What?!?!

What do you mean I have to give up my pacifier? You GOT to be kidding me!

 Oh me, oh my, what will I do??

Aw..mommy says not until I'm two. Geesh! That was close. LOL! She's the best! :)

Paper Dream....

A new movie coming out from American Family Studios. It really looks good!  Check it out....

http://afs.afa.net/films/paper-dream/

Around here on Saturday mornings...

Some people have traditions like pancakes on Saturdays or crossword puzzles and scones. Around here ours is a bit different. We opt for cereal and radio! LOL! The kids so look forward to the shows on Saturday mornings played by our local Christian Broadcasting Station. We start the morning with Adventures in Odyssey, then it's Down Gilead Lane, next is Uncle Charlie and Keys for Kids and last of all is the all time favorite around here.....RANGER BILL! :)

This is a Saturday morning tradition we started years ago when the big boys were young. I'm so glad it's a tradition that continues with these little ones. Truths being taught in fun ways, bonding time together as we laugh and yes, sometimes cry at the shows and discussions started that can lead to a deepening of heart in so many ways. Good stuff indeed!

You should hear the noise as kids (and adults!) are yelling "Ranger Bill, Warrior of the Woodland" with the announcer each Saturday. LOL!

Ah....yes....Saturday mornings around here are just right!

Prayer Warriors Needed!!!

Friends, we need to mobilize the prayer warrior troops. Dear Abby-girl needs our prayers. Her family needs our prayers. Precious Abby came home from China just this past December with a diagnosis that didn't seem possible. (The chances of her having this diagnosis are 4 in a million!) But today, her momma found out that in fact China's diagnosis was right and 6yr old Abby has leukemia. Plans are being thought through on the best course of action but we know that God can do the impossible. God can HEAL! God can! So, Jean is asking for any and all prayers on Abby's behalf. Will you join me in lifting this treasure, her family, and her doctors up to Almighty God? Please go meet Abby and her family. You'll be so blessed by their amazing God-sized hearts!! http://theresnoplacelikehome-family.blogspot.com

Space...the final frontier...

We've been studying all about the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets and space this month. It's been a blast! We've done lots of hands-on fun, learned fingerplays and songs that helped cement our learning, too many crafts (LOL!), and many, many fun games...like Astronaut, Astronaut, Alien, and Moon Rock Toss, Launch the Rocket, and No Gravity.  Even Nolan can name all the planets and give you many interesting tidbits about space too. Love it! 

Here's Kyalynn working on a Solar System puzzle that was a family Christmas gift and a HUGE hit!!

We decided a field trip was in order for this crew after their diligent work for the month so we ventured to Washington, DC and enjoyed the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It was AWESOME!!! Samuel was thrilled because he LOVES airplanes and as soon as you walk in there are tons of airplanes (full size airplanes!) hanging off the ceilings. For the first half  hour he kept his head craned back so he could look at all of them. :) They have so much to look at and learn about but we spent most of our time in the areas focused on space flight and the planets to tie in with our schooling. This next picture was one of my favorite areas because it showed clearly the difference in sizes between the planets. Did you know that Jupiter is the largest planet? It has 61 moons!

Connor wanted me to be sure I tell you that his favorite part of the museum was the Saturn V Rocket. I had to take several pictures because he wanted the whole rocket in the photo and that baby was BIG! LOL!

 This is the booster rocket on a space shuttle. Look at the size of that baby! Oh my goodness. I'm telling ya those astronauts had to get some major g-force on blast off. 

This was on our long walk back to our truck. The kids found this very cool building with lots and lots of steps. I'm not going to lie, I did gasp many times watching them run up and down fearing a cracked skull or something if one of them tripped. 

The Capitol Building. Gorgeous, ain't it?!

My little's...gorgeous, ain't they?!

And the Washington Monument. 

I love when God orchestrates these wonderful God-appointments in our lives. As we walked towards the museum a man who was following us for a light or two came up and said "may I be rude?" I said, "please do" (LOL!) and he went on to explain that he assumed we had adopted by looking at our beautiful family (awwww!) and shared that he and his wife are in process to adopt a special needs little girl from China. How cool is that?! He asked us some questions and we were able to encourage one another in the journey, then we parted ways blessing each other as God so leads. 

Then, later, when we were finishing up supper I headed to the trash can carrying one child and holding another's hand. This older man followed me and was sharing how beautiful our family is, how blessed we are (I know it!), and how he loved watching us. He did mention he thought I had the patience of Job but I said "Nope, but I think God's trying to teach me the patience of Job!" :)  This man had been sitting a couple of tables away and had really taken a liking to sweet Kyalynn. He was making her laugh which was wonderful because this girl wolfs her food down so fast and is done while I am still trying to find my food. LOL! So he entertained her for us without us even knowing it.
Man, I just love when God uses itty bitty us to impact someone's life and show them HIM!!

Another One....

Massachusetts teen reportedly shocked for hours at special needs school

Published February 20, 2012

FoxNews.com

A video of a disabled teenager bound and administered electric shocks for seven hours should be made public, the boys' mother says, so the "torture" her son endured at the controversial school can be exposed.

"This is worse than a nightmare," Cheryl McCollins told MyFoxBoston.com about her disabled son Andre. "It is horrific. And poor Andre, who had to suffer through this, and not know why."

The ordeal began after Andre struck a staff member. He was then tied to a restraint board inside a classroom while face down with a helmet placed on his head.

He remained in that position for seven hours without a break, with no food or water. Each time he screamed or tensed up, he was shocked -- 31 times in all, MyFoxBoston.com reports.

After spending three days in a comatose state, Andre McCollins was taken to Children's Hospital, where he was diagnosed with "acute stress response" caused by the shocks at the Rotenberg Center.

Click here for more on this report from MyFoxBoston.com.

Our News....

Well, I didn't get a whole lot of comments here on the blog but I did receive phone calls, emails and texts asking what was going on. LOL!  It seems that in the past most of our "news" involved adopting another blessing and so that's what most people thought. But not this time....

Are we going to be grandparents? Nope, not yet....

So, come on already, what's the news???  :)

Ok, ok, our news is that our son Ryan has enlisted into the Army and will be shipping out on April 3rd! We are so very proud of this boy! This has been his dream and goal for quite a long time and there for several months it looked like it wasn't going to be possible. But God! He orchestrated it all and although I am not jumping up and down at the prospect of my boy not being here, I am excited that he will be defending our freedoms. He will be an excellent soldier!

Go Army!!

Now if I could just figure out some way to fit into his suitcase...a 9 week vacation sounds just about perfect. LOL!

Seriously, prayers are appreciated for our son's safety and for my momma's heart too. :)

News to Share....

That's right...we got news. LOL! I'll just bet you can't guess what it is?! I hope to find time later today to share.....
:)

Ten Ways to Love...

1. Listen without interrupting. (Proverbs 18)

2. Speak without accusing. (James 1:19)

3. Give without sparing. (Proverbs 21:26)

4. Pray without ceasing. (Colossians 1:9)

5. Answer without arguing. (Proverbs 17:1)

6. Share without pretending. (Ephesians 4:15)

7. Enjoy without complaint. (Philippians 2:14)

8. Trust without wavering. (Corinthians 13:7)

9. Forgive without punishing. (Colossians 3:13)

10. Promise without forgetting. (Proverbs 13:12)

A Little Late...

We are now the parents of 2 adult sons. Ryan turned 18 two weekends ago. 18! I can still remember when the boys were just 1 & 3 and thinking those days of diapers and baby talk would never end. Sean and I married young and then began our family young because we had plans, ya'll.  We were going to give parenting our all and when they were grown we'd still be so young we could do all those things we had dreamt about.  And here we are....43 and 40 years young but with an almost 2 year old, a 3 year old, a 6 year old and 2- 9 year olds. LOL! God had other plans and honestly, I am SO THANKFUL He did!  Sure, Sean mentally tallies up in his head how old he will be now when our last child is grown but these plans...God's plans...hold significantly more "living" than what we had dreamed of.  I can't imagine if we hadn't adopted and I'd be facing an empty nest soon. Oh my, break my heart! But God knew and He graciously blessed my home with lots to keep nurturing and lovin' on. :)  

We were asked last weekend if we ever thought of adopting again. ABSOLUTELY! This past year has been more of a wild ride than we like with over-the-top RAD behaviors and a major slow-down on work for Sean but who knows what this new year will hold?! Only God knows and I trust Him completely with it. After all, His track record with me has been more than I could have ever hoped or imagined.  Just look at what He's done in my life....

No Nonsense...

Yes that pretty much sums up my girl, Miss Kyalynn! LOL! It's been awhile since I've posted about her progress. We are so proud of her! She is doing amazingly well and we are thankful that God continues to do His work in her life. She is truly a diamond in the rough. Many would overlook her value because it takes time to draw her out and you must dig deep to reveal how precious and beautiful this rare diamond is! 

