Wonderful Works

When we began our adoption journey, we knew it would change us. We didn't know just how much or in what ways. We are still discovering that.

I have posted before about how as much as I wanted to be "done" doing the difficult things, I knew that with eyes wide open we had so much more ahead of us. Once you know, you cannot unknow.

We came home from Ukraine longing for a Sunday in church and a return to our new "normal". Instead what we got was a sermon on abortion from our pastor, David Platt. I guess we should know by now that his sermons will force anyone out of comfort and steer you as far away from "normal" as possible. You can view the sermon here. I sat in that worship gathering and I cried. I listened to the stories and the would-be fate of my own children. I listened to the statistics, and I saw the faces of my children, all of whom are here by God's grace alone.

That sermon moved us to act on behalf of those who cannot stand, speak, or cry out for themselves: the children unborn, especially those who have so much to teach us but are frequently terminated for their specialness. Open your eyes and your heart to see them the way that their Creator sees them: as His Wonderful Works




http://wonderful-works.weebly.com

Luke's first day of school...minus the pictures :(

My baby started school today! Luke goes to the same school as Trey, but 2 days a week instead of 5. So today was his first day. I asked him this morning what he thought he would do in school today. He said, "play with the kitchen and get a tattoo!" Wow!!! Guess we better watch out for those teen years! I told him he probably wouldn't get a tattoo, but maybe if he was good he would get a stamp on his hand. We also had a long discussion about how he should tell his teachers if he had to go potty. I was so worried he would take after Trey and be too shy to speak up when he had a need.

As we drove through the car line, Luke kept looking out the window for his teachers. He was asking, "where's Ms. Courtney? Where's Ms. Shari?" When a teacher other than his own came to take him out of the car, he panicked and tried to climb in the front seat. Upon reassuring him that he would be taken to his classroom and his teachers, he reluctantly got out of the car. When I picked him up his teacher put him in the car, and she said, "he was good, but he was so quiet." She also let me know that he went the entire half-day without going potty! Luke said, "I didn't get a stamp, and I didn't go potty at school". Apparently that was all that mattered to him. And yes, he really had to go by the time we got home.

There are no pictures of Luke's first day, because my camera took the pictures but apparently didn't save them anywhere because of a low battery, which I didn't find out until I went to download pictures that didn't exist anywhere!!!! So frustrating!!!

Anyway, here are some other random shots of the kids.

Luke modeling his new Cars shoes

Spider-man Trey

This is how we frequently find these two...reading their Bibles.

These pictures represent something amazing...Ana playing! I know this seems crazy, but she has never played with toys the right way. She mostly wanders around the house and shakes or throws things. But on this day, She walked over to the couch, picked up the kids toy phone and started talking on it. We were shocked. After playing with the phone, she grabbed her baby and started making her jump. She said, "ju," "ju".

Bounce house fun

This is her model face

The twinsies love to walk around holding hands

playing in the cupboard

Superman goes to Kindergarten

I look back to the day Trey was born and I remember how sure I was that this day was never going to come. It seemed to be the distant future, and I guess it was back then. But isn't it funny how quickly the "distant future" creeps up on you?  Even though it feels like he is still my baby, I watch Trey grow and change daily. He is a consummate caretaker. He is always offering to "watch the kids" while I do something. He loves to help get everyone ready to go out (in case you are wondering, it is not easy getting 4 kids 5 and under out the door...I'm going to love trying to do it 5 days a week ;).

For the last several weeks Trey has been talking non-stop about Kindergarten. He wanted to know when he was going to start, who his teacher would be, what time I would pick him up, who would be in his class, and on and on. He was really excited for this. And today was the day! He woke up before his alarm (big surprise) and was extra cooperative as I tried to get everyone fed, dressed, groomed, and into the car on time. We actually made it a few minutes early and sat in the car line waiting for the teachers to come get the kids. While he waited, Trey talked to Grandma on the phone, excitedly telling her what he thought his day would be like.

He had a great day and told me all the nuances of being a kindergartner ("our hooks are at the end of the hall past all the other kids'," "we eat snack in a different part of the school," "we have to stay longer than the other kids, because we work harder"). He has gone to the same school since he was 2, but kindergarten is full of new adventures for him, and I am so glad that he is excited about it...even if it means the process of letting go has begun.

It's coming...

You ask God to break your heart for what breaks His...are you ready?

5 days until the launch.

