Norah and I made the best snowman we could. I told you there wasn't much snow:
Here's a close-up:
Here's a cute one of Haddon before we went for a walk:
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Snow Day (sort of)
So it snowed yesterday. We hardly got any out here (some areas nearby got a lot more), but the kids went outside anyway.
Norah and I made the best snowman we could. I told you there wasn't much snow:
Here's a close-up:
Here's a cute one of Haddon before we went for a walk:
Norah and I made the best snowman we could. I told you there wasn't much snow:
Here's a close-up:
Here's a cute one of Haddon before we went for a walk:
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tree Trimming
This last weekend we bought a Christmas tree (Do you like it? You can get one too; just click here) and decorated it. Here are some pictures, not exactly in chronological order, for your viewing pleasure.
Here's the finished product when the kids got done with it (Kelly went back and rearranged it a bit better later that night):
This is my own tree decorating tradition. My OSU Beaver ornaments get top billing, just beneath the star, until the Civil War football game is played. If the Beavers win, they stay there. If they lose (especially if they lose embarrassingly, like last year), they get relegated to a more shameful location, closer to the back and further down:
Here's Norah in a cute picture. It's too bad about the funny light coming from the blinds:
I think this one really shows how pretty Norah is:
This is Norah holding her first Christmas ornament. It actually says "Granddaughter's first Christmas." My parents got it for her when she was a baby:
This is Haddon's first Christmas ornament. Some day we'll actually get his baby picture put into it. He's three now:
This is a good one of Haddon carefully decorating. It is a good contrast to the horrific events of this morning, when he ripped an angel ornament from the tree and decapitated it:
(Oh, and if you click on that and make it larger you can see a clothespin reindeer ornament in the box in the background. I made that in Kindergarten.)
By the way, Haddon chose to forgo pants while taking part in the tree decorating:
That's all for now. Go Beavers to all, and to all a good night.
Here's the finished product when the kids got done with it (Kelly went back and rearranged it a bit better later that night):
This is my own tree decorating tradition. My OSU Beaver ornaments get top billing, just beneath the star, until the Civil War football game is played. If the Beavers win, they stay there. If they lose (especially if they lose embarrassingly, like last year), they get relegated to a more shameful location, closer to the back and further down:
Here's Norah in a cute picture. It's too bad about the funny light coming from the blinds:
I think this one really shows how pretty Norah is:
This is Norah holding her first Christmas ornament. It actually says "Granddaughter's first Christmas." My parents got it for her when she was a baby:
This is Haddon's first Christmas ornament. Some day we'll actually get his baby picture put into it. He's three now:
This is a good one of Haddon carefully decorating. It is a good contrast to the horrific events of this morning, when he ripped an angel ornament from the tree and decapitated it:
(Oh, and if you click on that and make it larger you can see a clothespin reindeer ornament in the box in the background. I made that in Kindergarten.)By the way, Haddon chose to forgo pants while taking part in the tree decorating:
That's all for now. Go Beavers to all, and to all a good night.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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...
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...
Monday, November 23, 2009
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!"
Monday, November 2, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, October 26, 2009
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!
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 up a 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...
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...
Saturday, October 17, 2009
How to Build a Fairy House
Norah got some inspiration here. And she just couldn't wait to get outside and build her first fairy house.
There are rules though:
Nothing artificial can be used.
And you cannot hurt or disturb nature...
There are rules though:
Nothing artificial can be used.
And you cannot hurt or disturb nature...
Insipred? I hope so.
Mischief
... is his middle name...
unrolling toilet paper is his game....
unrolling toilet paper is his game....
Oh Haddon! For shame! For shame!!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Getting It
Read a story here.
I have some things to get up on our family blog here, but I have to actually take the time to upload some pictures and post and stuff.
In the meantime, you can read about Norah understanding more and more what sin is. May this knowledge draw her closer and closer to repentance and forgiveness at the feet of Jesus!
I have some things to get up on our family blog here, but I have to actually take the time to upload some pictures and post and stuff.
