Friday, January 28, 2011

Upside Down

Just HAD to post this video of Little G dancing to
Jack Johnson's song "Upside down"...


Who's to say what's impossible?
Well they forgot this world keeps spinning
And with each new day
I can feel a change in everything

And as the surface breaks reflections fade
But in some ways they remain the same
And as my mind begins to spread its wings
There's no stopping curiosity

I want to turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's songs
I don't want this feeling to go away

Who's to say I can't do everything?
Well I can try, and as I roll along I begin to find
Things aren't always just what they seem

I want to turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found
I'll share this love I find with everyone
We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's song

This world keeps spinning and there's no time to waste
Well it all keeps spinning, spinning

Round and round and upside down
Who's to say what's impossible and can't be found?
I don't want this feeling to go away

Please don't go away
Please don't go away
Please don't go away

Is this how it's supposed to be?
Is this how it's supposed to be?

Was a heart moment for me.
I remember a fellow blogger having this song on her blog for a long time. Her adorable little one has Down Syndrome and I met her while they were dealing with Infantile Spasms. What our sweet little Victoria had. It was loosing Victoria, knowing this fellow blogger, my cousin, many little things that added up in 2008 that led us to looking for little G. The waiting place was so so hard. But our deep journeys of faith are sometimes painful arent they. I am still working through things that adopting a child have unearthed. God continues to be here in the midst of it all with me. Im so glad that He is faithful and true in character. Other people may bail on you, but He remains present in the MIDST of it.

To hear this song playing
while I read another blog,
her coming out of the woodwork to dance to it.......
God is so gentle with my heart.

I just hate the fact that I interrupted her being "in the moment" by speaking to her......

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Special olympics scarves!

Here are pictures Im sure youve all been waiting on.
Had my son take the box of scarves to the post office on the way to youth group last night......
I pray they warm some necks and hearts....




..




the last five were knit by my oldest daughter. My nieces got a pom pom maker for Christmas and she decided she needed one after seeing my scarves with the pom poms on them. They really added whimsy didnt they?!

Go Alabama!!!!

Special Olympics Winter Games.......

Here are pictures Im sure youve all been waiting on.
Had my son take the box of scarves to the post office on the way to youth group last night......
I pray they warm some necks and hearts....




..




the last five were knit by my oldest daughter. My nieces got a pom pom maker for Christmas and she decided she needed one after seeing my scarves with the pom poms on them. They really added whimsy didnt they?!

Go Alabama!!!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I hear you LOUD AND CLEAR!

Let me start off by telling you I posted this morning on my other blog.
That blog is just about our adoption and how little G is doing. Simply amazing to say the least.

This blog however was the place it all started.
Just a place to journal the meanderings,
wandering of my soul
and heart
as we navigated the journey to our little one......
and the faith journey that was what I believe, what it was all about.

Ive been picking little G up alot. One of the things she says real well is "up" while holding her arms outstrectched. I know she is no lightweight. Last time I weighed her she was 42 lb.

Many tmes it looks like this,

I am sitting on the couch knitting in my favorite spot. Grace holds her arms out nad says,"Up". use your imagination. see the movement that my back makes, in a seated position with her standing on the floor.......

yesterday I knew that enough was enough and really made a point of her using her step stool to get on the toilet and climbing up the sofa on her own. (I need one more step stool to put by her bed to help with that process.)

For some reason this morning while we were trying to wake up and rocking in the chair she obviously had a stomach ache and I scooped her up and went running to the bathroom, it was the last straw for my back. (she is fine, has incredible self control and just gagged and coughed.Dont know what was going on or why..... it was a passing thing I guess because her breakfast of yogurt an hour later sat just fine.)

But my back.....
Yes,
I hear you loud and clear,
no more picking little G up.

I remain,
seated on the heating pad,
Under His wings,
Anna

How did I loose count?

