God's Plan A for Mike and Amy!

John's Fifth Birthday!

Let me say having waited so long to be a Mommy, the first birthday we had for one of our children was an incredible feeling!! I wasn't sad that he was turning a year older. Rather I was so excited for him to enjoy everything that goes with a birthday celebration in our family: phone calls of happy birthday wishes, choosing your favorite dinner for the night, birthday presents, and the anticipation of a birthday party. He has spent the last half of the year watching most of the other members of our family have their birthday celebrations so he knew a little what to expect. The only tinge of sadness I felt was that not only was this our first birthday celebration with him, it was also probably his first birthday celebration.

John spent the week asking if it was Saturday yet as he knew that was his birthday day. As we put him to bed Friday night, I kissed him good night for the last time as a four year old. He woke up that morning and immediately announced it was his birthday!

We had picnic to attend that day with other families who have adopted from Ethiopia, but it was all about the presents when we arrived home!

Opening his card:

a Toy Story water bottle:

What could this be?

Months ago after seeing the movie Toy Story, as we lay in bed thanking Jesus for things from the day, John prayed - as only the innocence of a child can - "please God, Jessie and Bullseye doll." I told him we could ask for those things for his birthday. He never stopped talking about them. The day before his birthday as we were driving in the car, he asked, "mommy, do you think Jessie will be here tomorrow?"

She was:

a bulldozer puzzle:

Ryan was a little sad that there wasn't any presents for him this night. We explained there would be presents for both him and John at their birthday party and that on his birthday day he would be the only one to get gifts. He cried a little but John was nice enough to share his Jessie with him and then go get the talking Woody we have:

John's choice for dinner was pizza and it was his idea that we put the candles on so he could blow them out:

08/20/10 - Six Months

Six months, half a year - where has the time gone? I guess it has been filled with watching two little boys filled with wonder by the world and my being filled with wonder at God's good and perfect plans for us!

It is hard to remember a time when they weren't here! A time when there weren't toys spread out all over the coffee table (but hey, I waited over five years for that, so I rejoice over it!) or someone calling, "Mommy-a!" and then repeating it until I respond. A time when I did far less laundry and fewer loads of dishes. A time when I didn't go in to check on two little babes every night before I go to sleep. A time when I wasn't asked each morning, "Mommy-a, where go today?" or told throughout the day, "I love you." (although it kind of comes out as "I wub you.")

And then there are all the precious little moments I want to capture and keep in my heart forever, all the moments I want to remember always (especially when John is telling me no when asked to do something or Ryan is having one of his all out tantrums!). The "I love yous" and "Come look at this Mommy-a" and the sounds of your sweet voices singing and watching you hold hands as you walk and that right now you will talk to me about anything and everything (and keep talking and talking and talking!) and how you remember the shortest, craziest lines from movies and that you think if you walk away your Jesse doll might really get up and walk or talk and that if you meet Tinkerbell someday, you'll shake her gently so you can have some pixie dust so you can fly and how you answer a question without really processing it and then once you do, you quickly change your answer and your funny dance moves and your ability to identify so many different types of cars and your innocence and your forgiveness and your unconditional love.

I am blessed.

You can ask God for a baby?

If you know our oldest John, you know he LOVES babies! He points them out whenever we see one: at church, running errands, at a fun event. He talks about the baby he is going to have one day (his name will be John by the way) and how he will love the baby and take care of it and where the baby will sit in the car he is driving. At the store he points out the different baby equipment he will need for his baby.

For a while he was going up to people and touching their babies but we taught him he needs to say, My name is John, can I see your baby, " or "Your baby is so cute!" And I'm happy to report, he no longer touches babies he doesn't know! And he has informed me that if we ever have a baby in this house, he'd be able to touch it and kiss it because it would be our baby!!

If you know our son, you'll also know he is full of energy and life. But around babies, he knows he needs to be gentle. He moves slowly and uses a quiet voice. It is awesome to watch his heart and his love.

The other morning at breakfast, John asked if I was ever going to have a baby. I told him I didn't know. His answer, was that I could ask God for a baby. My instant and joy filled response was that I did ask God for a baby, and He gave me you and your brother!!

Green Bay Vacation - Day 3:Tall Ships

Our last day, day three found us visiting the Tall Ships. Mike had seen them last time they were in Milwaukee, but the boys and I never had. We watched Peter Pan right before vacation so the boys would be able to see the kinds of ships we were going to see. This was what we saw as we crossed the bridge:

The ships are really incredible and I wish we had pictures with the sails down! We saw two of the ships heading for the bay the day before when we were at the amusement park and that was AWESOME!

Just a funny side note, we stood on the bridge and pointed the boats out to the boys. Ryan was all excited and said wow! Then I re-directed his view away from the Foxy Lady Cruise Boat to the tall ships I was pointing at. He wasn't as excited!!

There was a big mural for children to paint and the boys stopped here for a while:

Mike and John toured the Europa without us. We all waited in line )only about 15-20 minutes, not bad!) and just as we got to the front, Ryan began to do that dance that all parents see and head for the nearest bathroom (in our case, porta potty) even though they say, "No, I don't have to go."

There was a children's section with music, blow up ships and a maze, eye patches to decorate, and digging for buried treasure in sand boxes:

Then as we waited in line to view another ship, I was looking at the different countries' flags that lined the harbor. As I looked, I thought, "Hey, I know that flag!" It was the Ethiopian flag and the boys humored us and let us take their picture underneath it:

On board the Niagara:

The boys were fascinated by this tall pirate and John was very curious as to how the stilts worked:

It had been a long some what rainy day, and the boys were tired by the end, but they agreed for one more picture (which turned into two):

On the way home, we stopped for ice-cream at Culvers (that's a good enough dinner isn't it? We had some GREAT Mexican food at the tall ships around 3pm) and arrived home right before bed time.

It was a great vacation!

Green Bay Vacation - Day 2: Packers Training Camp and Bay Beach Amusement Park

Day Two of our mini vacation began with a trip to Packers' Training Camp, Mike's beloved football team, who I'm sure the boys in time will come to love just as much as Mike does. Here are my men ready to cheer their team on (Thanks Nana for the gift that allowed us to get the shirts for the boys!!):

Sitting on the bleachers watching practice:

The boys each got a player face fan when we arrived. It was a really hot day but the people above us kept us in the shade. We stayed about a half hour and Mike got some video. Then we walked over to the Kids Zone area. Here is Ryan who wanted to wear his sun glasses just like Uncle Don:

There was a giant blow up Packer helmet to jump in outside:

Then we talked the boys into going inside where it was air conditioned! There were footballs to throw, blow up mazes and obstacles courses to run through, football equipment to try on - WOW! The boys had a great time (and did I mention it was all free!). Since we arrived in the middle of practice, there wasn't really any wait longer than two minutes!

This is the boys looking "tough" after we came back to the hotel to take about an hour break:

Then it was off to Bay Beach Amusement Park, free to get in and free parking and most rides costing 25 cents!! We bought 20 dollars worth of tickets and spent about 7 hours there.

Our first stop was the cars:

And when you turned the wheel, the car actually moved out on the track as it went in a circle. John was excited to be going "fast!"

Then it was on to the jeeps (John's favorite ride along with the cars), complete with ringing bell. By the afternoon, there was literally no one there and the boys rode this, the cars, and the airplanes about a dozen times each!

The granny bugs went up and down:

This was Ryan's favorite ride, the airplanes with guns when made a loud noise:

Eating lunch (everything is really family affordable - lunch for four: cheeseburger, brat, hot dog, pizza, deep fried cheese balls and drinks cost us $12.90) outside next to Lake Michigan: