WHAT was I thinking?

Do you ever do something and immediately ask yourself that very question? I do... more often than I would like to admit. The most recent example is from just a few minutes ago. As the kids and I were heading home (from a really amazing bible study) they were complaining about being hungry. Tori said she wanted a bean and cheese burrito so I thought, "let's do something special... let's get Taco Bell." I figured they'd eat on the way home and be ready for naps when we walked in the door. WHY I thought eating in the car would work? I still don't know.

I went to the drive thru window and order them both a kids meal with a bean and cheese burrito. WHAT were they thinking? They actually put red sauce on the kids burritos? Which means that there is now red sauce all over the inside of my truck, the car seats, the kids clothes, my clothes... the list goes on.

Before this realization I was heading down the road thinking, "that was a great idea." A couple moments later, Josiah starts crying and Tori says, "a little help please." For safety reasons, I make it a habit not to immediately look at whatever is going on in the backseat. At the next stoplight I glanced back. Here's what I see... Josiah has smashed the entire burrito into the car seat buckles. Burrito is everywhere... except in his mouth which is making him mad. Tori has beans, cheese, and of course red sauce all over her face- cheese is strung from her mouth to her hair- but that's not what she's asking help for. She just wants me to roll down the wrapper so she can continue eating. This was not simply a job for a napkin or even a wet wipe so I found the next place to pull over and removed the burritos from both of their sticky hands and told them that we'd finish when we got home. Josiah started screaming which made Tori cry, "he's too loud!" Now beans, cheese, and red sauce are mixed in with snot and tears. Well, we finally got home and finished our burritos. I've got the clothes soaking in stain remover and I'm now contemplating how to tackle cleaning up the truck and especially the car seat. First, I felt the need to blog about it because I keep asking myself, "WHAT was I thinking?" I'm not going to find an answer but I do find the humor in things once I write about them. I actually think it's pretty funny that I ironically thought it would help me get them down for naps quicker... I'll be cleaning up for half of their nap time now. Oh, I just heard Siah cry and toot... great, I probably gave him gas too! I wish I had taken a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine the mess.

Mommy or Baby?

Tori... this blog is for you. I'm hoping that one day when you are older, you'll read this and think, WOW! I really fought with my best friend over something so ridiculous.

Tori's best friend is here to help pass the rainy day. You'd think they'd be the happiest girls in all the land but what I keep hearing is, "NO, I want to be the baby!" I knew this would be the case. They argue every time they are together about who is the baby and who is the mommy. It doesn't matter what game they are playing. It could be dolls, turtles, elephants, trucks... there must be a baby and there must be a mommy. Unfortunately, neither wants to be the mommy. So, they try all sorts of tactics to convince the other to be the mommy. Sometimes it sounds really sweet like they are more than happy to take turns... as long as they can be the baby first. Sometimes they are sneaky and refer to the other as the mommy when telling me what game they are playing. Often I hear them trying to negotiate, it just makes me laugh. After they both try their hardest to be the only baby they usually resort to screaming, crying, or tattling on the other for not calling them the baby. Of course I've offered a perfect solution... "you can both be babies." Kenna's mom had an ever better idea, "you can pretend that you're twins." Um, our solutions didn't work. So, the fight goes on... and probably will for many months to come. However, they do manage to have a lot of fun together and they cry when it's time to go home. As I'm typing this she just said, "I'm really hoping Kenna is missing me. I'm sorry I didn't play nicely with her." So, I asked her, "what will you do next time to play nicely?" Tori, "I will pretend that I am the mommy. Actually... I won't be the mommy, but I'll say I'm sorry."


Sharing with Siah
I gave Tori some trail mix... she ate everything she liked and then said, "here's a present for Siah". It was a bowl of rejected peanuts. Even at age 3 she knows that peanuts are the least desirable nuts.

Adoption- Here's what we're doing

So, over the past few months I've mentioned our plans to adopt in our Christmas letter, our blog, and on Facebook... and it's making people curious. I would love to answer every ones e-mails individually but I thought I'd blog about it so that if (I mean- when) I get side-tracked and forget, you'll know I'm not intentionally ignoring you.

Here's the deal- Jeff and I were having a discussion about how many kids we want and we couldn't come to an agreement. I said at least 3 and he said, "we don't have the infrastructure to support more." I'm not kidding- he's such an engineer. Me, being a great debater, pointed out the fact that- "infrastructures are built". Ha, got him on that one! So the conversation continued.

One day in church we were watching a video and there was an African child living in extreme poverty. It was heartbreaking! (We witnessed this kind of poverty when we lived in the Dominican Republic for several months and it's something that we will NEVER forget... and don't want to. It changed the way we view everything.) OK, back to the day we watched the video- when we came home from church Jeff said to me, "I don't want to bring another child into this world when there are little ones Tori's age living on the streets in cardboard boxes." As we watched her playing in the front yard, He continued, "Where she will sleep and what she will eat today is the furthest thing from her mind." Ahh... I love this man.