I was thinking yesterday that it had been awhile since I had sat down and looked over the list of signs that little G knew. I was shocked to see that the last time I had written in my journal was in November.
How did that happen?

Well I have had two colds, Thanksgiving, little Gs 5th birthday, Christmas, knitting for a friend and family, husbands surgery, moving son from the front room to the back room and alllllll the cleaning involved with that task........

I guess thats how!

In the midst of all the activity we have still been working hard. Little G and I like to do puzzles.( when she first came home she didnt even understand the concept of them) we color and play with shape sorters, feed her baby dolls - learning with plastic food. Oldest son left a CD player so her other brother hooked it up to the speakers so we can now enjoy music in her room. Weve been practicing her letters and their sounds and signs- that has been amazing....... well all of it is mind boggling for me.

As little G napped I went over the lists and counted the signs that she is using in context and came up with a total of 170 signs. She added 62 signs in those two months!

God has a plan for this little one.
Just like he has a plan for each one of us.
I remember reading Jeremiah 29:11-13.....I read this verse often and claimed it for our little G. Not only does he have a plan, which is a life with hope and a future- with Jesus Christ by our side. But he also says that when you call on me, pray, I will hear you......when you seek me with all your heart you will find me.

that is what this is all about.
Not only did we want to give little G a name,
a family.
A hope.
Ways to express her needs/ desires....
We also want to give her a way to express her faith.
We all have that empty place in our hearts that longs for God,
through these words
and signs
I believe that
one
day
little G
will
be
able
to
share
her
story.

Friday, January 21, 2011

ugh.....

kleenex.... check
tylenol....check
cough meds....check
wool socks.....check

Our oldest was home sick all week,
running a temp.
Girlfriend has Son at urgent care as I type this, he missed work yesterday- yes from the new job. She said his temp was better today, I dont think they have a thermometer because at the Urgent Care it was 102.5- they gave him tylenol while they wait to be seen. I woke up this morning before P was up, and that means REALLY early, feeling like there was a knife in my eyeball and that side of my face pounding, nose running like faucet. Fell back asleep but once I was awake every time I lifted my head off the pillow the room spun like a top.

Of course little G gets none of this..... bouncing in the bed signing and giggling and kissing.....(on the cheek of course)


We are up and dressed.
I fed her breakfast,
four cups of juice,
up,
down,
up
down,
potty- go figure after four cups of juice.
Shes signed happy numerous times like she does when she is trying to figure out my mood. (thankfully she hasnt signed grouchy at me!!!!)

She is in her room
watching signing time
and
playing with her Mega blocks.

hoping tomorrow doesnt bring fever and more yuckiness for Mama
or worse yet.....
little G.

Under His wings,
Anna

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Husbands surgery

My husband is healing well after his ear surgery last week. We've gotten pretty good at it. He has been having these ear surgeries for over five years.Sorry Ive lost count, first the right ear since it was symptomatic...... then the left. We were hoping that this would be the last one.(it had regrown so we arent where we thought wed be) The Dr will do a CT scan in a year to see if the cholesteotoma has grown back. If not, we are done. I think he was hinting at tweaking the prosthetic bones in the other ear to see if we could get better hearing. Its up to husband. He has been wearing a hearing aid for a year now because you cant do surgery on one ear if you cant hear out of the other. ;) Once the packing has dissolved in this left ear I should be able to whisper sweet nothings again! Ha ha! I am so soft spoken that its an adventure around here..... many times hes said "huh?" before Ive even completed my sentence. I promise.... I have NOT been praying for patience. Basically he inherited poor working Eustachian tubes, chronic ear infections, cholesteotoma set in..... its rarely seen anymore because of antibiotic use and aggressive treatments with tubes in ears etc.

I would like to ask for prayer.....
while he was home recuperating some things happened at his work.
Since he is the one in charge.......

I cannot share details because, well....
this is the Internet and ....
I'm not being dramatic here.
Thankfully my stomach doesnt feel like someone is driving a hot spear in it today.
Sometimes working in government positions can be very unnerving......
I trust the Lord.
He is my shield and defender.
I trust Him.

I remain,
Under His wings,
Anna

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

last week......

I felt bad that I distanced everyone around me.
My husband had surgery.
He gets in a mood when I am on the phone and he is home, when I type away for hours on the computer. I just needed to be available.After being married this long I have learned how to hurt him. Being married is a give and take and I am glad that we both give and take to make it work......
It felt good to let the world just keep on doing its thing without me. ;)

I think,
as we add things to our life we can still find emptyness lurking in the corners. All the noise,
facebook,
blogging,
cell phones
and texting
just crowd out that still small voice that my heart and soul long to hear.

That is one of the biggest things I learned through our adoption journey. To just be still and quiet and know that people would have to understand that I had to be still and quiet. The only way I could function and get out of bed each day was just turn my face and heart towards heaven and let him pour his spirit into all the empty places.......

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Surprises.... part two




Yesterday I posted about a few "God hugs" I recieved. My bloggy friend Connie has mentioned how much they enjoy the pictures of little G. So I thought I needed to get a pic of her signing surprise. Well little G had something else up her sleeve. We have been working on learning so much lately, one of the things is learning her colors. Her favorite "Signing times" video is number six,"My favorite things" This video introduces the color names/signs,Family, food signs and has some really great songs. Its the one she asks for the most. Ive also been coloring with her and telling her the "name of the color" Reading several books with names and items catagorized by color, and when she does the shapes in the shape sorter I will comment the red square etc. (all throughout the day, oooh I like your pink boots, Grace has a pretty purple dog.....)Up till today she has simply looked at me blankly when I have asked the names. But I repeat it and sign it, then she follows along.
So...... as I was taking pictures trying to get her to sign surprise she starts coloring at her easel. She picks up the orange Christmas tree crayon and SIGNS ORANGE! I about fell on the floor, started crying etc! I then asked her to color with the green one, she picked the green crayon up and signed green and so on all through
ALL
the
colors!!!!!

Little G knows her colors!

I am just so humbled......

Under His wings,
Anna

Just a big ole Hug.....


Today started off being a non-typical regular ole day. We had to get out the door mighty early for me to take E to the Dr. Thankfully his jaw wasnt broken. :) Dear husband went off to work today after being home from his ear surgery, it seems like hes been home forever..... weve spent so much time together this year. What with our five weeks in Ecuador, he took time off when little G came home and then for Christmas since wed thought his parents were coming. Then he was sick with what seemed to be the flu the week after Christmas, then a week for this surgery. Ive enjoyed seeing his face, having him at the table as we eat breakfast. This is the man that NEVER, I repeat never takes off.
Today was a day to be back to normal except for the Dr appt. But the early start threw little Gs day off a tad. She was asking for lunch at eleven fifteen and at noon kept asking," up, up, up" Once I picked her up she signed "sleepy, and said/signed Bed, ni-ni, nap, then started waving her fist to go potty." that was a mouth full!!! Someone was asking to go down for a nap.

God proceeded to give me a big ole hug,
a phone call from a friend,
a card from a new friend,
AND
a book from one of my bloggy friends......

What a sweet sweet book. "Just the Way I am. Gods Design in Disability." by Krista Horning

On the way to the Dr office K-Love was discussing God surprising us......... makes me laugh...... that he did! (you should see little G's face when she signs SURPRISE! Its one of my very favorite signs......)
I hope God surprises you this week......

I remain,
Under His wings,
Anna

PS. as I was taking pitures for todays post I got another HUGE SURPRISE! To be continued.....

