Monday, February 28, 2011

TOO FUNNY!!

My friend sent me this on facebook and I laughed out loud several times.



11 steps to Parenthood

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.
Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.
Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.
Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?
Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.
Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.
Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.
Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.
Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.
Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.
Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.
This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

So much JOY

So to catch up over the last couple of days....

Friday was fun, it was Adam's birthday so we celebrated a lot. Goober and I went to sonic before school to get a drink since Dad let us use the last little bit of a gift card he had. Goob asked to call dad after we got our drinks. So when I handed him the phone he said " thank you for the sonic and I told mom she can't get frustrated at you when there is no gas in the car "...hehe. I thought that he didn't notice a conversation earlier in the week when Adam had left me gasless before school one morning but OH NO, he heard and he was telling me to behave :).
At lunchtime I walked down to Goob's school and ate lunch with him. One little boy complained the whole time about what his mom had packed...it was hilarious. A little girl shhhhhed me and Goob and said " the first 10 minutes of lunch are quiet time". Goober told me I had tomato breath. Then he saw I had packed him a little snack bag of M&M's the same little boy looked at me and said " you know that is unhealthy"....HAH!
For dinner that night we took Dad to CiCi's and the kids ate tons of pizza and then played in the arcade. Goober drew Dad a card with everyone on it....its quite a piece of artwork and I am going to frame it soon! Then we got home and watched both Ice Age 1 and Ice Age 2.....which for dad and I meant an hour nap :).
We also got my car fixed on Friday which cost the exact same amount as two checks we received in the mail that day. THANK YOU GOD!!!! One was for my coaching of club volleyball and the other was someone paying us back.

Saturday morning I left at 6 in the morning for a volleyball tournament north of Dallas. The kids had fun all day with dad and they sent me pictures. They finished building Goober's fort which is a very neat fort for a kid his age. Dad let him use his new drill to make it extra strong. Ribbit played outside all day but ended up getting taken out by a swing, the merry-go-round and then did some face plants in the dirt. Oh well, she was happy.
During the afternoon while Ribbit was napping, dad and Goob watched Ice Age 1 and 2 again....oh yeah, another nap for Dad. Do all kids watch movies like that.....back to back? I mean its okay if they do, more sleep for us!!!
Saturday night we all made dinner together and then we split up and took the kids into their own rooms to play. Ribbit and I danced to her new kitty cat piano, played with her whack-a-ball and then she wrestled me everytime I said " shoes" ....she thought it was hilarious!!! Dad and Goob played with his new car tracks and then got scrabble ready for the three of us to play after Ribbit went to bed.
Scrabble was interesting. WHo knew that teachers were telling kids that NFR and DTH were words? :)Our main goals were to 1) get Goober to sit still and finish something and 2) to get him to read every word that was laid down. We only used 3 and 4 letter words and he did good sounding them out. Adam told him several times " dont look at mom's mouth, look at the word". I am a little bit of a pushover and I try to help too much. Who would have thought that? Everyone who knows us agrees that they all thought that I would be the strict parent....even Adam. But that is completely opposite of how it is. Adam sticks to the rules and routines we have sat up and uses really big words :). I am just out for kisses and cuddle time and beg Adam if I can keep them up just for 10 more minutes :).
After scrabble Goob laid on the couch with me and I rubbed his head b/c his stomach was hurting. He was out in 10 minutes and went to bed easily.

This morning we were all up and eating breakfast at 7:15. We got ready for church and made it with 10 minutes to spare. Goober loves his sunday school teacher and she asked us to fill in for her on an upcoming weekend....we are excited because Goob has a hard time remembering what he did in sunday school, so this will give us a good insight. Ribbit of course went straight in and stole the hearts of all of the nursery workers....they all tell us that she is so easy and sweet....of course she is, she is our child :).
Goob came with us to the first part of our sunday school to pass out Thank You cards for presents he had received. Then he went down to children's church. He told everyone how hungry he was and that he got no breakfast....WHAT!!, he definitely had a bowl of cereal!

Lately, he has been watching my every move when I am driving. He says " mom, you are going 32 in a 30, or you just went under the yellow light, I bet you are going to get pulled over again. Why did I ever teach him how to read the speed or tell when you are getting close to being out of gas??????

He has also started to volunteer to pray at dinner and before bed. They usually go like this " Dear God, please help mom feel better, help dad finish his book, make Ribbit sleep more and less whiny, in the name of Jesus ( hehe), Amen. " We are very glad that he likes to pray and that he is taking it seriously.

Overall great last couple of days....we are all looking forward to spring break in a couple of week and spending a whole week at the beach!!!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

About to drop



Its only 8:15 and I feel like I am about to crash. Yesterday was very looonnng but very blessed. We took about 80 pieces of artwork and 20 students to an art competition. Two of my mixed media students brought home first place ribbons. The young man that I have been coaching in art history brought home second place, which means they all will go to state :).
Then I had to head back over to school for a baby shower thrown by my 7th grade girls and club volleyball team. On the way my car started acting crazy weird, which confirmed to us even more that this may be the weekend of the mini-van...its been a long time coming but we need it desperately!
The shower was more than we ever deserve. It was like a christmas morning on steriods for the kids. Wait, til you see these pictures.

