'Parkly Butterflies

  I've never really been a crafty person.  However, my kids love to do crafty type things.  So over the past few months, I've been slowly learning, searching the internet, and copying great ideas like the one Laura at Pitter Patter Art did with her kids.  (And Pinterest, of course!)  Doing this one project, stemming from this one idea that I found, got my creative juices flowing (which, by the way, I didn't really know I had!) and I now have ideas for 3 more book projects with the girls!  Excitement :)
  AB got the book, Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly, for Christmas.  The book is adorable.  If you've never heard of Fancy Nancy and you have little girls, you should look her up.  She dresses super fancy and uses super fancy words.  In Bonjour Butterfly, Fancy Nancy is simply devastated that she can't go to her best friends Butterfly Birthday Party - and instead has to go to her grandparents Anniversary Party.  But, she does get a butterfly surprise at the end! 
   I sat down with the girls after putting Creek down for his morning nap and we read Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly together.  Then we got down the craft box (that my born-to-be-crafty mother-in-law put together for me a couple of months ago) and got down to crafty business.

Construction paper, scrapbook paper, craft sticks, glue, glitter, and pom poms.

The girls picks out a piece of construction paper, I folded them in half and cut out a "B" outline, adding a piece at the top for antennas.  We glued small, colored craft sticks down the middle, cut out some pretty scrap book paper and glued them on the wings for prettyness, pom poms on the ends of the antennas and added glitter all around for Fancy Nancy sparkles.

After they'd dried, the girls put on their own butterfly wings and we took them outside to fly them around the backyard.  I'd added a larger craft stick to the back as a handle for them to fly their butterfly.

Creek didn't participate in the craftiness, but he sure enjoyed sitting outside and watching the butterflies with me.

   I love doing things with my kids, but this was especially fun...even though my perfectionist nature had a tendency to want to do the whole butterfly project FOR them so everything would be even and color coordinating!  I loved it because I love books, I love to read, I love to read to my kids, my kids love books, and my kids love crafts.  Mostly, I loved it because I was spending time with them.

Bonjour 'Parkly Butterfly!

Mommy's Little Secrets Part 2

  I've told you before about my little secrets that I share with the girls here.  Well, here's part 2 of that story, this time with AB.
  One night, at bedtime, I was holding AB with her in my lap facing me, but laid all the way back in my arms.  I was swaying her back and forth, telling her how daddy and I used to hold her like that when she was a tiny baby.  Then I told her I had a secret for her.  She gave me that smile :)
  I whispered in her ear, "I love being your mommy."
  She whispered the sweetest words back in my ear...

  "I love being your Anna Beth."
 

