Gram's Birthday

Along with Gotcha Day, we've also had the privilege of celebrating with Gram on her birthday for the past four years. The day didn't go as planned, as I ended up spending several hours at the children's hospital helping a friend. But it was a blessing to be there and the kiddos had a blast with Mom at the hospital playground and were flexible to take their naps in the car.

While we were downtown, we did treat Gram to a delicious meal at a bohemian-like spot that I discovered on my birthday this past year. Mom enjoyed a green juice and we all feasted on lima bean pesto, goat cheese, roasted red bell peppers, artisan bread, butternut squash soup and wild field green salads. We finished our day with a homemade, gluten-free carrot cake. I know Mom missed Dad, but we enjoyed having her on her special day and hope that some of the little things made her feel appreciated and loved.

Mom stayed in Elle's room while she was here and in less than 24 hours from her arrival, we had the sewing table set up beside her bed and a stack of projects that had been waiting for her arrival. :) She hemmed clothes, fixed several patches on Elle's antique quilt and even edged it with yellow trim. It's purdy now and ready for another 50 years!

As every year, the weather was again beautiful during her visit and we treasure the memories of life shared together. Looking forward to next year!

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Gram taught Zane & Elle how to play Rock-Paper-Scissors. Zane was always a rock.

One morning Elle said, "I like that Gram.", as if we were deciding whether or not to keep her.

Gram taught Elle how to make stir-fry - it was yummy!

Harvest Party

Elle and Zane dressed for our church's harvest party. Elle wanted to be Princess Belle. We thought it appropriate since we always call her Elle-Belle. Elle doesn't know that Belle wears a yellow dress, so she was easy to please when I found a pink, $2.00, princess-like outfit at the consignment shop. Gram made a few alterations on the sewing machine and it worked beautifully. We added a homemade headband that she can wear anywhere, anytime. The dress will make for many more fun dress-ups during the next few years.

Princess Elle-Belle

Found a cute fireman outfit on clearance and Zane was good to go too.

Winning candy!

Elle and Zane had a lot of fun visiting the game booths, stumbling through the dark room maze, eating pizza and climbing through the jump-house obstacle course with a 30 foot slide at completion. Elle was so thrilled over the lightning bolt descent that she squealed and danced like we've never seen before.

Gotcha Elle

We rejoice over God's grace and perfection in bringing Elle to us four years ago on October 30, 2006. This year was extra special with Gram H. visiting. Just so happens that our annual cousin reunion is the following week so my Mom and sometimes Dad usually fly in just before we celebrate Gotcha Day.

Of course we celebrate Elle's adoption every day. Not a day passes without thanksgiving for how God set us together. We have an overwhelming gratefulness for God's hand in all our lives and His handiwork in Elle's. It is a great honor for us to be her parents and have a front row seat to His plan unfolding in her life.

Celebrating family and Zane 'cheesing'.

Started the day with some chocolate chip pancakes.

Love this girl!

We KNEW her from the first moment we saw her - our daughter.

Watching Gotcha Day video from 2006 - happy, special memories!

A new bicycle charm was added to Elle's bracelet.

Homemade pizza with Gram.

Picking dessert of choice at Whole Foods.

Family joined us for the celebration.

Zane and cousin Titus enjoy family day too!

Can't imagine life without our Elle - thank you God!

A fun look at Elle...

Pumpkins & Laughs

With my Mom here at this time every year, we visited our favorite pumpkin patch together again. It was a beautiful day for Zane's first experience on the farm. The kiddos enjoyed the playground, trying to hoist up big pumpkins, picking out their very own, weaving through the hay bale maze, seeing the animals and finishing the visit with a honey stick.

Got very few and poor shots with my dying camera - ARGH!

Lost in the maze.

MOO!

We had such a relaxing time that we lost track of time and had to rush home so my Mom and I could get to the Chonda P*erce concert in time. She is the funniest comedian! We laughed, hard! Best part, Chonda loves Jesus, represents Him well and loves people. It was really a great night.

Here's a short video of some fun the kiddos have been having this Fall.

Pegs & Scooter

Zane got 100 stacking pegs for his birthday and we all love them! This is the best present we've ever bought him. He's very coordinated with his hands and enjoys the challenge. I like how they keep him entertained while Elle and I work on a preschool project.









