What we do during snow days!

We very rarely are still. We have to be busy all of the time. It is how Justin and I are wired which then passes on to Brady, Madison, and Blake. We aren’t always proud of the fact that we don’t know how to relax, but we are often times productive. Sometimes though we create more work for ourselves than we had intended. Last week the kids had snow days on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is what we did on Tuesday…

Justin has started finishing our basement this winter. It was time to pour the shower ‘pan’ thing and Justin thought we should all help out. So after hauling up unneeded things to the garage we got into the cement action. The kids had a good time. There was some cement/concrete left over so Justin thought we should get the kids footprints molded. It was some great team work that day!

So on Wednesday we had another snow day. I needed to go in to work and Justin was available to stay at home with kids. At about 12:30, I got a call letting me know that Brady and Madison were putting together a presentation as to why they were responsible enough to have a hamster. I expressed all of the typical motherly concerns… like who is going to feed it and clean its cage when they lose interest!?! Well I guess their presentation worked (not to mention dad can be a big softly!) and Mr, Squiggles made his way into our house that day…. Guess that‘s what I get for going in to work on a snow day!

The snow covered trees were pretty!

 

Justin and I decided that we were not getting each other anything for Valentine’s Day since our Vegas weekend was our treat to ourselves. Well I guess ‘the kids’ (aka Justin the big kid) thought I needed to be serenaded at work. It was really rather embarrassing. And the question I have for everyone is where on earth do you look when someone is singing to you? My face was red as a beet and the entire time I was thinking... Do I look as these gentleman? Do I look into their eyes? It was just weird!

Wow – What a difference a year makes!

With the business of our everyday life I don’t often get time to reflect on the past. We just got an email reminder that we need to schedule our one year post placement report. The visit with the social worker will have to be done in March so that the report is certified and in Moscow by April 14th. I have been thinking how much time sure flies. THEN I remembered February of last year. I took a look at some of our blog entries from February 2009 and I can remember the horribleness of the wait. Of course it becomes an interesting part of our adoption story, but thinking about it still brings back the feelings of heartache. I can not tell you how thankful I am to be done with that season on life.

This past week or so people have really been commenting on how far Blake’s language has come. He is really stringing words together and is capable of getting his point across. We still have several letter sounds to work on. For instance all f’s are p’s (fall=pall; five=pive) and h’s are a variety of sounds depending on the word – but he is consistent each time (house =kouse; hand = nand; help=yelp). We have quickly discovered that we need to help him with tone and inflection before he gets himself in trouble. I should get a recording of this to help describe it better. When someone asks him an obvious questions he say (picture teenage girl with attitude) “Well yeah!” He also has picked up one of my bad sayings and is using it at the wrong times… “Whatever.” Something that is cute and I am not sure where it comes from is that he says “all day” at the end of phrases. It is sort of like he is meaning to say a lot. For instance, “I like daddy’s truck all day!” “I like M&M all day!” “I wanna go to speech all day!”

The most endearing language development is the clarity and sincerity that he tells us he loves us. He says “I love-a you mom!” and I will say “I love you Blake” and right away he adds “I love-a my daddy too!” So sweet. We are such a blessed family!

This past Saturday Justin and Brady went to the Dolphin swim meet and Blake, Maddie and I headed to Peoria for our niece’s birthday skating party. Of course Blake insisted that he wanted to skate. At first he couldn’t do a thing in the skates without falling – even while holding my hand…. Uncle Jake was a trouper and tried to help.

Madison also tried to helped.

By the end of the party he was actually able to navigate his way around the exterior of the rink. It is pretty amazing how fast you can improve when you have no fear of falling!

On Sunday Maddie lost her fourth tooth. This was her first one in the first grade so she was very excited to get her initials on the tooth chart at school.

Boys will be boys!  They have so much fun playing with each other.

Sin City and More

We are trying to get back into our ‘normal’ routine, but it seems like if we are gone for a few days it takes awhile to get our act together. Head colds and such have been making their rounds. We took Blake to the doctor yesterday and he has an ear infection. On a good note though, he is up to 33 pounds! They didn’t measure how tall he was, but we can tell by his how things fit that he is definitely taller.

So now I get to use this blog as an outlet so feel free to stop reading and pardon my rambling. More than one person has asked in some fashion, “What does a Christian girl do in Las Vegas?” The motives behind the question vary from person to person. Some are legitimately curious what we do for fun when we go; others are teasing and are not looking for a response; and there are the people that ask that want to cast judgment in some fashion. I must first say that Christians that separate themselves from the world are not being obedient in my opinion. Jesus lived among the people and ministered to those that were hurting and sinning the most. We are called to set examples and be as Christ-like as we can given out human limitations. Is Vegas the place for everyone? No! Is Vegas full of sin? Yes! Is Macomb, Chicago, Roseville, full of sin? Yes! Ok enough of that. Below is a random list of what I did in Vegas….

- Enjoyed the sunshine and temperatures each day that were WAY above freezing!

- Had uninterrupted adult conversations with my dear husband and held his hand as we walked down the strip.

- Saw a magic show at the Luxor and was a bit disappointed. However laughed hysterically at the pre-show entertainment and got the weekend’s mantra of “FU FU Fu!”

- Spent time with our new friends Bill and Malloree and learned so much about the things we have in common. Kindled a friendship that will last a lifetime.

- Walked past a gambling area where half naked girls were dancing for the gamblers at the table. I said a silent prayer for them and let my mind wonder how hard times have to be for them to think such a job is ok?

- Saw the world’s largest chocolate fountain at the Bellagio hotel and enjoyed their fresh flower arrangements.

- Stepped on a slew of cards that people were handing out of have topless women and again wondered whose daughters these women were. Prayed that they too would find a better way to support themselves and their families.

- Shopped at the M&M store for great gifts for the kids. Talked with Justin about what a great job the company has done with marketing and keeping their product alive.

- At a magnificent dinner at the top of the Stratosphere after the four of us said grace and thanked God for blessing us with great food, friendships, and so many other blessings.

- Saw the Cirque du Soleil show O at the Bellagio. Oh my gosh it was soooo amazing! The talent of the performers is unbelievable. The choreography is complex and intricate. The mechanics of the stage and floor was unreal.

- I gambled a total of $20 between two slot machines. I do not like to gamble – I do not like losing my money. For me there is way too much to do and see in Vegas to waste time on gambling!

Ok, so my list could go on and on. The bottom line is that we had a great time in a city where there is always something to do no matter what your interests are. I am thankful to have had the time with Justin and with Bill and Malloree – it was very rejuvenating!

Here I am outside the M&M store.

Justin and Bill with SpongeBob!

Hopefully Malloree’s pictures turned out better than mine and I will have more to share.