Babe of my Heart » Our Family's Journey

Overheard amongst my crowd this week… {you can’t make this stuff up}

February 14, 2013

Ever find yourself at one of those life stages where you feel like you could just walk around with a recorder of treasured moments? I’m there. Listening to my littles process and answer things…and many times just listening to conversation between them.

Some funny…some thought-provoking…some just silly… making this momma laugh. Here are some things overheard amongst my crowd and others this week…that just has to be remembered…and shared.

Parker and Isaac on Friendship…

{Parker}: “Isaac. I want you to pick ONE person in your family that you would say is your BEST friend. No adults allowed for your answer. So–your choices are Frank, Laney or me…PARKER. Which one is your BEST-like BEST friend?”

{Isaac}: Zeke. Tus he’s in our fam-a-wee.

Laney and a friend at the Park on Sisters vs. Brothers

{friend}: Laney. Are you like SO sad that your family is bringing home ANOTHER boy instead of a girl? I mean–deep down you want a sister–right? I mean–isn’t it SO hard to be the ONLY girl??? Don’t you wish you had a sister like me???

(It took everything in me not to want to jump in and protect her heart…but she did a pretty good job and made this momma smile and hold back a giggle…)

{Laney}: WHAT??? That’s CRAZY! No way! I love being the ONLY princess. So what in the WORLD do you do at a Father/Daughter dance? Do you have to share your dad and take turns dancing? What about daddy/daughter dates? I bet he has to like take turns taking you out—OR he gets busy and just takes you both out together. So what happens when he says, “Where do you want to go for dessert?” and one of you says MENCHIES and the other says SCOOPS? I mean, when we are out on a date…my daddy asks me where I wanna go for dessert–and I say MENCHIES–and there’s no fussing who gets their pick. He’s like–Okay! Menchies it is-with extra sprinkles. Why would I be sad I don’t have a sister? PLUS–I’m gonna have like 4 sister-in-laws and they are nicer to you anyway.”

Isaac on Family

{Isaac}: Mommy, you weh-ly need to huh-ree up and go get Zeke. Tus he doesn’t have a mommy or daddy. But Isaac has a mommy and daddy–and Zeke needs a mommy and daddy tus he doesn’t have one.

{Me}: Zeke DOES have a mommy and daddy! Mommy IS his mommy! Daddy IS his daddy! We just have to wait until China says all the papers are stamped and then we can bring him home.

{Isaac}: O-tay. We need to huh-ree! You tan take me to Nana and Papa’s while you go to China–but af-ta you get back–you gotta come wheel fast and get me. O-tay?

And today being the FIRST day of Lent…we will be following along with our annual Lent tree tradition and readings. Here’s a link to what we do if you’d like to join us: http://www.babeofmyheart.com/category/lent/#/ash-wednesday-the-journey-of-faith-begins/

I’m letting Facebook go until Easter…so I’ll miss giving fun little updates there and keeping up with others…but if you are on Instagram then you have seen our funny cat updates (Frank took in a stray–and through much debate he has found a new home on our back porch despite this Mona’s allergies.) His name is Love some times Blankie and Isaac calls him Jasmine. A few pics from our crazy this week..

20130214-003154.jpg

20130214-003332.jpg

20130214-003353.jpg

20130214-003532.jpg

20130214-003724.jpg

May you have a blessed journey through this season with your family!

Posted inDay in the Life
SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE WTIH A FRIEND SUBSCRIBE
add a comment
link to this post
Natasha - February 14, 2013 - 11:18 am

Preciousness! Kids do say the sweetest things! I teach kindergarten and I hear lots of sweet treasures all day. The best yet was when one of my kinders said, Mrs Chalker, I love you bigger than Jesus! She also told me I smelled like an angel once. Melt my heart.

Elspeth - February 21, 2013 - 10:08 pm

Sweet!
Sounds like Lainey would have a hard time giving up her princess status if you did have another girl ;D

the BEST valentine’s EVER {helping bring Edgars home…}

February 11, 2013

Have you already bought Valentine’s for your love or littles?

Here’s an amazing way to show your love–AND help Edgar’s new family bring him home!

