Passing Through

Kindergarten!

2010-08-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Well, your first day of school! You are so excited and very ready for it. We visited last Thursday and met your teacher. I can't believe how grown up you are! Over the summer you have grown and matured. You have gotten stronger! You mastered the monkey bars all the way across. You became a great swimmer and you are a terrific big brother! You and Luke have really bonded since we moved. He is going to miss you while you are at school. I think you are most excited about riding the bus. You were actually angry with me last night when I told you I was picking you up this week. Of course I have been crying for a week. You are so confident that you assured me you would be ok. I am so proud of you and I do want you to grow up, but it just seems hard for me. You are an amazing boy and I pray for a great first year of school for you. I know you will quickly make friends and you are already a fast learner. You are already reading and sounding out words and spelling everything you can. I love you!

Week One

2010-03-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

Week one in Huntsville, AL. We are actually in Madison, AL. It has all been so full of emotions that I'm not sure if it was a good or bad week. We had lots of goodbyes last week and were pretty emotional by Saturday night. The drive to the airport Sunday morning was better than expected, although that lump was certainly in my throat. The first leg of our flight went smoothly....security and check in was uneventful, even with one-way tickets. The boys were great on the airplane and we arrived in Dallas ready to ride the "train" and get on the final plane.

Of course it was too much to ask for a completely uneventful flight. Our flight had been cancelled...not just delayed. The first guy Jim asked said the other flight was full and we couldn't get on. We figured we'd give my college roommate a call and see if we could hang out with her. We called and she had a free Sunday afternoon! We decided to check at the main ticket counter and see the options for a hotel. Turns out they were able to get us on the 8:00 flight. We were so thankful Ali was willing to cart us to and from the airport so we didn't have to sit around for 6 hours. The kids had a much better time and I loved seeing an old friend and meeting her kids!

We landed in Huntsville, got two rentals, borrowed a pack n play and got milk and cereal for the morning. We finally got to bed at 11:30, unsure of what we had just done to our family.

Monday was spent at the grocery store, driving around a bit and trying to rest up. We all got the start of a cold and were pretty exhausted.
Tuesday we woke to find a beautiful, but cold, dusting of snow!! It was really wet and we knew it wouldn't last. Jim went to work and the kids and I hung out in the apartment. They have done really well and the apartment is good sized...three bedrooms and a living room/kitchen. For only having a few toys and nothing to watch dvds on, they have improvised well. Luke right away found the laundry basket and colored pencils and fashioned a drum.

Jim and I were definitely feeling unsettled most of the week. Not so much questioning our decision as I think the loneliness that we were expecting hit sooner than we thought. We know this will be a good move and we will eventually be settled and make friends.

Aidan started school on Wednesday and brought home lots of papers that he worked on. He did well and had a good day.

The rest of the days have been uneventful and we were very thankful to have been invited to dinner Thursday night by some friends with kids Aidan's and Luke's age. It was just what we needed to get through the week.

We have a renter for our home in California and that has been a huge relief. Everything is squared away in CA and now we are digging in to get things squared away here...doctor's, church, gym, pharmacy, bank....there are so many things! We close on the house friday and I know this will really be the start of our getting settled.

Oh! How could I have skipped meeting Aidan's t-ball team and having our first practice! Such fun to watch and meet new people. Everyone is very nice. I'm sure friendships will be formed.

God has been so gracious and we look forward to this adventure. I just want to be real and document the struggles with the joys. I'll post more with pictures soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIDAN!

2010-02-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Aidan! You are growing up so fast! You are such an amazing boy. You make me laugh everyday and you amaze me with your memory. You can quote many of your books word for word. I just told Daddy we need to harness that amazing memory for good...how much of God's word could you tuck in there? You are still as outgoing and friendly as ever! You continue to make friends at the park, grocery store and everywhere we go. Your friends at school are always excited to see you. You are a great big brother, too. Luke thinks you are the coolest thing ever and he tries to do everything you do. He misses you so much while you are at school and runs to the door when it is time to pick you up. You do not let him near your legos, though. He loves to have pillow fights with you on your bed and wants to be wherever you are. I pray you are always close.
You are still pretty easy going, although you are becoming quite the negotiator. Meaning, you don't like to be told "no" and you work very hard to get the answer you are hoping for. That is a daily challenge. You had another amazing year in soccer and are looking forward to T-ball in just a few weeks. You love school, although it is more the socializing that you love more than the learning. You have just gotten into Legos and I am amazed at how good you are at them.
You are still my cuddle bug and I love it. You continue to have a tender heart and are quick to offer a hug or encouragement. You are learning more about talking to Jesus and it makes my heart soar to hear you talk to him as your friend. You aren't so sure about heaven, though. You have a lot of fun here and are in no rush to live forever with Jesus. It is a lot to understand, so we just keep talking about it.
I love that you ask me to tell you the story of "the night you were born". You have been such a blessing in our lives and you fit perfectly! You have an amazing story with God's fingerprints all over it. I am so blessed to be part of it and to watch it unfold. You have the potential to do great things on this earth and my prayer for you is that you first trust God fully to lead you in those things. This journey keeps getting better and more fun. I know we have challenges ahead, but boy am I enjoying these days with you! I love you more than you will ever know and can't get enough of those big brown eyes! I love you to the moon and back.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE!

2009-10-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Luke, Happy 2nd Birthday! You are so much fun at this age! You are amazing us everyday with a new word or a new antic of some sort. You LOVE music. Mostly guitars and drums. "Didtaaar" and "Bum Bum". You have amazing rhythm already! It has taken until about two weeks ago for you to go into the church nursery or MOPS/Bible study childcare without screaming your head off. A few months ago we figured out that if there was a toy guitar or video of the worship band, you'd settle down more quickly. You have learned so many new things this year. First off, walking, running and now a little bit of jumping. You quickly try anything Aidan does...walking along the curb, balance beam style; collecting rocks (raahk), checking out the baseball field at CBS and climbing on the couch. In the car you say whoa whenever I turn a corner...the same spot every time we take Aidan to school because Aidan said it one morning.

You absolutely LOVE Aidan. It melts my heart to listen to you two play together in your room at the train table. You get very frustrated when the trains fall off the track, but you are gettting it figured out. You love to play outside....with Aidan or by yourself. You have taken up golf (gaaah). You hit at the ball, kind of like a baseball, but you are persistent. When it is time to pick up Aidan at school and I say, "let's get Aidan at school," You run to the door and say "Nay Nay gaga cooool". Precious I tell ya! Aidan adores you as well. He is so proud of you and gets so excited when he sees you learn something new or say a new word. I pray you are always close. You make a great team.
I have to believe this love for music and your showy personality are going to follow into some sort of performance career. We'll see. You are quite the hamm. You have such great smiles and make the greatest squishy faces. You still have a bit of a stubborn streak, but it has dramatically reduced. Probably has to do with your budding vocabulary.

My favorite part of the day now is naptime and bedtime. Not for the reasons you may think. I sure need the break, but really it is so I can soak up your lovin's. You have only recently become a snuggle bug. You freeely give kisses and hugs. Although you withold them with a smile...again you're a hamm. We sit in the rocking chair and read books (buh), and then I sing. First Jesus Loves Me. Then you say "more baby". It comes from the book, "Love you Forever." I probably sing it 15-20 times. You will either sit facing out with blankie or will let me cuddle you like a baby. I love it because you never let me hold you like a baby when you were tiny. Then we give kisses, bonk heads and tickle a bit. It winds you up a bit, so then we have to rock more. You say more raah. I feel like I am catching up on 18 months of cuddling, so our bedtime routine is a bit lengthy. We will probably have to shorten it soon, because you are really starting to protest when I leave. You still have strong lungs. My only complaint is that you have been calling me Ma! from the start. It took me a very long time to realize you were calling blankie "mama". I knew that was what you called it, but I thought you also meant me sometimes. Several months ago you stopped saying mama for blankie, but I remained ma or mom. You have only in the last couple of weeks started to find a word for blankie...blah blah. In the meantime it has been a grunt with your hands out.

You still love to eat and most of your signs and words are related to eating or food. I'll be interested to see what your height and weight are next week at your dr. visit. You are not very tall....you're going to be like daddy...long body and very short legs.

You have made our family so much richer and lots of fun. We are so blessed that God chose us to be your family. I know God has amazing things planned for you and I pray that you make good choices throughout your life so that you can see all God has for you. I pray for your friends, for your future wife and that God will prepare you well for all the obstacles you will face. I love you so much punkin! You are an amazing blessing and never cease to surprise me. I love you!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-09-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Nine years today! What a journey! I am very blessed to be married to my best friend. I love spending time with him and he loves me very well. Who knew what life would hold when we "met" in the Hegstrom's kitchen that night? Lots of laughs, lots of tears and tons and tons of dreams! One big move, two Master's degrees, two beautiful boys and lots of memories later, I am so thankful for my many blessings. I get to live life with my best friend. He is so giving, helpful, thoughtful, seeking God and amazing! We have lots of ordinary days together, but lots of extraordinary days too. I joke about his shortcomings..you know, the chairs that never get pushed under the table, the many cups I carry to the kitchen....but I love Jim beyond words. He is awesome! I hope we get to be that old couple sitting together on the park bench holding hands and smiling. It is just awesome to be together, no words needed. I so look forward to what lies ahead. Still an unknown, what the future holds, but that's what keeps it exciting. I've surely been blessed beyond measure. I love you, Jim!

First day of School

2009-09-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Aidan started school last Wednesday and is loving it! I had no doubt he would. I must admit I cried. As I prayed for him on the way to school, Aidan could tell I was choked up. When I finished, he said, Mom, you don't have to cry, I'll be alright. I didn't want him to get nervous or scared, so I just told him I was going to miss him, but I knew he was going to have tons of fun. Of course he did. There are only three boys in his class, which I think is good. I definitely got lots of "I love you's" when he got home, though. We've noticed lots more of those and more hugging since school started. Although he has always been verbal and physical with love, it amps up when he is nervous or trying new things. We just enjoy it and give him more. I know the day will come when those hugs are few and far between.

