Happy Birthday, Levi!

We had a family dinner for Levi's second birthday on Sunday night. We're so blessed to have him. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months...it seems like he's been here so much longer. Maybe it's just that there was a hole in our home and hearts saved out just for him this whole time. We're so thankful that he's here, filling that spot that only he can fill!

Cousin Brielle and Auntie Julie havin' a good time!

Uncle Chad claims the seat closest to the cake. We're watching you, fella.

Nana and Solly

Levi, Mommy &Kai-Kai

Brothers deliver the stash.

"My favorite - hats and trucks!"

Happy birthday, Mr. Bup!

Finally (almost) Done!!

We finally got our counters in! Although we (and by "we", I mean "Micah") still have some trim work to do, the kitchen is fully-functional and much more conducive to larger-family life than before. Micah has decided to build a breakfast nook in the corner (in the bottom right of the picture). That way we'll keep the open space we like.

The boys were such a big help during the process :)


These are Solomon & Malachi's desks, although it's also where they prefer to eat. I'm really thankful that Micah let me claim this wall for homeschooling.

A Late Announcement...

Introducing Bryonia Shalom!

(Let it be known that I've held off on the announcement until her family was sure that her name would "stick".)

Zion, Cayman and Ava got to stay with us for a few days while their Mommy was busy bringing their sister into the world. After a long and difficult labor, we got the call that Baby was here! We loaded up and headed for the hospital to take a peek...

Welcome to being the youngest of 6, little one - hee hee!

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That was in late November, and here she is at her brother's party on Sunday. Look how much she looks like the birthday boy!

Bryonia:

Cayman:

Happy Birthday, Cayman!

Malachi's best friend, Cayman had his birthday party on Sunday. It was a Noah's Ark costume party. It was just so cute! Solomon went as a dinosaur, Malachi went as a giraffe and Levi went as a zebra. They ditched their masks very soon into the party, though.

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Cayman and his brothers also had lots of costumes to share, so there was much trying on of different animals. Malachi was forced into chicken garb and photographed by an excited Mommy. and Levi made an adorable albeit apprehensive "KidyCa".

The baby goat, Honey, came in for a visit and a quick snack. Levi wasn't so sure that he wanted to give the Baba to her. It seemed a tease, as he just kicked the Baba habit recently.

"Kissin' kids!" (Mommy went as a kitty...)

There was a bouncy tent - check out Malachi getting some major air!

We stayed until after dinner and, as usual, everybody was asleep 5 minutes after we got into the van to head home. What a fun day!

CupCake Cones

Today we brought Cupcake Cones to Science class for Levi's birthday! I did bring my camera to catch cute shots of him and his friends in the pre-school class enjoying their treats...but 6 eager toddlers plus a full can of Ready Whip equals a Mommy too preoccupied to play photographer. So, here are some cute shots of Levi enjoying one of his cones after dinner.

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They ended up being really simple and the kiddos loved them. You just fill the cones half full of cake batter and bake them. Then you frost them and they look like ice cream cones. We used Ready whip instead of icing so we could spray it on right at class (and there's less sugar). That way we saved having to transport sticky cones and get frosting all over the car. We also dusted the tops with sprinkles. They turned out really cute!

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Next up is his birthday party on Friday, but before that we have his 2 year portrait session on Monday. I hope to get at least one decent picture of my 3 sons together. It seems in every picture I take, one or another of them inevitably has a funny/silly/gross/stupid look on his face. The other 2 always look great. Sigh. We shall see...

It's the real him

Today we had a full afternoon of yard work that left us cold and longing for a bath and our jammies. My oldest sons are very much tea connoisseurs and we all agreed that a warm cup of peppermint sounded great. I had never offered tea to Levi, figuring that we would prefer his milk. Tonight he saw me pour his brothers a steaming cup and wanted a go at it. He took one sip, looked at me in shock, then proceeded to scold his sippy cup fiercely,

"No, no! No, no, no, Baba!" (we've finally convinced him that his sippy cup is really the same thing as his baba and managed to ditch the bottles. He still calls them 'Baba', though).

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Sol, Kai and I got a major case of the giggles as he continued to shake his finger at his cup and berate it unmercifully for this piece of evil sorcery that morphed his milk.

He later gave it another shot. After all, brothers weren't keeling over dead, it must be OK. He began to take more sips while eyeing Solomon and Malachi and getting some brotherly encouragement in return. I snuck off to get my camera and took this picture. I just love it.

