Spider Big Shoes

I just have to write these here...if I don't they just very well may get forgotten. And these are just too cute to ever forget.

Grace-ism #1:  while walking through the house looking for me, Steve or anyone else she often says...

 "Mommy, where you are?"

I'll be very sad the day she realizes she has those two little words reversed.

and...

Grace-sim #2:  Running in from outside she declares excitingly to Steve...

"Daddy, there is Spider Big Shoes on the slide, it is VERY scary!"   

Steve replies "do you mean a Daddy Long Legs?"   :-)


Spider Big Shoes are very scary sorts of spiders you know.

little toes

My sweet daughter is very protective of her little toes. 

She wouldn't let them touch grass. 

She especially protected them from sand.

August 2011

(I know I'm mean for smiling)

and even when covered in boots, tried to keep them out of snow.

 (and mean taking a picture instead of rescuing her)

 Little by little.  Step by baby step.

She is letting her little toes get a taste of the funny texture of grass, snow and, last but not least, sand.

Grace is 3 years and 9 months old.  On Sunday, she played in the sand at the beach for the first time. 

This morning, she says "I have fun at beach.  I play in sand.  and in water" 

She didn't play in the water. Whe wouldn't even go near it.  But that's ok... she thinks she did.  Maybe next time, or next year, or whenever she feels comfortable.

(notice tight grip on Daddy and pulling her little toes away from the water)

We will be here when she does.  and we will celebrate with her.  Every little step she makes.  There is no rush, because we are forever.

Secret

I have a secret.  A big one.

The kids have NO idea.

I'm not even sure I have told my friends and family (because we are so afraid our secret will get accidently revealed) and it seems my kids ARE ALWAYS around when I talk to them. 

It's coming up in two weeks.

Hopefully the kids don't read this blog. 

Here's a little hint. 

End of School Year Random Thoughts

Random thoughts whining...

For the love of all things good and evil…

PLEASE do not ask me to remember ONE MORE THING.

My brain is on complete overload.

In the past two days… we received FIVE invitations to end of year parties. I love parties and all. But how am I supposed to get my kids to all of these parties?!

Two of them are swim parties, for the two kids in my house that don’t yet swim. Which means, I think I have to attend IN A BATHING SUIT and make sure they don’t drown.

If one more baseball game gets rained out and pushed to the next day… I’m going to jump in the swollen river down the street.

Now is the time of year for...

...field days (which means sunscreen needs to be applied before school and water bottles filled)
...dress like a series book character day… requires makeup and a costume.
...sports day… every one trying to find their favorite sporting equipment to bring to school 3 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.

"Mom, can you drive me… my golf clubs don’t fit on the bus".

Really?!

Concerts

"Mom, I need black pants, and a white shirt, and I can’t find my belt, and my shoes don’t fit"

Library books lost…. Pay the fines.  I'm convinced that I, and my dear children, are not responsible enough to take out books from the libary. 

"Mom can you cook 20 potatoes and cut onions for the Civil War encampment at school?".

6 year old's special week at school… supposed to bring in snack. I forgot. Promised 6 year old "I WON'T forget tomorrow".

I forgot.

"Mom, I can’t find any socks to wear". Yeah, that cause 5 loads of clean laundry are sitting in baskets unfolded. Go search for some.

I believe the hermit crabs haven’t been fed in two weeks. I gave them water. Hopefully that’s enough to sustain them.

I just do not understand why kids need to eat three meals (and several snacks) a day? I can't keep up with that right now.

It has rained 10 inches in the last week. Our failing septic system doesn't like it one bit. Nothing like shop-vac'ing dirty rain water from the basement floor at 3am.

Do I sound like I am whining?  Yeah, maybe I am.

School's out in t-minus 12 days. That means, I gain a stay-at-home husband for a couple months too! 

So, I'll be back to my normal, cheerful and not so forgetful self, by July 1. 

Hopefully.

Miracle

There are moments in life when things just really hit you... straight in the face. This was one of them. 

