A Hope and a Future

A weekend to remember

Dennis and I have wanted to go to NYC together for a LONG time; I like to joke that we said we would go for our 10th anniversary and instead we had three babies that year (ha!) Well this past weekend we were very blessed to be able to finally go (for our 13th anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks) and it was FABULOUS!! We are SO thankful to mom and Anna for taking care of the kiddos for us and to my cousin Lisa and her family (who live in NJ right now) for hosting us. It was like a dream come true:)

We flew into Newark, NJ Friday afternoon and made it to Lisa’s that evening after taking the NJ Transit train (and missing our first train since we newbies had NO idea what we were doing!).  Then Saturday morning we headed out early and took the train into NYC Penn Station. Coming up out of Penn Station onto the street almost took my breath away….for this (relatively speaking) country girl to be suddenly surrounded by people, noise, and TALL buildings was really something special. I’m sure people could spot me as a tourist from a mile away since I had my mouth half hanging open and was staring up at the buildings in awe:)

We had been told that the double decker bus tours were a great way to see the city so we spent a large portion of our day on Saturday touring the city that way. We were not disappointed. It was a really neat experience that I’ll not soon forget. We definitely hit all the “highlights” of the city that way.

 

Between tours we went down to Times Square and got a piece of cheesecake….it was VERY yummy:) There were SO many people in Times Square it was insane….

Then we did the second bus tour and headed back to Penn Station to catch the train….we were trying to catch a certain time train and we didn’t think we’d have time to get food but were STARVING….we sat down on the train and at the VERY last second changed our minds and jumped off the train to go back up and get some food and took the next train! We were very glad we did, too….we felt a lot better on the ride home:)

Sunday we again took the train (we became great friends with the NJ transit train!) into Penn Station and headed to take a Harbor boat tour. It was very neat….we went out to the Statue of Liberty and also could see the buildings and skyline from a different perspective:

Empire State Building

All our tour guides were big on pointing out things about Sept 11th (of course): the boat tour guide pointed out the skyline and said that on Sept 10th, 2001 you would have seen the twin towers framed on either side of the dark building in the middle of this picture; standing twice as tall as that building. It was sobering to be right there and think about it….may we never forget all the lives that were lost that day.

Loved seeing the Statue of Liberty up close!

After the boat tour we went and ate some lunch at a very yummy burger place and then walked around a street fair on 9th Ave…..fun!

After that was what we both consider the highlight of the weekend: our Broadway show! We saw Wicked at the Gershwin Theater on 51st Street. It was my first Broadway show and it was absolutely AMAZING. The set, the music, the actors, the whole show was just incredible. Something I’ll not soon forget!

After that we half-walked, half-ran TWENTY blocks to catch the train (hmmm….I think the theme of the weekend was “trying to catch a train!”) and JUST made it with about two minutes to spare. It’s not that we HAD to be on a certain train but they only run out of Penn Station south about once an hour and we didn’t want to wait a whole extra hour for the next one. We also could have taken the subway from the theater but we are both just stubborn enough that we thought “we can make it!” Guess that running I’ve been doing came in handy:)

We both feel like we got to see and do a LOT but there is SO much to see and do that we just scratched the surface! We hope to go back someday and take the kids when they are older. It is definitely a TOTALLY different world there; one that fascinates me but not somewhere I’d like to stay:)

It was wonderful to come home and see my precious children; it was SUPPOSED to be naptime but we’d been home maybe 5 minutes when Isaac came out of his room, threw himself into my arms and said “you bring present?” No really sweetie, don’t say you love me or tell me how much you missed me….it’s ok! THEN not a minute later Hannah comes out of her room and (I kid you not) the SAME scene was repeated by her! I laughed so hard:) They had been “prepped” by big sister that a present would be forthcoming:) Samuel stayed asleep for awhile (he’s my big napper) and didn’t seem to care about the present like the others did.

I am SO thankful for the precious time I got to spend with my sweet hubby….truly a weekend to remember!

Lazy 5 Ranch

One of my mom’s Christmas presents to her grandchildren was a trip together to Lazy 5 Ranch and we made our trip yesterday! What a neat place…it was my first time ever being there. It was great to be together: my mom, my whole family, Jason, Anna, and their kids, and Susan, Jack, and Nancy (Susan’s mom) all met there and spent about three hours. There was so much to see and do!

