I have a problem....

I didn't know that you could knit cute stuff like this! I thought that knitters were only allowed to make scratchy socks, heinous scarves and hideous afghans. Actually I have two problems. The first one is that my creative self continually pulls me to learn new ways to express myself. My other problem is that I learned to knit last month and I am a bit addicted. I mean how cute is this little hat! It's made out of baby chenille and has the most adorable little poof of feathers on top. It was my first hat to make. It only took me one day.... I completely blocked out my family, house and to-do list to make it. That's were my problem comes in. I am almost finished with my second adorable hat (don't worry I'll post a pic) and all I want to do is knit. It's kind of like a really good book, once you're into it everything else in the world kind of disappears until the last page. I really hope this addiction doesn't require rehab!!

He might not win the spelling bee...

The other night Hud and Han were arguing over who was going to pick the movie to watch. Han was insisting on one of her girly princess movies and Hud said,
"Ohhhhhhhhh NO! T-O-Y, NO!"
Then he said, "T-O-Y, that spells NO!"
I sure hope kindergarten will get him on the right track!

Sword fighting Hud

These are a couple of really cute pics of Hud fighting with his Uncle Josh when we were out to visit him this summer.

They make great pics to go along with something funny Hud said to me the other morning.

Hud: "PERHAPS I have chosen the wrong pair of pants to wear today."

Me: "Oh really, why?

Hud: "Because there is no loop for my sword!!!"

Wrestle Mania!!!!

One thing that Russ and I discovered very soon after Hud learned to walk was that he needed regular wrestle matches with Daddy to release some of his pent up "boyness." In our home it's almost a daily occurrence with Hud, Han and Joshua against Daddy.
Recently Russ had to go on a ten day trip to South Africa so he asked his friend Stephen if he'd come over and wrestle the kids while he was gone.
Last week Stephen and his girlfriend, Holly volunteered to come over for the evening to watch the kids and give me a little break. I told the kids they were coming and that Mr. Stephen was going to wrestle them.
They had barely walked in the door, hadn't even taken off coats and scarfs when Han felt it was necessary to issue the following warning: "Mr. Stephen if you wrestle us you better be careful because one time Hud jumped right on Daddy's P-nis!!" Although embarrassed, I'm sure he appreciated the warning.
The one warning she failed to mention is that her daddy always makes her go potty before she wrestles as she's been known to pee her pants if she gets to laughing too hard.
You see where this one is going..... she was riding on Stephen's back pretending he was her horse. Apparently he was wildly funny because Han got to laughing and peed all over his back.
Guess I'll have to scratch him off the list of babysitters when Russ is gone.

Hosanna Hannah

I just love my daughter's heart for God! He's always a regular part of her conversation throughout the day. This morning when I was doing her hair she wanted me to put a little headband in. She's got the most angelic blond curls.

When I was finished she was admiring herself in the mirror and said, "You know what? I kinda look like a Hosanna!"

"A Hosanna? What does that mean," I asked.

"It means praise to God!"

"You're right, Hannah, you do look like a Hosanna!"

Then I asked, "Are you thinking you look like an angel with a halo on your head?"

"Yes. They sing holy, holy, holy."

My Handsome Boy!!!

I found Josh in the bathroom one day doing his hair. He was working so hard on it."Yeh, I look good!!"

Congratulations Russ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Russ with his dad.

Early in December we celebrated as Russ completed a six year project... his MBA!!! We both are so relieved to have this out of the way. He did an amazing job! On graduation day we went to two ceremonies. The first was a hooding ceremony where all the masters candidates had their hoods placed on them. Later that afternoon was the huge graduation ceremony with the undergraduates, masters and doctorate students. When is was all over, we had a little celebration with a few friends and Russ' dad, Jerry, and wife Doris.

Thanksgiving Redo

So it's been a busy past month and a half. I've got some catching up to do on my blog.....

We'll start with our Thanksgiving do-over. If you read previous posts you'll remember that we were all sick. By Saturday, however, we were feeling better and craving the traditional turkey dinner that we had missed.

