When Lightning Strikes

Tonight we had an awful storm, and I think maybe lightning struck our house again since our alarm sounded right after an awful boom. I was the solo parent home tonight and after disabling the security system in order to stop the sirens, the kids & I noticed that our house siren wasn't the only siren going off. There were fire trucks at the house two doors down. They were there quite some time too, but I don't know yet how much of a fire they had or what the damage is. This storm brought much rain and our backyard is just so wet . . . so much so that the momma duck from last year brought back her baby ducks to play in our yard! (at least that's what Matt thinks)

Storms often come without warning. Personal storms and trials in our life sometimes come without warning too. My dear friend Sherri and her family are going through a huge personal storm since they found out that Sherri has breast cancer. Please keep them in your prayers and everyone else going through this same "storm." Jesus proclaimed "I am the Light of the World" (John 8:12) so we trust that He will guide them through this difficult time and bring comfort, strength and healing.

Kamryn brings comfort every time she gives a big hug because with her hugs, she squeezes you tight. Mmm, it feels so good. Sherri is special and knows how it feels, since she gets hugs from Kamryn every time we get together.

Kamryn Meets Alvin . . . and the rug at the bottom of the stairs

Unfortunately Kamryn tumbled yesterday. Not a somersault (which she loves when I help her do one) but a tumble down a couple of stairs. Luckily she landed on the carpet landing inbetween the two flights of stairs to the basement. She did however get a battlescar, a nice rug burn on her eyelid. She had learned to go down the stairs on her belly and slide down, but now that she is walking, she thinks she can walk down those stairs! She was okay, just sitting on the stairs. I told her to turn around, then freaked out as I remembered that Brendan had left some Magnetix on the stairs. So instead of picking Kamryn up, I ran ahead of her down the few stairs to collect those magnetic marbles that many children have died from swallowing, and she came tumbling after me. What a lesson and reminder for me that toddlers can act very fast, in the blink of an eye, and that accidents can happen in just seconds. I'm sure it won't be the last of her boo boos, but this is her first one, and I feel awful.

There is something about our house that attracts wildlife. We've had birds' nests in wreaths, we had a momma duck sitting on eggs last spring underneath one of our plants, and now we have Alvin. I walked into the family room this morning and looked out onto our patio only to see a chipmunk perched on top of our chair! Yikes! It must be the same one that visited us last year . . . he actually got into our screened in porch area then. Our neighbors generously handed down a big plastic house for Kamryn to play with that is out on our patio. Now when I go out with Kamryn to play, I will have to check for Alvin first. She loved watching him from the window, but that is close enough for me!




We're all fighting a sinus thing in our house, and Kamryn, Brendan & I are on antibiotics. Hopefully we'll kick this soon so we can enjoy the holiday weekend. Brendan & Kevin are going to the Indy 500 race for the first time this Sunday. They should have a good time. Kamryn, Matthew and I may just go for a bike ride since we just purchased one of those bike trailers for the back of my bike. Hopefully we have nice weather. The neighborhood pool opens this weekend too, so the kids are excited for that. I can't wait to see how Kamryn does in the water. She loves bathtime now so she will probably enjoy it. I still love experiencing all these "first" things with Kamryn and am constantly in awe of her outgoing personality, wit and charm.

Speaking of her outgoing personality, the other day we did a makeup music class at Gymboree instead of the gym class. There were 12 toddlers each with a parent in the room and here is Kamryn, standing in the middle of the group, dancing and clapping and yelling. She was very friendly especially with one of the few boys and his dad in the group. She wanted to hang with them instead of me most of the time. Must be that she is used to her older brothers because she's too young to be flirting already! My friend Beth was there with her son and just chuckled and said that Kamryn was just meant to be a third child because with her personality, she would have been bored just being the only child in the house! How funny and probably true!

Mommy to Three Now!

On Mother's Day, Kamryn turned 16 months old. She's been with our family for 5 months now, and I feel lucky to be a mom to three wonderful children this year. One of the best presents I got this year was a card from Brendan where he had filled in the blanks about me. The funniest one was "My mom is as tall as . . . a teenager" The one that I was most relieved and touched to see was "My mom always tells me . . . I love you."

Well, Kamryn knows how to meet her deadlines! She is officially walking 100% of the time now! Our goal was to have her walking by race weekend, and she's ahead of schedule. She looks so cute toddling around. Although now that she can walk, she doesn't want to sit still.

Gymboree is the perfect place for a wandering toddler. She just loves playing there. The boys had no school on a Gymboree day, so they came with us. They loved it more than Kamryn I think and actually thanked me for taking them with. The other moms were so impressed at how the boys doted on Kamryn and took care of her. I was a proud mom!