 

The first thing we did was pile in Susan’s car (ALL 14 of us!!) and drive through the ranch. This was the best part of the whole day as there were a TON of animals all roaming free and we had buckets of animal feed that they would come RIGHT UP to the car and eat out of our hands!! This thrilled some of the children….Isaac and Rebecca loved feeding them but Samuel and Hannah would have NONE of it!  All the kiddos loved seeing all the animals though!

I think every female pig in the place was “great with piglet”….all their bellies were HUGE!

I have NEVER seen a zebra up close like this….isn’t God creative? :)

 

The emus and ostriches were kind of aggressive…..they made me a litle nervous:)

After we ate a picnic lunch we let the kids play on the playground for a little while then went through the “petting zoo” part of the ranch.

 

 

The kids’ favorite part of this area was the baby goats….it was hard to get them to leave!

We finally left and then our big hurdle was to keep everyone awake for the 20 minute drive home:)

Thank you Bama! We had a WONDERFUL time! As a matter of fact, after breakfast this morning Isaac announced that he wanted to go “back to the ran-sh and see da aimals today” and was QUITE upset when I told him that wasn’t going to happen:)

Three!

Saturday (the 13th) my precious gifts from God, Hannah and Samuel, turned three! SO hard to believe that three years have gone by already. They are growing up so fast! We had a little family party for them on Saturday with my parents and brother and sister and families.

They enjoyed their cake....it DID taste good although that's all it had going for it, poor thing. It kinda fell apart as you can see from the picture:)

I very rarely get Samuel to actually cooperate with picture-taking.....oh well.

 

We are required by our adoption agency to send in an update with pictures each year on the twins' birthday so that their birthmom can get an update on them (if she chooses to do so); the following is taken from the letter I composed and just sent in:

  Hannah:

Precious Hannah….she is “all girl” all the way. She loves jewelry, dress up clothes, purses, and dolls. She is very verbal and speaks in full sentences now; we never have to wonder what she’s thinking or what she wants because she is sure to tell us! She is very loving and nurturing to her brothers and children smaller than her; she loves to “mother” them. Of course she is also quick to correct her brothers and often echoes me when I am correcting one of them…..she is truly a “little mama” J She has a great appetite and will eat most anything she is given. She is fully day time potty trained and is doing a great job most of the time with the occasional accident. She has had more trouble mastering the poopy part of the process but she’s getting there! She sleeps well at night in her big girl bed and takes a nap probably 2-3 times a week; the other days she ends up just playing quietly in her room at nap time and not actually sleeping. She has been diagnosed with asthma and it is usually well-controlled with one breathing treatment at night. She has more trouble when she gets a cold but so far we are able to manage her at home and she has never had to be in the hospital. Her hair has grown SO much and I am enjoying the process of learning how to fix it….it has been a learning experience for sure! Hannah can count to 10 (although not always in the right order J), tries to say her ABC’s, and knows a few of her colors. She is still our most outgoing child; I always like to say that “everyone loves Hannah and Hannah loves everyone”.

Samuel:

My sweet brown-eyed boy….when he smiles the whole room lights up! He is “all boy”….he loves to throw balls and he loves to play with cars. He is very rough and tumble and has to be reminded often to be gentle….but he also can be a sweet and loving little boy who loves to cuddle and be held. Being held has to be HIS idea, though….these days when I ask for a hug or a kiss he grins at me and runs the other directionJ But when he does stop long enough to be held and loved on I melt just a little! His speech has been somewhat delayed but we are working with a speech therapist and have seen quite a bit of progress already. He counts to five, tries to say his ABC’s, and knows a couple of colors. He has a pretty good appetite; I can count on him always eating a lot of breakfast and he always wakes up ready to eat right away! He still LOVES milk and will always drink his milk even if he doesn’t eat a whole lot at a meal. He loves, loves, loves the outdoors and would probably stay outside all day if I let him. He sleeps very well at night and usually takes about a 2 hour afternoon nap. He is not potty trained but we are planning on starting that very soon!

There are still times when I just stop and stare at them in awe that God has allowed us to be the parents of these precious children. We are blessed beyond belief and so grateful to you for choosing life for your babies and for allowing us to raise them up. We pray for them every day and our deepest desire is that they will grow up to love and serve the Lord with all their hearts and we will do all we can to help that to happen!

