Did We Get A Puppy??

This looks very much like the work of a very playful puppy but we don't have one.  Who needs a puppy to tear books and magazines apart when you  have a little Naomi scooting around the floor?  We have learned the hard way to keep books and magazines off the floor and out of her sight or she will figure out how to get to them and start the shredding, mangling process.  Oh the joys of a partally mobile baby!!!

Get Away To Our Favorite Place

The story goes that when my grandfather was a young chap he and some friends bought a little plot of land along Pine Creek.  This is where we camp every summer with the big extended family.  It quickly has become the highlight of the summer for my kids much like it was the highlight of my summer when I was little.  There is something so wonderful and familiar about returning to the same place every year.  Nestled in between huge mountains and along a creek all seems right with the world upon arrival.  When it came time to try and do some sort of vacation with our kids they wanted to head to the mountains.  While there are plenty of beautiful mountains we have an affinity to the ones found beside Pine Creek.  Fortunately for us we know some kind hearted folks who have a cottage a few miles south of the cabin we go to every year and they said we could take our brood and hunker down for a few days!  Oh the excitement when we told our kids!  It was wonderful!

 Last week we spent the better part of 4 days along the creek with the kids and wrestled with the possibility of staying an extra night but knew we would be pushing the limits with the younger ones.  To say it was wonderful would be an understatement!! 

 Yahtzee was played in the early mornings until it was "warm" enough to venture into the creek.  They usually thought 68 degrees was plenty warm.

 Heidi liked to sit on the stool and look out the window as the creek passed us by.

 She spent most of her time on the shore watching everyone kayak and swim.

 My little loungers!

 I sat myself down numerous times a day to just watch the action from the shore.  Not a bad view, huh?

 Kayaking was the preferred activity.

 Awesome climbing tree!

 Lots of time on the swing!

 Serious snuggling happening while they slept.

 And to be honest, we hardly saw Judah the whole time we were there.  He was out on the water before I crawled out of bed and spent the entire day fishing.  He would come in to eat and that was about it.

 Night fishing with his dad!

 See Shane's rod in the kayak?  Up and down the creek they paddled, would pull up onto some rocks and fish.

 Checking out the action from a distance.

Look at this place!!!  Would you want to leave?  Everyone agreed that we should sell our place, ask if we could buy the cottage and move! 

Thank you Craig and Kate from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness in letting us use your cottage!  So many memories made and hearts filled!!

6 Months Ago Today......

....the world was given the most extraordinary gift!  And we were given the amazing gift of spending our days with her!  Naomi Elise, you are the most unexpected package to ever arrive on our doorstep.  And we will be eternally grateful God chose us to be your family!!

Now that we have reached the 6 month milestone things will begin to start moving in her adoption process.  We are really hoping to have a termination hearing sometime in October and her finalization hearing by Christmas!  What a gift it would be to have things finalized and have her name finally match the rest of her families.  I may do some shameless fundraising in the next few months so when the finalization hearing rolls around we are fully funded.  I am thinking a coffee fundraiser (gifts for Christmas anyone), possibly a t-shirt fundraiser and we will see what else.  I am absolutely not worried. at. all.  The One who brought her to us knows all the details and so I will rest in Him.

Happy 6 months to the sweetest, happiest and most beautiful little girl!

And  a big thank you to Corie from My Blue Sky Photography!!  You captured Naomi perfectly!

In My Dreams.....

There is something about growing and nurturing plants, especially plants that bear food, that I fine suprisingly satisfying.  I have fond memories of working beside my mother as a child as she labored in our huge garden.  I would sit barefoot, in my little dress, hair braided and eat lima beans and string beans almost as fast as I could pick them.  I thought I was pretty special when I was old enough to use the rototiller in our garden.  Again with barefeet but my toes are all intact.  People sometimes wonder why I don't make my children wear shoes and I wonder why I should make them wear shoes.  There is something freeing about running out the door, through the grass onto your next adventure all the while feeling the grass and mud on your feet.  It engages the senses.  That's what I will say next time.  That we are all about sensory integration at this house. 

