Thanksgiving...a day later

After my Black Friday post, I decided I need to post a little about our Thanksgiving. It was our first as a complete "Party of Four". What a great day. I always tend to stress a wee bit...just trying to get everything done....and of course, it has to be perfect. Or so my mind tells me. It's never perfect, but I always think it can be.

The day started like a normal day in our house...kids running around, playing and screaming. Love it! Ian tried to help me put the turkey in the oven, but there were too many sharp objects and hot ovens to allow much help. But, he thought he was helping.

We ate a little later than normal due to nap schedules. Finally it was time to eat. Drew loved his meal. Of course, we haven't found much that Drew doesn't like to eat. Ian loved the corn casserole and bread. He had a few bites of turkey. My picky eater.

Ian proudly proclaimed "you're a good cooker mommy." What better praise is there?

Our talented little Ian taught us a new song a few months back and we sang it today before our Thanksgiving meal.
"Let's be Thankful,
Let's be Thankful,
Let's be Glad,
Let's be Glad,
For the many blessings,
For the many blessings,
That we have,
That we have."

That sums it up perfectly I think. We are so blessed and so thankful. We have the 2 most amazing, handsome and loving boys in the world. God blessed us with this wonderful family, with one another and with Jesus and we are so very thankful. The innocence of a 3 year old can bring strong men to their knees. We love our boys, we love one another and we love our God.

Black Friday

I love the Friday after Thanksgiving. I was up and out of the house at 3:30am this morning. Unfortunately it was raining and I'm a bit of a wimp. So, I stopped at Quik Trip for some coffee and then headed to Toys R Us. There were only about 2 dozen people in line, so I decided to stay put in the car for a little while. I finally got in line about 4:15am (for a 5:00am opening). It was great. I went in, found everything I needed and was on the road again by 5:25am.

Next stop....Target. I pulled into the parking lot at 5:45am. The line was LONG. So I made the long trek to the end of the line. Fortunately soon after there were lots of people behind me so I didn't feel so bad. Found exactly what I was looking for and headed out around 6:20am.

Next stop....Walmart. By far the craziest of the stops. Found what I needed though, so I was a happy girl. I was on the road by 7:20am.

Next stop....breakfast.

Next stop....work :( I made it to work around 7:40am.

I'm taking a short lunch break now and then hoping to be finished early. Then, I'll have to decide if I "need" to stop somewhere else on my way home!!!

Dancing With The Stars...Conner Style

The boys were in rare form tonight. I don't know what was funnier....the dancing or the jumping jacks. Either way...it was enough for a fun evening.

Considering the day was pretty rough for Drew, the evening turned out pretty well. Drew went to the doctor today for the second part of his flu shot and to have some wax removed from his ears. Good news....the wax seems to have disappeared, so no traumatic ear cleaning. Bad news...he was wheezing. So he's now on breathing treatments 4 times a day for 2 days and then 3 times a day through the weekend. He HATES them. But, after the third one tonight he settled down a little. Poor little guy. On top of the wheezing....he has an ear infection. So, 10 more days of antibiotics. It's the season, I suppose.

Couple of quick prayer requests....1) Our Vietnam travel buddies, the Perkins. Layne Nhi is having her dental surgery tomorrow (Tuesday). Please pray for this sweet little girl. She's such a trouper. 2) The Perrymans....hopefully some good news will come in the next few days and they'll be on their way to Vietnam to meet their sweet Nehemiah. 3) The Borskis (our India Travel buddies)...they are waiting for their son's passport to be issued so they can go to India to pick him up. They were caught, along with us, in the 6 week delay in issuing passports the last time. Praying that it's done very quickly and that they'll be in India very soon. 4) The Stouders....Bennett's family....they leave on Friday to travel to Vietnam. They've waited a YEAR for this date. Praying that their journey and transition are smooth.

Also...update on Daddy school....all are still ALIVE (which is a good thing). Charlie is managing well. I'm hoping he'll post SOON.

