The Christmas Story

We saw this video at church with my parent's yesterday....
SO. CUTE! We all know every good party has glow sticks, right?

(I called the New Zealand accent before I saw the credits...justsoyaknow.) :)

In other news, Miss Chloe took her first communion yesterday. December 26, 2010.

In normal Williams fashion this happened a bit spontaneously...as she is generally in the children's ministry during communion...but since she accepted Christ this summer we thought it was the perfect time.

As the plate is being passed I try to explain what communion is in the simplest form...

I encourage her to hold the piece of bread (I held the grape juice for her) and talk to the Lord...thanking Him for loving her and dieing on the cross for her to forgive her sins and be her friend.

I thought I had done a fairly good job of it until she taps me on the arm and whispers,

"But, Mommy, why are we eating Jesus?"

Looks like we have some tough things to talk about...you know...things like "hating your mother and father" and "eating His body and drinking His blood."

Yep. That should be super easy.

You Still Have Time To Do This

We may have started a new family tradition tonight...

While we have always enjoyed driving around town to look at Christmas lights...we have amped up the fun to super fun.

You still have time to do this...

Go to a dollar store find a silly Christmas trinket that can serve as a 'trophy.'
(Or a few...that way everyone can give an award)

Write a little note. Ours said,

"CONGRATULATIONS! You were voted BEST LIGHTS by the Williams Family 2010"

The Prize

Our panel of judges

Drive around town looking for your very favorites.

Mailbox #1

Then leave your trophy in the mailbox for the family to discover the following day!

Mailbox #2

Parting was sweet sorrow for the littles as the trophies were adorable...but oh what fun to think of the family finding their 'trophy' in the morning!

A few words to the wise:

1. Start early...so your judges stay awake.

2. Try to finish before 10 pm...(ahem...#1) and people start turning their lights off at bedtime.

3. Maybe buy a trophy for your judges.

4. Possibly establish categories: Craziest, Prettiest, Best Theme...

HAVE FUN!!

(and let me know if you do it!)

Dear Santa 2010

Dear Santa,

I know it is a lot to ask, but could I have an American Girl Doll, a bunny, a puppy and a kitty?

I love Santa.
Love,
Chloe

This letter writing business (late as it may be) is funny. Particularly with Chloe. At first she says she just wants the bunny, the puppy and the kitty...Kevin 'reminded' her that she wants the American Girl Doll and toys. To which she replies,

"No, I want the animals...aaaand the doll...aaaand toys. Weeelllll, I want all I can get."

Nice.
Obviously we have done a stellar job of communicating the real Reason for the season.


E-man's letter is a little more direct...yet his requests change daily.

Dear Santa,

I want a crab and Buzz. And a hammer too. And cars.

Love,
Eli

*For the record. We have conversed with our eldest that Santa must check first with parents when requests come for live animals. And this year the 'rents have given a firm 'no' on more pets.

Will God Be There?

In the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go to a Christmas party, Eli is creeping slowly down the ladder of the bunk bed...

Me: Let's hurry, buddy, we don't want to be late for the party.
E: Is it your birthday party?
Me: No, we are celebrating Jesus's birthday.
E: Will God be there?
Me: Well, God will be there because God is always with us. He lives inside our hearts.
E: But will I see Him?

At this point the conversation probably gets abstract beyond comprehension for my little man...but such a good question...

And the answer is yes.

Yes, God will be at our celebrations of the Best Gift Ever...He is invited after all...or at least he should be...help us to make His presence known to our littles.

And, yes. Yes we will see Him. As we open our eyes to see Him, we will see Him all around us...

Give us eyes to see.

My Current Favorite

New Life Goal...

...to participate in a Flash Mob dance.

Just because I think it is so. fun.

Am I the only one that gets that urge to happy cry while watching one of those on Youtube?

Watching the crowd's reactions...raw human emotion...gets me every time.

The Elf on a School Shelf...

Sooooo...



We had a little situation at school today...

Somebody touched the elf!!!


Which apparently is waaay against the rules.


Chloe is devastated.

This Elf on the Shelf may be a bit controversial...some think it is a great motivator for good behavior before the holidays. Others may feel it is detrimental to encourage children to behave well because an Elf is watching rather than behave well because...ummm...it's the right thing to do and we want to please Jesus and be more like Him.

It is all in fun, right?

Well, as stated, Chloe's class has an Elf on the Shelf. She has been very excited about it and completely caught up in the world of 'a magic elf watching her' and 'relaying her good behavior to Mr. Ho Ho Ho.'

Until... somebody touched the elf!

...which makes him lose his magic powers and causes him not to return to the classroom.

Again, devastated.

It was the first thing she told me about when she got in the van.
I commiserated to an acceptable level in my opinion...

Once home, her behavior began to deteriorate, so she was sent to her room to reset...which caused her behavior to further deteriorate. (Viscous cycle.)

Once she was ready to 'talk' (instead of scream and melt down) we discovered the Elf was at the root of her poor behavior...she was SO MAD and SO FRUSTRATED that she lost the fun of the elf because of someone else's poor choice.

But it goes even further...

She is sincerely concerned for the Elf's well being.
Because, not only has he lost his magical powers, he has now lost his ability to return to Santa and now he may 'never, ever, EVER get back to Santa!!" (Poor, Elf!)

Which then brings her to the conclusion that Santa will not find out whether she has been naughty or nice and therefore won't bring her anything for Christmas. Cue another melt down.


In my opinion, this Elf on a Shelf thing has backfired.

We try to console her that Santa has other informants...aka Mom and Dad... and that we are confident that she has, indeed, been a very good girl...

It has helped for the moment...

If he does not return to the classroom, should he 'show up' at our house???
Not gonna lie...a little bit tempted to invite the little dude over...
You know...just 'cause it wasn't fair for the whole class to miss out on the fun...

Torn...

Halloween At Granna and Zeke's

We spent Halloween with Granna and Zeke this year.

Pumpkin carving,

toasting pumpkin seeds and

trick or treating on the golf cart.

I remember doing this with Dad as a kid.

Not a huge fan of the goop.

This picture gives me warm fuzzies.
I know that it is one that I will look back at and cherish...
I mean...just look at them!

Chloe wanted a puppy pumpkin and Eli wanted a spider.

Kevin worked very hard on both of them and came up with the idea for the felt ears and tongue for the puppy. Cute, huh?

Their choices are reflective of what they both are into right now.

Chloe loves anything 'puppy.'

Eli, spiders. He has a spider book that we read several times a week. We are discovering that he prefers informative books. Encyclopedia type books. Books he can memorize.

He can name each kind of spider in the book:

'Trap door spider, comb-footed spider, black widow spider, jumping spider, wolf spider, orb weaver spider'...'this one is molting,' 'this one carries it's babies on it's back,'
It is fascinating to watch.

(even if I get the heebie-jeebies each and every time we read it...)

E. L. I.

"E. L. I. That spells Eli!!"

He's figured it out! He chants this throughout the day...so proud of him!

(Won't mention that everything 'readable' says E. L. I. according to him...absolutely all letters spell Eli in his world. Hello, egocentricity.) :)

Fall Festival

A few pictures from our Fall Festival:

Uncle Dale was in town for awhile from Japan. It was a blessing to have him visit with us.

Love this picture of him.

Eli got to join the Moore Family Toy Story 3 theme as Buzz Lightyear.

(He LOVED it!)
...and look at Little Bo Peep!!

They won 'Best Costume!"

Great idea, Steph!

Sweet Princess Chloe...so fitting.

We will let her dress up as a princess for as long as she wants to!

E says the darndest things...

Some pretty adorable things coming out of Eli's mouth these days...so many things...right after another...trying hard to remember them.

