Small Things Make Me Happy

The big yellow truck came today.

I caved.

I bought those decadent chocolate inside, chocolate outside bars.

Then I really caved.

I gave the little boys their own whole bar.

Mostly because they ate a great dinner.

Trey said, "Good chicken."

We smiled. It was fish.

Okay, everyone outside.

We were waiting for someone to come home.

Sweetness and silliness go hand in hand.






It was good, very good...

Whose Problem Is It?

The elbow.

It has mystified me for over four and a half years.

Three meals a day times 365 days a year times four years.

That's how many times I have "asked" to have this elbow taken off the table.

Or so it seems.

Asked. Requested. Wheedled. Begged. Pushed. Other not so proud moments.

Is it developmental delay? RAD? Defiance? OCD?

Does it need to be labeled?

The still small voice has convicted me lately about whose problem this really is.

I've done what I can do. The seeds have been planted and watered.

I need to grow up and let it go.

I'm not going to win in the short term.

God's not interested in the short term.

Here is a post from Uganda that helped me to get a grip.

And here is another post from Uganda that wrestled me to the ground.

Still learning. I hope I never stop.

I'll let you know what happens to the elbow, someday...

A Day in the Life

Today was a rather low key day, I thought.

The weather was gray and rainy. The kids went out to dodge raindrops at one point. They had to go. I needed them to go. They went.

Herded four students through math and grammar.

Took play dough out of the mouths of babes.

Washed six loads of laundry including bedding of one very wet child.

Laid on the couch for awhile this afternoon.

Erik made a delicious breakfast: french toast and sausage.
Lunch consisted of cornbread by Erika and beans and franks by Kloey.
Dinner was sloppy joes because people arrived in shifts.

It was a slow day until....

Who needs Lincoln Logs when you have carrot sticks.

This is an elbow. It deserves a post of its own.

Two very cute sisters can't be beat.

Cute, cuter, cutest.

Perfecting the fish face.

Here is the creator of the carrot sculpture eating the evidence.

Frantic voices from around the corner, "Mom, you gotta come see."
One look told me the camera had some work to do.
They thought this up on their own.

When you have creative big sisters, co-toileting turns into Karate Kids.

Hi-ya!

Deteriorating further: these boys will never live this stuff down.
Gypsy mama?

Often I wish for a blog sound recorder.
The laughter accompanying the after dinner antics was of great benefit.
Smiles, laughter, hootin' and hollerin'.
Good medicine.

Orphans and Widows

James 1:27

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Tucked my "orphans" into bed and spent an hour on the phone with a widow.

This is where it's at people.

Doing love.

Bumper Bellies

When you get tired of kicking the soccer ball around, it has to go somewhere.
They thought this up all on their own.

Can't see his toes.

About to birth?

Bustin' bumper bellies = Serious fun!

They crack me up.

I hope they will always be best friends.
I thank God every day that they have each other.

Who Needs TV?

What happens when a two year old gets into a drawer that he shouldn't?

He grabs a roll of contact paper and gets creative with his sister, of course.

I'll talk and you listen.

What a smile! Cora loves to play.

She is a great sport when it comes to playing with the little ones.

I love it when the kids get creative with what they can find.

Gotta Love That Face

I think she liked the prunes.

Smiling From the Inside Out

It's happening.
It has taken a long time.
We've been waiting almost 5 years.
Liken it to a butterfly before it emerges from its cocoon,
or an onion that gets peeled one layer at a time.


She is smiling from the inside out.

A real smile is emerging that lets us in.
We can see her heart.
We knew it was there, but it was so hard to reach.

When you have lost everything you ever knew....
more than once....
when your story is more than you can bear....
it is hard to be happy, to trust, to love.

Real beauty comes from within.

Short Got Shorter

Along with shoes, hair goes a few weeks longer than it should. Sometimes, I just get motivated and do it all at once. This guy gets "Andy Rooney" eyebrows. When he is getting poked in the eyeball, it's time!

After! He likes short.

Wow! He has needed a haircut for awhile. It is still growing in from his babyhood. I am good at buzz cuts, the all one length style. This hair means I have to expand my horizons and take a few risks. Hair grows, right?