They are having a fundraiser this week “Valentines for Edgars” with the goal to have 250 people give $5…250 to buy a “Virtual Valentine” for Edgars.

READ ABOUT THEIR GOAL AND STORY HERE: http://mcrobertsclan.blogspot.com

How much fun would that be to buy a Valentine for Edgars OR even to give all your friends Valentine’s in honor of Edgars! You can read more of his story on the McRoberts family blog at the link above. They are an amazing family–and I have just loved getting to know his new mom the past few weeks through emails and can’t WAIT to meet her at the Created for Care retreat in MARCH! Please consider joining their family in helping bring this big guy home!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S WEEK!!!!

Posted inHelping Families Fundraise
SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE WTIH A FRIEND SUBSCRIBE
add a comment
link to this post

Her First Daddy Daughter Dance & the BEST news ever!

February 8, 2013

Today was the daddy daughter dance for my man and his little girl–and it was Loo-bear’s FIRST daddy daughter dance EVER. Sweetness. Of course procrastination mommy waited until today to buy her a dress…so after we finished our school work today, we loaded up and while the babes were in preschool–we hit a few stores. (Precious Parker was a TROOPER. He is going to make an AWESOME husband and daddy one day! He entertained himself in the dressing room by asking Siri knock knock jokes and funny questions on my phone. That boy…anything will make him laugh!)

And the girls? Well, we were trying on dresses and twirling in the mirror:). Okay–so Laney was the one trying on dresses and twirling…and I was snapping a pic here and there when I could get my phone away from Siri and Parker’s nonsense.

Soooo…I helped her pick out like 5 or so to try on. We only made it to number 3…and she was convinced there wasn’t a prettier dress. I thought this spring floral knee length dress was just adorable. (We really didn’t have time to go store hopping–so I was hopeful to find something at dear old Kohl’s.) I then she tried on another dress and another…and number 3–well…she looked in the mirror…smiled–and said there wasn’t a prettier dress. Sweet thing.

Now–y’all might write me off as crazy. But I had a mommy moment. Not the kind where you watch your daughter try on her wedding dress moment…but rather, “Really?THAT one?” I caught myself–and reminded myself that my daughter is her OWN person…in this little 1st grade body–she is her own…and I caught myself wanting to influence her or make my opinion sway her in places that I need to let her be her own. Over a dress I felt a desire to influence. Silly mommy! (Granted if it wasn’t modest now that is a place where a mom must influence…but for simple taste–I need to be slow to speak so she can flourish into who she is.) Instead…I sat back and watched her face. THAT was enough. JOY in that. How this polka-dot crinkled My Michelle was beautiful to her. Who is this most precious child? My lovely daughter. And I want to know her even more…because she isn’t just like me. And then the sting…are you sure you don’t care mommy? I looked at the tag. It was even more than the spring one I loved…but I had this moment–of realizing my girl, well she is my girl…but she is not me…and I want her to be HER. I know this probably sounds so silly–but it was a moment for me. I think sometimes as moms (or at least it’s true for me) we struggle with wanting to micro-manage and influence our little ones in all the wrong places so that when influence does matter–they no longer listen. We want to influence their choices…the sports and instruments they play…and we even get disappointed when they could care less about the things we like. THESE THINGS DO NO MATTER. The heart is what I want to influence…and I want to point her to HIM to be influenced…all else…is just fun–helping her find who she is and who He created her to be. So–I had this silly, good moment–so much so…that we even went home and I asked her if we could paint her nails to match her dress…with DELIGHT she giggled…and turquoise nails–two coats–she got:)

We curled her hair…and she put on her new shoes with hose…and she wore a necklace that a precious friend gave me to remember our angel princess in heaven. She would wear it tonight while she danced:). Daddy came to pick her up…and off they went–to a really fun night out together.

Loo came home tonight on CLOUD 9! She wanted to tell me all about slow dancing, swing dancing and just fun dancing with her daddy. And the boys and I? Well, we parked it on the couch and had Ginger Ale, gluten-free mac-and-cheese and veggies while we watched a movie together. THEN Isaac entertained us with his dancing to his new Michael Jackson music (I really need to post a video…he LOVES every Michael Jackson song and breaks it down!)

