so, to avoid more heaviness, i thought i’d sort of do a month in review via pictures.  just random ‘life with our family’ stuff.  i’ve been having big thoughts, big awakenings.  posts for another day i guess.

so, here we are from january.  the kids watching a tow truck pull the neighbor’s car out of the snow, playing with amelia’s microphone(notice her adjusting it for wilbur as if he couldn’t figure it out on his own),  the gingerbread house the kids made with grammy and gramps(orville did not want to be in the picture),  the gingerbread house after our dog got to it, me (with a bottle of coke!!!) at fondue night, finally remembering to get a Christmas tree bag(after forgetting for the past three years) and joking it was for the kids(which they thought was hilarious!), legos, legos everywhere!, having mother/daughter night & breakfast with amelia, playing with fruit by the foot at grammy’s, josh rummaging through the island drawer at grammy’s(something he’s known to do at least once a year), our trip(eating subway for lunch)to a somewhat local mall so i could go to a bareescentuals boutique, josh and the boys pretending to fall asleep while amelia and i were in the bathroom(men!). 

i’ve been closely following my friend kate’s adoption journey.  she shares an amazing story.  she is a very gifted writer.  she just adopted an adorable little boy.  you should take a look.  her heart is beautiful.

you’ll notice a bird there just as you may have noticed a bird here.  a few months ago josh and a co-worker of his pointed out that similarity and wondered if i’d want to change the look of my blog.  i searched and searched for other options, but kept coming back to the bird.  something about it spoke to me and now i have this strange connection to it.  it’s my little bird.

recently while spending some time with the Christ-centered, wisdom filled lady i have mentioned, she told me i am too hard on myself.  i am too critical of myself.  i don’t take compliments very well.  and i don’t let the positive things that happen in my life be positive things.  i guess i tend to make them ho-hum instead of allowing them to be great.

she told me she likes to imagine a little bird sitting on her shoulder.  the little bird sings her praises, gives her compliments, points out the good.  and all of this is sent directly from the Lord.  since He isn’t down here walking around with her, audibly cheering her on, He sends His cheers through people who are here, through situations she finds herself in, and through the little bird on her shoulder.  should she shoo the bird away?  or should she let it sing?  then she said to me,

“you need to learn to let your little bird sing.”

hence the change in my tagline some time ago, from life, faith, & adoption to learning to let my little bird sing.  i am trying to let my bird sing and praying it doesn’t fly away due to the years of neglect it’s seen while living on my shoulder.  and i am trying to remember that the Lord does still speak.  and i am trying to remember that i need to listen.

“and He said, “go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
and, behold, the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord;
but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
and after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire
a still small voice.”
1 kings 19:11-12
kjv

…or a little bird singing on your shoulder.

first ride, the roller coaster!  it’s the oldest standing steel coaster in north america(just in case you can’t read that on its’ sign below).

josh was a trooper and rode with the kids so no one would have to ride alone.  i can’t let that happen, at least not on the first ride of the day!

after the roller coaster it was time for “comets”.

then they were off to the boats.

we took a ride on the train.  it circles the park.  can’t believe i made it into a picture!  well, i had to ask to make it in.

we saw snow white on our ride.  never knew she lived in ohio.

next we were off to the merry~go~round.

amelia found a horse named arielle.  only a princess horse will do for the princess.

then the kids took an airplane ride.

and enjoyed the ferris wheel.

next they took a leisurely drive.

then it was off to the horses.

with no one really in the mood for amusement park hot dogs for lunch, we went to taco bell with plans to return to memphis kiddie park after.

the kids wanted to ride the roller coaster again.  this time they went by themselves.

then they rode the spinning cars which didn’t really spin very well.

with only enough tickets for one last ride each, they all three chose the roller coaster again.

i am glad we made the trip this year.

it looks like amelia will be too big for most of the rides by the time next summer comes, but she’ll still get to ride the roller coaster!

orville had his first soccer practice of the season last tuesday.  he was so excited!

the three kids headed to the practice field.  i love shots of them like this.

orville made egg soup the other day.

it consisted of eggs in yogurt containers.  so cute.

no one knows how this tangled mess happened.  no one.

i threw it all away without saying a word.

josh was playing with his food.  with his scrabble crackers he was able to spell ‘yuk dookie’.  so proud.

josh had last friday off so he and i took orville to chuck e. cheese’s.

the boys played some racing games together.

orville enjoyed the roller coaster simulator.

and the bob the builder ride.

josh and i played air hockey which i am 100% convinced he thought he’d win.  he lost. which means, I WON!

after chuck’s we picked the big kids up from school and headed to the apple store.  the kids took the opportunity to put on a show for us on the outdoor stage.  they had so much fun performing and we had fun watching.

then we had chipotle for dinner, even though josh had it for lunch the day before.  he LOVES it.

a very goofy picture of me, but josh insisted some be taken because i am always taking pictures of everyone else while they are eating.

sweson’s for dinner saturday night because i was organizing papers and COULD NOT make dinner.  that happens sometimes, you know.  there was just no possible way for me to cook that night.