A sample:

"Mommy, don't wash off my statue." Statue = temporary TATTOO.
"Mommy... when I was a little kid..."
"Do you know how old I am? I'm 5." (completely convinced of this.)

Many opportunities to remind him 'who is in charge.' To which he frequently replies, "No. I'm in charge." (ok...this one is a little less cute...)

He uses the phrase "I must..." quite often. "I must wash my hands." "I must get my trains."

and also, "Not quite yet."

Wandered around the house this morning repeating "Nice to meet you, Tiny." (from Dinosaur Train.)

* November 5, 2010:
We get a lot of sun on our kitchen table around lunch time...
Today E asked:
"Can somebody turn off the sun?"
We pulled the blinds down for him. Yep, we can 'turn off the sun.'

* November 16, 2010:
After waking up before the sun..."Mommy, is it time for the sun to wake up, or the night to go down?"

Bemember = remember

These don't do his cuteness justice...I must write them down as soon as he says them. :)

Fairy Tooth Princess

I have to tell you that the Tooth Fairy (or Fairy Tooth Princess as Kevin kept calling her...) was a bit unprepared...she thought she had at least a week once the tooth started to wiggle. Not so, Betty Jo.

So...tooth lost, letter written:

Front of card:
I (heart) U Tooth Fairy

Inside:
Dear Tooth Fairy,

Can I keep my tooth?
(I want to start a tooth collection.)
Love, Chloe

We were shocked and super pleased to find out that Tooth Fairies respond to letters!!

Ours writes backwards...you have to hold her response in front of a mirror in order to read it. (SO. COOL!)

Her response:
(with a $1 gold coin...inflation...geez!)
,EOLHC RAED
!HTOOT RUOY PEEK NAC UOY ESRUOC FO
(!TSEB EHT ERA SNIOTCELLOC HTOOT)
,EVOL
YRIAF HTOOT RUOY

(I don't think that translated super well via typing...but you get the idea.)

The card was sprinkled with glitter...which I think may have been scraped off of some glitter stickers...we may never know...

Chloe was through-the-roof excited...

"Mommy!!! Tooth Fairies are REAL!"
"I can't wait to tell my friends!"
"You mean we have our OWN Tooth Fairy?!?!?"
"So?? My Tooth Fairy carries a pen!?!"

So. cute. So. excited!

How many more times is she going to visit?? Can she keep up the hype?

P.S. Spell checker is none-too-happy with Tooth Fairy's letter...just sayin'.

I thought it would be fun...

...but it wasn't.

These were Chloe's words, through tears, after she lost her first tooth.

For two days prior she was tooth obsessed. OBSESSED!

Wiggle. wiggle. wiggle. whine. whine. whine.

Finally on Friday night dinner was too painful. I even cut her pizza up in little pieces like I remember my parents doing for me...which made me think...how many times in our lives do we require our food to be cut up in small pieces...babies...tooth losers...I digress.

It wasn't enough.

The tooth was so loose that it made my stomach sick to see her push it with her tongue. I tried to muster up the strong Mommy who can pull wobbly bloody teeth...but the heebie-jeebies won out.

Thankfully a friend was here...who happens to have 6 children...and therefore is well-versed in the art of tooth pulling...she did it for me. (Thanks, Song!!)

I was relieved. Chloe was shocked.

Lots of tears and fears of what her friends at school were going to say. Were they going to make fun? Comfort. comfort. comfort.

We distracted her with thoughts of the Tooth Fairy.

Letter written. Still present teeth brushed. Off to bed.

I will write about our Rockin' Tooth Fairy tomorrow. She knocked it out of the park as far as Chloe is concerned!

Our Little Designer...

Chloe created this outfit for her Little Mermaid doll...

Using only paper, scissors and heart stickers.

Pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

And of course...no outfit would be complete with out silly bands.

The Real Thing...

Chloe has been pretending lately that she has a loose tooth...
(Actually, for a couple years...she has pretended that her gap between her two front teeth is a space left from a lost tooth...)

When I picked her up at school today she showed me she has a REAL loose tooth...