 I am sure I romanticize things in my mind a lot but I dream of becoming more self-sustaining.  We have expanded our garden this year and I am loving every minute of my daily walk through it as I encourage my vegetables to grow.  I am keeping a garden journal so I know what things to increase next year.  I already know I will be planting more kidney and black beans.  We are planting more blueberry bushes and working on making an area for a small orchard.  Just a few trees.

 My kids go out to count the watermelon nearly everyday and monitor how they are growing.  Heidi had my camera in the garden and took all the pictures of the plants.  She is my side kick  everywhere I go! 

 Waiting patiently for me to catch up so we can start filling the bowl with the days surprises.  I have been researching and reading more about self-sustainability.  Something that a couple of generations ago was a way of life and now we give it a romanticized name.  Homesteading or being self-sustaining.  But there is great satisfaction in growing, freezing, canning and putting things away for your family as you head into winter.  I find inspiration from people like Amanda Soule from soulemama.com and have gleaned a lot of useful information from her gardening.  Something about the simpler way of life resonates deep within me and so we continue moving in that direction. 

 Not simpler from a work standpoint.  It is a lot of work but it is rewarding.  I always feel like I am doing what I am made to do when I am working in my garden with the kids playing (or yelling) around me. 

 This weekend found Mark cutting down some trees that were either dead or unhealthy.  Which meant my kids had a new thing to climb and play on for hours!

Almost every day I hope we don't have to make a run to the ER since my kids are dirty from head to toe!  I am trying desperately to throw myself into life with as much abandon as they. 

Do you have a garden?  What are your favorite things to eat from your garden?  Right now mine are my orange cherry tomatoes.  They get popped into my mouth immediately! 

Birthday Time Again.....

 My little man turned 6 towards the end of July.  Can. not. believe. it!!  He is so happy to finally be six!  He has become one of the boys more and more this summer.  He is no longer little and wants to make sure everyone knows this.

 I so vividly remember his rapid entry into this world and the sleepless years that followed!  He is a treasure in every way.  He is our time keeper, our radar reader, our resident weatherman and all around brilliant boy!  He spend some time this morning checking out his desk and classroom at school.  Yes, he and Eden will be going to school this year.  We were so confident they were supposed to go to school this year but as the time approaches I find myself getting a bit worried.  I know they will be in fantastic hands and both will be in small classes which helps ease my fears.

 Friday night found Mark, Tristan and I on the much anticipated birthday date.  We hit the mini-golf course and followed up with ice cream.  Tristan was so excited to "golf".  He informed us it was so easy!  Could be because his version of golf looked more like field hockey. 

 I think I look forward to their birthday dates as much as they do.  I love spending time with each child individually.  I find myself more relaxed, not feeling pressed for time and able to completely engage with them.

 I was trying to get a picture of Tristan and he happened to see the next hole had a tunnel/cave to go through.  So cute!

 My dates for the night!

What a sweet boy!  He has made huge strides in the past year and we couldn't be prouder! 

Love

I have been reading and devouring numerous books again on adoption and the challenges that often follow.  I had read, knew so many who walked the path of adoption before us and thought I was prepared for whatever came next.  I wasn't.  Just like when you become a parent for the first time.  You are sure you are so ready but there is nothing that can completely prepare you for what happens after the baby leaves your womb and is placed in your arms.  Your world is forever changed! 

So it is with adoption.  You think you are ready, you have prepared, you have read until your head is about to explode yet nothing prepares you for the daily walking out of parenting children who carry hidden wounds.  I am constantly reminding myself to separate the behavior from the child.  Abandonment, whether it be through death or by choice, is a wound that is treacherous at best.  I find myself so often feeling like I am on the edge of a slippery slope.  I know the behaviors and words aren't truly directed at me but my feet start going out from under me and before I realize what is happening I am tumbling down the slope - in my heart and mind.  Words that aren't meant to harm come from both our mouths and we find ourselves in each others arms crying tears that heal.  I find myself telling her so often lately, "We are never going to leave you.  We are in this forever.  I will NOT leave you no matter what!"  Maybe I shouldn't utter those words since I can't truly guarantee them but as much I can control I will be with her for the long haul.

