Thankful Thursday

for packing paper play

for unsuspecting sisters (she got nailed a a few seconds later)

for brother hugs

for friends that play outside in December

and for 70 degrees in December:)

for family that comes from far away to celebrate being four

for a Christmas tree filling up with the stories of the Old Testament

leading us through this advent season and preparing our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Journeying On,

Four Years Later

I never tire of it

I never tire of seeing how far these two miracles have come

How much they've changed

How many obstacles have been overcome

The countless and constant miracles we witness, not just with their health, but in our hearts too

We praise the name of Jesus for these things and dare to ask for even more

 The first time Ethan was with Mommy

The first time Daddy was with Addison

These Two....

Journeying On,

Thankful Thursday

For kid sized picnic tables

For how much this girl loves books

and how much she wants him to love books too

 for indoor dodgeball

and found treasures

I found this pad of paper the other day and the first page is full of the notes I took when Addison's neurologist called to give us the report of the MRI she had at 10 months old.  It says things like "too much fluid", "brain atrophy" (missing brain matter), "concerned she won't crawl" (yet alone walk). 

Be glad and rejoice! Surely the Lord has done great things. -Joel 2:21

Journeying On,

Hidden Gifts

When we accepted the referral from our adoption agency for Elijah back in May we were given some details about his personality and medical background.  In the description he was described as a fussy eater and was dependent on nutritional drink supplement (similar to our pediasure).

"Oh great!" I thought.  Another kid with feeding problems. At least he's taking his formula by mouth instead of a tube.

Once we met our sweet boy we found they were putting it mildly when they called him a fussy eater:)  Turns out the kid doesn't chew....like anything, not even baby puffs. So for the first weeks he was with us in South Africa his diet consisted of bottles, KFC mashed potatoes and gravy, yogurt and cream of wheat.

At first I wanted to be frustrated that we were facing more of the same in regards to eating.

You see my first two never got the whole bottle thing and anytime we were feeding them is was crazy stress to get as much down as possible without it coming back up (hence the tubes).  As they got older, we had the same experience with pureed foods.  We've cleaned more up off the floor than either of them ate during their first year of life.

Then the Lord gave me a gift, and I never saw it coming.  Never even thought to ask for it.  He gave me back those milestones that I missed as a momma.  In fact, I'm not sure I even realized how much I had missed them until He gave us the gift of Elijah's delayed eating habits.

So now I have a little boy that lets me hold him while he drinks his bottle and opens his mouth wide for a bite of yogurt...And he enjoys it....I enjoy it.

It is a gift!

I know he won't be dependent on bottles and purees forever, but I'm so thankful God sees me. That He knows what I need and desire far better than I know myself.

Elijah has already made some tremendous strides in eating, and it has been exciting to watch him learn and experiment.

Some self feeding

chowing down some graham crackers

working on his chewing:)

Journeying On,

Thankful Thursday

2 months straight of the best numbers we've seen in two years!!

for baby goats that bring giggles

and tickle fingers

for cousins that will be best friends

whether they like it or not:)

for the perfect pumpkin search

for a chance to celebrate eight years of marriage 

Journeying On,

Camping

I'll be the first to admit that the idea of tent camping with two 3 year olds and a 2 year old did not sound appealing.  In fact, a dear friend advised against it telling of her 1am drive home from tent camping with toddlers.  But the idea of spending the weekend with family and friends was more appealing, so we gave it a shot....and it was so fun:)

Journeying On,

Thankful Thursday

For sensory play (in our jams)...

that resulted in a clean plate for Ethan

for nature walks and leaf collecting (also in our jams)

for dunkin' breakfast (again... in our jams)

That my camera was miraculously healed this week!!

After a trip to a photo shop downtown and 45 mins on the phone with Cannon it was determined my lens was shot and needed to be sent in.  I printed the shipping label and was about to send it in when I flipped on one last time....just hoping. On the first click it started working perfectly! Didn't change any settings, just turned it on hoping....and it's been working perfectly since.....miraculous!

I'm so thankful for the gift of a working camera

Journeying On,