Adulting is hard

Not only is being a parent hard but being an adult is hard. I love the t-shirt that says "Jesus, because Adulting is hard"!!!!

I think I left my phone out in Ceramics class :). Love this sweet girl and I have for 6 years!

Another of my FAVORITE KIDDOS....shhhh, teachers don't have favorites!

SOO happy to be riding a pony on Western Day!

Unfortunately Goober's behavior got worse before it got better. It drove Adam and I to insanity and we both had splitting headaches and stomach aches most of the week. We finally sat him down and said "if you want your life to be like this, fine. We will pray for you..we will discipline you but we won't get worked up over anything else. You will not pass 6th grade, you will not be allowed to play any sports or do anything extra cirrculur until you fix this. You will not be allowed to determien the attitude of this family. Its sad to us because this is your only childhood, your one shot and you are shooting yourself in the foot". We said that calmly and it has been calm since.

This hunk took me on an awesome date to see the Monet exhibit in Fort Worth followed by dinner at the Cheesecake Factory!

THIS MEAL WAS SOO GOOD. Cabbage, topped with Ahi Tuna steak and a runny egg that oozed out on top as sauce!!

I got a lunchbox lovenote from my girl. She loves it when I put those in her lunchbox. Check out my BIG boot on my ankle :).

I swear the last two sermons have been for us, and I hope that Goober has heard them loud and clear. He has talked through them with us and I think he wants to do right, he wants to be obedient but in the moment he only cares about himself and what other peers think. I spent a long time on the phone with our adoption coordinator whom we have not spoken to since Little Man was officially ours...so almost 4 years ago. In her mind Goober was only 8 and when I said "Mala, he is 12!!" she said back " you aren't old enough to have a 12 year old....wait, you weren't old enough to adopt a 6 year old". We had a good laugh and she says that often refer to us as "that young sweet couple who wanted lots of kiddos"...hehe. She said it sounded like Goober is acting out to get attention, that he is officially out of his honeymoon phase with us and then she reminded us that most pre-teen and teenage boys lose their mind at some point. She wants us to take him back to counseling, which I will do...but its hard when two other counselors have dismissed us....not seeing a real need for it. His FAVORITE teacher who sees him 2/3 times a day for Math and Bible and  Homeroom said it best "Goober is not stupid, he is not a bad kid, he has just decided that grades and obedience are not important right now". She sees him struggle daily too. However, his grades and behavior have now snowballed and he is constantly lying and cheating to catch back up. Its devastasting to see his potential and watch him not live up to it.....but just like every character in the bible, Goober will get past this and I know he will grow up to do great things for the kingdom...great things for others...his heart is too big not to!!!!!

He was so excited for his Mommy Monday breakfast....He ate the snot out of his donut!!!

We had a great time during the family scavenger hunt at our Moms In Prayer dinner!!

Photo Booth Fun!!

Today, Adam took Ribbit to a Daddy Daughter Rocket Launch and they both loved it. They shot off two rockets and had fun building it together yesterday. Meanwhile I took the boys to Lifetime (our new family gym) and we swam and played basketball. THEY LOVE IT. I love that we are all spending time "working out" and having fun. I love that we have lots of friends who are members there and that they played with kiddos from church and school on the court and in the pool. I am so glad we joined!!

Today in church Ribbit wanted me to hold her during worship. She loves to sing the song loudly, while we are touching noses and as always I got to smell her "petting zoo breath". I have always lovingly referred to her breath that way since she loves to sing in my face and almost share a breath with me...its comical how much she copies me in church. If I am singing loud so is she, if I have my hands raised so does she...if I am taking notes, so is she...THE EXACT SAME NOTES ...hahaha.

Check out what the boys and I are building...a lifesize R2D2!!!

Daddy daughter rocket launch!!!

We went to the rodeo yesterday and as ususal we headed over to pet all the cows, horses, goats and bunnies. When we were in a nice, quiet cattle pen Little Man yelled "WOW MOMMY, LOOK AT THAT FAT COWS BIG WEINER!!". Everyone around us snickered. Then when I took him potty later on he was taking forever and had locked the stall so I couldn't go in. I said " are you ok?" and he yelled "yes, I am pooping and my butt burns!!!"...no filter at all! The kiddos loved watching the bucking bulls and horses, the barrel racing, the calf roping and the wagon racing but I think their favorite was the rodeo clowns and singing along to "deep in the heart of Texas" everytime it played!

Riding in the wagon at the rodeo!

Her dream came true when they let her pet the baby cow!!!

He cuddled with his bear for the entire rodeo!!

They were both blessed to get several Build a Bears and outfits for them from one of the families at CCA. Daddy and bubba went to a basektball game instead of the rodeo!