Happy birthday my precious Hannah and Samuel:)

 

Edited on August 30th 2010 to add:

 

The twins had their 3 year old checkup today (we got off schedule on that last year so now their checkups come in the middle of the year) and here are their three-and-a-half old stats:

 

Hannah: 38 lbs and 37.5 inches tall

 

Samuel: 33 lbs and 37.25 inches tall (I really don't believe this one since Samuel is obviously a bit taller than Hannah when they stand together)

when the kiddos are too sick to go out to the snow....

bring the snow in to them:) We had a massive (for us) storm this past weekend that dumped about 7 inches of snow on our area. Rebecca was able to get out in it with Dennis two afternoons but the littles have been sick with "the crud" and couldn't go out. We were all getting a bit stir-crazy on Saturday afternoon so I took some bowls outside, filled them up with snow, brought them back in to the kitchen table, and let them go for it! They had a blast:)

And of course my sweet hubby had to have his snow cream....yummy:) The kiddos enjoyed it as well. Hopefully the next time it snows we'll all get to go out and enjoy it!
 

I have never been more happy to "sign my life away"....

I cannot remember when I have last updated here about our epic battle to become homeowners again. I have no energy to go searching so here it is....the big news.....

We finally got our house!!!! It only took 4 1/2 months, lots of patience, and lots of prayer but we got it! All I have to say is that if anyone reading this ever looks to buy a house and finds out it is a "short sale" take my advice and RUN (don't walk) in the opposite direction!! Now let me clarify that we KNOW that this is the house that God wanted us to have and it has all worked out exactly how it was supposed to but it has definitely tested us! Dealing with a bank and not the seller was for the birds. The poor realtor that was helping the seller probably has a few more gray hairs as a result of this whole process....it has been a nightmare getting the bank to cooperate.

All that said, they finally DID cooperate, we got our loan approval, and we closed yesterday at 1:30pm. It was very surreal to be finally signing papers and getting those precious keys. We are SO, so excited and can't wait to get moved in. Dennis and Daddy will start painting on Monday (we are painting much of the house before we move in because let's face it, it ain't happenin' after we move in!) and we will hopefully get all the other little details in place so we can move our stuff in on Friday or Saturday. My mind is reeling with all of the changes and excitement to come this week.

I am also in awe of how amazing God is and how He knows exactly what we need and exactly when we need it even when we do not see it when we are in the middle of it. A few examples:

• We are eligible for the new homeowner's tax credit and had we gotten a house back when we wanted to we would not have gotten it b/c it was not in effect yet.
• We have been without a mortgage for 4 months now which has allowed us to save money that we will need for moving expenses and things we need for the new house.
• We thought we would close last Friday and move THIS weekend which in "hindsight" would not have worked because a) we have sick children and b) we have a massive snow/ice storm this weekend and it would have been impossible to move this weekend.
• we have been allowed a little more precious time with my parents: now that we are nearing the end of this long journey I am realizing just how precious this time has been and how much I'll miss having my mama right here and how much the kids are going to miss having Bama's lap readily available:)

I know there are other examples but I'm getting very tired and running out of steam. I'll leave you with a picture of our new home and I'll try to take more as we get moved in and settled.

Thank you, Jesus! Soli Deo Gloria.....to GOD alone be the glory!!

Children's Letters to God

You know that book, right? Well, we have a copy and Rebecca got a hold of it recently and took it upon herself to "answer" the children's questions in the book as if God were answering them. It was a hoot!Here are my favorites:

• Dear God, In Sunday School they told us what you do. Who does it when you go on vacation?
• Rebecca's answer: nobody I do not go on vacation!
• Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that ok?
• Rebecca: yes, that is ok.
• Dear God, did you really mean do unto others as they do unto you because if you did then I'm going to fix my brother.
• Rebecca: yes, but don't fix your brother he's just fine.
• Dear God, when you made the first man did he work as good as we do now?
• Rebecca: he worked in a garden that's all I can say.
• Dear God if we come back as something please don't let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate don't like (Rebecca crossed out the hate and wrote don't like) her.
• Rebecca: o stop! you should like everybody!
• Dear God, I keep waiting for spring but it never comes yet. Don't forget.
• Rebecca: of cors I won't forget Mark.
• Dear God, I think about you sometimes even when I'm not praying.
• Rebecca: I'm proud of you.