In the meantime, you can read about Norah understanding more and more what sin is. May this knowledge draw her closer and closer to repentance and forgiveness at the feet of Jesus!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Evaluating Haddon
For a while I felt bad that I wasn't getting Haddon into speech therapy immediately after moving to Oregon, but now I'm glad that I did. I mean, I would rather he hadn't any interruption in the speech so that he could be further than he is now, but I think the process would have been overwhelming to me.
But now we are getting him into it, and since he had his third birthday, he needs evaluating.
There have been concerns with Haddon, especially figuring out what he understands and what he doesn't. If he doesn't understand a command or a standard that he has to be held to, then he can't be expected to obey it until he does. Does that make sense? Nonetheless, there have been times in which we have needed to require certain behavior, and he seems to get overwhelmed. An average three-year-old would understand, but we were finding it seemed more difficult for Haddon. Above that, he just isn't communicating as he should- yet.
So, after an initial screening, it was determined that he would have to do an extensive evaluation, and it would take about 2 hours. Well, the appointment was yesterday, and it was intimidating but good. I was intimidated because these days children are, unfortunately, labeled very quickly and easily. I didn't want our son labeled as something that he may not be just so that the powers at be could proceed with some sort of plan that may or may not meet his individual needs. I was nervous that they would not see our son's gifts or understand how far he has come.
What was good was that no labeling with any disorder or anything was done. They simply did tests to see what Haddon was understanding was. He did better in a couple areas that I didn't expect- namely understanding the words "in", "out", "on", and "off". I haven't been sure if he understood those concepts, but he showed that he did. But for the most part, everything confirmed what we already knew about our son, and actually helped pinpoint some things that helps me understand where Haddon has room to grow.
He understands simple nouns like "ball", "baby", and "dog", but has a harder time either understanding or expressing that he knows what "running, "drinking" and "playing"- action words. We could tell because when he saw a picture of a dog, he would point and say, "doggy!" but looking at a page of children doing things and asked to identify the actions, he got overwhelmed and didn't want to answer- possibly that he couldn't.
So, he will have a plan set up to help him with cognitive understanding as well as verbal communication. Within a few weeks someone will call to set up a time when we can sit down and establish an education plan. If Haddon follows suit with what how he has responded in the past, I believe that he will catch up. He's a smart kiddo. I think that he processes things differently, and as parents and his first teachers, we need to identify how to best educate him and help him understand. I'm glad that we will be learning how to do that, and hopefully, be able to communicate that to grandparents, and other important people in his life.
Please be in prayer as we seek to do the best that we can for our son. I personally am so proud to be his mommy, and he is such a special and precious part of our family. I would not change one thing about him! Pray that we will be wise advocates on behalf of our son, able to help give a clear picture of where he is and what we see in him. And please be in prayer that the professionals working with our son will be the right person(s) to work with him with patience and love and understanding.
But now we are getting him into it, and since he had his third birthday, he needs evaluating.
There have been concerns with Haddon, especially figuring out what he understands and what he doesn't. If he doesn't understand a command or a standard that he has to be held to, then he can't be expected to obey it until he does. Does that make sense? Nonetheless, there have been times in which we have needed to require certain behavior, and he seems to get overwhelmed. An average three-year-old would understand, but we were finding it seemed more difficult for Haddon. Above that, he just isn't communicating as he should- yet.
So, after an initial screening, it was determined that he would have to do an extensive evaluation, and it would take about 2 hours. Well, the appointment was yesterday, and it was intimidating but good. I was intimidated because these days children are, unfortunately, labeled very quickly and easily. I didn't want our son labeled as something that he may not be just so that the powers at be could proceed with some sort of plan that may or may not meet his individual needs. I was nervous that they would not see our son's gifts or understand how far he has come.
What was good was that no labeling with any disorder or anything was done. They simply did tests to see what Haddon was understanding was. He did better in a couple areas that I didn't expect- namely understanding the words "in", "out", "on", and "off". I haven't been sure if he understood those concepts, but he showed that he did. But for the most part, everything confirmed what we already knew about our son, and actually helped pinpoint some things that helps me understand where Haddon has room to grow.
