Graham

I have been such a terrible blogger! We have just been so busy this summer!

Last month we received a referral for a 14 month old little boy! His medical issues appear to be mild. He seems to be doing well considering his rough start, and he is participating in a great program which should help him bond more readily with us once he is home.

He's just beautiful! Due to the fact that we are not supposed to share photos of him yet, I have placed a heart over his facial features. Trust me, though....he's a cutie!!!

We expect to travel in October if all of our paperwork moves smoothly. Please pray to this end! I am super-excited to meet him and welcome him home!

Since the kids are asleep, I thought I would preview Toy Story 3. My boys just love Buzz and Woody! However, I have to conclude, if I were a kid, I would think this movie is stinkin' horrifying.

It's one thing not to meet the handsome prince or to need to make it to the big race. It's completely another to be held against your will for almost the whole movie, and nearly burned alive for attempting to escape. Seriously! Poor Jessie looks at her little plastic hand as it is beginning to melt. Name calling and degrading language are used throughout the film. At times Disney will clothe such talk in a sing-song fashion. Even this attempt to mark fanciful pretend is missing. Obviously, my children will not be seeing this movie.

The goal of the villian in this film is to hurt other toys to save himself. To this end, the other toys are abused, manipulated, held against their will, and seen as altogether worthless. I hardly think that Disney/Pixar would portray such abuse of a character represented by a "person". Do they really think that kids won't identify with Buzz and Woody? Any little boy who has ever seen Toy Story wants to be Buzz or Woody as much as any little girl wants to be a Disney Princess. Can you imagine Cinderella (after being told she is an unloved, worthless, idiot) beginning to scream from painful burning sensations as she is overcome with the immense heat from the fire, only to be rescued just in time? I don't think so.

What is going on with kids movies? Really...Rio, a movie for kids about breeding containing all sorts of inappropriate sexual content? AAAAHHHHH!!!!!

John Isaac, sweet and sensitive as he is, cried the first time he saw "Tangled" because Mother Gothel was so mean. Mean, selfish behavior happens. It is necessary to some extent to identify the villain.

Torture/physical abuse, verbal degrading, and reproductive issues all exist in the real world too. I get that. I just don't understand why these themes are seen in movies, supposedly made for young children.

What We've Been Doing Lately...

We have been super-busy over the past couple of weeks!

John Isaac has taken up drumming.

He's really intense and very cute!

We recently visited Frankfort. Look at those sweet pink toes!!!

Those are some SERIOUSLY doting grandparents!

My baby likes Mercy too!

John Isaac and I attended a birthday party for my

dear friend, Sarah Beth. He had lots of fun playing

with the other boys and girls on the farm.

This is my sweet friend, and this is her sweet birthday cake.

Isn't it great!?!?!

We also visited Memaw and Papa.

The big boys had fun throwing ball with Papa.

Greggy was Memaw's helper shucking corn.

He was all in until he saw the "hair".

He was so funny.

He said, "we need scissors to cut that corn hair."

Once the corn was cleaned up a bit,

he was awfully proud.

Another Funny Mother's Day Video...

This past week was super busy!

We had much to celebrate and lots of fun as well!

The boys love to read books!

I can't wait...soon they'll be able to read books to us!

Memaw and Papa came to our home for a

visit this week. Greggy loves his Memaw!!!

I think it's because she ABSOLUTELY spoils him!

We celebrated "Adoption Day" this week!

As always, I became quite emotional and thoughtful

when considering the many children in Guatemala

who are unable to be adopted.

On Saturday, John took Greggy to the doughnut

shop, and he allowed Greg to make the selections.

He was so excited to report that he found

doughnuts with "spinkles"! I made

Zuppa Toscana later that day.

It was delicious!!!

We also went to Murray this weekend!

We were able to visit for a little while with Great Grandaddy

and Great Grandmother Murray. Later that evening,

we watched Kristen perform in "Mulan" at the

Playhouse in the Park. It was a great show!

Our whole family had a really wonderful time!

The photo above is of Lori, a friend of mine from my days at Murray State, with her husband Robby, son Cohen, and daughter Leah. They are the Wheeler family, and they are missionaries in Guatemala City, Guatemala. After adopting their son, Cohen, from Guatemala, they recently moved there to serve the people of Guatemala in a number of ways.

