It's all about the scissors!

Nathan had a very fascinating day today! Actually, it began last night when Jason finally had time to take him out on the sidewalk and work on riding his bike with him. Yes, he's too old to just now be learning, the training wheels came off 8 months ago, and he hadn't set on the seat since. Nonetheless, after only about 15 minutes of Jason running alongside a swerving and crazy wild boy, Nathan took off on his own, speeding down the side walk in seemingly drunken freedom! Way to go Nathan!
The fun continued today as soon as Corban was out the door to preschool and it was just Nate and I in the house. Fond of the excitement of shedding his training wheels, he agreed to shed a little more!

He couldn't stop with just losing the extra wheels, it was time to lose the 30 pounds of excess hair he's been flipping and pushing back for the past 2 years. In a moment of pure amazement, he agreed to get his haircut, if I took him to CoolCuts, so I grabbed the keys as fast as I could and raced out the door. The results are dramatic. My handsome big boy!

It was Cap & Gown picture day in Kindergarten today, and just incase they took a left side shot, he didn't want a blue ear sticking out from the mortar board! Plus now with short hair the stitches stuck out like a sore thumb. Off to Wal Mart we headed to purchase some fine needle nose scissors and then it was time for a little Dr. Mommy. Yes, I checked first, the wait at the Dr was 45 minutes for stitch removal, no way! Mom grabbed those little suckers and with a tug, a pull, and five snip snips, they were out!

Thank you Lord for protecting him in the fall, a split ear is a small injury compared to what could have happened between my son and the window seat. Thank you for the miracle of the body that heals itself, and thank you for breathing your Spirit on his ear to heal it quickly and perfectly. You are amazing Father and we stand in awe of your Holy Name forever.

Everybody Needs A little Triage Sometimes

Well the record stands at Brooklyn 1, Corban 0, and Nathan 3! Three major accidents for this boy! You know, the comparisons between Nathan and his Uncle Brian have been going on since the day Nathan arrived, but the one I never wished him to resemble was Brian's propensity to accidents, so we'll have to certainly pray that curse off him right away!

First he fell head first out of the cart at Sam's, onto the concrete, began throwing up, went lethargic and off we raced to the ER at

21 months old.

Next, came the untimely broken arm. No rushing to the ER on that one, daddy was in the middle of a poker game!

4 Years Old

And then this afternoon, as I'm working in the office, I hear a crash to make your hair stand up. Next, I hear Nathan tearing down the hall, lips blue because he never breathes when he's hurt himself, running into my arms. I grabbed him up, held him, reminding him to breathe. Finally he calms down, his color returns, and I pull him off my chest to ask him what happened. "I fell of my bed!" (The top bunk that is.) Oh no, I say. Where does it hurt, I ask. "My EAR!" At which time I see lots of blood on his Chinese Cousin shirt. "Great, he's ruined another important shirt, now how am I going to get this off of him?" Oh, wait, "Where is the blood coming from," I finally think. I brush back his extremely long hair to reveal a split lobe gushing blood everywhere!

Time to go into ACTION MOM mode. Find clothes, get dressed, where's my bra? Where are our shoes? Brooklyn, grab a towel! Everyone in the car! Call the local Care Now, we're on our way, clear the triage room! Drive crazy down 377 and finally get in the door, but not until Nathan trips going up the unusually large steps into the clinic onto his face. And of course he's holding his gushing ear, so he doesn't put his hands down to catch himself at all!

A shot of good stuff, and daddy arrives just in time to survey his 5 new stitches!

6 Years Old

Now, if our trend continues I have until he's 8 til our next visit, plenty of time to save up for the deductible he always seems to meet for the year in a single visit. These pictures don't seem to capture the intensity of the situation, since they were after the stitch and clean up portion of the day. I have much gushier pictures on my blackberry, but you're lucky I can't figure out how to get them off and put them up here! Brooklyn and Corban were home from school sick with fever, sore throats, and Fifth Disease, I could post some pictures of their lovely rashes? Any takers?

Natie Bug's 9th Birthday

Friday the 4th was Natalie's 9th birthday and we celebrated with her at Incredible Pizza. After dinner the kids disappeared into the arcade enjoying the go karts, bowling, bumper cars, lunar golf, and arcade games, while the adults sat at the table completely enamored with precious Adiah. She was full of smiles, fully engaging whoever would flirt with her, and she was walking everywhere. She honored us by walking to us, letting us love on her, and then she would scoot down and move on to the next willing oohing and aahing family member! She has bonded beautifully with her new family, evident by her adorable and smiling personality shining all the time! She is eating everything you put in front of her, and progressing beautifully!

All seven, isn't that a glorious picture! We prayed so long for our niece to be home, and she fits right in with her brother, sisters, and cousins! Praise the Lord! Happy Birthday Natalie!

Spring Break at the Ranch!

We had a blast over Spring Break on Three Arrows Ranch. We spent Sunday through Thursday on hundreds of acres just southwest of Graham, Texas. It was a beautiful week, even the one day of rain only made four wheeling in the mud even more of a blast! We invited Jason's best friend Adam and his wife Kathryn and daughters Ashlyn and Hannah to join us.

The first night the kids loved the fire and smores outdoors. They got all sorts of sticky and had a ball being goofy in the heat of the fire pit.

Another of our favorite activities was skeet shooting. Did I spell that right?