Today she wanted to talk again about her first home and first mom.  She has spoken often of her first mother lately.  It's as though she desperately needs to make a connection with her.  We speak of her death and try to sort through how and why she died.  As I have been reading some different books lately I am learning the fantasy world a lot of adopted children live in.  They make up a world about how things happened, why they happened, what their first family was like, etc.  It makes sense to me as she talks and processes.  She has said recently that she really wishes her first mommy wouldn't have died because then she could still be with her.  I felt a momentary prick of something akin to jealously until I realized that of course she should wish those things.  I should feel free to affirm those feelings in her and I did.  I told her I really wish her first mommy wouldn't have died so her little heart wouldn't hurt. 

A few days later she told me I am the best mommy she ever had.  If my boys said off handed remarks like that I would chuckle and move on but on this particular day I stopped and thought to myself, "I wish that innocent statement didn't carry the weight that it does."  She of course wasn't comparing me and her first mother but it struck me none the less.

It pains me that children carry deep wounds.  I carry my own.  One thing I am praying:  is that we are agents for His healing love to touch and start making the open wounds in her heart close up and develop a scar.  You see, a scar can be touched, even hit and it won't re-injure or cause pain at the sight of the previous injury.  That is when you know healing has taken place.  If poking and prodding the affected sight still causes you to wince and grimace from the pain then more healing needs to happen.  I know this to be true in my own life.

To my two daughters who have come to me and carry the pain and scars of abandonment:  you are loved deeply, truly and completely!  My heart hurts for you as I carry a similar wound.  My wound may not run as deep but it is still very tender.  Maybe God brought us together to be agents in each others healing.  I love you both!

"Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails!"  ~1 Cor. 13:4-8

Where I've Been....

Summer has been moving at a frantic pace!  Something I am not especially happy about since school will be here again far too soon for my liking.  Our days are spent working on our little property with me continuing to dream of moving more in a homesteading direction.  I am sure I romanticize the concept in my mind but it doesn't keep me from dreaming and planning.

 I make my rounds in the morning to check on my garden and see what has changed from my evening rounds.  Of course nothing changes but it is therapeutic all the same.

 We have been eating an abundance of fresh green beans!  Not sure there are many things that taste better than green beans with a bit of brown butter on them!  Yum!

 At the far end of the "big" garden the boys have their pumpkin patch!  So far this year things seem to be growing well.  They have 35 mounds of seeds planted and are hoping to make lots of money this year.

 Our newest addition - Mittens!  This was the last part of Eden's birthday present and everyone is enjoying the playfulness that a kitten brings. 

 Hot, hot days made more bearable by splashing in water.

 All three girls crowding me out of bed early in the morning.  Can't say that I mind too much!  The days of snuggling little ones in bed will be over before I know it.

 Reading books together while I start the bedtime routine with some of the girls.  It always makes my heart happy to see that they can be in close proximity without fighting.

 Judah took the next 2 pictures of the butterfly.  He is entering a contest for national geographic and took my camera outside to see what he could capture.  This was his first time with the camera in hand. When I downloaded the pictures I was stunned!  These are just 2 of many that were beautiful!  We may have a photographer on our hands!

 This is what happens when Heidi is unattended in the bathroom for 5 minutes!  She rounds up all sorts of toys and takes them "swimming."  And when she is being slightly reprimanded (because really she didn't hurt anything it was just an inconvenience to me).....

 ......she responds by trying to make me laugh!

Eden loving her baby!!  She is so sweet and helpful with her although she has a hard time being gentle. 

Our disappointment of the week was waking up Monday morning to find that some dumb animal had found our meat birds and helped themselves.  Out of our 10 meat birds that we were raising to butcher there is only one left.  So sad.  I was more mad than anything!  Even though ultimately they would have met their demise in another month it was so disappointing.  A new order for chicks will be placed today or tomorrow and we will start over.  A trap has been set and hopefully the guilty culprit will return and will be caught.  Lessons learned, better fencing will be bought and hopefully we will have some yummy chickens in our freezer soon!