Jan 6th-Grandma's day

My Grandma Pinnie's birthday was January 6th, this year she would have been 90 years old.  I remember that friday being very sad, cried very easily and just reflecting on what the absence of grandma here on earth means and why it is still so painful 6 months later.  Funny thing I started this post this morning and just kept crying and had to put it aside to finish school and do life...then got a call from my Aunt Beth and we had a lovely talk, in it she shared some amazing stories of her Jan. 6th day and I was so thankful to hear these stories about grandma and in the end I said you know today I was having a hard morning thinking of her and it was a blessing to get her call and hear some great things about grandma.  So 6 months later, I still almost cry at the mention of her name....my kids will tell you with no hesitation, "don't say grandma's name mom will start crying" which is cute and makes me laugh, but its pretty true.  I am thankful my children still talk about her often, Anna asked the other day why they couldn't see her before she died and Micah and I reminded her that they were able to visit her in the hospital and hug on her a couple weeks before she died, oh how she loved them!  I guess this week too it has been hard being reminded my grandma always sent cards for our kids birthdays, every kid and every birthday she was so thoughtful like that...one cool thing though is that my dad(grandaddy) and aunt beth both have been doing the same thing, so they are carrying on in their mama's footsteps.  I guess I just always knew if everyone else forgot or got busy(like I do!) that grandma never did.  I look at her picture and just still can't believe she is gone, it doesn't seem real, but it is and it still hurts.  So I miss her voice, saying my name Juulie, she dragged out the u sound, and Lorraine she would drag out the O and say low rain, I guess she said Herschel's name pretty normal. She was a very strong women, she was in a lot of pain the last couple years of her life, probably more than we know(right beth!) and she rarely complained and went on as if there was more to be done.  So today when its kind of a lowly day, its good to be reminded to keep going, keep pressing, keep doing, don't complain and don't give up, grandma sure didn't.  

This was the picture of the kids visiting grandma in the hospital.

Sammy loved her bed, like I have said before..grandma loved to call our kids doodlebugs!

As I was posting this Sammy was looking at these pictures, our dialog:
Sammy:  Did Grandma Pinnie die?
Me:  Yes honey, she did die..(me crying again:)
Sammy:  But I loved her.
Me:  I know honey...more tears.

Anna-you were there, see!

 

 

I am thankful that grandma has no more suffering, no more pain, worries or tears that this life here brought, I am thankful she is with Christ her comfort and redeemer and long for that day myself.

Isaiah is NINE!!!

 
It is so hard to believe that our first born is 9 years old, I remember when my friends son turned nine she said that is halfway to 18, that sure puts it in perspective, wow!!  Well I know I just gave a mini update on Isaiah, but today is his special day the day God saw fit to bless us with our precious boy so we scream with thankfulness.  We went low key this year in the sense that we didn't have a party per se for Isaiah, we still did lots of fun things that we knew he would like as a family.

Started the morning like all birthday mornings...with chocolate chip pancakes and this year special bacon thanks to Uncle Steve.  So I had my plan to take a picture of his 9 pancake, but after we prayed he dove right in to eating, when I came back I was like WAIT we have to take a picture...

Then he spent the day doing some fun things he likes...video games, football...etc.  Ate pizza for dinner, had cookie cake, ice cream with fun stuff like magic shell and strawberries...

We had planned to extend his celebration into Saturday morning by going to a movie but realized there were no good ones playing at the dollar(now 2.00) theater right now so we opted to do our own, so we got a new movie (Tale of Despereaux), popped popcorn and got movie theater candy and did our own, which in the end was way better than all going out on what ended up being a yucky day!  So that was the end of our celebration.  He also will get to go to his best friends house for a sleepover tonight as one of their birthdays is the 24th, so he will have continued fun through the night as well.

Isaiah at 9......
Isaiah currently is my big helper, which makes sense because he is the oldest, but he really is a good helper.  He is great with Sammy, he tenderly looks after him which is so sweet to see.  He has started asking good questions that shows he cares about you and wants to know how your doing, again sweet!  Isaiah overall seems to have a really tender heart, no he's not perfect but he is sensitive (not quite like Anna sensitive) and has a spirit of caring and concern.  He will start soccer back up at the end of February and this provides a good opportunity for him to grow in skill, teamwork, and is great to be around other boys his age.  He also seems to be a perfectionist when it comes to his performance so needless to say this is a good ground for growth.  He is also excited about his baby sister not yet here, for our adoption fundraiser he willing/joyfully/excitedly took support letters to his writing class because he wanted to be a part of the process...I thought he might be nervous asking his teacher if he could hand them out, nope he ran right up there:) Okay I almost cried, just emotional I guess.  Our boy is growing up!! 