I fixed the meal, and Han did the beautiful table arrangement. I actually was really impressed by her sense of space. I think she and I are going to have a lot of fun doing crafty things!!

Here's our entry....

This is for Abraham Piper's 22-word-kid-story contest....

Here's Han's theology question of the day, "Mom, why doesn't God just put the Devil in jail 'til he luhns his lesson!?"

Family Christmas Picture rejects

Here's a sneak peak at a few of the shots that won't make the Christmas card this year but are still cute.

All I ever needed to know about marriage....

I learned from Barbie Island Princess!

The other day Han and I were on the couch and she noticed a book that I had been reading. She said, "Mom, what's this book about?"
Me: "It's a book about marriage. How to be a good wife."
Han: "How do you be a good wife?"
Me: "Well, you love your husband, you serve him, you're kind to him, you take care of him."
Han: "What book does Daddy have?"
Me: "I don't know. You'll have to ask him."
Han: "Well, the two things I know about marriage are from the Island Princess (movie)... 'I want my heart to bleed red blood' (no clue what's she's talking about) and 'well I didn't love your father when I married him.' "
Me: "Hmmm... it's really important to love the person you marry!!"
After a pause for thinking...she started to lament that Daddy was already taken. I guess he's the only one she loves enough to marry at this point!!!

All these princess movies Han loves have had an influence on her dialect. I am always hearing things like, "Joshua, give that to me AT ONCE!!!"
Me: "Han can you wash off the table."
Han: "Yes, Mom. As you wish. And Mother, I think I'll have dessert as well."

More Joshua videos

Thanksgiving 2008 ~ A house full of unwanted guests

Our poor family has been hosting some mean little germs for over a month now. We first had a round of stomach nasties and everyone but me shared pink eye. About the time we evicted the stomach bugs some new fever and sore throat bugs moved in and are definitely overstaying their welcome. So far is has affected the twins and I.
Needless to say, we've had a bit of an unusual Thanksgiving day. Here was our lunch menu: PB&J, quesadillas and leftover bbq meatballs with macaroni and cheese. For dinner we had Braums. It was that or Spangles and I don't know about you, but I don't eat Spangles on less- than- special days. I certainly will not eat it for my Thanksgiving!!
We do have so very much to be thankful for though that these uninvited guests aren't going to take the spirit out of our day.

Some Bathtime Video

Here's some video of Joshua taking a bath today. Many of you have asked if he's started talking yet and the answer is yes. He's been talking since we got him. The problem is in understanding him. He's got about four strikes against him... his cleft history that makes speech difficult, a history of a lot of ear infections due to his cleft issues which affected his hearing, he probably receiving limited verbal interaction from his caregivers and now he's had to learn a new language. He definitely shows signs that he comprehends most everything we say. It's just going to be a long road ahead with a lot of speech therapy. Oh, he has learned nearly 15 signs but has recently stopped using most all of them. He'd prefer to say the word even though we can't really understand him. He hasn't given up the signs for eat and drink yet. He wants to make sure we get his point on those two!

Extr*m* Hom* Mak*over Caught the Spirit of Adoption

I don't know if God is trying to tell me something, but for some reason Haiti keeps being brought up in my life. Honestly a month ago Haiti was just another poor little country to me. I didn't even pay too much attention when the hurricanes hit it. Now, I can't seem to go through my day without seeing or hearing something about Haiti.
Today I learned that AB*'s makeover show built a house for a family who adopted 5 boys from Haiti. You can see the whole show on their website. Just a warning though, five minutes into it and Russ was in tears.
Also today my yahoo page had an article of the devastating conditions in the remote villages of Haiti. Their crops and livestock were devastated from the storms and hundreds of kids are dying of starvation.
What do I do?