Fer realz.

Here we go!

Fun Friend

This morning I got to have a spontaneous field trip with my friend Amie...

She's the one in the knee pads. She is a fun lady.

Michael's just opened a new store in G'ville and neither of us had been to it yet...so we headed over.
Sans. Kids.
Wooo. Hooo.

Angelic choirs started singing (in Amie's head) as soon as we walked in the door...the BEADS!!! She is going to make some beautiful jewelry with her finds.

We laughed and chatted it up while we oooh-ed and aaahh-ed over all of it...

So much so that another lady in the aisle asked us (jokingly, I think.) what we were smoking...
(REALLY...do people need to smoke something to have as much fun as we were?)

Even the music was fun.
Soooo Jr. High school dance music.
We sang along and at one point Amie did a little shimmy between aisles.
(the 70-something lady behind me may not have laughed as hard as I did...but then again, they were not HER Jr. High dance songs...)

It lasted about an hour...but what a filling-up hour it was.

Love Amie. Love spending time her.

If I had to pick one...

If I had to pick one thing I strongly dislike about the South, it would be cockroaches.

These disgusting monsters do not reside in Indiana...
They were quite a shock to me when we first moved here almost 10 years ago.

THEY ARE HUGE!

If I see one skitter through my house a chill of anger goes up my spine...
because
they are GROSS.
they are FAST
they make me feel DIRTY.

Last night I was in my bathroom washing my face before bed.
Reflecting in the mirror, I could see 'someone' peering at me from behind on the top of shower...
GRRRRRRRRRR...

My heart rate speeds up and I start searching for something, ANYTHING that I can use to KILL THE ROACH!!!

One of Kevin's magazines will do just fine...but the killing must be strategic...because RARELY if EVER are roaches killed on the first attempt.

Side note: Kevin tells me that roaches can actually live for 2 weeks without a head. 2 WEEKS! They actually starve to death... I. Know.

As I said, they rarely die on the first swat...so you have to make sure the nasty things won't corner you or worse yet, CHARGE YOU.

So I choose my position (at the shower door. If it falls from the top, it will be semi trapped in the shower floor and I can slam the door if it is charging me. Arm raised, eye on the target, deep breath, SWAT!

As anticipated the grody thing falls to the floor, scurrying and flopping.

I continue swatting while chanting, "I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!!!"

Finally, it is still. Lying on it's back...but I have learned from previous experience that this position DOES NOT mean that the roach is actually DEAD. Nope, these nightmares know how to play dead. I'm. Serious.

So I get some toilet paper, toss it over the possible corpse...and give it one final THUD with magazine. I am finally satisfied with it's dead-ness once it's guts have splatted out. I get more toilet paper to pick it up (disinfect the splatted area) and flush it down the toilet. Which reminds me why the guts are my only satisfactory sign that the roach is deceased...I have flushed a 'thought to be dead' cockroach down the toilet before and later found it in the bowl again. I. AM. NOT. KIDDING. These bugs are straight from the pit.

You might be surprised by this violent streak in me. I am too, actually.
I believe I reserve the angst for cockroaches only. I hate them that much.

So, while I am not sitting around making lists of the things I hate about the South...the list is super short...

COCKROACHES.

That's it.

Pencil-vania

This has been Chloe's favorite joke for the past 5 days or so...

Kevin is with his family in Pennsylvania for his Grandma's 92nd birthday party.
Every time we mention that he is there, she pipes in with,

"PENCIL!?!?!? How is Daddy in a PENCIL?!?!?"

She cracks herself up.

Opposites...

It's almost a guarantee...
If Chloe asks for the radio to be ON, Eli wants it OFF.
If Chloe is COLD, Eli is HOT.

This is most evident in the van...
I can almost count to 2 before Eli's anticipated opposite-ness...

I did not realize we had done such a thorough job of teaching this particular concept...

But, he's got it. By George, I think he's got it.

The Ride of Her Life...