Luke and I are enjoying our days together. We haven't started anything structured because I wanted to see how our schedule works out. I was going to start us with mommy and me gymnastics. Maybe in October. We are starting our other fall meetings, which will be tuesday, wednesday and thursdays. Fridays seem to be the day for errands, so Mondays will be our play days. Both boys are growing and maturing right before our eyes. It is cool to watch and makes mommy teary at the same time. We are blessed!

Legoland

2009-07-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

Our summer started with graduation and continued while Grammy and Grandpa Jim were here. We had a great time at Legoland. Aidan and Luke enjoyed themselves and I enjoyed watching them. Luke is enjoying a chocolate covered marshmallow...thanks to Grandpa. Miniland is amazing and the boys check it out with Jim. The roller coaster ride didn't thrill Jim. I've already alerted Aunt Amy that she will be the designated roller coaster rider with the boys. If you look closely at the second picture, you can see Jim holding on for dear life and Aidan holding on, but a smile on his face. The only roller coaster I rode was the dragon and that was enough for me. I'm really not a thrill seeker. It was a really fun day and I realize my boys are getting so big so fast! Before I know it, they will be able to ride all the rides!

We had a great visit with Grammy and Grandpa Jim. Grandpa and Aidan had a day out and went to Boomers. I don't have any pictures, but I know they had a great time. They played video games and several rounds of golf. Of course they stopped at Old McDonald's on the way home and had food and ice cream. They were gone for hours. We were beginning to get worried and Grandpa left his phone at the house. They were just having lots of fun together. Grandpa did plenty of work, too, though. We have had a fence in pretty bad shape for quite a while and he fixed it....I think that was really his graduation present to Jim. He has plenty of other projects to tackle this summer. At least that big one is off the list.

We are looking forward to more summer fun. Aidan has asked to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. More to come.....

2009-06-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

We made Jim go through the steps of getting rid of those highlighters in front of all the witnesses. He had a hard time letting them go and isn't sure he is totally cured, but we all committed to snatching any highlighter from his hands. Now to break his Starbucks habit!

Graduation!

2009-06-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Graduation went beautifully! Jim took his last final on Thursday night and had friday off to enjoy it a bit. He and I went to a graduation dinner that night and had a ball listening to his professors show their comedic side. They all roasted one another and it was fun to see that side of them. Over and over the graduates were applauded for their hard work and family members were nicely recognized as well for supporting them through such a rigorous academic pursuit. I have to say, and have on several occasions, I am so proud of Jim, not only for finishing, but for finishing very well. He took 36 classes (over 7 years) and never approached one with the attitude of "I'll just do what I need to do to get through it." Of course he enjoyed some more than others, but he always read his books and wrote his papers with the attitude that there was something valuable to be gained in the process. That's a student!

We had family and friends gather with us to celebrate this HUGE accomplishment. I gave a few words of appreciation and thanks to our friends and family, but also had to share some trouble that Jim got into while on this journey. He developed an addiction to yellow highlighters! I gathered all I could from the house, but am sure there are at least 30 more in hidden locations throughout my house. We had a highlighter burning ceremony to close out our intervention. It was a great relief for me to see those things go up in flames! We had a great time celebrating and we all slept until 9 the next morning. If you know my early bird husband, you know that has probably only happened one other time in his life. Luke still hasn't recovered. He wakes up at 9:00 every day now. He was the life of the party after 8:30 that night and had fun keeping us entertained between guitar hero and dancing by the fire pit. Now to enjoy life without homework.

Signing

2009-04-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

Luke has been signing lots more lately. He has found bugs and LOVES them. He chases them around and tries to pick them up. I am going to find all kinds of treasures in his pockets, I'm sure. Here is a video of him signing bug. He also says cracker in this one. You can see he knows where we keep them because at the end he points to the pantry door.

He knows 10 words verbally and now 10 signs! He is quite the learner. These really are fun days. He is changing daily.

Precious boys

2009-04-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is what having boys is for me. Pirates sleeping and Cat trucks. Girls probably do the same things, but my sisters and I never played pirates or had remote control cars/trucks. Aidan is phasing out his nap, so this day he played, quietly, in his room for a while before he fell asleep. I was surprised when I went in to wake him up. I had no idea he had been in there playing and dressing up. Fun stuff, I tell ya.
Luke is growing up so fast. I find him playing all by himself with the big boy toys. Forget the singing ABC's toys. He wants the trains, cars and Batman. Although he is still a snuggler, so I can't be too sad. Both of my boys love to be outside and it is so fun to watch them from the kitchen window playing outside together. I thought we had gotten a big enough sand box, but between two boys, two diggers and shovels, pails and sifters, there isn't much room. They start to fight over space and toys, but isn't that what brothers do?
I assure you they are loving brothers, though. Aidan will pick on Luke, but boy, don't you mess with him. Aidan went right to his defense when someone tried to take a toy from him. "That's my brudder's" I love it. It's why I wanted Aidan to have a sibling. He is perfect for a brother. Although he did just tell me he didn't want a brother because he keeps touching his coloring book. That's life with siblings. Still love it. While these days are going fast, I am enjoying this stage. Luke is a stinker and a ham all in one. Aidan is wild with imagination and so tenderhearted. As Jim says, we have the two cutest boys out there and we are so blessed!

