3
26 years ago
God brought this precious baby into the world. (The non-hairy one.)
AND NOW HE’S MINE! MWAHAHAHAHA!
I love you, my cashew.
Happy Birthday.
Baseball and bad attitudes.
First, some good news.
Got an important call from an important State Trooper saying that an important legal matter of Gabe’s was being dropped. YAY! Thank you for all of you who were praying, even when you didn’t know what you were praying about.
Jeremiah has his first baseball game tomorrow. YAY! I am beyond excited….for him….and for me. I’m just loving being able to say “That’s my son!”He’s really doing well, and I’m hoping this is something he falls in love with and succeeds at. He needs some succeeding.
Unfortunately, we are in horrible need of rain, and it looks like God will be answering our moisture prayers tomorrow night. YUCK! Yay, God for the rain! I’m just hoping it comes the rest of the day, and stops around 5:00.
Now. What to do with a certain 17-year-old’s bad attitude. An attitude that has recently earned him 4 extra weeks of restriction. We saw something very similar happen last spring, so we are thinking possible trauma-versary. I’m just hoping that we can reach his heart before this goes too far.
Oh! And if you are praying, and I hope you are, please be praying that Jeremiah’s subsidy paperwork comes through ASAP. His consent to adoption came through 2 weeks ago, and Gabe’s consent and subsidy came through, like, 6 weeks ago, so we are just waiting on Miah’s. Our adoption worker 3.0 is bugging the worker incessantly, so I’m hoping we hear any day now.
Only 3 weeks of school left. Huh? Okay. Gotta figure that out too.
Blessings!
Hannah
My Blog Post of Bullet Points
- I am currently Listening to this song by Emerson Hart cuz a dear friend wanted to pass the message on to an old flame. I’ve only broken up with someone twice, and one of the men is now my husband, so the sentiment is not the same, but I can see why the lyrics rung so deeply with him.
- I was delightfully surprised today when a box arrived containing a W!!. Hubby knew I’ve been wanting one for a long time, especially the W!! Fit, which he got for me. YAY! I only played for a total of 47 minutes today and already burned about 400 calories, and it was so much fun. I also found out that Jeremiah has been playing it quite a bit at school, and that he CHEATS! HORRIBLY!!!
- I had even MORE fun playing catch with my sons in the back yard today. After two very chilly, windy days it was finally warm enough to play outside. Jeremiah is starting in Little League for the first time, so we needed to get some catch practice in. He is so naturally gifted in everything athletic. I played fast and slow-pitch softball for 11 years growing up, and I was fairly good, so I really enjoyed showing him the ropes. I was excited when I found out that even after about 6 years of not playing at all, it came back pretty naturally. Gabe did a fabulous job of not making himself the center of attention, which is something we’ve been struggling with lately. He encouraged Miah, but let me take the lead. Not one instance of know-it-all syndrome. YAY!!!! Gabe even played catcher for us while I taught Miah to pitch. He really could be a pitcher if he wanted to be. I think he could be any position, but he has really good accuracy in his throwing, so short stop or pitcher might be a good fit. We’ll see. He’s never played in a league before, but because he is already so good at hitting, catching, and throwing, the head coach put him in the Majors.
- The pups are 4 weeks old now, and their personalities are bigger than they are. I am so blessed that we have found homes for all of them already. 2-3 more weeks before they will go to their new homes.
- The only thing I DON’T like about the W!! Fit is that it tracks BMI. I HATE BMI!!!! Even my amazing nutrition professor in college told me that BMI is a bunch of HOOEY and that it has absolutely no accuracy in indicating someone’s health. The stupid thing placed me at 36, which is at the top of their obese scale. Now, I admit I am overweight, and my goal weight is to lose about 50 lbs, but I am NOWHERE NEAR MORBIDLY OBESE! I am 6’1″ and have a large frame, and the stupid thing says that my goal weight is 166 lbs. Yeah. I weighed that when I was 16 and ANOREXIC! You could see my ribs and collar bone for goodness sake. My sister Rachel, who is 5’10 and…well…a little more than 166 lbs would be considered overweight by this thing. MY GORGEOUS, THIN, ACTIVE SISTER. So, that’s my rant about BMI, and the only thing I don’t like about the W!! Fit.
