Elliana Joy

Here is a photo of our little Ellie when we first got her (March 2010). When I look back at the photos I have of her from the first few months she was with us, most of them look like this--flat, void of emotion, indifferent. It is honestly hard to look at them sometimes as it is a glaring reminder to me of all that had transpired in her little life in the months leading up to her arrival with us. However! God has done an amazing work in her and in all of us and we have some exciting news to share! From the day we got Ellie, we said we would adopt her if that ever became an option. We attended every meeting at DSHS we could, were present at every court hearing regarding her, and have known for quite sometime that adoption was "likely." In court last July, the judge changed Ellie's "permanent plan" to adoption, but we also knew that we had to let the case run it's course and that there were no guarantees. We had court again just last Thursday and although we were confident the judge would not be returning Ellie to either biological parent, a little "snag" knocked our case back a bit and we were discouraged that it would still be many months before she was legally free (officially 'available' for adoption) and another year or more after that before our adoption was finalized.

Then, in nothing short of a MIRACLE, we were informed that she is legally free, um, NOW!!! I cannot even begin to express how overjoyed we feel! Both parents have relinquished their legal rights and Ellie will be part of our "forever family" just as soon as we can have our adoption homestudy completed! We are seriously so baffled that this happened so quick! It is definitely NOT what we had expected!

I love how God works. I love that He knows the desires of our hearts. I love that He knew the timeline all along, and chose to bless us and surprise us by expediting the process. I love that our little Ellie is growing, thriving, showing empathy, smiling, learning to obey, fun, energetic, full of life, and becoming teachable.

(Ellie-Spring 2011)

We love you SO MUCH, Elliana Joy. We are thrilled to be your family. You have already taught us so much about love, grace, and redemption and we are honored and humbled to be your Mommy and Daddy.

Playing Catch Up!

Sorry for the delay in blog posts, friends, but this Mama has been busy. Like really busy. Like end-of-the-school-year-with-one-homeschooler-and-one-public-school-preschooler-and-one-Christian-School-Kindergartener-busy. Oh yeah! And busy with this adorable little guy.....

Isn't he a cutie? He'll be hangin' with us for a while. We're happy to love on him while we can.

Let me just say, for the record, that having 4 kids is a real hoot! Micah and Caleb just got home this evening from an overnight fishing trip and I had just the "big girls" and the baby....I told my mom I couldn't believe how easy 3 kids felt! And Caleb (the one who was gone) is even my biggest helper! It is amazing how much your parenting "muscles" grow as each child is added.

In other news, our Caitlyn turned SIX years old last month. How in the world did that happen? I am pretty sure that I was JUST snuggling with my sweet baby girl in the rocking chair before laying her down in her crib for the night. Wasn't I? She wanted "rainbow" cupcakes for her birthday party at school so I made these for her. Since I am FAR from "Suzy Homemaker, I have to say I was pretty impressed with how these turned out! ;)

Unfortunately, Caitlyn woke up on her birthday with Strep for the 3rd (or was it the 4th?) time in 10 weeks, so she didn't get to have a birthday party at school that day. She did, however, get a birthday doughnut for breakfast.

Yes, those are Christmas jammies, and yes, this was in May. But it was the kid's birthday and I wasn't going to argue with her over footed jammies. Plus, she was so kind and gracious to share with the rest of the family on HER birthday. That's right--she gave the other 3 kids and Mommy her Strep Throat! Wasn't that nice of her to share?! Our counter then looked like this....

I think we're outta' the woods now. These drugs kicked Strep to the curb and after repeated toothbrush changes, investing in stock for Clorox wipes and a junk drawer full of hand sanitizer, I am confident our house is germ free (at least for now)!

OK, one more photo. Aren't these 4 precious? This is such a classic photo of Ellie. :)

This weeks edition of "YOU MIGHT JUST"

Well, here you have it, folks. Due to popular demand, another edition of "you might just....."

*After getting the kids to bed, tidying the house, folding some laundry and then sitting down to snuggle up and watch a movie on the couch, YOU MIGHT JUST be disgusted when you realize your dog has barfed right next to the couch, on the ONLY rug in your house!

*YOU MIGHT JUST be REALLY ticked off, when she does it AGAIN, at the other end of the same rug a few minutes later!

