Lost, But Holding Hands

The joy is in the journey. I woke up a few minutes before the boys so that I could update our poor, neglected blog before getting ready for church.  Unfortunately, by the time I made it to the couch to begin writing both the husband and the little one are awake.  From up in the bedroom I hear the sweet shouts of my loves asking for coffee and chocolate milk.  I must oblige because something about their sweet, simple conversations make me swoon. So off I go to make coffee and chocolate milk as I listen to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse begin playing in our bedroom.... We spent yesterday afternoon a "family adventure".  These are day trips that daddy plans much to mom's dismay (I do not do well in the unknown).  In the end, these daddy days are always incredibly fun, little man is tuckered out and I feel hugely blessed to be in love with such an amazing man.  So yesterday we loaded up the car and stopped for adventure day snacks at the gas station.  I like ...

1 per·fect   adjective   \ ˈ pər-fikt\ : having no mistakes or flaws : completely correct or accurate : having all the qualities you want in that kind of person, situation, etc. We all strive for it: the perfection.  It's everywhere- on television, in magazines, at stores.  My type A personality rarely lets me settle for anything less than the best.  This type of personality often leaves me feeling a sense of discouragement especially when something as important as a major celebration or holiday is impending.  This is the story of finding perfection in the imperfections and learning to rejoice in the hope that it can always get better: Pre-December I knew Christmas was going to be a big celebration this month.  We always go all out during Christmas: decorations, big meals, gifts... but this year would be different.  Whatever we did this year would set the traditions that we would carry on for the REST OF OUR PARENTAL LIVES....

Football, scarves, hot chocolate, pumpkins, cooler temps, and the best holidays of the year.   Ladies and gentlemen, we have officially ushered in fall!  It is my favorite time of the year and the perfect time for a family update- the dogs are finally quiet, the husband is watching football, and the little roommate is napping. We visited with Little Bear's (LB) caseworker on Wednesday night.  We really, really enjoy her.  Not only does she want the best for LB and understand that he has special circumstances that need a higher level of support, she is a totally approachable and  and incredibly helpful person.  As we journeyed through our licensing coursework, we heard varying opinions on "the division" and "the workers", but we have had all positive interactions with the professionals that we have worked with.   During our visit we were able to brag on the amount of progress that we have seen in LB.  Tomorrow marks three months since we b...

it seems like lately we've had struggle after struggle with little bear. there are so many silver linings, i know, but there are also a lot of dark clouds right now: we had our ENT appointment to address some of the hearing issues and did not get encouraging news. that resulted in a surgeon appointment. most likely our adenoids are coming out. of course we can't get into the surgeon anytime soon, so we will have to wait another month before we even get a consult and who knows how much longer to actually get him the relief he needs. we also need to schedule a sleep study because there is worry about sleep apnea. struggle. school has been a tough transition. just getting LB assigned to a school site was an ordeal in itself. in one day we were told three different school sites and because it took so long to figure it out we did not get to participate in meet the teacher night or anything. sometimes those things happen, so we weren't really mad just disappointed. it would h...

the weather man is calling for scattered showers in lee's summit today. that's pretty much what we're calling for at our house, too. this morning we took the plunge and started little bear in big kid underwear. he came to us on sunday and for as long as anyone can tell, he's relied on pullups 24/7. after six days of that business we are over it. ready or not you're a big kid now, dude. we will see how it goes and pray that this is a positive experience that will prove fruitful rather than being a source of frustration and pain.  in drier news, we also took our first trip to the library today and little bear got his very own library card! we happened to stop in for preschool story time. let's just say the lady who did that really loves her job. it was mesmerizing for him and nauseating for me. from what i've learned about preschool entertainment so far, that means she was right on target.  [he]

/We/

so we've had our new roommate since sunday afternoon and it's now wesdnesday morning. a lot has happened since then. it's kind of amazing how much change can happen to a family so quickly. to say his impact on us has been big would be an understatement. he has changed the core of how we do business in our house. as kelly and i were talking last night and reflecting on the day, we realized that our anticipation and fears haven't really subsided all that much. first we were worried about juggling our lives to get our certification classes done. then it was the fear of getting all of our paperwork turned in--and the stress of missing documents or information lost in translation. as we waited through the spring our fears increased as weeks and weeks went by with no contact from the division. fear and doubt wormed its way further into our heads. of course, it was all for no good reason. we knew in our hearts that our God was faithful. we knew how the story would end. we kn...