I understand that their primary role is to minister to the girls who live at Mimi's House. Each of the girls in the photo above live there, and they are all orphans. Aren't they beautiful!

In addition, I know that they have been working toward providing clean drinking water for communities of people and they volunteer at Casa Jackson, a care facility for malnourished infants and children. Malnourishment is widespread.

This is Alison. She is so tiny.

This little one is Alberto.

If I am reading Lori's blog correctly,

this is a little one whose mother died in child birth.

This is Zoya.

This sweet one is Pedro.

This is a sibling group that lives in Tecpan.

The team that Lori and Robby serve with brings

food and other supplies to widows

and their children who live in this area.

Needless to say, my heart is heavy. I am so thankful for the work that the Wheelers and others are doing in Guatemala to help these beautiful children. Those of us living here can commit to pray for them, and, perhaps, support this important work with our finances.

Tomorrow our family will celebrate Happy Adoption Day for the fifth time. I am unable to sum up in this post alone all that means to me. However, I will list several things I think about on such an occasion:

1.

I praise the Lord that John Isaac's

first mother chose life for our son!

2.

I thank God that our hearts were

steered toward adoption.

3.

I thank God for the fact that John Isaac has

a mommy and a daddy, and that we have him!

4.

I thank God for the ways that He has allowed John Isaac

to grow and develop in spite of neurological issues.

5.

I praise God that my sons have one another

and the richness their relationships will add to their lives.

6.

I thank God for my own adoption as His child,

and I pray for my children to know and love Him as well.

7.

I pray for John Isaac's birthmother and siblings

and for grace for us all on the day when

he will want to meet them.

8.

I thank God for the ways that motherhood

has changed me. I am a better person for loving

and caring for each of my children.

9.

I think about and pray for the orphans

who remain in Guatemala.

10.

My heart aches in ways that I can't explain

when I think that my son might have been one of them

...but for the grace of God.

This past week was Spring Break! We stayed home for the first half of the week, and we visited Atlanta for the last part.

While we were at home, John Isaac and Jeffery met
for play time with their friend, Clay, at Yellow Creek Park.

The boys had so much fun! They climbed, swung, slid, etc...

One thing that our boys did not want to miss in Atlanta
was a chance to ride on the train. Here, John and
the boys are purchasing our tickets.

Being the somewhat nervous and overprotective
mother that I am, I made the boys sit on a bench
while we waited on the platform. I don't think my
John Isaac was very happy about having to sit there.

I sat with them so that they would not be tempted to jump up.

My FAVORITE thing that we did in Atlanta was visit the Georgia Aquarium. It was wonderful! The kids loved it, and John and I found it very interesting as well. The photo above and the two shown below are pictures of a small portion of the Ocean Voyager exhibit. I was most amazed with the sting rays...they were HUGE! If you look carefully, you can see one swimming in the background on the left.

It was really crowded at the aquarium due to the fact that it was spring break. Greggy rode on his Daddy's shoulders due to the crowd. All of my boys were really amazed and interested in each of the animals that we saw.

There were many different types of sharks, fish, rays, star fish, and other aquatic life. The tanks were huge, and even with the crowd we were still able to see and experience much!




On Saturday, we attended the Braves game! It was my first time to visit Turner Stadium, and they had all sorts of things going on. The day was pleasant. If only the Braves could have played better.

What did my boys care about most?
Their foam fingers, of course!

On the way back, my Greggy fell asleep with his souvenirs.

We had a great time!

Spring Is Here

The Duplo blocks that Ronda sent home with us were

a big hit this week too! I love my John Isaac!

He has such a wonderful imagination.

On Tuesday, I took a few pictures of my niece, Olivia.

In the midst of her mini-session, she needed cuddles

from her momma. I love pictures like this one!

Sarah Beth, my dear friend, came over this week to discuss Thousand Hills business, and she took my photograph while she was here. Later in the evening, we met with a couple which will be getting married in August.

The reading curriculum I have chosen for the big boys came in last week. I have been reading through it as well as another book written about classical education. Friday was the date by which we were supposed to register the boys at Heritage for next year if we decided against homeschooling. We have officially made the decision to school at home for kindergarten.

