Spring Break

The kids eat dinner with Bryson
while watching
Spectacular Spiderman.

Spring Break started with a trip to the doctor for Ian. It had been nearly two months to the day since we last visited the pediatrician so I guess we were "due" for a trip in. Ian's barking cough returned over the previous weekend and progressed quickly. So we got him in on Monday.

Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Croup again. This time wasn't as severe as last time but the doctor opted for an inhaler instead of a shot or meds as with the previous time. Ian wanted no parts of the inhaler and the first round of using it was not pleasant. The "mask" they provided to help him ingest all of the spray really scared him so he asked to just use the inhaler itself. He has to take two puffs, twice a day. After the first few rounds, he had it down and wasn't afraid of the process anymore.

Daddy promised him a surprise if he could take his inhaler all week without a fuss. So on Friday he brought Ian a new Imaginext airplane called Tornado Prop. He was ecstatic and hasn't put it down all weekend. And because Mark didn't want Anna to be left out, he picked out a new bath toy for her that squirts water up in the air and she loved it.



The boys enjoy their pudding.

 Ian had his cousin Bryson over to the house for some playtime, dinner and some Spiderman comics on tv one evening. The boys were so wound up to see each other and had a blast chasing each other with light sabers, making chocolate pudding to enjoy after dinner, and eating in the living room while watching comics. Anna was right there for all the 'big kid' action, of course. 

 We ventured out to the local historical museum for the first time and experienced their hands-on portion of the museum designed for kids. It was pretty neat. The kids got to play dress-up in a wild west style house, pretend they were farmers, bankers, grocery store clerks, the town sheriff (and inmates) and enjoy the train table. We ran into one of Ian's school friends and his cousins so Ian and Anna were thrilled to see familiar faces. All the kids enjoyed the museum and Mama loved the price...free!  



Ian and Dalton as "teachers" and Anna
is the student in the historic classroom

Later in the week we met up with our family from up the turnpike at our local zoo. It was great seeing them and the cousins just had a blast. Ian wanted his cousin Dayton (11 years old) to come home with us. He referred to her as  his new 'big sister'. And Anna and Jacelyn (6 years old) hit it off immediately and walked hand-in-hand most of the day. The zoo was more crowded than I have ever seen it and the record crowds actually made the front page of the newspaper the following day. I learned to avoid the zoo at all cost during spring break. But it was a fun time, overall.

    

All the cousins gather together at the zoo.



And the best part was the kids slept in to a reasonable hour each day. Anna blessed us with sleeping until at least 6am, and even 7am one morning. And Ian would make it until 6:30 almost each day. Mama greatly appreciated getting to sleep past 5am several days in a row. Woohoo! We hope this routine continues.

 

It was a fun week and it sure did go by quickly. But I know the kids will be so excited to return to school because they have missed their friends. And we're all thrilled mild weather has arrived and it appears that spring is just around the corner. Hooray for sunshine and light jackets!

Six years ago

It's pretty surreal to think that six years ago today Mark and I moved in to our current home. This anniversary marks milestones in both my life and Mark's. This is now the longest either of us has lived in one home, one town, one single place since both of us lived at home with our parents as teenagers. And six years in the same house is a milestone I have not had since I was a very young girl in Houston.

When I really thought about being in this house for six years it made me think back to all the places I have lived - all the apartments, homes, dorms, etc. I am amazed that I have not lived in one single place for more than about four years (at most) since I was young enough to not remember. Coincidentally, one house I grew up in back in Houston was on the market last fall and the other one is currently on the market. And the home Mark and I shared back in Houston before moving here was just on the market about two months ago. Quite a trip to step back into those homes via the Internet to see what has changed and what hasn't. Each one has its own set of memories and it's true of our current home as well.

We have a beautiful tulip tree in the front yard that was in full bloom the week we moved in. And each March I am reminded of just how beautiful it truly is. We have a huge window in our living room that overlooks the front yard. The week the tree blooms I have witnessed people literally stop their car to either look at the tree or even to take pictures of it. I often see people on walks stop and admire its huge blooms and, again, take photos via their phones.

Our home is 40+ years old now and we've discovered some of the homes' quirky history on more than one occasion. The original owner was a woman named Ethel and we assume she has now passed. But Ethel still likes to play little jokes on us sometimes - or so we think. Our living room had an electronic ceiling fan that would "magically" turn on while I was away and would freak me out each time I returned home to find it on. We quickly replaced it during our first year here. And whenever something just plain strange happens we always joke that Ethel is letting us know she's here. When Ian was born I remember us commenting on how we are sure Ethel is happy to know there is a baby in the house.

When we moved here, we knew this wasn't our forever home but it was (and still is) all we truly need. Despite the annoyances of an aging home, there are little things about this home that have made it quite special to us over the years. The most precious memories are, of course, bringing each of our babies home. We've also celebrated milestone anniversary parties, the kids' first birthday parties, the kids' first Christmas, huge Thanksgiving meals where family consumed our formal living and dining room at one giant table, and so much more.

So until the Lord leads us somewhere else, 'I'll be here a while' as the song of the same title by the group 311 says. And as I look out the front window into our yard, it is a bit comforting to know that our beautiful blooming tulip tree welcomes us once again into another year of being home.

Shopping for sparkles

A young girl who was probably about eight years old touched my heart and left me with a big smile this week. She came in with her foster mom and I got to help her shop. She was so bubbly, sweet and 'all girl'. She was drawn to the bright colored tops that had sparkles on them. Each shirt I pulled out she would get more and more excited as she saw they all had embellishments. She tried on her clothes and would come out to 'model' them for her mom. She was too cute. She found two shirts she loved and then proceeded to try on about ten different pairs of shoes. We were getting such a big kick out of this young lady and she was having a ball on her 'spree'. As she left the resource center, she waved and told us all thank-you and goodbye. And I think I smiled the rest of the day because this little angel of a girl could put on such a brave and happy face despite her situation. God has His hand on her, for sure. She is full of light!

8046

"8046" represents a snapshot in time of the number of Oklahoma children in foster care and the year-long campaign focused on recruiting Bridge foster and adoptive families from the communities of faith. The campaign will be launched by a statewide training event for faith-based ministries interested in foster care and adoption ministries.

The FREE event will be held on April 5 in Oklahoma City and include presentations on:



A Child’s Journey Through the System
How a Church Could Have Helped
A Call to Action: How Churches Can Minister to Foster and Adoptive Kids
Who Are These Kids? Understanding Children from Hard Places
Everybody Has a Role

8:30AM Sign In

9AM to 3PM (lunch included)

Crossings Community Center

2208 W. Hefner Road, OKC 73120

Register Here


The "8046" April 5th event is sponsored by Oklahoma foster care and adoption Christian* ministries, Arrow Child & Family Ministry, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.