Waiting Stitches

I thought I'd take it upon myself to teach the boys a lesson in egging a house. It makes sense to teach these things while they are young so you can enjoy the time with them, before they go out on their own to do it.  We had to be pretty sneaky so we didn't get caught. Caleb was quick. Tope really knew how to chuck them. And I held the bag so the eggs could be quickly accessed.  We had a blast!!!! Ok, ok, so before you go calling social services on this Mother, please be aware that this is a different type of egging, one to be celebrated! The egg Tope holds says this: You've been EGGED There are 12 eggs hidden in your yard! Enjoy the hunt, but don't be discouraged when you find the empty egg. It is a simple reminder of Jesus' empty tomb-- for HE IS RISEN! This idea was not all mine! It was found on the overwhelming site of Pinterest! Ha! I can't tell you how often I pin something and never do it, but t...

Today as we celebrate palm Sunday, we also celebrate two months since we got to hold Christopher in our arms for the first time. First of all, I have to say quite simply, Adoption Rocks! I cannot imagine our family without this little boy and his big grin, deep laugh, and mischevious eyes. The wait to bring him home seemed so long, and now our time with him feels like it is already flying by. We are all settling in nicely as a family, every week I can see signs that Tope feels more comfortable with us and we are understanding this whole family of four thing better too. Some signs things are going well - while playing, if I'm nearby he will lean against me with his back or even his knee, just so we touch. Caleb and Tope are playing together more, hugging more, laughing more together. He jumps into his Daddy's arms when Jon comes home from work and has pure joy radiating from his face while giving a big hug. The dog now wags her tail and smiles, instead of looking worrie...

We have now had day long visits from both sets of Grandparents and both boys are in love! It was a joy seeing Caleb's face light up seeing his Grandparents and then watching Tope as he started to get to know them. We could tell he recognized them from pictures he has looked at, both from the book we sent him while in the orphanage, and pictures we have around our home of the Grandparents. We spent our days by staying home and just enjoying our time together around the house. By the end of both visits, Tope was happy to give them all hugs and big smiles.  We are beyond blessed to have such supportive parents that love their grandchildren with their whole hearts. Words cannot express how thankful we are for the love they share for us and our children. God is good. Here are just a handful of pics from our days together. I'm sure there will be many more pictures to be taken in the years to come!   Time with Grandpa & Grandma Schack... Oh these two! They crack...

It was time for a little change on our walls. The process is going slow, but it's finally getting there. No, I am not talking about new paint or wallpaper (although, this too should be done in a few places), I'm talking about the pictures on our walls. Our house, until just recently, has been a shrine to Mr. Caleb himself. ha! I love my child, and seeing his smiling face all around me, especially during the moments where he is driving me up the wall... never hurts to have some happy reminders around to keep me grounded! I digress... For years I've been anxious to put up pictures of more than just Caleb. Pictures of him with a brother or sister has often been on my mind. And now, the day has finally come to put out pictures of two children, not just one. I must admit, there is a little sorrow to this occasion. First, I've removed a couple old pictures of Caleb to make room for new ones. It's always hard to see his cute little baby face go, but I still defi...

Today I was reminded of a song Jon and I learned quite well while traveling to Pennsylvania years ago. We took Caleb at the age of two and one of our destinations was to Sesame Place (highly recommend! Great Sesame Street themed water/amusement park!) We decided we were so smart to buy him a new DVD to watch in the van, and of course we bought a sesame street MUSIC themed DVD - "What's The Name of That Song?". Big Mistake! They sang the title song numerous times throughout the movie, and Caleb watched the DVD numerous times throughout the trip, thus we heard the song well over 100 times before returning home I am certain. It is quite the earworm. Here is an "older" version of this oh so wonderful song....   :) So why has this song popped in my head? Probably because lately I frequently hear the question, " What's the name of your boy?" If you have asked this question! Awesome! We are glad that people are asking and want to learn more, b...

We have now been home as a family of four for one month! And inevitably, we are experiencing some "inevitables"... 1. My house inevitably looks like this, all the time. Well, ok, it has been picked up a few times and has looked "clean" for maybe five minutes at a time! The boys are a windstorm and have found toys I didn't even remember existed - but I sure am glad the toys are getting some regular use. 2. We have inevitably been to a couple medical appointments with many more to come. Tope has now seen the dentist and we had a three hour visit to an adoption clinic. He handled himself well at both appointments. The dentist was the hardest because the xrays were scary for him. I was having a hard time holding it together watching him quietly cry all while I couldn't be with him because of the stupid radiation, blah. He will have to have some oral surgery done soon to remove a bunch of decaying teeth, but good news is they are all baby teeth and the...