Update on Daddy School

We're almost to day 3 and everyone is still alive. Charlie looks a bit worn...but not too bad. Drew's had a rough week. He's not feeling great and now his "routine" is messed up. Not much "schooling" is actually taking place...but they're making it through the day.

Today was haircut day for Drew. He looks so cute. He looks like such a little boy. I wanted to take a picture tonight, but the time got away from me and it was bed time. Ian is trying really hard to be a good big brother. Some days...hours...minutes are better than others.

Children really do pick up on things that you say. Ian's latest phrases "you're wasting my time"...."do you hear me?"....."listen to me"..."you're not listening to me"....I'm waiting for the day that something really inappropriate comes out of his sweet little mouth. I've tried REALLY hard to clean up my mouth and watch what I'm saying around the boys.

I'm trying to convince Charlie to post on the blog about one of his days with the boys at Daddy School. Maybe he will soon.

I'm REALLY looking forward to Christmas. I think we're going to put the Christmas tree up this weekend. I won't put the decorations on it until Thanksgiving evening...but between the cats, Ian and Drew...everyone needs to get used to the tree in the living room. Honestly, I've wanted to put it up since Halloween and Charlie has ignored me.

Daddy School To Begin

Tomorrow we begin a new adventure....Daddy School. Charlie was the victim of downsizing earlier this year. Fortunately he received a decent severance package. Since Ian is still having some potty issues, we have pulled him out of pre-school until we get this under control. Now that Daddy is home and Ian is home....it only made sense for us to take Drew out of daycare for a while to save some money. So tomorrow...my dear husband will have both boys at home. We're hoping and praying this will only be through the beginning of the year.

The one man wrecking crew and a demanding 3 year old.....Charlie has his work cut out for him. He's going to do fine. But, please just say a prayer for him. I have to admit...I probably have the best husband in the world. Charlie and I have been married for a long time. Early in our marriage, my mom was still alive and quite ill. Charlie helped me take care of my mom...we all lived together the last 2 years she was alive. We had only been married about 4 years when that happened. Many men would have said "see ya"...but not my man. He loved me through the good and the bad. He is amazing. Now...he's taking care of our family. He's a great husband and an even better Daddy. I love watching him with the boys. There's just something about a Daddy and his kids that melts your heart.

Charlie....I love you and I'm so proud of the man you are. I'm praying that Daddy School is FABULOUS.

16 Months Old

Drew turned 16 months old yesterday (Monday). Which also means that we've been home 3 months. Wow. Seems like we've been home forever. It amazes me how quickly things settle down...not completely, but we're getting there. Drew is doing amazingly well. He comes out of his little shell more and more each day. He's saying more words now....ball, car, mama, dadee, up (sounds like umpa). He'll sign "more" and "all done". He loves music and dances when he hears it. Not sure if I've posted this before or not...but....He loves the song "Funkytown". There's a commercial that has that song in the background. When he hears it....he stops what ever he's doing, stares at the TV and dances. Cute as can be. He loves his mommy, daddy and big brother. He gives great kisses....you know, those big, open mouth wet ones. Blows kisses and waves bye-bye. He still cries if Mommy leaves him...not so much with Daddy though. That's because Charlie is the one that usually drops him off. He's still eating whatever we put in front of him....except for beef. He doesn't like beef at all. He'll tolerate chicken. Seems to like pork though. We have switched him to Soy milk. He seems to be having some tummy issues with whole milk. We'll see...not sure I see a whole lot of difference (except for the price). It took us so long to bring this little stinker home...but now it seems like he's been with us forever.

Other good news.....my good blogging friend Julie got word on Monday morning that their pre-approval has been issued. That means BENNETT IS COMING HOME!!!!! We are thrilled for them. They have waited over 11 months to bring him home. Way, way too long. Bennett and Drew were in the orphanage together. They should get word in the next day or so about their GNR. I imagine they will be in Vietnam for Thanksgiving. What a great holiday they're going to have. Congrats Julie, Chris and sweet Bennett.

