilty about asking them to help.

They love it afterall. Most of the time.

We all really love it. This season has been full of laughter and happy squeals and LOTS of picture taking! It's full of firsts and some lasts but most of all, it's full of family and friends and memories and worshipping the Savior.

And those are the things that I really care about!

Mighty

I'm so so so so so disappointed! This post should be full of links to past blogs but for some reason I can't get them work. So frustrating! However, if you've been a longtime reader, much of this will hopefully ring bells and you will be able to follow along.

I have to admit that I am one of those people that doesn't really believe in coincidence. In fact, I'm pretty obnoxious about it. When we were having a birthday party for the kids several years ago (insert link here :( ) and didn't have any money to buy decorations, it most certainly was not a coincidence that our neighbors down the street had the exact type of party and offered to give us all of their extravagant decorations for free! It only takes one or two of those types of stories for me to be convinced that it is less about coincidence and more about the work of the Lord.

He is alive! And He is at work! In the big things and the little things!

And again, I have to admit that I am one of those that seeks (and admittedly sometimes stretches) to find His work. It's always amazing to me to see what He has done and to discover His incredible involvement! It boosts my faith, brightens my day, and gives me great stories to tell those around me in order to boost their faith too!

But with H&G it's been different.

I haven't had to search or stretch too much because He has made things so incredibly obvious! He has definitely been at work!

I was searching for a past blog and came across a couple that were written January 13th and January 21st of 2009 (again, links would have been nice). I was completely speechless as I read through these entries. I didn't know it then, but God was definitely doing things "behind the scenes!" And amazingly, I think I had received a promise between these two posts. I allude to it in the Jan. 21st post when I said this of LittleMiss:

I don't know if she is God's answer to our prayer as far as nurturing and influencing a child, or if she is His gracious gift that soothes my soul in the meantime, but either way, it's been so nice to have her in our lives."

To be honest, I had heard the Lord's voice between those two posts but I didn't know what it meant. He spoke something to me that didn't quite make sense at the time...but now it makes complete sense.

He gave me H&G's name. Which is also LittleMiss's name. Hence the confusion.

And He gave it to me a few weeks before she was conceived!

Yes, He was definitely as work! And reading the January 13th post with this information in mind, just completely thrills me.

Now fast forward one year to January 19, 2010 and you see that I hosted a Blanket Party for the Give a Day, Get a Day program with Disney. We made many many blankets for SleepTight. It really was fun to participate with the kids and though Management and I disagreed on the motive behind it all (see Jan. 7, 2010), it ended up being a great experience for all of us.

Our Disney tickets were never used. In fact, they expired December 15th of this year. But even better than Disney tickets is the honor I have of swaddling my little baby in her own little hand-crafted, donated, fleece blanket while she drinks her bottle. Yep, that's right! H&G was gifted a blanket last winter very much like the ones that we made because she is a foster child. I knew those blankets were important but I never thought that my own baby would be getting one! I never knew how personal the experience would be.

And back to the blog that I was searching for - Mighty to Save. I found it back on Myspace, written in July of 2008. It starts off with this:

I am constantly reminded that we serve a mighty God! We serve a living God! We serve a working God! The same God that conquered the grave is alive and at work today! Forever!
There have been so many times in my life when things have happened that are just way beyond coincidence. They are nothing less than God at work. Throughout this uncertain time and process of discussing adoption, there have been several times when God allowed me to clearly see that He was working.

And it goes on to tell of different ways that God was working in our lives. How He is always at work and He is mighty!

But the reason that I was looking for it is because after I had posted about H&G's angelic name the other day, I decided to look up what her name means.

"God is my might"

To look back and see His hand along the way has been an incredible, precious blessing! Though at the time, I couldn't see His exact plan, it has been unfolding all along. He had us Be Still and Seek Him while the puzzle pieces fell into place. He painted a masterpiece and whether I get to be her forever mama or not, He has us as a part of her life right now. This is our time to glorify Him, to cherish her, and keep following Him.

He continues to reveal glorious nuggets and we are forever grateful!

All Boy

My buddy Mark was back today.

It's been a very long time since I've had a boy toddler in the house.

I forgot that they...

Use popcorn poppers as bats~


Wrestle Barney instead of dancing with him~


are mountain climbers~



And hide toys on couches and in cracks~


I'm not sure that H&G has had much experience with a boy toddler either. She was quite happy to sit on my lap and watch her toys be used as bats, skateboards, trucks, and wrestling partners.

She watched and giggled and was quite intrigued.

Until SHE unsuspectingly became the wrestling partner.


But never has a little fellow loved our little H&G. He is so loving and kind toward her and frequently gives her hugs, her cup, her blanket, and snacks. It is very sweet.

I know they will be great friends!

Faith, Money, and Cheer

~I'm glad that I documented the "Day in the Life" when I did because JJ and Bubbles won't be coming back. I'm sad but very excited too. I'm excited to have quality time alone with H&G and work on some things with her. I have so many plans and am so excited to have so much more time and energy!

~Quitting though was definitely a leap of faith. Though it didn't bring in a ton of money, it was a good amount and we will miss it. But Management and I both felt like the Lord was asking us to trust Him and so we are. If you think of it though, please pray for peace and unity for Management and I as we will definitely be having hard conversations regarding money. It's been the case that in our marriage if we have too much money, we fight, and if we have too little money, we fight. May the Lord provide just enough and give us unity in how to manage it.

