Monday, November 24, 2008

No Snack is Safe...

...when Dante is around! He loves apples, and was able to convince Nikita to share.




He just did not like sharing at the same time...


Wow, that was a good apple!!



Monday, November 17, 2008

When No News is Simply...No News

Everyone has heard the saying, "No news is good news". That is not always true, at least in the adoption world. We are still waiting on some paperwork that is necessary for our adoption of Sunny. When it is ready, THEN we will get the good news. Until that time, I will try not to check my email too many times a day (hah!).

Having adopted three times already, I know that in the end my daughter will come home, and I hold on to that knowledge. God in His infinite wisdom will time everything just right, whether or not I agree with that timing! When Micah was almost ready to come home, there were several glitches with his paperwork, on the US side. Travel was delayed by several weeks. In the end, the week Nikita and I traveled happened to be a week that there were NO baseball games for the boys-- which was a miracle, and since Jamie was their coach it made life MUCH easier for him while we were gone.

So I wait, some days patiently, some days with a little more praying needed. But I know Sunny is being very well cared for while she waits to join us, and we look forward to the day we meet our daughter.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

What Really Matters

The Essence of Autumn slide show causes me to reflect on Christmas and the value of our families to us all. Although Christmas is supremely a time to celebrate the most singular event in the history of the cosmos, the birth of Jesus the Christ, the Redeemer of Humanity, too often it becomes a time where the focus is on what you can get and not what you can give. But what do we really need? Do we need that Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 with its latest tutorial on how to live a life of crime (Grand Theft Auto, etc.)? Do we need more stuff for which we have no room and no need?

This brings me to the Essence of Autumn, where we see an exposition of the truly important things in life. We need to enjoy our families, here, now, today, because even if we all live to be 100, today will never come again. That three year old in the leaves, that seven year trying to help bag the leaves, and that thirteen year old hoping to finish soon, will never be at this stage of life again. Enjoy it while it lasts. It is the family leaf pile that you and they will remember long after that game system has faded from memory. That Wooly Bear crawling on their hand is worth more than all the presents we can buy. So get them things for Christmas, there is nothing wrong with that, but if that is our focus then we have missed the point. We need to give of ourselves and learn to accept that gracious gift from others. That's what really matters. James

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The Essence of Autumn

Dessert Night

Monday night is dessert night in our home. Jamie is an Adjunct Professor on Monday and Tuesday nights, so we do not get to eat dinner together. To try to make up for that, every Monday either Nik or I makes a dessert, and when Dad gets home we all sit at the table together. Yesterday Nik made a chocolate cake, and frosted it also. Unfortunately Amelia fell asleep on the floor before we could eat-- we were a little later than usual because I had a meeting that went until 8pm. The cake was delicious, and the leftovers became breakfast for the boys this morning!



Dante also had some big doings yesterday-- he now has his "AFO's". Ankle Foot Orthoses to stabilize his walking efforts. He has not learned to appreciate them yet! I'll post pictures some other time. I took my camera along to the appointment, but he was not feeling cooperative so I spent my time holding him still for the first putting on of his braces.