It Never Ends

The growing up of our munchkins never ends.

Here's proof:
C-Man got a cell phone a couple weeks ago.

Little I is learning to swim.

Miss B is looking older by the hour, I think.

NoBo recently had his first dentist appointment. It was a NIGHTMARE, but it's over!!! Here he is playing in the waiting area before the appointment.

You Nork

I just told Little I that he needs lotion on his skin a few times each day because he has brown skin. I explained that his older brother and sister don't need lotion on their skin because they're vanilla.

He said, "Yeah. They're not chocolate anymore."

I tried to explain that they never were chocolate. They've always been vanilla because they were born from my tummy and I'm vanilla. I reminded him that he came from another lady's tummy.

He said the reason they're vanilla is because they're from You Nork.

There's a peak into a 5-year old's mind as to how we learn race. It really means NOTHING!!!

Our House

Yesterday in one of Little I's classes at our homeschool co-op, he and his friends were making pictures of their houses. Then, the sweet teacher wrote down what the children said about the things that go on in their houses.

Here's what Little I said:

I like to play games at my house. I like to play with my brother and sister. I love them. I like to play with NoBo. My mom and dad like to go into their room and play. I also like to play by myself. I also like to eat candy.

Hopefully you got a good laugh out of that. I know I did.

Five Years Ago

5 years ago God & I had already convinced Cowboy that we needed a third child, but nothing was happening. We were beginning fertility testing.

5 years ago God had a plan for us that we knew nothing about.

5 years ago I was thrilled to be welcoming very soon a new niece and nephew. In vitro miracles!!!

5 years ago God was opening the womb of Baby Sister, who had longed for a baby for many years.

5 years ago I was beginning to think like a desperate woman. Desperate to have another baby. I knew these desperate thoughts. I'd had them all before. 8 years before.

5 years ago there was a woman recovering from delivering a 6 pound 2 ounce beautiful baby boy.

5 years ago my womb was closed and I was aching for a baby.

5 years ago our family didn't know that what we were missing had already been brought into this world by God.

Today I am amazed that God chose us to be his family.

Little I, we can't believe you are 5!!!

Sweet Kisses

I hate to admit this. Especially to those of you who've never been able to have children biologically. But, here it is anyway...

There are times when I still get sad that Cowboy & I were only able to have 2 children biologically.

At those times when I let myself "go there" and be sad, I pull myself up quickly by thinking about how gracious God has been to me and Cowboy to allow us to have this precious boy as our son.

Little I is so passionate. He brings such an abundance of joy to our home daily.

Last week he was kissing us all goodnight. He spent a few minutes kissing each of us all over our faces & necks. We were laughing hysterically and I continue to be amazed that God chose us to be Little I's family.

There's No Denying I'm Blessed

Slippery Stuff

For those of you who are not blessed to have someone with beautiful brown skin in your family, here's a news flash:

Quality Oils & Lotions Are Needed To Keep Skin Healthy





Apparently Little I was born with that knowledge. At only 3 years 11 months 1 week and 3 days he knows that to keep his skin healthy-looking and feeling, he needs oil. Look at how well he took care of himself yesterday.

We're pretty sure he's ready for body-building competitions!

My Sunshine

OK, so yesterday after my frustrations I blogged about, I took this sweet video of Little I. This will put a smile on your face--GUARANTEED!

West Side Story--Little I Version

Apparently yesterday while I was on an adoptive couples marriage retreat Little I was engaged in a bit of a brawl. He didn't get injured and there was no physical contact. This was a DANCE OFF.

SS, a 5-year old, and Little I were battling for several minutes. I'm so grateful for video cameras!!! I would have been heartbroken to have never seen this brawl. The video is about 6 minutes long and there's a whole lot of, "Take this!", "Check this out!", and "Check it!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSsix4NGgiU


I am not technically savvy enough to put the video on this post, but check it out if you've recently emptied your bladder!

Enjoy

Oh Happy Day!!!

Well, today it FINALLY happened. Little I pooped in the toilet!!!

