Right now I have a love/hate relationship with Chick-fil-A. I love their food. And customer service. And coupons. And that I can take the kids to play at their play place when it's too hot to be at the park. I was thinking I would love their Kids' Korner time. I could meet other moms, the kiddos could play with other kids. It was a win-win situation, in which free decaf coffee came along with the deal!
But it didn't turn out as good as I had envisioned.
Carson and Coralyn did have fun playing with the legos, blocks, and play dough. They enjoyed coloring pictures. They went down the slide a few times. I got to chat with some other moms and sip my decaf coffee, though all I really wanted to do at the time was go into the bathroom and throw up because I felt so nauseated with morning sickness. With that slight exception, all was going extremely well, until it came time for the story.
That's when the Chick-fil-A Cow came out to greet all the kids and read the story with them. Carson loved the cow, gave him hugs and high fives. Coralyn was terrified of the cow. Her eyes got big and she screamed when she saw him. She wouldn't go in the play place area during the story time or even be where she could see inside and get a glimpse of the cow. So while Carson helped lead the story hour (literally!), Coralyn sat on my lap, her face hidden in my chest, and cried her lungs out.
As we left, I told Coralyn the cow was gone. She asked if he was back at the farm, so I figured, sure, that sounds like a reasonable idea, let's go with that. The cow went bye-bye to his farm and isn't coming back. I thought we were done with the cow.
But no...come nap time, Coralyn will not lay down. She asks again and again about the cow. Yes, yes, yes, he is at the farm. He's even going night-night right now and won't bother you. After much persuading and comforting, she finally took a nap.
Again, I thought we were done with the cow. Again, I was wrong. When Lawrence came home from work, all she would talk about was the cow. That he went bye-bye to the farm. His black shoes and red shirt. That he was on the farm. That he was big. That he was on the farm. Did I mention the cow was on the farm? That seemed to be a very important point for Coralyn. You would think she said it enough that she would have realized he was there and not coming to our house. But oh no...
When it was time for bed, she went right in to her room, climbed up on her bed, and we read our stories and then the Bible. All normal. We prayed and turned out the lamp. She cries out that she has to go to the bathroom, so we make one last trip to the potty and back to bed we go. Not two minutes later she is up out of her bed, at the door, holding a diaper and an extra pair of shorts saying she has to go potty again. This happened several more times. And each time she would ask if the cow was still at the farm. Finally, I rocked her to try to get her to calm down and go to sleep. She was just about asleep in my arms when she startles and looks up at me with scared eyes and yet again asks if the cow is at the farm. I assured her yet again that he was gone. I laid down in bed with her, and right as she falls asleep she jumps up, eyes wide, and screams about the cow. The girl is seriously have nightmares or something about this cow!
I guess she felt safer in her crib, that the cow wouldn't be able to get her there. So I laid her in the crib, gave her Nana (her monkey) and Bear-Bear, her blanket, and she was fast asleep before I got back to the couch.
As soon as she woke up this morning, she was asking about the cow. I knew I had a long day ahead of me!
And now it's nap time. Yet again, the child will not go to sleep. We've tried both the big girl bed and the crib. We are on round 4, or 6, I'm not sure. But hopefully, she will go to sleep. And get over her fear of cows!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Mommy Wow, I'm a Big Girl Now!
I don't know if I can say that Coralyn is fully potty-trained, but we have very few accidents. But wearing big girl pants is not what I am referring to this time.
Last night Coralyn slept in her big girl bed, the whole entire night! She didn't come out of her room at all, until about 8:30 this morning!
We tried the big girl bed on Saturday night, with hesitation. But when we told her it was bedtime, she went right into her room and climbed up on her toddler bed. So we figured we might as well give it a try (she's been doing quite well during nap time). Poor thing ended up falling off the bed twice! We tried putting a cushion by the bed, but the second time she fell she somehow managed to miss the cushion entirely. So into the crib we went. I was actually impressed we had made it all the way to 1 am!
Last night when she insisted on sleeping in her big girl bed, I again had my misgivings. But we've got to start sometime, so why not now? In to bed she went, and she stayed there the whole night. Lawrence did go check on her once around 10 pm, but she was fine. I heard her wake up several times during the night, but she never cried out for us or got out of her bed. She must have put herself right back
to sleep.
Taking a nap (this would explain how she fell out of bed)
I am so proud of my baby girl, who's turning out not to be a baby anymore!
She impresses me more and more every day actually. This morning it was during "school time." When we got back from the library, it was raining, so I let Carson and Coralyn watch a movie...about shapes (can't get the teacher out of me, it's got to be educational!). After the movie, I had them do a worksheet I made up. They had to glue shapes I had cut out onto the paper where I had traced the outline of each shape. Coralyn did the whole thing by herself, correctly matching a square, triangle, rectangle, circle, and heart. She even named the circle and heart! Later, we were doing puzzles, and she did an entire puzzle (dealing with shapes) all on her own! Sure makes this teacher-mama proud!
Corlayn reading a book
Last night Coralyn slept in her big girl bed, the whole entire night! She didn't come out of her room at all, until about 8:30 this morning!
We tried the big girl bed on Saturday night, with hesitation. But when we told her it was bedtime, she went right into her room and climbed up on her toddler bed. So we figured we might as well give it a try (she's been doing quite well during nap time). Poor thing ended up falling off the bed twice! We tried putting a cushion by the bed, but the second time she fell she somehow managed to miss the cushion entirely. So into the crib we went. I was actually impressed we had made it all the way to 1 am!
Last night when she insisted on sleeping in her big girl bed, I again had my misgivings. But we've got to start sometime, so why not now? In to bed she went, and she stayed there the whole night. Lawrence did go check on her once around 10 pm, but she was fine. I heard her wake up several times during the night, but she never cried out for us or got out of her bed. She must have put herself right back
to sleep.