- I read this awesome post by Goggy about the uniqueness of the journey of the infertile couple, especially when they adopt. It really touched my heart and rang true with me. I will probably reflect more on that another time.
- The pups have been getting so much attention lately, I didn’t want my beautiful Juji bird to feel left out. So here is my beautiful Juji eating her favorite food, corn. She actually loves to pose, and as I am writing this she is cuddling with my cheek. She’s such a joy, and a BIG trouble maker. Yesterday she hopped down on the floor and raced across the living room (with her famous crow hop) simply to attack Hubby’s feet. What a lovable stinker.
- Both my boys love video games, but especially Jeremiah. He has been willing to do just about anything, including breaking and entering, to get just a few minutes of screen time. At bed time tonight he asked me I enjoyed playing my new game today. I told him that I had a lot of fun, but I had even more fun playing baseball with him. His eyes lit up and asked “Really? Why?” I told him that no video game could ever replace how much fun I have playing with my sons. He thought that was pretty cool, and because I know how much he loves video games, I know it meant a ton to him. In his prayers after that, he even called me his favorite Mommy. Awww.
- Be praying for both boys, as I know many of you do. Jeremiah is struggling every day with some major flashbacks, and his tantrums have been very violent and self destructive lately. Pray for his safety and that God’s peace and healing would reign over his mind, body, and spirit. He also had some blood work today to test his plalette levels as he’s been bruising really easily lately. A simple tickle fight leaves bruises on his ribs. It may just be his fair skin, but we wanted to be sure. They also checked his De*acote levels, as he’s been growing a ton and his doctor is concerned that it might be having an effect on these mood swings we’ve been seeing.
- Gabe is in some legal trouble right now that he needs lots of prayer cover for. Can’t go into details, but please pray for his heart and that God uses this as a character building time, and a time for us to speak life into him.
- Oh, YAY! Hubby is home for the next COUPLE OF MONTHS! SERIOUSLY! NO TRAVELING! It’s already making a huge differerence with the boys AND with Hubby. He’s so much happier now. YAY! That’s a huge answer to prayer. Not to mention I happen to kind of like the guy, and the extra hugs and kisses have been a huge mood booster for me.
Okay, enough bullets. I hope you enjoyed the update. I’m hoping that the beautiful weather will put me in writing mood this week. I have a lot on my heart, it just needs to make it’s way to my fingers.
Blessings!
Hannah
Jeremiah likes to climb.
Yesterday, he climbed all over.
All over the tree house.
Up aortas.
Down aortas.
And all over….
all over…
THE Big Red Dog.
Apple Town get away…day 2
So many fun moments today.
So many not fun moments today.
Both boys woke up grouchy. Gabe is having a very hard time taking responsibility for his actions…any actions….and we are seeing a lot of regression right now. He acts 12 more and more lately, which is not good when your son is almost 17. We have friends who have a son who is about Gabe’s age who is also adopted, but he has some developmental delays, so he really does act like a 12 year old. This is not the case with Gabe. Gabe is fully able to act 16, and he does most of the time. He seems to like to make grown up choices quite a bit, and has been lately, unfortunatley. Unfortunately because adult choices come with adult consequences that a 16 year old is not capable of handling. Nothing life altering as of yet. As. of. yet. We are praying on that one.
Anywho, I majorly digress.
So both boys started out with the grouchies, but I told them I was determined to have a great day with them, and so we moved on. I had to reassure Jeremiah many times that if he was feeling anxious or scared, that all he had to do was let me know and I would do everything I could to help him calm down and feel more secure. I used the powerful line I’ve been hearing more and more about, “I’m right here.” It helped. He told me it did.
