Celebrating Seventeen!

Two of our boys turned 17...within the last 2 months!

Kolton Tee!

This makes me cry happy tears :)

Kooper Joe! *I'm sorry your mom is such a dork and we didn't get a picture without my stupid expressions*

Good food and good friends!

Happy birthday, boys!  
We love you!!!

Under Construction

We have this little area in our back yard.
It used to be lush with shade grass.
Then the goats got out.
Then I didn't have time to tend to it.
(I love doing yard work! Put me on a mower for a few hours and I can solve the problems of the world!)
Then in the wind storm last summer we lost the protective shade...
so we lost the grass.
And the dog thinks the sparse area is his little slice of digging heaven.
Apparently Kooper has heard me complain a little about the ugly patch, so he's devised a plan.
He wants to construct a brick walkway.
He's got it all planned out.
And with the guidance of Dad, I think it's gonna work!

As I was taking these pictures, the Lord reminded me of the parallel between this little project and my son's life.
He has spent most of his life in barren soil. Behaviors, habits and characteristics have formed and taken root. But what's growing there hasn't allowed better things to grow. There's been no room there for empathy, compassion, affection or trust. He's endured two-and-a-half years of battling post-orphanage behaviors. Just like this project, there's debris that must be removed.

But there is change! God has seized Kooper's heart and given him a new outlook!

He is crazy about the Lord and crazy about his family.

He no longer sits alone staring blankly.

He no longer lurks through the house.

He no longer thinks that "lying is better than truth because truth can get you in trouble."

He no longer sits in silence at the supper table.

His standard answer is no longer, "I don't know."

**************************

He is now telling Bible stories to the younger siblings he once avoided.

He now seeks out Mom and Dad first thing to say good morning.

He now sips a cup of coffee, chatting with the breakfast crowd.

He now asks of every person we see, "Do you think they know Jesus?"

When asked to draw a picture of himself, he now makes a happy face with wide open eyes and a grinning mouth (complete with braces).

If you have no idea how significant these changes are...good for you!

If you have a child who has been or still is in barren soil, you get it. And I'm sorry.

But I'm telling you there is hope!

Please don't hear me say that things are perfect, totally blissful or carefree. Not at all! Each day is a battle. The enemy wants our son to stay in the darkness, bound by imaginary limitations. But the enemy has been overcome, and our son is recognizing that. He is finally living in freedom!

His heart is under the construction of the Master Builder!

The changes we see are incredible, and there are even better things to come...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29:11

He's 16!

It's official ~ I have two 16-year-old boys! (ya'll pray for me, ya' hear!) My camera battery died so we resorted to the phone for a quick pic...Kooper turns 16 today, but being the Mama-who-stays-ahead-of-the-game, (not!) we celebrated yesterday!
Thank you for all the FB birthday wishes ~ they've been shared with him and really made him smile!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON!

Great Start to a Good Week!

Since Kooper accepted Jesus last week he wanted to be baptized Sunday!

What an amazing answer to prayer!

Sunday afternoon we had a Both Hands team meeting to prepare for our first project this Saturday. We are SO excited! We hope to have the project video loaded by Monday.

I can't wait to share what God is doing as far as supplies and food donors!

And since this is such a random post, in other news, we took Kinley for another post-op visit today, and Dr. Miller is very pleased.

Remember my prayer journal? If you're in there, I have NOT forgotten you. Even if you don't know you're in there, you are still being lifted up. Some of the requests have already been answered, but some have not. If you'd like to update me, please leave a comment or email, and I'll continue to pray!

In further randomness, I am 29 days from completing the Bible, maps to concordance! I have loved reading it this way, in BIG chunks at a time!

And finally, some oh-so-sad news regarding the squeaky shoes. They are gone. History. Outa here! We decided to donate the 50+ remaining pairs to another adoptive family in hopes they could raise travel funds. It was fun while it lasted though, wasn't it?!?

Happy 15th, Dude!

Finally got that shiny belt buckle!

Lotsa behind-the-scenes work goin' on for this occasion. Seriously, if you've gotta wear goggles...you're grill's too hot!

The entire goofy Krew!
A few friends, a ton of food...
...and cards loaded with loot! Yep, it was a good party!
Little brother's reaction upon finding out it IS NOT his birthday!
It was low key, but significant! This was Kooper's first 'friends' birthday party e.v.e.r.

Happy birthday, Son!

Bugs N Braces

Monday was a big day for us! This teen completed his bug project for his 9 weeks grade. Thank you to those who shared your extra bugs :)

And this teen finally got his braces on. I say finally because he has really, really wanted them!

