Today when I picked up Avery from kindergarten, she asked the same question she asks everyday: "Mommy, can we go out to lunch?"  And everyday I say "Nope."  We usually go back and forth on why we are not going out to lunch (it's unhealthy and it's expensive, blah, blah, blah), but today she followed up with "Can I make lunch today?"  Hmm, now there's an idea. 

I decided I would see where this would go, so we talked about what she could make.  She decided on macaroni and cheese with hot dogs and "some sort of fruit or something healthy."  Ok, well, at least I know my message is being received, right?

I let her do absolutely everything, with the exception on draining the pasta.  I even had her serve me and her sisters.  She did awesome and loved it.  I can still remember my first pot of mac and cheese I made.  The satisfaction I felt.  The quick dip of my finger into the powdered cheese.  The regret I felt afterward when I realized that powdered stuff ain't nothing without the milk and butter.

I told you we celebrate all kinds of firsts in this house.  Today it was Mac & Cheese Hot Dog Stuff.  And yes, I ate every last drop she served me, along with my apples, so that I can get big and strong.


Avery being extra careful cutting up the hot dogs.


"I think I'll line these two up and do it Mommy-style." 
Can you see her confidence soaring?


She has a passion to stir.  I don't think a noodle ever touched the bottom.


"Hey, Mia, I'm kind of an expert at this, so let me pass along my great wisdom."


Success.

Accident Prone.  Daring.  Silly.  Defiant.  Down-right lovable.  Olivia has decided to "kick it up a notch" in the last week, and we have two injuries to prove it.  Something tells me these will not be the last in her toddler years.

About a week ago, Olivia decided to see just how hot our fireplace really gets.  We have an electric fireplace so the outside of the glass doesn't get super-hot... unless you touch it and don't move your hand for several seconds.  Let's just say, Olivia is a bit of a scientist and decided to test this theory.  She has three small blisters on her hand to prove the truth of this theory.  We've lived in our house for almost five years, all of those years with small children.  There's always one child....  At any rate, I have been more cautious than ever because something tells me she would try this again.  Just a hunch.

The best part is for the last week, she has been showing everyone her hand and then groaning and fake crying to "tell" them the story.  Even after the blisters healed she still wanted others to know and feel her pain.  For those of you that don't know, this is how Drama Queens train.

Then on Monday, during Olympic trials for the 100-yard dash in our kitchen, Olivia ended up face first on the floor.  (I think Mia may have been involved in this incident, but she is innocent until proven guilty.  And well, I was doing the dishes at the time.)  As I picked up our screaming little Livie, blood started to pour out of her face.  I took one look at the cut on her chin and knew we would be heading to the ER.  As luck would have it, Chris had not left for work yet (a minute later and my luck would have been all out!), so he could stay home and get the older two on the bus, while I taped Livie's chin up and headed to the hospital. 

It took the doctor a whole 2-second glance at the wound before stitches were prepared.  I kindly suggested we needed back-up for our fiery little angel.  He gave me the eye-roll-without-the-eye-roll look but soon he understood.  We had to wrap Livie up burrito-style in a sheet, then have three of us hold her down so the doctor could put five stitches in.  She screamed to the end.  That's my girl.  It's all about stamina.  Whew! 

And yes, I had to hold her down to take this picture.  Remember...it's all part of her intense Drama Queen training.  It's has to be constant or it doesn't stick.

I am feeling a little nostalgic today for many reasons, but mostly because Mia had her first dance recital on Friday.  I know that as mothers we celebrate firsts, no matter how little or big.  But for me, this "first" for Mia has really tugged on my heart-strings.  Here is a little girl who we thought may never walk, who struggled to use her legs through intensive physical therapy, and still battles with daily balance issues, dancing.  Yes, dancing!  And not just dancing, tap dancing.  And not just tap dancing, but tap dancing to Elton John.  Be still my heart. 

Our Tiny Dancer.


Mia's dance teacher, Mrs. April.


Hold me closer, Tiny Dancer!

 

(Video embedded)

I think Chris is a wonderful dad for so many reasons, but one reason is because he is simply and wonderfully ... FUN!  Last week I was not feeling well and Chris stayed home from work to help with the kids.  After putting them down for a nap I heard a strange shoveling sound in our front yard.  When I looked out the window I found Chris shoveling snow into a wheelbarrow, building a sledding run for the girls.  I wish you could have seen their excitement and joy when they got up from their naps to find they had their own sledding ramp right outside the front door.  Pure and simple fun. 

