in the weeds...

For a short while this fall (before we get Carter) I am basking in the joy that is having two children who both love apples and can eat them whole (and eat them well - we don't waste food in this house!). I almost choked the other day as Colby got down toward the core and took a big bite and then said, "Ooh! I was almost in the weeds!"
I said, "the what?"
He said, "the weeds."
I said, "I think you mean the seeds."
He said, "No. The weeds."
Alrighty then - stay away from the weeds.

They're working on an apple unit at school. Last night he was eating an apple and I asked him to tell Steve what would happen if he ate too far in. He said, "I'll get to the seeds!" and just like that, the weeds were gone. Kailin piped in and told Steve what Colby used to say and Colby (and the rest of us) had a good laugh about it. I asked what happened to the weeds and he said, "I learned it at school, Mom. They're seeds, not weeds! Mrs. Hokanson teached me!" I'm glad he's learning new things, but I'm going to miss the weeds.

I800!!

We got our I800 approval in the mail today!! We're one more step closer to bringing Carter home! WAHOOO!!!!!!

He gets it and he melts my heart

Last night Kailin was at Daisies and Steve was at dog training which left Colby and me home alone together. That doesn't happen very often. We played some Wii and then as it got closer to bedtime, we were reading his "Backyard Fun" magazine. There was a little story about some forest animals who were playing a matching game - they matched a leaf to a tree and then they matched some other things and then they found a lost baby bird. It was grey. They looked all over and finally saw a big grey bird and they figured that the baby matched that mama, but the baby's mama turned out to be a white swan. One of the forest creatures mentioned that the baby didn't match at all. Colby said, "Oh no! That baby doesn't have a family!" I said, "Sure he does! His mom and dad are the white swans. He doesn't look like them, but you don't look like Daddy and me, do you? And that's okay." He didn't miss a beat. "Yep, I don't look like you but God gave me you and Daddy and Bubbee and now I have a family!" I played it cool, but my heart melted into a big pile of mush and I wanted to burst into tears.

It touched my heart on so many levels. He DOES get how God is involved in our lives. We talk about God's influence a lot, but I guess that knowing that he understands that God picked him out just for us gave me such a better picture of his comprehension. Colby's not one to talk much about adoption or his birth mom and he seems to be alternately sure that he's from Taiwan and then thinking that he's from China and sometimes I think that it's just too profound a concept for him, but this was proof positive that he does get it on some level.

Too many times as a parent you find yourself wondering if you are doing it all wrong - it is a true blessing when you get to see that you are doing something right.

I didn't know that God is a fairy...

School is kicking Colby's butt. He ADORES it, but it's wearing him out. Combined with his already headstrong personality, we've been having some...uh....less than desirable behavior lately. Last night, I was at the end of my rope. I had had enough of the fooling around at the table and the thinking it was funny when I asked him to stop. I pulled out the big guns. I said, "Well, I guess Santa won't be bringing YOU anything this year, will he?"

Colby began looking nervously around and said, "How does Santa see me?" I think he was looking for cameras or something. I said, "Santa's magic. That's how." Kailin piped in, "God is magic, too, isn't He?" I said that God was the most magic of anyone ever because He knows all and He can do ANYTHING. Kailin lit up like a lightbulb and exclaimed, "I didn't know that God was a FAIRY!!"
"What makes you think that God is a fairy, honey?"
"Fairies are magic and you just said that God is the most magic of all."
"God isn't a fairy as far as we know. He's even more magic than fairies are."
"I still think he's a fairy."
"Okay, then."
I'm rather amused by the thought of God as a fairy. I guess one day I'll know the real truth on that one. Until then, if Kailin wants to think that God is a fairy, then I'm going to let her.

yogurt in a tuba

From time to time I buy go-gurt. The kids both like it. A lot. Yesterday at dinner, Colby asked me for "yogurt in a tuba". Kailin proclaimed, "in a TUBA? You don't mean 'tuba'." Then she looked at me and we both burst out laughing at the thought of a tuba full of yogurt. Might be kind of like the Hsawaknow (that's WonkaWash spelled backwards) in "Willy Wonka" - yogurt gurgling out of every possible place. Colby was insistent - he DID mean tuba. We girls just giggled. And then he asked for it again tonight and Steve got to laugh along with us. Now it's joke and I hope it lives long. Yogurt in a tuba - couldn't make that up if I tried!

God is good!

God is good - way to state the obvious.... I do have a specific reason for saying it at this particular moment. We went to school yesterday afternoon to meet Kailin's new teacher and take her school supplies to school. I'd heard really good things about Mrs. Claerbaut from more than one person, and I was excited that she would be Kailin's teacher. In addition to being a really great teacher, she is also an adoptive mom of two girls from China and I know that's going to be invaluable this year.

I had Kailin tell Mrs. Claerbaut about Carter's impending arrival and she was truly excited for us. She is happy to work with us for the time that Kailin will be missing school and it just means so much to me to have her on our side as Kailin goes through this adjustment. She is a blessing and clearly a gift to our family from an amazing God who loves us.

Since I started this post, our little first grader has come home exhausted, but full of excitement, enthusiasm and lots of stories about her day. Typical of my Kailin, she is already excited to head back tomorrow for more. I am so very thankful that her life has been so blessed with teachers who make learning enjoyable and who keep her wanting to go back to school.