FOUR!

2009-02-15T20:59:00.001-08:00

I am two days late, but I wanted to post about our big boy, Aidan. Aidan is now four years old and I can't believe how fast it has gone! Aidan is an easy going, funny, high energy ball of love. He loves anything involving a ball. He is super coordinated and blows me away with his ability to smack a baseball. He has an incredible memory. He is learning new things everyday and trying to incorporate them into life. The other day he told a friend that "God wants us to share our toys." I'm sure it was because his friend had a toy he wanted, but at least I know the message is getting through. He does have a tender heart and is concerned about anyone who is sick or hurt. My most embarrassing moment for this year is probably related to his learning new things...I had to take him with me to my rhumetologist appointment. He asked about the poster describing osteoporosis and the picture of the lady "falling over". I explained that her bones got weak and made her lean over. I told him that was why it was important for him to eat his vegetables. Enter embarrassing moment: We were out shopping and see an elderly woman bent over walking with a walker. He says loudly..."that lady is falling over, she didn't eat her vegetables." This has happened numerous times and I wonder how necessary those teaching moments really are.
He is an amazing big brother and loves Luke like crazy. They are really starting to play together and Aidan is a big helper. I know the fights will come, but for now, I cherish the love they share.
Aidan's arrival changed our lives forever and boy am I glad. Life is so full of excitement and new things with him. He is full of questions and conversation. Most of the time I love it, but some days I have to say, "let's have some quiet time." We are blessed beyond words to have been chosen to be this amazing boy's parents. God has certainly been gracious and I am excited to see what He has in store for Aidan's life. My prayer is that Aidan learns early on how much he is loved by God and accepts his leadership in his life.
Happy Birthday Precious..mommy loves you all the way to the moon... and back!

2009-01-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

Our Snow Day

Baseball in the Park

Christmas Eve at Church

Luke enjoyed some mashed potatoes!

They had some stable animals at church. That donkey didn't move
the entire time we were there. I am pretty sure he was alive, though.

2009-01-16T08:14:00.000-08:00

Well, this will probably be a long post, but it will catch you up on our December and our Christmas break. I have to say December was not as stressful as it usually is. I think I anticipated a sad, lonely Christmas here at home and was pleasantly surprised how relaxing and enjoyable it was. We began the month by doing Advent. It was a wonderful way to teach Aidan more about Christmas and why it is such a big deal. It was so funny on the day before Christmas eve because Jim and I realized that Aidan had no idea that he would wake up Christmas morning with presents under the tree. He was so excited to read each night's story and blow out the candle. Jim decided we needed to put a few gifts under the tree to build some anticipation. I enjoyed doing some things to get ready, too. I baked several things that I knew I'd be missing...Chex mix and peanut butter kiss cookies..Lisa always makes those. It was fun decorating the tree, too. The boys indulged me for a while as I reminisced over each ornament. Aidan was enthralled by the Star Wars ornaments, of course. When I packed up, they all now have their own box! Next year I'll be hunting for a small tree for the "boys".

We spent a day at the Wild Animal Park and since I always tell Aidan the Carousel is only for when Daddy joins us, which is usually once a year, this was his chance. Luke was asleep, so he didn't get to ride. Aidan was thrilled and had fun. It was nice to enjoy a day together without Jim stressing about the homework he wasn't doing. We had lots of that in our two weeks home. It was a taste of what life may be in 6 months. Yaaay.

We enjoyed a few movie nights with a fire, since it was fairly cool here. No snow of course, but we were glad it was at least cool enough to pretend it was winter. We did get one morning in the mountains. It had warmed up and melted a bit by the time we got there, but we missed the traffic and crowds by waiting a couple of days. Aidan and Luke had a good time tromping around the icy snow and sledding. Aidan was a trooper about not getting to throw snowballs and building a snowman. He said next time we could do that. I think next year his expectations will be higher, so we may have to brave the crowds for good snow. Again, it was a nice day together.

We also enjoyed a sunny day at the baseball field. Aidan got a real bat with real balls. But daddy's instruction when he opened it was that it was NOT to be used at home...only at the park. This kid can hit a ball! Jim pitched balls to Aidan for an hour and half and he could have gone on all day! Luke enjoyed the snacks in the "dugout". We had to go for a walk after a while, though. We then walked down to feed the ducks.

He's a Walker!