THis is just the toys and bedding.....its pretty much everything off of our registries!!! Good also got about 6 outfits and Ribbit got about 15 outfits. We also got a ton of gift cards to both Wal-Mart and Target which is soooo great! I mean Adam and I were astounded at how awesome our school family has been to us throughout the adoption...maternity days, showers, money, food, you name it!!!!

After that I had volleyball practice til 7:30ish and then I headed home. Ribbit had a night terror last night and could not be soothed for a good 20 minutes. It scared both Goob and I and we eventually let her watch 10 minutes of spongebob and then she was out cold!

I took both kids to the doctor today ( thanks to those maternity days :0)) and they both are on track for height, weight and head size. Ribbit doesn't need to gain more weight until she grows more :)...she is a chunk! The doctor asked if I was their mom or foster parent, and Goob answered " mom, well she will be"....which totally 100% shocked me. Adam and I have been careful not to use the "a word" around him since so many other people have told him that they would adopt him and then not followed through. He is such a smart little boy though...and the fact that he wants this to happen melted me!
As the doctor was checking him I noticed that he didn't have on any underwear....when I asked why he said " well its your fault, you didn't lay any out for me". I was laughing so hard. I guess I do normally lay out the entire outfit but this morning we had staff devotion and I was running late so since I didn't put out underwear so he just didn't wear any :).
He has also started calling me " mommy" now, which is 10 times sweeter than mom, but I will take either or!

Ribbit fell today while we were at the park and skinned both knees and her head. She is a rough one, loves to run up and down the ramps at the park. She finally mastered " more" in sign language and did it several times at dinner tonight! Its very weird to me how much our dinner time has changed. It used to be Adam and I eating very thought out meals in front of the TV. Now its Goober eating one of the 10 things the kid will actually eat, Ribbit eating most of my food and Adam eating Goob's leftovers while keeping the cats off the dining room table. Poor cats, they aren't used to us eating there and think its still their territory! I always eat a pretty good lunch at school because I know its the one meal of my day that I won't have to share with Ribbit :).

Adam has been working trying to fix the car for most of the day. We are hoping to keep it, get rid of the truck and get a van. We may have to change that plan though depending on what he can get accomplished tonight.

We are having family portraits made this weekend so I can't wait to post those! One of my girls got Ribbit a tutu and a bumble bee outfit so I am going to get some single pictures made of her in those.







Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Happy 2 Week Anniversary

I can't believe that we have been a family of four for two weeks today! I just love those kiddos so much.....its a pain when I have to let other people watch them or teach them :)...just kidding, kinda.

Ribbit has been saying all kinds of new words lately. She is behind in her speech development so we ask her to repeat everything we say. She is now saying "please with a "P" at the beginning, Ba-nana instead of just nana and "shoes" with a very definite "sh" sound. We got her a sippy cup with a straw so that her little mouth can start forming different shapes. She has all the workers at church wrapped around her finger and for the most case everyone else she comes into contact with.
Saturday at Kroger, two older women said she was a sweet little boy....what, really? She had on a pink shirt, brown pants and pink shoes.....I just said Thanks and wheeled on past. She loves loves loves bath time now thanks to her daddy. He showed her how to pour water and she washes her little truck. Its like night and day!!! My favorite part of the day is giving her a bath, drying her off (whoa frizzy curls) and then helping her brush her teeth. It tickles her to have her molars brushed and she will open her mouth wide for me to brush them and then just fall into hysterical laughter the moment the toothbrush touches them. She also has decided that she likes to tickle us and will run at us with a scary face wigging her hands....the more scared we act the harder she laughs.
Goober is earning lots of stickers every day on his chore and manner chart. He has been very kind to Ribbit and is consistently brushing his teeth without being told to. This morning I went to check on him in the bath and he was just lying there. I asked him if he was done and he said " yeah, the water is too hot". That kid would take a freezing cold bath if we would let him!!! He has started copying down words that he sees and then asking Adam and I what they are. Today after school he wrote down some words from my art timeline and then tonight he wrote down words out of his bible story book. He told my parents today that they should name their dog "God" because he is soooo big and because he really likes that name! He is always telling us that "well if God was here he could do it", whenever we say something would be hard to do. He is also constantly reminding me that I got pulled over by a cop. If I am eating in the car or look back at him he will say " that is probably why you are going to get pulled over again". I love to kiss all over him and watch him squirm trying to get away from it. He always says that I never get it on his face but I have kissed his eyes, nose and cheeks several times!!!!! He also think that dad is a better hot dog cooker than I am .....well duh, Adam will actually touch the hot dog, I am so appalled by the very thought of a hot dog that i heat it for 10 seconds and practically throw it at him.
Tomorrow my volleyball team and bible class ( all 7th grade girls) are throwing us a big shower after school. Adam is bringing Ribbit up so that they can see her again. I have to watch other students around Goober though because he shuts down fast. Everyone knows about him and is so excited to meet him but he can't handle constant questioning and has told me several times that he doesn't like to be questioned. I have learned that he needs mom to kinda lead conversations for the first little bit so that he can talk about what he wants too and to keep all of my sweet precious students from getting in his face and overwhelming him! I don't blame them though, he is super cute, after all he got his looks from his dad :).