He had a little help with this tower.



















We ran into a favorite consignment shop and found this outside the door for just $7. Elle flipped!

She thinks her cousins and their scooters are awesome, so it was a blast to say, "It's yours! Let's get it!"

Elle: What? Mine?
Me: Yes, let's go buy it.
Elle: (jumping up and down) Ahhhh, eeeek, yeaaaaaa! Thank you Mama, thank you!
Elle: (screaming from the sidewalk to the car) Dada, look Dada, look, a scooter! It's mine, we're buying it!

Preschool At Home

We're doing preschool at home and just as expected and like life, some days are wonderful and other days, not so much. Preschool is just more of what we've done all along being parents, but with a bit more purposeful structure. This first year is probably more for me than Elle, as I'm learning a rhythm and structure and how to protect our time. It also has been an adjustment to incorporate a two year old boy, who desperately wants all my attention, into the mix.

Elle is eager to learn and although the preschool skills can be very challenging for her, she never gives up. She is always patient with me and Zane's interruptions and I'm definitely humbled by her example. Elle is a good thinker and a hard worker with a dear, sweet spirit.



Zane gets in on the preschool fun.


The Little Rabbit was a fun book that was a great springboard for learning the days of the week and making charts.



My Blue Boat brought a focus to colors and shapes. We also enjoyed a family picnic by a lake with our very own blue boat, but the wind didn't cooperate so we just ate with the boat.



Sorting and counting colored bears. Elle is patient to teach Zane.

Pow!

'Right between the eyes' is how things have gone for Zane this past year. With three surgeries in nine months and seemingly no closer to understanding why he's having recurring infection, this 'blow' nearly made me crawl in a hole to die. A bit dramatic, I know, but when it's your baby it just hurts. A good night's sleep, prayer, perspective, and Zane's resilient spirit, a new day arrived with hope. His eye is fine and he's going to be okay. Apparently he wanted to work on his ruggedly handsome face.

It has been nearly four weeks since surgery and Zane just finished 21 days of twice a day meds. The surgery did reveal infection, but they couldn't find any source. We have more follow-up appointments this week and are feeling more confident in his healing today than we did about ten days ago. We continue to pray healing and protection over Zane and are doing lots of research and seeking out help with multiple professionals to build Zane's immunity and find solutions.

With all this going on, we decided we needed to have some fun. So we headed to Branson for camping and more SDC...and that's where Zane got his black eye. It was our first day at The City and a heavy metal chair that Zane was sitting on at lunch flipped back. I saved the back of his head from smacking against the metal chair rods and the brick floor but failed to anticipate the front of the chair coming up to hit'em right between the eyes. He cried. Swelling. Blood. And then I yelled, 'GET HELP NOW!' It really wasn't my calmest moment, but all I could compute in the moment was, 'HIS.NOSE.HIS.NOSE!'

Eric was eerily calm and explained later that he knew Zane would be fine. With the 'fresh raw meat' look Zane sported the rest of the afternoon, I wasn't as confident. Eric reassured me that by morning it would all be better. He was right. The swelling came down, the rawness turned darker and Zane didn't miss a beat. Fortunately, the rest of our weekend was fun, meaningful and indeed memorable.

We found the best place to pitch our tent at spot #70, the weather was beautiful, the food was simple, the Church of Christ retreat serenaded us all weekend, the fires were warm, the marshmallows were perfectly roasted and we stayed toasty warm cuddling in our sleeping bags. The fall colors through the Ozarks were beautiful, the mums were lovely and Elle and Zane discovered more to enjoy at The City.

Elle's new favorite ride is F*re In The Hole. Oh my goodness, I didn't remember how fast and dark that ride was and was shocked she was tall enough to ride it, four times over! Zane rode his first ride on the Frog, which made him cry a bit, so he preferred the Ladybugs.

Oh, and there was barn dancing! I don't know a single step, can't dance to save my life, but it was a blast and for Elle, I got up in front of everyone in the hall and danced two songs with her. I was embarrassed, but it was easy to shut out everything and see only my Elle, thrilling over the experience.

We can't wait to go back to Branson again at Christmas. We'll probably leave the tent home for that trip...brrr!