Then at the back on a blank page she wrote "Dear God, I love you very much Love Rebecca". Then she answered herself "I love you to Rebecca" :)

My other favorite part was when the child's letter was written in cursive she would write at the bottom "I don't understand you not even your name". She doesn't know how to read cursive yet:)

Her heart is so tender to God right now and I pray with all my heart that it will ALWAYS be so!

Gingerbread fun

 

Yesterday I took the girls to Susan's house to make gingerbread houses with some friends and family. We had a great time just hanging out and the kids enjoyed both eating the candy and decorating the houses:) I  got a bit frustrated trying to get Becca's house to stay together initially but it all worked out in the end!

  
Hannah had a gingerbread house but much preferred just eating the candy:)

The boys stayed home with Daddy and got to go with him on a little outing....it was nice having just the girls with me and they had a great time!   
 

Parade fun

Yesterday was our town's annual Christmas Parade. I have very fond memories of watching this parade growing up; the parade came right past our house so we would invite lots of friends and watch the parade right on our front lawn:) We decided to go and take the kids yesterday and really enjoyed it!

 

We were wondering if any of them would be scared of the loud noises but they all just took it in and seemed to enjoy it! It's a two hour long parade so the boys got a little restless and wanted to wander around but the endless supply of candy they consumed helped:) Dennis and I remember growing up having people throw candy off of floats and having to run for it but apparently now they just walk alongside the floats and hand it out! That's what happened yesterday anyway:)

Here's what happens when you are two and skip your nap to go to a parade:

It's only a 10 minute drive home but they were SO tired! Rebecca wasn't really asleep but wanted to pretend she was for the picture:) We let them sleep in the van for about 30 minutes....bless their hearts! 

Oh, I should probably explain why our son is in a pink carseat....that's actually Hannah's carseat but they like to switch seats sometimes and honestly it's just not a battle we chose to fight.....doesn't really matter:)
  

Kudzu: A Southern Musical

Dennis is getting a neat opportunity right now to be a part of something he loves: musical theater! We have a really good community theater group here and I had thought several times that Dennis might like to try out for a play. Through a neat series of events he found out about a part he thought he could play and got the part! He has been really busy with it for the last six weeks or so; practices Mon-Fri evenings and the past 10 days or so performances almost every day. He has had a BLAST and has done an awesome job with his part! He actually joined the cast a couple weeks into rehearsals but picked up all his lines and songs with no problem. He plays a sidekick of the main character and his character is named Nasal T Lardbottom (I know!) He is a really big guy who wants to play basketball but can't even jump much less shoot a ball! He wears a fat suit and everything. He even shaved all his facial hair and he looks so different!

I got to see the play twice and the second time Rebecca went along. She LOVED it! She got the biggest kick out of seeing her daddy up there.

   

After the play Rebecca and I got to go bowling with the cast and she was in heaven! She loved meeting all the other actors and hanging out with them and it was her first time bowling. She was a little hesitant at first but soon was going right on up when it was her turn. I kept trying to catch a shot of her actually rolling the ball but kept missing it. She thought she was big stuff staying up so late; we didn't get home until 11:30 that night!

If you want to see more pics here and here are links to our local paper's stories on it. He is gone right now to the final performance; it's bittersweet because I know he has had a blast and I am SO glad he got to be a part of it but I'm also glad to be getting my husband back:) I think he is hooked now....he is planning on trying out for another one in the spring!
  

Trunk or treat!

Our church had a "trunk or treat" tonight that we participated in and it was lots of fun! The forecast was for rain but we were SO blessed that the rain held off until after we were done. Here are some pics:

My boys: a dalmation and Tigger although Samuel would have NOTHING to do with the "head" part of the costume that actually made him look like Tigger....oh well! Even Isaac wouldn't keep it on for long.

Rebecca was a gypsy and Hannah a dog; although she too wanted nothing to do with the "head" part. Sigh. Hannah cracked me up b/c someone gave her a sucker and she went from person to person trying to get someone to "open it".....little stinker! I finally let her have it since she was trying to eat it THROUGH the paper:)

  

There was an indoor festival right next door so D and mom took the kiddos over for awhile (I was manning the trunk); from what I understand they all enjoyed this slide:)

Many, many thanks to mom who took the littles home when they had had "enough" so we could stay and continue giving out candy!

   

Don't laugh at our trunk.....I am WAY too left-brained to be very creative but this is what I came up with:) I figured it was appropriate since our house feels like a "zoo" many days!