This week is busy with art competitions, basektball games, the 100th day of school and a pile of laundry that is taking over our chair and ottoman....probably 5 loads worth....hehe, we have let it go a bit!!!

The no-good, bad, ugly week

Ever have one of those weeks that you don't wanna talk about because it was a nightmare to go through the first time?

We had that week with our oldest. He decided to do some things at school that would have got him suspended had he been in a public school. He decided to be selfish and lie to our faces (which hurts the most). He decided that hiding grades would somehow never catch up to him and now is looking at repeating 6th grade. It was just a huge blow up of things and lie after lie was exposed. We sat in the Dean of Behavior's office and just begged her to help us, begged her to SCARE the fire out of him.

She did. He has shown some remorse, I would like to see him mourn over his sin but I think that may only come if he actually repeats 6th grade. Its hard to know what to say as a parent but in my heart I sometimes question his relationship with the Lord and how much he depends on Him. We have given him a lot of instructions this week that sound like this "pray, read the bible, ask God for help"..."we don't know what else to say or ask you or beg you to do so just pray that God changes your heart"...."you have to want this, we can't want it bad enough for you".

God showed off to me big time this morning through the story of Noah. It was a sermon I wasn't honestly thrilled to hear as I feel like there is nothing new to learn through Genesis. However, as usual I was dead wrong and God brought several verses alive to me....especially as a parent. He grieves over the sin of the world in Genensis 6:6 and our sin "grieves his heart"...that is his first response to our sin...grief. Not anger. Sadness, not rage.

I finally felt like I could put to words what I felt for Goober this whole week. Sadness, mourning over his sin, mourning over his love of the flesh, mourning over my inadequacy to parent him. Madness and Anger didn't sit right and it didn't get his attetion....but when I got so worked up that I cried and when his dad showed great disappointment in him, he listenend, he cried. When we tried to show him how his actions spoke sadness into others lives and made them grieve he listenend.

God also showed me this morning that Noah did all that God asked him to...like big things. Build an ark that should have taken modern day machines to build. Build an ark for "rain".."rain" that had never come before. Noah did things when all other humans were giving into their sensual desires and making decisions that seemed to make their life more fun, more convenient, more self pleasing. .....and then there is me. Heck, I can't do what I am asked to do for one solid day....I can't imagine doing all that is asked of me. I can't give as much as I am gently nudged to do, I can't parent as compassionate as I am asked to do. I can't go one day without hating somoene in my heart...and then there was Noah who lived so righteously that he was worth saving, he and his family. Very convicting.

Now I know how to pray for my Goober. That God will find him to be faithful when no one else is. That God will teach him how to mourn over his sin, that he will hate the idea of grieving God and that God's kindness will lead him to repentace. That God will show him how GOOD he has it, how gracious he has been (and no I am not talking about his adoption by Adam and I but rather his adoption by the Good Father).

Opening a late christmas gift from a friend while out on her breakfast date with Mommy.

She loves taking notes in her new bible. I just have to convince her to not write down what I do...hehe. She wants to copy evyerthing I WRITE or underline or circle!

Pep Rally at school...they both wanted to sit in my lap...fine with me!

In ligther news as we were meeting with a counselor this week to explore some options she listened as I rambled off some suggestions from the Dean of Behavior and then she grabbed me and said "Hey, I don't want to point out the obvious, but your children are adopted and they have a lot of rescources available to them through the state, right?". I was stunned. I honestly forgot that they are adopted. I forget that they have access to help, counseling, therapy, testing, health benefits. I forget because I see so much of their father and I in them. I am blind to their skin color....I LOVE THAT. I LOVE that someone has to remind me of their adopted state ...hehe.

Acorn squash with apples and sage sausage......YUMMY!!!

Recovery

Remember that time I ran a marathon, took one day off and ran 5 miles the next day. Well that was fine, until yesterday. By the end of our FAST 5.5 mile run I was wincing in pain from my left ankle. I chalked it up to the fact that I wore heels ALL day Sunday and my body isn't use to that....but then I remembered that I ran a marathon a week earlier....and I basically took a rest day ...not a full week recovery like recommended or like I have done in the past. So now, I am wearing a boot and icing my ankle like crazy. I have been rubbing down with Helicrysum and Lemongrass too and I am no longer wincing...it just reminds me its there when I put too much pressure on it. Fortunately this is a slow week for the Harvells and I am able to do a lot of sitting...and pointing, ...I am sure my mom and dad are having flashbacks to when I had my tonsils out and I pointed and bossed them a lot from my bed :).

Coleman family christmas...My grandma is pointing to Goober as he plays violin  for us.

Boy cousin fun...I love that Little Man was riding his easy roller while playing with his remote control car! What a life!

Baby Kamden didn't know what to think about Goober's blanket or the noises my Papa was making!