    



These videos make me laugh every time I watch them. 
(Videos embedded)
I like to think of it as an ab workout






Daddy just couldn't resist the fun.  Avery's laugh in this one is infectious.

I have had so much to blog about, and so little time.  Mostly because we've been swallowed by several ginormous snow storms lately, or at least that's what the weather man said.  It's been slow news around here apparently, because the latest drops of snow have caused our city to come close to shutting down it seems.  I will say that all this snow has made me wonder a little about that whole global warming thing.  Seems a little too snowy to even go there.  Despite all the snow, it's been business as usual for our clan. 

I have been teaching the girls many useful things here lately.  One of which was how to have a snowball fight.  It is very important that they learn this before they reach the ripe old age of 10 and it is no longer cool to be standing in your driveway with your mom having fun. 

First you grab a ball of preformed snow off your front yard.  No need to repeat the work of nature combined with plow trucks.  The really good ones are usually right at the end of your driveway.



Then you find an unsuspecting soul, usually your youngest child. 



She's so cute, she makes glistening snot look good.  I had mercy on her ... this time.  I looked around for another weeny.



Bingo!  Look what the cat dragged in.  But wait, this one is too cute too.  And this one is a major weather weeny.  One wrong move and this one will run inside screaming for her mama.  (Which would be rather unfortunate for all involved!)  And so I continue to search out my victim.



Ah ha!  I found one ready to play.  And as it turns out she was listening.  Look at how she aims with intention.  And how she smiles, just a hint, to let her victim know it's coming.  Game on, sista.  Game on.

I found this picture tonight and it brought tears to my eyes.



Daisy has been gone for two years now and I miss this little pup still.

And then I found this one.  And my heart melted again.



Bennie, my first dog love.  I was smitten for this puppy too.

Apparently I should quit looking at old pictures when I blog. 

And then there is this one.  The cheese stands alone.



I can't say I have ever been smitten with Bogey, but I have learned to love her dearly over the years.  She has been with us through our marriage, four homes, three babies and two puppies.  She is a loyal dog, who is wonderful with the girls.  And although I complain daily about her hair, which blankets the house like a thick snow, she has found a special place in my heart. 

Just don't tell Chris.  I like him to think that I don't like her.  We secretly snuggle when he is not home.

Chris and I have been wanting to paint downstairs for quite some time.  We've been so busy having babies, taking care of babies, and thinking about babies, that it just hasn't gotten done.  Until this weekend.  We started talking about it and suddenly we were buying paint and putting the kids to bed.  We powered through Saturday evening until the wee hours putting primer on the walls of the kitchen.  And then on Sunday we were able to get both coats of "copper glow" onto the walls.  I wanted something very warm in our kitchen and I am very happy with the color.  I feel like I am walking into a bistro.  Here are some before and after shots.

       
I got the idea for these square pictures from The Thrifty Decor Chick. 
They are made from canvas and scrapbook paper.  I love them.


     
These are not the best pictures because there is so much junk in the kitchen in both of the pictures. 
Please excuse my mess.


Just a fun picture to see the color.  Isn't it stunning?


And I found this great rug.  It was more than I wanted to spend,
but I think I am going to have to keep it.

I have been meaning to update the blog for some time.  But my heart and my head couldn't find the words.  And so I will try to impart what I can, knowing that words may fail me.

It all started about six months ago, during my morning quiet time in prayer.  I had such a restlessness deep within that I couldn't describe it.  I talked to Chris about it, but all I knew was that something was moving in me.  I knew that I was to start praying for something but I didn't know what. 

About a month later, I was having coffee with a friend and I shared with her that I had something on my heart but that God still had not revealed what it was.  As she gently pressed me on, we started talking about children.  We realized that for the last six years of my life, every 18-months or so I have either gotten pregnant or started trying to have another baby.  Olivia was 18 months old.  She threw out the idea that perhaps I was simply mourning the fact that I can no longer have any more children.  With tears in my eyes, I knew that this was part of what was stirring inside of me. 

As I continued to search God's word and listen to his voice in prayer, I was drawn to the story of Abraham.  When God spoke to Abraham his reply was always "Yes, Lord."  Even when God was asking Abraham to take extreme risks, his reply was always "Yes, Lord."  I knew that whatever was heading my way, I was to respond with a "Yes, Lord" and leave all the worrying and "what-ifs" out of the situation.  As many of you know, I am an expert worrier and have a PhD in "what-ifs."