Now, I have to get the boys registered at CC.

On Saturday, Gigi and Pop came to our house for lunch. Afterward, they played outside with the boys. To say that Greggy loves to swing would be a SERIOUS understatement! John Isaac, picked "flowers" for his momma while Jeffery and Pop played ball.

Later that afternoon, I took the boys to Yellow Creek Park to take some spring pictures. We stayed just a little while, and I was able to take some fun photos. One of them is posted with the heading for this blog.

I always love photos of my boys with their Daddy!

During Sunday School my boys made signs which read, "God is GREAT!" Greggy was so sad that he did not have a sign like the big boys, so Jeffery, very sweetly, handed Greggy his sign to play with. Overwhelmed with pride and joy at this kind act of big-brotherness, I decided that I would make Jeffery a sign. He has been asking me how to spell every word under the sun for about three weeks, and he REALLY likes street signs. I made him a STOP/GO sign so that he would have his own street sign.

That one is super-sweet sometimes!

An Interesting Solution

Problem:
Lately, I haven't had much time to blog. I have felt bad about it due to the fact that my reason for blogging was so that my boys, in their later years, would have a running "journal" of what was happening in our lives while they were growing up. Given that this was my goal, I've not done a very good job. :( I can comfort myself, however, with the knowledge that they are primarily the reason I am busy so much of the time.

Solution:
I have a dear friend who has recently become a mother of two who has started to blog a photo and caption each day. She's doing really well with it, and I love to see what is going on in the life of her family. As anyone who knows me knows, I love to take photos. I have lots pictures of the boys that I never blog, post, or scrapbook. I have been thinking about the best way for me to meet the original goal I had set for blogging, and I've decided that the photo blog is a really good idea!
While I will begin posting photos and captions once per week, I'm certain that both John and I will still post more lengthy insights into our thinking from time to time.

This first photo is of Jeffery and Greggy listing to Greggy's "moosik". I love it when my boys share well! Greg is constantly asking for one of our phones so that he can listen to either Baby Einstein music or Imagination Movers. The iPod was John's solution.

Earlier this month the boys had their first sleepover. I told them they could invite one friend to spend the night. After little debate, they both decided that Nick was their first choice. The boys had a fun time playing together. Here, they are watching a movie and eating popcorn before bedtime.

This past Friday, we visited my parents. Mom and Dad were glad to have us up for a visit, and the boys were ready to see them too. In fact, Greg pouted all morning because we had to wait for the boys to get out of school before we could make the trip.

On Saturday, we visited with much of my family at Ronda and Gordon's house while we celebrated my Papa Lewter's birthday. Here, he and my dad are relaxing with the boys. We tried for a much more posed photo, but my boys were not cooperating

...at all.

Today, we got out the duplo blocks that Ronda sent home with us. She has collected so many different sets over the years while her girls were growing up. After seeing, on Saturday, how much my boys enjoy them, she sent us home with a cowboy set, an Indian set, a zoo, a house, and several bases. This addition made the duplos that we already have so much more fun!

The boys played for hours!

News...

John and I are anxiously awaiting the next release of the SN list. We originally thought that it came out on the 15th, however, we received an e-mail Wednesday evening letting us know that it did not. Please continue to pray for our family here and on the other side of the larger pond.

In other news, I have been completely torn about what to do concerning schooling for our oldest two sons next year. For a number of reasons, primarily because public schools no longer use classical methods of teaching reading and mathematics, John and I have decided our local Christian School or homeschooling are our options.

Our boys have been attending the local Christian School for preschool, and we don't have any real complaints. Their teachers are wonderful! They have lots of friends. They are both doing well with their content knowledge. To top it all off, if you had asked me a year ago if I would ever consider homeschooling, I would have replied, "Not for a million dollars!" I had no interest at all in homeschooling...NONE!

This year, however, John and I have had the opportunity to observe several homeschooling families. Honestly, I think I was so opposed to homeschooling originally because I didn't have a real philosophy of education. I did not know which curriculum I would choose, and I did not have the foggiest idea how I would go about choosing. It all seemed very overwhelming to me. Also, I have heard people, for years, speak negatively about homeschooling, making all sorts of comments related to the fact the most homeschooling mothers are not trained educators.