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Just above it is the picture of the three of them on Levi's first day home with us. I think the 2 pics really represent the difference we've seen in our new little guy as the weeks pass, like in the first picture he's sitting nicely at the table, picture #2? Well, that's the real him. I also put the pic of him the first day home, and tonight. That reserved little smile is saved for strangers now. We rarely see it. We get the real him. How cool is that.

Then:

Now:

Then:

Now:

The Birthday Gift

As I'm standing there in the kitchen doing the lunch dishes, my littlest son enters the room. I notice a slight odor as he approaches me at the sink. I look down to see Levi looking at me with those eyebrows raised as far as they'll go. He raises both hands to give me what he's holding ... in one little hand a diaper, in the other a can of aerosol air freshener.
Hmmmmm. Maybe it's time we work on potty training? I mean, if the kid knows to bring you a diaper and that you'll also require the Oust....yeah. He's getting underpants for his birthday.

The ever-elusive Committee...

Seeing as this is the original Committee date for the 2 boys we were chosen for a while back, I thought I'd update y'all as to why I'm not sipping peppermint tea and wringing my hands. The boys' case took a weird turn (this should be our adoptive journey's motto - Sheesh!) and the boys are to be split up. Only the older of the 2 is going to Committee today and will be adopted but will have court-mandated visitation with his little brother who is staying in foster care. I will say no more about the case but suffice it to say that we weren't comfortable with the way the whole situation concluded and the plan that was settled on by the powers that be.
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As for little Michael, it was discovered that he has Native American heritage. The tribe can now get involved in his case and things have come to a bit of a halt. It's usually mandated by the tribe that Native American children are placed into home congruent with their culture/ethnicity. So, Michael is a closed door for us.
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New news? We've been chosen to go to Committee for a darling (and I mean DARLING, folks) sib group we call The Dream Team. It's a 3 year-old girl, 17 month old girl and 5 month old boy. Hopefully things won't go screwy and they will go to Committee as planned (just once would be nice, eh?) and we'll have a fair shot at winning. We have not received a date as of yet, but as always, I'll keep you posted.

Christmas 2007

Pre-Christmas Chaos

In the few days spent before Christmas, baby's transition graduated to the "Let's see if they still love me when I'm a stinker" stage. Rules were tested to prove their steadfastness (they held true), limits were pushed and pressed to confirm their position (they remained) and naughty of all sorts was performed, all with eyes looking right at Mommy to gauge her reaction and see her response (a bit hard not to smile at those big mischivious brown eyes!). Teeth were used as weapons and only abated when a brother decided enough was enough and retaliated in kind. He seemed shocked that his brother had had enough and finally bit back!

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Hand-washing and getting strapped into the car seat was met with flying fists and a hollers. I know that his age has a share of the blame, but that coupled with a sudden, major move and new family left my little son struggling for control. He's beginning to settle in now, though, and we're seeing more of those gorgeous smiles as he becomes secure in his world. I know these days will come and go and that the trick with him is to not give an inch. It's so hard to put him in the corner when he's already upset and I remember all he's gone through, but I have to teach him that he can relax inside his safe boundaries. When I do, we're all happy.

That having been said, I'm just so incredibly lucky that he's here with us. Most of the time he's such a sweet and loving little guy. And the rest of the time? Well, he is almost 2 after all!

Bath time is one of their favorite times!
Daddy playing some x-box with his boys after a long day at work.
I don't know why I like this picture. I just do. After I set out their clothes for the day I stepped back and looked at them. Then I took a picture. It just makes my Mommy's heart happy.
Here's my beautiful little boy. Nana bought him this hoodie that's made out of the same type of material as his blankie. He's very bonded to his blankie and it was one of the few things that came with him from his previous home. He wears his blankie coat everywhere and it seems to soothe him.

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Christmas pics to come!

A Little Christmas Miracle

On a cold night about 4 years ago a pregnant Mama kitten was chucked from a car going 55 mph down Cordon Road. The family living nearest to where the kitty landed heard the "thud" and ran out to see what was going on. There lay the Mama cat, stunned and hurt. The family wrapped up the poor thing and brought her inside. Luckily her injuries weren't life threatening and no bones were broken.

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2 weeks later she gave birth to a littler of fluffy tabby kittens, all who were healthy and undamaged. They were avaeage-looking kittens but there was 1 who was special. After the family placed an ad in the paper I took my 2 small sons, just 18 months and 3 months old, to see the kittens. They were to be sold and the profit was to be used to spay Mama cat who had won a place in her new family's home and hearts. Little Solomon toddled over to the kennel and plucked out a kitten by it's tail. The kitten squealed and Sol dropped him in surprise. Determined to hold one of the squirmy fuzz-balls, he reached back in and found another tail. This kitten didn't mind and as a matter of fact, purred profusely at the attention it was receiving. While his Mommy chatted, Solomon drug that poor kitten all over the yard. The kitten was so forgiving and never used his claws on my baby's skin. We brought the kitty home in a laundry basket held by Solomon and named him Furgus.