That was Monday. This is, what, Wednesday already? ;-)

Drama from the Mama

This is one of those things I'm not even sure I should share. Really. In the last 10 months that Kooper and Kinley have been home I have grown incredibly close to other mamas of adopted teens. I treasure their prayers, their opinions, their testimony...and their availability! I can't even count the number of times I've texted or emailed the need for urgent prayer, and there is always a response! Just so ya' know, gals, I'm SO grateful!

This weekend was no exception. I HATE Saturdays! Seriously! When we are out of routine, we are khaos! And to top it off, the man of the house is usually gone on Saturday so I'm suddenly the sole referee, feeder, reader, wiper, washer, dryer... yeah, that's me, queen of khaos kontrol! Sometimes I get so overwhelmed and caught up in the moment I lose perspective, like this weekend.

A little recap ~ Kooper has come a l.o.n.g. way since October 18 when we first met! And things keep changing for him. He is generally rolling with the punches, although he likes to know what's ahead. School is going fantastic! He is in mainstream classes with modification; preparing for an assessment and working on the IEP. He loves being in school. I'm sure it's because of the work and not about the socializing! His language is developing. Shoot, he's even learning Spanish...but that's a whole other post. Once he picks up a catch phrase he uses it ad nauseum. In the early days of school he said, "What's up, man" to everybody, all the time. With him, it's all or nothin' so the mom and dad laid down the law and said, "No more 'What's up, man,' period." What did he do? He learned it in Spanish so we wouldn't know what he was saying. (He has no clue how I know everything:) Now if he does or says something inappropriate at school, he's quick to 'confess' to me when he gets home before I can bring it up - lol! He's a smart cookie and keeps me on my toes.

On the bonding side of things, he's really opened up! He shares his feelings, what's on his mind, and whether his heart is 'good' or 'sad.' We had a rather candid conversation Saturday morning that left me downright brokenhearted a little sad. I know he still doesn't understand everything he's feeling or everything we talk about, and he can be very direct (it's a cultural thang!). But I admit in my weakness his remarks left me in a funk. Then to top it off, he asked if he could call his ayi in China. He doesn't ask very often, and when he does we oblige. Once again, I said yes...but my heart was saying no!

After all, he's been with us almost as long as he was with his ayi! And when he talks with her, he seems so...happy. He seems so lighthearted. He seems like the silly kid I remember. I know their conversations aren't deep. He shares them with us, and they are very much about what interests him at this moment...like playing in the band, anticipating playing basketball, how hard his homework is, what he currently likes to eat... And after he hung up, he hugged me and said his heart feels better now.

And I realized I was jealous! Seriously! How embarrassing is that?!? And in my quest for perspective, God wrapped His arms around me. He gave me Psalm 37. He gave me vision. And he reminded me that Kooper is always talking to us about band, always talking about school, always pretending he hates the bazillion spelling words we go over every night, always talking about what he likes to eat...but we are constantly asking him to talk a little lower and a little slower.

Heavens, I don't want to squelch his bubbly spirit! In my attempt to teach him acceptable social skills, I am often missing what's really going on! He's communicating. He's expressing himself. He's reconnecting with his feelings that have been cast aside for nearly 14 years. He's finally becoming confident. He's finally learning to like himself. He's realizing that he is valuable! I am so ashamed that my fears have gotten in the way. God, in His infinite wisdom and perfect timing, granted me a huge blessing yesterday! Kooper came to me and said, "Mom, I'm sorry. I think when I talk to ayi your heart is sad. I'm sorry. I love you, Mom."

Thank you, Lord, for perspective! No more drama from the Mama!

Sample Pictures

hear no evil...

see no evil...

speak no evil...
:) :) :)

Finding the Funny in All Things!

I love to cook, and I've been thinking of sharing some recipes ~ not because I make them so delicious, but because my family loves the things I've been challenging myself to try.

And with a finicky eater in the house, cooking is a challenge. But even my 14-year-old non-cheese-consuming child loves some of the things I've been stirring up.

In fact, his daily comment is, "Mom, maybe you open restaurant, people love this!" :)

There is one recipe, however, I won't share. It's no secret the kid loves vegetables - all vegetables! I steam a LOT of them! As I was steaming a two-pound bag of carrots the other day he opened the lid and saw the delicious treasure inside, exclaiming, "Mom, I love this!" In my usual 'teaching' mode I said, "I know. What is it?" To which he declared, "Crack!"

We will get this English thing down...we will get this English thing down...we will...

Summer School Progress Report

I've gotta give a shout out to Miss Erica, our amazing summer school teacher!

Girl, you rock!

Erica is a college student, studying to be a teacher...and have we got her on a crash course this summer :)

I don't even know how this whole thing came about but for the Lord's intervention, and since He does all things well, we couldn't have planned this any better ourselves!