More really funny videos coming up soon....lets just say that I get a smack in the face from Ribbit and you can tell that Adam is laughing by how much the camera starts to shake. So much for not laughing when your kids are mis-behaving :)

Monday, February 21, 2011

More Videos

Since I spent the majority of the weekend at a volleyball tournament I don't have much to post. But here are some more great videos....and if I haven't said it yet, Adam and I love being parents! Thank you to those of you who keep encouraging us during this new and exciting time in our lives. We are in a good routine now and finding that good consistent, loving discipline is taking us far. The kids are getting more and more comfortable with us and I pray that feel safe and wanted!!!





Sunday, February 20, 2011

Bre Talking

Bre bouncing her baby.

Bre bounces to Tigger a lot!!! She decided that her baby needed to bounce too!



Saturday, February 19, 2011

Loving my family

So, have you ever just felt like a complete fool? Well if not, just get kids...it will happen repeatedly. Yesterday was not my finest. Eli was shooting spitwads at me from the back seat on the way home from school...so I was reaching back and tickling his legs. Well a cop noticed that I changed lanes before I should have at a merger and pulled me over. Right when I saw the lights, Eli said " That is what you get for paying attention to me and not the road". The cop was nice and gave me a warning but Eli is now telling everyone he meets that I am a) a crazy driver, b) that I need practice and c) that I better not do it again on Monday....wonderful. He also imitated me in front of our friends acting as if I was bobbing and weaving through traffic......HA!!!
Then on the way to school that morning we had an interesting conversation about the sun and how hot it was. I proceeded to teach him that the sun rotates around the earth ( wait for it) thus giving us a day and a night. Later on at night, Adam was talking to Eli and Eli told him what I said that morning. Adam looked at me and said " really". I just then realized that the earth orbits the sun and Adam and Eli just laughed and laughed. Therefore now Eli says that I dont know anything and pretty much asks Adam all of his questions. Like a friend told me tonight, I know what I need for art and volleyball, so I am good :).
Bre really impressed us yesterday. We had our first parent meeting with our adoption agency and they provided childcare. When we went to get her the workers said " she is so polite, she said " thank you" every time we gave her something. Adam and I high fived each other and said " yeah its working".....and it is, she says Thank You to everyone but us :). She sometimes says " ank u " but its normally when she should be saying "please"....oh well!!!
Eli had a great first full week of school. I asked him if he wanted me to come eat lunch with him today and he said " No, we do secret things at lunch" :). His teacher told me yesterday that he got sad during the day and said that he missed me .....ahh, he does love me :).
Last night we presented the gospel to Eli and when we were explaining how Jesus didn't have an earthly father, Eli said " dad, were you born? " and when Adam said "yeah" , Eli goes " But how come you have a beard?". Adam said " well it grew" to which Eli answered " wow, you were born with a beard"......that kid cracks me up!!!
Bre just melts our heart every time she looks up and says "mama and dadda". When our friends were over she bumped her head and immediately looked for me and said " mama". I mean I could just hug her all day long...good thing she likes to walk or else I would never let her down. She has gotten her bedtime routine down. We change her diaper, put on pj's, she grabs her veggie tales book, we read it, sing it twice and then she lays down. Then I pat her stomach and sing Jesus loves me while she pats my hand and shakes her head Yes.....makes me want to sing it 10 times! Then we say Nite Nite to each other through the door about 10 times. I am crying right now at how precious she is and how I know I will miss this routine very soon!!

I must once again say how blessed we are. On the way to school on Thursday Eli and I prayed for some polo shirts for him. He has to wear uniforms and we only had 3 shirts...which equals lots of washing. Each shirt is $24 dollars and I just dreaded having to pay that kind of money for clothes. However, we got to school and his teacher handed me a Spirit shirt that she had got for him and then the lady who is over our uniform store gave me 5 free polo shirts for Eli, within 15 minutes of our prayer. I loved that Eli got to see God answer such a small prayer and so fast!!!
Then this morning I got to school and there was a brand new pack and play sitting in my desk chair. Another teacher had gone out and bought it for us- which will be great as we travel over Spring Break for Bre. We had just said that we needed one, and God provided.

Tonight two sets of friends came over and just loved on our kids and encouraged Adam and I. Another couple brought us dinner. We are speechless at God's work in our life and how He is revealing himself to us through a lovable, precious, innocent 18 month old girl and a sweet, fun-loving, kind-hearted six year old boy. We can't imagine our lives without them and without the love of our Savior.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Highlights

So here are some highlights from today and yesterday.

Of course we have the infamous question that Goob asked me yesterday on the way home from school " Mom, where do babies come from". Well first of all you have to know that we were in the middle of a conversation about race cars. Second, he said it very boldly. So, I said " Goob, when two married people love each other very much they can make a baby". He kinda thought about it and said "but babies are always small and then get big, so how does that happen". I just said " well they grow up". Then I said " but Goob, you and Ribbit came to us because we loved you so much and prayed to God for so long that he would give us kids". Goober said " but didn't you know i wasn't a baby, i am six", and I said " yup bud, we wanted you even though you were six years old". That satisfied him.

Then, last night after we thought he was asleep, we hear him tear out of his room and down the hallway and he says " I forgot to tell ya'll that the light in the bathroom turns on". We were like " what are you talking about?" At this point he was grinning and said " the light in my bathroom at school just turns on when you walk in, you don't have to flip the lightswitch". Then he got back in bed and went to sleep. :) :)

Goob brought home a book to read to us and did very well. He also got a Music Note from his Music teacher for good behavior.

He had a meltdown today after being very disrespectful about what mom what putting in his lunchbox. So he sat in time out until he could say sorry. No more than 10 minutes later he was saying he was sorry, smiling and back to Ole Goob!!!! He tends to not like it when Ribbit has our attention ( go figure) so that is normally when the smart talk comes out!

Ribbit is just the best baby. She laughs and giggles at you. Adam is teaching her different things throughout the day. Like when I got home today she showed me how she had learned to pick her nose :) ( HA). No really, he taught her to step down into our garage all by herself, he taught her to say "Meow" for a kittycat, and he is slowly getting her to say "please" at the right time.

Ribbit grabbed my face this morning and gave me my first big wet sloppy kiss on the mouth....then she just laughed and laughed!!!!! She also likes to point to my shoes, then dad's shoes and then say " shoes"...kinda.

Once again, I just have to say how overwhelmed we are at the love that has been poured on us by our church family, our family at school and our parents friends back in Alabama. We are getting cards and packages daily full of gifts and giftcards. It definitely makes this transition 10 times easier. We have also not had to cook a dinner for ourselves since we got the kids....different couples in our sunday school class are taking turns bringing us meals....we are spoiled rotten and our kids are being shown the love of Christ in a very practical way. I hope that we can return the favor to each one of you in the future.

We serve a good God, who has ADOPTED us as his very own, into a family that will love on us and cling to us as if we were blood relatives. I pray that my children will know the powerful grip that holds onto them when they are adopted by the King and become heirs to his royal throne.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Must get sleep

I will post tomorrow.....but let me wet your appetite with this......one sweet, handsome, sneaky little 6 year old asked me flat out " Mom, where do babies come from? " today on the way home from school.
If you know me then mark it on a calender, because today for about 10 minutes I couldn't find anything to say!!!!!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

2nd Video of Bre


Listen for her to say " Night Night"!!

Bre's night night routine


Again, sorry that its sideways!!! Listen for her to say "baby"!!

1st Day of School

YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
That is how I felt pretty much the whole day!!!
Bre got up, ate, went to her babysitter's for three hours -who said that she behaved wonderfully- came home and played outside most of the day with dad. Adam sang ABC's with her, was showing her some new words and then they both took a nap together. We are really working with her to talk because she is slightly behind where she should be in speech. But we know that she is one smart girl!!!
Eli had a rough morning-mom couldn't do anything right and then there was the whole " have to go to school deal". By the time we were pulling up to school he was crying and I was crying too. But that all changed the minute he saw his classroom and his teacher. He walked in, got his cubby, put his lunch and backpack up and then saw his new desk. It was loaded with supplies!!! I stayed behind to watch him for a while, hiding out in the hallway and by the time they were saying the pledge of allegiance he was 1/2 way smiling. After school he was all grins, holding about a bajillion Valentine Day cards and gifts. He played right outside my classroom with two of my students while I finished up my day and then we came home. He was soooooo talkative all the way home and told me how they ate " flat ham" at his party and that he didn't learn anything, just played. I am not allowed to come to his school tomorrow because they are having special cake and I am too big to eat it :).
Then we came home and looked through the presents that Gramps and CC ( my parents had sent)....his favorite was the Gummy Bears and Bre's favorite was the princess card. Then we all went outside and played and hung out with Ross ( who got them both some AU gear, thanks man!!!).
Then Bre and dad stayed in the front yard while Eli and I went across the way to the park. I wore Eli out---tip of the day- dont bother explaining that you are going to be a little bit slower than a 6 year old because you are wearing dress shoes--they dont care and will still call you slow poke for the rest of the day. Eli also told me that God said I can't climb on the jungle gym because I am too big.
Then our sweet friends brought us dinner and we all ate......A LOT...except me, I am still dealing with this stomach bug that wont let me eat hardly anything....may run to the doctor soon. During dinner Eli said " why does God call it ranch dressing? and why are we called people?, then before I could answer he said " If I were God I would call me " Aweomse, and I would call Dad " Big God" and I would call Bre " Crazyhead " and you " Crazy head two"!!
He did however call Adam and I " Mom and Dad' to our faces all day today!
After dinner he took a bath and we played blocks and sang ABCS with Bre. She said " Meow" and " tweet tweet" and is saying " mama and dada " alot! Then Bre got her bath, we read her Veggie Tale book from Captain and Lolly- which she loves and dances too---check out that video- and then without any fuss she went to bed.
I am writing this while Adam is reading bible stories to Eli. I can hear them talking about Zacheus and practicing couting to 100 ( not sure how that goes together :))We had a fun bed time with him today. He bet that I couldn't kiss his forehead so we wrestled until I kissed his eye and called it a day :). Then we all prayed and he asked dad to read to him.
We are only one day into our "normal routine" but so far we are loving it.
Adam is a wonderful dad and I am loving being a mom!!!!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Sunday Post