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As you all may remember about 9 months ago Furgus mysteriously disappeared. It was a hard blow to our little boys. They had all been babies together. Furgus was so kind to them and always willing to chase string or cuddle up with a boy while he sucked his thumb. For the last 9 months one or the other of my boys would pray, "for Furgus to please come back home". Just last week I gently prompted my sons to move on. I wanted them to retire the prayer request because I felt it was best if they let go and stopped dredging up the pain for themselves. After all, there was no way the cat would be coming back.

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Oh, me of little faith! 2 nights ago we got a call from the Humane Society. A lady had found our cat near Silver Creek Falls in Silverton, 15 miles away. How he got there? No idea. What he's been doing all this time? Not a clue.

All we know is that he's home. And the persistence and faith of a child can cause miracles.

Merry Christmas, Furgus!

"So, how's he settling in?"

Baby continues to do really well over here.

Night time is less traumatic and he's now laying down with only a few wimpers that a back rub and soothing words will relieve. He's eating more conguently to his age and taking only 2 bottles per day. I'm almost certain that the previous placement layed him down with milk bottles which was part of our difficulty getting him to sleep. He didn't know what to do with food and had no interest in it. We were able to get him to try the Gerber cereal poofs that dissolve quickly in the mouth and once he grew accustomed to them he was more willing to try other things. Now he'll eat soft food and today was the first time I got him to eat an apple slice.

Everything is new so it's fun to watch his reactions to things like cookies and grapes! He's learning words daily and we're all learning more basic sign language.

He's just learning more every day!

Shaggy, Blondie, Curly and Spikey:

We've decided that we'll be calling our new baby Levi. Levi is a Hebrew name which means, "joined in harmony". He definitely has joined us in harmony. Except for at bedtime. There's very little harmony involved for Levi at bedtime. But, at all other times it fits very well, indeed! Here he is with his brothers and his little cousin, Brielle.

Welcome home, little son!

All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth

This is my poor son today. He's still exhausted but sporting a (swollen) smile even though he had a horrible day yesterday. He was running around at Nana's house with Solomon as I was searching for the boys' old crib for the baby. All of a sudden there was a big "THUD" and a blood-chilling scream. I ran in to see my son's mouth gushing blood. I scurried in to get paper towels and call Micah to run over. As we opened his mouth we saw that we needed to get to the hospital immediately. Malachi had a gaping hole through his tongue and his right front tooth was MIA. It also looked like the left front tooth had broken off. He was gagging and choking on blood and screaming.

We rushed to Silverton Hospital and they saw us right away just like always (take note, those of you who go to the Salem ER). They released him later on with narcotic pain killers, slightly less bleeding and directions to go to the pediatric dentist for X-rays first thing next morning.

So, today we found out that his teeth didn't break off but were shoved back up into his jaw ( Shutter). No surgery will be needed and his jaw looks OK. His tongue will have scarring and we were given instructions of watch for symptoms of infection and keep his intake limited to cool soft food for a while (the kid deserves a few heaping bowls of ice cream anyway). As for the teeth, they expect them to descend back down to where they were all on their own but can't say exactly when.

It's amazing how quickly accidents happen. We're thanking God that he's OK today and praising Him for our wonderful little son.

Introducing.....

Our new foster/adoptive son! The State called at 8am to inquire if we interested in a permanent placement. Today. We picked him up at 4pm and he's now running around with Solomon and Malachi just like they've been brothers all along.

Isn't he just so beautiful? You should hear his laugh.

I'll not go into the specifics of his case but it looks like this little guy isn't going anywhere. The State has said that he'll stay with us and we'll move into a current care-taker adoption.

This is going to be my new problem - getting a decent picture of all 3 of them simultaneously.

PS - Name to be announced (now where did I put The List...)

Headlines, anyone?

As always, these are yanked from Jay Leno. Thanks, Jay!

"Yum."

I wonder how many folks actually responded to this ad?

Who else would pay $20 to hear this message?

Bureaucracy and irony! Who could ask for more?

And a couple of choice wedding announcements:

What better way?

Well, you gotta feed those little beasts!

Oh, this is too good. Check out the quote from the older brother!

It's good to see that someone's finally stepping up and taking care of the underprivileged population.

....and my favorite for the day:

Her name is actually Chick. Hilarious.