What do you do on a Saturday night....

with one out of three kids and no hubby? Obviously you blog about them:) Steve has Noah and Della in my Mom's backyard camping in the tent. I have Marlee at home, she is sleeping, I don't know what to do, I could actually relax.

It all started when Noah and Steve's camping trip got cancelled. Noah and his friend and the Dad's scheduled a camping trip south to go to the caves on their last day of school. They had a half day and Steve was going to pick him up and they would all drive there and camp that night. Well Steve called the caves the morning of and they were closed because of water. There were also a bunch of storms coming in so of coarse Noah was devastated. The kid got up at 3:00am Friday morning because he was so excited. Good thing he staying in his room and read books until 6:00am. We felt horrible so the Dad's took the boys to IMAX and they had a good time. Steve also promised they could camp out in Nanna's backyard tonight. Wasn't really what he wanted but he ended up going for it. BTW at first we thought Noah was "telling a story" when he said he got up at 3 am but when we put him in time out at 5:30pm and came back 7 minutes later, he was asleep. I should know the kid doesn't lie! This pic is of when we did a test run of the tent the other night in the backyard. The whole family was in the tent, including our furry friends!

Today was a good day, very busy but good! We started out by going to a pony party at my cousin Kate's house. Her two oldest girls were celebrating birthdays. They had a petting zoo and a little pony for the kids to ride. There were lots of tots and they had an absolute blast. In the next post there is a pic of her on the pony.

After that party we came home for an hour or so and went to another party. This one was just Della and I. Della's friend Noah from church turned 4 so he had a pirate pool party. What child doesn't have a great time with water and cake? There is a pic of her there as well.

Then we drove straight to the cookout at Nanna's house. I am quite tired. I think I either have a cold or allergies too. I can't breathe. I have been really lucky this year as far as getting sick but I guess we all have got to get it sometime:) I need to get better quick though because my rehearsal schedule is going to get more demanding now. It is so fun though! A fellow SAHM(stay-at-home mom) said to me the other day "that must be nice to get all that adult time!" I would be "telling a story" if I didn't say "I LOVE IT." Have a great day!

Saturday Pics!

Some things on my mind! Oh this might get deep!

The past few days I have been in a strange place and I have been trying to figure out why. I have come to some conclusions.
Lately I have been hearing more and more about the drought in Ethiopia. It is hitting the rural areas pretty hard. Many children are dying of malnutrition. I keep thinking of when we stopped on the way to meet Marlee's birth father at a hut and all these little children running to us just wanting us to take their pictures with our digital cameras and show them what they look like. They were lovely and so happy. Are they OK? What about Marlee's birth family, her father and siblings, how has the drought affected them? Every time I see Marlee smile I see her father and think about this. These are the realities of adoption that you don't do research on. I could tell you all about attachment during adoption but what about how you feel after the in country experience. I know that these are the realities of life. I have been known to be an idealist so reality is sometimes more difficult for me to process.
We have also just switched churches and we were at our old church for 6 years and very involved. It has been a good thing for our family to switch but anytime you make a big change like that I think it feels funny! We really like our new church. The sermons are great! They just finished with a four part serious on "Social Justice." I missed two of them because we alternate who takes Marlee out when she talks, really really loud:) I am going to watch them on the web this weekend. I think this sermon series is why Ethiopia is on my mind all the time right now. God must be saying something!
Other than that, things are going well here! Marlee is almost 7 months old, she sits all by herself and rolls too! She is really smiling more now, she might be getting used to us. Noah has 1.5 days of school left and Della is done! We have VBS 2 times in June and only one free weekend. The show is going great so far. It is going to be great! I will get with all of you locals when tickets go on sale. All for now! Have a great Wednesday!

Marlee's first swim!

We took the kids to the pool today and had a blast. It was a bit chilly but they didn't seem to mind at all. Marlee was scared at first when we dipped her feet in. She soon took a liking to the water and couldn't stop smiling. We have a community pool with a lazy river a great baby pool and a graded pool with slides etc. It is great for the kids because we can sit at one end with the baby and watch the kids slide and swim. We spent a couple of hours there and Marlee was so exhausted she fell asleep in her carseat, I took her out put her in bed and she didn't wake. That is not typical for her. Anyway, here are some pics of our pool day!

Things get busy!

Things have been busy lately! I have had rehearsals in the evening and we are preparing for Noah to leave Kindergarten and go on to 1st grade. He had to make a car for the annual Kindy 500. We went to school this morning and watched him race the car in the gym because it was raining. He had a great time and did very well. It is hard to believe he is going to be in 1st grade soon. He has grown up so much over the last year, just a little man!

Della has a UTI again. I had her at the Dr. yesterday and she was in some serious pain. It is her 2nd UTI and she has also had a kidney infection. We have to go in and get some scan thing done in a couple of weeks to see if there is something causing this or if it is the luck of the draw. Poor thing. She is on an antibiotic now. She is going to be one strong women when she gets older, she has been through enough medically! Plus the genes:)

Miss Marlee is almost 7 months old. She is an absolute doll. She is so patient with us, being the third child that comes with the territory. She definitely tells us when she is not happy though. I look at her everyday and don't know what life was like without her. What a gift she is! I am so grateful to her birth family and yet I know they must think about her daily and it must be so difficult! I am heartbroken about the drought in Ethiopia. Many of those that are suffering are from the area where Marlee's birth family is. I wish I could send them all the food and water that they need. How can I ever thank them enough for this blessing. I pray for them and their lives daily.

I have posted a few pics of the kids. Noah in his car, Della and Marlee outside yesterday. I thought the one with the girls and the dogs was cute because they are so protective of the kids. Hope that you have a great holiday weekend. Marlee may have her first pool experience!