Psalm 139

Sasha's heart

Today, Sasha had his heart cath done. The point was to check the pressure levels in his heart and lungs to be sure that open-heart surgery was a viable option for him. The prognosis is good! His pressure levels are slightly elevated, but nothing out of the realm of what the cardiologist expected to see. We checked in at 6:30am, he was in the cath lab by 8am, out before 10, and we were home just after 5pm. He has a large bruise and a puncture wound on his inner thigh where they used a vein to access his heart. Besides that and a tiny remnant from an IV in his hand, he is pretty much back to normal already. We have already been contacted by the surgeon who will complete his open-heart surgery. We are looking at scheduling it sometime in the next 3 weeks. It will require about a week in the hospital and a 6-week post-surgery recovery period. Prayers for our ability to keep this wild-man under wraps for 6 weeks would be appreciated!

"Hello? Mickey Mouse, is that you?"

"Maybe if I hide in the wardrobe they won't find me."

"Awww nuts!"

Post surgery grogginess

Sending lots of love and many thanks for all of the prayers for Sasha. He is a lucky boy to have so many who love him ;)

"God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called."

No doubt you have heard this cute little mantra before. Well, what do you think? I was having a discussion the other day with my friend and she said that she just didn't believe it. She didn't believe that everyone struggled as much as a parent as she does. She felt as though somehow others had it more "together" than she did. I did manage to control my hysterical laughter before we dug in to our conversation. But, I understand her feelings. Somedays you just don't feel good enough. Guess what? YOU'RE NOT!!!  Feel better now? Yeah, I thought not. But this is about truth. Truth is, you, me, and everyone else are in need of the Savior. If we were good enough, we wouldn't need Him.

Most days I feel like Gideon. The Holy Spirit is talking to me and I'm looking over my shoulder saying, "who me? I think you made a mistake". 

I had another friend tell me recently that, "it's fun to see what a chilled out person having 4 kids has made [me]". I wanted to point to the dark circles under my eyes and say, "it's called exhausted," but I didn't have the energy. But the reality is that my new "chilled out" personality is not because I am chilled out, not because I'm tired (okay maybe a little), but it's mostly because I'm not trying to tackle my life. What is the point? So many people claim to have surrendered their lives to Christ, but they fail to put it all on the table. They continue to hold tightly to their semblance of control. I have no control over my life. I admit it. And I am proud of it! 

I am a girl who in the past said, "I think it's great that people adopt children with special needs, but I couldn't do it." And God is laughing. I can see my life so clearly right now. I have peace in a way that I never dreamed possible. This is only the beginning of what God has for us. I really hope all of you will continue to follow along to see what the future holds. And be watching for my Wonderful Works post coming soon.

Love your heart!

Let me share with you the heart of my first born.

My mom has been in town for a few days now, and leading up to her visit Trey wanted to call her every day! He likes to make plans with our visitors before they come. This time though, none of his plans revolved around himself. They were all about me! I would overhear him on the phone saying things like, "let's lock her in her room, and you and me will watch the kids." or "I know! We can give her massages and make her take a bath." You can't imagine how good it feels to hear your 5 year old say those kinds of things. He not only said them, but then when Grandma came, he did them. The day she got here he was insistent that I spend the day in my room. He made me cookies, massaged my feet, brought me lunch in bed, helped take care of his brothers and sister, and has continually told me, "go take a nap, mom. Me and Grandma got it." I am so proud of his heart. I make no claims that we never suffer any of the usual 5 year-old drama. And there are even times when I get a sick-to-my-stomach feeling over his behavior. But, I see where his heart desires to be, and for that I am thankful.

Just some more funny stories:

Luke: "mom, when we get home can I have my cookies?"
Me: "no, when we get home it is nap time. But, after nap you can have some."
Luke: (angrily) "I'm gonna throw these in your face!"
Me: "Luke, it is not nice to talk that way. Remember that you should treat people how you want to be treated. You can hurt people with your words."
Luke: (as calm as ever) "Oh. Sorry, mom."


He went from extreme rage to super calm in 2 seconds. It was so strange!

Grandma: (to Trey)" We should try to make this recipe. Oh wait, you can't have peanuts."
Luke: "Grandma, we don't say peanuts!" 


Can you guess which word he thought she was saying? He calls it "peanuts" for some reason :)

Gary: (to Luke) "You have such nice hair. Someday you'll be bald like daddy."
Trey: "Yeah, and like Sasha."


I don't think my kids understand that he actually has hair it's just VERY light.


The joys of having kids far outweigh the struggles!