we hope you had a very merry christmas!

christmas wrapping

I love to wrap Christmas gifts!  It's one of my favorite Christmassy things to do. Each year I get a theme going, and I think last year's was one of my favorite's ever!  This year I had thought ahead and wanted to do the whole simple retro brown packaging with red + white striped twine and a little greenery tucked in.

I'm so glad I decided on simple way back when I decided, because I haven't been much good for anything these days.  Simple was perfect for this year!

gingerbread

I have done no Christmas baking this year and no Christmas crafting this year...well, the kids and I did make a handful of very simple ornaments for them to give as gifts, but that was it.   I've missed both, but this was just not the year to try either.  It's been all I can do to just keep laundry coming, food on the table and school moving along.  But, my mom came over and made some gingerbread cookies with Maddie and Caleb.

They had a great time cutting out stars, hearts, trees, gingerbread men and making a simple house.  The gingerbread man and lady were a hit! Caleb's left, Maddie's right.

.the yamilies 2011.

I nearly forgot to post our annual Yamilies!

Here are the kids...a bit blurry, guess I need to take another photo.  Caleb so wanted to be the grinch like Daddy was last year.  Maddie wanted to be a fall pilgrim, thus the large branch of leaves across her body. I made Maisie with her little top pigtail, like she so often wears.

Here I am, the Queen Mother with a mildly pregnant belly.

And, Braden, the suave Elvis bowler. 

And here are our previous Yamilies, dating back to 2007.  And like I say every year...I need to go find the pix of the pre-digital Yamilies.  One day!  (Maybe.)

christmas stockings

We decided tonight at dinner to let the kids reach into their stockings and pull out one item each night until Christmas.  So tonight, Caleb pulled out a new pair of gloves, and Maddie a pair of Christmas socks.

I often hear mothers lamenting the growth of their children, lamenting that babyhood has passed, that their kids are growing too fast, and I understand.  Time does move fast, and I do savor moments and memories, but I don't want my focus to be stuck there and miss the joy of what's happening right before me.  I love watching my children GROW and watching who they are becoming.  After all, I'm not raising them for me, I'm raising them for them--so that one day they'll be able to walk out my door, Lord-willing, each a godly, mature man or woman, full of love, joy, knowledge, skills and a vision for their future.  And as each age passes, sweet things are forever gone (memories I treasure), but new sweet things emerge (more memories I'll treasure). Each age is unique, with its special blessings.  Like tonight...

Caleb pulls his gloves out of his stocking, loves the flame-patterned grips, disappears, and the next thing we know he reappears sneaking around corners, ducking, dashing and hiding.  A secret spy with secret spy glasses and gloves.

Maddie slips on her fancy Christmas socks and can't help but begin to dance to the Christmas music playing in the background. Then she asks her daddy if he would dance with her.  And she twirls and kicks and dips with him. 

Tonight and its sweetness wouldn't have happened as a baby, it wouldn't have happened at 2 or 4, but it happened at 5 and 7.  And as they continue to grow, these stages too will pass.  Caleb won't always be a super spy, and Maddie won't always twirl and spin to music in a girly way.  One day they'll be adults and visiting our home, and I won't be "mommying" anymore.  But I hope to still be delighting in who they are, who they are becoming, both remembering the times we have had and enjoying the present times together. 

little bean

First picture of our newest little one!  (Head on the left.)

No, we weren't planning on this Addition, but God had a different plan than ours.  We would appreciate prayers for my good health, as there are some unknowns and uncertainties related to that. So far I am doing well.

We anticipate Baby's arrival around July 8th, and we look forward to meeting the Little Fella/Girlie!  And, no, don't expect to hear whether it's a boy or a girl until July.  We like to be surprised.  :)  Though the kids have assumed it's a boy, because after we had Maisie for a week they asked if the next baby could be a boy since they now had a sister.  I must say I'm also leaning toward boy as this pregnancy is resembling Caleb's and not Maddie's, but of course that's no guarantee.

In the meantime, poor Caleb is quite a bit confused.  He said to me,
"Mommy, this time when you fly to get the baby, can we come with you?"  
I said, "But, Caleb, we don't have to fly to get this baby, this baby is in my tummy. Mommy and Daddy will go to the hospital, and I will have the baby there, and then we'll bring the baby home." 

