Due Date

Hmmm.... lets think... there's a baby on the way, when could it be due? The baby pool is now open, and I've got October 11th thru October 28th locked up.

And if anyone is crazy enough to start thinking about gifts... the baby is interested in 60 inch flat panel tv, V8 2010 Camaro (will take V6 supercharged for those thinking green), 14 ft sectional with recliners and corithian leather, season suite tickets to the Ravens, and all expenses paid to Music Boat cruise 2010 (for a family of 5).

ETA: Can you guess who wrote this post??? NOT the mama! ;-)

Josiah's Turn

Don't want to leave Josiah out, so here's an update on him, too ;-)

Josiah had been growing and changing so much! He'll be three in about a month! He loves playing with his big sister, but is getting better at playing on his own, too. His vocabulary continues to develop. He has well over 100 words that he uses on a regular basis. He is learning to put sentences and phrases together more and more. Grandma Allen said she couldn't believe the changes in him just between the beginning of January and the beginning of March!

He has thinned out somewhat again, but some clothes are actually fitting on his waist now :-) He has gained at least a solid 3 pounds since coming home. His feet have grown like crazy! Mommy and Daddy didn't realize how fast until the other night. We thought he might need new sneakers soon. We didn't realize how cramped his little toes are in those shoes! We're having a hard time convincing him that he needs a different pair of shoes though. I'm really wishing I had stocked up on the car shoes when we bought the first pair!

He is mischievous and a flirt. He does like to push Elizabeth's buttons somewhat, but he is also very sensitive. Anytime someone is crying, especially Sissy (Elizabeth and Josiah use this name, NOT us ;-)), he goes to sooth and make sure everything is okay.

I think he has finally decided to like cake ;-)

A couple of other quick updates:

* We asked about Jose, the little boy we were in the process of adopting from Guatemala. He will also be turning 3 in May. It's been over a year and half since we were told we could not adopt him, but he is still living with his foster mom. We are sending a package down with a family travelling to bring their child home, and hope to establish some contact to get updates on him.

*Tomorrow, we are having our first sonogram to date the pregnancy! Elizabeth keeps hoping there are two babies; we'll find out tomorrow!

Catching Up!

Wow, I have some catching up to do! ;-) I'll start with Elizabeth.

She looks so grown up in the picture!

Elizabeth did have an ear infection for her birthday, complete with 101 degree temp after the advil, that Mommy didn't even realize she had. She and Daddy came home from the doctor with antibiotic, motrin, and a birthday cake. She decided she wanted to go out for pizza instead of making it. We came back and skyped with Grandma and Grandpa Allen, she opened her presents, and the motrin wore off right as she blew out her candles. I think she took one nibble of cake, poor thing. Then she was off to bed for the night.

Can you see the Motrin wearing off?

It's not much fun to have your birthday a month after moving when you still really haven't met anyone. So we were very blessed to have some dear friends and Grandma Baber and AJ meet us halfway between their homes and ours Saturday after Elizabeth's birthday. The kids played at Chick-fil-A, we had lunch, cake, and presents. It meant so much that they were willing to drive to spend a few hours with us!

Unfortunately, we did not make the cupcakes. We had plans to make cute ice cream cone cupcakes. But after searching through all 6 boxes markes "dishes and cups" we still couldn't find even a mixing bowl, nor the dishes and cups.

We are very proud of our big five year old! She had a beautiful heart. Her faith in God is so simple, yet so sure! She loves being a big sister, even though Josiah gets in her stuff sometimes, and will be a great mommy some day. She heard that some of her friends have cut their hair and donated it, so she decided that she is going to grow her hair out long enough to cut it and give it to someone who needs it. She received a gift card as part of her birthday gift because we know she loves shopping, and she would not really tell us anything that she wanted for her birthday. But when I took her shopping the other day, she was ready to spend it on gifts to send down to Jose. She did end up buying something for herself, but I had to convince her it was okay to just let me buy the things for Jose. I am so thankful to have Elizabeth as my firstborn!

His timing is NOT our own!

I thought that through this whole adoption process, and observing that of others, we have learned this truth pretty well. Apparently, we need some more lessons :-)

We did not plan to move this soon after Josiah came home, but we know this is where we are supposed to be.

We did not plan to be still in a temporary housing situation, but we know God will provide in His time.

We DID plan to begin our next adoption process as soon as feasible. We were hoping to start the homestudy at our 6 month visit. Obviously, with all the transitions, that was not the right time. So we have been thinking that the year post-placement visit would be a great time to start. Well, it seems that is not God's timing for us as we are....





