A couple cute shots!

Asher loves to read books and he gets them out all the time and just looks at the pages very carefully turning the pages not to miss one. We read many books at bed time and through out the day but this time was different. After eating dinner - we now strip the clothes because its too easy to pull of the bib - Asher pulled off this huge volume of Dr. Dobson's child care book or something like that off the shelf and started looking at the pictures in the back. These are not cute children pictures but gross shots of rashes and injuries and diseases. He studied these things like he was memorizing them for an exam and he sat there for a good five minutes on one page. We could not stop laughing and since he sat that long I was able to get my camera for the photo. So who knows if he doesn't go into medicine he will at least be a father that is not faint hearted at injuries and his wife's deliveries.

So, Asher has been sucking these two fingers (middle and ring) ever since we meet him. They are his comfort and his way to settle down to sleep or if he is upset. I wonder how long he will do this. He does have two welts on those fingers, but I think it is soooo cute!

This Day Last Year

This day last year was the first time we met our sweet son Asher. From the very beginning you could see the spark in his personality and the fun he would bring to our family. We loved seeing this little peanut make us smile when we fed him his first bottle and watched him kick off the shoes that were way too big for him. We were blessed with our son Asher! And can't believe how much he has grown in one year. We will be celebrating his "forever day" this weekend. We became a family on 7/16 which is when we will celebrate our family forever day together!

My Experience in Kentucky

Hey everybody! I’m back from KY. Thank you so much for supporting me so I could experience this awesome week. I just wanted to send this as an update and to show you the result of your prayers and support:

A drop of sweat slides down my forehead and down my face. After taking a swig of water I scan the area. My eye is suddenly caught by the beauty of a smile. A smile on a face that doesn’t smile often.
This is the story of a lot of kids but 4 girls in particular:

A teenage girl showed up at Sunday night with an unsmiling face. It seemed whatever we did-water games, activities, fun songs, etc. - she would not show any happiness on her face. It was later at the debriefing time that I found out her story.
Her dad passed away and soon after, her mom ran away. She lives with her 2 older brothers. I think that they were about late high school, early college age. She had a lot of sadness in her.
That night we made a promise to try and let her be herself this week. We hoped we could lighten the load a little bit, if only for 3 days.
She came sporadically to V.B.S. Coming one day, leaving early the next, and not coming at all the last day. But it was on Wednesday night that I ever really interacted with her. The Happy Church holds a youth Service every Wednesday but it was pretty unstructured. My Youth pastor’s wife, Jess, me and another girl invited her to play cards. She shrugged and we took that as a yes. At first as we were playing she would only talk when she had to. But about our second or third game she was showing some emotions. In this game, Dutch Blitz, you have to race you opponent to get a card in the pile first. It was funny because when we got beat we would get naturally frustrated and beat our fists against the table or grunt loudly. And we would all get a kick out of each other’s frustration. It was cool because I saw her smiling in her sleeve as if she didn’t want anyone to know. Still-she was smiling.
One thing that was also awesome is that she showed up at the carnival. I didn’t get to spend too much time with her, but it was cool because she looked like she was having fun.

* * * * *

Imagine living in a trailer with your five younger siblings and parents who are drug addicted. Because of this, you’re the one basically taking care of your younger siblings. Oh yeah, you’re only 13 years old… I came to know a girl in this situation. She and I befriended very quickly, but partly because she had a little 3 year old on her hip, and I told her I understood what it was like to watch your younger siblings. It turns out I didn’t really know it as much as she did. She showed up for the first day of vacation bible school without her little brother who she stuck to like glue. The second day she came with her little brother. It was hard for her to let him go to his class because he didn’t feel too comfortable with any one else than her. She was also naturally worried about him.
Her actions spoke to me though. Watching her, I’m thinking, “Sometimes I complain when I have to watch my little siblings for 5 minutes. Not to mention all day.” I will always remember her.