Sitting at dinner tonight, Chloe was telling us all about school this week. She was talking a mile a minute about how she is stronger than all the boys and faster and...more humble. (not really, Kevin and I added that part.) She discovered she was stronger than all of them when she broke free from their snare at recess.

She recounted how she prayed to God, "God you are always with me, I do not need to be afraid." ...and she "broke right out and ran really, really fast." (which she acted out by running around the living room and back into the kitchen.)

She sat back down at the table and continued her story...

C: "Ever since the tube ride, I have known that God is always with me."
Me: "What happened on the tube ride." (last Friday...Sept. 3, 2010...her very first solo ride)
C: "Well, I prayed, 'God I know you are always with me. I know I don't need to be scared, because you are always with me. Even though the water is deep, You will keep me safe. And all of a sudden, I knew He was inside me. He is living inside me.'"

Both Kevin and I sat stunned with tears in our eyes and our hearts in our throats.
Is she really saying this?? Did this really happen?? Does she understand what she is saying?? Is this enough??

In her short 6 years, she has surprised us with her deep spirituality. She carries an old soul this little girl. She feels things. She senses things. She understands things.

She routinely sings songs about Jesus and how He died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. She told us that she sings songs to Him on the playground. She tells Him that she knows that nothing can separate her from Him. She loves Him.

But this tube ride...it seems to have changed her life...without us even knowing it.

Happy tears spilled down my cheeks...

He is hers and She is His. Forever.

Sometimes No Plans are the Best Kind of Plans...

Honest.
On Friday morning, Kevin asked me if we had any plans for the Labor Day weekend.
Which I answered with a solid 'no'.

Well, here we are now on Monday afternoon and we have had a VERY FULL, VERY FUN Holiday weekend.

Friday: On the lake with the Grubers. Kevin wakeboarded. Chloe tubed. (All by herself!) Me and E enjoyed the ride!

Saturday: Free day at Lake Lanier Islands water park with the Moores!! Chloe's first experience with water slides...lots of swimming in the wave pool.

Sunday: Kevin lead worship for both services, I did storytelling for Children's church. Lunch with out of town friends, the Buchanans, baptism service for the Gees, and hang out time and fireworks at Concord Days in Clermont.

Monday: Coffee with a friend in the morning. Lazy afternoon at the house. Cook out with Growth Group friends this afternoon!

Sometimes no plans are the best kind of plans!

Scared the Pee Out of Me...

Somehow...when Chloe was supposed to be getting ready for school this morning, she managed to scare Eli.

In attempt to tattle, he said, (very seriously)

E: "Chloe scared the pee out of me."
Me: "She scared the pee out of you?!"
E: "Yeah."
Me: "She scared you and you peed a little bit?"
E: "Yeah. She scared the pee right out of me."

What is doubly funny is that this is not a phrase he has heard us use...so it's almost like he invented it.

Not sure why, but...

Eli ate pizza tonight...WITH the cheese on it...
WITH. THE. CHEESE. ON. IT.

There were no complaints, proddings, bribes...
No shrieks about a microscopic piece of cheese still lingering on the crust...

Just a room full of strangers (and a few friends) in Chloe's school cafeteria.
Curriculum night...PTA Back to School Dinner...

He sat at the big lunch table and ate his pizza...BOTH SLICES...with the cheese on them.

Big night. Big deal. Big boy.
So. so proud of you, Buddy.

Chloe's #6 Party Pics

Her first sleepover!

(this picture should be at the bottom...to be sequential...but it is here instead.)

Sharing Hello Kitty cupcakes with her classmates

Boa Bowling with Eli, Abi, and Ali

Sometimes waiting your turn is super duper hard.

All on her own.

Such a poser.

The girls.

Ready for cake!
(DQ ice cream cake by request)

Such a funny six year old!

Eli helping with breakfast.

Kevin is the KING of cool pancakes!

A very happy Birthday Girl!

Chlo, we love you.

