First Day of School 2012

AAAAH!!  I have a middle schooler!!! Where has time gone??  I am so scared because I have heard from so many moms that once our kids start middle school, the time accelerates even faster and then in a blink they are graduating from high school. 
I cannot tell you how proud I am of my boys.... all of them.  But I will take a moment here to tell you what a great kid Nicholas is.  He is an amazing student and always has done well in school.  He is one of the hardest working kids I have ever known...in the class, on the field, even at home when we give him a task.  This summer he even cleaned the entire pool tile by himself and went through 9 pumice stones.   He is respectful and loving.  He is sensitive and caring.  His little cousins adore him and he is ever patient with them, their questions and their constant requests to play.  He is a great role model for his two (and soon to be three) younger brothers.  He is giving and never selfish and on many occassions has emptied his wallet for those less fortunate.  More importantly, he loves Jesus and is always inviting his friends to learn about Jesus too. He is growing into a remarkable young man who is a leader to many around him and I cannot wait to see the plans God has in store for his life.
I am so blessed to be his mommy and am going to try to take every opportunity over the next 6 years to tell him and cherish every last moment.
(I am equally proud of the other two.....they will get their moment when they start middle school...I'm just feeling a bit emotional over Nicholas tonight)   :)

So...here is a picture that was taken on the second day of school because Nicholas and I had to rush off on the first day to make sure he wouldn't be late.

So...this is Cody entering 6th grade and Brett entering 4th grade.

Have I mentioned how much I love these three?? I am truly a blessed mommy!!

Summer Recap 2012

I really cannot believe that we are already one month into the school year.  Although our summer was a lot more mellow than normal due to Brett's rehab and ordered inactivity, the summer still flew by in a flash.  So, in an attempt to not let any more time escape me, here are a few highlights from our summer:

We started the summer with a trip to Disneyland (since that our Spring Break trip here was cancelled due to extrenuating circumstances) and took full advantage of Brett's wheelchair status.  The Rush family even joined us for a day.

 

Had lots of fun playing in the pool.....pool hoops was our new favorite this year.

Enjoyed a fun trip to Bass Lake with the Johanson family....

Enjoyed some time at Millerton on the 4th

Watched lots of Outlaw and Clovis West All Star baseball!

Brett even got to take the field in his team's last tournament of the summer....he still could not run, but he was allowed to play right field and it made his entire summer (and his mommy's as she cheered through blurred eyes!)

Got to experience the emotion and excitement of watching Mr. Brunn fly into Lemoore after a 9 month tour.  Have a newfound appreciation for those we so sacrificially serve our country!

And once again got to enjoy a week at Cayucos with great friends making great memories that we will cherish for a lifetime!!

 

And, as we were acutely aware of how precious life is and how blessed we are to spend moments like these with those we love, it makes the moments even sweeter and the memories even more precious!

 

 

 

Adoption Update....now we wait

We are so excited to share that we have finished all of the doctors appointments, fingerprinting, online courses, letter gathering, and paper producing that we needed to accomplish for our home study.  Our social worker is finishing up compiling all of the home study, then she will mail it to Immigration.  They will look over it and then send us a form to be fingerprinted again.  After they review the fingerprints, they will send us an approval that will then be sent to Jamiaca along with all of our paperwork.  Then we wait. 
I have heard that Jamaica is very slow, but I am praying with all my might that we will be able to pick up our son next summer while I am on vacation so that I will have plenty of time to spend with him once we get home.  Neil is hoping he will be home by this Christmas.  :)
So, if you want, you can join us in praying that Jamaica will move swiftly on our behalf (I spoke with one family who had to wait 5 years when they were adopting from Jamaica!) or you can pray for our little man who we don't know yet.  But who is probably lying in a crib somewhere in Jamaica....please pray that he will be held, fed, cuddled, cared for, tickled, and loved until we can get to him.

Luke 17

In Luke 17 it tells a story of Jesus healing 10 lepers and only one of them comes back to Jesus to fall at his feet and tell him thank you for the miracle that he had performed.  When reading that story and witnessing the miracle that Jesus performed in healing my Bretty so completely, it made me want to make sure that we all spend time telling Jesus thank you. 
(We found out this week as we read the police report for the first time that the lady who hit Brett did not slam on the brakes until after she hit him.  She stated that she saw a shadow, saw something on her hood and then hit the brakes. Reading that was like getting a blow to the stomach, although we are grateful he was healed, it just reinforces how miraculous it is that Brett escaped the whole accident with no residual effects or damages.)
So, we decided to have an impromptu party to all talk about the accident and the miracles that God demonstrated and to all pray together to say "THANK YOU!!"

Then, we got to celebrate by eating pizza and swimming late into the night with all of Brett's friends.

Taking his first steps....again

Yesterday we visited Brett's orthopaedic surgeon again for his 12 week visit.  Brett was originally told that he would be able to walk at his 6 week visit but because the break was a really bad break and the doctor could tell that Brett was a really active boy, he ordered Brett to 6 more weeks of no weight bearing.  That was pretty hard for Brett to take, so coming up to his 12 week appointment he was completely preparing himself that he may get 6 more weeks of the wheelchair.  I think he was scared to hope because of the letdown he had at his 6 week appointment. 
So, when the doctor walked in the room yesterday, the first thing he said was, "Well, get up.  Let me see you walk."  Brett looked at me and smiled from ear to ear!  Then, he stood up and walked to the doctor. The doctor told Brett to take it slow because he had to cut through all of the muscle in his leg to implant the rod, and his leg has not been used in 3 months.  He has to wait 6 more weeks before he can run or play any sports, but nothing could hamper my joy when I watched my baby walk out of the hospital all on his own yesterday!!  Thank you Jesus!!