Joshua's name

When we found out we were going to adopt Joshua we agonized over what to name him. We thought we were going to be adopting a girl and already had an idea for her name. The twins both have "H" names and the same initials. But we just didn't love any boy "H" names enough to go that route... have you ever known and Asian named Hank? (we did like the name Hayden until we learned it meant "heathen"). We were worried that one day Joshua would be hurt if his name didn't start with the same letter as his siblings.
As you know, we finally settled on Joshua. The main reason was because we really liked its meaning: "God rescues." Another little bonus was that we have a brother named Josh whom we really like, so we thought it would be kinda cool to name our boy after him.
Well Joshua of course had a Chinese name given to him by the orphanage. Knowing that the poor boy was not only going through major life transition, but also be called something totally different than what he had been called for two years, we have been intentional to call him Joshua and not shorten it. We don't care if it gets shortened eventually, but at first we didn't want him confused.
Lately the twins have started calling Joshua, "Josh."
Han asked me the other day, "Mom is it OK for me to call him Josh"
Me: "That's fine Han, but what if we get confused when we're with Uncle Josh?"
Han (stopped to think... had apparently not made the connection that Josh and Uncle Josh had the same name) said: "Wait until Uncle Josh hears about this!!!!! They can be twins!!"

I emailed Uncle Josh to tell him what Han had said. He was so excited and said that he had always wanted a twin. He was a bit worried though that people wouldn't be able to tell them apart!

The Cry of the Orphan Week

The broadcasts on Family Life this week have been so good!
I was listening to the first one last night and was amazed by how it went along with the scripture God has been using in my heart lately (see previous post with Matt. 6:19-21 and 1 John 3:17).
They were talking about James 1:27~ "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
Two points were made. The first one I agree with and the second one I had never realized.
First, the scripture says "visit." This doesn't mean that everyone is supposed to adopt! But it is saying that we are to engage, touch lives with, see, and be around orphans. I think the Father knew that if we did this then we wouldn't be able to help ourselves from caring for and providing for them.
(A small tangent here.... sending money is good and needed and the least we can do. Going and visiting is life changing for us and for them. How thankful I am that God the Father didn't send money down when I was yet a sinner, orphaned and without hope. He, himself came down to us and laid his life down for us paying the price for our adoption.)
OK, back to the radio broadcast. The second point they made was that there is a connection between visiting orphans and keeping ourselves unstained by the world. Until now I had never seen the connection. I had just read the verse as having two prescriptions for right religion, visit orphans and avoid the trappings of the world. This is where the verses I have been thinking about come in. As we spend time visiting orphans we find ourselves desiring to lay up heavenly treasures that are not destroyed by moth or rust or stolen by thieves. The things of this world that stain are less attractive.

Hud's So Funny

Most of the funny stories I tell are on Han. This is not because Hud is not funny, he is just funny in a different way that is hard to blog!
Here's one today though that cracked me up. I was getting ready to take the kids to AWANA's and told them to go to the bathroom before we left.
Hud looked at me and said, "I'll just wait until I get there, Mom."
Me: "No, Hud you need to go before we leave."
Hud: "Why?"
Me: "Because that was part of the instructions. They wanted everyone to go to the bathroom before they got there."
Hud (with a twinkle in his eye, and a huge grin on his face): "But Mom, they have a SWEET bathroom there."
Me: "What makes it sweet?"
Hud: (with the emotion you'd use to describe your dream car): "The toilet's just my size. The wiper thing is just my size. The sink is just my size. The soap is just my size and the dryer is just my size!!!"

Now I know why he loves AWANA's so much!!!!!

ES*N Catches the Spirit of Adoption!!

In celebration this week of adoption, here's one for all you sport's fans out there....

National Adoption Awareness Month

November is National Adoption Awareness month. As in the past, radio shows like Focus on the Family and Family Life are featuring adoption broadcasts. Tune in on your computer if you have the chance!

Because I am in the "adoption world" so to speak I am seeing evidence that the Father of the Fatherless is awakening a heart for his orphaned children among believers. I can't describe the burden I feel for the growing number of orphans in this world. It's becoming a world crisis and I think that the Lord is stirring His people's hearts to respond.

