Internet Trouble

I can't believe I've gone this long without posting!  Awful me! Actually, it's all the internet's fault. :-)  Our internet is having some trouble right now, but hopefully it will get fixed sometime next week. Then I'll get back to regular posting.

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Just Words Today

For once, I don't have any pictures to share - I've been simply busy to take any! Since we started school a last week I've had my head swimming and have had hardly a moment to spare for blog stuff!  But I do have some words to post, so here we go.

School this year has been fine so far, just complicated and time-consuming.  I guess the "worst" subject so far has to be Chemistry. I just took my first chapter test, and......let's just say that I'll be taking it again in a few days.  After some more study. :-)

Remember how I said Emma, our cat, was pregnant again? Well, she had her kittens two weeks ago! Just like the first time, she chose a terrible spot to have her babies  -  our cloth porch swing - and we were forced to relocate them to a better spot.  She had six kittens, but now she has only five....we have NO idea what happened to #6!  Like I've said, we have a high cat death rate around here!  I'll have to post some pictures later in the week.

Isaac's language continues to explode.  It's been amazing to watch how his vocabulary has developed, especially since Joshua has been here.  They're constantly in competition, so if Joshua learns a word that Isaac doesn't know, you can pretty much guarantee that Isaac will have it nailed down by the end of the day!  In that respect, the competition has been helpful.  Now Isaac is speaking in clear, full sentences.  Consider the conversation I  had with him earlier today:

Isaac:  "Isaac go outside!  With Mama and Daddy - two parents."
Me: "You want to go outside?"
Isaac:  "Yes, I like to!"
Me: "Why do you want to go outside?"
Isaac:  "I need to."
Me: "Why do you need to?"
Isaac:  "Because."
Me:  "Because why?"
Isaac:  "Because God made me that way!"

That was totally unexpected! He's such a spunky little guy and chock full of personality.  Even though he's had about the worst bout of "terrible 3's" I think I've ever seen, I think he's coming out if it, bit by bit.  He took us completely by surprise, when, after having a tantrum and yelling "No Mama!", he went up to Mom on his own and said "Forgive me, Mama."  Wow!  Somehow, we must be getting through to him!

Also, I've recently found the greatest resource - I use this primarily for my ipod, but if you don't have an ipod it's still really helpful.  I enjoy listening to good Bible teachers, especially when they're going through a series, but sometimes it's hard to find a place to download or just listen to their current broadcasts.  So, I found oneplace.com -  and it's just what it says, One Place....the place to find all your favorite radio programs!  I've  been downloading a lot of Chip Ingram messages recently, specifically from his series "The Miracle of Life Change".  It's been great to go through....just thought some of you might find the link helpful, too.

I'm missing the beach and my grandparents.....that vacation was so incredibly fun and I'm already wishing I could go back!  But I do have a ton of pictures and lots of great memories.  Thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa, for such a fun time!

That's basically it for now.....that is, unless you want to hear about my new sandals I bought at Beall's the other day on sale.....or my entrepreneurial venture of buying a 12 lb. bag of chocolates and selling them to my siblings at a profit......or how much rain we've been getting the last few days.....or how I'm needing to go do some chores right now.....or how Mom's implemented a new plan in which Jonathan and David do their own laundry.....or....well, I guess I'll save all that for another post!

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Day At The Park

The other day, Courtney and I took Isaac to a nearby park.  The plan was to take Joshua along too......however his trip to the park was canceled after bad behavior - aka trying to stick his hand in between the slats of one of our floor fans.  While it was running.  Yeah, not the greatest idea....it's not like he has that many fingers to spare.....and that was his third time attempting that this week.  He thinks it's a hilarious joke to do it and today Mom layed down the line with him!  So he stayed home with Mom while Isaac got to go.

Isaac loved the swings - as long as someone pushed him.  We tried to teach him how to pump his legs and swing by himself but I don't think he got the idea!  We'll keep working on it! 

I am not too old for a swing!!!  It was fun to get on a swing and go super high like I used to when I was little.....for a few minutes I wished I was six again and could re-live those days when I could play my days away and let Mom and Dad take care of everything. :-)  Life is certainly easier in all respects when you're under the age of about 9 or 10......gets increasingly complicated as you get older.

Ahhhh....grass.  Green grass.  Thank you sprinklers and fertilizer.

This post wasn't intended to be featuring Isaac after last time's post...but alas Joshua was unavailable due to behavior issues!!  He is quite the dramatic when he doesn't get his way. 