* * * * *

The first day of VBS I noticed a girl with a smile not any where to be found on her face. The first day she was not participating in any thing. Later in debriefing that night I was told she had sores all over her mouth, so it was painful to talk. So it was surprising when the next day, we were playing a game and she was actually talking in it and participating. And last day, a whole different person walked through those church doors. She was singing and doing the motions in worship, she was talking and interacting so much more, and she even addressed me and asked me a question. I found out later she is the oldest of eight. They all live in a trailer. She showed up at the carnival and it was awesome because she was sticking to me like glue. I learned from that experience to never under estimate the power of a smile.

* * * * *

Before V.B.S, we would go out to the trailer parks and pass out fliers so that people are informed. While we were doing this I noticed a girl who was pulling a wagon.
She was there during V.B.S, but of what I observed, she didn’t look like she was having a lot of fun. One time, at the carnival, I was looking around from the inflatable I was running. She was on another inflatable where you tried to run as far as you could as a bungee cord tries to pull you back. She was laughing and smiling and I wanted to take a picture of her smile before it disappeared again.

My heart skipped a beat while I prayed the prayer of salvation with 2 kids at V.B.S. This was one of the best times of the whole week. Please be praying for them. I don’t know if I will ever see them again in my earthly life, but we will defiantly meet again in heaven. And I will never forget any of the kids I met this past week. God also helped me through my fear of home-sickness and helped me realize that it’s ok to be away from home a little bit. Thank you again for supporting me on this awesome week that I will never forget.
Love, Caroline

Some kids at the Sunday night service

Pictures of the Week!

Our family at the carnival in Kentucky. They were all

great workers. Fun was had by all and connections were made

with people in the community and the Happy Church. Pray that God

would continue to work in the children of this community!

Caroline will update you more soon she is working on documenting it all!

My boys!

Nothing like a tractor ride on the 4th of July!

A few of our cousins are in town! We miss them all!

We've had a full week and are enjoying some time with two cousins from Mexico and my sister-in-law and older sister from Chicago. We had a great 4th with a family reunion (abby keeps calling it a family funeral). Asher enjoyed watching his first fire works and now calls them boom booms! We are still praying and waiting for Asher's passport so we can go to Mexico at the end of the month. For him he and I can't leave the country with out it. We will keep you posted!

My baby is in KY for the week!

This is day 3 for my daughter Caroline on her missions trip to Appalachia Kentucky. She went with some of her youth group. They got there on Saturday evening and yesterday attended church and also held a children's service in the evening. Today was to be a service day at the church and then an afternoon handing out fliers for the VBS they will help the church put on for the next three days. By Friday they will have a fun day and Brad and I and the other three will travel with several other families and meet them in Kentucky. We will help them wrap up the week by putting on a free carnival on Saturday and hope to bring many from the community to the church and make some great connections for the church there.

I have already seen God at work in my daughter and can't wait to see how God shapes her with this experience. She is an amazing young lady and a home body at it very best. So, this week is a stretch for her but she felt God calling her to go and share his love and great news to this community. She and her friend in this picture are the only youth girls on the trip. Please join me in praying for her and her group this week! We will keep you posted in what happens and God works in this wonderful part of Kentucky!

First Big Fall!

Here is the boy's first big fall. He fell trying to master the front porch steps with a big watering can in his hands. And the result was his head being glued shut. He slept through the whole thing and we were anticipating stitches. So the experience could have been a lot worse. He is an active boy! Brad and I were in the waiting room and we actually thought it was pretty good that it took 6 months to get his first big injury. (With our first we talked about what awful parents we were, but now we see the glass half full!) The tricky part is to keep him from breaking it back open, but so far so good! He took this bandaid off at the check out at Hobby Lobby the next day and it had already bled and freaked out the cashier, opps! We were also to have our social worker over that night for our 1 year post placement report but she called and rescheduled for one week. That felt good! Sorry this is not a better picture it is hard to get this kid to freeze for a minute!

Father's Day!

