Heather Fish...

I had promised Major that once he was in big boy underwear that he could have a fish of his own. Well he seemed to forget about it until last Tuesday but on the way home from school he asked if we could go look at the fishies so I said sure....anyway, we ended up getting a very easy to care for (male) beta fish who he named Heather. :)
Once we got home, he kept putting his hands in the fish's water, so I told him that the fish and (her) water were nasty and that the fish was just for looking at. Well, the other day I got out of the shower and Major was in his bathroom so I went in there to see what he was doing and he had poured an ENTIRE BOTTLE of handsoap in the fish tank. When I asked him why he did that, he said "she was nasty". At least he listened to that part! Needless to say Heather didn't make it. I realized she was belly side up last night, so today she went bye bye in the potty.
Now I need to decide to tell him about fish heaven or just replace her. Oh darn hand soap :(

Major's Adoption Day

Today, June 18th was Major's official Adoption Day. Two years ago today we were officially finalized in court and our names were placed on his birth certificate. This day is a very special day for the three of us. For Josh and I, it is a reminder of the big deep breath we took 2 years ago on this day. It is a reminder of God's faithfulness to us and our family. It is a reminder that we became a family on his birthday, but 'officially' he was ours on this day. To Major, I hope this day will be special because it is the culmination of many years worth of praying for him. It is the finalization of one chapter but the complete beginning of another. I pray daily that he knows there are two families who united to give him the best life that we could. An angel, as we call her, who loved him so much and was so selfless that she made the decision to find a family that could meet all his needs and more. A teenage boy, who looked at Josh and thanked him for being the father to Major that he couldn't be and for an army of people that made Josh, Major and I a family, ultimately that is what this day represents for the three of us.  So far in his short little life, we acknowledged this day, but have not made too big a deal out of it, but as he grows I think we will start to make a BIG DEAL out of June 18th. It is on the opposite side of the calendar from his birthday so a celebration may be in order each year, or maybe we will do something special, just the three of us. We may just let Major decide what he wants to do on his special day. I think as he gets older, and especially because he has no interaction with his birth family, that this may be the perfect day to acknowledge what blessing he is to us and to reaffirm to him that we have him because of another family that loved him so deeply. It is hard to put into words the emotional roller coaster we were on while trying to have him, waiting for him, praying for him, but God is so faithful and through it all we knew that He would bring a very special child into our lives and boy did he ever! Major is a spitting image of his daddy with a little bit of me thrown in for good measure! People often ask how he is so much like us or how he looks so much like us and my reply is always that God is the perfect matchmaker. He knew that we were destined to be Major's parents, just the way by which he came was different than Josh and I thought. Major is more than we could have hoped and dreamed for. My love for him is boundless and each day that I look into those beautiful blue eyes I am so so so thankful that I serve a Lord that knows my heart better than I do.  Here is one of my favorite poems that I read to Major sometimes:

Not Flesh of My Flesh

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart,
But in it.

--- Unknown

And here are the pictures of his 3 Adoption Days so far!

 June 18, 2008

June 18, 2009

June 18, 2010

The best of friends

Major and Leo are the best of friends. They are so cute together, and just through the past year and a half or so, it has been so much fun watching them grow together. Major asks for Leo all the time and they always have fun when they play! It helps, too, that Josh and I love his parents. It is always tons of fun when we all get together! Here are a few pics of Major and his very best little friend!

Sweet, funny, mischievous little boys!

I learned something new today

So today started just like any other Tuesday or Thursday...mostly prepared, but running late nonetheless...so I get all our stuff and Major outside and notice my car looks a little lopsided. I think I must just be in a little dip in the driveway (we still haven't replaced the gravel that was washed away in the flood). So I load Major up and all our stuff and head to school and KABOOOOOMMMMM......... what the crap.....I had a flat tire that basically exploded on the bottom. Thank goodness I was just barely out of my driveway. So I call Josh who is far far away :( and can't come to my rescue, so he calls a firefighter "friend". Well, this poor kid had no clue how to change a tire. He broke his jack, so after like an hour and a half of Major crying, me crying and this dude, I told him not to worry about it and that Josh could deal with it when he got back home.
Immediately a flashback from my 16th birthday came running through my head of my dad saying you will need to learn to change a tire, one day you will need to know how. As most 16 year olds are I blew him off and said, "Oh dad, I can just call AAA". LOL Anyway, I couldn't believe this firefighter who is trained to rescue people and whatnot couldn't change my tire, so the peeved off and determined me decided to do it myself. Well let me just say with lots of pride and after 3 hours I had changed my first tire!!!! :) Haha!!! I got the spare from under my truck, jacked the thing up, unscrewed the lug nuts, replaced the tire, got the lug nuts tight again and lowered the jack!!! I mean, hello, I couldn't believe I did it!!!! (It's harder than it looks) :) Now Josh said I still wasn't allowed to drive anywhere because he wants to make sure it is all done right and that I got everything in its place, so I am probably stuck here for a few more days, but Hallelujah, I did it!  

