Mall Santa

This evening it just so happened that Santa was visiting our local mall. Can you imagine that? It was our luck that the little boys had just gotten haircuts, had clean faces, and were wearing adorable matchy-match sweaters (and if you actually believe this was all a coincidence I have some swamp land in Florida I'd love to sell you.) Kai ran up to Santa and mobbed him with a giant hug. Ash, not frightened of Santa but definitely worried about the location of his reindeer, was more aloof. They both got onto the old man's lap and Kai began his diatribe of what he wants from Santa. It's a long, rambling story that begins with "a big remote-control car" and ends with "a real Mac truck that Lightening McQueen can fit inside." Next Santa asks Ash what he wants for Christmas. Dave and I are listening intently because, so far this year, Ash has only answered this question with "a toy." Amazingly enough, Ash thinks on his feet because he coughed out "a motorcycle." I'm not sure what Santa's gonna do with the motorcycle answer but I'm glad we have one more successful Santa photo encounter behind us. Cheers!

Cruella Has Left the Building

There are times when days, even weeks, go by and things are going so well in our corner of the woods that I think to myself, "I really am a good mother." My children are happy, intelligent, well-rounded little people that are a joy to be around. I may not be Carol Brady, but I am a mother of the Millennium and my kids are better for it. I have convinced myself that I will meet my Heavenly Father one day at the pearly gates and He will say, "Heather, my child, you really stunk at a lot of things in life but you did raise those 4 kiddos well. Go ahead and enter."

Unfortunately, this was not one of those weeks. To be completely honest, I gave Cruella de Ville a run for her money. Kai has pneumonia, Ash has a fever virus (whatever that is?) and I have a raging bacterial infection which has spread from my lungs into my left eye. To make matters much worse, JD had a concert on Thursday night, Piper was in the Nutcracker twice this weekend and David had his office Christmas party tonight. Yes, I sucked it up and went to all events, although several people at the office party looked at my oozing eye and quickly walked away like I had leprosy. Our crazy schedule and family sickness put me in a foul mood all week. I truly felt like a chicken running around with it's head cut off. ***Take 2 kids to school. Drag other 2 kids to pediatrician for multiple prodding/poking tests. Check Piper out of school and fight downtown traffic to take her to dress rehearsal (drag sick little boys with 104.8 temps along.) Rush back to 'burbs to pick up J.D. at school. Fly back downtown to pick Piper up in rush hour traffic (still dragging along 2 sick, grumpy 4 year olds.) Drive home (Daytona 500 style) to change clothes and get ready to head out to nightly event (ie. football banquet, band concert, Nutcracker performance, Christmas party, etc...) During one event, get manic phone message from oldest child that Ash is channelling Satan and I must get home to give him a spanking.***

I'm vowing now (Sunday 9;34pm CST) that Cruella has officially left the building. I will not allow our hectic schedule, another snotting nose or drippy eye, or one more trip to the doc ruin our Christmas holiday. I'm so sorry my sweet children - your real mommy will be back when you wake up tomorrow morning.

Mom, I Think I've Been Dumped

My little man (who's not really so little at all) is dealing with his first heartbreak. Well, the word heartbreak may be a bit of an overstatement, but JD is definitely mending some hurt feelings right now. The sweet girl he has called his girlfriend for over a year dumped him this week. Or at least he thinks he was dumped (his words, not mine.) After having a long talk with him tonight before bed, I have convinced JD to call her and clear things up. There's nothing more convoluted or neurotic than 6th grade gossip. To make matters worse, there's a middle school Christmas dance coming up that has all the kids in hysteria-mode. I explained to JD that all heck could break loose if he was, indeed, mistaken about said break-up and he took another girl to the dance. Cross your fingers that all goes well. If only the girls could see what I see in my little man. They'd be fighting just to get a chance with him.

Recipe for an Incredible Vacation

1) Start out by renting a shack gorgeous chalet in the mountains.


2) Spend some quality time with your siblings.

3) Take in some amazing scenery.

4) Don't forget to get out and play a little (mountainside football anyone?)

5) Then relax your aching muscles or...

6) Catch up on a good book.

7) And last but not least, try something really fun (and new to some members of the family.) Anyone up for a trail ride?

Absolutely incredible - that's the best way to describe our 4 day holiday weekend in the mountains of north Georgia/Tennessee. We stayed up late every night playing cards, enjoyed our fair share of hiking and horseback riding, and took in some breathtaking views. It truly doesn't get any better than this.