We ventured off to the local children’s museum, which was AWESOME!!!! We played together for a good three hours, after we found parking, which was an adventure in itself. There were many cool exhibits, if you can call them that. My favorite was the frog exhibit. There were frogs from all over the world. My favorites were these cool critters, Vietnemese Mossy Frogs. There was a challenge to find all 9 that were hiding in the exhibit, and we were very excited when we figured out that there were three hiding in a single corner.
Another cool exhibit was an electromagnetic crane that you could use to pick up steel marbles and drop them into funnels and tubes and such. I was surprised that the boys didn’t play with it longer, but their wonderful ADHD brains were already off to the next thing.
Gabe’s favorite thing was a series of tracks that you could send golf balls down and try to get them to land into specific targets. He really got into it and started experimenting with different variables, such as height, speed, and how many balls were used at a time. Jeremiah had to sit out on that one for a little while because of some unapproved wandering, but he enjoyed it too.
Jeremiah’s favorite exhibit is a toss up between the ball machine and the tree house. The ball machine was a series of suction tubes and funnels that you could send balls through and try to get them to specific destinations. There was a bin up high that collected balls, and when the red light flashed it would dump all the balls on the head of the person standing below. He loved standing below it and letting the balls fall all over him. The tree house was a series of cargo nets and platforms that went all over the two story museum. He said he thought it would be really cool to have something like that in your house. I agree.
After a crazy afternoon of shopping craziness, including some wonderful scrapbooking successes, and Jeremiah’s first trip to Toys R Us, we had dinner with Hubby and came back to the hotel. The boys wanted to go swimming, and since attitudes had improved, I was more than glad to oblige. I needed some hot tub time anyways, especially after a long day of walking and climbing.
One of my favorite parts of the day was wrestling with Gabe and Jeremiah over two pool balls. Gabe was trying desperately to get the second ball, and it took all that Jeremiah and I could muster to hold him back. Two guys came in while we were wrestling, one was trying to read, and I thought about how glad they would be once we left, but I didn’t care, I was having fun with my boys. Jeremiah and I eventually won the war and successfully obtained both balls. It was a wonderful victory. Boy oh boy, Gabe’s legs are strong. I reminded him that on land he would have no chance, as I weigh nearly twice what he does. The water was definitley working to his advantage. Anywho, it was fun.
They are sleeping now. Tomorrow will be another adventure, hopefully without the grouchies.
Blessings!
Hannah
In enemy territory…and loving it!
Hubby person travels a lot. It sucks, but we deal, and are grateful that he has a job. It’s a very stressful job at times, because he is too good at what he does and gets taken for granted…a lot.
But I digress.
So Hubby person travels a lot. Not very far. Only about 3.5 hours from our homestead, but it’s far enough to feel like you’ve gotten away. The boys have mid winter break this week, so we decided that it would be a good opportunity to have a change of pace and join hubby on his excursion.
After a slow start this morning, we arrived at our destination in the early afternoon. The hotel that Hubby stays in is quite lovely. Unlike some of my blogger-type friends, I don’t mind hotels. At least nice clean ones like this one. We are staying in the same room that Hubby normally stays in, which is super nice. It has a separate bedroom and living room, so Hubby and I will have our privacy, and the boys feel like there is a bit more normalcy. Our space and theirs.
My favorite thing about this place is the family aquatic fun center, aka, pool. You will definitely see pictures later of the boys and myself having fun down there. It has a large pool, a water slide, a really big hot tub, and a toddler play area with one of those cool mushroom rain thingys. So fun! Last time I came down was this summer, Rachel and Gabe and I (Jeremiah wasn’t with us yet) spent a good couple of hours just going down the water slide over and over.