Well, we had always talked about wanting to adopt but I had thought it would be further down the road when our kids were older. So, I spent an afternoon talking with God asking Him if we should adopt. During that time I felt that I needed to give up my desires to physically have another child, fears of my ability to love this child as much as Tori & Siah, and fears of a difficult adoption process. My prayer time was amazing! There are times in my life where God speaks to me so clearly that it's almost audible... this was one of them. He told me, "it's not, IF you adopt? It's- WHEN!" Oh, that got me excited and truly my fears were calmed. (Another child without being prego and without having a 3rd C-section= total bonus!) I'm sure I'll have to surrender more fears as the process continues, but I'll cling to my absolute assurance that God has a plan for our lives and it involved someone that we haven't met yet but already love.

Here are the details- we are going through a local Christian agency in Scotts Valley called Hand In Hand. They work with a lot of the state agencies. So far, we've almost completed our paperwork... it's long and it doesn't help that mine got erased (thankfully I had a hard copy and now only need to re-type it.) We also need to do all sorts of things like background checks, physicals, CPR, and trainings. We're hoping to complete everything in March and then do the home study. After that... we're not sure about the timing. We're not planning to specify a boy or girl but we do want a child younger than Josiah by at least 9 months.

We also need to add on to our house (ah, infrastructure) and we'll probably be buying a minivan (more infrastructure).

Check back here occasionally and I'll update everyone on what's going on. Oh, and please be praying for our family and the family that will be involved in bringing our little one into our lives. Feel free to contact us any time... I really do try to get back to e-mails it just takes me some time.

Siah Stories

Last night, Jeff called me while I was at my Crop & Talk. He started off the conversation with, “You’ll never believe what just happened.” Oh, do tell! I thought. He went on to explain that he noticed our dog Samson following Josiah all around the house and licking his back. Now, this isn’t too uncommon but it got to be obsessive so Jeff had to check in on the situation. What he discovered was… you guessed it, Josiah had a poopy blowout and the dog was taking charge and cleaning up the situation. GROSS! Jeff tried to convince me that Samson was being a really useful dog… I wasn’t buying it. He then assured me that he would not let the dog lick anyone for at least 20 minutes, what about forever? Oh, just to clarify, he was calling from the bathroom while Josiah was playing in the bathtub and getting all squeaky clean. Thanks for taking one for the team babe!

How do boys know??? Josiah came up to me yesterday with two stick like items in his cute little hands. He pushed one into my hand and held onto the other one. He then proceeds to hit my stick and laugh. I came to realize that he initiated sword fighting with me. How does he know?

Valentine's Day

We've had this Valentine's Day card making stuff out all week. It was a great way to spend the rainy mornings. Tori really got into making each card special.

Valentine's Day card from Grandpa & Grandma. She's on her way to the dollar store to pick out some fun treats. Daddy Daughter Valentine Date. We told Tori a few weeks ago that she was going to be able to go on a special date with Daddy for Valentine's Day. She's been so excited and asked about it constantly. This afternoon she and Jeff picked out her special pretty outfit and surprised me. She was really excited to wear her turtle necklace from Uncle Luke and Auntie Len. Here's the itinerary: ice cream at McDonald's (before dinner), bean and cheese burrito with a soda at the Taquaria, church, dollar store, and then home to camp out in the backyard during the rain storm. I'll let you know how it all goes. (Jeff's holding the card she made especially for him).

Jeff bought me beautiful orchids as my Valentine gift. He's been speaking my love language today... he let me sleep in, did the dishes, vacuumed the floors, and wanted to cook me dinner (but since I can't taste anything and I'm not hungry, I declined). Also in the picture are the display decoration I put up. I love changing this display every month.

I wish I was able to be a better Valentine date for Siah but my head is pounding and I'm really looking forward to his approaching bedtime.

Birthday Party

Four year old birthday party fun. Here are the Princesses-Josiah LOVED the bounce house.

Watch him bounce and dismount. He must have spent an hour doing this.

Eating Crayons and Sick Days

This is what happens when Siah tries to color... you'd think I'd have learned by now. Yes, blue and yellow do make green.

Since I can't call in sick-

I've been sick for two weeks now. (The kids were sick the two weeks previous). It's a bummer cause I've still got to be ON all day long with the kids. Last week on one of the tougher days God gave me a "call in sick day". For some reason (God) had Siah go down for a nap at 10:30am just when I didn't know how I was going to make it until his normal 1pm nap time. He slept until 2pm. During that time Tori was playing quietly and then she crawl up onto the couch with me and fell asleep for almost 2 hours... which was wonderful until I needed to pee. When they both got up we had lunch and then went outside. I pulled up a chair and let them run around. Then Tori said she wanted to play in the back of the truck. Brilliant idea- I helped them all (including the dog) into the truck bed and they played for at least 45 minutes. It really helped me get through the day.