Ribbit won the Most Improved Musician award last week in class....deeming her not only artistic but musical as well...she was very proud of that award and sings to us constantly. She also teaches Little Man a song every day and they perform it together until one of them gets tired of being "outsung" and begins to push and shove and we have a WWE match in our kitchen floor.

Ribbit also has become the perfect person at our home. She corrects EVERYONE about everything. Here are some examples.

Little Man " mommy, why is God going to burn the whole earth up?"
Me "well because I'm sure the new one he is going to make will be so much better"
Ribbit "well, you shouldn't be sure because he is GOD and should know it will be so much better!"

Me-I'm pretty sure that car was doing 15 miles per hour -to Adam
Ribbit-that car was doing 15 MILES PRE HOUR (emphasis on the H and PRE, not per).......yup, she knows everything

Me/Adam (every meal)-Boys mix your vegetables in with your meat and eat it together instead of saving what you don't like until very last.
Ribbit-Yes, see how I do it? I mix them and eat them together in every bit.

Great grandson, grandson and Great grandfather...love this picture!

We tried our best to get a family shot...This represents my grandparents, 1 of their kids,  4 of their grandkids,  6 of their great grandkids and 3 spouses. 

We looovvee playing with Baby Kamden!

Gingerbread house contest

What my family does everytime....card games!

Goober is learning the hard way that school is a place where we work..its not all recess, snacks and social time. He is really struggling with grades but fortunately peer pressure can be a good thing and the thought of repeating 6th grade and/or not being able to play 7th grade football next year due to grades....brings instant tears to his eyes and a promise to work harder. I felt his pain yesterday as I read through his paragraph on wolves. It was painful as I read long run on sentences without commas.....you know that pain if you read this blog.....I ramble, change my mind and the only warning you get are those dots.....I use dots instead of commas because if it were up to me commas would not exist. They apparently allow you to pause or describe, but honestly they have too many rules attached to them. Its like owning a cat in our town...its good to have pets but there are too many rules that come with those little furballs and all the fun is sucked out of it!

Heading home...out like a light and cozy in their blankets!

Lunch at Cracker Barrel thanks to my Aunt and Uncle....we needed a break as it was about 2 hours into the drive that we learned that Nana Harvell had passed.

Yup, there are 3 bikes, 3 suitcases and a WHOLE LOTTA christmas loot in there. When we pulled in to start unpacking we looked around and saw that somone had raked and bagged all of our leaves....what a generous gift!

Little Man got to play with Collins on Sunday. We went over to watch some of the Cowboys game and they SOAKED up every minute they could with each other. They pick up right where they left off and neither one of them wanted to say bye. Collins had her scans yesterday and THEY ARE CLEAR...no more signs of more tumors or signs that her other ones aren't shrinking. Best news ever, now just several more chemo/radiation rounds. Talk about a fighter and two parents who are strong and wise beyond their years!

The last of christmas

I never full got to wrap up our Christmas break...and I have so many great pictures from our time with my family in South Alabama!!

This week has been SO UGLY...rain and cold and 2 of my runs have been in BOTH...an awful combination. I don't mind the cold, but it does get hard to breathe at some point. The kids are ready for sunshine too as they have new bikes, easy riders and scooters that need riding.

One of my very favorite gifts this year is my KEEP bracelet...with my arrow and birth stones for each kiddo!

Inside the submarine at the USS Alabama....This was a major fear that I overcame.

Practicing to be a captain!

My dad and Goober reinacting a very awkward Titanic pose....hehe.

It was quite windy but a great day to tour the battleship!

Looking for bad guys to shoot down!

He IS SUCH A GOOD DADDY!

In our matchy matchy outfits on bunk beds in the sub.

All 5 of us in the massively cramped sleeping quarters...look at Ribbit zonked out :)

Those are some really big tanks!

My parents treated us to a fun hibachi dinner after touring! BIG FLAME, Little Man keeps talking about the onion volcano!

A great shot of the Grands and Greats! Probably one of my all time favortites of the 5 of them.

I am missing quite a few pictures from our actual Christmas morning with them...I'll have to do some digging!

Little Man was so happy to get his own bow and arrow set so he can be like big bubba!

She has wanted a mermaid blanket for soooo long. 

This may  have been his favorite present....well next to the bike. He sleeps in it nightly and says his favorite part of every day is waking up in it and being super warm.

Each kiddo got their own diffuser too....we use them nightly and  have been getting great sleep!!!!

If you can't tell my kids are BIG into blankets....they cycle through them constantly and every night you can hear us all grabbing our favorites to bring to the couch.

Daddy had to have some fun too!

Papa got chocolate covered insects since he ate all the kiddos chococlate halloween candy!!!

Counting their $1 bills they get in their stocking every year!

7 for a big 7 year old!


I'm off to finish up some chores and get some things done as we have the day off for MLK day.