Adoption Update

Well the questions come, how is your adoption going?  I am thankful for that question every time someone asks it and the answer can change in a matter of time.  One thing I knew going into the process was that it was unpredictable, I am thankful to have dear friends who have walked this road twice before me in front of my eyes, so I know about delays and updates and those things....BUT I will say I wasn't prepared this soon.  So we have had our dossier at our agency for a little while and it was being autheticated, when low and behold, the Chinese Embassy gets a new consulate and he/she decides they will change one of the law/procedures/who knows what it is that says certain paperwork that used to be valid for up to a year is now only valid for 6 months, yep 6 months, that is not a long time in adoption time....So needless to say we were a little taken back because for us that meant, we had to get new copies of everything older than 6 months, that's about everything...so I was ready for updates, and delays but not this early, and that reminds me again that I'm not in control of this process and a greater reminder that our Sovereign God is, trust him!  So anyway, we've had to update a lot of paperwork, and update our homestudy all of which we are almost done with, so we are thankful yet again!  Hopefully in a couple weeks all of our paperwork will be back and ready to go to the Chinese embassy, all updated and ready to go........

And in other news our Both Hands project is drawing close, Feb. 11th is almost here, we are really excited to see what God will do through this project and we are also excited about the ongoing relationship we are building with Berna Griffin, the lady whose home we will work on!  She is a real sweet lady, who has a lot of needs on her home, so we are thankful God brought her to us and we can't wait to get working!! 

Our Most Precious Gifts

I thought it might be good to share some ways God is growing our kids as well as some of their funny quirks at this stage of life, to of course share with family who don't have the privilege of seeing them often.  This is also good for my memory as to soon I will forget.

Isaiah James

He currently loves anything related to football, narrow it down a little Dallas Cowboy football or Florida Gator football to be precise.  It amazes me that he now knows way more about football than I do, the players names, numbers, positions, etc...not that I considered myself a pro, but surely know more than an 8 year old?  Not so.  As he wrote in a recent paragraph in his writing class, he loves
to wear clothes that are comfortable...so on sunday as soon as we are in the door he is upstairs putting on shorts and a t-shirt and mind you he doesn't wear a suit to church, usually jeans and a decent shirt, but he still prefers shorts and shirts/jerseys even in December.  Isaiah played his first year of football this year at the Salvation Army for the Bronco's, it was a good first year experience, he would have hoped for more wins:)  Isaiah is doing well in school, he is a quick learner, soaks up facts and most of all loves when we are done, I guess I can't blame him.  He has a tender spirit right now that I pray is always there.

Micah Eli

Micah if a had to name him a song, free bird comes to mind not necessarily the lyrics but the implication of the name itself, he has a spirit within him that is unique and usually leads him to be in his own world a lot.  Which I have been told is similar to how Travis was as a child:)  Micah currently loves football as well, probably by default to family however while he is a Florida Gator fan his current NFL team is the St. Louis Rams due to the look of their uniforms and mostly their helmets, Micah loves a good looking helmet.  Micah is in first grade this year and loves to sit still in a chair and do his work:))  Micah has a gentle spirit that we too pray will grow into something God will use one day.


Anna Lucia

Anna started OCA(Oak City Academy) this year and is in kindergarten, she absolutely loves it.  She has lots of new best friends.  She still loves playing with her baby dolls all the time, loves writing or coloring anything and loves playing with her brothers.  Anna being the only girl right now tends to be a little more sensitive at times...For example one morning she was humming Rocky Top (Tennessee's song) and she asked if I knew what she was singing and I said yes, then she asked if I liked it to which I said no(of course being a Gator I couldn't say yes:) then here she goes, she busts out crying(this happens quite often), but I still thought this was over the top.  But this shows she is really sensitive, so needless to say, I sang Rocky Top for her the next morning.  Anna has a sweet spirit though and is full of excitement and life!!  We pray God uses her zeal for his glory!

Hosea Samuel

 Sammy turned 3 in November and he loves to tell you how old he is and hold up his three little fingers.  He generally has a wide small on his face with a twinkle in his eye, which sometimes means you don't know what he has been up to:)  I told Travis the other day he reminded me of him, I caught him getting Hershey Kisses out of a jar on the counter and asked him what he was doing, he said "eating chocolate" as if he could have endless amounts of chocolate until his heart desired...so I had to remind him that he has to ask for things.  Sammy loves to play with his siblings who he calls "the kids" most of the time and follow everything they do.  He enjoys doing PE this year with the other kids and is holding his own out on the track, if he doesn't get distracted looking all around, or trying to talk to you then he does great, if not, well skinned knees usually occur.  Sammy is still our one who cuddles, to which we will take as long as possible!!  He has a spunk and sweetness both at the same time that makes him so fun to be around.