Family Portraits - "A" & "J" Style

I had several really proud mommy moments lately and I just had to share a couple with you. "A" has been processing what it means to be a family and what adoption means for some time now, but we really thought "J" was sort of in a state of confusion about the whole thing. Well, the other day "J" came home with this drawing and told us it was our family. He identified each person in relationship to one another. This is the very first time he has ever done that! He's drawn pictures with some of us in it but never all of us! He told us that the first person on the left is "A" because he is the bigger brother, then himself, then Daddy and then Mommy. I thought, yay, he is catching on. Then yesterday when I was taking him to school, he asked me if we could tell his teacher his name is going to change. He said he keeps forgetting to tell her. I was THE proudest Momma when he and I walked up to her and he told her his new full name.

For comparison sake, here is one of "A"s first family portraits from February 2010. I remember thinking, "great, he thinks my hips are huge, but at least I have good hair!"

We couldn't be happier to be just ONE week away from officially becoming a forever family with our precious boys!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This past weekend was busy! I think this will be the case until after the New Year! Welcome to the holiday season! We are not complaining because it is such a fun kind of busy! But, I will probably be doing this weekend wrap up format for a while until things slow down.

Friday "A" had early dismissal and his thankful party at school. Basically the kids were at school for just a couple of hours and one of those hours was spent consuming tons of sugar and playing games! I told the teacher as we left that I knew what she was thankful for... That the thankful party was on early dismissal day so we can take these sugar crazed children home pretty soon! We were so excited because due to Jeff's new job and the opportunity to work from home he was able to come to the party this year! He worked basically all night the night before and then hurried back to work afterwards in order to make it possible. "A" just beamed when I told him about the sacrifice Daddy had made just for him! He sure loves his Daddy! Here they are working on a seasonal cross word puzzle! I LOVE watching my hubby with our boys! SO sweet!

Friday, we also had a parent/teacher conference at "J"s school. The Montessori method is an adjustment for us because the teachers don't communicate with us daily like we are used to. The conference offered us our first feed back and thankfully it was all good! "J" is learning quickly and adjusting well. He is very affectionate with all his friends too. I knew that though because every day when we get there he hugs all the kids and usually their mommys too! Definitely a little Romeo!

Saturday, our Sunday School class had a chili cook off! Jeff decided he wanted to compete. I didn't feel confident enough in my cooking to do it myself, so I was all for him giving it a try! I am so proud to report that he was the runner up! The winner Alison (pictured below with Jeff) is a super cook and it was pretty close so Jeff has every reason to be proud!
Here is what was left off his crock pot full of chili! It was a big hit and oh so yummy!
Sunday was full of fun and activity too! We went to church in the morning as usual and then went back in the evening for our church's observation of orphan Sunday. Oh and "A" ran to a birthday party in between! We also participated in a unique opportunity at church called Foundation of Prayer. Our church is expanding the building to accommodate the tremendous growth we have experienced in our children's ministry. All of the families were encouraged to write the names of our kids and those of any other children the Lord placed on our hearts on the foundation. The names will be prayed over (literally) for years to come and our prayer is that every child will come to know Jesus as the Lord of their life! Here I am writing the first memory verse we taught the boys Isaiah 43:1 and their names on the foundation of the second floor of the expansion.

They also had ink pads for the kids to leave their hand print on this canvas to be hung on the wall. We also got to take home a memento card with their hand print on it like the one framed in the left top corner of this picture.
Below is a close up of our growing boys' hand prints on the canvas! I love that their fingers overlapped! When "J" took his hand off the canvas, I saw remnants of the blue ink from "A"s hand print on his little red finger! Such sweet symbolism!
We love both our boys so dearly and feel honored to be their Mommy and Daddy! I am grateful our church gave us this opportunity to show our kiddos in such a tangible way how much they are valued by us and more importantly God!