2008-11-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

It's official, Luke is a walker! Two days ago he took about 4 or 5 steps. Then later that evening on two different occasions, he was in the middle of the floor and spotted a toy. He stood up without holding onto anything and just walked over to it. Like a pro! Of course I can't get a picture of him doing it, so the picture will have to wait. It is so fun! He is just beside himself with glee. He grins so big because he has figured out that it is a BIG deal. He has also figured out that he will be able to play with the big boys more if he can walk. Oh no! I'm in trouble.

He also has figured out it is cool to make the big boys laugh. I had Seth in the car with us yesterday. Luke started smacking his head and bopping around. Seth and Aidan cracked up and he ate it up! He kept doing it until he was giggling so hard, he could hardly keep his head up. What fun stuff!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2008-11-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Today as I do my normal Mommy stuff, checking some blogs, I came across the Steven Curtis Chapman website. In a year of loss for me, and a mother of two little ones, I was very moved by this family's loss of their 5 year old daughter adopted from China. I can't even imagine and it makes me teary to think about it. But what an amazing story they have! Their faith in God and His plan moves them daily to continue to serve Him and to get up each day.

Today is Veteran's Day. I must admit I don't give much thought to it. I don't give much thought to the fact that I can write on a website about my own faith. I don't give much thought to the fact that I can teach my boys about Jesus and not one fear crosses my mind. It is the bravery and service of these veterans that allows me to move through my day without any real fear. I am thankful, and often list these things in my prayers, but on such a miniscule level. I have grown to expect freedom and forget that it costs many people and families much more than I can imagine. I'm happy to sit in my safe world and take it all for granted. Today I pray for forgiveness and for the heart that is much more grateful.

Back to Steven Curtis Chapman...he wrote a new song while visiting the Bethesda Naval Hospital recently. He met a man who had just returned from Afghanistan a couple of weeks before and had just the day before Steven's visit, had part of his legs removed. You can hear the song on his website, after you sign up for the newsletter. It is called Thomas McBride. Sorry, I haven't figured out how to link stuff yet. It all just reminded me that if I do nothing else, I can have a grateful heart and look for ways (other than at Christmas) to minister to those serving us and protecting our freedom.

Our church is very active with the local military in San Diego and I have absolutely no excuse! One cool thing that they do is send a letter (via volunteers like, hmmmm, me?) to military men and women who have just accepted Jesus as their Savior. Just a note of encouragement and welcome. Ok, that's not that hard to do, but I'm sure it has a great impact. I've got to start small, huh?

So now you know how my heart really looks....is there someone you need to thank today? God bless!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great time last night at our church's harvest party. Luke did very well with his lion costume....mane and all! He was in the stroller to start off, but we went inside to where they had things for smaller kids. He took off and wanted to "walk" around. He is so close to walking. The blog post will be coming soon, I am sure. Aidan loved being called superman. He got this cute grin whenever we'd say superman instead of Aidan. Our church has moved into a big new facility and they went all out! There must have been 10 different inflatable things. I had never seen a few, but the best was the foosball inflatable. There were ropes across the sides and kids were belted to the ropes. They could only move sidways, like foosball. Then of course the necessary bounce houses, an obstacle course and the slides. Aidan only played one game...fishing. He is too smart! They put the fishing rod over the wall and pulled out candy clipped to a clothes pin. Right away, he asks, "what's back there?" They were gracious and let him look over, although I'm not sure he saw the person because when I asked, he said there was candy back there. They told him to keep it a secret, so the person must not have hidden. There was also an animal show. They were just putting away the alligator when we walked in. That was all Aidan could talk about...until they pulled out the boa constrictor. They had 5 kids come up and hold it! I'm not into reptiles! On the way home, Aidan said he wanted to hold it. We told him he probably had to be 6.

We didn't come home with an obscene amount of candy, for which I am thankful. Although Aidan did have nerds and hot tamales for dessert after breakfast! Daddy told him he could pick two. He's so great! I would have told him one. I have made one thing of smarties last all week. They were in the goody bags from Luke's party. Aidan doesn't get much candy, so he had no idea most people eat the whole thing of smarties at once! I know, I'm so mean. I figure I better enjoy it while it lasts.

Happy Birthday Luke!

2008-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Luke,

I can't believe you are a year old already! Where did the time go? You are such a joy and a blessing to our family. A year ago with just three weeks to prepare, we learned you were to join our family. Those were the longest three weeks ever! God knew I couldn't stand a 9 month pregnancy! What fun it has been to have two boys in my life. You are becoming quite independent. You want to walk and are sooooo close. You have taken up to two steps at a time, for about two weeks now. You barely hold on when you walk along walls and furniture.
You have the greatest smile and a great belly laugh. You have almost all your teeth already. The last molar and eye tooth popped through yesterday.

We had a great time Sunday celebrating your birthday with all of our friends. You wore the traditional Hanbok and tolerated it quite well. We laid out many items on a blanket for you to choose from...to let us know what your future may hold. A Bible, book, paintbrush, string, money, tamborine and a computer mouse. You chose the mouse. Daddy says you'll be an engineer. We tried to get you to choose a second item, but you wanted to know where the mouse was. We ate bulgogi, ChopChae and some other Korean dishes. We sent everyone home with rice cakes and m&ms with your picture on them. It was a late night but you were a trooper and played and laughed for everyone.