I have the best Dad in the world. My Dad was there when I was growing up to give me advise, he coached my softball and basketball teams and helped to give me many pointers on the game, but the best thing I recieved from my Father was time. My Father always gave us time whether it was time shooting baskets, time to talk while taking a walk, even time teaching me how to drive (boy did that take some time). But my favorite time with my Dad was devotion time. When I was little my Dad read to us from a book called "Little Visits with God" and as I got older my Dad would read to us from "Our Daily Bread" and I don't live with my Dad any longer but my Dad still calls every once in a while to pass on a good devotion he read here or there and I love when my Dad shares about God's Word and how it is teaching him and alive in today's world. Thanks Dad! (In case you think I grew my hair out - this picture is of my twin sister, Cathy - I guess I need a new picture Mom and Dad)!

My husband is an amazing father!!! I love to see him with my kids and they can't get enough of him. When he walks in the door a chorus rings from our house "Dad's Home!" and everyone comes running. Every morning the kids want to know if Dad's still getting ready for work or can they call him and tell him Good Morning! My kids are sooooo bonded to him. And he makes life so much fun. Even in this picture taken on our Father's Day outing which consists of Putt-Putt, Wendy's Frosties and the park (the frosties were dinner, by the way, requested by Dad), Brad was throwing up Asher and trying to get him to smile for the picture when Asher's shoe goes flying toward me and everyone laughs, but Asher, of course. Dad knows how to have fun! And I'm so glad he does! Dad also gives great wisdom, a listening ear and is the best fan in whatever the kids are involved in! He puts God first in all he does and always puts us infront of his work and many, many times that is not easy to do. We love our Dad!

Two for the Price of One - I Wish!

Well, yesterday we went to TWO dr. appts. We had an orthopedic appt scheduled but also took him to his ped. because Asher had not been sleeping for about four nights and naps have been bad too. So we went to check out his ears. He ended up having fluid in his right ear causing him pain but no need for an antibiotic. The doc said he probably had an infection and it is just clearing up.

So here is what the orthopedic had to say about Asher's legs. The doctor's main response was let wait and see. He thinks that this could be a regular case of bowed legs and that time will straighten them. He also said that with bowed legs in toddlers usually is at its worse at the age of 18 mos (the exact age of our precious Asher). But he also said that we need to keep an eye on him and have him x-rayed in 6 mos for a slight chance that he would have Blount's disease (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001584.htm) which is a disease where the inner part of the tibia just below the knee fails to develop normally causing angulation of the bone. So, we will wait and see and I'll update you come Dec. Thanks for your prayers!

Last night after a day of doctors we went to the Reds game. They lost but we had a great time with our niece from Monterrey, Mexico. It was both her first experience and Asher's first experience at the Red's game. She thought the seventh inning stretch was interesting and couldn't believe that everyone knew the same song. We watched the boats on the river, many give aways and games and even had fireworks for the one home run by the home team and, of course, we had all the ball park foods, Nachos, peanuts and we brought our families tradition of M&Ms. It was a fun evening!

Is it Super Man!

We had to work really hard to catch our breath after putting Asher in the Body Wear suit. It helps your arms from carry so much weight in the pool. Can you believe how buff this little man looks. We died laughing and every time he tried to pick something up he would fall over and struggle to get up. Oh, this was a great stress release for our busy week. He is soooo fun to be around and he didn't even complain being in this.

This is more like it! Our little bow legged bather. If you look closely at his right leg you can tell that he is still bowed in this leg. It is only in his right leg and the left is pretty straight. Please pray for us this Wednesday (6/13) as we go to an orthopedic and have it checked. It seems to affect his hips when he walks and the way he wears the soles of his shoes. They may just tell us to give it more time, but it is very obvious when he walks and if we can do something now to help correct it than we hope to find that out this week. Believe me, he doesn't have any problems getting where he needs to be fast but he looks a little awkward getting there.