"Oh. Well, when you fly to the hospital, can we come too?"

"Caleb, we're not going to fly to the hospital.  There is a hospital just down the street a few minutes away."

"There is?!"

"Yes! You'll get to come to the hospital and see the baby there."

"Really?! Oh, okay."

I thought he got it...but then a few minutes later I heard him playing with Maisie and singing to her about when she was tiny and in my tummy.  Oh well.  He'll eventually figure it all out, and frankly, I'm glad that he simply views Maisie as his sister just like he views this new baby as his brother or sister. 

viking ships and boys vs. girls

We made Viking ships as a part of our history lesson the other day.  The kids really got into it, and after the ships were done, they asked if they could make Vikings to go inside their ships.  They spent the next hour or so making vikings and playing with their ships. 

When I saw what they had created, I had to laugh!  Ah, boys and girls...so different.  Maddie's, below.  One smiling, happy Viking, and "Viking ship for school" nicely printed on her sail. 

Caleb's, below.  Five mean Vikings, and "Viking ship bad" printed fiercely on his sail. 

our tree is huge!

We've had responses ranging from, "Oh my goodness!  I LOVE your tree!!" to absolute hysterical laughter (Hydro).  We laughed ourselves when we saw just how big the tree was in our house, and we shoved it as far into the corner as is possible.  But I have to say we have enjoyed it and know we won't always do this.  So we're enjoying the fun while we're crazy enough to buy monster trees.  (Though someone did suggest bringing a measuring tape with us next year, and I think we might.)

We didn't even try to put the lights around the tree--Braden just threw them on the part of the tree that shows.  And we didn't decorate the top either.  AND, this was the best part...while we were decorating, Braden hung a heavy ornament on a branch and the whole tree wobbled big time.  So he ended up tying heavy twine multiple times around the center of the tree and onto our sliding door handle.  Now the tree is immovable.  We actually moved our dining table out of the center of the room and put it on an angle to work around the lovely monster.

I'm not so sure that this tree is really fatter than last year's but it is taller and far more unruly, such that it appears bigger.  But it sure is a big beauty!  Here we are after decorating that first night.

chopping down our christmas tree.

It was unseasonably warm, which felt a little odd but was really pleasant.  Two years ago we were FREEZING!!!  So it was a nice break from the norm...though I have to confess when it got really good and cold a few days later I was excited, because it FELT like Christmas.

Now this is important to keep in mind for tomorrow's post...as you can see our tree was not the tallest or fattest tree in the field.  It was very reasonable compared to the others.  And we didn't want to repeat our mistake from last year.

The kids had fun playing around while Daddy cut down the tree. 

Maisie hung out in the stroller and was a good sport about her bumpy ride across the paths and field.  And would you just look at that huge smile?  Such a little sweetheart!

stinky smells

Maddie came bounding into the room where I was feeding Maisie.
Mommy, the Christmas tree smells HORRIBLE!
Really? Doesn't it just smell like a pine tree?

No!  Mommy, today it smells HORRIBLE!

Caleb, overhearing, entered the room:

No it doesn't. It smells like a pine tree.

Caleb, come here and I will show you...Smell there.

It smells like a pine tree.

Get down lower.  Smell there.

It smells like a pine tree.

Get down lower.  Smell THERE.

I smell your stinky breath!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun!  Uncle Thad & Aunt Louise came into to town, as well as Shawn, Greer, McLaren and Jezzy.  Maisie got loads of attention, snuggles and kisses--and she enjoyed every moment of it. 

For thanksgiving dinner, Mom and Dad and La joined us all at Braden's parents' house. 

The weekend was a lot of fun! I didn't realize how few pictures we took (like 5), so maybe Shawn and the girls will send me some of theirs, hint hint. I felt like there was a lot of picture taking going on, but I guess it was everybody else, not me.

On Saturday we went to my parents' house to help decorate their tree for Christmas.  The kids had so much fun of course.  We also now have our tree--but that's for another post.  We've got major tree issues as you shall see.  (Stop the madness!)

maisie at 7 months

One of the things we love about Maisie right now is how she growls.  She makes normal baby noises, but she loves to growl too.  Most of the time what starts as baby noises turns to baby growling. It's really funny to listen to.  Yammer yammer yammer grrrrrooowwlll.  Growl growl groooooowwwwlll. 

a gospel-saturated life.