Today was a little crazy. We woke up earlier than we had all week and had to be somewhere where it mattered whether we had showered or not!! Tip-schedule at least 1.5 hours to get two kids plus two parents plus 3 bibles into a car and to church!
Goober did very well in sunday school- he won the bible trivia game by 3 points...his teachers were very impressed. He wore his new shirt from Mrs. Deanna and his new shoes from Mr. Jeff. Then he went to children's church where he said they just sat and talked but I know he had fun there too!
Ribbit made tons of friends and has one nursery worker wrapped around her finger. Both times that i peeped in she was pushing a stroller around the room and playing. When I went to get her she was loving on the worker and telling me bye bye.
After church we all came home and Goober and Ribbit both crashed for about an hour. Then we ate lunch and got busy getting things done. Goober and Adam, who is now dad about 75 % of the time and Santa 25% of the time, painted on the house, hammered in some things and watched some TV. Ribbit and I sat out to get Goob the last couple of things he needed for school and some groceries for lunches.....I know that this isn't a new revelation or anything but DAG UM, kids are expensive!!!!
Ribbit is by far the best shopping partner...she sits up front, eats her little snack, makes cute faces and waves to everyone and says " weeeee" and " uh oh" all the way through the store. She made it through Target and Wal-Mart with only one cry moment when she attempted to take her shoes off. I got her to say " thank you" about a dozen times and we sang " jesus loves me" all the way back home.

Yesterday our church family had a shower for us and we were blown away. The kids pretty much had a second christmas. Goober, being the fashion person that he is loves all the clothes and shoes he got and we played with all his toys until late last night.
Ribbit got a high chair and we are amazed at how easy meal time is now. She loves it, we love it, I get to eat...its a miracle...THANK YOU LAURA AND MATT!!!!

Last night as I was laying Ribbit down for bed, I started singing Jesus loves me to her and she patted her stomach to the beat ( for the most part :)) and nodded her head yes everytime I said " yes jesus loves me".

Sad note- Goober was upset about going to school tomorrow. He cried a little and then had some bad behavior. Towards bedtime he sat on the couch and just started crying. I went and sat with him and asked him why and he said " I miss my grandma". We both sat and cried for a while and talked about his grandma and how she made cookies for him and colored with him. He knows that he can talk about her and that he can cry for her. I think it took him back to see me cry and so he went on to bed without too much argument. He didnt' want a bedtime story, just for both dad and I to pray with him. What a sweet little boy who has been passed around and yet still loves everyone.

Okay, time for bed- I go back to school tomorrow too after nearly a week off. Adam and I set up presents from the Valentine Fairy for Goober when he wakes up....a new backpack, two belts ( that he picked out), a new water bottle for school, some cargo shorts ( he likes longer shorts) and some candy. I think this week will establish a routine for our little family and I am ready for that......please pray for my little boy, that he would know the love of Christ and that we would be so loving towards him that all the bad memories he has are forced out.

Tomorrow is our one week anniversary as the Harvell Four!!!! :)

I'll post more videos and pictures tomorrow!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

4:27 am post :)

