By the End of the Day

Things I'm being reminded of with a baby in the house again...

* Regardless of what color I choose to wear, by the end of the day I will be sporting various spots of green, orange, yellow and whatever other colors of food the little guy has eaten for the day.

* Regardless of what scent I choose to wear for the day in the form of perfume or lotions, by the end of the day I will be sporting that unique and distinct smell of wet wipes mixed with formula drool.

* Regardless of how refreshed I feel when waking in the morning, by the end of the day I will be completely and utterly exhausted as I fall into bed.

* Regardless of what I had planned and hoped to accomplish on the day's task list, by the end of the day I will only have crossed off half of those items (at the most) and be adding a few new tasks for the next day.

* Regardless of my best intentions to take time to sit for just a minute, by the end of the day I am reminded there is no such thing as sitting for just a minute.

* Regardless of how much I love this little guy in the morning, by the end of the day I love him all the more.


Your turn. Remind me of something I've yet to be reminded of in the days ahead with a baby in the house and/or share one of your own with me...

Regardless of..... by the end of the day........

Our Redefined Life

I'm not sure how to begin this post. Some of you more eloquent writers would be able to tuck the details of my last couple of weeks into a nice, neat, tidy and beautiful post. I have tried to figure out how to do just that, but haven't come upon any fantastic ideas. Instead, I am just going to jump right in.

Two weeks ago we left for a two week family vacation as a family of four. We returned home this week as a family of five. We brought the newest member of our family home. In addition to our 13 year old boy and 11 year old girl, we also now have a 1 year old boy.

We knew about 7 months ago that his young mom was having a difficult time providing for him. We were asked to begin thinking about whether we would be willing to adopt him if the time came. About a month ago we were approached with the adoption offer.

This little guy's single, teenage mom had come to the realization that she could not provide for him as she had envisioned and hoped. She made the most loving decision to give him a family and a chance for opportunities she knew she would not be able to give to him.

After much prayer, talking and more prayer, we made the decision to welcome this little guy into our immediate family. We spent our vacation time beginning the transition. We obtained guardianship. He made the trip home with us, his car seat snuggled securely between an 11 year old and 13 year old in the back who doted and loved on him all 22 hours of the trip home.

A verse that has been coming to mind quite often in recent days is:

Proverbs 16:9 (NIV) " In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

We had plans for our future. God obviously had other plans far beyond our imaginations. As we remained open and surrendered to God's plans, the direction of our steps changed drastically.

Bottles, diapers, brightly colored toys, and baby food jars are scattered throughout our home. Naps, schedules, and bedtime routines are once again becoming a high priority and of great importance. Baby giggles, snuggles, drool, little toothy grins and even fussiness and crying now fill the walls of our home.

Our family is being redefined. The path we are traveling and the journey we are on is being redefined. Our lives are being redefined. However, it hasn't taken long for us to completely embrace, enjoy and adore this new definition of our lives.

Our redefined life is completely amazing and God rests Himself in the midst of it all...
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We invite you to partner with us in prayer for the following specific areas:

* The continued transition for both our newest little guy as well as ourselves.
* Strength, energy and wisdom as we move forward in the days ahead as a family of 5.
* The legal process would continue smoothly and effortlessly as we proceed with the adoption.
* The financial requirements for the adoption would be provided for as God sees fit.
* The birth mother (and other family members) of our little guy. This was not an easy decision to be made. Although they all continue to reiterate that they know this is in his best interest, hearts continue to break at his absence.

For those who were praying during these last weeks as I was taking a break, thank you from the very depths of my heart! It meant more than you will ever know!!

A Tunnel and a Fire Hose

Two different quotes have been raging through my being in recent days. They have become very real to what I am experiencing.

This one comes from my nursing school days: "I see a light at the end of the tunnel, I just hope it's not a train."

And this one we say quite often at work: "I feel like I'm drinking from a fire hose turned on at full force."

Now, if you'll please excuse me. I need to take a break from here in an attempt to make my way to the end of this tunnel. I'm also going to attempt to find the nozzle to this fire hose and turn it down a notch or two.

See you on the other side...

Things that go Bump in the Night

10:30 PM

My son is awake staring at his radio and worried we are having electrical problems and sparks. The radio went from a clear reception to static and then he saw a flash of light. Was there a short or other electrical hazard?

I am hearing rumbling and banging. The dog has been put into the garage for the night. (This is his routine since his encounter with two different porcupines in the past.) What has him so worked up that he is banging around like that?

My husband is up just a few minutes later. Is someone outside messing around? What is causing all the commotion?

As we all three meet in the living room looking at each other, it suddenly becomes apparent what is happening. We just didn't expect it with snow on the ground. We didn't expect it nearly this soon in the season.

A thunderstorm is entering the area.
* The static on the radio? Interference from the storm
* The flash of light? lightening
* The rumbling and noises? thunder rolling in

We had our first thunderstorm of the season... and it was quite a large one.

Once we knew what was happening, we all returned to bed falling asleep to the flashes of lightening and sounds of thunder. A ray of hope that perhaps spring really will come?!...

Creative Celebration

How a 13 year old boy celebrates his birthday...

Party Games: CHECK

A Wii and four controllers took care of that.


Birthday Cake: CHECK

They didn't even want it baked. They just added water to devil's food cake mix and called it good. Easy for me!

Birthday Ice Cream: CHECK

Take plain chocolate ice cream and quickly turn it into expensive flavored chocolate peanut butter ice cream by adding peanut butter... my son's idea. Where do they come up with these things?


What creative things have you done to celebrate a birthday?

What I Wish I Knew About Blogging

There are things I wish I had known about blogging before I started. Things like:

• Intentionally and carefully select your url address.
• If you choose not to use your real name, take time to create the screen name you choose.
• Set up an e-mail account and use your blog name or carefully selected screen name in the account
• Blogging will take time. If you aren’t careful… too much time!
• You will go through times of absolutely having nothing to say.
* It is okay to take a break.
• Beware that numbers can become all consuming. Numbers such as subscribers, site statistics or comments...
• You can find many wonderful people!!
• You can make new friends!!These are just a few of the things I wish I had known about blogging.

What about you? What do you wish you had known about blogging before you started?

If you aren't yet a blogger, what questions do you have about blogging?