Steve took the day off!

For Mother's day this year Steve gave me the day off! He took a day off work and I got to do whatever I wanted. What did I do? I went to the gym this morning, came back and showered, then Steve and I took the girls to some garage sales, still looking for a Jump-a-roo for Marlee. No such luck, it is like finding a needle in a haystack and I am way to cheap to buy one full price. I think when you have your first you buy everything, it is soooo important for them to have "things" right? With the second you just reuse. Well we got rid of all of our things after Della so we have to get everything over again. This is why I am cheap, I know they won't use this stuff for long. She does enjoy jumping though so I will press on!

Anyway after that we put Marlee down and I went outside in the backyard and relaxed in the sun, it was great!

The kids are doing great! Della is out of school and Noah still has a couple of weeks. Marlee is still a great sleeper and becoming more and more attached every day. She will even fuss when we put her to bed now. She wants to be in on everything. She doesn't fuss too long, maybe 10 minutes and then she is out, all night long!!!! We are definitely getting in a groove!

Since things are going well I figured why not multi-task a little:) I have figured out that I am not happy unless I have a project, something to work on. I have a list of things that I want to do for "me." Not for the kids or Steve or even church, for "me." One of those things is musical theatre! I have a lot of performance experience but have never done musical theatre, well a revue type thing at church. I finally have a chance to after a year of talking about it. I auditioned for our local community theatre's production of "Seussical." For those of you who don't know it is a musical based on many Dr. Seuss characters. It has some fun music, pop-influenced, right up my alley! Well, I got a really great part. Mayzie LaBird. I am so excited to play this part! Anyway if you are in the area you can come and bring the kids. I can't believe I am doing something all for "ME." I love to perform and I get to do it. Anyway, that is why I am multi-tasking this summer, well I always multi-task, but this will be more than usual!

Well I guess this post was mostly about me! Don't worry this won't happen much, I am not that interesting:)

Happy Mother's Day!

It was a great day! I woke up to a wonderful breakfast prepared by Steve and Noah, well Della a little bit! There were signs on the walls that said Happy Mother's Day and cards waiting for me. The kids were so excited. Dad told Noah that he could wake him up at 6am to prepare the breakfast. Steve heard something at 5:15am and Noah's door was shut with the light on. He claims he was up at 4:30am, and I believe him. He is just like his Mamma, I can't sleep either when I am excited about something.

I went to the Gym this morning because we went to church yesterday and came home in time to shower and go to Aunt Gracie and Uncle Shawns house for lunch with Steve's side of the family. The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave. There are lots of cousins on that side. We came home for Marlee's quick nap and then off to my Mom's house where my little brother Joe met us. He is the Executive Chef at an area country club so we don't get to see him very often. It was a nice visit. We are now home and putting kids to bed but I wanted to post a few pics before I start my week. We finally got a good family pic, this is as still as we get:)

I hope all of you Mom's and Grandmother's etc. had a great day!

Happy Mother's Day!

What do you want for Mother's day?

I love Noah! We went to his school for Mom's muffins the other morning and on the way in he said, I know we are going over to relatives houses on Mother's day but what do you want Mom? Yes this child is so thoughtful. He is so sensitive and so caring for others. Do you know he will not take the last one of anything because he wants to leave some for the next person. I know he is amazing! This makes my job so worth it!

Della woke the other morning and saw that I was dressed and ready to go, not typical, and said "Mom you look pretty today." I was wearing jeans and a fitted t-shirt, yeah I know, if that looks good what do I look like on a regular morning before I put my face on, you will never know friends:) Just so sweet and she notices everything.

Marlee cried when I put her in someone elses arms the other day! Yeah, I am Mom now and she knows it! She smiles at me when I call her name from across the room. She is so lovely!

These simple things all happened in the past week. This is what makes being a Mom, one of the hardest jobs I have ever done, so worth it. I don't know what I did before I had kids, actually I most likely got more sleep and didn't have bags under my eyes or stretch marks for that matter, but these little ones have made me a better person. Thank you God for these 3 amazing gifts!

PS- Notice Della's shirt in the above pic! I know but I loved it!

Stepping outside of my "box."

It is difficult to take that first step. As human beings I think uncertainty or unfamiliar things turns our stomachs inside out, at least mine. Before I went to Ethiopia, the biggest thing that turned my stomach was an audition of some sort. No that is not bad but I look back and think how much I have grown since I took that indescribable trip.

You see, I was never one to stay in my comfort zone too long until I had children. I used to embrace change, I loved challenges and I loved new things. What happened? I had children. My life was not just about me anymore, I needed to put their well-being at the top of my list. Well I am all for putting children first but you can take that too far. Since I had children I stayed inside these comfortable four walls building a safe place for them. While doing that, I lost some of myself as well. Those parts of myself that I lost I want my children to see and learn from. I almost let that stop me from this trip!

Yes, I HATE FLYING! Mom told me never to use that word but I mean it, I HATE FLYING. We were going to escort Marlee home before we got her referral. I was scared of the unknown. Scared. God works in wonderful ways! One day something just clicked. I claim to have faith, where was it? It wasn't anywhere to be found. I wanted my little girl in the picture so bad that I had to go get her. She was waiting! God gave me the strengh to get through the flight, that and Steve lent me his arm, good thing I cut my nails prior. Flying over to a country that was unknown to me was "out of my box." I have more than grown from this experience and have a renewed connection and faith in God! I needed that! I have a different outlook on life.

I don't like to sound preachy but I felt like writing this. I am a live and let live type gal! I don't advise everyone to go to another country and fly on a plane if you hate flying, but it is nice to step out of your box once in a while! I am soooooo glad I did!