Sunday for lunch josh had our leftover chipotle chips and guac.  and, we found coca~cola from mexico at sam’s club.  it’s made with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.  so, we indulged and are througoughly enjoying.

until next time…

reprimanding me for drinking from a bottle of coke.

i know, tisk, tisk.

doing an ‘evil’ laugh.

blowing kisses.

and now for the after school part.  the following took place between 3:45 and 4:15pm. orville came home in real pants, not pajama pants.  he had a potty accident at school.  of course i had to take his picture.  he didn’t want me to.  so he told me he couldn’t smile. he insisted his smile just wouldn’t come out.

i see it hiding in there at little.  notice he has his arms crossed too.

wilbur wanted in on the picture taking action so he posed with larry boy.  

amelia wanted in too so she chose to show off her fancy fingernails.  she loves this multicolor look.  i supposed it’s okay, for a 7 year old.

and who could go without doing the upside down fingernail shot?

finally, orville’s obsession with my feet continues.  he had out his legos, put three lego guy heads together, put a helmet on them, and proceeded to “check” my feet.  

nothin’ like some foot lovin’.  if this kid doesn’t become a podiatrist, i’ll die from shock.

aren’t they beautiful?  there are 24 here, plus a few more black ones.  i let josh have one of those to take to work.  i know, so generous of me.  thank you sam’s club for carrying them.  thank you josh for buying them. thank you wordpress for letting me blog about them.  i’m in sharpie heaven.

we really love these monkeys.

they are always taking care of each other.

wilbur thought it was so cute when they hugged.

and then kissed.

he thought it was funny when they did this.

orville thought it was funny too.

mommy did not.

next we made our way the orangutans.  they were very active.  one of the females, kayla, was visiting with one of the zoo workers.  he was showing her his iphone.

she seemed to really like it.

she reached out to him.

and she smiled.

the boys got in on the action.

kayla reached out to wilbur.

he mimicked her.

orville reached out to her too.

then kayla bonded with this lady.  she gave me her email address so i could send the photos to her.  she was so excited about their interactions, but disappointed her son wasn’t there to see.  in this photo she and kayla were sticking their tongues out at each other.

then they made kind of serious faces.

then they kissed the window.

they touched hands.

kayla was very happy.

she moved away from that part of the windows.  

she visited with her male friend tiram.

and then the unthinkable.  she picked up a piece of poop.

and threw it at the window, right at the head of this boy who was waving at her.

yes, poop.  

and then, she smelled her fingers.  

it was hysterical.

and the boys slept all the way home.

that night, orville found this pile of wilbur’s clothes on the floor in their room.  he yelled out, “oh no, wilbur’s gone. look he’s not here.  we can’t find him.  he’s all gone.”  we found wilbur.  he was in the bathroom. he had to go so bad when he was changing into his pajamas that he just left his clothes in a pile in the middle of his room. and orville thought he disappeared.

i tend to frequent their drive-thru’s vs. dragging 2 or 3 kids in with me.  last week when going through the drive-thru, wilbur asked, “do they have food in there?”

me-”yes.”

wilbur-”what kind?”

me-”well, they have cookies and cakes and breads and bagels and doughnuts.  sometimes they have sandwiches.”

wilbur-”how do you get it?”

me-”you order it.”

wilbur-”do you have to go in there to get it?”

me-”no, everything they have inside, you can order outside and they will pass it through the window.”

wilbur-”oh, okay.”

me-”would you like to go in there with me sometime so you can see everything that’s in there?”

wilbur-”yes.”

so yesterday morning, we did it.  we went into starbucks.  we took amelia to school and had mommy and sons time at the coffee shop.  i brought along some juice for the boys and ordered doughnuts for them and a chai for me.  we picked a table.  they picked their seats, and mine too.  we said a prayer.  they ate.  i drank.  we all enjoyed.

this is wilbur imitating josh’s ‘one raised eyebrow’ face.

oh, and this morning,the boys were playing with their mcdonald’s playset.  wilbur had the headset on and i overheard him say, “you’ll have a grande chai?  will that be all?”

mmmmmm….starbucks.

because i love my crayons, i want them to be taken care of.  i will not share them.  not with my husband.  not with my children.  i explained this to the kids when i opened my crayons on Christmas.  ”these are mommy’s crayons.  they are for mommy only.  you have your crayons.  you use your crayons. you cannot use my crayons.  ever.”

last night i sat down with my crayons.  i dumped them, gently, on the table.  i picked a picture out of a coloring book.  i started to color.  it was fun!  

we have a rule for the kids that they can’t dump crayons all over the table.  their crayons are in a basket and they can reach in and get out the color they need, then put it back.  before the kids went up to get ready for bed, they saw my “mess” of crayons.  josh said, “do you know what you’re teaching the kids?”  thinking we were going to hear about how it’s not fair that mom can make a mess and the kids can’t, wilbur chimed in,  ”you’re teaching us we don’t have to share.” 

yeah.

yikes.

my test paper.

my finished product.

my favorite part, the stockings.

colors used:

• for the holly and holly berries: pine green, maroon
• for the stockings:  wild blue yonder, olive green, blush
• for the mantel and fireplace surround: beaver
• for the hearth and firebox: antique brass
• for the logs: sepia and desert sand
• for the fire: brick red, sunset orange, macaroni and cheese
• for the log grate: gray
• for the dog: desert sand and mauvelous
• for the rug: wild blue yonder, olive green, blush
• for the gift: wild blue yonder, olive green, wisteria