*When driving down the freeway and hearing child #3 yell, "Mommy! Look at my private!" YOU MIGHT JUST spit out the water you were drinking all over your steering wheel and say, "I'm sorry, WHAT did you say, Sweetie?"

*When she repeats herself as children #1 and #2 don't know whether to laugh or be mortified, YOU MIGHT JUST look in the rearview mirror to see child #3 with a wrapper she turned into a PIRATE mask. YOU MIGHT JUST realize that she doesn't actually mean "private," she means "pirate." YOU MIGHT JUST breathe a sigh of relief that for once, your precious children did not discredit your motherly capabilities by shouting these embarrassing comments in public!

*When taking your kids to a place filled with bouncy houses, slides, and tubes to crawl through, YOU MIGHT JUST want to give your prone-to-motion-sickness child some drammamine BEFORE you go. Oh! AND, you might not want to give that kid a double cheeseburger and fries in the parking lot before heading inside.

*If you don't, YOU MIGHT JUST find that other parents and kids will quarantine you upon their discovery that your child is in fact throwing up that cheeseburger and fries all over himself.

*When your witty 8-year-old begs you to play April Fools jokes on him this year, YOU MIGHT JUST do a little internet research to come up with some *creative* and *hilarious* pranks to play on him. And when he wakes up on the morning of April 1st, YOU MIGHT JUST chuckle to yourself at the tricks up your sleeve. However, when sitting at the dinner table that night, YOU MIGHT JUST feel terrible as your 8-year-old sits there sobbing as a result of a joke you played on him. He MIGHT JUST be incredibly disappointed after Mommy told him, "Now sprinkle some salt on top of this plate of pudding and then put your hand over it.....the heat from your hand will turn the pudding into rainbow colors!" And when he looked at Mommy, in awe, and excitedly put his palm over that plate... WHACK! Mommy squished that little hand right into the pudding!

*After patting yourself on the back for the creative April Fool's jokes you played on your kids, YOU MIGHT JUST discover in the weeks following that your children think it's HILARIOUS to play April Fools jokes on you. Can you say "reaaranged dresser drawers and chocolate pudding smeared on the toilet seat?"

*Finally, after cleaning up after the previously mentioned dog that barfed on the carpet, YOU MIGHT JUST think you are still smelling "dog smell" for the rest of the night. You might finish that movie you were watching, fall asleep on the couch, and then wake up a couple hours later to drag yourself to bed. And as your head hits that nice feather pillow, YOU MIGHT JUST somewhat coherently say, "Honey? Call me crazy, but I swear that I still smell dog pee or something!" Your husband MIGHT JUST say he doesn't smell anything, until he puts his head down on his pillow and realizes that THAT STUPID DOG had jumped up on our bed and PEED on BOTH OF OUR PILLOWS! Seriously?! What kind of potty trained dog jumps up on your bed, pees on your pillows, and then acts like everything is normal?

Stay tuned for next week's edition. I'm sure I will have several *wonderful* moments to reflect upon. :)

"You might just......."

The month of March has been quite entertaining. Here's a little peek into some of our daily "happenings."

*When going to the pet store to buy your 8-year-old a new fish, YOU MIGHT JUST want to buy the cheap ones instead of spending 6.99 for one that dies 1 day after the expiration of the 'fish death' return policy. OH! And if you DO decide to buy an expensive one, YOU MIGHT JUST want to buy one, instead of 3 at once.....

*When having a friend's 2-year-old over, YOU MIGHT JUST want to make sure that that sweet lil' one isn't upstairs trying to feed those expensive fish---by dumping out the entire Costco-sized fish food all over the fishtank and floor....

*When your sweet husband can't find his cell phone and blames you for losing it, YOU MIGHT JUST chuckle to yourself the next day when that same sweet husband finds it in your water-filled crockpot in the sink...and realizes that when he set his phone to vibrate mode, it vibrated off of the windowsill he left it on and right into your crockpot!

*When you realize that your husband now has to pay to replace that darn cellphone, YOU MIGHT JUST stop laughing.

*When out to dinner at Red Robin and your delightful 3-year-old turns around and says "THAT LADY LOOKS MAD" in the ear of "mad lady" in the booth behind you, YOU MIGHT JUST ask for your food "to go." We didn't.