Every morning Erica is in our kitchen at 8:30 am, her large tote full of books and cool learning gear. We are two and a half weeks into school and are seeing incredible progress, thanks to her skills and preparation.

We're also pretty proud of her student! Erica had a two-week lesson plan made out when she started...and they completed all the work the first day!

Now that she's got a feel for where Kooper's at, she's runnin' with it. The first week they refreshed and refined the things we'd been working on in home school, plus he learned to multiply by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s. Now he's multiplying all digits, and is working on money, time and fractions.

I'm so impressed with Erica's skills (and patience), and I'm very proud of my son!

Erica, because of you, our boy will be ready for school in August.

Down side, he wants to play the drums in band! Ah, what's a little more noise around here?!?

Can I Get an AMEN!

As I've mentioned, every day in these parts is like a box of cheap chocolates. We hope for the best and pray in preparation for the ... not.so.best.

Now that we've figured out that our 14 year old is in full-on grieving mode, the days are more bearable. We are more able to claim God's renewed mercies, draw from His strength and cling to the hope that this season won't last forever!

Every school day is a challenge, especially at this time when his grief is causing confusion and lack of concentration. I often wonder if he's learning anything I'm teaching. To top it off, he's not a morning person at.all! About noon he perks up, on a good day.

BUT TODAY I had a happy student from the get-go! He was excited that his hair is getting too long and stands straight up after the shower. He was not irritated that the kids were loud. He was not annoyed that the sun is shining. He was not upset that it is daytime...

We are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the train!

Lord, I thank You that even when we are so far into the pit we fail to recognize You that You are STILL THERE. Thank You for giving us glimpses outside the pit and for ultimately bringing us out, desiring to refine us every teeny.tiny.step of the way! AMEN!

Five Months Home and Krazy Days!

This is one of the stupid pictures Kooper took in China. It's kinda how I feel many days... but it's not really that bad!

We're doing things we never thought we would do, going places we never thought we'd need to go, and learning things we never thought we should learn...but we serve a God who is not taken by surprise!

Every morning I ask the Lord to help me glorify Him no.matter.what the day brings. He knows what's going to happen and how I will respond. See, I used to pray for a 'good' day. But where's the growth in that? How can I glorify Him if it seems I'm capable of getting by on my own? Yep, I've learned to pray for opportunities to shine for Him no.matter.what. And boy, am I getting them - yikes!

So, here's the progress report:

Kooper has grown 1.5 inches and gained 2 pounds. He's learning to write in cursive. He's moving into 3rd grade math (if I could figure out how to teach him multiplication/division we'd go beyond!). He's starting Bob Books Set 2 on Monday. He's learning 100 sight words. He's doing story problems (yes, he's sort of understanding enough that we can do the stories!!!). Did I mention he's speaking in sentences??? And he's been sharing things about China, some good, some not so much. Our goal is to enroll him in school in August, and with the help of the Amazing Erica this summer, we just may accomplish this!

We had blood work done this week, and he goes in for allergy testing next week, in hopes we can gather helpful information for our trip to the International Adoption Clinic in Alabama next month. Right now we're trying to decide whether to drive or fly - yowza - both will cost a lot of $$$. But this trip is necessary!

The most monumental thing that happened this week is that Kooper sought out Dad to discuss a disagreement between he and Kolton. Shortly into the conversation he broke down and cried. That may not sound like a good thing, BUT IT IS! We've waited five months to see if our son is capable of feeling anything! Another good thing is that he and Kolton made amends and Kooper didn't hide in his room. He even let me comfort him and allowed me to join him on the front porch where he was sitting alone after supper.

And I bet you can guess my answer when every day he asks me, "Mom, you, me, tonight we sit on porch, talk about sun going down, China, family?"

I tell ya', we serve a very BIG GOD!

Doctor's Appointments, Round II (revised)

It's Monday! We have three appointments this week ...and a post-placement home study visit. Revision: Ya'll crack me up! This is like telling a joke and having to explain the punch line (which is the way most of my jokes turn out - lol). We have our first post-placement home study visit this week because as of April 8 Kooper and Kinley are home five months - really? There is no K number 9 on the horizon...yet. But I digress, so back to the original post~
Soon it will be Saturday, right?!?
The boys returned to the ENT today, and this is what we know:

Kaeleb's ears were still full of wax that's been there since-who-knows-when. The doctor removed it and said his ears are full of fluid, also since-who-knows-when. We are going to continue the ear drops and antibiotic and return later in April. If they are still full of fluid...well, we'll go from there.

Kooper has been on allergy meds for ten days and his sinuses are still nearly closed, so in two weeks he goes in for x-rays and an allergy analysis.

