Family Fun

This past weekend Dan's sister and her husband came to visit. We had such a nice time hanging out. We hit a few parks, played games, went shopping, and saw Suessical the Musical.

We went to one of our local metroparks that is set up as a working farm. Our kids love the farm. We love the animals and the running space.

 We love cows. She is so cute!

 The kiddos with their Aunt and Uncle

 Horses are trying to get shade

 Hoping this doesn't break any child labor laws

 Trying the stilts

 They see me rollin'

 Cuteness exploring

 Ornery

 windmill

Oh feel the love! It was fun to get outside and just spend some time with family. Love these kids, and love the fun we had with their Aunt and Uncle.

School picks

This year will be very interesting with school. I will have a toddler again. That always proves to have extra challenges. I am excited that she is good at sitting for short periods of time and focusing. So we will hopefully have activities to keep her busy so we can move through our other work.

This year each boy has his own curriculum. It will be a challenge teaching each on his own work, but it will be a fun challenge. Isaac is doing K12 again this year. In some ways I love this curriculum. It allows him to work independently for some subjects which is super helpful. It is a lot of work  for him though. There are a lot of workbooks, and assessments. The down side of a complete curriculum is you have to take the good with the bad. For Isaac the good has won out, and we will keep going this year.

For Bubba this year I am picking and choosing a modge podge of different materials. We will be using My Father's World First Grade for the base of our curriculum. Then we will be supplementing quite a few things. For phonics we are using Explode the code,  reading we are using pathway readers and workbooks, Kumon workbooks for math and reading. I have Math U See for our math program.  I have First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind for our Language Arts. We are going to be listening to the Story of the World audio book for History.  For science we will be using Things Outdoors and Science with Water.

Preschool will be fun because I have two preschoolers. Both of them are pretty good at sitting and doing "work". There will be lots of coloring sheets, stickers, lacers, games, and calendar time.

We will be enjoying circle time together as a group. We will do our calendar, weather, counting, ABCs, devotions, and story. Then we will split for seat work and math. After lunch my littles will rest and we will do our Bible, History, Science, Art, and Language Arts.

We will be doing a co-op again this year. We are looking forward to it. We plan to do several field trips, soccer, basketball, AWANA,  and some fun other extra curricular. So that is our basic plan for the year. I am really excited for this school year.

Beauty

This little girl has stolen my heart. I knew I'd love her. I have fallen head over heels since the moment we laid eyes on her picture. We met her and she was just precious. We brought her home, and she just fit here.

But something I didn't expect happened. I knew I'd love her. I knew it would be fun. I prayed for her to attach to us quickly. I prayed that she would adjust to the crazy that is our home. I prayed she would get along with her brothers. I prayed that she would feel secure and loved.

God heard our prayers. He answered them, and went beyond. He took this orphan who was alone, and gave her to us. The little girl in the pictures barely smiled. The little girl we met was unsure, emotionless, and sullen. The little girl we brought home was scared, anxious, and didn't want to be with us. In a matter of days a transformation happened. This little girl was not just mine by law or by name, but she is MINE. She is my daughter. She is opinionated and spunky. She is cuddly and crazy. She loves to wear dresses and wrestle. She sword fights wearing beads and a tiara. This sweet girl has blessed our whole family.

I am amazed at how good God is. He knew exactly who was supposed to be in our family. I could not have picked a more perfect child for us. Her brothers are quick to protect her, patient with her, and love to help her. She is a daddy's girl to her core. He walks in the door and she lights up. She is my little helper and beauty consultant. She helps me all day by singing the clean up song while the boys pick up, licking the clean silverware and giving it to me out of the dishwasher, throwing the boys shoes at them as a friendly reminder not to leave them in the living room. She is also so helpful with my fashion. It is very important that I wear jewelry at all times. Also she is always happy to help brush my hair. Such a great helper! I love it.

She is loud and crazy. She is quite the gymnast. She drinks milk like it is going out of style. She sings all day long. Her favorite food is meat. She already loves cartoons. She likes to go bye bye. She will actually sit and play with all these table toys I have been so excited about for so long that my boys thought were torture. She is so much fun.

Honestly, I figured there would be all kinds of hurdles. There are tantrums, but they are mild. There is screaming, but usually it is because she is happy. There are moments of pure crazy, but we do have four kids. The beauty in all of this is the joy this gorgeous girl brings. She has only been home for eight weeks, and I don't know how our family functioned with out her. She finishes us out beautifully. She is completely ours, and we are so blessed.

Four years!