Anywho, the boys and I spent some time at the nice big mall this afternoon. Gabe wanted to look at shoes, so we went into some of the more popular men’s shoe stores that also carry a lot of sports wear. Jeremiah was cracking me up because he kept saying (very loudly) “Mom, where is all the Vikings stuff?” Of coarse, where we are is less than 20 minutes from the stadium of the Viking’s arch rival, so the walls of all the sporty stores were covered in green and gold. I smiled at Miah and told him to be careful or he would get us shot. It didn’t stop him. Every opportunity he had he would make comments (again, with loud volume) about how dumb it was that they didn’t carry Vikings stuff and how much better the Vikings were etc…
How my little troll (you know, those people from below the bridge) of a son became a Vikes fan, I have no idea. Maybe it was wired into his being because God knew that eventually he would become part of a family heritage that springs from Duluth, and therefore being a Vikings fan, although not a requirement, is a definite plus. Who knows.
Anywho, the boys are resting now. Minor attitude issues have arisen throughout the day, but nothing out of the ordinary. Jeremiah is especially have a hard time handling the excitement and anxiety that all these new situations pose, but he pulls it together quickly after a little extra Mommy time. Gabe is a whole ‘nother ball game, which I will have to get into another time. Thankfully, Hubby is very intuitive with him and can call things out for what they are in a way that I am envious of. It will take practice I guess.
Anywho, tomorrow’s plans include spending most of the day at the local children’s museum, which I am totally psyched about. They have a traveling frog exhibit right now that looks really interesting. The exhibit travels, not the frogs. Well, I suppose the frogs travel too, but you get the point. Do you? Anywho, after we tire of the children’s museum, Gabe wants to check out a snow boarding shop that we spotted today, and I want to wander into the scrap booking store we found. I am also excited to get to bring Jeremiah to the Toys R Us, cuz I don’t think he’s ever been in a big toy store before. Plus, there is a Babies R Us adjoined to it, and those are always fun for me to explore.
Anywho, hopefully I can get some pictures up tomorrow. I still have to figure out some sizing issues on my puter, so I might just photo bucket them.
I’m praying for some renewal while we are here. God knows we need it, and I am trusting him to provide.
Blessings!
Hannah
First Christmas with the boys – Check!
I can’t believe our first Christmas with the boys is already over. It was a good one, though. We made plenty of good memories and had wonderful times with our wonderful family.
Here are a few highlights:
- Christmas Eve
- We started the day with a delicious breakfast of biscuits, gravy, and cheesy scrambled eggs. Yummy! Our pastor’s wife passed on a bunch of her amazing recipes to me as a graduation present, and her “Mile High Biscuits” is one of our favorites. I’ll put the recipe at the bottom of this post.
- After breakfast, we lit the Jesus Candle on our Advent candles and read our Christmas Eve passages. The boys have really loved this tradition, which we usually do after dinner, so we will have to figure out a way to keep it going. What I’ve loved about it is the set passages that are relatively short and come from all over scripture. I haven’t found many devotionals that break things down that well. Any ideas?
- Next, the boys cleaned up the kitchen while the grown-ups finished making sure all presents were in order. The boys finished dishes in record time.
- Finally is was present time. In my family, we always opened presents on Christmas Eve. I’m not sure how this tradition started, but I think it was more practical in nature than sentimental. My dad is a pastor, so we always had Christmas Eve service, than we opened our presents, and then left for Grandma’s very early Christmas morning.
- My favorite present from my hubby was my very own camcorder! YAY! I shot so much video over the past few days it’s frightening. And don’t worry, I will make sure to share an allarming amount of it here.
- The boys loved all their presents, and Jeremiah’s reactions were hilariously enthusiastic. We were worried about him being thankful, but that was definitely not an issue. Way to go, kid.
- After opening presents, we headed off to Christmas Eve service at my husband’s childhood church. It was a beautiful traditional service. It made realize how much I need to teach my boys as far as church history is concerned. I think I may be hitting up some of my homeschooling friends for some ideas soon. Actually, the prize I recently won from Kimberly at Raising Olives will be very helpful in that endeavor.