Anyway, the kids were in charge of loading the clay discs on the shooter and firing them into the air. The adults took turns firing off the rifles. Having never shot a gun at a moving target, I was especially proud of myself, connecting on my first pull out of the gate!

We sat out the rain and tornado watch inside with good books, poker, and constant tournaments on the Wii and Guitar Hero. The kids are certainly little rockers!

Once the rain subsided, it was time for the best time of every trip out to the ranch. Mudding! We took the four wheelers through every puddle we could find. One was so large it completely went over us and drenched us in one shot.

We were brown throughout our hair, nose, and clothes! It was an absolute blast!

We also really enjoyed going out on the lake in kayaks, playing tether ball and hiking through the rock formations around the tanks. We saw wild turkeys, wild hogs, some bunnies and bugs, and a lot of tracks.

The boys favorite part was riding around on Mr. Adam's smaller four wheelers. Nathan showed no fear right from the beginning, gladly taking them up and over the hills and jumps. Corban was more timid, and then went and flipped the four wheeler over on himself taking a corner too fast! It was a scary moment, but he brushed himself off and was back on it by the end of the trip.

It's becoming a yearly tradition for us, and we love it. We all love being outside, and having no set schedule. We eat well, play hard, and just enjoying being together in the wild. (With potties and running water though!)

March in Review

March was an absolutely fun and crazy month, and now that I have found my camera, I can share some of it finally!

First off, Brooklyn began taking Horse Riding Lessons this month. She has really enjoyed learning how to take care of them, all about the different breeds and parts of a horse, as well as how to ride them safely and properly. She has excellent posture and control of that big ole beast. It's amazing to watch. She's realizing there is a time when you have to open your mouth and speak to get the horse to obey, and you can't wait until you "feel" like talking!

Next came Corban's Birthday. We celebrated in two ways. His birthday was on a Friday so we spent Friday and Saturday at the Great Wolf Lodge which was an absolute blast! The kids loved the indoor water park. Corban would scream and throw a huge fit whenever we would get to the beginning of the line for EVERY SINGLE ride. He would pull away and melt down. Tears streaming, fear flowing. And every time I would pick him up, carry him through the line, and hold him tightly. After every slide he would again be screaming, but this time it was, "That was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!" He loved every ride, the bigger and faster the better. Don't you know God feels the same way I did as a parent with us? We whine and complain everytime we begin a journey into something we're unsure of, or think will scare us, and every time, regardless of how many times we've walked by faith and the reward at the end as been phenomenal, every time He still has to hold us, reassure us, plead with us, and eventually just haul our screaming rear ends into the fire.

After we cleaned up and ate an excellent dinner, we grabbed an ice cream treat from the bakery, they made the Birthday boy's extra special, we then headed up and down the stairs a million times completeing stages of our MagiQuest. A really cool digital treasure hunt game they have throughout the hotel. The kids were finally tired and headed into their cave to sleep for the night. The breakfast buffet the next morning was out of this world. A definite must have if ever you stay at the Lodge.

After a long day of more stair climbing in search of the Quest, we headed to the church for Corban's Snake party.

The kids painted their own stuffed snakes and played video games, air hockey, table soccer, and more. Evan won both rounds of musical chairs and took off to home with both of my dollar bills!

The kids had a great time just being with their friends and family. Nana and Uncle David, Mimi, Hobby, and Gigi, all of our neighborhood friends, the Lees, the Morels, the Tarbets, and a couple of his friends from school showed to bless his birthday. It was a lot of slithery fun!

Adiah's Home!

Yesterday was a thrilling day! We had a homecoming jamboree at the airport! When Brian and Amy stepped through the doors with their little sunshine beam, it's was amazing! We were all crying, shouting for joy, jumping up and down, and praising Jesus! She did so amazing. She looked around, took everyone in, no tears, but lots and lots of smiles and clucks. The kids favorite part was when Amy stood her up and she bounced on her squeaky shoes and smiled so big. We were all laughing!

We were all wearing the shirts Amy and Brian gave us for Christmas 2006 and in honor of Adiah's bow head pictures, all the girls wore huge bows and flowers on their heads. It was alot of fun.

Now here's a rare picture indeed. All of our immediate family in one shot!

The kids were completely in love with her before they ever laid eyes on her and it showed at their first meeting. She smiled and clucked a lot whenever they got close and played with her!

We've all been witness to another of God's miracles, and we can't wait to share adventures and love with her for the rest of her life.

Now as for the rest of our life, I have lost my camera and can not upload pictures of our trip to Great Wolf Lodge, Corban's birthday party, our trip to the Ranch, and Easter. I will have to play catch up whenever I find it, pray for it's return please.

Announcing our New Niece ADIAH!

We are enjoying God's creation out here on the ranch, but spent most of the night awake checking Brian and Amy's blog for a glimpse of our precious niece Adiah. Here she is...

From what I've heard from Brian's conversation with my mom last night and from their blog, she's tiny. Apparently the 12 month pants are too big. She's almost 20 mo old. She's an advanced tongue clicker, but not attempting any other audible sounds or trying to walk. God knows what she needs to progress quickly and catch up developmentally, and He'll provide the insight to Brian and Amy to get that progress started while they're there loving on her and showering her with attention and good food! They will return to the States on March 26th, so keep them in your prayers while they're in China and for the years to come! What a blessing.