My Baby Turns Two

My sickly, skinny, weak little baby has turned two! What a miracle boy he is! There is nothing sickly or skinny about him anymore. He is running full speed and chases balls and cats and his sisters. He has a huge vocabulary and is very, very stubborn. He loves his Kenzie and his Boo and squeals and dances whenever they come home from school. Food is his most favorite thing in the whole wide world, and the scale proves it. He now weighs 29 pounds! He has an infectious laugh and screams like a little girl. We all love him more than we could have ever imagined. Happy Birthday Baby 'Lijah!

A Grandmother's Love

We received a phone call last night from our adoption agency, and there was a great story to be told. The director of the agency is in Liberia now and was able to travel to Nimba County, which is where McKia and Meckie were both born. The kids spent the first part of their lives there living in extreme poverty. While we were in Africa, we were blessed to meet the birth mother, father and grandfather of our children. It was then that we discovered just how badly the birth families had been chastised and ridiculed for placing the kids up for adoption. This is what our director had to say about the trip to Nimba yesterday, and about meeting our children's grandmother...

"The first stop was the home of 7 of the children. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends all came out to see the pictures. When I showed them to an older lady, she didn't hardly see them before she started dancing and praising the Lord! It was amazing! She was so excited to see her grandchildren and how they were doing! She started saying, "I sell my children? I will never see them again? Look here!" She had been chastised for placing her children for adoption. As the common mindset here in Liberia is that 'adoption' means the children will be sold in slavery or taken for their organs or sent to Iraq for war. A big part of what God has allowed me to do this trip is to use the media to educate people on what adoption is! She was so excited to have proof to her naysayers that her grandchildren were happy and alive, and thriving!"

Apparently this sweet grandmother ran up and down the street shaking the pictures at anyone who passed her by while crying out that her grandchildren were alive and well. She wanted everyone to see how beautiful and healthy they are. Man how I wish I had been there!!! I am so happy that even though we are seperated by an ocean and on opposite sides of the globe, we can still reassure these families that their children are being cared for and loved, and that we can help make them feel better about letting them go. We have to remember that as much as we love these children now, they were also loved before.

Birthday Boys

Where does the time go??? I just knew that when I started this blog, I would just ramble on and on everyday about what goes on here in our little lives. I guess I was being overly optimistic. I can't seem to write anything about us, but I sure do enjoy reading about everyone else!

So far this year we have had two birthdays. Jaxon turned 6 and Meckie turned 4. Jaxon had a family party at Chuck E Cheese and then a friend party at the park. He totally loved having his friends come and jump in his castle and race on their scooters through the park and over the hills. He had lots of friends there, both new and old, and he was having a grand time, until....he fell off of the bench backwards and slammed his head into the concrete. Wow! He had the biggest goose-egg with lots of screams and tears and thus, the party ended. We came really close to taking him to the ER, but all turned out okay and he has fully recovered.

A couple of weeks later Meckie had his MUCH anticipated party at Gattiland. We kept it kind of low key since he is learning how this party stuff works, and he loved every minute of it. I have started a new tradition of taking the birthday kid to the store to pick out all of their partyware and making a really big deal of the whole process. We always go all out with the decorations and such, and Meckie was very excited. I have always made the kids' birthday cakes, and take a lot of pride in the fact that they have always loved and appreciated them. When asked what kind of cake he wanted me to make, he immediately informed me that he wanted to pick one from the store! He chose Micky Mouse Clubhouse as his theme and he had the best time loading the buggy full of all things Mickey. We took him to a special lunch for his birthday and then to Gattiland for his party. After we came back home and unloaded all of his loot, he asked how many sleeps until his next birthday. It certainly doesn't take long to learn how it works!

How to eat a cupcake "Elijah Style"

Wow, thanks mom!




Look, it's on my finger!

Mmm, I like it!

This is taking forever, and since I am already a mess...

Dad, tell me if Mom is looking!

Maybe I can get it in just ONE bite!

Sweet victory! (And sweet cupcake!)

Merry Christmas in January!

Wow! This blogging is a lot harder than I thought! It only takes a few minutes to update, but finding those few minutes is a challenge. I am really going to try harder to keep the site updated with new happenings and new pictures. All anyone really wants to see are the pictures anyway, right?

December was a really busy and exciting month for us. We had my birthday and then the very next day celebrated McKia's 5th birthday. I will never forget her face as she enjoyed her day. She was totally the princess and to prove it insisted on a princess party. She and McKenna dressed the part and seemed to love it all. We kept everything pretty low key since McKia seems to still be a little bit overwhelmed by lots of people being around. After the birthdays came mine and Clint's 15th anniversary. Can you believe it??? We have put up with each other for 15 years and it only feels like 45 years! Not really babe. I know you are reading this and I am kidding. It's been a fun ride. Thank you for keeping me and loving me. You are the best!

Next was Christmas. We had a great time with my family and all of our kids. The "new kids" were totally amazed at all that happens during Christmas time and took it all in stride. They loved the lights and the food. They loved the candy and the trees. We read the Christmas Story a lot so that they would understand what Christmas is really all about. It sure didn't take them long to learn the ins and outs of ripping into presents! It was pricesless to watch as they opened each new thing and as always they were so appreciative. All of the kids received so many wonderful gifs. It was a fun fun time!

Finally it was New Years! Hooray! Every kid stayed up until midnight except for McKenna. She just couldn't make it that long. We had a wii tournament and ate lots of snacks. We toasted in 2009 with sparkling apple juice and there was lots of horn blowing and balloon popping. Fortunately we got to sleep in the next morning! The kids started back to school this past Tuesday so everything is getting back to normal finally. Well, whatever normal is anyway!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Many Many Blessings to you all. Thank you for checking in on us.

BTW - Blogger is so not cooperating with me and has placed my pictures here, there and yonder. Sorry for the messy layout!

A little randomness in pictures

Wow! We have been so busy running around from this to that and I have totally neglected the blog! The kids are growning and thriving and just doing so great. Thanks for checking in on my crew!

Paintin' our Punkins

We have been having a blast! We love fall around here and have been really busy. The kids have decorated and re-decorated the house with all of their crafts. We have been to the pumpkin patch and stomped through a corn maze. We've had kettle corn and turkey legs and carmel apples. Yum! Our costumes are being put together and we are so excited. Hope you enjoy the pics!