Unfortunately, I'm still really sick. I have the most intense ear infection of my life. I've been to the Dr. 3x and it's still not gone. I'm very thankful that my eardrum hasn't ruptured but with the extreme pressure it's still a big possibility. Please pray for me. The past two nights I've woken up in so much pain that I've been crying (I have a really high pain threshold). Prescription Motrin and 2 Vicodin later I'm finally able to get some relief while I sleep in our Lazy-Boy. I've been having terrible dreams though and still don't wake up very rested. I'm really ready to be well.

Adoption question

Jeff is working on his part of the adoption application. I loved his answers to the following question-

o Please discuss briefly each of your children and how each is special to you.

Tori is my little princess. She is definitely a sensitive personality that likes to do girl stuff. At the same time she likes to get dirty and throw dirt clods. What a great combo! She is sharp as a tack, always keeping me on my toes.

Josiah is already a man’s man. He can bust down the door to the room while riding the dog bare back and then charm everyone with his smile and personality. It will be my challenge to train him to use his skills for good.

Bedtime Routine

Tori’s bedtime routine in exact order because that is how it has to be in Tori’s world…

Make a surprise in the potty (she sits on the potty with the same book every night with her feet up on a stool.) Here’s how it goes when she’s done…“I made surprise for you.” Tori cheerfully announces as she’s sitting on the potty. When we come into the bathroom she stands up, shakes her hinny, and proudly declares that the surprise is in the toilet. “Aren’t you so proud of me?” We both have to come see… keep in mind, she’s been potty trained for almost a year and we still need to celebrate each poopy in the potty.

We then ask her to pick out her jammies and diaper. If we pick them out we usually pick the wrong ones. She often grabs two diapers… one to wear and the other one to smell (not sure why). These must be put on in the living room in front of the fire. She then asks, “can you leave the door a little bit open?”

Dental hygiene- in exact order… fluoride, “can I do it?”… I always say no… she still asks every night. Brush teeth- she always stops us and asks us, “are you brushing in circles just like the dentist told me?” We then floss. If any of these steps are reversed or forgotten she is sure to correct us.

Then it’s time to read a book- we have to sit in the big blue chair with the light on and she needs to recline it all by herself. She’s then asks me to “read just like a teacher.”

After story time is time to get into bed… She asks, “can you leave the door a little bit open?” She then has to collect everything- duckie, doggie, floxy the lamb, and anything else that’s been special during the day. She has to tuck her baby Sally into the bed she’s made for her. She checks to make sure she has water, that the night light is on and usually grabs a book to read. When all is in order she goes over to Baby Siah’s crib and sings him Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. When she finally gets into bed she wants to be covered up with one blanket… it can not be folded and we wouldn’t dare add a second blanket even if it is cold. (Sometimes, we sneak in and add another blanket; she wakes up and removes it.) We then pray… sometimes she joins in but usually she wants us to say the prayer. She gives hugs and kisses and lots of I love you’s and the very last thing we hear as we walk out the door is always, “can you leave the door a little bit open?”

Josiah’s bedtime routine-
Try to catch him and put on his jimmies. Wrestle him where ever we caught him and try to get him dressed… try to catch him again as he’s naked and running away or trying to jump off the changing table. Make a bottle… as soon as he hears that it’s ready he runs to the big blue chair, cuddles for 3.2 seconds, throws the empty bottle on the floor, and immediately tries to get away. He’ll occasionally tune in while we are reading Tori a story… but usually that ends with Tori saying, “he’s bugging me.” Since he’s trying to wrestle the book away from us or throwing things at our heads. We then try to brush his teeth. It’s a two person job… one of us holds him and tickles him so he’ll open his mouth so the other one can get the toothbrush in and at least attempt to clean his teeth. We then put him in his crib and he acts like a caged monkey… jumping, yelling, laughing, throwing things… eventually he crashes and all is quiet except for the sound of the paci being sucked.

I love our crazy life… I also really love watching my little ones sleep.
One of us always sneak in before we go to bed and makes sure they are covered up and sleeping peacefully. That’s my bedtime routine and if I’m not the one to check on them, I love watching Jeff watch our babies… it’s so precious! Life is Good!
This is a picture of Tori... but if she wasn't wearing pink jammies... you probably couldn't tell the difference. Besides, I doubt I having any of Josiah sleeping- he doesn't do it very often. And he only cuddles on accident... like if he's sick or so tired he can't help it... but then he remembers and tries to get away.