Thankfulness

I am thankful for...

the miracle of birth

and the blessing of adoption.


I am thankful for...

two women in China who gave life to my boys

and four dark brown eyes who wake me up each morning.


I am thankful for...

a daughter who shines brighter than all the stars in the sky

and a 12 year old son who is still loves to snuggle with his mother.


I am thankful for...

our soldiers, especially those that are away from home this Thanksgiving

and my children's teachers who are incredibly dedicated yet grossly underpaid.


I am thankful for...

healthy parents

and a sister to share the trials and tribulations of motherhood with.


And this year I am most thankful for...

an amazing husband who holds my hand through life's adventures

and the four children that spread love and laughter throughout our home.

National Hug an Asian Day?

JD jumped into the car this afternoon and immediately gave both of his little brothers a huge hug. I looked at him in astonishment and asked him if he felt okay. He said, "They announced that it's National Hug an Asian Day at school today. I've already hugged 8 people and I thought I should include Kai & Ash!"

I'm still scratching my head over this. Has anybody else heard of this so-called holiday? Is this real? JD went on to say that his school always announces special "National Days". According to him, next week includes National Hug a Freemason Day. Hummmm...?

Thoughts for the Day

I've been thinking about how nicely things have been going lately and it just hit me that Ash has only been with us for 4 months. Wow. It's amazing - completely and totally amazing that I first hugged my little angel this summer. I would love to post a videotape of him talking to let you all see how wonderful his English is coming along. His most irritating habit - the incessant whining - is also getting much, much better. Of course, the whining beast does rear it's ugly head a few times on most days, but he now understands what he's doing and tries to stop (most often to avoid a time out.) Kai and Ash have grown to love each other as much as they drive each other crazy. I'm not sure one could fall asleep without the other (which is nice since we don't have enough bedrooms for them to each have their own.) Ash has no idea what Christmas is about, but I'm earnestly trying to get him excited for the holiday. I've been singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" about 5 times a day. It's never too early to teach your child that acting naughty = no Christmas presents!

In addition to the Christmas joy already in our house, I'm still on cloud 9 about my trip to Africa. Thanks to all of you who sent me good wishes for the trip. Ever since we adopted Kai, my heart has ached for all the little ones left behind. The children who go to bed hungry, the children without winter coats, the children with no mothers or fathers to kiss them goodnight. Two years ago, we were able to tour Kai's orphanage in northwest China. The tiny, cold babies tightly tucked into their cribs were heart-wrenching. However, the older children, many with disabilities, are what I remember most about our visit. Most likely, they will not be adopted, but rather live out their childhood in the institute. I've recently learned that Ethiopia has 5 million orphans. Can you even imagine 5 million children? I honestly can not. I know 10 days volunteering with the orphans in Africa is not even a tiny drop in a very large bucket, but I'm really looking forward to putting in my small contribution.

Cat out of the Bag

I wasn't planning to reveal my next adventure quite yet, but due to the number of phone calls and emails we've been getting, I've decided to let the cat out of the bag. No, we're not moving across the country or to the other side of the world (at least not right now.) My adventure is that I'm going on a trip to Ethiopia to work at an orphanage in Addis Ababa. A new orphanage has recently been purchased and our group (16 of us in all) will be preparing the new buildings for the kids. I'm so excited to be a part of this mission that I can barely contain myself.

More later, I've got to get the 4 munchkins ready for church and out the door in a little less than an hour.

Adventure Underway

Warning: Photo has no coorelation to post.

I just love this picture.

Planning for adventure is currently underway. I'll post more when things are concrete.

Up for an Adventure

I want to move to Oregon, or the mountains of North Carolina, or to China for that matter. I need adventure and David, although much more content than I, loves a good adventure also. We actually had a dinner-time discussion with the kids last night. It was more of a hypothetical, "what would you miss about home" discussion but David and I both knew there was some truth to it. We live in Alabama mainly because our parents live here. We used to need them around quite a lot. It has taken a long time for me to get the mommy thing down pat (and I'm not fully there yet) but I feel much more confident about living away from our families. Don't get me wrong, I love the South. It's gentile and nice here. Southern people are friendly and kind and send casseroles to your home when you have a baby. Does that happen in other areas of the country? I don't even know. But it shouldn't really matter because we're up for an adventure and the South will always be here to come home to.