John and I have discussed, on numerous occasions, what we want our children's education to look like. None of the options available to us seemed to meet our preferences until recently. I read a book that changed the way that I felt about homeschooling, specifically, the classical method of homeschooling. In it, the author makes a statement about the way that the public reveres public school while claiming that those who graduate from said schools are not fit to pass on what they have learned to others. She asks us to consider if our fear of schooling our own children stems from the idea that we do not honestly believe we have learned much. Are we acknowledging that we have been schooled, but fearful that we have not been truly educated? It seems to me that her proposition is completely accurate for many.

Over the past month, I have e-mailed, called, and questioned every homeschooling mother I know. I have asked many questions and received so much information that my head is spinning. In addition, I have researched as much about classical education as I can. I am reading, reading, reading. It just so happens that we have a Classical Conversations campus in Owensboro. I have attended informational meetings, and I recently sat in on their classes. I, the woman who would have cringed at the thought of homeschooling a year ago, am truly impressed by what I am seeing...TRULY! The classical model of education makes complete sense with everything that I know about brain development as children grow. It is a rigorous program working through the grammar, dialect, and rhetoric stages of learning.

Until several days ago, we had decided that we might begin such a program in the first grade, however, we are currently considering this for our children in the upcoming year. John is all about homeschooling, and I am quickly considering it to potentially be our best option. It would require me to homeschool four days a week, and meet for classes with Classical Conversations one day per week. Please be praying for us as we make this extremely important decision. Also, if you are interested in learning more about the classical model of education and Classical Conversations specifically, I encourage you to check out www.classicalconversations.com.

Adoption Update

The latest shared list of special needs children came out on Monday evening. John and I received the list at 7:16 p.m. Over the five -seven minutes that followed we, John on the iPad and I on the computer, looked up diseases/disorders and submitted requests for further information on three children; two boys and one girl. We were hoping to be able to have at least one of them blocked and their medical information reviewed. We were disappointed!

By the time that we had made our request, those three children were already blocked from the list by families from another agency. I have to tell you that my disappointed approached the disappointment that I used to feel at taking negative pregnancy tests month after month. I cried, I fumed. John as always was calm and reassuring. Goodness, I love that man!

I decided that I couldn't go to bed without reporting my frustrations to our case manager. This is not the first month that something like this has happened to us, and I expressed to her that we do not feel that we could possibly have looked over the list any quicker than we have been.

She was so kind in her response, and we received an e-mail yesterday letting us know that the procedure will be changed!!! I am so glad. I have come to feel quite a bit of anxiety about looking over the monthly lists. From now on, we will hopefully receive one referral per month until such time as we are able accept a referral. I am thinking that this new method makes it more likely that we will be adopting another boy, but we'll see.

I could not be more pleased with this change in our process! Please be praying, praying for wisdom for John and I. We have had to decline a child once so far in this process, and it was truly heartbreaking.

Road Trip: The Magic House, St. Louis

A couple of weekends ago, John and I decided to take the boys to The Magic House in St. Louis for a day trip. Anyone who knows us knows we're not opposed to driving. The kids napped in the van for most of the way there, and they were ready for adventure once we arrived.

Honestly, the trip reminded me of fun road trips that John and I took pre-kids. Much like those days, we all had LOTS of fun!

The boys had much fun in the bubble room.

There were a variety of activities there to peek their curiosity.

Here, Jeffery is attempting to blow a big bubble.

The museum also had an area devoted to recycling

and protecting the earth. The boys were able to wear

super-hero capes and rain boots throughout this exhibit.

They loved it!

I remember a much smaller version of this novelty item

from when I was a kid. All of my boys had fun

pressing their faces, hands, etc... into the blunt pins.

Can you guess which of my favorite guys are pictured above?

One of the things that our boys enjoyed the most was the

beanstalk that ran through the building from floor to floor.

John and I were forced to take the stairs,

a boring option in comparison with the giant stalk.

Here John Isaac is giving his Daddy "taters" while climbing up.

I was excited to visit The Magic House. I had never been before, but I had heard lots of good things about it. It was definitely the best children's museum that we have visited to date. There were so many neat activities that appealed to my children. I look forward to the next time that we visit St. Louis!