Let us stake the flag of Christ's kingdom into the soil of our first waking moment. Drink your coffee when you get up, of course, but drink it to the glory of God. Then carry on in this way all day, no matter the task, be it menial or notable, so that each day may be a living prayer that God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what it means to live a gospel-saturated life: it means being so conscious of the greatness of the gospel that changing diapers or cutting the grass is as much an act of worship as singing a praise chorus in a church service….Jesus Christ is Lord over my heart, and he is Lord over my hands, and he is Lord over what I do with these hands, and he is Lord over what I say in my heart while I'm doing it. In submitting to the lordship of Christ, then, I do not treat washing dishes as wasting time I could be spending doing something "meaningful," but rather as a service to those who eat in my home, as a service to those who would have to wash the dishes if I did not, and as an offering of thanksgiving to God that I have food to eat, dishes to eat it on, and running water inside my home to clean with.

Gospel Wakefulness by Jared Wilson.

maddie's birthday party #2

I almost entirely forgot to post about Maddie's other birthday party because it happened so far after her birthday.  Because Mom was visiting Jes for the month of October, we waited until she was home in November to celebrate Maddie's and Dad's birthdays.

Maddie had been waiting all month to make cake pops for her birthday dessert.  As I was making them with her I remembered something crucial I had forgotten...I STINK at making anything that requires precision.  Cake pops need precision.  I am not precise. They were some of the ugliest things I've seen.  But shhhh!  Don't tell Maddie.  She helped me make them and she thought they were just THE BEST things ever!  And that's what really counts!

They were strawberry cake covered in white and milk chocolate.  In spite of their suspicious looks, they were surprisingly tasty.

FaFa chose a pumpkin pie for his birthday dessert, and that's where the candles were put.  Maddie and FaFa blew out the candles...er, I mean FaFa blew out his candle. Maddie?  Well she had trouble yet again.  Memories.

* newsflash *

I had put Maisie down for the night but about 10 minutes later heard her fussing.  Thinking she had probably lost her passy I went up to check on her...nope.  She was on her tummy.  Little girl rolled over for the first time! 

A few more pix...

...of Maisie's court finalization.  The court is very casual and friendly toward adoptions.  As they put it, these are joyous occasions and they love these hearings, because so much of what they do on a day-to-day basis is dealing with sorrowful and difficult circumstances. 

Up until now, Maisie has been known legally as only "Baby Girl S."  Braden and I both were a little choked up as we heard the judge reading the pronouncement of no longer would she be known as Baby Girl S. but now she would be known as Maisie (...reading her full name), and that Braden and I would hereafter be her parents. 

My mom and Braden's dad were able to come with us, along with a few of our friends.

A few days before the hearing, Maisie's friend Gray and Mary stopped by with a gift for Maisie in honor of her finalization.  This adorable dress!  She wore it to court and looked like such a cutie.  I took a few special photos at home afterward, just to mark her special day.

And here she is showing off her new trick...sticking out her tongue.  

* official *

Today Maisie officially and legally became a part of our family!  We appeared in court--perhaps the only time in our lives where we'll be eager and waiting to go to court.  :)

This was the very last piece in a long list of tasks, paperwork, phone calls, documents and more that we've completed over the last year and a half.  BUT Maisie is worth every last piece of work and more!  We would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

We are so grateful to God for leading us down the road of adoption and for bringing Maisie into our family.  A few years ago we wouldn't have guessed we'd be here, but here we are, and all the happier with Maisie in our lives. 

We feel privileged to have had children naturally and to have adopted a child.  Having a baby naturally is an amazing experience.  Adopting a baby is an amazing experience.  They were both similar in so many ways, yet different.  Each with its unique blessings and joys. We know adoption is often considered by many to be "second best," but walk through it yourself and I think your mind will be forever changed.

laundry room -- complete!

On the left is the chest freezer, butcherblock countertop over cabinets, then a sink. Overtop are cabinets.  On the right you can barely see the washer and dryer, and beside the dryer are some hampers. 

Ahhh, so nice to have a clean space and room to work. I fold laundry right on the countertop, and then I send my little helpers in to fetch the laundry and put it away.  The base cabinets are actually supposed to be raised on feet about 3-4 inches taller, but since I am so short, we skipped the feet, which brought the countertop down to the perfect height for me to work at. 

