Top 10 of 2014 (Starring our Children)!

This year has been really, really, really hard.  Most days I feel like I am just barely, barely, barely holding on.  Many of my prayers sound something like this, 'God, please HELP!  Please intervene for me!  I NEED YOU!'.  But, as 2014 draws to a close, I will close with remembering the sweet, funny, blessed moments my children and I have spent together by making a special Top 10 list!

So, here you have our 'Top 10 Funny/Sweet Moments Starring Our Children of 2014'...

10. Emma to me:  'Does babies come out of the top of they mommies' heads?'
9.  Isaac and Emma's nonsensical knock-knock jokes that all go something like this:
     I&E:  Knock, Knock!  Me:  Who's there?  I&E:  Refrigerator.  Me:  Refrigerator who?
     I&E:  OVEN!  All kids:  HAHAHAHAHAHA!
8.  Josiah's attempt at his own knock-knock joke:  Josiah:  Knock-knock!  Me:  Who's there?
     Josiah:  Knock-knock!  Me:  Knock-knock who?  Josiah:  Knock-knock!  All kids: HAHAHAHA!
7.  Isaac's very lengthy conversations about anything having to do with Transformers Rescue Bots or      Super Hero Squad (and him singing the theme songs with some interesting song interpretations...
     just like his mama!).  HERO UP!  (You can also often hear Emma in the background saying,
     'But, I want to watch Doc McStuffins!')
6.  Isaac's response after realizing he was using a Baltimore Ravens blanket at our friends' house:  
     'Ewwww!  This is a Ravens blanket!' (Then throwing it down).  (This one, of course, made his
     mama proud!)  WHO-DEY!  Bonus sports memory:  driving 3 and a half hours one way to make
     sure Josiah got to his first Cincinnati Reds baseball game this year (in Pittsburgh).
5.  Emma telling just about everyone that 'we went all the way to China on an airplane to get our
     little 'brotha' named Josiah.  She also likes to say 'Ni Hao!' (hello in Chinese) to everyone who
     passes by our fence.  (After all, her blonde hair and blue eyes did make her a celebrity in China!)
4.  Josiah's pure joy in shouting 'Choo-choo!' anytime he sees anything that has anything to do with
     a train.  Bonus from the holidays:  'if i just have to dress up and hold out a bag for people to give
     me candy..sign me up!'  'if i just have to walk up to a big, white-bearded man in a red suit to get
     presents...sign me up!'  'if you want me to go on stage at church for holiday performances, i am
     going to dance my little heart out!'
3.  All the kids standing up and dancing to 'The Hot Dog Dance' at the end of Mickey Mouse
     Clubhouse.
2.  Isaac and Emma running into another room and then running back out and yelling, 'SURPRISE!'
     every single time Ricky comes home from work.
1.  Emma crying while I read her the book 'The Story of Ping' the day before we finally held Josiah
     in our arms in China.  She was upset that the duck Ping had been separated from his family and
    she cried out 'Ping needs to be with his family!'  And then sweetly, the next day, God placed our
    very own sweet duckling Josiah into our forever family!

May you and yours have a blessed 2015 filled with sweet moments in the midst of the challenging ones!

Choo-Choo!

Heatwave, Doc McStuffins, and Thomas are in!

Go Reds!

Party of 5!

Show Hope this Season!

Last night, Ricky volunteered for Show Hope at Andrew Peterson's Christmas Concert.  For anyone who doesn't know, Show Hope is Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman's Adoption Grant and Orphan Care Organization and Andrew Peterson is one of Ricky's favorite recording artists and his Christmas Concert is one of Ricky's favorite shows (win-win all around!).  Show Hope gave us a significant grant to help bring Josiah home, so it is a wonderful privilege to us to volunteer for them.

However, earlier in the week, Ricky offered to not go.  You see, the past couple of weeks have been really, really hard.  We are in the midst of a battle for our little girl's heart.  She has been struggling with fears and control and it has been really, really hard (but her precious heart is worth fighting for and I think we are making some progress!).  I have been exhausted and sick.  But, I knew Ricky needed to go.  As Isaac, Emma, Josiah, and I sat at the dinner table last night, Isaac turned to me and said, "I'm glad daddy isn't here because he is out helping other kids get adopted."  This was a holy moment to me.  Amazing.  I'm so grateful.  From the moment we brought Josiah into our hotel room in Zhengzhou, China to meet his big brother and sister, Isaac struggled.  It was hard for him to process that he was worth just as much to us in that moment as he was in the short period of time that he was our only child and then our only boy.  And he really struggled through that for months and months.  He started really making progress at about the 6 month mark in accepting that he means just as much to us now as he did before Josiah entered our family and took his place as the only boy away.

So, after a particularly difficult 2 weeks, in addition to 10 months filled with particularly difficult days, the moment Isaac put himself aside and was glad his dad wasn't home (he would prefer his dad to be with him 24 hours a day!) for the good of orphans around the world was a sacred moment for me.  Of course, the moment lasted less than a second because right after Isaac uttered those beautiful words, Josiah started spitting chicken out on the table, but it was sacred moment nonetheless and that is how real life usually works anyway.  Well, at least real life as a mom to young children.  That is why I am writing this down-to store that moment in my heart.  I do not want to continue to allow joy to be stolen by the hard moments or disappointments or exhaustion.  Emma also took a moment after I was finished cleaning up the chicken to agree with Isaac, so that was a sweet moment too!

This morning, we celebrated our family Christmas together.  We sang 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' and Ricky read the Christmas story from Luke 2.  Josiah is celebrating his first Christmas.  He is riding around on his new Thomas the Tank Engine toy (choo-choo!).  His stocking was filled with goodies and unlike last Christmas, he is here to pull them out and say 'Open! Open!'.  While all the kids spent time trying to take the others' new toys and it has not all been peace, Josiah is here and our family is together and I can think of no better way for us to show hope this season.

Merry Christmas from all of us!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord"  (Luke 2:11).

  Our Christmas Card photo is front of our 'Family Tree' in the front yard.  We took a picture in front

of this tree for our China Dossier (paperwork) holding a branch as a symbol that we were waiting for Josiah to fill that branch and now here he is! 

'Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled.  Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, with angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem!  Hark the Herald Angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!' (Hark the Herald Angels Sing).

If you would like to learn more about how to give to Show Hope and help serve orphans and families around the world, visit their website here:  www.showhope.org