 My poor flat tire

During...

I can't believe I did this:

I finally got it

and I'm filthy

Thank goodness for instruction manuals

An eye opener

As I sit here, struggling to put my thoughts into words, I am thinking about these floods and the lines that "God never gives you more than you can handle" and "Something good will come from all this devastation".  I believe both are true.
Blessed seems to be an understatement when I say that the flood missed us. We had a lot of water in our yard, but no damage other than our driveway being washed away. Josh was gone basically for 4 days rescuing people and cleaning up debris and during that time, God laid a burden on my heart. I knew, like most other Nashvillians, that I needed to do something. With Major in tow, I cleaned out closets and cabinets and gave away clothes, shoes, food, and household items. I knew that wasn't enough, but it was a start. I kept thinking "be the church, be the church". I have never been one to be a good witness in terms of just sitting down and talking about Jesus, but maybe through all this devastation, I could be the hands and feet of Jesus. Working in small ways, helping people, feeding and clothing people, caring for people is what Jesus wants of us anyway. And then it occurred to me, that I was witnessing. Maybe not verbally, but I was doing something for the greater good. Sure, there have been times before where I volunteered, or gave things to people who are less fortunate, but it has never hit me like now.
So at church Sunday, the message was "Give Yourself Away". Basically, find a place to serve, be faithful to the Lord and be unselfish, help others and lead them. God knew about the flood, I don't think he caused it, I think he allowed it to happen. People ask why and perhaps there is no answer to that question. I think what each person takes from a crisis or disaster depends on their thoughts and beliefs, their feelings and how directly they are impacted by whatever the situation is. It is up to you how you respond and each person is impacted differently. For example, a friend of mine lost everything she owns in the flood. It is horrible, but she remains faithful even through her disaster. She even said today "God is good ALL the time" as her belongings were being tossed away. I can't speak for her, but I think she knows that God has a plan and all this will work out for the greater good.
I think when you see the result of God's plan, it is like the sky becomes blissfully clear. God was working in my heart and preparing it for the message on Sunday. I was, without question, moved. I started crying in the car after talking to Josh because there are times when he has to work at the fire department and I get SO SO SO MAD at him. I hate when those tones go off and my life is disrupted.....you read it right. How could a person be so SELFISH....I was convicted right there in the car. I apologized to him for giving him so much grief about doing his job, basically helping people when they call. If the tables were turned I would want someone to come to my rescue if I needed it, so how dare I get angry at him for doing that for someone else. God was moving in me this week for sure. I hate that it took something so devastating and sad for me to open my eyes, but I did. I know the things that I contributed this week are meager and small, but in some way, I hope that someone benefited from the meals or the clothes that we donated. I know that I am human, I am not perfect, I will falter and fail, and I will make mistakes, but I know that I am a better person because of this flood, because of my convicted heart and because I realized that God was working on me this week. I pray that "after the flood", after all this mess is cleaned up and life moves on that I can remember how I feel right now, be the church and continue to give myself to HIM.

Potty Post

We are having great success with potty training thanks to an old high school friend and her "suggestion" about buying this little froggy potty that she used with her son Jack. Well let me tell you, as soon as we put the thing in the buggy at Wal-Mart Major was already asking to sit on it. When we got home, Josh was taking the wrapping off and Major was crying and throwing a fit to sit on the potty. Not two minutes later was there pee in that potty! I seriously thought I was going to fall over, I was so excited! He continued that day to go potty, went the entire next day dry as a bone, and did great yesterday too! (I'll spare you all the pictures) Today at school, he didn't do as well, but I have to send him in pull-ups til he is trained and that is basically a green light to go in my book; they are just like diapers. That and he is "fraid" of the potty at school, he says "it scary, I fall in". So basically we are a work in progress, but progress nonetheless!!!! I think the key for Major is wearing big boy undies as much as possible and getting that little potty.
Prior to our recent breakthrough, we just had the little seat insert that goes on the big potty. He wasn't into that at all. He would randomly sit on it and would cry and fuss almost every time, but now, he asks to go!!! Thank goodness! Maybe my target goal of "Potty Trained by Summer's End" really is a reachable goal! Way to go little man!

A little love for the hubs

Just feeling a little humbled and grateful on this rainy day. I am so happy and blessed. I told Josh last night that when he comes home, it's like my heart bursts with happiness, cheesy I know, but so true. He is so good to Major and me. He works SO hard to make sure that we have everything. Major adores him and I think I really fall in love with him every time he walks in that back door. I love the way he smells after a long day at work, I love the way he sighs and smiles as Major darts around the corner to welcome him home. He is such a wonderful person, an amazing dad, and an incredible husband, and whatever the reason God chose him for me...I am awfully grateful!