So I am up bright and early this morning b/c I slept all day today. I woke up last night throwing up and therefore Adam took care of the kids most of the day. Ribbit had a weird day too, she was very whiny and cried a lot. I think its because she didn't sleep well the night before....no one did. When I got sick, Goober had just come and got in bed with us b/c he was scared. I ran to the bathroom the same time that Adam went to check on Ribbit and therefore he was left alone in our bed. He quietly got up and went back to his own bed....what a sweet boy.
So, I slept probably 2/3 of the day and therefore about an hour ago I got up, did the dishes, sent out my progress reports, clipped coupons and then decided to blog.
Even though we had a rough day we still got some things accomplished. Ribbit's babysitter is now fully licensed to watch her for about 4 hours a day while Adam is at school. There are certain criteria that someone must have to watch children in foster care. We were so afraid that we wouldn't find someone and have to put her in daycare....but guess what, a new couple joined our sunday school last week and she just so happens to be a licensed childcare provider for the state of Texas....another way that God has shown us that we can't do this on our own.
We also got Goober's valentine day cards made for his class. He did them all by himself. He put both their name and his name in the "from" line but thats okay. He has gone two nights now without wetting the bed, and he is so proud in the morning to tell us. Yesterday while he was taking a bath I heard a loud "MMMMOOOOMMMM"....as I was tearing up I ran in and saw that his bath water had all drained out b/c he pulled the plug. So we started the bath again. He has been calling me Mom to Adam but never to my face. He also told me that we should wake up Ribbit after "dad" got home....which he is normally very stubborn about calling Adam "Santa". He really likes Dr. Seuss books, we read a couple every night before bed. He also likes sleeping with about 50 stuffed animals.
Ribbit loves music. Spongebob came on the other day and I promise she did " raise the roof " during the whole theme song. Goob was watching that movie Planet 51 and everytime there was music she would stop playing and shake her head and bounce. She loves to bring us things from all over the house. When we say Thank you she shakes her head yes. But when we say please she always shakes her head no....its kinda funny. We are trying to break her of always wanting to be hold. Two days ago I put her in her crib while I was cleaning up her room and she only cried for about 2 minutes. Then we had a little conversation and she played with some books by herself. I have been reading about 18 month olds on the internet and it seems like that is a pretty common problem but all parents agree to let them cry and not give in every time.....however, her little sad face will melt you!!
Okay, that is enough rambling for now. We have shower today for the kids at our church and Goob is super excited. I am going to pay some bills and maybe catch up on the Food network before everyone wakes up.
Thanks for continuing to pray for us, please pray for 100% health for all 4 of us today.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Bre Talking

Sorry this one is sideways too..I will keep that in mind as I film them.
She was saying Mama and Dada earlier but of course stopped when I started filming her.

Goober Sliding


I know its sideways...I can't find the program that Papa sent me to turn my videos!!!

Goober, the baseball player!

Love them!!

Today was a full day of maternity leave for me!!! So we woke up and headed to school to get Goober enrolled. I was almost in tears as I saw him see our school for the first time. I am so in awe of how God orchestrated my teaching position there knowing that my little boy would need Christian men and women to love on him just 7 months later. I am overwhelmed.
He met his teacher and she told him that there is only one little boy in his class and that they have been praying for another boy since August...praying for Goob! He will be in Pre-1st with a wonderful teacher and only 6 other students. He was sooo excited. He is going to start on Monday, Valentine's Day....so we are making cupcakes to send to school with him. He got "Cars" valentine cards to hand out.
Everyone at our school loved meeting them and everyone was so encouraging to us. We are finding ourselves every day saying " isn't it how cool how God worked that out". I found myself in tears last night looking over Eli's school history. No one took the time to save his class photos or to hold onto any little awards or drawings. He deserves so much more, he is such a sweet little boy.
We then went to McDonalds and let Goober wear himself out in the playland. I went up with him-despite my severe claustrophobia and almost got stuck...yeah, that will be my first and last time up in those things. Ribbit had fun too and went in and out of a tunnel. She loves french fries and he loves cheeseburgers.
Then we came home and Adam left for work. Goober and I played with Ribbit and got her to say " Mama, Dada, Nite NIte, and Bye Bye. She was in such a good mood and we laughed and laughed at her. When she hears the Spongebob Squarepants song she does this move that reminds me of " raise the roof". Then Goob and I watched a skateboard tournament ( i have to admit that he woke me up several times :)) while Ribbit napped. Then when Adam got home I took Ribbit with me to Wal-Mart to register for their shower on Saturday. Adam and Goob stayed home and cleaned up some..the fort was taking over the whole living room and Goob's room was a little unruly. We had two sets of sweet sweet friends come over tonight to meet the kids and one of them brought us dinner.
Both kiddos went to bed on time and are sleeping right now!!!

Goober told us that he will be going to college in 5 years. He also told us that Justin Beiber has fat eyes and that he is allergic to baths. He held my hand for a little bit today while we were watching skateboards....such perfect little hands.

Ribbit sang and danced all day. She is sooo funny. She loves to give kisses on the nose!. She loves gerber graduate juice and anything I put in my mouth!!

Thank you God for my sweet family and a wonderful husband...we are in awe.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