And then…TODAY…the BEST news EVER!

So this morning I emailed our agency to tip-toe…kindly ask…just wondering;)…when we might hear about our LID (login date). The next big step in our adoption is the LOA/LSC (Letter of Approval also known as the Letter Seeking Confirmation) which can come any where from 30 to 90 days…also shorter or LONGER. Our dossier was off to China on the 18th–so I wanted to just check in since it’s been 3 weeks to see if we had a LID. She immediately wrote back that WE DID–and that there was a mix up and they meant to tell us LAST WEEK!

WOOT!

Well, I did a happy dance! Started shouting from the ROOFTOPS that we got our LID last week…so we were already 7 days into the wait!!! SERIOUSLY!!! BEST NEWS!!!

Then–our caseworker emails us and attaches the official receipt of our LID–WITH THE DATE of 01-22-2013!!! WOWZERS! Not only were we more than 7 days into the wait…we are 17!! For an adoption momma waiting on her love–this is like going to the OB for an ultrasound…THINKING you are 8 weeks and finding out you’re like 14 weeks along! Okay–maybe that’s a stretch…BUT that is what it felt like today!!! So the BEST NEWS–just turned into the BEST NEWS EVER!! I can’t believe we are already 17 days into waiting for our LOA!!! Travel is typically 2-3 months AFTER you get your LOA…and we are PRAYING BIG for May (okay–another farfetched STRETCH…but we are praying God will move mountains and we can travel by May so we can be with him on his 2nd birthday!) When we receive our LOA we will also be able to share his pictures and videos! CUTENESS!!! Our caseworker told us to go ahead and get on the paperwork that will need to be submitted when we get our LOA…and we need to go ahead and get passports for our kiddos that will be traveling with us! Yes–we still have awhile…but you just NEVER know…and we are thankful and excited!

In FOUR months (Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan)…we have gotten pre-approval to adopt our little guy after finding his picture online…started and finished a home study…gotten through USCIS approvals…sent our documents/dossier off to China…AND gotten a log in date!!! God has already moved mountains in just 4 months! Can you believe it??? I just can’t believe all He has done!! Please pray big that this little guy will be in our arms in May! (Completing an adoption in China start to finish in 8 months would kinda be a stretch…but we are praying big any way!) VERY excited for all that is to come!

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. Psalm 103:2

Posted inAdoption Milestone,Day in the Life,Love Big
SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE WTIH A FRIEND SUBSCRIBE
add a comment
link to this post
Leese - February 8, 2013 - 11:50 pm

What a super sweet gift God gave you in unexpectedly sort of ‘shortening’ your time…not that it really is…but in making it feel like it is! That’s so cool! And He can absolutely do May, too!

And what a precious evening it sounds like you each had on your ‘dates’ – the one at school and the one at home!

Candy - February 9, 2013 - 11:19 am

I have 4 grown daughters and know those feelings that you experienced when dress shopping with them. My oldest daughter always picked out prints that contained the color black. I protested, but my husband gently told me to allow her to be whom God had created her to be. He was such a wise man!

All 4 of my daughters are unique and different in personality….lovely and beautiful inside and out. They are my greatest blessings!

Erin - February 10, 2013 - 11:06 am

I don’t think I’ve ever commented but I LOVE your blog and I follow you on Facebook… So excited for you! I can’t wait until we are there, our homestudy is done and we are anxiously awaiting our I800A approval. Eeek! Following you makes me realize that this will actually happen and all this waiting is worth it! :) So thank you and keep the good news coming! :)
-Erin

Because of Him…you can do this.

February 4, 2013

Have you ever had a full plate–and it just seemed or felt like it was just too much?

Look at the portions individually…and each looked exciting and tackle-able. (Is that even a word?) But all together–it would take a miracle to handle well. God will never give you more than you can handle is a quote–NOT a verse in scripture. It actually never appears once in His Word. Because–when you follow Jesus…I think most of the time–He will give you God-sized portions on your plate…because they are not yours to carry. They are not yours to bear. They are not yours to heal. They are not yours to fix. They are not yours to encourage. They are not yours to get praise for.