You have a strong opinion and definite perseverance. Someday that is going to serve you well. Some days it frustrates me, but I trust that God is going to shape and mold that so He can use you for his purposes. Our prayer for you, as your name means, is that you will become a strong man of God who shines His light to all you meet. Luke, you were hand picked by God to join our family and you are a special boy. I can't wait to see all God has in store for you. You are much prayed for and a very loved boy. May you always know how much I love you! Happy birthday pumpkin.

So Big!

2008-08-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted a recent picture of Luke lately. Here he is...so big. He is now standing up on the furniture, crawling more each day and climbing over stuff like a pro. I can't believe he is 9 months already. He and Aidan have such a great time together. I told Jim the other day while listening to them in the back seat of the car laughing hysterically, "this is why I wanted at least two kids." It is heart melting to hear them have such fun together. I know someday I'll wish they weren't so silly and loud, but for today, I love it!

Where does he get this stuff?

2008-08-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

Last night's dinner conversation....Aidan, what are you doing? I am trying to get my head off (making a strained face and pulling on the chair). Why are you doing that? I think I need a new one. Maybe a blue one.
Life has been lots of fun lately with these kinds of interactions with our 3 1/2 year old. Adding to that is Luke's mobility. He is almost crawling, pulls up on the furniture and has a new perspective on life...much higher.
We have had a nice summer spending time with family and enjoying a slower pace. I'm ready for our fall activities, though. I enjoy the structure of planned activities...at least for our mornings. More pictures to come.

We are not taking the stroller

2008-06-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today, as usual, Aidan asked where we were going after I took my shower. I told him we were going to the mall. He sat for just a minute with a smile on his face. He then said "we aren't taking the stroller." I asked him what we were going to do with Luke? Without hesitation, he said, "you'll put him in the carrier." Patting his chest. "And I will walk and we will all go on the escalator!" Brilliant! The way he presented this grand idea, you would have thought he had been working out the plan for days. Maybe he has. Actually it has probably been 7 months. That's how long it's been since we've been to the mall without the stroller. Every time we go, which isn't even that often, Aidan asks to ride the escalator. My answer is always, no because we have the stroller. The saddest part was that we went out to the car...got all strapped in the car seats...and nothing. The car was beyond dead. My door had been slightly cracked...must have been enough to leave a light on. Talk about a sad boy! They were real tears of sadness. Not even a real tantrum. He just sobbed there in his car seat. I must say he handled it all very well considering the excitement he had about finally riding the escalator after all these months. He pulled himself together and got out of the car. He rode his bike outside for a while. Without any pouting. I was a bit sad, too. It is such a fun part of my job, seeing my 3 year old get totally excited about stuff I don't think twice about.

I thought about the scene. That is me sometimes. Just really sad when my plans don't work out. When God says, No, not today. Sometimes I throw a fit and melt down, but sometimes it is just plain sadness because I thought it was such a great idea. I wondered if God gets that little pain when we cry over our sadness. But I realized that God sees the bigger picture..what's better because of the No. All I had to offer Aidan was riding his bike in the driveway instead of riding the escalator. I'm sure we will make it to the mall soon. Aidan doesn't give up on an idea very easily.

First Game

2008-06-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

It has begun! Soccer is just the beginning I am sure. Aidan is a total sports nut. He started soccer last saturday and is loving it. Everyone we meet hears that he is having his first soccer game. I'm not sure how many games will go by before he stops this or stops referring to them as his first soccer game. Everyone is quite gracious and listens to him tell about it. His biggest concern at first, after the game, was that he fell. They are all 3 or 4 years old...there was lots of falling! He later realized he didn't make a goal and was also upset about that. It was actually a fun game to watch. For the most part everyone paid attention and tried to run after the ball. At the beginning, though, there were two boys, both named Aidan, who liked just to run and follow the lines on the field. After about 4 minutes into the game, they caught on and ran with the ball. I'm not sure he understood what the goalie was to do and before his game had said he wanted to be goalie. When the game started, the coach asked Aidan if he wanted to be goalie and he said an emphatic NO! We'll see. I'm sure there will be more stories to share.

Firsts

2008-05-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Some firsts are great. Others, not so much. Today was the first time I've lost my son, Aidan. We were at the grocery store. The very familiar, I only turned my head for a second, was me. Aidan had told me he needed to use the restroom. He loves to explore public restrooms. Yuck! Anyway, I told him he needed to wait one minute while I checked out the meat section. Bam, he was gone. He had been running back to make faces at the butcher, so I walked down there...no Aidan. Walked around the freezer...no Aidan. PANIC! I walked toward the restroom and what seemed like 5 minutes later, out he comes of the restroom! He was so proud of himself and I was fighting the tears. Two sweet ladies were sitting in the pharmacy waiting area watching the whole thing. One came up to me and almost hugged me. I guess I looked pretty pathetic. After the lecture to Aidan, I finally took a breath. If you've ever been there, you know how awful that feeling is. Needless to say, Aidan was not allowed to let go of the cart the rest of the trip. He loves the carts with the cars. I hate them. Not anymore!