the kids part 2

So, to fill you all in.
Our first night with the kids was hectic. Goober fell asleep in his bed but didn't stay there. He slept at our feet until he had an accident (poor guy) so then he went and slept in Ribbit's room. Ribbit "slept" with us the whole night....we both had feet in our faces, got punched in the eyes and woke up at 2:00 to her cracking herself up...you have to meet this kid, she is hilarious!
So we woke up- I'm not sure Adam and I ever went to sleep- and all got showers. Ribbit is not really into showers and Goob can handle it on his own. Then we got dressed and headed to Target to let Goob register for things he would like to get at his party this weekend. He picked out all new bedroom things, some swimsuits, toys, church clothes and sports stuff. We let him hold the gun so I am sure the registry looks weird. Then we headed over to the baby area to register for Ribbit and about that time she threw up all over herself, the buggy and the floor.....all while smiling. I grabbed her, and took off with Goob to the front. Adam tried to clean things up and not vomit at the overwhelming disgusting smell and look of that mess. From that we learned Tip #1-Never leave the house without an extra outfit for your 18 month old. Needless to say Ribbit got a new outfit at Target right then and there. Then we came home and took Goob to the park to throw his baseball. He is a really good little thrower and we have a video of him catching 5 balls in a row. He loves the park beside our house and he just ran and ran. Then the kids attorney and CPS worker ( who has been with Goob for a while and with Ribbit for a year) came over to go over some paperwork and we all ended up crying over what these kids have been through....we are so thankful that God has given them to us but so aware of how much love they need. Then we fed the kids and I got ready to head to school for two classes and my volleyball practice. I called Adam after I had been gone for 4 hours and he sounded desperate. Apparently Ribbit's little stomach was upset and she had thrown up on him 3 times and given him lots of full diapers. I couldn't type that last sentence without laughing :). I asked him to let me speak to Goober over the phone and he said he was having a good time with Santa. He also said "i love you" at the end of the conversation :) :). I stopped and got some Pedialyte for Ribbit on the way home. When I walked in Goober ran into my arms and hugged me while he told me about his day with Santa. Adam was washing Ribbit's clothes and he looked and smelled like death :). I am laughing again. So, I took the kids and let him have some down time. He assembled Ribbit's crib and after she drank some pedialyte she fell asleep pretty fast. Goober and I watched a kid show and then he went straight to bed with no problem. Adam and I cleaned up and at 10 realized that neither one of us had eaten lunch or dinner. So we ate a piece of chicken and went to bed :)
Wednesday- snow day for both Adam and I !!!!!This morning Ribbit cried out at 5:30. I got up, rubbed her belly and she fell right back asleep. At 7:30 she was up and ready to play. We put her in bed with us for about 20 minutes and she loved on us and slapped Adam in the face :). Then I woke Goob up and the three of us ate breakfast while Adam slept for another 30 minutes. Goob ate two pieces of cinnamon toast and some orange juice. Two minutes later he asked for chocolate and a rice krispy treat....boy can he eat!!!. Ribbit ate a banana muffin and drank pedialyte and as of today at 3 hasn't had any dirty diapers or throw-ups. We made Goob a fort out of the box that the crib came in and we painted on it and colored on it. He then karate chopped all of the styrofoam and so now it looks like it is snowing outside of our house and inside :). Goob is a very good little artist and he wants to be good too. We read a Dr. Seuss book together and in it animals were moving a mountain, so we talked about how God tells us to have faith and if we have enough we can move a mountain. He said yeah and God can pray too :). Then he showed me his VBS book and all the verses he had learned and stories he had read.
Then we got a package from the Harvells. Goober worked on his book "All about me" and we measured his toes, fingers, nose, ears, feet, hands. He showed us how he could jump, skip, dance, crawl, etc. Ribbit just walked around and loved on all of the stuffed animals we have. She will come and stand in front of u and that is your signal to pick her up. She only wants to be loved on for a minute or two and then put back down. She is soo happy, she giggles and make puppy noises. She will say Hey and Hi.
Two guy friends came by after lunch and Goob hid in his fort for the entire time while Ribbit flirted with both of them. Goob then fell asleep in his fort and Ribbit fell asleep watching Spongebob so that is why I have free time right now :).

I am gonna post these emails and some pictures on our blog at israeldig.blogspot.com.....probably not today since I left my camera at work ( mommy brain) but tomorrow.
The cats still haven't come out of hiding but hopefully soon. Our home looks like a disaster zone but at least we are all healthy and have evergy after a good night's sleep.