Moses' Mother

This is a book that I often read to Asher before bed time, but it made a big impact the other night as I read it to him. I got to the page where Moses' mother places him in a basket in a river and it hits me. . . This is a picture of Asher's birth mother and many, many mother's around the world. These mother's feel such a deep love for their children and find that they can not give their children the basics. Moses' mother feared for her son's life and so do many, many mother's all over the world. Moses' mother found a way to keep her son safe and try to make him known publicly but safely. This happens all over the world. Babies are left at the steps of the police, orphanages, churches, hospitals or clinics and many times the mother stays hiding close by to make sure their children get to the safe arms. In comes Miram, Moses' sister to watch over him until he found safety in the princesses arms. I know this story sounds so obvious but this picture just brought to life my son's birth mother and what a selfless woman she is.

I am really wanting to give back to Ethiopia in her memory and I am looking into a program that is in the developing stages and will be serving in Ethiopia to meet the needs of widows and grandmas trying to raise their children with little or no means. This organization is looking to provide micro-loans to women so they can keep the blessings God has given them. I am often praying and thinking of Asher's mother. I don't even know anything about her or if she is even living but my heart aches for the aching she may have in her heart for her little boy and I pray that God will give her the peace that he is doing well. I will always talk to Asher about his loving birth mother that loved him so much she put him in safe hands and God sent him to our family. We are Happy and Blessed! (That's what Asher means!)

Haven't Heard From Us - Summer is Here!

This week was the first week of summer! So far, we've been to an amusement park, the pool, taste of our cities resturants festival, volleyball in our front yard, sprinkler and lots of popscicles. But on our first day of summer we went back to school to say Good-bye to Caleb's teacher. He enjoyed field day last week and enjoyed his second grade year but now it's summer. Abby graduated from preschool and will start Kindergarten next year and Caroline will be going to Junior High next year. It can't be true that I have a junior high student in my house. At our house besides all the summer fun we have a time for chores (our famous chore chart is up on the kitchen wall) and a time for reading! So sorry we haven't written much lately, we have been to busy enjoying the first days of Summer!

Summer Fun!

With only two more days of school and hot temps and our first taste of humidity, we brought out the sprinkler tonight for some fun. The water was a bit chilly but it didn't stop everyone and especially Asher who just loved the water. We have a friend over and everyone thinks we adopted again when he comes to play cause he fits in great with our family. Here are the FUN photos!

!

I'm it!

So I've been tagged by my friend Shelley . And I guess I'm suppose to say 7 random things about me. I much rather share about everyone else in the family so, here goes my try at this.

1. I was born breach with the cord wraped around my neck and I have a bald spot on the right side of my head as a reminder of how hard the doctors worked to get me out. I was the first of twins so I wasn't getting the push from my sister I needed. Or was I?

2. I have never lived out of the city I grew up in except for 4 years of college.

3. I LOVE to travel and vision of traveling the world. There is not one place I won't love to go and visit and meet the people, try the language and the food! Maybe when my kids are all grown. Right honey?

4. We are currently painting our first floor and now have an orange kitchen and looking for time and engery to paint our family room "Coffee". I enjoy changing things but due to time, money and energy we rarely do. Our last painting over haul was when we moved in 12 years ago and everything went to white or off white.

5. I love the Wiggles! Being a mom of toddlers still and I truely love the wiggles and would love to be a wiggly dancer! What a work out!

6. I love trying new foods especially different cultural foods. I can't wait next month for the Greek festival here in town and they also serve Ethiopian since it held by the local Greek Orthodox Church and they are the only orthodox church in town.

7. I love the summer but have learned to be inside between 11am and 1pm each day for fear of burning too much. It doesn't happen every day but MANY days.

8. My parents are only children and they had 6 kids and thus I love big families and not sure if mine will get too big but so far we are the biggest family among my siblings (4 kids).

9. So addicted to Amazing Race and I have to say that I really enjoy lots of reality TV but try not to get addicted to many just Amazing Race.

10. I can't stand to cook and would love to always eat out. Chinese would be my favorite but I can enjoy a Mc D's snack wrap and double chees burgers pretty well.

Ok, now I'm suppose to tag 7 more bloggers to I know 7 friends that Blog. Please forgive me if you don't want to participate and maybe you've already been tagged or you don't even read my blog, sometimes I wonder - "Is anyone really reading this?" Anyway,

You're IT!