Monday, January 17, 2011

Sunday supper

Had a busy week, Husband had ear surgery - was home just chillin and moved E into the back room. Ive already mentioned the issues I have with my teenagers and the back room. It was alot of work. I already steam cleaned the carpets once N moved out. So the chores were to be done in E's room. Our dog princess sleeps with E and let me just say that JRT's shed ALOT. I shouldve been making him lift the mattress/boxsprings in his room and getting under his bed once in awhile. Add the dog hair and dust together and my allergies freaked out in a big way and the muscle soreness in my right arm up into my neck layed me out. We stayed home from church.




Miss G force was glad to see N and his fiance. She was a copy-cat and had us all laughing. Please ignore the quality. I had a camera on my Christmas wish list but I got little G instead... much better dont you agree???? I have two problems. With apoint and shoot there is a lag between pushing the photo and it taking the picture. THEN when Miss G sees the camera all cuteness is shut off. The end. SO, I snuck in with the camera behind my back, but she knew, I know she could tell something was up. Id take a picture and then put it in my lap out of sight. Then when I pulled it out she would quit. This is the best I could get. She is a mess.
I had a box packed for N after we cleaned out his closet. I hope he finds something that he might find useful in there....... We found misc. clothes, spare socks, odds and ends...... and his Bible. Daughter and I knit on our Special Olympic scarves after supper was cleaned up and we watched an old western together. My young adults were tired, son in law has been working all weekend and had to go in again today. My daughter, his wife, started teaching and has to be out the door EARLY to get to work every day. Middle son starts his new job and had worked all nights for the weekend but got up early so he could sleep last night and start on day shift. Was sad to see them all leave at 9:30. If this was hard on my mother, like it is on me, she hid it well.....
We made two Rachel Ray recipes for Sunday Supper...... I have to share the recipes. These, one and two, would get six out of five stars in my book.... that isnt a typo. It was really really good. Wasnt hard. Just making sure we had all the ingredients was the hardest part. Husband got in the kitchen with me and we worked to get it on the table.
I will miss him when he goes back to work tomorow.
Have a blessed week dear friends.
I remain,
Under His wings.....

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Suppertime

Been off the radar this week.
Husband had surgery on Monday and its just been so cold.....
just laying low taking care of him, little G and trying to stay warm.

Just had to post real quick.

We sat down for supper.
I usually pray but

just

couldnt

because I was crying so hard.

What would I be crying about at supper time?

Husband had put little G in her chair with bib and hair pulled back while I fixed plates. He and I sat down and as I did I looked up to see little G sign:

Pizza.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

what Im knitting.....

Lately Ive gotten my knitting mojo back.
I knit a beautiful shrug for a friend.
Every mother of the bride deserves something special.....
to be covered in prayers and knitted stitches.....
dont you agree???

I moved right on to knitting for Special Olympics Atheletes in Alabama. The winter games are approaching and that means a scarf for each participant. Im thrilled to be a small part of something like this. Ive just cast on for scarf number three......
If you like to knit why dont you join me or ask someone you know to knit one on your behalf for a special someone?(there is a list of states and the need for each state, address to mail it to deadlines you name it!) The yarn required is Red Heart and found at W*l M*art stores.... was only $2.40 per skein of over 300 yds..... I almost fell on the floor when I saw how inexpensive it was... my daughter got a good laugh at it. Anyhoo, the details are on the page and they even have free patterns......

I'll take pics on Monday......

what Im knitting.......

Lately Ive gotten my knitting mojo back.
I knit a beautiful shrug for a friend.
Every mother of the bride deserves something special.....

I moved right on to knitting for Special Olympics Atheletes in Alabama. The winter games are approaching and that means a scarf for each participant. Im thrilled to be a small part of something like this. Ive just cast on for scarf number three......

I'll take pics on Monday......

Friday, January 7, 2011

Blogs of note.....



Ive been following Courtney's blog awhile and really enjoy how candid she is about life and adoption..... being a mom..... our faith and the nitty gritty of reality...
She started a new "once a month" thang and I thought you might enjoy going over and taking a peek at some of the other bloggers pages. Who knows, maybe one day I might be listed as the "blog of the month"......