Wild man is an under exaggeration.

Bangs are a little long.

Half done. Bribery with sugary things. Hang in there little buddy.

Wild thing transforms to little man.

This is the before. AND this is the after.

All I was allowed to touch was the extra hair growing on the neck.
I consider myself lucky to have gotten that much.

Forgot the before. Trust me, this is better.
The worst part is the combing.
It hurts, even with lots of hair products.
Tight curls but beautiful hair.

I used three different clipper lengths and a little experimentation.
Goodbye afro, hello snazzy man.

Are They All Yours? OR A Day Out

What a day we had! We (myself and the seven youngest) left home about 9:00 am. Okay, it was 9:14 and we had to make two detours before we even got on the road. We were on our way to the orthodontist for Cora's appointment. "Cora, where is your retainer?", says Mom. "Oh, at church," says Cora. "Why.....?" says Mom. Some things are unexplainable. So after a stop at church for the blessed retainer and another pit stop for gas, we were on our way down the highway.

First stop, orthodontist for one and dentist times three. Trey got to sit up in the big chair for the first time to have those pearly whites counted up, 20 beautiful ivories. He sat for the whole megillah. He got 'em scraped, brushed, and painted with fluoride. He was a cool dude with the shades and a very brave boy. I was so proud of him.

Love, love, love this pediatric dentist office.
They took all three kids at the same time!

Cora is smiling big. She got an a-plus at the dentist.
Not so good at the ortho.
If the retainer doesn't live at home, it can't do its job.

The peanut gallery, practicing their patient skills.
Soon enough it will be their turn.
"How many kids do you have?"

Kloey got all cleaned up too!

After the dentist we went shopping. Oh yes we did, all eight of us.

First off, BJ's warehouse (like Costco). Baby in the Ergo. Micah and Trey in the cart until some altercation where biting occurred which required a two cart plan. Lots of staples were purchased

Then on to Joanne's Fabrics where the girls got to buy beautiful sewing baskets to begin their year of sewing exploration.

Needed to pop into Lenscrafters for an adjustment on my glasses.

Sears is around the corner so we ran in for some vacuum bags and a part that was broken.

Tired yet?

Walmart is down the road so we unloaded and trouped in to get jeans for the girls. They were basically down to a few pairs of shorts and the weather is starting to get cooler. We walked out with pants for the girls and unfortunately a bunch of other stuff like socks and a cute $2 outfit for Rosy. Who could resist?

Who's hungry? We met Lindsey at a seafood restaurant and had lunch around 1:00pm. It's been a long morning but the kids were wonderful. An older woman stopped by our table and remarked at how nice it was to see such well behaved children, a real pleasure.

But there were a few antics at the table.

After we finished lunch, we followed Lindsey to her university to check out her cows and her apartment, in that order. We loved the tour and got to see the milking parlor in full swing. Micah screamed bloody murder when a cow tried to lick him. He might not have the farmer gene.

We took Lindsey to the Dairy Bar and treated ourselves to ice cream cones since we still had a ways to go.

Bye Lindsey. Love you. Miss you until Friday.

We went up the road a few miles and left a napkin note in my brother's door since he had the nerve to not be home. (Over an hour from home so we don't often stop by unannounced.)

Next stop was Payless for shoes. This is my personal downfall in the large family department. I do find it difficult to keep everyone in shoes. They walk in with a size 3 shoe on and then walk out with size 6? How does that happen? We struck out at Payless.

You know what that means? Back to another Walmart. Oh yes. A second Walmart visit in one day. We bought 4 pairs of shoes and a bunch of other stuff that we apparently missed on the first stop at Walmart. An angel encounter made it all worthwhile when a woman asked me if all these children were mine. I affirmed her hunch. She said, "God bless you." I said, "He certainly has."

Okay, we are going home now. Another hour in the car. No wait, I've got to stop at Rite-Aid for those twist up crayons that I searched for all day.

Home at 7:15pm for hamburgers and baked beans.

I don't know where I got all that energy but if felt good to get it all done in one day. The kids rolled with the day and we enjoyed our time together in the big city.

Maybe we ought to go out everyday?