~Our social worker came for her first visit yesterday. Everything went well I think. She said that H&G is talking a lot more. She sure is! She got to see her interact with WeeklyAd and HomeAudio, she saw how attached she is and how she cries when I leave the room, and she saw how intelligent she is at figuring out toys and asking for what she wants. Overall it was a great visit!

~WeeklyAd has been so excited about Christmas! She is the perfect Christmas child with such anticipation and singing and cheer. She sure makes the holidays fun!

Cleaning

Isn't it funny how a counter full of dirty dishes on someone else's counter can make us feel better!? We definitely are not alone in trying to juggle it all and maintain some sense of sanity...and cleanliness.

Well good news, dishes are done and countertops are almost cleaned off. The laundry and my bed on the other hand, are not. Vicious cycle I tell ya.

But oh how I love having H&G here! And oh how I love being a mom to WeeklyAd and HomeAudio too! And being a mom entails putting down the mop and grabbing the Wii remote, pushing aside the dishes and pulling out the science experiment, moving the laundry aside so we can snuggle and watch cake shows...right!? The older the kids get, the busier we are, and the messier the house is but it's okay. I know there will be a time very soon when I will want to see circus cups on the counter, crayons on the floor, and blankets under the table (seriously, does anyone else's kid drag their bed blankets down to the breakfast table?).

They are just growing so fast!

And I've grown a lot too. I used to be such a perfectionist and couldn't go to bed until all dishes were done, toys put away, laundry stacked in drawers and closets, and carpets vaccuumed. I had lots of time, lots of energy, and lots of obsessive cleaning behaviors.

But now I'm older, I'm tired, I have more kids, more stuff, less time, less energy, and as my motto for 2010 goes, "it is what it is."

Now I'm off to clean for real because the social worker is coming tomorrow and apparently in my healed state of obsessive compulsiveness, I only clean when company is coming!

A Long Day in the Life...

BEWARE: This is a long, boring post, documenting my day. I recently quit my job and will not be watching JJ and her baby sister for much longer. I have really mixed feelings about that as I do love them both but am just overwhelmed with the amount of work that three little ones can be! After realizing that I only had a few days left with them and reading another blog where the mom did a "Day in the Life" post, I thought it was a good idea to document what my days are like now.

So proceed with caution~

My day usually starts at 6:00am but I started taking pictures today around 9:00am. The girls had just arrived and I was in the middle of changing H&G. Oh my goodness, I love those dark brown legs!


So they sat down and we started singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider~


until Bubbles grabbed the lotion~


And H&G made her escape for Barney~


And JJ cracked up at the chaos~


See these adorable feet!? I put socks on them a gazillion times a day!
Aren't they so precious!?


Whew, all are dressed and I'm ready to go back to my coffee.
It is now freezing cold~


And when I say "I need more coffee" out loud
and see H&G grab the filters~


I begin to wonder if I should be proud she's a genius or scared.

Then she becomes her normal clingy self again~


I bring Barney over so I can watch them while I make more.
If I place him, they will come.
He's a magnet!


3, 2, 1...see, there they are!
Magic!


But his dance only lasts 20 seconds.
And then they wander aimlessly.


But of course, we are all in the kitchen now.
They decide they need a snack~

This is "cracker" in sign language~


This is "I'll get my own cracker"~


Sweet JJ helps her sister with those socks again~


Then we head to the other room for story time~
(notice those darn socks are off again!?)


It starts off well enough but then lasts shorter than Barney's dance!
In about 5 seconds flat...
one is in my lap.
one fell over.
one found a toy!


And then they all try to escape~


So we head upstairs~


It's playtime! Once they are all distracted~


I begin to tackle this~


One load in is the limit for H&G. She hates when I leave her~

But good news! It's naptime!
Of course they don't all nap together.
That would be a dream.
They don't all eat together either.
They do seem to poop together though!
Sigh.


It's lunchtime for Bubbles!
Though she'd rather play evidently~


Oops, all the bibs are in the wash I just started~

Then it's lunchtime for JJ~


And then there is this~


I have to clean up the breakfast mess that is still there~
And by the way, by clean up, I mean move it to the sink~


YIKES!

A quick e-mail break or two later and H&G is awake~

So up these stairs I go for the bazillionth time again!


And it's her lunchtime~


And time to change the laundry~
Found the bibs~


And then it's diaper time again.
One of m.a.n.y!


And while I try to get them to play again~


It doesn't always work!

JJ finds a nice spot to read~


Bubbles plays nicely~


And H&G clings to my leg as usual~
It's our daily "after lunch" vaccuum.
It makes me happy.
It gives me a clean floor until the next lunchtime dinner!


Oh wait, she's going to play!
Nope, got a toy and came back~


Back into the playroom we all go~


Some play with toys.
Some play the piano.
Some happily sit on my lap.


Playtime is hard work and makes you thirsty!


Time for my afternoon pot of coffee!

And time to pack up the car and go get the kids from school!
I didn't photograph that nightmare since the kids were actually home today. It truly is a juggling act, a puzzle of sorts, trying to load these three into the car.

But after one more diaper change~


The girls are picked up and H&G is happy to play with WeeklyAd for a minute of two.


And I can finally get to the dishes and empty this~


Can you smell it from there? :)

I will miss those girls but I know H&G needs more of my time, energy, and love. I need to be able to focus on her and hope that as that happens, she grows more and more secure.

And I'll grow less and less exhausted!

The First Snow of the Year

Hot cocoa with the neighbors~


Hot cocoa picnic~


Eating fresh snow~


Management insisted on a picture of me~


Our snow family~


Enjoying our first snow day!