A Merry Little Christmas

  We had a wonderful Christmas!!  But, really, every Christmas is wonderful - not because of the presents and parties and carols, but because we are celebrating Christ...God's love shown to us through the birth of His one and only Son, Jesus.  So that "whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life". (John 3:16) 
  But, all of our Christmas celebrations this year were fantastico! (We've been watching a lot of Dora in our house!)
  Our celebrations started in early December, when our little family of 5 celebrated early due to work/drill/travel plans.  We put up our tree on December 9 and had our family celebration the next morning.  The girls were precious opening their gifts from us, exclaiming over and over, "I love it!!"  Creek...well...he mostly slept through it :)  One of my favorite memories came first thing in the morning that day...
  We bought a present for Jesus this year - clothes, diapers, wipes, and formula for our local crisis pregnancy center.  We let the girls put the items in a Christmas gift bag and it was the first gift under our tree.  When AB came out of her room early, early that morning - all of their presents were under the tree.  But she couldn't see the present for Jesus, so she asked where it was and immediately started looking for it.  Precious. 
  We skyped that day with both sets of grandparents to show them our presents and spent the rest of the day just being a family.
  Our travel plans took some serious thought this year.  I grew up being home on Christmas, but also getting to spending Christmas Day and the days surrounding it with family.  I want both for my children, but living 8 hours away from family....something had to give.  We decided that this year we wanted to be surrounded by family, so we headed to Tennessee a few days before Christmas. 
  The day we got there, my parents took the girls Christmas caroling with our church.  I'm told they brought smiles to lots of faces.  Jacob spent a day in McKenzie with the girls and his side of the family, while my mom, sister, and I went out to lunch and get the supplies for a Pinterest project my sister wanted to do.  Creek got to stay home with my Nana!
  Christmas Eve was spent doing our traditional baking cookies.  We headed to my grandmother's for dinner, then to my other grandmother's to visit family, and back to my parents house.  It was so great to wake up on Christmas Day.  It's great to wake up every day, but Christmas Day...there's just something special about it.  We spent the morning at my parents, opening presents - and making my dad "need his sunglasses" a few times. 
  The girls were supposed to help me make cupcakes for our Happy Birthday, Jesus Party....but they were preoccupied and it was probably better not having 4 little hands helping me since I was using my new BabyCakes maker and trying to figure it out.
  We headed over to my Nana's that afternoon with our BabyCakes and had a late lunch.  For dessert...a Happy Birthday, Jesus Party!  We read the Christmas story from the Bible and put together a nativity, sang Happy Birthday, and enjoyed our super yummy cupcakes.
  A couple of days after Christmas, we got to spend the day in McKenzie with Jacob's side of the family.  We had a great lunch with his grandparents, aunt and uncle, sister, neice, and 2 of his cousins.  Then we spent the afternoon with his other grandparents, another aunt and uncle, and 2 other cousins.  Sometimes it's crazy running back and forth between the two towns where our families are, but it really is a blessing.  We both have families that love us and we never have to choose which family we will spend the holidays with!
  Now, the decorations are down, the gifts are somewhat put away, and the bags are almost, slightly unpacked.  "Christmas" is over.  But the good thing is, Jesus is not over.  He's never over.  Because of His birth - our reason for celebrating Christmas - He is never over.  He is always and forever!
 

A Christmas Tradition

  I love Christmastime.  It truly is a wonderful time of year.  I love celebrating Christ's birth, telling and retelling the Christmas story, buying presents, decorating the house, making goodies, and definitely listening to Christmas music.
  A lot of families have Christmas traditions, and our is no different.  I love our tradition.  To be honest, though, we kind let a tradition that I had with my family overflow into our family.  But that's okay, because it's a great one.
  It started a long, long time ago when my sisters and I started wanting to buy each other Christmas gifts...but we didn't have any money of our own!  My parents came up with the idea that we would start exchanging ornaments - after all, they were the ones funding the presents!  Each year at Thanksgiving, we drew a name and bought an ornament for that person.  Something that was so "them".  Like my dad usually gets some along the lines of Tennessee Volunteers.  Except for one year, when I got him his favorite ornament...it said, "Oldest Child...Dad's Favorite."  Of course I am!
  Some are funny.  Like when Jacob got a big donut ornament the first Christmas after he became a police officer.  Some have childhood meanings - like the Cat in the Hat my dad got me because he used to read that book to me all the stinkin' time since it was my favorite.
  Some have super good stories behind them.  Like when my youngest sister got my mom a glass ballerina ornament one year.  As most of us set there trying to not laugh (she was only like 9 or so at the most) because this gift did not make any sense....mom was not a ballerina nor did she enjoy going to a ballet performance.  Then Maley pops up and says, "I got it because it's pretty, like you, mommy." Melt my heart.
  Some have a poetic meaning.  Like my clear swan that my sister, Maci, got me.  I was pregnant with AB when she gave it to me.  I kind of had the same reaction to it as I did to the glass ballerina.  Then Maci, my English major - literature loving little sister, said, "Swans always protect and take care of their young by covering them with their wings.  I know that you will always take care of and protect your children."  Melt my heart. (Insert a sidenote:  Never discount your little sister's heart or thought process!)

  And so the tradition continues with our family.  We get the kids an ornament every year, as well as each other.  We take a picture of it and I put it into our photo album called, "The Story of Our Tree".  We know what year each ornament was given and, when the kids get old enough to start drawing names, we'll add who gave it to who and why they chose it.  Last year, we found these cute little sock-style ornaments for the girls.  AB's was a frog, because she was really into whispering, "I though you was a toad." (from the movie O, Brother Where Art Thou?) and Lynns' was a monkey because she decided to be a little monkey and jump on the bed...only when she fell off she didn't bump her head, she broker her leg. 
  It's a great Christmas tradition, but it also has a bonus.  When our children are older and move out onto their own, they will have a great starter set of ornaments to begin their tree!  And they may continue this tradition or they may start their own...either is fine with me, as long as they remember that Christmas isn't about traditions. 
  Christmas is about Jesus.

