"Dear God" and Matthew's perception of mommy (giggles for your day)

So tonight, we were saying our bedtime prayers. Matthew's went something like this:

"Dear God, thank you that dinosaurs don't live now like they did when papa was a little boy."

On Friday, Matthew brought home a picture that he had drawn of the two of us. At the bottom were some fill in the blank statements that he had filled out with his teacher's help.

- My mom is 4718 years old.

- My mom is the prettiest when she wears a dress and pants (Gotta love the image that brings to mind, especially at my "advanced" age - lol).

- My mom likes to  make peanut butter and jelly sandwich (which is pretty funny because I rarely make them).

- My mom always says, "There's a TV show I like to watch. (also pretty funny because the only time I watch tv is if Mark has it on or Matthew has earned enough points to watch it.)

- My mom is funny when she tickles me on my back and tummy.

- My mom is special because she likes me. (yep, kiddo - you've got that one right. Love you forever!)

Thankful Thursday

Sorry gang, tonight I have no great list for the day. I've been looking back at some pictures of my sweet girl over the past 2 1/2 years and I am just feeling incredibly sad. Of course, more than anything I am thankful that God saved Maia's life. So, I will leave it at that for now.
Ok, I will add one more thing. I am thankful for all of you who have shared this journey with us. Your friendship is truly a gift from heaven!

Remembering

Today has been a hard day for me. I'm not sure what triggered it, but I knew from the time I woke up this morning that it would be a sad day. At church this morning, I cried through the service and again in Sunday school. Why? Silly perhaps, but one year ago today was the last day we were in church before Maia got sick. I didn't expect the emotions of her illness to gang up on me yet, but they sure did.

Here is a picture of our sweet girl in April 2012. We had just come home from a day at the zoo and the weather was so perfect. Maia had her bubbles and was running around the yard, laughing. What a precious day.

And here is Miss Maia today in the same shirt (notice the snow in the background this year - lol), "running" in our yard. Physically, she has come so far. And cognitively... yes, compared to when she left the hospital, Maia has made progress, too, I praise God for that. However, I still grieve the loss of the child in the picture above. My heart aches today for my sweet girl. 

 

I've got more I want to share and will try to do so tomorrow, but for now this is all I can put together. :-(

Thankful Friday

I'm a few hours late and I guess I could backdate, but I think it will just be a thankful Friday instead :-)

- First, I am very thankful for God's protection. Miss Maia took a tumble down the stairs Wednesday night and other than the scrape on her nose and forehead (which can't seem to catch a break lately), she is ok.
- thankful for an unexpected snow day yesterday. It's only the second one I've had in over 16 years. But, what a treat to stay home and enjoy the extra time with my family. Worked by phone and computer and was just lazy in general.
- thankful for God's blessings! I've been looking for a dining room table for our new house (we don't currently have a dining room), but what I wanted seemed out of reach price wise. He provided almost exactly what I wanted (only the stain is a bit different) at a fair price. Now, I will be praying for four more chairs and a hutch!
- very thankful for a reminder this morning that successful mothers are not the ones who seem to have it all together (something I never will manage), but the ones who don't give up. It's easy (for me) to get bogged down in guilt about all my moments of parenting failure, anxiety for what the future holds, and feelings of inadequacy when I see the "super-moms" around me. But, I will keep my eyes focused on the perfect parent (my Heavenly Father) and His guidance as I raise my previous kiddos.

Friday nights

When I was a kid we watched the wonderful world of Disney. I think it was Sunday nights. We sat in front of the TV eating pizza. Well we started doing this thing at our house about 2 years ago. Friday nights are the movie night. We take turns picking a movie (thanks to my aunt Avis who gave us a pile of VHS movies). We also have about 50 DVDs for the kids too. Most of the time the kids pick a Disney VHS tape to watch while having pizza. Matthew looks forward to this all week. Tonight we watched Pinocchio on vintage VHS.

Mark 

Thankful Thursday

Well, I have definitely been missing in action lately, but God has reminded me that being thankful in ALL things is important. So, I can't let another Thursday pass without acknowledging some of the many blessings in my life.

- Even though spring has been slow in arriving, I love hearing the birds outside our living room window!

- Matthew and Mark built a birdhouse which is hanging in one of the trees in our front yard. A bird has made her nest in it and it just warms my heart to think of her in there! And Matthew is thrilled about this!

- Slowly, we are getting things packed. A long way to go, but there is progress.

- Loving reading stories of families who are bringing home their new little ones from other parts of the world right now.

- This may seem a bit random, but I am thankful for the time that we spent in Ukraine. I hope that we will be able to return again to the country that gave us our children.

Thankful Thursday

Is it Thursday again already? Gosh, the days fly by. I'm having one of those "out of sorts" kind of days so it seems pretty important to stop and consider what I am thankful for!

• We are one step closer to our new home. Met with the mortgage loan officer and have a locked in interest rate. The closing date (May 24) seems so far away, but I know it will be here before we know it!
• I'm not great at taking the time to reflect on how far the kids have come, but this week we had a kindergarten round-up meeting for Matthew (since he will start next fall). The principal was talking about sharing time (show and tell) for the kids and it occurred to me. Last year, Matthew had a very difficult time with this. I remember his teachers saying that he was not able to clearly communicate with his peers due to his limited English vocabulary. Although he still struggles with word finding at times, Matthew has come so far. To think about how much English he has gained... WOW! He will be able to participate fully in sharing time. I'm excited that he will be a kindergartner in a few months (and a bit sad, too)! Here's to the class of 2026!
• And Maia... she LOVES trotting (her attempt at running) in any open space she can find. Nine months ago, we were worried about cortical blindness and that she might never set up on her own again, (along with many other issues). It is wonderful to see her go! 
• Thankful that our new home has lots of yard space for both kiddos to run and explore, they will have so much fun!
• Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to be part of the filming of a music video which honors parents of children with special needs. It was humbling to be in a group of over 100 families and their children. And to make it even more wonderful? I got to share this experience with my friend Amy, her daughter Nicole, and their family! More to come on the video this fall!
• Thankful for the gentle reminders God gives me to keep my eyes focused on Him, instead of the chaotic world around me. I struggle with this on a daily basis, but He is faithful and constant.