Halloween Happenings

We did Halloween up big this year! It was a full weekend of fun! Friday night we went to "J"s school for their fall festival. Our boys were ALL about collecting candy, even if it meant doing a sack race to get to it. But, really let's face it...it is always a race at our house!

The school didn't allow masks so "A" decided not to wear his hulk costume sans mask. Instead he was a race car driver. In fact we had 3 costume changes for "A" this weekend. Each event we went to he wore a different costume that he got for his birthday from cousin Clayton.
On Saturday afternoon we went to our church's First Fest. It is always such a fun event with tons of inflatables, games, and festivities! "J" was such a cute little Superman! He got mad because his muscles got mushed when we buckled him into his car seat! Everywhere we turned people were chuckling at our little man with the BIG muscles!
"A" really showed some natural talent in the baseball themed games! He pitched in this one and swung the heck out of a ball and bat game.
"J" and Daddy had a pretty good system going on while "A" and I waited in line to ride a horse. Daddy let "J" eat a piece of candy for every one he shared with his Daddy. Smart Daddy!
"A" shocked us when he wanted to climb the rock wall. He had always been afraid of anything to do with heights but he was excited to try this! Way to go "A"!
Sunday night we went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. It was fun to do this for the first time with the boys! This time "A" was Iron Man. Our neighbors went all out with fun decorations, a lot of great candy, and hospitality!
This house definitely won for the most elaborate decorations. The kids went into the castle and it made sounds and blew smoke. Kind of spooky, but oh so fun!

Jeff was really into taking a picture of all the kids' "loot"! They each have a whole gallon size ziplock bag full of candy, but no worries...This mommy and daddy are in control of the bags and apportion out the candy very carefully!

October Catch Up

Where did the month of October go? Time has been flying by way too fast, but I am grateful for the change in seasons, cooler weather, and the upcoming Holidays. I love the fall/winter! We still haven't put the shorts up yet, but we at least have busted out some light jackets here in Houston. Such weird weather we have!

Anyway, let's play catch up on October in the Albus' home. "J" celebrated his 5th birthday on Oct. 11! He was so excited about his "Pump It Up Party!" We also celebrated him at his school. I went to his "celebration of life" at his school. Sort of a weird, secular, ceremony, but still sweet! I cried the night before because we had to make a poster with pictures and a description of "J" for each year of his life! The grief for the lost time and lack of pictures/stories of his first 3 years totally snuck up on me! But, in the end we are so very grateful for the time we do have with our sweet 5 year old!

Here "J" is carrying the globe around the rug. He went around one time for every year. The candles represent the sun. I told you it was sort of a funny ceremony.
"J" blowing out the candles at school with his "special friend" Lacey looking on. Isn't she precious?! They are quite a duo!
On "J"s actual birthday (also Columbus Day this year) we had the privileged of attending family camp with our adoption ministry from church! We did all kinds of attachment based activities with the kiddos and also learned more about connecting and correcting our sweet boys. Here Jeff is making our birthday boy into a hot dog! The whole group also sang "happy birthday" to "J" which our little extrovert ate up!
I treated "J" to pancakes for dinner as well! That lil' guy loves pancakes and having them for dinner is even more fun!
We also got to go to Dallas to celebrate sweet Drew's 2nd birthday! What a sweet little train conductor he made!
The boys loved riding in the real train with the other kiddos!
While we were in Dallas we just had to go to the State Fair. We missed it last year so this was the boys' first time to go!
Here they are planning our day with the map!
We went to the petting zoo but it was the last day of the fair and the animals were clearly not hungry for any more of the feed. Sweet "A" patiently held it out in the shovel anyway!
I am so jealous of this camel's eye lashes!
We love Big Tex!
And the Birds of the World show is also a huge favorite for our little family!
"A" was scared of the Ferris wheel at first but soon got distracted by the beautiful aerial view of the fair and sky line!