- After the beautiful service we headed over to Hubby Person’s dad’s house. We ate entirely too many goodies and then opened even more presents with Grandpa K, Aunt E, Uncle J, and Cousin T. It’s tradition that the youngest in the family passes out all the presents, which is all fine and good, but there were a few issues. First, Jeremiah is not very good with names. Second, Jeremiah is not a very good reader. Those two in combination led to nearly half an hour of hillarity. Kaleb’s dad was nearly falling off his chair laughing because Jeremiah could not get the concept that Grandpa was also Kurt etc… Miah started getting a little antsy toward the end, but held it together long enough to get to play with some of his new toys.
- Christmas Day
- Ah, glorious sleep. Both boys were occupied enough with their new bioncles that Hubby Person and I were able to sleep in without a peep from either child.
- Jeremiah didn’t like the fact that Mom caught him in a lie, so an hour long tantrum ensued. I knew it was coming. He had had such a good day the day before, he just couldn’t handle it any more. It ended well though, as Hubby Person had a good long conversation with him about how to handle his anxiety.
- We headed over to Hubby’s mom’s for dinner. Yay, turkey! Yay, real pumpkin pie! We opened up even more presents. My MIL loved the basket I made her, which I still have to post about. The boys got some remote control cars and the spent a good two hours racing them around Grandma’s basement before heading out to sled. Hubby, Rachel, and I played my SIL’s new Wii with her for a couple of hours as well. Wow, it really is a work out.
The only real bummer about the past few days was that my daddy, step-mama, and lil’ sis got snowed in by the big blizzard and weren’t able to make the trip. It was heart breaking, but I am glad they didn’t risk their lives in the 40 MPH winds. They are going to try to make the trip on Wednesday to be here for the new year.
But we are blessed. Blessed beyond blessed beyond blessed. And it has nothing to do with material things, which we have been blessed with as well. How great is it that even though one set of grandparents couldn’t make it, the boys had two other sets of grandparents that loved on them and cherished them?
How great it is that we have a God who enjoys celebrations! Who enjoys us enjoying Him and all He’s given us.
Okay, that’s enough for now.
Blessings!
Hannah
Oh, I almost forgot! Here’s the biscuit recipe.
Mama Char’s Mile High Biscuits
3 C. flour
2 TB Sugar
5 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
3/4 Cup shortening (I use the butter flavored Crisco sticks.)
1 C. milk
1 beaten egg
Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in shortening until it resembles cornmeal. Blend milk and egg together, then add to dry ingredients. Mix only enough to blend mixture. Place dough on well floured board and knead 5-15 times. The secret to light biscuits is to not over mix dough after liquid has been added. Cut into biscuits and place on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes until biscuits are golden brown. *Hint* Don’t place biscuits too close together or they will not cook through properly.
ENJOY!
Leaf Fun again
Whoops! I forgot to change the setting to public. Here we go again!
Leaf Fun!
Enjoy this fun video of fall in the U.P.
I have pictures, but am having uploading issues.
Blessings!
Hannah
A glimpse of normality
The day ended on a good note. Most of the day was pretty icky for reasons I will get into another time, but it ended on a good note.
The amazingly gifted hubby person grilled us a fantastic, meatastic dinner topped off with the most delicious sweet corn I have had in a very long time. A good friend was able to come share our delicious feast, which made it all the better.
Jeremiah went to bed early, by his own choosing amazingly, so Gabe and I tackled the dishes together. About half way in I realized something quite amazing. We were having a real conversation! There were no excuses, no high pitched voices, no exagerated stories. Real laughter, real jokes, and real mutual teasing! As a mom, it was a moment I really felt like I was connecting to my son. At that very moment, he was just part of the family.
So at the end of a very hard day, we are watching a silly movie as a family (minus the little guy) and eating deliciously evil brownies. Just being a family.
Blessings!
Hannah
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