Abigail's Trees

Most people, if they get to know me, will find out pretty soon that I am passionate and come from a family that is passionate about adoption. Being adopted myself, and experiencing the joy of being adopted into the body of Christ, has given us the desire to adopt one day ourselves.

Well, my sister is in the process right now, and is adopting through Ethiopia. They are on a waiting list and need to raise the last bit of funds necessary.

You can help this holiday season! If you're getting a Christmas tree, get a great tree from them, and support bringing home our future niece and cousin, Abigail!

Visit their blog and get all the details.

My Bah-boo

This past weekend we took my grandmother out to lunch at Red Robin, and the kids got to pick out a balloon after our meal.

Norah was proud of her red one, and Haddon chose a green one. We walked out to the car and just as we were nearing it, away flew Haddon's wonderful green balloon into the grey sky!

"My bah-boo!" he exclaimed. He wasn't upset, just surprised. We started the process of buckling in the children, and suddenly Casey appeared with another green balloon.

He explained that a little girl entering the restaurant saw Haddon lose his balloon, went in and picked out a new green one for him. Her mother looked proud.

I would have been too. It was very sweet, and it was a sweet blessing to our family- especially Haddon.

Too bad there wasn't another philanthropic little girl around later that day when a gust of wind took away Norah's balloon out of the car...

Candyland

Norah surprises me sometimes with revealing her vocabulary. While we were playing Candyland, I drew the ice cream cone. It was at the beginning of the game, and anyone who it familiar with Candyland knows that the ice cream cone is the best "treat" card to draw because it moves you the furthest. Well, when I did, Norah exclaimed, "Wow! That's incredible!"

November 2nd

Today marks a bit of a milestone for our family. We have officially been Oregon residents for one year. It was a year ago that we were all packed up in a mostly empty house, took the kids to Mesa Mall and then to the airport to pick up their grandparents. Yesterday marked a long day of travel, and today was our arrival day- to begin a new chapter.

When we think about where we were a year ago, it's amazing to see God's provision and strength that he has given us. We are blessed by the healing he has provided as well.

We are also keenly aware of the plans that we have had, but how those plans have not been the Lord's. God's plan is always perfect, always better, and always for the best for those who are His.

So, although today is a day just like any other in many ways, in other ways, it is a day that we can praise the Lord for his perfect goodness this last year, through every tear, frustration, heartache, and joy.

Thumbs Up!

Hurray for Norah!

Norah has officially stopped sucking her thumb. And we celebrated by having Grandma and Grandpa Lute over for dinner. We gave Norah a gift, and of course, Grandma brought something over too.

This is a big deal for our litle girl, and we hope that she realizes how proud we are of her for gaining self-control in this area!

Carving Pumpkins

Before the mess:




Scooping out a mess:


Carving up a mess:



Why it's worth the mess:

Preschool has begun

Well, after meeting with folks and getting Haddon evaluated, we came up with a plan for helping our little guy catch up both linguistically and cognitively. Part of that plan is registering him in a preschool. The advantages and disadvantages of a specialized preschool and regular preschool were discussed, and we decided (Casey, myself, and two case workers), that specialized might be the route.

So, I visited the preschool that had an opening, and asked the questions that I had for the teacher. Casey and I also felt that since Haddon would be in something, that we should enroll Norah as well.

Haddon's plan is that he will go to preschool twice a week, and have speech therapy at his school twice a month. If we choose, we may look into additional speech, but that would be at a cost to us. Additionally, we are having Norah attend the same preschool as a "typical peer," meaning that she will set the example for the others in the school. She's only going once a week. I think this will be a good chance for her to have one-on-one time with me once a week, and expand her horizons a bit outside the home.

I will tell you though, that their first day was harder on me than them! After dropping my babies off, I held back a couple tears as my heart was full, letting them go-even for a short time!

Here they are on their first day...