This green house was a new exhibit this year and I just thought it showcased some amazing craftsmanship! We had a blast in October! A Halloween post is coming soon so keep checking back!

Fellowship and Service are Rising

I have had these pictures loaded on the blog just waiting to be blogged about for almost a month. Oh my am I behind! I think it has something to do with how tired I am of posting the back of the kids' heads. But, in less than a month that will be no more!

We recently started a new Sunday School class with 11 other couples at our church. The class is called the Rising and we have already found such community with the other couples and membership is growing! It is rare to find this level of authenticity and a true desire to spur one another on in our walks with the Lord! We have a different mission project each month planned by a different couple each time and geared toward the kids being able to be involved as well. Our first month we served here...

Our kids scoped and bagged beans with all the other kiddos and "A" sweetly helped a gentleman sweep up after! He is really into cleaning, much more like his daddy than his mommy in this way!
Here "J" is sporting one of our class t-shirts with our class scripture.
We also recently went camping with several of the other families from the class. I was a little nervous about how the boys would do with that much room to roam, but the other couples (even those without kids) were so good about helping corral all the kids! I told you there was true community! Kristina was smart and brought those light up necklaces for the kids to wear so we could see them in the dark! She saved me from having a heart attack, I am sure of it! We made smores around a camp fire together too! So fun!
Here's my hubby after he put up our tent! I think this is the first time I have ever slept in a tent, but I'm sure not the last because our boys LOVED it!
We woke up to beautiful scenery and more sweet fellowship!

We had a great camping site right by the lake!
All the kids get along so well! They played together digging in the dirt and running around. Who needs toys when you have fun and creative play mates like these!?!
I think this game is called bauche ball, but whatever it is the boys enjoyed it!
This is "J" and his lil' friend Cole! They have played together several times because Cole's momma Summer is a sweet friend of mine!
Jeff and I "competed" in a couple's competition.Some how we "missed" all the other games (AKA my hubby was hiding) but horseshoes...

and this game whatever it is called where you hook this ring to the tree. Jeff was really good at it!

The boys enjoyed pounding the guts out of this pinata! "A" has some serious swing! Maybe we should try baseball!

Since the camping trip, the Rising has had another family service day at a nursing home. Our family made visits to several rooms praying for the residents, handing out gift bags and crafts the kids made. The kids also sang for the residents and helped them play bingo. The son of one of the residents told us he could truly tell how it brought joy to the residents who he says are often sad when he comes to visit! I love that our class is so dedicated to teaching our kids how to love God and serve Him through serving others!

This fresh perspective on what truly matters is really at the heart of how God is moving in our little family! He is calling us to simplicity. We are simplifying our schedule and prioritizing God and one another over more activities and things. I am pretty sure God is just beginning this work in us, but I am so grateful that He is teaching us this so early in our kids' lives. I would hate to look back in 10 years and wish we had modeled for them how to truly cherish family and be self sacrificing with their time and belongings!

Oh Happy Day!

Yesterday we received the phone call that we have been waiting for over 13 months to receive. We were given THE date. The date the courts catch up with what God sealed in our hearts from day one. Friday, Novemeber 19, 2010 is the day we will finalize "A" and "J"s adoption! We are going to be finalizing on a special day for the courts as they are celebrating National Adoption Day which is the next day. There will be a photographer present and a few other additional touches. It is just so neat how it worked out that we get to share our special day with others and celebrate not only our family, but adoption in general! This coming Tuesday we have our last home visit from the caseworker and agency worker. We will be doing the adoption placement at this time as well. We are so excited!! We are looking forward to forever with our precious boys! Thanks for your prayers on this journey. We have loved sharing our story with you and hope you will continue to follow us on all of the adventures to come. Oh, and soon, very soon...there will be ONLY full on face pictures of those sweet smiles!

Runners Up

YAY! We are runners up in the contest! $25 off....that is 25% off. Not too shabby! If you don't know what I am talking about scroll down or go to the link!