I Chose This....But, Why Exactly...

  I love being a mommy.  Always and forever.  I am a stay at home mommy.  I love this...most of the time.  I chose to stay home with my kids.  Not every mommy makes that choice and that's okay - that's their choice and this is mine.  Today, I need some reminding as to why, exactly, I chose this.  It is 10:38 am and today I have....

-  stuck my finger in poop
-  been covered in spit up
-  cleaned up an entire bowl of Cheerios and milk from the table (not an accident, by the way)
-  changed two "antibiotic poopy" diapers
-  given a bath to a kid covered in poop from the waist down
-  enjoyed a nice cup of cold coffee (decaf, of course)
-  swept a half a bottle of green sprinkles off my floor (the girls just LOVE to decorate)
-  kept a close eye on my peanut allergic child bc she ate the above mentioned sprinkles which are "made in a facility that also processes peanuts"
-  thought seriously about applying to be the person who dresses up in the cow suit and holds the "Eat Mor Chikin" sign (they'd hire me, right?  I would work really, really hard)

  And, yes, I've done all of these things because I choose to.  I choose to, because today, I have also:
- snuggled
- eaten a finely prepared plastic dinner by two of the greatest little chefs in the world
- made my baby giggle
- had a couple dozen hugs and kisses
- held my super snuggly Lynnsie while she was upset

  It seems that so far today, the bad has outweighed the good.  But that's only on paper.  I could stick my fingers in poop a dozen times a day and it would be worth it for any one good thing on my list above.  And that's exactly why I chose this.  Because the good days are so good...and I can go to bed in a few hours and pretend the things on the first list never happened :)

Adoption: Eli Tariku Palmer

These are my friends, Jon and Anna Palmer, and their precious son, Eli Tariku.  We met Jon and Anna at seminary and lived in the same building with them - fun times!!  Their son has been home for 6 months now - this is something she wrote while she was in Ethiopia, waiting for their son's adoption to be complete.

I Don’t Want to Be a Gadarene (Matthew 8)

Throughout his life Jesus performed miraculous signs and wonders - evidence that he was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Often people responded with awe, and some chose to follow him. But when Jesus sent demons out of two violent men in a cemetery in the region of the Gadarenes, the people responded with fear – they begged Jesus to leave.

It seems bizarre that the Gadarenes would prefer to have two  violent, demon-possessed men hanging out in their cemetery rather than to have Jesus hanging around town. 

What were they afraid of? That Jesus would cause them to lose more livestock?  That he might drastically change something in their day to day lives? Did his compassion for the town-crazies scare them? Offend them? Confuse them? Challenge them?

I wonder what the Gadarenes missed because they asked Jesus to leave town. Surely he had more signs and wonders up his sleeve. There had to be other needs in the region he could have met, other people he could have healed, and a message of salvation to proclaim.

I know there have been times in my life when I was confronted with Jesus – who He is and what He stands for - and I was scared. My life, though far from perfect, was comfortable. Despite the fact that I had my own inner-crazies, I would have preferred that Jesus left me alone. I didn’t want to be offended, confused, and most certainly not challenged.

There have been times I turned into a Gadarene and sent Jesus away. So I can’t help but be grateful that God relentlessly pursued my husband and me as he called us to adopt our son from Ethiopia.

I can’t imagine missing it. Yes, it was a confusing call on our lives – this isn’t the “normal” way to start a family. Yes, it was challenging – mentally, spiritually, emotionally and even financially. But mostly, it turns out, it was a challenge to trust in His faithfulness – to do away with fear - and to trust. All along the way He has proven himself faithful (shocking, right?).

Now, looking back (a whole 3 weeks), I can’t imagine our life without him or his life without us. Many people will think that God’s major purpose behind this adoption was to provide a family for our son – and that’s partially true. But now I know that we needed him and we needed the process – of trusting Jesus, of yielding to his will in our lives,  of learning not to respond out of fear. And I needed the visible, tangible example of adoption in our lives to remind me that I don’t want to be a Gadarene.