Who knows if this discussion will stay in the hypothetical stage forever or forge into reality in the near future. The mere thought of it is exciting and that's enough for me right now.

Just a Little Early

I just dropped the little boys off at school to Trick-or-Treat with their class. Their preschool is adjacent to Piper's "big school" so the kids are going to Trick-or-Treat the 4th and 5th grade classrooms. Piper is thrilled that her little brothers are going to show up in her class sometime today!

I got the picture of JD and Piper in their costumes last weekend when they went to a pre-teen Halloween party at our library. The picture doesn't do JD's costume justice. The sumo wrestler getup is absolutely hilarious.

I wish you all a wonderful, fright-filled, candy-consuming Halloween.

Uncomfortable (Helicopters & Divorce)

Here are a few of the 150 or so pumpkin patch pictures I took last weekend. We had a great time on a beautiful farm with Aunt KK, Jackson, Granny and PapPa. Although I have no photographic proof (since I was taking the little boys to the potty), JD, Piper and Dave took a ride in a helicopter. JD paid for it himself, with money he won from being the top seller in a school fundraiser. I'm glad I didn't have time to think about the helicopter ride. The second we pulled up to the farm, JD declared that he wanted to go up in the helicopter and he had the money to pay for it himself. David and I agreed, but by the time it was JD's turn to ride, David and Piper had decided that they just HAD to go too. It was a quick decision and I didn't have time to ponder that 2 of my kids and my husband were going up in a helicopter with a pilot that could have gotten his license at Toys R Us for all that I knew. I'm not a scaredy-cat person at all, but a good chunk of my life and all of my sanity was up in the air for a few minutes. Thank the good Lord that they landed safely. Enough said.

My dad has been in town this week and every time that he visits, I wish he didn't live 1,700 miles away. He's fun to be around and I miss him terribly. The kids know that Granny is my mother and Daddy Jim is my father (and that they're not currently married), but this is the first time that they (JD and Piper, specifically) asked questions about my parent's divorce. They have friends whose parents are divorced and I think it finally occurred to them that I lived through a divorce too. So I fielded questions such as, "How old were you when they divorced?", "Do you remember them telling you that they were divorcing?" and "How did you feel when they married other people?" It was an interesting (and somewhat uncomfortable) conversation that I wish we didn't have to have. I tried to inject some wisdom into our discussion that... picking the right partner is very important, marriage is difficult, people are not perfect, and some couples give up way too easily. Now that I think about it, I guess it's not too early to start talking about these things on a fairly consistent basis. Divorce avoidance for pre-teens? It just sounds wrong on so many levels.

Pray for wisdom...pray for wisdom...pray for wisdom...

Almost Over (and not a minute too soon)

I promise, we look way more sane than we really are in this picture.

We had a hard day today...

It all started as we pulled up to JD's middle school this morning. I hear, "Uh mom, my horn isn't in the trunk" from outside the car. We drive back home at approximately the speed of light (yes, in a minivan) so he doesn't get points taken away in band. It's a miracle that I didn't get a ticket, although I still play the "I'm a retired cop" card any time I get pulled over. Next Kai, who has been accident free for 2 full days, poops in his pants at school. This is extraordinarily disappointing because I had bribed promised Kai that I would buy him a toy if he made it 3 full days without any accidents. Fast forward until 4 o'clock this afternoon when, trying to be a fun mom, I take the kids to a ridiculously overpriced ice cream shop for a treat. As we are sitting there enjoying our cones, JD asks, "What time is my football practice today?" Well crapola, I forgot the kid had practice (which started in exactly 30 minutes.) For the second time today, I drive home at lightening speed to have JD change clothes and jump back into the car. When we arrive at practice, JD asks me why we aren't at the football fields. I explain that since it's been raining for 2 straight weeks, the fields are too wet to play on and that his coach has reserved the school gym. "But mom, I'm wearing cleats!" Poor JD practices football for an entire hour and a half bare footed. Yes, I think it's quite obvious that I suck at parenting sometimes.