A big thank-you to Tom and Gair!! 

(The other half of the basement to come.)

qotd

"Gentermen and ladiessss, welcome to the cars and monster trucks and jets and machines and, and fire trucks and, and jets the-a-derrrr!"

dusty places

As Maddie was bouncing her new bouncy ball from the dentist, she said to me with disappointment and a bit of distress, "Mommy, every time I bounce my bouncy ball it gets dust on it."  I said, "Well, Maddie that's normal.  It's bouncing on the floor so it's going to touch dirt and get dirty."  She replied, "But no, Mommy.  It just keeps bouncing and going into all the dusty places, and that's why it's getting dirty."  Ooops...I guess I need to vacuum the floors. 

* newsflash *

After becoming disinterested in oatmeal after the 2nd time, and after spitting out applesauce (with a look of absolute disgust on her face), Maisie has finally eaten something and liked it...potato!

fun at the farm

A couple of weeks ago we made the trip out towards the mountains for a visit to my dad's longtime friend's farm. I hadn't seen Mr. Z. since I was a little girl.

Mr. Z. was so kind to us, sending us free passes to the farm and then giving us a long tour on his golfcart/atv all over his whole farm, the accompanying vineyard and winery across the street, and his home up at the top of the mountain overlooking the vineyard and farm.  It was a beautiful fall day!

Afterwards, we took the kids back to the farm for some kid-fun...hay bales, mazes, a huge jumping pillow, animals to pet, super long barrel slides, pedal carts and more!

 We ended our day with Mr. Z. giving us a personal ride in the cowtrain.  Maisie got to ride in my lap.  We had a wonderful day together at the farm!

heading out to get candy

A lion and a daaaancer.

war

Caleb and I were playing "War" this morning with his deck of cards.  He explained how to play the game to me in detail prior to beginning.  He ended with, "So, Mommy, if you get the mucher card, then you get to take my card, but if I get the mucher card, then I get to take your card."

As we began to play, my first few cards were really low cards, so Caleb won every one of those. After winning the fifth card in a row, he looked at me and said in the tone of a warning with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm pretty good at this game."

Maisie at 6 months

Maisie is a petite little thing still, coming in at 12lbs and 11oz (4th %).  She's 24 inches tall (8%).  Her sweet head is in the 50th percentile, but somehow it just doesn't look all that big on her.  But I must say, as I was toting a fussy teething baby around on my hip the other day, I was really glad it was only 12 and a half pounds I was toting around! 

Maisie can roll tummy to back and almost, almost back to tummy.  She just can't seem to bring that little leg over to flip...soon enough.  Maisie can just about sit up on her own.  Maisie is teething like crazy and looks like she's going to cut a canine...a little odd considering she has no teeth yet.  But it's swollen and red right in that area, and she just chews and chews on her finger right over that spot. Maisie has finally dropped that one middle of the night feed.  Most nights now, she sleeps through until about 7am.  Maisie has started eating some oatmeal, but more still comes out than goes down, and she seems to have lost some interest in the oatmeal. I think I'm going to try something else this week. 

Maisie laughs when you blow on her tummy, she loves for you to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and twinkle your fingers over her head, she recognizes all her local extended family members and gives them smiles, and she smiles and laughs when Caleb or Maddie make weird noises and funny faces.  Maisie loves for you to give her kisses on her cheeks and sometimes will reward you with one of your own.  She is grabbing everything, especially hair. Maisie is a happy, contented baby. She wakes up happy, talks to herself in her crib, and then greets you with a big smile and kicking legs and waving arms.  She's just a little bundle of cuteness and sweet personality!

gym class

Auntie La has been kind enough to teach Maddie gym class once a week.  Maddie is just LOVING it!  La is working on teaching her simple stretches and exercises, along with somersaults, handstands, cartwheels and walkovers.  Thanks, Auntie La!  ;)

sleeping in

Caleb slept in this morning, a good hour later than normal.  You know what that means...in a few weeks he'll have grown again!

* maddie is SEVEN *

We celebrated Maddie's birthday with Braden's family.  (Mom is still visiting Jess in CA.)  Maddie chose a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, caesar salad, rolls and apple pie for her birthday "cake." 