He understands simple nouns like "ball", "baby", and "dog", but has a harder time either understanding or expressing that he knows what "running, "drinking" and "playing"- action words. We could tell because when he saw a picture of a dog, he would point and say, "doggy!" but looking at a page of children doing things and asked to identify the actions, he got overwhelmed and didn't want to answer- possibly that he couldn't.
So, he will have a plan set up to help him with cognitive understanding as well as verbal communication. Within a few weeks someone will call to set up a time when we can sit down and establish an education plan. If Haddon follows suit with what how he has responded in the past, I believe that he will catch up. He's a smart kiddo. I think that he processes things differently, and as parents and his first teachers, we need to identify how to best educate him and help him understand. I'm glad that we will be learning how to do that, and hopefully, be able to communicate that to grandparents, and other important people in his life.
Please be in prayer as we seek to do the best that we can for our son. I personally am so proud to be his mommy, and he is such a special and precious part of our family. I would not change one thing about him! Pray that we will be wise advocates on behalf of our son, able to help give a clear picture of where he is and what we see in him. And please be in prayer that the professionals working with our son will be the right person(s) to work with him with patience and love and understanding.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Our Leftover Chili
So tonight I wanted to use up our leftover shredded pork. I had just had a pulled pork bbq sandwich, and I didn't have any buns, so that was not going to happen. I came up with this combo, and it was very good. You can use pork or chicken.
"Leftover Chili"
choice of shredded meat: chicken or pork
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can diced green chiles
1 tsp. minced garlic
a couple handfuls of diced onion
chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to taste
Put it all in a big pot, and stir it all up. Simmer for 20 minutes and it's ready!
This was so easy, and it was really good!
"Leftover Chili"
choice of shredded meat: chicken or pork
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can diced green chiles
1 tsp. minced garlic
a couple handfuls of diced onion
chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to taste
Put it all in a big pot, and stir it all up. Simmer for 20 minutes and it's ready!
This was so easy, and it was really good!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Quote of the Week
The quote of the week comes from Norah:
*She had gone to the bathroom, and was wearing a long shirt. When she pulled it up to reveal her belly, she was genuinely surprised to find that she wasn't wearing pants.
*"Oh no! Where are my pants?!"
*She had gone to the bathroom, and was wearing a long shirt. When she pulled it up to reveal her belly, she was genuinely surprised to find that she wasn't wearing pants.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Splashing
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
A Growing Family
Don't get too excited from the title. We're not adding another HUMAN member to our family... just fish.
Casey took Norah out and they got some fish. Sadly we lost our strong fish Salt and Pepper. Salt passed away a while ago, but Pepper held on longer and perished while we were on vacation.
So let me introduce 4 new fish...
Yeah. Norah named them. We're working on a name for the mostly white one. We'll keep you posted.
Casey took Norah out and they got some fish. Sadly we lost our strong fish Salt and Pepper. Salt passed away a while ago, but Pepper held on longer and perished while we were on vacation.
So let me introduce 4 new fish...
From Left to Right:
"Blackorice" (pronounced like licorice), "Fishy-fish", "Orangey" (the orange one swimming away), and No Name.
Yeah. Norah named them. We're working on a name for the mostly white one. We'll keep you posted.
UPDATE: The mostly white fish with the deep orange spot on its head is named "Spot".
Brilliant, aren't we?
Men-i-Vans
On our way back from vacation at Eaglecrest, we stopped in Bend to visit Andy and Sara Purscelley. We got a visit, and so help me, the children played with Linus and Owen so wonderfully. They all got along, and it was a delight to just visit with adults knowing your kids are having fun.
Andy is very proud of his newly acquired minivan (as he should be!), and since we have the same model, and since men are proud to drive minivans, these former college roommates had to pose for a few shots.
"T & C"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)