7 months.......





Today is Jan 7th......
On June 7th.....
Airline tickets were bought and we flew to Ecuador.....
what a difference seven months can make......
Grace WAS TERRIFIED of dogs.....
had no language.....
no speech.....
gritted her teeth ALOT....

Seven months later
she has a home,
She has brothers- she will sign "two brothers" so cute!
She has a sister that she asks for by name- signs and says "aaaa-ley"
A mama
a Papa- whom she adores.... (mental note: must video happy dance)
"three dogs"
she knows her colors and letter recognition, can almost sign all ABC's
I would say 150+/- signs
ten or so spoken words,
can "sing" songs....
ask for what she wants to eat (this morning signed "juice? cereal? Please") I couldnt get it ready fast enough- you ask for it baby and its yours......

we wont even get started on how much little G's love has changed me.....
How she has rocked my world.....
There might be toys on every flat surface,
empty juice cups in the sink,
dirty little people clothes to add to the list,
dog hair in corners that hasnt been swept properly,
Note to self:
its the eternal things that matter......


I remain,
Under His wings,
Anna

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Humbled

This is an edited excerpt from the Orphanage directors e-mail this morning:

"Just wanted to let you know that thanks to G's and your inspiration, I've encouraged our psychologist and staff in ______ to teach A and J, our two boys with Down Syndrome, to learn signing. We're excited to give them this opportunity to communicate better!"

Please know I am not tooting my own horn.....
I just want to share this sweet encouragement that I recieved.
Please be reminded,
like we are.....
no part that you play in the big picture is too small.....
God is faithful.
He uses us when we least expect it.
I am so honored to have such a sweet loving family,
with a new daughter I might add.....
I couldnt do anything that I am doing without Him.....
without them....

This isnt the best quality video, I will apologize in advance, turn the volume way up if you want to hear my singing. ;)It was the best I could get of her signing/signing it because I have to sign or sing too..... I wont tell you how many takes it took.... have I mentioned that she has developed her own opinion about things??? ha ha! she sees the camera come out and ..... never mind.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

some 'Tude????


I had to laugh at myself....
I had a "Did I just say that?" moment.
I am giggling as I am typing it......
(since I have a photo to boot! Taken at a diferent moment but SOOO showing you what I mean)

I actually told little G:

"No more "no". No more....."
as I am signing no more or all done.....
I mean really? Is that even gramatically correct???
So the secrets out......


then today as I walk past her room, she threw her doll into her mirror and I see her with hands on hips then signing and saying "no more.....n ooooo no more." waving her finger. (talk about self discipline! She knows not to throw her toys but sometimes just cant refuse the thrill of a loud thud! really, belly laughs.....) I had to oblige her and take the doll away. ;)

I remain,
Uner His wings,
Anna

Saturday, January 1, 2011

A link for today- couldnt say it better than this

Im not sure if yall follow my other blog.
Not sure how to combine and just have one.
Just in case I am posting the same thing in both places.

Missy at "its almost naptime" had this to say.
Ive been saying similar things for quite awhile.
Your passion doesnt have to be orphans, or homeschooling,
or any of the things that cause my heart to beat to a different rhythm.
Really......
I will still like you...
We can still be friends.
What I want for you.....
well, read Missys post.
I just want everyone I know and love to know and persue their passion....
If you havent already.....
Get on the crazy train.
Go buy the ticket and join us.....

A link for today- I just cat say it any better than this.

Missy at "its almost naptime" had this to say.
Ive been saying similar things for quite awhile.
Your passion doesnt have to be orphans, or homeschooling,
or any of the things that cause my heart to beat to a different rhythm.
Really......
I will still like you...
We can still be friends.
What I want for you.....
well, read Missys post.
I just want everyone I know and love to know and persue their passion....
If you havent already.....
Get on the crazy train.
Go buy the ticket and join us.....