We pick JD up without any major mishaps but it is time to get everyone ready to go see David's band play at a local restaurant. JD is complaining that he hates Mexican food and Kai is crying because Ash put on the dress up clothes that he wanted to wear. I am ignoring everyone trying to find something that I look decent in. Without going in to detail - I have become fat and look disgusting in most all of my winter clothes. Needless to say, getting dressed was a depressing, and entirely too long event. We run out the door (late, I might add) to get to Dave's gig. Once we get there, all the tables are taken and we must wait in the lobby. If you have waited (alone) with 2 preschoolers lately, you probably understand that this is not a fun task. There's nothing to do and nowhere to go in a lobby. We did, however, survive. We finally got seated on the outdoor patio (where Dave is playing) and horror of all horrors, a man at the table next to us is smoking. To my children, smoking is kin to murder. They absolutely hate it and completely freak out if they are anywhere near a smoker. They are so paranoid they roll up the windows if we stop at a red light next to a car with a smoker inside. Oh joy. JD proceeds to sit through our entire meal with his shirt pulled up over his mouth. He looked like he was trying to avoid the plaque. Kai, on the other hand, wasn't bothered by the smoking but rather the noise. He put his hands over his ears until I explained that it might look rude to the band (and I might have threatened him too, but that's beside the point.) Piper kept laying her head on my shoulder and saying that she was dizzy. I told her the dizziness was due to her ear infection and that she would be fine. It was only 8 o'clock and I swear my kids looked like they hadn't slept in 6 days. After talking to David during his first break, we quickly paid the bill and hightailed it out of there. JD proclaimed that we were going to drive home in silence. The problem was that Ash and Kai didn't think that was such a great idea. They continued to yell at the top of their lungs jabber until JD lost it and stated that "Mom is going to give you a spanking if you say one more thing!" First of all, JD doesn't speak for me and second, Ash (aka Mr. Sensitive) did not appreciate JD's threat and began to wail. There goes our quiet, relaxing drive home.

It's 10 o'clock now and the little boys are asleep (Hallelujah.) JD and Piper are watching some completely inappropriate show about haunted houses, ghosts and paranormal events. I couldn't care less. I'm tired and no one is complaining, crying, or embarrassing me in public. Friday, October 16th - almost over (and not a minute too soon!)

Some Change is Good

Well you can see that the awesome Danielle (aka The Design Girl) has been hard at work on my blog. It's girly, bright and has pictures galore. I'm in love with it! Just looking at my new and improved blog makes me want to write away (unfortunately, that feeling is sure to fade.) Buying new work out clothes has the same effect on me. Put me in a cute pair of running shorts and a new t-shirt and I can't wait to hit the trails.... for about 1 week. Then I'm back to sleeping in and browsing my cyber-friends blogs when I should be out sweating. Oh well, you'd hate me if I was perfect.

3 Months Ago

Three months ago in a government office in Nanjing, China, Ash joined our family. When we met him, he was wearing clothes 2 sizes too big and white socks with sandals (a definite fashion no-no.) His eyes were red and puffy and he fell down every time he tried to run. Of course, it didn't matter. I was immediately in love with him. He has added so much happiness to our family and I can't imagine what our lives would be like without him.

This video of our 1st months together is long - as in 10 minutes long. I just couldn't leave out any parts of our wonderful journey to Ash. Enjoy.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Nicest Present I Ever Got

David has a friend that I've met only once. David and his friend Carl worked together several years ago and Carl made a huge impression on David in a short amount of time. Carl is a very spiritual man who has always been interested and supportive of our adoptions (not a small thing for many men.) What I didn't know until recently is that Carl is an amazing artist. And God put it on Carl's heart to write and illustrate a book titled "Dragons and Elephants". A few weeks ago David and I got a small package in the mail from Carl. It was, by far, the most thoughtful and beautiful present either of us have ever received.

See for yourself...

Carl, if you happen to read this, I want you to know how much we truly cherish our book. It is beautiful beyond words and we will treasure it forever. Thank you so much.

One minute in Our Life

7:35pm, Thursday evening

Dave - At band practice (lucky, lucky man)

Heather - Praying that bedtime comes soon

J.D. - Playing Wii (or Playstation) or some other video game thingy

Piper - Doing homework at the kitchen table

Kai - Torturing the dog

Ash - Taking the baby and his dog (aka "wooden dinosaur") for a walk

That's about it. 7:35pm - one recorded minute in our lives. I would have taken a picture of myself, but I wasn't wearing a bra (or makeup) and didn't want to scare you away. If you read my blog, and have a blog yourself, I'm officially tagging you. Capture a minute of your life with photos and let me know how it turns out.