Love you all, thanks for the prayers!!!
Kinzie, Adam, Goober and Ribbit

THE KIDDOS!! Part 1


So the kids got here at 4 today and boy was it crazy. We went out to get them and Goober was crying pretty hard. His aunt didn't tell him that he was leaving today so he was shocked. Ribbit was and has been the happiest kid ever. She went straight to Adam and has been in love with him ever since. Goob came with me into the house only after I mentioned the fact that we had cats and that he had his own room. He loves his room, he loves the Cam Newton poster we put in his room and he loves SHOES!!!! They came with lots of clothes, some toys and some hygiene products. No carseats or booster seats but our agency gave us one of both. 
We played for a little while so that the two agents could fill out paperwork. Then they left and said that they felt so much better after seeing us with the kids. Then we colored with Goob and chased Ribbit around. We ate hamburgers--Goob loves pickles. Ribbit is still eating Gerber graduates type food and drinking mainly water and milk.
We went to Wal Mart to get some fruit and some Gerber graduate food. Goober was such a help in there and didn't flinch when we said NO to a toy. He did say that he wants a jacket that is "that football players colors" - Cam Newton for Auburn.we got him hooked already :). All the way to Wal Mart we asked her if she was different kinds of animals and she would shake her head no and just grin...melts your heart. Oh, and momma mind has taken over b/c we got to Walmart and I didn't have my purse.
So then we came back and played 3 card games of Uno with Goob in which he said " we went down". He has some weird Uno rules :).
I am putting Ribbit to bed, supernanny style. Put her in bed, tell her good night and walk away. The bad part is that she thinks I am hilarious and cracks herself up!!! I laughed so hard while getting her ready that I was crying. Adam was faking being asleep and she was mocking him.
Goob is playing one game of Wii before bed with Adam and he is excited about starting school and giving cupcakes to his class on Valentine's Day. He is also excited about the beach over Spring Break.
He doesn't like pepperoni, broccoli or carrots.
He loves green beans and corn and chocolate milk and pickles.
He has a great sense of humor and loves his sister.
We are in love. We are also dead tired.
We will start to film them doing little things and send it. We will eventually take pictures. Goober mentioned "his other mom" today and that his dad works with cars. He knows that "elijah, the prophet went to heaven" and asked if we were going to church tomorrow.
He is calling Adam "Santa" for now and me "Rudolph".....heheehehe. That was funny at Walmart!
I will keep you to date. Please pray for Goober, he is a happy kid but the first 30 minutes of getting him was heart wrenching..he is sooo little and wouldn't look us in the eyes for a while. God is sooo good to us and we have cried, laughed and cried some more today.
Love you all, Kinzie

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A post about nothing

DAG UM!!!....We haven't written on here in a looooong time. I keep telling myself that I really dont' have anything fun to blog about. I mean what could compare with our digs in Israel or career changes or adoption, nothing really. So for my sake ( because I know in 5 years I will beat myself up for not keeping up with this blog) I am going to play a really fast catch up of our lives.

First of all- WAR EAGLE!!!!! Auburn went undefeated this year and the AU vs. AL game was absolutely breathtaking....can you say VICTORY after a 24 point lead? Then we headed off to Glenndale and scored on the nations "highest scoring offense". It was beautiful and even though we all needed oxygen tanks to get through each and every game we are sooo PROUD! And since this is my blog, I'm just going to confess that I became completely and utterly frustrated with almost every Bama fan I came into contact with between Thanksgiving Day and Jan. 9th. Adam kept himself composed but almost immediately after the National Championship Game he said that all bama fans could just "eat duck crap" which reminded me of why I love him so very much :).
Moving on, before I say how I really feel :), Adam is a little over halfway done with his Masters degree. He is finished with Hebrew, thank you Jesus, and is now learning Greek. He reads a whole lot, studies when he is not reading and writes paper when he is bored. He is still praying diligently about our next move...whether that be a PhD here or elsewhere. We haven't felt peace about either decision and since it stresses me out I have to trust that God will guide him and give me strength to follow.
I am in still totally in love with my job and my students. I never ever thought that someone could love love love their job. I know that teaching at a private christian school makes all the difference too. I can talk about Jesus, I have to actually since I teach Bible, and I am ministered to daily by other teachers, students and the parents. I have a creative outlet through my art classes and love coaching volleyball, both for the school and now a club team. I have learned that teachers have to get over being shy too. Thanks to my precious 7th graders I was able to sing karaoke in front of the school at a social. Let's just say that I wasn't at all surprised to learn that now I will be riding a donkey in the donkey basketball game this next Saturday for those same little 7th graders!!! I really am kinda scared of donkeys.....what if they are hungry and my leg looks tasty?
Next, our adoption. I am convinced that both Adam and I have prayed for patience at some point in our life and now we are experiencing patience to the fullest. We have had several leads for a handful of sibling groups and we are now looking into a promising private adoption. We have learned to control ourselves though and not get attached to pictures or names because 1) the court system in slow 2) things aren't as they always seem and 3) God has plans that are different than ours. We are still slowly adding books, stuffed animals, videos, art supplies and furniture into the two bedrooms we have waiting but we aren't committing either bedroom to a gender just yet.
Finally, our home in TN has YET TO SELL!!!!!! I mean come on people, someone just make us an offer, any offer :). We have had several leads and it seems as if we will get 2 or 3 interested people and then they will disappear from the face of the planet. Our sweet Realtor is doing everything she can to help us out and we owe her!!! We are past desperate, past caring even. We have completely given it to the Lord and said if you want it to sell, then you have to do it. Otherwise, we will just keep paying a rent, hoa and mortgage every month and we will do it with a smile on our faces :). Years from now I know that we will look back and be able to see what God was teaching us and be able to note that he took care of us financially during this time.

Other than that not to much has changed since my last post. We are about to gain a sister in law, my brother is now in school to become a personal trainer, and we are starting to make plans for a return to Israel for one or both of us this summer.

Hopefully the next time I write will be to tell you that we are a) parents, b)first time home sellers or c)BOTH!!!!!


" Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, Holy, Holy is he
Sing a new song, to him who sits on, heaven's mercy seat"
I love hearing our Logic School sing that song in Chapel!!!