You are growing into such a lovely little lady. This year has a lot of change in store for you, and you are ready! We will be right by your side, cheering you on!

You are one very special girl, and we are blessed to be your Mama and Daddy!

My Luke

Eli is missing his best buddy these days.

a.k.a. My Luke.

They have been BFFs almost since conception.

Luke's parents, Scott and Lisa, lived with us in the apartment behind our house while we were pregnant with the boys. So, while they were unaware, they were destined to be friends.

Born 25 days apart.

Separated only by a few miles once they moved to their first house.

Played together at least once a week for their whole lives.

But, now Luke lives in Scotland.

Only he doesn't.

He lives in Portland. But Eli is certain that it is Scotland...

and we need to get on an airplane and go to his house so that they can play trains together.

Missing them so. so. much.

*Pictures taken in April 2010. One of their many days of discovery.

Big Mistake

Some unsolicited advice:

When potty training your child, DO NOT buy a candy that YOU love as rewards.

Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms = BIG MISTAKE.
Can. not. stop. eating them.

Retro Blogging...GO!

Doing some retro blogging as promised...
Click on the month of July for a while for updates on our time in Washington.

Meanwhile...back at the ranch...
Somebody turned 6 this weekend. 6.
Can. not. believe it!

Hope to get that up on the blog soon too.

Teaser...
Boa bowling. Hello Kitty. Sleep over.
Pure 6 year old fun.

"Best Day of My LIFE!"

These were Chloe's first words after school today...
Something about the library, Book Buddies, and magic and making a mess in the library...
It was THE BEST!!

Even though I don't have a clue what she is talking about...I will take it.
Absolutely. Take it.

*I should note that Friday was also the best day of her life...at least aspects of it.
Fun Friday in gym class to be exact.
Coach let them do whatever they wanted after they finished their exercises...
She chose to DANCE!

_________________________

Also...her birthday is coming up in four days.

Her birthday list:

IPod Touch. (get in line)

Nintendo DS

Camera

American Girl Doll

Kevin added it all up and decided for about $1,300.00 we could make her birthday wishes come true. He said he could sell his car and then get her gifts...

She thought that was a GREAT idea!

Tidbits...

Not getting a whole lot of info from C about her days at school...
Not getting much info from anyone for that matter...

What we have gleaned:

- Juan Carlos has cried all day for the past 3 days
- Tadpoles can grow legs in a day and become frogs overnight.
- C and 2 other girls played Beauty Shop at recess...they did oneanother's hair
(or they did Chloe's...theirs is in tight braids and beads...maybe I should try to apologize to their moms if C did anything to their hair...)
- The class is LOUD. (C can not WAIT for rest time...for some QUIET!)
- Money is the dirtiest thing ever. You should wash your hands after touching it.
- Stephanie is sweet.
- Ella is tiny.
- We MUST NOT ever forget Rosebud (current fave stuffed animal) at home again. Ever.
- "R.E.D. spells red. Firetrucks are red. Stop signs are red too. R.E.D. I can spell red.
(the actual tune and words are a little off I am guessing...but she can indeed spell red.)
- C must not be hungry at lunch...because it has returned almost untouched for the past 3 days. Nerves?

_________________________

I fear it may be official...
I am one of THOSE parents.
I thought I swore I wouldn't be...and maybe I won't be soon...
But currently...I AM one of those parents.
Ugh.

Chloe, When you read this years and years from now...after you have developed into this amazingly brilliant and captivating young woman...please know that all my crazies were, in fact, love in disguise. I am confident that at this point my stressing about your Kindergarten experience is but a vague memory...and you had a fabulous year. But maybe when you read this...you will see into your Mamma's heart and see just how much we wanted the very BEST the Lord had for you from the very beginning. And letting you go into this great big world is and always will be a challenge and a joy...

_________________________

And in effort to pretend that my life does not revolve around all things Kindergarten...

Eli walked into the room yesterday with the kiddie toilet seat on his head.
That is how well potty training is going.