Grace had her preschool graduation last week.  I say "graduation"... she isn't really graduating anything, she returns next year for another year, but it's the end of the year and if they want to dress all the kids up in cute tee-shirts and sing awesome songs for all of us weeping parents, call it Graduation... call it whatever you want.  It sure makes us parents happy and proud.

You first need to know, or maybe be reminded (since I haven't wrote on the blog in -  GASP - five months) that Grace started off the year in preschool not talking to anyone.  Not saying a word.  Quiet as a church mouse (which, as those that sit around us in church can attest, she is NOT)... but at school that is how they knew her. 

She would go to speech therapy.  And not talk.  At. All.

So much for speech therapy.

Then something happened sometime in December.  and the switch was flipped. 

and now she is known as "Miss Chatterbox".

I digress. 

So, the awesome teachers somehow managed to teach these little tikes FIVE songs.  How they get these kids to sing five songs... I have no idea.  These teachers truly are AMAZING! 

The last song is about to start.  It's titled "Miracle". Grace is in the center, one of the littlest ones, with black hair and pink crocs.   :)

In case you have trouble catching the words, they go something like this. 

I have hands, I have hands,
Watch me clap, watch me clap.
Oh, what a miracle am I.

I have feet, I have feet,
Watch me stamp, watch me stamp.
Oh, what a miracle am I.

Oh, what  miracle, oh, what a miracle

Every little part of me.

I'm something special, so very special,

There's nobody quite like me.

Let me just tell you.  I cried.  I CRIED.  almost an ugly cry. 

Because Grace is a MIRACLE.  As are all these kids, but we often forget it. 

And I think of her birth, and the two days that followed her birth, and her first 17 months... and cry. cry. cry.  Miracle.

The day before, a news report surfaced about a little newborn baby saved from a sewage pipe in China.  and all I could think about while I watched "Miracle" was Grace, and this little baby 1/2 way around the world, and all the other Miracles out there... without Moms and Dads. 

and now I'm crying again.

First moments

If you look close at these pictures...  you can see it all on my face.

You can see months of worry.

You can see fear.

You can see worry.

Most of all you can see RELIEF.  Relief that she was finally in my arms.

and maybe, most of all, you can see the love.

We were quite blessed, Steve and I.  It isn't this way for everyone.  But for us... it was LOVE at Very. First.Sight.

And you can see it in these picture.

Maybe not in Grace's face.

That took a few months.

But in mine.  and Steve's.

There really will never, can never, be any words that can describe that moment.

Those moments.  Those first minutes.  Hours.  Days.

2nd Gotcha Anniversary!

It's been 2 year years since that amazing day in China when we became a family of six.

Here is a a little never before seen video of Gotcha Day.   

Grace was stone silent.  And she really stayed like that way for a good 7 days or more.

Trust me when I say she is NOT stone silent anymore!

She was so stinkin' sick.  fever.  terrible cough.  and who knows what else.  So sick.

(long bus ride home... she fell asleep and was BURNING UP with fever)

I remember reading and talking to people before we left... so many parents get their children in their arms and the first thing they want to do is rip off their clothes, give them a bath and put on new clothes.

But, that's pretty much the worst thing you can do.  Just think about it... would you want your clothes ripped off by complete strangers moments after meeting them?

I knew we weren't going to make that mistake!

Ummmm.  Yeah.  Wrong I was.

As soon as we got back to our hotel room (After the LONGEST bus ride back to the hotel) we ripped off Grace's clothes so fast! Layer after layer came off.

She was SO HOT!  She must have had a fever of a 104 at the time with 5 layers of clothes on.

Oh well.  Nothing like a making things even more traumatic for her.  But, we had to do it.

So here's a picture of then and now.

She continues to amaze us every.single.day.   And we will NEVER stop thanking God for blessing us with her.  We are so undeserving of these four children in our lives.  Each of them so very special in their very own way.

Thankful.

Click here if you want to watch the First Anniversary Gotcha Day video from last year.

And click here if you want to read about Gotcha Day.