I find myself discouraged, though. I mean with 143,000,000 orphans how in the world can I make a difference? Sometimes giving a little money here or a little money there is like I'm trying to fill the ocean with my spit! That's why I like story of the starfish so much. We can't help everyone but we can help one (at a time!).

I've been wanting to find a place where my limited time, treasures and talents could really make a difference and a dent in the world. I think I might have found my spot.... I'm still praying and may not fully know until I've visited. My friend Ronda's new son is from an orphanage in Haiti. As I watched video of him and the other kids I was struck by the needs they have. We're talking third world country poor... not enough plates for every child.... kids wearing adult sized mis-matched flip flops. The kids used to live in sheep pens but have now moved to this yet unfinished orphanage.
This is a place that I can get to for just over $500. I bet I could even get a few friends to go with me. I could go every year!! I could even take my family there someday!

Two passages in scripture have challenged me personally this past week....
Matt. 6:19-21 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves to not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.

1 John 3: 16-18 ".... But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?..."

Here's the video....

More questions from Han about heaven....

Tonight before bed I read the kids the story of Paul on the road to Damascus. Afterward Han said, "Mom after that man got blind did he believe in Jesus?"
Me: "Yes! He did!
Han: "So I'm going to meet him in heaven!"
Me: "Yes you will get to meet Paul!"
Han: "Will we be squished?"'
Me: "What?"
Han: "Will we be squished in heaven? 'Cuz there are so many people who have died!"
I assured her that there would be plenty of room in heaven for everyone who loved Jesus.

Earlier today I was disciplining one of the boys and Han said. "Mom, when we do something bad our heart gets sad. That's Jesus in our heart crying."

Tonight I shared a delectable treat with Han that my friend Mindy made. Han took a bite, closed her eyes, shook her head back and forth and said, "MMMM MMMM MMMM. Bless my heart!"

Dialogue in the car today....

(Last night we had dinner with our friends who just adopted from Haiti. Their daughter, Lacy is Hud and Han's age. A week ago Hud told me he was allergic to Lacy because he sneezed a lot when he was around her.)

Hud: "Mom, Lacy and I are going to go on a date."

Me: "A date? You mean when you're grown ups?"

Hud: "No, we're going to go on a date now."

Me: "What does it mean to go on a date?"

Hud: "You know, like when you and Dad go on a date."

Han enters the discussion: "So does that mean you're going to marry Lacy?"

Hud: "Yep!! I'm gonna marry her!"

Han: "Well I wish I could marry Joshua then. Mom, why can't we marry our brothers?"

Me: "Because that's how God made things."

Han: "Hmmm.... well who could marry Joshua? What's Uncle Kyle's daughtuh's name again?"

Me: "Zoe."

Han: "ZOE! Joshua can marry Zoe!!"

Glad we've got this all figured out!! Now if she'll only decide if she's gonna name her daughter Lesli or not!

Conversation with Han....

This morning as I was getting ready in my bathroom Han rushed in with an update on the boys.

Han: "Mom, the boys are playing and Josh is poopie. Everybody poops, right Mom? Except Jesus. (paused to think) ............ Mom, does Jesus poop?"

Me: "Well when he lived on the earth he pooped. But I don't know if he poops in heaven."

Han: "Will we poop when we get to heaven?"

Me: "I don't know."

Han: "How come you don't know?"

Me: "Well the Bible doesn't tell us if we'll poop in heaven or not."

Han: "Well is there gold in heaven?"

Me: "Yes! There is gold. In heaven the streets are made out of gold."

Han: "How do you know that?"

Me: "That's what the Bible says."

Han: "Mom, if I go to heaven I might not want to come back. I can't wait to go to heaven."

Me: "When you go to heaven you will stay there forever."

Han: "And I'll see Jesus. I can't wait to see Jesus!! I miss him already."

Questions from Han and Comments from Hud

Han: "Mom, just how many sons DOES Father Abraham have?
Another one that is impossible to answer!

Hud: (After talking about what they wanted for Christmas) "Mom, I really love weapons!"

Somewhere Han picked up the word, "say." It always cracks me up when she'll start a question with, "Say, Mom...." It sounds so Leave-it-to-Beaverish!