Rejoicing was heard throughout the house and a fish Webkinz will be purchased to seal the deal! It has been decided that the fish will be a girl (grule as Little I says it) and her name will be Bubbles.

Oh Happy Day!!!

Thanks for letting a proud mama indulge herself by spreading the news!

His Head is a Canvas

I am obviously white and have never stepped into a salon that caters to ethnic hair. I've been asking sweet brown-skin people all over the metro area for a couple years now where they get their sons' haircuts. The answers have varied, but ultimately NONE of them get their hair done on my side of town.

Last night while I was at Wal-Mart I asked a lady about her son's hair. She told me the shop and the barbers name. Today, after I dropped off Miss B at swim practice, I headed to that shop. The people there were very nice. However, I will never take my big kids. The language and TV shows that were on are not what we allow our children to hear or see.

Tony did a great job dealing with me, the white mom who didn't even know how to give him a good description of what she wanted. My exact words were, "I don't know. Something cute. Maybe some sort of pattern or swirl thing." He went to work on Little I and the end result was the COOLEST haircut any of my kids have ever had. Tony created a masterpiece on Little I's head!



Little I looked in the mirror when it was all said and done and said, "I have a triangle in my hair." Cowboy took some pics and video of him so he could see the cut from every angle. He couldn't keep his hands off it at first. He was very proud!





This haircut will only cause more double-takes when people see our family. As if we don't stand out in the crowd anyway with our tow-heads and brown-skins! It's a good thing our whole family is outgoing!!!

Brown-Eyed Boy

Two days ago I took only Little Bit to the store and left the other 3 behind. When I got home I gave the oldest 2 each something I'd bought for them. C-Man's was new dental floss. He was so excited! Look at this picture and see if you can guess what I brought home to Miss B. I, unfortunately, was in mommy's-tuning-everyone-out mode and missed Little I's questioning, "Is this for eyes, Mama? Is this for eyes, Mama? Is this for eyes, Mama?" By the time I listened the damage was done. Here's my beautiful, brown-eyed boy. Doesn't he look good in mascara?

Adopting Little I

I've been meaning to do this for a long time. My memory is not that great (& I'm sure my love for Coke Zero is not helping that) so I feel that I have to journal things to remember them. Our story of adopting Little I follows.



Our plan was 2 kids. God was so good to us and we were able to have 2 chilren on our own. As soon as I had recovered from my c-section with C-Man I said I wanted another. Cowboy thought I was crazy and reminded me that our plan was to have 2 kids. I got tired of nagging him and just turned it over to God. I asked Cowboy to pray about how many children we should have. He heard from God and it wasn't the answer he wanted, but he obeyed. (I just LOVE my husband!)



We were not able to have any more kids on our own and decided that we should become foster parents in hopes to adopt. We had friends who had done this and knew there were plenty of kids out there that needed homes. We made the first phone call in August of 2005 to get information about becoming foster parents. We finished our foster parent classes in December of 2005. We were SO ready to have another baby by this point, but we still had more red tape to go through.



In January of 2006 God gave me a dream. God has never before or since given me a dream or vision. In this dream I was on a playground at an orphanage looking for my child. I found him. He was a beautiful 5-year old boy with brown skin and big brown eyes. I woke up from the dream and told Cowboy what our boy was supposed to look like. Even though I knew we were supposed to get a baby, not a 5-year old, I knew God had shown me our child.



We finally received a phone call on March 29, 2006 to ask us if we'd take 2 little boys. Because of some extra responsibilities I had at the time, I had to say "no" to 2. I asked the worker if she had any brown-skin boys under 1. She told me she had some. The stress set in. How would we decide which boy to accept? I called Cowboy, who was in the car with Miss B and C-Man. We said a quick prayer and knew we were to take Little I.

We picked up Little I the next afternoon. He was SO tiny and had the hugest brown eyes. He was a malnourished 9 1/2 month old baby with Don King hair. In those first weeks I told him numerous times, "We'll always feed you when you're hungry."

Many details and 2 1/2 years later he is officially OURS!!! We can't imagine life without him. He brings us great joy everyday with phrases like, "Knock your cheese off!" and "Hey, Bobby!"

God is SO good!