A more fun first was tonight. Aidan's first soccer game meeting. His first game is Saturday. He is number 5. It should be pretty entertaining, since they are mostly 3 year olds playing and they only blow the whistle if someone picks up the ball and runs with it. The highlight, we've been told is snacktime after the game. Oh what fun. It's pretty fun to watch him be so excited about something.

2008-05-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

There were several reasons I chose to name my blog Passing Through. Lots of things in this life bring me to the realization that we really are just passing through this life. Just before I started this blog, my aunt died. Today is my aunt's birthday. She lived in St. Louis and I am here in California. My mom's only sister, and the only aunt I was close to. Mother's day was always a big deal in our family as we also celebrated lots of May birthdays. Two of my sisters have May birthdays. My aunt and uncle shared birthdays only days apart. Then when my cousin married, of course he married a May birthday! There were many holidays we didn't spend with my Grandma and aunt's family, but mother's day was a rare one for us to miss. Since we moved to California almost 7 years ago, I find myself homesick two times a year. Early October, when leaves should be gorgeous shades of yellow, red and orange...and May. Several years ago, when trying to conceive, May was sad for different reasons. But I have always missed the big St. Louis gathering at Mother's day. This year I will miss it, but I know it won't be the same. It will never be the same. For that I am very sad. I miss Aunt Cathy so much. She loved with everything she had. She had such a great sense of humor and always made me laugh. She had the greatest stories. That was the best part of visiting....sitting around Grandma's big dining room table and eating tons of food and sharing stories. It was fun to watch mom and Cathy sit side by side and put their hands over their mouths while laughing hysterically. They had identical hands. They had the same look on their face when they laughed. I ache for my cousins who have now lost both their parents. I ache for my mom who has lost her best friend and only sister. I ache for my Grandma who has outlived most of her family at the age of 91. I sit here and as I list my aches, I know I should be listing my blessings...I know I have a gazillion. But, for right now, I just ache. It is hard to say goodbye. Death is just something so painful and yet, we will see so much of it on this earth. God never intended for this to be it. Hallelujah for that! I really can rest in knowing I will see these people again. It doesn't make today any less painful, but on another day I can rejoice in it. I know God has a purpose for everything he does and allows to happen. I stopped trying to figure it out a long time ago. For right now, I am trying to focus on knowing Him better on this side, so when I meet him face to face, he isn't a stranger. Hearing my aunt and uncle laugh together will just be a bonus.

Adoption Day!

2008-04-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

What an awesome day we had yesterday! We finalized the adoption of our second son, Luke. Adoption court is always so great. It is a relaxed atmosphere and everyone is happy to be there. We were first up. We went back to the judge's chambers. He greeted us from the middle of the room. He said a few things to us and to Luke. Then he talked with Aidan about being the big brother. Then we signed the papers and it was official. We took pictures with the judge and he told us this is the best part of his job. I should hope so! We left the judge's chambers and got copies of the adoption papers. Then we were led to the table of stuffed teddy bears. We let Aidan pick one out for Luke. He chose a very soft brown bear with a bright red ribbon. Neither boy had any real idea what we were doing there, but Jim and I were thrilled. We celebrated with pancakes at the Original Pancake House. Luke stayed awake and was just giddy. Kind of how I felt. Our first adoption was a long drawn out process, so to finalize before Luke turned 6 months old was a huge relief. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at home, enjoying a day home with daddy in the middle of the week. Jim grilled steaks for dinner. They were awesome. It was a great day and would have only been better if our families had been able to join us.

Changing my blog name

2008-04-20T20:51:00.001-07:00

I really think I need to change the name of my blog to "what am I freeing my child's body from today?" Again on Saturday my three year old, Aidan, needed my help. This time we were on our way to the local fire station for a community event. I had just parked and hear Aidan whimpering int he back seat. I look back and he has a finger deep in his nose. Mind you, this is not all that unusual, but this time I knew it was different. He had that look. I immediately knew what was wrong. Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened. He was eating some fruit snacks. Not the large character shaped ones, just plain naturally flavored small square ones. He put one in his nose. Then proceeded to try to get it out by sticking his finger in, which only shoved it up farther. He did this over a year ago and I thought he learned. At first I wasn't concerned..he is a pretty good nose blower. However after several attempts he wasn't making any progress and I saw blood. I just told him to blow as hard as he could. I seriously thought we were going to have to go into the fire station requesting help! He finally blew it out. I didn't bother asking why he did it. I knew the answer would be of the "because I'm a boy and I could" variety. Of course when we got home and I told my husband, he just shook his head and laughed. People assure me I will survive these boys, but I am not so sure.