First Day of Kindergarten!

The first couple pictures are from Open House

August 5, 2010

An Enota Red Elephant

(for you out-of-towners...that is an elephant stomp...)

Growing up.

Will be 6 in 11 days!

First Day of school

8/9/10

(COOL DATE to start school, huh?)

(also Mommy and Daddy's 13th wedding anniversary)

Boppi took you shopping for your outfit.

You LOVE it!

(btw... you didn't wear your flip flops to school)

YOU'RE IN KINDERGARTEN!!!


Teacher: Ms. Todd

Para Pro: Ms. Llonch

Student Teacher: Ms. Sanchez

13 boys

8 girls

Puddle...

Okay...to be fair...overall good first day of Kindergarten.
Despite the fact that another parent called and complained about Louba being in the classroom...ending in no. Louba.
(Booo. Do NOT get me started.)

Unfortunately the final 20 minutes may be embedded in Little Miss's memory for good.

I arrived early...too early I thought...so I waited in the car for 10 minutes.

Walking into the foyer of the school I find out that we have crossed the invisible line of 2 o'clock and we are no longer allowed to walk to our children's classrooms. We must sign their name in a book, show our I.D. and wait.

If you are me...you wait and wait and wait and wait and wait...
If you are me...you see 30+ students reunited with their parents...
and you continue to wait...
Afraid of being one of "those" parents you continue to wait....
Until you are now standing with 5 other parents (and sweating like a man in 100 degree heat)and you are now ... what's the word...ummmmm....
Frustrated.
If you are me...you finally say "Hi, I have been here for 20 minutes and my daughter has still not been released. " (no. I was probably not that polite.)
Apologies. apologies. "Please come identify your daughter."

I stroll into the cafeteria...scanning all the Kindergarten faces and finally make eye contact with mine....
who is crying. scared crying.
We are separated by the sea (or the lunch table) ...I can not get to her fast enough.
We finally meet at the end of the table and melt into a puddle of tears.
Both of us.

Tears have been coming easily all day. And this sent me over the edge of holding it together.

I know that she has been listening to her name being called.
And she had NO IDEA what to do.

I tell her I am sooo sorry. I know she must have been scared.
I know she has been wondering where I was.

I was RIGHT THERE!! I HAD BEEN THERE!!
But still, she suffered.

Broke. My. Heart.

Milestones, milestones...

Eli is passing milestones (doesn't that sound funny...passing stones....) at a neck-breaking speed.

Used our accidental-leaving-of-the-beloved-pacie-on-the-plane coming back to ATL as the launching pad for a no-pacie life. Bed times have been a little hard...but for the most part he is being a super big boy about it.
"Mommia...I wan my paacie." just a few times a day.

Also, Daddy is making a very successful push toward a no diaper house. E man has pee-peed in the potty several times over the past couple days...currently walking through the house nakey... such a big boy these days! (There is some debate with the little guy about the name of each of the bodily functions...he seems a little turned around...he is adamant that #1 is #2 and vice- versa. We are confident this confusions will be all cleared up by the time he goes to college.)

Louba

Walking into the school we were a jumble of nervous. excited and faking that we were more excited than we were...because we (Mom and Dad) were mostly just freaking out inside.

Chloe notices something on the ground. A button? A rock? Neither, really, but it has the outline of a flower on it. Chloe's trademark.

Is that You, Lord? Showing us You are here...Knowing we are needing You near...Reminding us that You are in control?

100 degrees outside and even hotter inside my heart...

How is this happening already?

"This is exciting!! My elementary school didn't have a garden...how cool is that?!?"

Are we doing this right now? Taking our Baby Girl to Kindergarten?

"Let's get your picture in front of the school!"

Oh, my gosh...She is so sweet. So little and so big all at the same time...this is it...

"Okay, let's go find your class and Mrs. Todd."

Walk to the left....then right...then left again...Room 109. Deep breath...

"Hi! This is Chloe Williams..."