For those of you new to our little corner of blog world let me give you a brief synopsis of where she was not too awful long ago. Our girl was diagnosed with autism around age 3. It blew us away. She is also deaf in one ear, hard of hearing in the other. Anyhow, by age 5 she only could say a couple of words and spent most of her time screaming to communicate. We put all of the little's on a GF/CF diet when she was about 6 years old and miraculously, she began talking in 2-3 word sentences. I can't even put into words what that was like...to hear your daughter talking after all those years!! It was still very primitive and raw but at least it was progress. Praise God!

 Fast forward to these days and you will see a happy little girl. She is smart as a whip but still struggles to communicate all that she knows and understands but doesn't give up easily. She knows what she wants and does her best to let you know what that is. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be to have something to say and just not have the words to say it. :(  I've mentioned before that she has a Magna Doodle and we call it her "talking board". At first she'd just use it to write words or draw pictures. Now, this smart little girl uses it as another tool to communicate with us! If she thinks I'm not understanding her she will go write it down and bring me her talking board. You should see her smile when I finally understand what she was trying to ask or say. Priceless! :) 

Here she is with her "talking board". This is what she had written....

Thank you God for friends family and sit and pray

Thank you God for fun time

Thank you so very much letters

Thank you God for fun

Amen

What I LOVE about this little note is how she realizes and is so very thankful for the letters (words) that she uses to communicate.  Something we so often overlook in our prayers because we don't have to fight to talk.

But don't you worry, this little girl is no pushover. She is adamant about what she wants and will try her best to get you to agree. LOL! I often say it's so good God put us together because we bring out the best in each other. She's made me a much stronger person and I've made her learn how to take things in stride. I've learned when to push her and when to ease off. She needs that in her life. It helps her to be the best she can be! I never knew what I was missing in my life until she came into my world. She has helped me to be the person I am today. Together, we make a great team!! 

My precious, priceless diamond....Kyalynn Da Seul!!

The Power of Patience...

A patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8

     Psalm 37:7 commands us to wait patiently for God. But as busy women in a fast-paced world, many of us find that waiting quietly for God is difficult. Why? Because we are fallible human beings seeking to live according to our own timetables, not God's. In our better moments, we realize that patience is not only a virtue, but also a commandment from God.

     We human beings are impatient by nature. We know what we want, and we know exactly when we want it: NOW! But, God knows better. He has created a world that unfolds according to His plans, not our own. As believers, we must trust His wisdom and His goodness.

     God instructs us to be patient in all things. We must be patient with our families, our friends, and our friends, and our associates. We must also be patient with our Creator as He unfolds His plan for our lives. And that's as it should be. After all, think about how patient God has been with us.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8

Let me encourage you to continue to wait with faith. God may not perform a miracle, but He is trustworthy to touch you and make you whole where there used to be a hold. ~Lisa Whelchel~

Wisdom always waits for the right time to act, while emotion always pushes for action right now. ~Joyce Meyer~

He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive His blessings to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, before He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands; He will not delay one hour too long. ~Andrew Murray~

Lord, give me patience. When I am hurried, give me peace. When I am frustrated, give me perspective. When I am angry, let me turn my heart to You. Today, let me become a more patient woman, Dear Lord, as I trust in You and in Your master plan for my life. Amen.

~100 Devotions for the heart of a woman~

Aw..... :)

Our sweet Samuel....such a precious blessing in our lives! Although he doesn't talk yet he still gets his point across, let me tell ya. LOL! We've been trying to teach him signs and so far he can do hat, more, cheese, and a very iffy Jesus. :)

He is ALL boy, climbing on top the table, wrestling his siblings, playing outside and using the furniture like a jungle gym. Oh and did I mention that his nickname had been "hammerhead" for awhile because he loved to headbutt....the floor...the couch...his siblings...my leg. OUCH! I think we mostly have that behavior licked....at least for now. :) 

 He loves trucks and construction equipment and will rifle through our bookshelf loaded with books until he finds just the right one. Then he will bring it to me smiling, grunting and pointing at the dumptruck. He will turn around and ease himself backwards onto my lap and then settles in for me to read him his book. Precious moments for sure.

He is finally able to wear 18 month clothing. (He will be two next month). The boy hates sleep. Seriously, nap time is craziness. He sleeps maybe 20 minutes if I'm lucky and at night, ummm, yeah, still not sleeping through the night...him or me! And when he wakes if he doesn't see me he's very unhappy. So most wake-ups find him crying- not happy and smiling. :( But he settles quickly when he's in his momma's arms. :)

I could go on and on about this little gem. He is such a fun gift from God to us, one we weren't expecting, but are surely enjoying every moment of!!!