These are a few of my favorite things.....

Every once in awhile I'm going to start featuring a few of the things around my house that I really love.

Chai........ mmmmmmmmm!

I first had chai in Kathmandu, Nepal. If you've never had it, it's a spicy, creamy black tea with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and pepper in it.

I found this last week at Barnes N Noble and I might be a little addicted. If you like Chai, you'll love this!!! I like it with a little milk, half-n-half and caramel flavoring. It's a simply wonderful escape in the morning. I take a sip and suddenly I'm whisked away to some place exotic...the sounds of the little ones hollering for more Eggo's fades in the distance!

Chef Han

We've been seeing something emerging in Han for awhile now, a creative ability to make up her own recipes. She frequently says, "Mom can I put such 'n such together with such 'n such... I think that would taste really good!

Yesterday Han made a "treat" for the family. She rummaged through my cupboards to find just the right ingredients. She took chocolate chips and melted them with raisins.... hmmmm interesting. Then she smoothed the melted stuff over a slice of cinnamon swirl bread. Next, she stuck not-so-fresh mini marshmallows into the chocolate. She topped it off with another slice of cinnamon bread. When she was done, she insisted that it needed to be refrigerated.

After dinner we sampled her creation. The chocolate gave it an interesting crunch, with a chewiness from the raisins and marshmallows plus the distinct flavor of cinnamon mixed into a mouthful of bread! May not win any awards, but is a good start for our budding culinary genius.

Trick or Treat

You're probably thinking, "Now why is Les in that pic, I thought she was going to be saving lives at work and Russ was going to be raiding the neighborhood homes of their sweets." Well, Rusty came up sick (yeh, likely story huh!). When it was nearing noon and he was still in bed I thought I had better call work and tell them I wasn't coming.

I love this huge beautiful tree by our house!

"Will work for candy!"

You should see how happy this boy gets over candy!

Life is sweet!!!

Stone Soup

A few weeks ago I caught the twins sneaking some carrots and grapes out of the kitchen. They had plans to make soup in the bathroom with an empty can they had found. A better mom might have let them have their fun but with prices they way they are I really didn't want to part with the food. And frankly, I didn't want to have to eat what they had cooked up in the bathroom!! I told them that I would help them make some soup for dinner soon.

A few days later we got the book Stone Soup and read it together, then we bought our ingredients at the grocery store. I let them use sharp knives to cut up all the vegetables and potatoes. Probably something a better mom wouldn't have allowed, but hey my brother was killing his own meat for the soup by the time he was the twins' age. We've got some catching up to do!!

Little commercial for Rachel Ray here.... as if she needs it!

Now add a little magic to the pot!

And finally throw in the stone!!!

(I found lots of recipes for Stone Soup on-line... it wasn't the most delicious soup we had ever eaten, but it was a great activity for the kids!)

"CAN" we do it?...... Yes, we CAN!

If you have been reading our blog for awhile, you will remember that last year we had a birthday party for Jesus. For his birthday present we collected money to buy something through World Vision for a poor family around the world.
Well, we're already gearing up for this year's birthday party! On Monday the kids and I walked around the neighborhood attaching the following note and a trash bag to each door. It was pretty cute! Sorry, no pictures. You'll have to picture Hud on Han's hot pink bike with a purple sparkly helmet, Han going up to doors and talking to the neighbors, and Josh riding along in our red wagon, helping whenever he could.

Hi Neighbor!!
We’re Hud-- and Han-- . We’re twins who are almost five and we live on your street. Last Christmas we gathered up our pennies to buy something for some kids who don’t have as much as we do. This year we’re hoping to do something bigger!!! We’d like to buy a dairy animal for a poor family somewhere around the world. (www.worldvision.org)
Since we can’t mow your lawn or rake your leaves, we were hoping to collect your cans during the month of November. If you would like to help us earn some money, please put all of your aluminum cans in this bag. On Saturday, December 6, put your bag of cans on your porch and our Mommy and Daddy will help us come around to collect them.
Thank you,

Blog readers, if you would also like to help Hud and Han and you don't live too far out there in cyberspace, we'd love to have your cans too!!! Just give us a call and we'll try to find a way to pick them up.