Pregnant!

I'm sure you can guess we did not plan this! It was a BIG surprise!!! We don't know the due date yet. With all the craziness going on around us, I am not remembering certain important details ;-) And I have not gotten to the doctor yet...I have my first introduction meeting with the nurse Thursday. Then a meeting with a doctor next week. I believe we are at least two months along, though I'm kind of hoping it's a little more than that ;-)

I have been feeling pretty well. I really have not been sick, except when I'm very hungry. I've just been very tired, especially in the evenings. The kids and I have been taking naps more regularly.

Elizabeth is very excited! I'm looking forward to blogging some of her comments and assumptions. Josiah doesn't really seem to understand yet, but we'll be explaining more and more to him. Any good book or video suggestions???

So now you know! And I don't have to keep remembering to not post the cute things related to the new baby. By the way, the plan right now is to not find out the baby's gender. So....no need to ask. :-D

Connections

Today at lunch Elizabeth thought her sandwich looked like a sailboat. This started her down an imagination journey with pirates and such.

Then she changed to Jesus walking on the water. She used the remaining crust edge of one of her triangles for Jesus walking on the water and her cheesestick represented the disciple. So she said, "God** is the bread; Peter is the cheese." And I thought that was a rather appropriate statement for the story. :-)

From the statement of God being the bread, she remembered the other Sunday when she and the other children joined the service for Communion. She spoke of the pastor breaking the bread and what the elements represent.

I am very proud of her making the connections and really listening to the pastor when she came in the service. I love that this church we visited has started to bring the children into the service each first Sunday so they can celebrate Communion with their families.

Okay, so this has started me on a bit of a thought tangent: We've been thinking a lot about what we hope to find in a church here. And while children's programs are fun and can be great, it seems that in so many churches the goal is just to have a place for parents to send their children to be entertained. My purpose in attending church is not for entertainment. Yes, I hope the pastor is not too boring, and I like certain types of music. But my desire is to learn and grow spiritually, and this is what I desire for my children. I don't like when a church practically shoves babies and children out of the worship service. I want my children to know they are welcome there. I do understand they can be a distraction at times, but they need to learn how to be part of the congregation....not just when they are 13 and sulk in the chair because they're forced to be there. But then again, Elizabeth will just about always choose to go to children's classes over staying with us....even at a brand new church. Sorry, for rambling. Just trying to sort through some of my thoughts. :-)

**BTW, I do realize I wrote "God" in her quote. That's what she told me. I struggle with how to address this. I don't completely want to correct her because we have taught her that we believe Jesus was fully God when He was on Earth, just as He was fully man. And if I do happen to gently mention that she should say Jesus, she says, "Jesus is God." Absolutely right! So is this something I should just let go and show her by example when I tell the stories? Any suggestions?

Birthday Girl!

We have a very special Birthday Girl in our house today! Our TigerLily, LizzieG, Princess Elizabeth is FIVE years old today! It is so amazing that she has been in our lives for this long. We are SO proud of Elizabeth. She is such an intelligent, kind, outgoing young lady! She loves to make new friends.

Unfortunately, she isn't have the most fun Birthday today. We had planned to go to a children's museum, but both kids woke up several times last night. Elizabeth woke up complaining about her ear hurting. This morning, she cried for several hours about her ear. So she and Daddy are at the doctor right now. Hopefully, she'll be feeling well enough to make pizza (her dinner of choice) and have cake and presents.

We are planning to meet up with some friends this weekend to help celebrate our girl's big day!

How are you?

This evening, Josiah came down from a nap, and put his little hands on each side of my face to make sure I was giving him my full attention. He asked, in his run together, all one word style, "Howahyou?" It took me a moment to realize what he was asking because I don't think I've heard him ask that question before.

I replied, "Tired."

He nodded his head with a knowing look. "Mommy bed."

Clarifying, I asked, "Mommy should go to bed?"

"Mmm hmm," He replied. "Mommy bed, mmmhmm!"

Thankful for the sweet moments :-)

6 months, and counting

Amazing, isn't it!? Josiah's been home 6 months. Where has the time gone? We've been so busy with moving an stuff, life has definitely been a little crazy.

Demarie and the kids even took this past week to go visit her parents. A friend even flew out to drive with them. Her parents are even graciously going to keep Jake (the beagle) for a while.

We are in the midst of moving out of company paid temporary housing to one we've found. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to look for something more permanent.

