OH NO, MR. BILL!

Someone turned 43 around our house. And do not think for ONE minute that it was me. I'm way younger than that. I don't think Bill minds getting older. Maybe it's because the guy doesn't seem to age. And, if you ask me, he just keeps getting cuter and cuter.

We celebrated my Billy today with some of his favorite things.

A lunch date at Noodles...
Dinner at Red Robin with his peeps...
Switchfoot's brand new CD...
The Flirty...
Ice Cream (guess who else liked it too)...

Happy Birthday, Babe. Want you. Love you. Need You.

addendum: I was tossing and turning in the night because I felt bad about Bill's birthday. I didn't feel like I celebrated him enough. I felt like (other than the Switchfoot CD) the gift we got him wasn't something he wanted (it was clothes). Plus I said two really insensitive things to him that day. I asked for forgiveness and he granted it, but I kept replaying my rudeness in my head. And to top it all off, when he came back from his late night meeting on campus I was asleep on the couch, not welcoming him home with birthday wishes and kisses.

So this morning I went to tell him how sorry I was and before I could get anything out he hugged me and said "Thank you for making my birthday special." Once again, this man has shown me what God is like. Instead of focusing on what I didn't do, he focused on the fact that we were together. He was grateful for the gifts I gave him in love. And, best of all, he was forgiving...even when I couldn't forgive myself. So now, instead of thinking "I should have done more", I am relishing the fact that I have a love like this. Exactly what I want to do in my relationship with God.

Speaking of what God is like, check this out...

Click here to find out more.

We are on Cloud 9

For two reasons.

1) Our Luci May is 9 months today! The past month has been really significant as far as attachment goes. She now holds out her arms for Bill or me to hold her which melts me. She also gives hugs, especially when we get her out of bed. Every time I get her, she will give me a big hug. Then she'll pull back to look me over and smile. Then another hug. Pull back again for smiles and usually another hug. It's so dear. To celebrate her 9th month, here are two of my favorite poses of hers. The first is what we call the "flirty". You never know when she's gonna pull it out to charm the socks off anyone who is on the receiving end. It looks like this with the tilted head and coy smile...
The other pose, her Yoga Baby move, has a different kind of charm, but is just as flirty if you ask me...
We love you from every angle, Lulu!

2)We had a reunion with our travel buddies from Ethiopia. They came all the way from Oklahoma (the second best state in the USA, Christine) to spend the weekend with us. God knit our hearts together in Ethiopia, so we were on Cloud 9 to be with them again and get to know their precious kids!

Luci and Halina are BFF's, even though they don't realize it yet. They had fun playing...

And grabbing...
And posing (in matching dresses, of course)...

And hugging...
The babies aren't the only ones who got quality time to bond. There were the big girls...
And the boys...

Sweet Carter spent his own money to buy Jack a skateboard.

And the Daddies...
And maybe even a little time for the Mommies too...
Shopping at Target...

Don't we look happy? It's a proven fact: Target releases happy endorphins.

Here I am justifying my purchase of two pairs of shoes at TJ Maxx...

Don't judge me. Do you see how cute they are? Do you know how pathetic my shoe life has become after my foot surgeries?

Christine invited me to go on a run with her. I thought it might ruin our fun weekend to have me rushed to the ER, so I biked alongside her...

I knew my husband was going to take this unflattering shot (his hobby), so I was prepared by covering my bootie as best I could...

Why I oughtta!

All of this fun and bonding was built around a little college football rivalry. Our team won, but we didn't gloat. Except for taking this picture of Halina...
Can't wait 'til the next time!

Wading through a Sea of Fluff

You may have noticed that my blog posts have been rather, shall we say, fluffy of late. In general, I like fluff. I like predictable movies with happy endings. I read People magazine. But I think there has been an unintentional drift toward really fluffy posts since my Mom was diagnosed with cancer. That and we have a really cute baby around here who I just love to post pictures of.
I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

But for today at least, there is an intentional choice for a non-fluffy post. I think it is good for me to extend myself beyond "quirky stories of our daily activities peppered with cutesy pictures" in my little corner of the blog universe. I don't want to strain myself trying to write something meaningful, so I'll just post an excerpt from my journal. That way I know it is for real and not an a desperate attempt to not be shallow on my blog. This is a little scary for me because my inner thoughts are, indeed, a little scary. But here goes...

