For the unbelievers

So this little story is for the people who don't believe me when I tell them how ornery and naughty my sweet little Owen can be. Also for the mothers out there that only have girls....this is what you are missing.....

So the boys ate lunch today while I was unpacking groceries, and when they were done they ran to go play together in the basement playroom....So I decided to sit down and eat my lunch in peace. They had been playing nicely in the basement for about 10 minutes when I heard Ethan laughing hysterically and Owen squealing at the top of his lungs. These were the sounds that when heard, you know they are up to no good. I head down to the basement to discover water all over the carpet, and Owen is chasing Ethan with a cup from their kitchen set. Upon further investigation and interrogation....I find out that Owen has been filling this cup with water from the toilet and then chasing Ethan with it trying to dump it on him. It took about 10 minutes, several towels, and many squirts of hand sanitizer to get the carpet and Owen's hands all cleaned up. I will never stop being amazed at how fast they can make a mess, and how long it takes to clean up the mess that they made in a flash. I guess that is what I get for the quiet lunch that I enjoyed.

Oh and another note about Owen's naughty streak....When I discovered what was going on, I sternly told him "NO, NO, We do NOT play with the toilet water!" I took the cup away from him, and he chased after me trying to take it back and then hit the back of my leg when he discovered he wasn't going to get it back. Needless to say....Owen took his nap shortly after that! I think the terrible 2's have arrived just a little early.

I just love my kiddos to pieces even though they are naughty sometimes. I guess someday when they have their own kids who act naughty....I can laugh and tell them that they deserve it!

Love,

Katie

Leap of faith

I have been reading a few things lately about how God talks to us and recognizing how and when he talks to us. So I thought I would share an experience of mine on that subject.


As most of you reading this probably know, TJ and I have been talking seriously about adoption for a little over a year now. We felt tugged/led/called (however you want to say it) by God that we were meant to adopt our next child. We both felt like we needed to have the money saved first....But we also kept hearing from multiple sources not to let money be an obstacle to adopting. We heard multiple times that if this is God's plan for your family...he will make sure that the money is there. This money issue in hindsight was really just us not trusting God's plan for our family.

Well, 9 months after we decided we needed to buckle down and save money for our adoption....we didn't really have that much saved. (We have 3 kids, I work part time....and things just come up that cost money) So one night while saying my prayers, I asked God to just make it known to us how we should proceed....do we continue trying to save money, or do we just go for it?
The next morning I was reading e-mails. I always get a daily devotional sent to me from "The purpose driven life." The one for that morning was titled "God smiles when we obey wholeheartedly." Read the whole post here. Basically it said, whatever God asks you to do...you should obey and do without hesitation, because delayed obedience is really the same as disobedience. God doesn't have to give you an explanation for what he asks you to do, you may not feel qualified for what he is calling you to, it may be expensive and very demanding of your finances or demanding or your time, but your understanding of what he has called you to do can wait. However, obedience to god and what he is calling you to do can't wait. Hmmmm..........

So, no I didn't hear God whispering the answer directly into my ear....but does it get any clearer than this? I shared all this with TJ, and he agreed that was a pretty clear answer to my prayer. So with my prayer answered, we took a leap of faith that God will help us figure out the financial part of this and.....we "officially" applied to Holt International (our adoption agency.)





A little update on our adoption progress so far:

We are currently in the "paper chase" process. We have our last visit on Monday with the social worker to review the rough draft of our home study. Then we just have to finish up the last few documents for our dossier (paperwork that gets sent to China.) After we get the dossier sent to China, then we just wait for a referral. We are praying for our sweet China angel daily. Whether or not he/she has been born yet....we don't know, but we are praying that God puts someone in this baby's life to love and care for them until we can get there to bring him/her home.


Love,

Katie

P.S.- Hopefully I will get a post up soon with some pictures of the cute kiddies that are already living here at our house ;-)

Lights on....lights off

Owen discovered the other day that he could drag the kitchen chairs around and use them to reach things he otherwise wouldn't be able to reach. I caught some pictures of him finding the light switch and how much fun he had with it.





This is him when he first climbed on the chair and got his hands on the light switch for the first time....

Lights off!

Lights on!

Can you tell he was having lots of fun with this new discovery? He is to funny! Oh....and as you can see....pants are optional at our house (at least for the kids that is.)

Love,

Katie

melt my heart

Ethan's prayer tonight....

Dear God, thank you for my family. Thank you for my Mom and the sunshine, thank you for presents today, and thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Amen

(Seriously, melt my heart! And...in my opinion, a pretty grown up prayer for a 5 year old. I love that boy!)

Christmas picture fun?

So I am sure that anyone with young children has had this same experience of taking group photos of them. I have decided it is virtually impossible to take a good picture of the 3 kids together. (You know, a picture that they are all actually looking at the camera and smiling) This year went much better than last year but it still took many takes to get a decent one. And without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, here are some of my attempts for a group Christmas photo.....

This one would work great if we were just going for goofy.

This one was really not that bad, but wanted better expressions on the boys' faces. They kind of have that deer in the headlights expression going on.

Grace looks like she has been drugged in this one.

"Owen....Look at Mommy."

This one is a real contender....wow this is going better than I expected!





Well, file another one in the goofy file.

Owen is not smiling, but he is looking. SO, AHHHH.....SUCCESS!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Love,

Katie

Friday night is pizza and a movie night!

So last year we started a new tradition at our house. Every Friday night, we have pizza (usually just homemade pizza) and watch a movie (kids' choice)....and their favorite part.....they get to eat their pizza in the family room. This is also the only night of the week that they get pop...which probably comes in a close second to eating their pizza in the family room.

It really is lots of fun...once I got over the inevitable spills on the carpet, hyperactivity at bedtime due to the pop, and the fact that I don't always love what they have chosen to watch, (Strawberry shortcake movies, and All about garbage trucks movies are just not my favorite thing to watch) It is something the kids look forward to, and as you can see...even Owen is having a fun time joining in, even though he doesn't get to share in the pop thing yet.

Note...please disregard the poor photo quality, the fact that I have not a stitch of makeup on, and that I am flashing a huge, cheesy grin. (thanks)

If this photo was a little less blurry you would be able to see that Owen's sweet little face has pizza sauce all over it. Gotta love the mess they make at this age!

Love,

Katie

The outfit.

I have been a total slacker when it comes to blogging. I don't know what my problem is...I just can't seem to find or make the time to update....but, today is the day!

Grace had her drug prevention week at school (in October....yes, I already acknowledged that I was way behind) and part of that was having fun dressing up (kinda like homecoming week...but not homecoming...and for elementary kids, not high schoolers) On Friday she was supposed to wear halloween or fall colors...so we had a little fun with it. Here is her outfit. She absolutely adored the striped tights! And any day that she gets to wear a skirt is a good day for her. (Funny, that is totally the opposite for her Mama!) Well, here she is....

And yes....I am a cheapskate. I sent Ethan to preschool the day before in the same shirt. I didn't get a picture of him though. (They are close enough to the same size that I thought it more economical to buy one gender neutral shirt and have them share.)

Love,

Katie