Last Wednesday I woke up in the middle of the night, restless and anxious.  I checked on all the kids, wondering what had woken me up.  I decided to check my email and when I did tears flooded my pillow.  I had just received an email that there would be children from Haiti arriving in Indianapolis that needed homes.  They were asking for families to consider taking in children (notice I did not say child).  I spent the rest of the morning praying that God would speak to Chris, giving us both direction.  Chris and I had recently talked about foster care and/or adoption and Chris was adamant that it was not the right time - Olivia was too young, we don't have the money, he is in school and often not home or busy with school work, etc.  But when God calls you to something, you take a step of faith.  No what-ifs.  And so, we called the organization who sent out the email and said we could take one or two children into our homes. 



I cannot describe the joy in my heart.... and the overwhelming anxiousness that seeped into my heart later.  Our family might be growing within a matter of days.  What were we doing?  How would this work out?  Where would they sleep?  How would we communicate with them?  What?  What?  What?

As emails and updates started flowing in over the next couple of days we soon realized that the organization was given some incorrect information and they were only lining up potential families "in case" this was to happen.  The disappointment penetrated my entire body.  There were no orphans coming and there might never be.  So why did God call us to this?  I am still not sure, other than we are still hoping that this opportunity will become real, that God would place a precious child(ren) in such dire need into our loving arms. 

Report after report continues to say that unless the state department would loosen their restrictions, these orphans simply cannot just be put on a plane and shipped overseas.  There are visa regulations and adoption laws that take precedent.  And UNICEF is working hard to make sure that these children do not leave the country yet.  With such chaos, some of the children thought to be orphans, may in fact have living family members.  Some children not thought to be orphans may soon be due to disease, starvation and dehydration.  I pray that as Haiti tries to recover from this horrible disaster, that the children will be protected, loved and nourished.  And in the meantime.... God has our arms and hearts wide open.

This past weekend Avery had her debut as a cheerleader.  Yes, I am her mom.  And yes, I am her coach.  But seriously, this girl is good.  See for yourself.



Ok, now that you have confirmed her natural talent, let me tell you a bit about the cheer program she is in.  She is part of Upward, a Christian-based sports program.  We have devotionals, prayers and memory verses at EVERY practice and game.  The girls are rewarded after each game with special stickers that relate to their effort and Christ-likeness.  What a wonderful way to learn a sport!  Avery is really enjoying learning to cheer.  And since I am the coach and our practices are on a night Chris is in school, Mia and Olivia are enjoying learning all about cheering too  Brings back some memories for this 'ole cheerleader.  I will say that I kindly declined from showing the girls a toe-touch.

Yes, I know I am two weeks late posting a blog about Christmas.  I could blame it on the busyness of the holidays, but it would be a big, fat lie.  This year the holidays were just ... different.  I have been trying to think about how to describe it and I can't seem to put it into words.  Maybe we adults have finally grasped how to have Christmas with children in our midst again.  Maybe the children are getting old enough to handle the boring adult stuff.  I don't know, but the holidays were wonderful, with very little stress.  I feel blessed that the holidays are always a wonderful time, but it just didn't seem so crazy this year. 

I won't get into all the details, but I would like to comment on a few of my favorite things.

• This year we did an Advent candle and read verses from the New Testament every night at dinner.  It was a wonderful way to get the girls into the Word and prepare our hearts for Christmas.  We fought each night about who got to blow the candle out.  The whole "peace on Earth" thing didn't sink in.
• I love to bake.  The girls love to bake.  This resulted in baking lots of cookies, often several times a week.  That's how we roll.  I put on 50 lbs.
• Chris was able to have time off of work, AND he was off of school.  It was like we won the lottery!  We spent lots of time loving on Chris!
• Although Livie was in the hospital on the 23rd due to extreme dehydration from Rota Virus, God blessed us with a speedy recovery and an uneventful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  On Sunday, Chris fell ill.  Wait a minute, didn't I say it wasn't stressful this year?  Ok, this part may be the exception.
• Christmas morning was a blast.  The girls' excitement and thankful hearts were awesome.  Santa brought each of the girls a special gift.  Yes, our girls believe in Santa and yes, we are ok with that.
• We were able to spend Christmas Eve with the Troxel family, and Christmas Day with the Kammeyer family.  Both were wonderful times of extreme food consumption, lively chatter and Christmas spirit.

For many of you Christmas has already been removed from your mind, and you are chugging into the New Year at full speed.  For me this year, I have chosen to dwell on Christmas just a little bit longer.  Sometimes things are just so wonderful that you have to.