Fall Festival!!!

Woody and Jessie from Toy Story heard that Buzz Lightyear would be at the Fall Festival so they also came. (Actually they're not the real Toy Story characters, they're our good friends Holly and Sam.)

Tinkerbell, such a busy little fairy with a new movie released and all.... she was so sweet to come make the festival more magical for everyone.

Then there was this precious little "honey" who buzzed around and shared his sweetness.

Oh, I could just eat him up!!!

A final picture, and here is your one and only space hero, Buzz Lightyear!!!! Hopefully you'll see a few more pics of him on the 31st, but I'm not making any guarantees because I'll be at work so it's up to Dad to get everyone dressed up and around the neighborhood, and remember to snap a picture. He had to do it solo last year too, so I have great faith in him but we do have one extra character in our family cartoon now!

Two Sets of Twins

A few years ago a new nurse, Ronda, started working on my floor. We quickly found we had a lot in common including a heart for adoption. I remember her saying to me, "My husband and I would love to adopt, but at this point God would practically have to drop a child in our laps." Well, meet Luke. He's from Haiti and for all intents and purposes, he's been dropped into Ronda's family's lap. He's five and is just adorable. He and Hudson had a blast running around the McDonald's play land. His "twin" sister Lacy and Hannah really hit it off too.

Our First Hunting Trip

A few weeks ago the twins got to go with Russ on their first hunting trip. Russ and our good friend, Buddy, did all the shooting. They managed to bring home about ten doves.

Here's one of the reasons Han is so delightful. She's such a little princess, but she also wants to be right in the action, whatever it is!

Hud took his toy shotgun and shot a whole, Whole, WHOLE, WHOLE bunch of robins.

The kids collected the doves for Daddy and Buddy. Han took it upon herself to name them all. I think one of them was named Princess Annelise.

By the way, if you're looking for an awesome dove recipe, here's my favorite....

Wrap doves in bacon and marinate overnight in your favorite marinade. Grill until done, eat the bacon and throw the doves away!!!

Questions from Han (and Hud this time too!)

Han: "Mom, how old is Jesus?"
I think that's the first question she's asked that truly can't be answered.

Han: "Mom, who were Mary's parents?"

Han: "Mom, what's Jesus having for dinner?"

Han: "Mom, will we get hungry in heaven?"

Hud: "Mom, is heaven home?"
"Yes, Hud, heaven is our home."
Hud: "But what about this place?"
"This is just where we're staying until we get to go home to heaven."

And for Han's final question of the night, as she was getting ready for bed,
"Mom, just where does all this poo poo and potty go?"

Buzz and Tinkerbell

Buzz Lightyear and Tinkerbell have been gracing our home lately with their presence.

Here they are practicing their dance moves, getting geared up for the big day on October 31st.

Important facts to know (by Hud)

As I said, Han is usually my question asker and Hud is my information provider. He recently said, "Mom, snails leave a trail of SLIME behind them so they don't get lost!"

Answers from Han

Today I have answers instead of questions from Han. We were reviewing our AWANA's lessons and I was asking the kids some questions.
I said, "Who were Adam and Eve?"
Han thought a minute and with a confident voice blurted out, "SINNERS!"

Questions from Han

1) "Mom, was anyone around when Jesus came to pick your Grandpa up?"
I don't know, Hon.
"Was that a good question? Maybe he yelled that Jesus was coming!!!"

2) "Mom, what can I do to suhve the Lohd?"

Questions from Han

1) "Mom, forgive me if I don't name my daughter Lesli. I just want to name her what I want to name her."
That's fine Han, you name her whatever you want.
"But MAYBE I'll name her Lesli, just maybe."

Sure hope she gets this figured out soon!!!


2) "Mom, how does the fairy tooth girl know when you've lost a tooth?"
I told her I didn't know.