Miss Independent (sorta)

Mia brought her life vest to me and although I tried to talk her out of wearing it, she insisted and I caved.  No biggie, right?

She called out to me while I was cooking dinner in the kitchen and this is how I found her.  She climbed in all by herself and she was so proud.  Her moment of pride quickly changed course the minute I pulled out the camera.  In the camera operator's defense, I'm fairly certain Spencer had a little something to do with the teary episode too.

A dream come true

Spencer has been waiting for this and the day finally arrived.  This boy loves horses and ponies too, but that's a sore subject around here :).

Winding down our summer...

We decided to make our way to the State Fair because we hadn't been with a kid, or in this case, kids.  I'll admit the free parking and half price admission might have encouraged us some too.

Although I well aware that fall is approaching, it didn't feel so today.  The weather sure made me realize I may be looking forward to our next season more than I realized.  Yep, I tend to mourn summer's passing.

In case anyone is interested, Alfonso took a few pictures of the Delorean from Back to the Future.  C'mon...no takers?!

My cave dwellers

We made a cave out of a big box we had laying around.  The three of us were armed with our hard hats and full bellies.  My hat was designed with digging in mind.  Spencer said I needed the shield to keep my eyes protected from all the dust we were stirring up.  Maybe its time for me to dust the place.

Baking is messy business!

Is it still considered "baking" when one simply opens a box and stirs?

Anyhow, Mia thought it was delicious.  I licked the bowl myself, but no one was there to take my picture.  Sigh.

C'mon kids!

I'm going to blame it on post-vacation brain, but I took the kids to Contra Loma for the walk of their life.  I had planned to take them to a little fishing dock, but when we got to our destination we discovered it was closed much to Spencer's disappointment.  To make matters worse, we had to walk all the way back to our picnic spot.  Oh, and it was naptime.  I swear Mia almost fell asleep standing.

We went to Napa for four days to celebrate our 9th anniversary. I still can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Suddenly, fifty years seems so close!

Our relationship has sure changed over the years. That's a good thing considering we were (practically) babies on our wedding day. As much as the years have forced us to grow-up, we've learned to do the growing up together. Our interests are similar, but not so much so that we're suffocating (been there, done that...not fun!). We're far from perfect, but still in love. 

There's no greater joy this world can provide me than being married to my best friend.  

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Eccl. 4:9-12

Hmmmm...That's a version I have yet to read

When we got back to the car after church this afternoon (and getting back to the car is an event when you attend a large church), I asked Spencer what he'd learned. Sensing he was struggling a bit, I used the goodies he'd created to put the pieces together for him. As it turns out he'd heard the story of the Prodigal Son.

I love this age. Its my favorite for sure. Spencer understands just enough to fuel a decent conversation and misunderstands just enough to make that decent conversation fun. I was a bit floored to hear his re-telling of the story in his words. Really, he managed to soak up a good chunk of the story.

He told me about how the father in the story gave his son money. After the son received this gift he left. While he was away, he spent his wealth on....McDonald's?!?! Yep, that's what he told me.

Isn't he cute?!

The last time I had a chance to see Sullivan was way back in February. It was sure nice to sneak in a few days with the little guy...his mom isn't so bad either :).

One year ago today...

...Mia was placed in our arms. Its a day I'll never forget that's for sure.

As I looked through pictures from August 2, 2007, I had to laugh at Mia's hairdo. Her foster mom explained she'd fixed her hair in anticipation of our meeting only to have her rip out the the rubberbands on the way to meet us. As I glanced back at Mia while we were in the car today, I found her doing the very same thing...only this time I was there to witness it.

She's sure a sweetie.

Claiming God's word for our children

Yesterday was a toughy. We went to bed unsure about how best to handle Spencer's "issue". Spencer's a thinker and for the most part, that's been a good thing. The problem is he thinks too hard about some things and is absolutely sure he'll fail before he even tries. Can you relate a bit? I sure can.

I've come to the conclusion that every child is born with an extreme bend or two. For me, I imagine a little tree with a branch bending at some extreme angle. You realize that particular bend isn't so harmful to the tree now just a little sapling, but one day when that little tree grows big and tall, that bend could very well be crippling. I'm sure you'll agree that it is far easier to adjust an extreme branch while the tree is still pliable and young, and not rigid and old (that rigid and old adjustment part is what landed me in counseling :) and let me tell you, it has been everything but easy).

I don't feel it's our job, or even our right, to try to completely correct our child's "bend". I believe God created my children for a very special purpose and their "bend" may very well play an important, if not vital, role in who He designed them to be. All I ask is that God shows us how to parent our children, that He shows us how to best correct a possible extreme and turn it into something positive, and that the "bend" not be a hinderance for them.

A while ago, I started memorizing a Bible verse with Spencer. I guess you can say I claimed this verse, through prayer, for him.

Phillippians 4:13 "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

Isn't that an uplifting verse for us all? Part of me figures that is this verse is repeated enough, I just might believe it too.

We try to pray with our kids every night, but last night I found myself doing something I've failed to do for some time. Last night I took the time to pray over my kids when each was fast asleep. And as I did, I found myself clinging to this very hope:

James 5:16b "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Who better to ask for help than the God that created both myself and my children?