(Context: I had just read a chapter from "A Shelter from the Storm" by Paul David Tripp about waiting. Great book, btw.)

"After years of waiting regarding adoption, I don't feel like I'm waiting in my life right now. I don't want time to pass at all in fact. I want to freeze time with my Lulu this little. And with Tate wanting to hang out with his parents every Friday night. And our kids (mostly) getting along. And with Mommy feeling good and with us. I am longing for things NOT to change. Especially with Mommy.

But the common element in the "not waiting time" of late and the waiting time of the past is a longing. In both a longing has been within me for something I cannot make happen. I can not freeze time. Lulu will grow, thankfully, and cancer will grow in time too, unfortunately. Both out of my control. But in Yours, right? I need reassurance of that right now, Lord. Really, things aren't that hard right now. We are in a good season with our kids. Mommy feels okay and we are cherishing every moment with her. But hard days are ahead for sure. And I need to know the answer to that question deep down.

Because that affects another question, who will I be in those hard days? If I avoid You now, as I have been doing, and try to insulate myself from pain, I don't think I will have a very deep well to draw from when the going gets tougher. I guess the real question is, who will YOU be in those hard days? The same as You are today when pain is on the horizon, but the sun is still shining. The same as You were the day we held Lulu in our arms for the first time, feeling as if we were touching a miracle. The same as You were the day Daddy died. The same as You are on the days I sit on the kitchen floor and cry b/c my life doesn't make sense. The same as the days when my life seems like it couldn't get any better.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Really? Cause it doesn't feel like it. But I have seen it to be true again and again. And I've felt You to be real in all the above and a million other circumstances and whacked out emotions.

So let me draw near to you TODAY. A pretty good day. Because the not-so-good days and really awful days are bound to come. And I want to have you around for all of them. You are mine...everyday."

P.S. I'm not giving up fluffy posts. I like fluff and I need it in my life. I just don't want to use it as an escape.

In case you've been wondering who is in the driver's seat around here these days, take a look...


Yep.

A quiet house ain't all it's cracked up to be

Last week my older three kids had Fall Break. We didn't go anywhere exotic, unless you count Gunga's house, but we were together. Which meant that it was LOUD around here. And lots of fun. Our activities included

playing games...

Lulu makes a great Uno partner

playing with Lulu...

playing outside...

sleeping in and wearing jammies all day...

I so enjoy the time with Luci each day, but we both miss our big kids! I can have quiet when Bill and I are empty nesters, BRING ON THE NOISE!

A Better Holiday

Yesterday was Halloween as I'm sure you know. I loved that it was on a Saturday. Gunga and Grandma were with us...
We managed to scrape together some costumes...
Lulu was berry cute as a strawberry...
Jack was the Karate Kid...
Emmie was Candy Corn...
She was frustrated that people didn't know what she was, so she made this sign...
I had to veto that. I told her I'd explain why later. Like 10 years later.

Tate was a Ghostbuster...
And I was Sydney Bristow from Alias. Lulu wasn't too sure about the bright red wig...
Later my nephew had some fun with the wig. It looks like a bad comb-over...
Is there such a thing as a "good comb-over"?

My friends got into the celebration too. Robrenna gave me an idea for doing Lulu's hair in the future...
I'm trying to do my sexy look in the picture. I know, it doesn't work. Never has, never will.

And Rachel scored points with the most creative costume...
She was a cougar.

The kids enjoyed their loot...
In the above picture, Tate used Luci's play garden as a fortress to protect his candy.

Our neighbors even had a treat for Lulu...
Sadly there was not even one Mr. Goodbar in the bunch and only one extra Almond Joy. Depressing. But the good news is the candy is half off now!

The night ended with jumping on the tramp with cousins. We never can seem to succeed at our High School Musical jump pictures...
That's one holiday behind us, but a there is a better holiday we are celebrating today. Luci May Rediet has been home three months. Happy Homecoming, Lulu! What did we ever do without you?