Adoption: Sweet Mr. Russ Payne

Meet my best friend, Meg, and her husband, Matt, and their beautiful, precious, oh-so-sweet little boy, Russ.  I have know Meg my entire life...seriously, since I was just a few weeks old - we're both "Betty's Kids".  I love their adoption story, because it is such an amazing answered prayer.  I can't tell you how many times I prayed for Matt and Meg - begged and pleaded with God to make Meg a mommy - and how many tears I shed with her and for her during this time.  We had always done everything together and we needed to be mommies together.  When I had a missed call from her at 8:15 one August morning, I knew exactly what she was calling to say...

Matt and I met and began dating in 2002. One of our initial conversations in getting to know one another was our desire for children one day…4 to be exact. After marrying in 2005, we wanted to wait a few years before starting our family. We have always believed in trusting our faithful Father, but it wasn’t until our journey began that we found exactly what it means to blindly trust.

Our journey began in 2007. I found out through a routine examination that I had (and continue to suffer with) endometriosis and complications of ovarian cysts. After several treatments, operations, rounds of Lupron injections, and months worth of Clomid, my heart began to move toward adoption. The pain that followed each month of unsuccessfully being pregnant began to be more than we could bear. Matt, on the other hand, was not ready to consider adoption as our only option to have a child. At that time, we began to pray that God would move both of our hearts, and we would faithfully wait until we came to a decision together.

In October 2009 our pastor delivered a sermon in which he used the passage Galatians 4:3-7. The Holy Spirit began to move and Matt’s heart changed toward adoption. We are all adopted children through Jesus Christ, and joint heirs to the Kingdom!! We met with our local social workers for the first time on November 28, 2009. The ball was rolling, and it was rolling quickly. It seems like the next few months flew by in a whirl of paperwork, doctor appointments, home visits, and background checks! During that time, we chose Love Basket, Inc. as our placing agency. Everything was falling into place…it was not IF we would have a baby, but WHEN!

Our final profile (a scrapbook of sorts that the birthparent(s) uses to choose the adoptive couple) was submitted mid April. All that was left to do was wait. Soon after, we bought nursery furniture, against the advice of our social workers. Their fear was that it would be too painful for us to walk by an empty nursery day after day. It was quite the opposite…I saw hope in the great blessing that the Lord was going to provide! The summer passed and my new school year began.

On August 16, 2010, our world changed forever. At 3:42 p.m., while sitting at my desk grading papers, I received a phone call from our social worker at Love Basket. She asked me if I was ready to meet our baby boy! We had been chosen!!!! It struck me that it had been the second time in my life that I was chosen for such an incredible gift; the first time for my salvation, and the second time to receive my precious baby. He had been born August 1, 2010…almost exactly nine months from the first meeting we had with our social workers to begin our journey. God’s plans are always far better than we can ever imagine!!!

We had three and a half days to prepare to go meet and receive our baby boy. We will never forget that week as long as we live. We saw the body of Christ at work. Our home was suddenly overflowing with everything that he would ever need….and SO much more! We began communicating with the family that had him in their home for cradle care. Mike and Carla Valet are forever in our hearts for taking care of our baby the first two weeks of his life. She saved every memento, so that I wouldn’t miss anything.

We arrived in Independence, MO late Friday night, August 20, 2010. The moments leading up to holding our baby for the first time were indescribable. I remember walking downstairs and seeing Carla holding him. My arms, that had ached for a child for so long, finally reached out and held my son, Russell (Russ) Bryan Payne, for the first time. That moment is forever engraved in our hearts.

We spent 5 days in MO waiting to receive our interstate compact in order to cross state lines back into TN. It was during that time that we met Russ’s birthmother. We had lunch with her, and she was able to see Russ for the first time. We are so thankful for the time we spent with her. We could see her love for him so clearly, and her willingness to give him the life that she couldn’t despite her own pain. I have never known anyone more courageous than she. We love her for loving Russ enough to want more for him.

Our son is now a vibrant, active, intelligent, beautiful 15 month-old. He is the joy of our lives. As parents, we are now able to better understand the great love that our Father has for us. He sent His one and only Son to die for us. The sacrificial love that has been given for us is a gift that is undeserved, yet so humbly received. We are so very thankful that the Lord chose us to endure this journey…it lead us to Russ.
Pray for Matt, Meg, and Russ as they start their journey to their next child!