One thing we have found out here already is Christian friendship. It is a blessing to know that relatives of friends are out here and they want to get to know us and help us out how ever they can. God is definitely watching over us.

Updates Continued

The kids are sleeping in this morning...making for a very happy mommy! So, I'm going to try and catch up on our updates.

God, through David's company, blessed us with the ability to stay in a townhouse for 30 days (now about 2 1/2 weeks left) at no cost to us! It is furnished, even down to plates, linens, and dish soap! We are feeling a big cramped, as it is only a two bedroom house, and we are taking up some of the family room with our stuff. But really, it isn't THAT much smaller than the house we just moved from. We are in a rush to find a house to rent now, though. We have to move in 2 1/2 weeks, and the moving company would really to prefer to know where/when they need to deliver our stuff in the next couple of days. SO, we're going to be making lots of phone calls, and hopefully find a house soon that will allow us to have the dogs. And unfortunately, this probably means that there will be another change in the not too distant future.

The kids, for the most part, have been doing really well. They are sharing a room here, which is mostly good, but at times difficult. Neither of them have been getting the sleep they need. They have been going to bed late and waking up early. I think we're finally settling into our more normal schedule. We're having to be a bit creative to give each one some alone time. But sharing the room is giving them both some comfort in a strange place. There is a playground right across the street, and they are loving that. We've also made trips to the mall and Chick-fil-A just to get out and let them use some energy. Unfortunately, they've been watching a lot more T.V. than they should.

We have been noticing some behaviour the past few weeks with Josiah that I'm pretty sure is attachment related. None of it is big or horrible, but it has been pretty constant. He "pouts"-- head down, no eye contact, bit of attitude--many times when he is corrected or even just given a simple instruction right now. He's refused to eat for five minutes when called to the table because I spoke to him about having to be called several times. When he actually is disciplined, he often cries loudly for a short time. It's not wailing or hurt, but making sure we know he's not happy. We know that a lot of this has to do with the uncertainty of what is going on around us. And David and I have not been giving the kids the attention they need. We're either focused on trying to get things done, or just exhausted. A lot of times this leads to annoyance on my part, and I just don't to deal with either of their behavior. We're both working on being more aware of our reactions to the kids, and making sure we spend more quality time with them. We've been getting away from some of the attachment-building behaviors as we've been busy with the move, but we definitely need to move back in that directions.

Last quick thing, as Elizabeth is now awake. The DOGS. No, we have not shipped the dogs off anywhere yet. And they have been doing pretty well the past couple days. It's been an adjustment for them, as they are used to being out in our big backyard around 12 hours a day! Here, we have no yard. We have been walking them at least 5 times a day, but they are not really used to having to "go" on a schedule. Jake has been okay with it. Diego doesn't like to do certain things in an unfamiliar place. This has let to him holding it when outside, but not able to hold it indefinitely. So there have been some BIG messes in the kitchen. (We've been gating them in there when we are not around.) We're learning how to help them with longer walks and such. We also bought crates for the dogs because there is only so much cleaning up either of us is willing to do. We haven't had any messes for the past few days. YAY!

We are glad for the snow, even though we didn't really pack the kids' snow stuff. I need to find batteries for my camera before we can post some more pics!

Update

It's hard to believe, but we have been here over a week!!! We are really liking the area so far, and are really excited to experience more!

Moving from our house:

The movers came, packed, and loaded everything in one day! It was a bit of a long day. That was a Tuesday. We stayed in the house without furniture until Friday. We all "camped out" in one room on air mattresses. The kids thought it was great...for the most part. And yes, the kids are actually on $5 pool floats because the little air mattresses we had both had holes in them.

Friday, we woke up early and did a final scrub down of the house. We didn't get to everything we wanted. We left a few things outside, but the new owner didn't mind. We didn't touch-up paint or even remove all the nails/screws from the walls. Oh well. We were told at closing that it looked great, so...we won't worry too much. Closing went fairly well, and was pretty easy. Our Realtor even gave us yummy HUGE chocolate covered strawberries. (That's what David and I had for lunch that day ;-)) We picked up the kids and dogs and headed down for our first night in the townhouse. We did get a call Monday that we needed to re-sign the deed, as the margins were not right for our picky county. But we printed it out and sent it back the same day. We already have our check for the proceeds.

(The kids getting ready to leave the house for the last time!)

I'll continue the updates later; we are getting ready to head out, hopefully for a fun evening!