Sandra
Laura
Emily
Debbie
Kris
Cathy
Rhonda

Opps I just figured out (four hours after posting this) that I can't count to 7. I thought I was going to have a hard time coming up with them. I guess not!

It's How You Look at Things!

I have the best family in the world! And in it I have an amazing husband and four wonderful children! I was fooled by my daughter in the last post and she was paid well for her kind words (:0) Just kidding! She mentioned a soccer tournament this last weekend. We packed everyone into the van and headed to Lexington, KY on this most beautiful weekend. We had a great time with wonderful weather, a fun night at a hotel, lots of fun foods, great party time with friends and family on the soccer team and of course the pool! Caroline's team played three teams that were two and three levels higher than their team so needless to say there wasn't too much success. Well at least not success as most people see it, but I would say that this weekend was a smashing success in a different way.

Our team improved their level of play, they learned that the calls don't always go your way and they learned that winning is not the only measure of success. They were successfull this weekend because they never gave up and they poured it on when everyone else would have felt empty. They played with integrity and fairness and didn't let things said or done get to them. It wasn't all about any individual but about the team! I'm so proud of them all and when we got home I was joking with Caroline about getting ready for another game that evening and she smiled and said she wish she had one. It's not always the out come but the journey that matters! And that is what I'm taking away from this weekend and these 12 year old girls that gave it their all- No Matter What!

Isn't that what God has done for us. He gave His all regardless of how unapreciative we are and very undeserving of it. He had integrity and fairness even though everyone around him was displaying something different. He poured out His life for us when He should have been empty. Wow, I didn't start out to make this a spiritual analogy! God is good and teaching me every day! Thank you, Lord!

Happy Mother's Day

I (Caroline) have been wanting to do this for a long time but have never gotton permission/access to the computer. It is pretty rare that this happens together at one time. Mom, I know you think I am going to do a soccer post about my tournament this weekend but I've changed the subject a little...

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

just a few words that come to mind when I think of mom:

unselfish

caring

loving

kind

sporty

adventurous

tolerant (you have to, to be our mama!)

Just one quick story...

OK so we went to Lexington Kentucky for a tournament this weekend (yes mothers day weekend!) and we stayed in a hotel for one night. Well, we remembered everything except the sleeping bag for Caleb. This is a miracle in itself but the sleeping bag was much needed so we told Caleb he could sleep on the chair. For future information if a piece of funiture looks comfy, don't trust it. Caleb was restless through the night. Halfway through, mom layed on the floor and let Caleb have her spot. I was not awake for this by the way... :)

Anyway though, that's just a small glimpse of mom's additude: it's not about me.

Mama, thanks. I want to be a Godly woman like you when I grow up!!! Happy Mother's Day!

Asher's First Year!

Last year on May 9th we got our first glimspe of Asher. Here is a montage of Asher's first year in photos. Enjoy!

http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=2af02b29acfb83fd7a5dd8

A Star is Born!

Abby had her first ballet recital this weekend! She was in the pre-ballet class and the recital theme was candy land. Her class was cotton candy. She did a wonderful job and smiled through the whole routine. Not only did her grand parents make the show but also her Uncle B from Florida. She thought having a little make-up on was the best part of the whole thing. When I woke her up on Saturday for her pictures she popped out of bed and said "Can I have my make-up on now, PLEASE!" She is such a diva!

Happy Birthday to the Oldest!

Twelve years ago on 5-5-95 I gave birth to our wonderful red hair wonder. She is soooooo sweet and has a heart for the Lord. She has a heart for the lost and compassion abounds in her. She is very smart, athletic and always looking to serve others. We love her with all our hearts. We celebrated her birthday by eating Mexican food (for Cinco de Mayo) and watching the Kentucky Derby. She is a joy to celebrate and we hsd a great time!

Outdoor photos!

Here are some of the shots of us enjoying the great Spring weather we've been having.

Where have we been????