Four years ago my little man was born. He came into this world screaming the loudest of all of my boys. My doctor laughed and said, "That's a natural birth for ya." We decided he just knew he'd have to work a bit since he was number 3. He had a head full of  dark brown hair. He is my only brown eyed boy. I was so instantly in love with him.

He is a mommy's boy to his core. He has decided that he will always be the baby, even if he has a little sister. He loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, his favorite food is spaghetti, and he wants to be fireman. He loves to laugh and he is our little clown. He is a great hugger, and his smile lights up a room. He snuggles me in a way that makes me never want to let go. He is such a precious gift.

I just wish I could freeze time. I want him to always stay little and sweet. I know he can't, but a momma can dream. Happy Birthday to my favorite four year old. You make your mommy smile every day, sweet boy!

Faithful

This morning my hubby got paid. On pay day I sit down and do our bills and organize our finances. It is what I have done since I have been out of my parents house. Today one of the bill I am paying is very special. Today I am paying a huge credit card bill. This bill is a testament of God's faithfulness in our lives. Today I pay the final costs for our adoption.

Three and a half years ago God started us on a journey. With three tiny little boys and a tiny little home we felt God leading us to start the adoption process. This was a little crazy. Our youngest was only 6 months old. Our oldest was barely 4, and we had one in the middle. We had always planned to adopt at some point. But it was expensive. We didn't have anything saved for it. We wanted to move into a bigger house, get good at this parenting thing with the ones we already had, blah blah blah...

But we obeyed. In some ways it was irresponsible. We knew that price tag was enormous. We knew that we didn't make enough to cover the cost. More than that we knew God wouldn't leave us hanging on something he called us to.

God is faithful! Our adoption took more than twice as long as expected. It cost at least twice as much as anticipated. It was the most difficult time in my life emotionally. But this morning. My precious little girl is sitting with her brothers watching PBS in her PJs. This morning I am sending the payment for our plane tickets and in country package in FULL. God covered our adoption completely. We have no debt from our adoption at all!

I am so thankful for all who have loved us, encouraged us, supported us financially, listened, and most of all prayed for us. God is so faithful. God is so good. If He calls us to something HE is faithful to us. He will finish what He starts. I am overwhelmed with His goodness. Even when I questioned God never left. He carried us through this. If God is calling you to something that seems impossible. Know that nothing is impossible for him. If you have thought about adoption, but the pricetag scares you. If it is God's will He will provide.

Thank you to all who have walked this journey with us. Praying that through our story you can see a glimpse of God's glory. God is so good.

One month

One month ago we picked up our little girl FOREVER! They brought her out to us and we never have to give her back. Most nights I go to be with pure and utter thankfulness. Last night I sat on my couch looking across the room at the man God blessed me with as a husband. There are toys on the floor, dust on the furniture, dishes in the sink, and I am so thankful. Our family is whole again after such a long wait.

Our house is loud. Our girl is just like our boys. Full of energy and noise. She is opinionated and sassy. She can't leave her room without her beads. She plays in the dirt and chases the boys. She wrestles and giggles and kisses and screams. She is pure joy with spurts of crazy temper tantrums. She is obsessed with cocoa wheats. She puts every sticker she gets in the middle of her forehead. She is silliness all day. She is learning so much each day.

God knew exactly who was supposed to join our family. I am so thankful for my crew. Each of the blessings God has given us is a precious gift. Each of them is amazing and has unique characteristics that make them wonderful. I feel so blessed beyond words. Thanking Jesus daily that "he does not leave us as orphans" He didn't leave me as an orphan in His spiritual family, and my daughter is no longer an orphan on this earth. Praise the Lord for He is good.

It's been awhile

I haven't been blogging much lately. Mainly due to our newest addition. Also, we've been enjoying a lazy summer.

Here is a little of what we've been up to:

 We went to the zoo as a family. If you look close Bubba is hiding behind Mommy.

 Got to see some giraffes up close and personal.

 Acted like monkeys...

 and rode the train...

 It was very exciting...

 We've been working on bringing this little girl home for so long. Now she is here and we are so blessed!

 Our neighborhood VBS was lots of fun. There was a program to show all the new songs the kids learned. Our boys loved it.

This has been what we have been up to for the past few weeks. This sweet girl joined our family and we have all been spending time getting to know each other. She is such a joy. We are so thankful for the way God is healing her little heart and helping her feel part of our family. I love having her home. Her brothers think she is the best person ever. They are already very protective of her. I love seeing the way that God has taken care of her and us in the long wait. He is a good God!