One of the playgroup moms and I decided to swap babysitting time, and it's been wonderful! The girls cry at first when their mommy leaves, but their crying time is down to 5 minutes or less. Usually some Cheerios or a fun DVD like the Laurie Berkner Band can stop the tears. Kamryn loves music and that DVD has been alot of fun for her.

We're waiting for this rainy week to end and want sunshine! I bought Kamryn a sand and water table for outside, and I'm excited to see her play with it. Lexi was over today, and the girls played with the sand side for a little bit. I've decided that Kamryn may still be on the young side for it since she tried to eat the sand and throw it more than really mold with it. It will be nice to have though as she grows!

Are You My Mother?

Recently one day, a bird flew in our house when we simply opened our front door to let a friend in. The baby bird must have been sitting on the wreath and then not knowing enough to not fly in, did fly in over my head. Funny thing is that the bird flew right to our “dog” that currently resides on the landing of our steps. (The boys are both allergic to cats and dogs, so this decorative dog is the closest thing to a real pet other than a fish that we will ever have.) It was comical to say the least to see us freaking out about how to get this bird out of the house! We thought if we left the front door open, he might fly out, but I was more afraid that his anxious momma bird might fly in, so we closed the door. We tried our fishing net, but that only sent the bird flying into the dining room. Since the bird was so tiny and actually preferred to walk instead of fly, I finally thought that maybe we could coax him into a paper bag. Matthew was the hero who did get the bird in the bag, and then deposited him outside by his very loud momma bird who was waiting for him.

This picture reminds me of that Dr. Seuss book, Are You My Mother? I found the book on our bookshelf, read it, and then chuckled because even though Kamryn does not look like me, I am most definitely her mother. Even though I do not look like my parents, they are most definitely my mother and father. It’s the parent-child relationship and bond that is the most important factor to me and what ultimately clinched our decision to follow the dream to adopt from China. Growing up, I never hid the fact that I was adopted, and always felt lucky & blessed that I was given two loving parents who would go to the end of the earth for me. Now I feel lucky & blessed to have been given the gift of a Chinese little girl to mother, in addition to my wonderful biological sons.

I admit it is fun to see the same characteristics in the boys as Kevin or me and to try to figure out who they look like. The whole “inherited traits” thing is fascinating, but most fascinating is how God orchestrated it all to be this way. Before we received Kamryn, I would pray that she fit in with our family and would blend with us well. She totally does, and it’s obvious to us that she just belongs with our family. It’s fun to see her liking music as much as we do and just overall having the same temperament as the boys. Again, it’s fascinating to me how God can perfectly match hearts. Our three children are all different and have unique personalities, and I love them all the same. That confirms to me that I’ve always had a healthy perspective about my adoption. Love is what is important to me, and not whether or not we look like our mothers and fathers. I do hope that Kamryn will someday feel the same way.

May All Your Dreams Come True

I wonder what she's dreaming about? Hmm, better service at the restaurant? Miss Kamryn fell asleep on the way home from a most entertaining/frustrating dinner at a restaurant that won't be named. The only good thing was that we were with our friends Sherri & Rusty and their family, so we were able to spend alot more time together that evening. Our waiter was so bad, that we had a hard time even looking at him for fear that we would either laugh at him or be too nasty which we didn't want to resort to. The whole experience was tiring, and it sure wore out Kamryn too. She has a time limit in a restaurant you know. These days she has a short time limit anywhere when a stroller or shopping cart is required too. Unfortunately she totally lives up to her being born in the year of the monkey and stands up and tries to climb out. Remind me, this is only a phase, right?

I love snuggling with my children, and bedtime has always been my favorite snuggle time with them. This song is one that I rocked the boys to sleep with at nighttime years ago, and I’m so thrilled that Kamryn and I have been able to snuggle to this song too. It reminds me that it is okay to have more than one dream, and that we should never stop dreaming. The next most important thing is to always follow those dreams, because when dreams come true, happiness overflows!

May All Your Dreams Come True
from The Rock-A-Bye Collection by Aaron Brown

I look at you here in my arms,
And I know that dreams come true.
Tonight life is sweet and
My dream’s complete,
So I offer this prayer just for you.

May all your dreams come true,
May life be good to you,
May happiness follow you your life through
May all your dreams come true.

Someday you’ll dream of a family
Children of your own
Perhaps you’ll sit in this same rocking chair
And sing your baby this song.

May all your dreams come true,
May life be good to you,
May happiness follow you your life through
May all your dreams come true.