OUTSIDE!!!!! The weather has been great here and I don't have a single picture to prove it. But we've been playing with side walk chalk and Asher has been eating it. Our grass in the yard is worn down again where the kids have been playing baseball. Brad parks his car outside again cause his side of the garage is full of bikes, wheel barrows, chalk, bubbles and strollers. We are at soccer games and playing at parks. I love it! We've started eating lunches on the front lawn and taking walks and bike rides! Praise the Lord for the wonderful weather of Spring! This is a birthday weekend so stay tuned for photos and fun celebrating our oldest daughter!

16 years with the Love of My Life!

I've been married to the love of my life for 16 years today. But really I have known him since Oct. of 1982. That is almost 25 years! I truly do love him dearly and although I can drive him nuts some days, and some days we disagree (even though we have the same personality according to Myers-Briggs), and lots of days he laughs at me and we laugh at ourselves (I'm sure God does this on a daily basis so why shouldn't we?) I truly couldn't live without him. Happy Anniversary, honey! This is such a awful picture but we don't get too many of just us these days.

Down for a day or two!

Well, Asher had some out patient surgery on Monday. He did great but was down for the count all day. He bounced back yesterday but was laying low again today and since I've been feeling sick today I really didn't mind a bit. Even though it was nice to have a slow day because of me feeling sick, it is so hard to see our liitle guy not his smiley, fun self. We pray he heals quickly. I know I need to charish all this time on my lap because it will soon come to an end and I'll be chasing him around the yard and house again.

Look at those legs!

Asher is fast these days. Running around our house and can get into the toilet and trash at lightening speed! You wouldn't know it inless you examine Asher's legs carefully or have him wear shorts - but Asher is very bow legged. Here are some photos of him. His right leg is worse than the left. The doctor says that he should grow out of it but it is hard to imagine that now as he wobbles around - very fast might I add! I also read an article about bowed legs and they said that 75% of the college and pro basketball players are bow legged and it you watch them at the foul line you can tell. Not that I expect Asher to play ball, but it did make me feel that if he doesn't grow out of it then this shouldn't effect his quality of life in any way. Let me know what you think? Maybe you can't even notice - ya right!


Yes, this is Caroline laughing at me running around trying to get a good picture of Asher's legs.

Spring Break!?!

Tomorrow will be my kids last day off for Spring Break. We've had a great week for temps in the 30s, 40s and a day at 50! We've gone to the movies, read books, hung out together, watched it snow on several occasions and our special outing came on Easter Sunday night.

You are going to think that we really drag out our gifts and occasions, but with that said, last Sunday night (Easter) we went to see the Lion King Broadway show. It was my birthday present which was given to me back in October and we went to the show two days before my half birthday. It was the best gift ever!!!! The show was amazing, the cast phenomenal and the costumes out of this world! Everyone went but Asher since we didn't think he was old enough to appreciate it and be worth the money spent. I had to laugh that we enjoyed this show about Africa and left the African at home:)

This week the kids have put on shows, baked cup cakes, helped me make and deliver food to a neighbor with a new baby and yes, we even did a little house work - but just the bare minimum. We are going to Mexico at the end of the summer to visit my sister and Brad's sister and their families. So my hope was to apply for passports for the kids by the end of the week since they have to be present and the passport place is open from 9am-3pm M-F. So, I hope it works out to get them tomorrow. The wait for passports gets longer and longer. They are now saying that it will take 10 weeks to get back if you don't expedite them. I'm still waiting to get Asher's Birth Certificate so I might have to pay for his to be expedited but I'd like to avoid paying that extra for all four of them. Tomorrow it will be back up to the low 50s and we hope that the thermometer will keep climbing after that. Long Live Spring!

Change is in the Air!

Ok, beside the fact that on Tuesday the temps were 80 degrees and this morning it is snowing, there is a different change in the air. But be careful cause if you are not careful you will miss it. My twin sister was the first of us to get her bangs cut (in 8th grade)and the first to get a perm(in high school). And though its not a big change I was the first to have my hair high lighted (last weekend) with a little more red to cover the starting grey.

Pathetic before shot










After color shot

Can you tell the difference?