Raising Boys

2008-04-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Everyday it seems that I am laughing at my son and the crazy things he does. I have three sisters and no brothers. All this boy stuff is foreign to me. Today, of course as we are trying to get ready to be out the door for a doctor's appointment, I hear Aidan yelling/crying. I come into the living room to find him laying on the floor under a rocking horse. Upon closer look, he is not under it, but his head is stuck between the front legs. I figure I just need to help him slide his head out. Wrong! The more I try, the harder he cries. I had to take the whole thing apart to get his head out. Of course a 3 year old can't tell you why he does something, but I had to ask. His reply is the usual one....I wanted to put my head in there. My husband assures me these things are normal and will continue for a long time. He just stuck his head in between the legs of the rocking horse because he could. At least there was no blood and I didn't have to call the fire department, which is what I was sure was going to happen. I'm sure the day will come. Luke is only 5 months old and once the boys are able to put their heads together I'm sure the fire department will have to be called. For now, I'm just off to reassemble the rocking horse. Maybe I shouldn't. Hmmmm

Mom stuff

2008-04-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today has been a day of just fun mommy stuff. My three year old has been giving me attitude lately and so our days have been filled with time outs and discussing his disrespect. My 5 month old has not been the greatest sleeper, ever, so I'm pretty exhausted most of the time. However, today was a much needed fun day with my kids. We started off with a quiet morning of reading books while I got laundry done...way overdue. Luke napped for a solid hour and a half. This is a major feat for him! Then Aidan and I played with his puzzles. He is just amazing at them. Once Luke woke up we headed to the park. He was in a good mood in his car seat and stroller, not always the case. Aidan rode his scooter around the park while I got to walk at a faster than usual pace. I am in desperate need of some exercise, so this was fun. Aidan listened and obeyed the first time I called him each time! We ran around together and played soccer for a bit. Again, loving the little exercise I got. Not to mention it was a beautiful cool sunny day. When it was time to go, Aidan came without a single whine! yaaaaaaaay!

We did our normal lunch, read books, nap routine. I got more laundry done and talked with a friend. Luke slept for only a short while this afternoon, but at least he woke up happy and not the usual screaming. Now I am trying to do too many things...get dinner started, play candyland along with listening to Aidan read books, and finish up laundry. Luke is trying to nap again.
Aidan is looking through the book "Love You Forever". He is cracking up at the pictures. We have read this a ton of times, but not lately, so it is new again. The first thing is a mommy rocking a baby. He started singing rock a bye baby, then got to the really not so nice part of the song. He has this great look of concern where he wrinkles his eyebrows and forehead. He obviously just thought about the words about the baby falling out of the treetop. He says, "hey, the baby will fall?!" I just laughed and said it really isn't a nice son, huh? Why do we sing that to babies? Then he tells the toddler he is NOT to put watches or toothpaste in the toilet. That will be a time out. Then the teenager is making a big mess in the kitchen. He is going to have to clean that up. Then the adult man is making dinner, but Aidan thinks he is making a mess, too. It is funny to hear him repeat me and our conversations after discipline. At least I know he is listening.

Nothing profound or serious, just a day enjoying being a mom. I don't do that enough lately.

Love?

2008-03-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

How much do I love Jesus? I've been reading through the One Year Bible in the New Living Translation. This is a translation that I've not read before. It is so refreshing to read familiar stories with new wording. This format has also been good for me in that I read an Old Testament passage along with a New Testament passage. I've always struggled with God as rewarder and punisher. He is, but when I only read the Old Testament, I forget the immense compassion he has for us. Not that he didn't have compassion on the Israelites...how many times did he provide for them and spare them? Today I was struck by the passage I read in Luke 7:47.....A person who has been forgiven little shows only little love. Jesus is talking about the "immoral" woman who annointed his feet with oil and washed them with her tears and hair. She loves him more than the Pharisee who invited Jesus for dinner because she knew the extent of her sins. The Pharisee's sins were no fewer, just less severe in his own eyes.

Is this true of me? Do I think I've been forgiven little? Growing up in a Christian home, going to Christian school, I was not a rebel. I tried to follow the rules and be a good girl. My sins are still many. I didn't have a wild life that I needed to turn around, but still needed God's forgiveness and compassion. Sometimes I wonder if I would love Him more had I come from a darker place. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful I was spared the turmoil of that pit. I just think I take God's forgiveness for granted and even that I deserve it sometimes.

Just a thought to start my day.

Starting out

2008-03-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. I am a mother of two boys. Three years and a 5 month old. I'm not sure how often I'll be posting, but I hope that this will be a place where I can write about my thoughts on life in general. Being a good wife and mother are two priorities, as is being a vulnerable follower of Jesus Christ. As I get older and learn more about my Savior, I realize that I am truly just passing through. Hence, the name of my Blog. I want my life to count for something, and I am realizing that that impact will be through my children and others that I serve. With two small kids, serving outside my home is tricky. Nevertheless, I know it is what Jesus was all about. We'll just see where this goes.