If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

 Today we got to tour the USS Midway.  I must say that it is the best tour-able place in the US (personal opinion).  Most places in the US have everything blocked off and everything is "do not touch."  Not the Midway.  Kids can sit in chairs and flip switches and turn wheels.  It really is super.  We walked up and down more flights of stairs than I could have ever imagined.  It was so neat!  We spent more than four hours on the ship and we saw everything.  Everyone got to get in some jets and on some helicopters.  The kids got to climb in bunks and sit in the captain's seat.  There was an audio tour and it was super informative!  The kids were given questions to answer all over the ship and not only did they love that part, but they learned so much, too!  It was a great time!  I highly recommend it! I spent a lot of the tour thinking about Pappy (my dad's dad) who was on an aircraft carrier in WWII.  It...

Winter Break 2012. . .a first for Durango.  They have given us some funky breaks this year, but I'm really excited about having a Winter Break in February and a Spring Break in April! On Friday we picked the kids up from school and headed to Scottsdale.  Andy was already there, so Lesley and I made the eight hour trek to meet him there.  One of my cousins was getting married, so it was a perfect place to start our big road trip! Gabby was not liking me at all on the trip down.  Oh my! Our time in Scottsdale was perfect!  We got to see my mom (which was the highlight).  We love being with GoGo!  And time with my cousins and their kids was priceless!  It is fun to all get together when we all live so far away! Tiki with his second-cousin, Peyton.  They became "best friends" at K1 this summer and were SO excited to see each other again! My cousin, Alexis, with her little guy, Weston.       Gabby ...

Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis Oh my.  If you haven't read this book--GO!  Go now!  Come back to this blog.  Go get the book and read it!  This book is rocking my world!  (Thanks, Val, for giving it to me for my Birthday!) ON ADOPTION: Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have every experienced.  Adoption is also difficult and painful.  Adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption.  It is the Gospel in my living room.  And sometimes, it's just hard. . . . . Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world.  And every single day, it is worth it, because adoption is God's heart. . . . . My family, adopting these children, it is not optional.  It is not my good deed for the day; it is not what I am doing to 'help out these poor kids.'  I adopt because God commands me to care for the orphans and the widows in their distress.  I adopt because Jesus...

(The Message Version but made a tad more personal by me) Dear, dear Jamie Jo, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life.  We didn't fence you in.  The smallness you feel comes from within you.  Your life isn't small, but you're living it in a small way.  I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection.  Open up your life.  Live openly and expansively!

 We moms are so many different things: nurses, teachers, maids, chefs, lovers, chauffeurs. . . and the list goes on and on.  Last night I added cardiologist to my Mommy resume!  Matters of the heart are so painful.  Let me back up.  Before the pain, they are so fun and exciting!  The giddiness and the anticipation and the smiles.  Matters of the heart are great (let's not go straight to Eeyore first)!  But then they are painful.  Yuck. These chocolates are Maggie's. . .from a boy. . .yesterday.  She was so happy about it and I was so happy for her!  We got to have a fun talk and it was great to see her smile so big.  I love her so much! But then I went upstairs to my room and bawled my eyes out.  My little girl.  My little girl who I adore and love and want to protect.  And I realized last night that I can keep her fed and clothed and pretty safe, but I cannot protect her heart and my heart broke just a ...

This morning has been right out of a romantic comedy about being the mother of five on Valentine's Day.  Seriously.  So, I woke up extra early so that I could make special lunches for the kids. . .special being heart shaped sandwiches and a stuffed animal in their lunch boxes (mostly out of love, but partly, I must admit, to embarrass Hays at his middle school lunch table).  As soon as I got up, everyone got up and started hanging out in the kitchen.  What in the world?!?!  Most mornings I can't even doze them out of bed and this morning when I want to be sneaky, they are all bright eyed. Needless to say, I start everyone's day out terribly.  I'm so grouchy to them.  "Get out of the kitchen!" "But mom, I need some cereal." "Get out, buddy, you're in my way!"  What in the world?  I'm positive I didn't even say good morning or Happy Valentine's Day to my children.  As far as they know (until lunch), I've totally forgot...