Fall Days

 Someone (not me) bungee strapped a ladder to a tree so the kids could jump into our humongous leaf pile at this house.  I told this person the same thing I tell him everytime I think an activity is too risky:  he can explain the injury to the ER doctor.  Any guesses who he is?  My kids think he is the fun parent. 

 Shane did a flip into the pile!

What do you do for fun at your house in this lovely fall weather?  If you are up for some adventure head our direction! 

Eight Months Have Passed

 I look back over the past 8 months and I really do wonder how time seems to disappear.  It really does feel like we just received a phone call about a tiny little girl that needed a family.  And yet 8 months have passed?  Impossible, right?

 I love everything about this little girl!  Mark and I sit with her almost every night after everyone else is tucked in bed laughing at all the funny little things she does.  We would be happy to laugh at them earlier in the day if she decides to start going to bed earlier.  She has been pretty content to just scoot around on the floor and play until recently.  As soon as she hears my voice or sees me she starts yelling and doesn't stop until I scoop her up. 

She is one busy little girl too!  Moves pretty much non-stop which is actually good since pretty much every other child in this house is active.  She isn't crawling in a normal fashion yet but that doesn't slow her down.  For a while it was just an army crawl but her legs are now involved.  She does literal push-ups over and over trying to figure this whole crawling thing out.  It is really funny seeing this  tiny little peanut doing a push-up while yelling in frustration! 

Some of the things I love about this her at this stage:  when I am holding her and she is on the brink of falling asleep I cannot make eye contact with her.  She immediately starts giggling and squirming.  I can't unload the clean bottles from the dishwasher without her yelling.  As soon as she sees her bottles she thinks she should eat.  If I lay on the floor she moves away from whatever toy she is playing with and crawls over to me to slobber on my face.  She lights up as soon as she sees Heidi!  Must be from all the snuggles Heidi gives her when she climbs in her crib.

We love this little girl more than we thought possible!  She has the sweetest spirit about her that you can't explain until you have met her.  Happy 8 months Naomi!!

His Call

I have been thinking over the past few days about how we as people tend to classify and categorize things so quickly.  Including children.  It starts almost immediately with the question, "Is ______ a good baby?"  We put them into a category depending on how they sleep, how content they are.....you know the drill.  Before long we start comparing our children to our friends' children.  Are they getting better grades?  Are they as athletic?  Playing as many instruments?  We either start feeling superior or inferior based on our children's performance. 

Actually, I take that back.  It starts while they are in utero.  You wait with bated breath, watching the sonographers face for any sign that something is amiss with your growing child.  People say, "As long as they are healthy......"  But, what if they aren't "healthy"?  What if something shows up that we deem "special needs"?  Immediately, your child is categorized and given a label.  Without thought to the intricacies and beauty that is within your child waiting to be found. 

Part of what has made me think more this week than some weeks is the fact that my cousin and his wife are embarking tomorrow to Armenia to meet their newest daughter.  You see, their biological daughter born to them a few years ago was given the label spina bifida.  Was it scary?  You bet!  Was it unchartered territory?  Absolutely!  Has their daughter grown and thrived!  Yes and yes!  When you are forced to walk a journey you wouldn't maybe choose willingly you learn something important.  God meets you completely and graces you daily.  I am not speaking from personal experience but am pretty sure that if you are walking beside your child who has a special need and you feel God's grace you may think it is possible to love and care for another with His help.

This week they will be meeting their daughter who has a different special need.  She is blind.  Something my cousins wife said really struck me.  She said, "We don't really know anything about her except that she is blind.  But we didn't know anything about ________ when she was born except that she had spina bifida."  Do you see what has happened?  Trust.  Trust in a Father who has not left them to walk this journey alone.  Trust that if this is their daughter than anything else is really inconsequential.  Trust.......something I have much to learn about and allow to settle deeper in my heart.

Would some of you pray this week for them specifically?  I didn't ask their permission to divulge their names or their story.  But you can contact me and ask for their names if you would like.  Or just pray since God knows exactly who they are.  I have already been praying specifically that their newest little girl, who is 5 years old, will somehow know immediately that the arms that hold her are safe.  And that God would already be whispering to her heart that her momma and daddy are coming.  Isn't He awesome?!