Tomorrow is simple, an orthodontist appointment. Wednesday, not so much.
Thank you for your prayers!
And that's where we are...

They Say "It" Will Come

Language, that is. Some days I feel like I'm spinning my wheels when it comes to teaching English. We speak it, but can we teach it?!? I've listed the words that Kooper knows and uses frequently, and they total 39. That's a far cry from the 600 or so we need to carry on conversation.

Maybe my perspective is off, but it seems like four months of R*setta Stone and being surrounded by 9 highly verbal people would produce better results. I'm a glass-half-full kinda gal, so I think I'm going to start keeping a journal of all the words he uses regularly...and we'll celebrate the victories, no matter how small. I don't know when, but "IT" will surely come!

Going to the Dentist ~ Update

Today is Kooper's first dental appointment. He will have a baby tooth removed in preparation for orthodontics.
I took him to Kenzie's last appointment so he could meet the dentist and see that there's nothing to be afraid of.
He knows he's going.
He knows why.
I'm glad we're going at 8...maybe there won't be very many people in the office when he screams at the mere thought of pain.
If we all live to tell about it, I'll let ya know how it went :)
Update:
We made it, without incident! His teeth were cleaned - for the first time in his life, and the dentist decided to let him wiggle the tooth some more since we won't be going to ortho until Kolton's braces are paid off for another six months.
And now on to school, which seems like a pleasant routine - lol! (did I say that????)

Progress...

Candidly speaking, Monday home school was okay, Tuesday was terrible, Wednesday was better...
On Wednesday Kooper could say about half the alphabet. Daddy has this amazing way of teaching him, and today Kooper said the entire alphabet! He's now working on writing it...a zillion times!

So, this is the season we are in ~

where English needs to be the first language,

the laundry is never done,

there's a neat stack of school books on every flat surface,

the pencil sharpener is overworked,

Mama gets up at 4 just to get some work done in peace and quiet,

Daddy is gearing up for corn between teaching, laundry and driving the school bus,

we dream about subtraction tables,

plan a week of meals in advance,

Checkers is the game of the day,

constantly strive to relinquish the control we never really had...

and wonder why we are dog tired by 9 p.m. :)

Not so long ago I was that mom who wouldn't allow Play-Doh in the house because I didn't want the mess. Times, they have changed ~ Play-Doh is my friend!

And ya' know what? Life is good!

Nothin' Much

I wish I had some really great pictures to post...but life just hasn't given those opportunities lately. So here's the most exciting stuff:
Reading
Somebody agreed to get a haircut...

I mean really a haircut!

Well, we can hope for more exciting stuff next week :)

Happy Birthday, Kooper!

One miracle after another has brought our son home for his 14th birthday!
He eagerly volunteered to pray before the meal tonight...with the help of big brother Kuyler.

God is so good, and He has amazing plans in store for Kooper!

And speaking of blessings, there's tons of good news to share:

Dale and Tina are home with Alyssa, and she's p.r.e.c.i.o.u.s.!

David and April have TA and a confirmed CA for February 3. Two weeks from today they will be in flight for Emily!

And check out the website of this precious family leaving in one week. They are short their travel funds, and we all have an opportunity to help bring Selah home!

A Good Day!

Kooper had a really good day in school - PTL! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! It's so awesome knowing we aren't alone.
He is tired but excited. He mostly talks about P.E. - lol! He's been exercising and working out for several months...but nothing like this.
And BONUS, he's using new words tonight (in context)!
He loves that Dad drives the school bus! And Mom likes it that Dad can thump some heads keep an eye out in case of trouble.

I plan to continue my series on 'older child adoption,' probably this week. But suddenly I'm swamped with work - praise Him, our Provision!

My 'Baby's' Goin' to School!

The day we landed in China, October 21, we got news we'd meet our son within 2 hours...so with adrenaline flowing we shrugged off the previous 33-hour trip, showered, gathered our gifts and counted the minutes till our lives would be forever changed!

Since then there have been 75 days (4 in China with just us; 13 in China with a new sister; 2 in the air and 56 at home), no two the same!
But tomorrow will be the first day my son will spend more time out of my sight than in. It's bittersweet! On one hand I believe he can thrive in school if he applies himself; on the other I'm concerned about the influences he doesn't need. He's a very social kid and loves attention! He's the only one of my Krew who's looking forward to being in school all day. He will take 4 hours of ESL, computer, math and PE.
We've suspected for some time that he hasn't attended school for at least three years, and last night he told us he remembers being in 5th grade - that would be about three years ago :( He's been eager to do Rosetta Stone on the computer over Christmas break. Who knew the power behind: "No English, no school. No English, school at home with Mom."
We have no idea what this week will hold...except a LOT of prayer!