Have You Ever Heard of Such a Thing?

Addie Beth has some teeth issues...as in, you can only see one of her front teeth when she smiles.  At first, I thought that her other front tooth just needed time to grow in.  But when I took a closer look, I saw that both teeth have fully come in.  Her gums are just so crooked that you only see one of the front teeth.  And it just so happens that the crooked side of her gums is right where she sucks her pointer finger.  Coincidence?  I doubt it.

Not excited about the prospect of paying for braces, Josh asked our dentist for advice.  Her solution?  Either get the baby to stop sucking her finger (fat chance) or switch her to a pacifier.  I burst out laughing when Josh told me that.  I mean, have you ever heard of introducing a paci at age 20months? Well, apparently it's not impossible.  Isn't she just adorable?!

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Savoring Summer

Can you remember what it was like to be a child in the summer?  Every day felt like dessert.  I hear it in their voices from the moment they wake up, "Mom, what are we going to do today?!"  The anticipation is thick as they imagine the delectable moments that lie ahead.

My temptation is to let them play and laugh and run while I load the dishwasher or throw in another load of laundry.  They play, I work.  But this week, I joined them.  Because summer sun shifts to autumn breezes pretty quickly here in the Midwest.

Because babies grow into toddlers into preschoolers in the blink of an eye.

Because I'd be crazy not to stop for dessert while there's still some left.

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Strawberry Picking

I have wanted to go strawberry picking for years but there never seemed to be an easy time to do it.  (One year I was pregnant with Tali, the next summer I was pregnant with Owen, the next summer I had a newborn...you get the theme.)  But on the Fourth of July, my hubby gladly helped make my dream come true!  We found an amazing orchard that still had yummy strawberries and picked about 10lbs.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day!

Tali woke up and immediately grabbed her sunglasses and strawberry headband to prepare for the day.  She was a great helper and so much fun to share in the memory with.  This girl is just such a delight to hang out with.

Oh my...Owen was so funny!  He was really excited about each and every strawberry that he found.  By the end of the time his basket was completely empty and his belly was completely full.

Sooooo delicious!  We froze a ton of these to eat over the months to come.  Strawberries are definitely a gift from God.

This huge trampolineish thing was probably the kids' favorite thing about the whole orchard experience. Addie laughed non-stop while she was jumping with Josh.

I'm so grateful for God's kindness in making my strawberry picking dream a reality this year!  We can't wait to go back again!

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Vacation Thanks

Mark Twain once said, "Don't cry because it's over, rejoice because it happened."  That's what I want to hold in my heart as I think about vacation.  This picture was taken (thanks to my awesome friends and their thoughtful tripod gift) right before we left to come home. Don't be misled; no one wanted to take this picture except me.  No one was eager to sit and wait and pose and wait and try again.  And as you can see, not everyone is smiling.  But that's real life, right?  Vacation wasn't without complaining and conflict and tiredness and dishes and laundry all the stuff that real life is smattered with.  But it was still a gift because we were together.  And that's a gift that I don't want to take for granted. We're not alone.  We're a family and we're together.

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Fleeting and Beautiful

They are so little.  She’s four-and-a-half, full of wonder and awe and ready to explore and pretend and create fun wherever she goes.  He’s three-and-a-half, all boy but with a twist of tender, ready to play cars and ball and learn how to surf...even in Wisconsin.  Little lady is nineteen months; she’s bursting with energy and laughter and brightness and mischief, loving the sand and the water (especially drinking it).

Three small sweet people.  Three little souls entrusted to our care for a short time.  I want to savor each moment with them on this trip.  Last year, I was so sick that life, in general was just a blur.  Last year, Addie Beth wasn’t even crawling yet & our schedule worked around her naps and feedings.  Owen was just getting potty trained.  Tali still took naps.  They’ve grown so much and something about being with them on vacation just makes me more aware than usual of all the growing that’s happened.

What is it about sensing the passing of time that just makes a mother’s heart ache?  I’m swallowing hard as I write, remembering years past in this place and knowing those moments can’t be repeated.  That’s it, I think; it’s that these days are so unforgiving, so relentless like a sunset that, no matter how hard you try to slow it, just keeps slipping away into the night.  That’s how the days fly by as a mama of three small children-beauty to be savored that just keeps on slipping by.

So it might only be Sunday, just barely the beginning of this vacation, but I’m gonna get all sentimental even now at the start in hopes that I can magically freeze time, or at least freeze it with my lens.  Today, I will live up these moments that He’s amazingly given AWAKE and AWARE that they are gifts to praise Him for.

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One of My Favorite Verses

But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."  

My times are in Your hand...

Praying this verse for our family today and so grateful to know that it really is true.  God holds each of our days in His hands, guiding them with His steadfast love.

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Sweet Stories from our Garage Sale

As I think back on the garage sale last Saturday, my mind doesn't first go to the money (though I'm so grateful for God's provision) or to the work (though I'm still really tired!).  My thoughts go first to faces and conversations that I had with strangers, conversations that I will never forget.

One woman shared with me a bit of her adoption journey; several failed IVFs, multiple miscarriages, and one foster care license later, she and her husband pursued adoption.  They came into contact with an older boy that was from another country, had been adopted by a U.S. family, and then was put into the foster care system because his adoptive family decided they couldn't handle him.  This woman and her husband brought the son into their home to foster, then chose to adopt him despite numerous challenges.  After that, 2 more sweet kids from the foster care system came to live with them and they are in the processes of adopting them as well.  I watched this woman, little children lovingly pulling and jumping and crawling all over her, look over her shoulder at me and say, "You can't love your stuff and your kids, too!"  Compelling.

Another woman that had adopted transracially through a domestic adoption stopped by with her beautiful son who obviously adored his mommy.  She left me her info and invited me to a monthly hang-out time at her house for adoptive families.

An adorable little girl and her mama came by.  The little girl had been adopted domestically (from Aurora) and had been united with her family since the very day that she was born.  When I asked her mom what advice she could pass along to me at these beginning stages she smiled and said, "Patience.  It takes a lot of patience to go through this process."  Then she looked at her daughter, beaming, and said, "But it's worth it."

Later in the day, a 15 year-old girl waited to talk with me while others made their purchases.  She shyly and quietly shared a piece of her heart.  "I saw your signs and had to come.  My mom adopted me from Hungary when I was just a baby.  My life has never been the same.  I've always thought it takes some really special people to adopt.  I've never had to wonder if my mom loves me; I know she does because she went through so much to get me!  I just wanted to tell you that..."  Tears still come to my eyes as I remember her smile.  How different might her life have been if she had not been adopted?

Talking about adoption, saving money, having a garage sale-all of it seems so surreal sometimes.  Will we really ever bring these children home?  The obstacles can seem so huge at times. But then I think about the people I met on Saturday. I'm reminded that there are REAL children with REAL names that don't have a mom or a dad.  Real lives that do not know Jesus and don't have anyone to tell them.  Real children without any hope.  Someday, by God's power and grace, 2 of those will be ours forever and they will never be orphans again.

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