From here we fumble with papers and agendas and small talk for a minute and then we meet her...

Louba.

Louba, which means love in some foreign language, is the class pet. A gentle 6 year old Golden Retriever...obviously freshly groomed with yellow polka-dot bows in her hair...she will be in class with the students every day.

Chloe is sold.
Hook-line-and-sinker.
She had just asked me a couple days ago if I thought there would be a pet in her class.
Of coarse I had no idea...maybe a hamster...or a turtle...or maybe a hermit crab...
but a GOLDEN RETRIEVER?!?!?

Thank you, Lord.

"Mommy, I want to stay here forever! I'm not scared anymore!"

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for Mrs. Todd. For Louba. For Yohanna and Carson and Luke and Sam and Juan Carlos... Thank you for watching out for us and showing up and calming her fears. Please keep calming mine...

Kinder...

Kindergarten. Chloe is starting kindergarten.
There. I said it. My throat gets tight, my nose starts to tingle and my eyes start to burn at the word.
Kindergarten.

So many said this was going to go fast...and they sorta lied...
Because honestly, up until this particular milestone...most days kinda felt like they crept at a slow crawl...but now it all seems like a flash and next year she will graduate high school...

I'm a bit of a mess. And ultimately, as a friend helped articulate, I'm afraid. I am afraid of the unknown. Afraid of her losing innocence. Afraid of mean kids. Afraid of not being in control of her days. Afraid of others influencing her choices throughout the day. Afraid of public school. Afraid that we are making a terrible mistake. Afraid that I am letting her down by not homeschooling her.

But this is the decision we feel we have been lead to make. And I must Trust. Trust the One that IS known. That is her Protector. Who IS in control. Trusting that our influence will be stronger than the influence of others. Trust the One Who will never let her down.

And I do. Most moments.

Home

We are home.
The house was cleaned.
Roses on the kitchen island.
Milk and fruit in the fridge.

Still functioning on West coast time...but good to be together again.

Just a few good reasons...

...to NOT blog right now.

Intending/hoping to 'retro blog' on my return.

But as you can see...the computer is CLEARLY not the place to be spending my time.

Dakota Rose

July 15, 2010

The Stone Family grows by 2 feet!

Dakota Rose STONE,
today is the day that it is official...your Gotcha Day.
You are forever ours and we are so grateful.
The Lord saw fit to place you into this family through the gift of adoption and we are blessed.

So much love and prayer has gone into this day...
know that your Mommy and Daddy (and the rest of us) prayed for you for years and
you are welcomed with open and ready arms to help you become
all the God has planned for you to be.
He has mighty big plans for your little self!

Day Out with Thomas

Below may be what some consider to be an insane amount of pictures for a single event.
But it simply could not be helped.
You see, the following is an overview of what might have been the best day of Elijah Hooper's life to date.
We. Rode. Thomas.
For real.

So excited...

even though he probably did not fully comprehend the awesomeness that would ensue.
The whole family.

Contrary to popular belief...Eli DID NOT karate chop Sir Topham Hatt.

Climbing on a REAL ENGINE!

Getting ready to get on Thomas!

On the train...

the train car we rode matched the train in E's hand.

He named him 'Slowpoke.'

His official name is Slowcoach...but Slowpoke is soooo much cuter.

Enjoying the ride.

Love the lighting in this picture!

Us with Mr. Conductor

(we got his autograph...he was super fun.)

THOMAS!!!

I must take this opportunity to say that Miss Chloe was a stupendous big sister this day.

While she is not a huge Thomas fan, she was happy and cooperative and excited for Eli.

We were so proud of you, Chlo.

Once again, Eli showing his overwhelming enthusiasm for picture taking.

There were TRAIN TABLES!

As an end to the perfectly sweltering day, we stopped by Choo Choo Cafe for ice cream.

Strawberry Mango Sherbet...thank you very much.

A memorable day to be sure!!

(AND we checked off one more item from our summer list...WOOHOO!)