 At this point Isaac was beginning to get hot and flushed so we didn't stay too much longer.  He gets overheated pretty easily....never mind the temperature was blazing!! 

 I went down the slide a few times but quickly decided to stop because of all the electrical shocks I was getting from the plastic slides....something about my skirt rubbing against the plastic created some serious shocks - and they hurt!  I don't know why Isaac wasn't getting shocked.  Dad, as an electrical engineer maybe you have an answer for me??  Leave a comment! 

Courtney and I both brought our cameras - I felt a little silly standing right next to her taking pictures of the same things, but hey, what can you do when you both have blogs and cameras!!??

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My Cowboy Sweetie

Maybe I was just in the mood to post these.  Or maybe I happened to grab my camera at the right moment.  Or maybe I'm just wanting to display my little brother's incredible cuteness across the internet......(I'm unashamedly biased!!)....whatever the reason, I came up with some really nice photos that showcase Isaac's personality. 

*Sigh*......my little cowboy is going to make some cowgirl a very cute little husband.  Er - um - maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself.  I guess I'm just trying to say that he is way too cute. :-)

Even though he's been here for 20 months and it feels like he's been here forever....sometimes when I see him I can't believe that I actually have another little brother, that this actually happened.  We waited so long for Isaac - now that he's here I am just so thankful for all the joy and laughter he brings to our family.  He really has lived up to his name (Isaac means "laughter") - not a day goes by when he doesn't crack us up in some way or another!

I love you Isaac! 

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This Really Bugs Me

It happened - again.  Someone rudely commented about Joshua's hands.  And it bugs me because few seem to realize that missing a few fingers is no big deal.  And many people also fail to realize that that the poor guy is only  three but yet knows when people talk about his hands AND is very self-conscious about it. Now, we get a lot of really nice people that say how cute  he is, and they are genuinely curious about his adoption and how he's doing now.  But then, we have other people that aren't so nice.  People who are, I think, genuinely curious, but just downright rude about it.  

The other day, a neighbor lady who we haven't seen in years stopped by.  She'd never seen Joshua or Isaac before, so she she was interested in meeting them - but in the process she noticed Joshua's hands and immediately commented on them.  She grabbed his arm and started very indiscreetly examining his hands; then she started asking if the doctors could do anything about it.   She was so rude!  I was holding Joshua the whole time because he's still shy about meeting new people.....and this women was no exception.  He very obviously did not like her and pulled back from her.  The fact that she started stroking his face with her dagger hot red fingernails didn't help the matter.  It was so sad, because when they came back a few hours later, he immediately hid his little hand in his pocket.  People don't realize that he is very aware of when others talk about his hands.

What irritated me even further was the fact that once she was done giving Joshua the once over, she turned to Isaac and asked, "Is there anything wrong with him? Is he normal?"  I was just so taken aback by her crude question that I kind of mumbled something about him having a cleft palate but he's perfect to us. I mentioned that he had surgery for it last summer, to which she replied, "Oh, well, he doesn't look bad at all!"

After some serious thinking about it, now I KNOW what I will say in the future.  If anyone ever asks if anything is "wrong" with either one of my perfect little brothers, I'm simply saying "no".   Because it's downright true.   There is absolutely nothing wrong with either one of them.  They may look slightly different than some of us, but that doesn't change the way they are on the inside - who they are as a person.  

I wish I could have handled this women differently; now that I've given it some thought I wish I could re-do the whole scenario.  A lot of adoptive parents get extremely offended when others ask about their child's "special needs" - as their sister I don't mind a bit, if they are polite and discreet about it.  But it's when others start talking in front of Isaac and Joshua very rudely about their differences, as if they were weird or abnormal, well, that really bugs me.  It frustrates me because I know Joshua especially will have to eventually deal with these kind of people on his own - what I want to do is protect him from all the rude comments he will probably get.  Mom and Dad have some plans for how they are going to teach him to deal with it, but for now I want to try and head off as many "curious" people as I can......I know Joshua is self-conscious about his hands already and I guess it brings out the protective big sis in me!

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Yes, I'm Here

For those of you who were wondering, we DID make it safely home from Florida!  Sorry for not posting since then....it's been crazy busy since coming home and blogging has been next to impossible this week.  :-)  However, I hope to resume regular posting next week.   We're also starting our new year of school next week too, so this will begin to be a busy fall for us! 

Anyway, just wanted to say that I have not dropped off the face of the earth; I've just been super busy!

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