She helped me make the slab pie and had lots of fun stirring the apples and cinnamon and sugar together. 

Maddie blew out the candles...

...er, uh, not really.  Maddie's ALWAYS had trouble blowing out her candles!

Maddie had a wonderful birthday.  Being as dramatic as she is, you can always count on Maddie for great reactions to gifts.  And, the sweet girl that she is, she said in her cute way, "Mommy, this was just the BEST birthday ever! It was just...just better than I could even imagine!  God is so kind to me to give me all this!" 

fossils

As a part of studying earth science this semester, we made "fossils" so that we could get a better hands-on idea of how they are formed.  First we dug dirt up from our backyard and mixed it with water to make a mudpie consistency.  Then we made a few mudpies.

Messy hands!  

Next we laid seashells from our vacation in the mudpies. 

Then we covered them with more mud and baked them in the oven on 'warm' all afternoon and again all the next morning.  Then we cracked them open and saw our "fossils."

Kids enjoyed it.  I thought it was a great experiment (despite the fact that Caleb kept forgetting the word 'fossil' and kept calling them 'our skeletons.')

* newsflash *

Maddie has turned 7 and her new favorite color for the year is BLUE.

6 years old: peach

5 years old: purple --scratch that, decided she couldn't repeat a color so it was changed to pink two months later.

4 years old: white

3 years old: purple

2 years old: red

maisie update

In all the hubbub of vacation, I forgot to post Maisie's update from her 4 month visit...which was really just a week shy of 5months old.

She was 11 lbs 5 oz...which is between 5-10% and  23 inches tall, which is 25%. She's slowly gaining, but she's still such a petite little thing.  She's still wearing 0-3 month clothes and newborn shoes, and still eats about six 3-4 oz bottles each (24 hr) day.  Maisie is talking a lot, loves to play, is starting to grab everything--hair, dinner plates, face--and she watches us eat food with great interest.  She is also teething, as her goatee reveals.

At the beach I offered her her first taste of food--some oatmeal.  While she was excited to try it, she couldn't figure out swallowing.  Last week, here at home, I got her a bit of oatmeal to try again.  This time she knew I was preparing food for her and she got all excited and demanding.  She still couldn't figure out the swallowing, but her mouth was open and ready for every bite.  So funny!  This little girlie sure wants to eat! 

sigh

Our kids are prolific draw-ers. I mean crazy prolific. Maddie's always got at least 15 pictures she's "working on." Caleb just whips through picture after picture after.... Our kids also don't want to throw away any pictures either, especially Maddie. Maddie is a little pack-rat and would keep torn scraps of tissue paper if I let her. (Yes, she really wanted to keep torn scraps of tissue paper in her treasure box.)

Anyway, Caleb walked into my room this morning, glanced in the trashcan and noticed a picture I'd thrown away. Just an ordinary one of thousands that happened to be floating around on the floor. I do keep a few of the best tucked away in a box, but this was nothing special.
"Mommy! Why did you throw away my picture?!"
"Because we can't keep every picture you draw."
Maddie walked in, "What's wrong, Caleb?"

"Mommy threw away my VERY BEST picture I EVER drew!"

seashells and such

We found some lovely shells while we were at the beach. 

One of the funniest times was when Caleb and Maddie were playing in a large pool that had formed during low tide.  Caleb was a little tired, so he walked over near me, sat down in the water, sunk his hands in the sand, then pulled them up and exclaimed, "Whoa, Mommy!  Look at this big shell I found!  He had pulled up a nice-sized whole conch shell out of nowhere.

 We also found a whole bunch of shark's teeth.  I think just Braden and I alone brought home about 30 of them.  Then there was this huge hawk that liked to land on our porch railing.  Biggest hawk I've ever seen that close. 

And one day we saw a whole bunch of dolphins in the ocean. There must have been at least 30 of them out there, and we watched them for 15 minutes or so as they jumped and swam across our view of the ocean in little groups of 3-5.  I've never seen so many at one time!

The kids collected TONS of shells.  Every day we brought more and more back to the beach house.

They lined their shells up on the railing of the back porch, had piles in more than one corner of the porch, and even more in buckets and on tables.

Each year on our last day at the beach, we throw back all the shells we collected, minus a few I let the kids choose to keep.  They each have the shells they brought home in plastic jars in their bedrooms.