1 + 1 = FIVE

Odd, right? Nope...truth. One child is ONE child.....add one to it....and you have FIVE. Crazy, I know...but it's real. I never thought having 2 children would be THAT much different. I'll admit it....I was wrong. Maybe it's just having 2 boys. They are WILD. Charlie calls Drew the "one man wrecking crew". The house can be perfectly (well not perfectly) clean and in 5 minutes it looks like a disaster zone. The laundry these two boys produce is amazing. Who changes their clothes....oh wait...that would be me. One needs to be comforted, one needs to be scolded, one needs to be played with, one needs to go to the potty....it goes on an on. I'm not complaining...just posting so all of my friends who are expecting their second child (Donna...Mary....) will not be able to say that no one warned them. Consider yourselves warned. Having two children will make you work like you've never worked before....BUT....you'll laugh like you've never laughed and love like you've never loved. Frustrating and FABULOUS all rolled up into one.

Say a special prayer for Ian this week. He's having some potty issues and they're causing BIG problems for him. Hoping and praying we'll have a breakthrough this week.

Drew's had some sort of bug all weekend. Low grade fever and lots of dirty diapers. It hasn't slowed him down much though. Where did I find him when I went back in the living room after my trip to the bathroom yesterday morning? Standing in the kitchen with the pets water dish on his head. Taking a shower I suppose.

Ahhhhhh.....the party continues. I'm going to bed!

Halloween 2008

Ian with Lainey at the Fall Festival at Southpark Christian School

Ian and Blair

Ian thinks he's on a date with Blair :)

Look at that big puppy dog riding all by himself

Ian riding the horses

Sorry about the framing...but love that face

Drew caught on to the trick or treating quickly

Ian and Drew with Deniese Dillon

Halloween 2008 is now in the books. Thank goodness! Wow...2 little wild boys and trick or treat...amazing. This mommy is T-I-R-E-D!

The day started out fine. Drew wore his puppy dog costume to school. Ian wore his spider shirt. All was well. Then the wheels fell off the bus (so to speak). Ian refused to wear his costume tonight. He tried it on last night...loved it. He was going to be Spiderman. He sang the Spiderman theme song, ran around the house shooting "webs" and just generally loved it. Today...not so much. Absolutely would not wear it. Oh well.

We started our afternoon at the Dillon office. Drew learned quickly that the fastest way to fill up his bag was to grab candy with BOTH hands. He had so much fun. Both boys loved running around the Dillon office seeing everyone. Drew especially loved the ducks. We ran into our friends Natasha and Avi Joy as well as Donna and Ryan.

After the Dillon trick or treating, we headed to our church for the Fall Festival. Ian had a blast in the inflatable airplane. I think he went in about 8 or 10 times. They both had fun with the ducks. Ian found his sweet friend Blair and glued himself to her side. Blair was sweet enough to take him outside for the pony rides and other activities while Charlie chased Drew around. I was trying to get pictures of both boys...not an easy task. Drew loved the pony rides too. He rode all by himself. Ian had such a good time in the jupiter jump.

Then we were off to the Fall Festival at South Park Christian School (Ian's pre-school). I was scheduled to work at the Lollipop Tree at 7:30pm, so we had to hurry across town. Ian, Drew and Daddy went outside to check out the activities while I made my way to my booth. Charlie said that when they walked outside, Ian spotted the fire truck immediately and took off for it. He was able to get inside and see all of the fun stuff. Then the boys came back in and found me. Ian "helped" me work at the booth for a little while. The booth beside the one I was working at was the "Duck Pond"....Drew loved it. Ian saw some of his friends from his class as well as his teacher, Mrs. Kelley (he loves her). He also saw his sweet friend Lainey Shasteen. Chris, Al and the kids were all there, but Ian is just drawn to Lainey.

Both boys were tired, tired, tired when we got home. Drew was in bed by 8:45 and Ian was asleep by 9:30. I was surprised.

It might not have been the evening I had imagined...but it was fun watching my boys have such a good time. That's what it's all about!