They are His.

Right now, I feel like a little girl with pig tails standing in front of a big God–with a massive charger instead of a plate…with Alice In Wonderland size portions much too big for me to take to the table with me. While the temptation is to ask others would they like my cake or a portion of this or that…I realize it’s only been made heavy…this plate–by my choosing to carry too much of it myself.

That little girl with pig tails and rain boots much too big to run in–instead of waddling to my place and looking at this plate with heaviness…is choosing today to stand before the Lord in a new way…lifting her plate high…and trusting Him with each portion. Each portion placed there by Him…for Him…and only shaped through Him. They were never given for her to carry or shape herself…and on busy days especially…the mere sight of them will make them feel much to heavy to carry. (But she only sees the portions when she lets the plate come down…because when she is holding the plate of her portions high–it is only Him she can see.)

Do you ever feel like her?

Other voices, opinions, hearts and even dear ones will try to tell her how each portion should be shaped. She will be tempted to listen and act. Listening is okay–but that little girl needs to also remember to run back to her Father…stand before Him in those big rain boots and ask Him about what she has heard. And then…only then act. He is enough for her. He who called her will equip her. When she doesn’t listen to all the voices and shape the portions how others think they should be shaped–some will talk, point and shake their heads. She will be tempted to let this shape her own heart…but as long as she keeps looking up at her Father…seeing Him nod His head reminding her of His voice…reminding her of His call…reminding her that she can do this–that He believes in her and that He is right there…beside her–helping her…working through her…as long as she looking to Him–those portions will not only be loved well–but loved beautifully.

His yoke is easy–His burden is light…because He is the one carrying it as you walk beside Him.

And some how–with Him…that little girl with pig tails and rain boots much too big for her–can even run with that plate lifted high…

And with the running…it doesn’t mean she will never stumble or that mountains or cliffs or valleys or water will never be before her…but with each one–He will be there. She won’t have to scream or call out even…because He is RIGHT there beside her. All she has to do is look up and say, “Daddy…which way should be go from here? I’ll do whatever you say…”

He knew what He was doing when He called you to carry that plate before you…those portions are not yours–but His…and He has a plan for each and every one. One day at a time…that’s all we are to look at–and to run well just today. Be encouraged. He is enough. He called you. And His plan for your portions are perfect.

Posted inInspirational
SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE WTIH A FRIEND SUBSCRIBE
add a comment
link to this post
Beth Templeton - February 4, 2013 - 2:40 pm

So glad this song speaks to you too Andrea! I love the picture of God shaping the portions we have, rather than ourselves or others. It is so true that He is right there when we fall– we don’t have to clean ourselves up first, or “get our act together.” So good! I think you are carrying your God-shaped portions beautifully!

Mimi Elmer - February 4, 2013 - 4:04 pm

Thank you so much for posting this message today! You have no idea how bad I needed to hear it today! My daugther is almost four weeks old and I am loving every minute that I am able to be home with her while on maternity leave. That being said I am feeling extremely hormonal and exhausted and was having just a rough day until I read your post. God knows what we need even we don’t. Have a blessed day!
Mimi

Rachelle - February 4, 2013 - 4:55 pm

I love this. I admire the way you handle your portions. I can relate to how others try to shape them. Lovely post Andrea.

Shaina - February 5, 2013 - 12:13 pm

I couldn’t agree more!! I used to love that quote “God will never give you anything you can’t handle”…. Until I really thought about it! I think He wants to give us all sorts of things we can’t handle, so HE can show Himself mighty on our behalf!! On our strength we can do nothing…. but we can do ALL things through HIM who strengthens us!
Thanks for sharing your heart on this blog- He is definitely using your words!

Sara - February 6, 2013 - 1:10 am

I’ve been coming to the same realization lately. It came on so slowly that I didn’t even realize it was happening – taking on everything all by myself and feeling hopeless and helpless all the time. What freedom comes when we hand the heaping tray over to Him. Lovely post. Thank you. :)

O r p h a n   C a r e
A d o p t i o n   C a r e