*When taking all of your children to the Dr. and the aforementioned 3-year-old looks at the Dr. and says, "you look weird! You don't have any hair!" YOU MIGHT JUST be thankful that you've known this kind, Grandpa of a Dr. for years. However, YOU MIGHT JUST want to crawl into a hole and hide anyways.

*When your kids are in a church musical, YOU MIGHT JUST think they are the most adorable, talented, children EVER.....even if they played the part of "rocks."

*When trying to interpret the growing language of your 3-year-old, YOU MIGHT JUST want to discover sooner-than-later that "itty booty" in fact, means, icky boogie...on her finger....and then YOU MIGHT JUST want to search your house from top to bottom with lysol wipes in hand to locate all the places she has decided to leave those "itty booties."

*When getting a new foster baby, YOU MIGHT JUST be reminded once again that children are a precious gift from God, and each day you have with ANY of your children, biological or not, is a gift. YOU MIGHT JUST find yourself amazed at the sanctity of life and the miracle that each child is. :)

*When your children ask to eat breakfast on the floor, in bowls, like the dogs, YOU MIGHT JUST let them-- thinking the novelty will wear off really quick. However, YOU MIGHT JUST learn that they think eating like that is REALLY COOL and then have to retrain them to eat at the table. YOU MIGHT JUST find yourself feeling really embarrassed that your kids, in fact, LIKE to eat like dogs, for some odd reason.....

*OH! And finally, when your daughter gets strep throat for the second time in 6 weeks, YOU MIGHT JUST want to throw her toothbrush away so she stops reinfecting herself!! Then YOU MIGHT JUST feel incredible stupid when your nurse says, "We told you that!"

"N" week

Caitlyn with her "nurse" outfit and cast.

Last week was "N" week at Caitlyn's school. They had a wonderful time....making noodles (with butter and cheese), making noodle necklaces, looking at nests, talking about Noah's ark, numbers, and then Friday was "Nurse Day!" Caitlyn's teacher and I filled the role as nurses as we taught the kids how to use a stethescope, take out stitches, put on casts, and they even got to give oranges real injections! Caitlyn thinks these theme days are SO cool.....during "O" week they had "octopus day" and they examined a real octopus as well as making their own octopus (shaped) pretzels.....during "F" week one day they fixed french toast and fresh fruit....and next week for "P" week they get to make pancakes and their own pillowcases! Anyways, it's lots of fun. So Caitlyn's quick little mind is always coming up with fun ideas for theme days at school. SO, last week, on our way to "nurse day," she excitedly said, "I know! Wouldn't it be weird if we had NAKED day at school?! That would be SO WEIRD! I mean, I wouldn't want to see people naked at school for "N" week!" Um, okay sweetie, I'll be sure NOT to suggest that one to your teacher...

In case you didn't know....

....Superman lives at our house!

Out of the mouths of babes

Caitlyn's little Kindergarten class at the Christian School is having a "teddy bear picnic" on Friday. This is "B" week at school, so the kids were instructed to bring their favorite BEAR from home for the picnic. BUT, first they were given a name tag to bring home, color, fill out, attach to their bear, and return tomorrow. I was working in Caitlyn's class today as the instructions were relayed. Caitlyn was SO excited to finish dinner this evening so that she could get straight to work on her bear's name tag! Micah was doing the dishes (I LOVE my husband, by the way), I was sitting on the couch with a blanket over my head (no really, I was) trying to ignore the fact that our house is a total disaster right now, and the kids got to work on their name tags. (When I work in her class, I bring the other kids with me, and Caitlyn's teacher is GREAT and sent home name tags for our other kids' bears too!) Anyways, I heard Caitlyn shout, "I'M FINISHED!" as she ran into the kitchen to show Daddy her completed tag. I heard Micah laughing hysterically as Caitlyn quickly ran in to show me her completed masterpiece. THIS, my friends, is what I saw:

Yes, you are reading that correctly. It

does, in fact, say "BIG BEER."

I imagine myself escorting Caitlyn into her class tomorrow at the CHRISTIAN SCHOOL and saying, "No really, Mrs. Johnson. I have no idea why Caitlyn would name her adorable, 70's looking tie-dye 'peace bear' BIG BEER. I'm sure what she meant to say was BIG BEAR, she just spelled it BIG BEER."