Taking a nap (this would explain how she fell out of bed)
I am so proud of my baby girl, who's turning out not to be a baby anymore!
She impresses me more and more every day actually. This morning it was during "school time." When we got back from the library, it was raining, so I let Carson and Coralyn watch a movie...about shapes (can't get the teacher out of me, it's got to be educational!). After the movie, I had them do a worksheet I made up. They had to glue shapes I had cut out onto the paper where I had traced the outline of each shape. Coralyn did the whole thing by herself, correctly matching a square, triangle, rectangle, circle, and heart. She even named the circle and heart! Later, we were doing puzzles, and she did an entire puzzle (dealing with shapes) all on her own! Sure makes this teacher-mama proud!
Corlayn reading a book
Friday, August 19, 2011
Where's My Shadow?
I'm not sure if Coralyn has figured out what a shadow actually is yet. She has never gotten overly excited about seeing her shadow when we are playing outside. But she's probably too busy to take the time to notice she even has a shadow.
But that's not the shadow I a talking about today.
Coralyn has definitely noticed that our Shadow is missing and wants to know where he has gone. Every morning when she wakes up, she asks first about Daddy and then about Shadow. For the past 4 days now, the answer has been the same, "Daddy's at work. Shadow had to go bye-bye." This satisfies her for awhile, maybe 2 seconds, until we walk past Shadow's room. And then she says his name again. I tell her again that he had to go bye-bye, and she is okay, until we get to the kitchen. As I put her in her chair, she points to where Shadow used to sit and again says his name. She says his name a lot...whenever she plays with her cars (as he LOVED to play with cars) or when we go out through the garage and she sees his bike that is still here (until someone can come and pick it up for him) or when we get into the Yukon and she points to where he usually sat or when she opens the cupboard and sees a bag of chips (he liked Fire Cheetos quite a bit!). Everything seems to remind her of Shadow...the trampoline where they would jump together (or she would watch him jump), turning on the Wii and hearing the intro music (he played the Wii A LOT!), or a football he got for his birthday.
And every time she says Shadow's name, remembering him and wondering where he has gone, I pause and pray for him. I don't have any idea where he is now or what kind of family he is living with or if he has started school yet. So as I wonder about him, I pray...that he will make good choices, choose good friends, have the opportunity to go to church and learn about Jesus, trust in Jesus as His Savior, and thus be able to live a completely different life from what he has known these past 12 years. I pray he will taste and see that the Lord is good, that Jesus is what it's all about, and that he'll be able to enjoy the abundant life God is offering him.
Will you please keep praying for him too? The next time you see your shadow, will you think of our Shadow and take a moment to pray for him?
But that's not the shadow I a talking about today.
Coralyn has definitely noticed that our Shadow is missing and wants to know where he has gone. Every morning when she wakes up, she asks first about Daddy and then about Shadow. For the past 4 days now, the answer has been the same, "Daddy's at work. Shadow had to go bye-bye." This satisfies her for awhile, maybe 2 seconds, until we walk past Shadow's room. And then she says his name again. I tell her again that he had to go bye-bye, and she is okay, until we get to the kitchen. As I put her in her chair, she points to where Shadow used to sit and again says his name. She says his name a lot...whenever she plays with her cars (as he LOVED to play with cars) or when we go out through the garage and she sees his bike that is still here (until someone can come and pick it up for him) or when we get into the Yukon and she points to where he usually sat or when she opens the cupboard and sees a bag of chips (he liked Fire Cheetos quite a bit!). Everything seems to remind her of Shadow...the trampoline where they would jump together (or she would watch him jump), turning on the Wii and hearing the intro music (he played the Wii A LOT!), or a football he got for his birthday.
And every time she says Shadow's name, remembering him and wondering where he has gone, I pause and pray for him. I don't have any idea where he is now or what kind of family he is living with or if he has started school yet. So as I wonder about him, I pray...that he will make good choices, choose good friends, have the opportunity to go to church and learn about Jesus, trust in Jesus as His Savior, and thus be able to live a completely different life from what he has known these past 12 years. I pray he will taste and see that the Lord is good, that Jesus is what it's all about, and that he'll be able to enjoy the abundant life God is offering him.
Will you please keep praying for him too? The next time you see your shadow, will you think of our Shadow and take a moment to pray for him?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Back to Normal
Well, I guess life is back to normal now. If there even is a normal anymore!
Yesterday, I was kind of paranoid about Shadow's dad coming to our house. I even called the Liberty Police Patrol to ask them to drive by a couple of times throughout the day. I didn't spend much time at home in the morning anyway. Coralyn and I kept busy running errands, some of which I think I made up just to have something to do and keep my mind occupied.
Not that I didn't have lots to think about though. Around 8:30 yesterday morning I got a call asking if we would be willing/able to take in THREE new kiddos! "Um, how old are they?" is my first question, as I think about my family going from 3 to 6 in a matter of minutes! Hearing that the kiddos were 1, 2 and 1/2, and 5 and 1/2 made my heart do a little flip. I wasn't exactly sure we could handle that many little ones. But I sure wanted to talk to Lawrence before I made any decisions, and figure out a way we could open our home, and hearts, to these children.
I got some more background information and then headed to his school to discuss the possibility of adding THREE kids to our family, giving us a total of 4 kids ages 5 and under! He needed time to process and think through the decision clearly, so I left him to work on getting ready for the first day of school and headed home to get the rooms ready in case we did decide to foster these precious kiddos.
I changed the curtain to a monkey one we got specifically for younger kids, moved the bunk beds a bit, arranged the dresser and bookshelf so I could fit a pack n' play in the room that would be for the boys (ages 1 and 5 and 1/2). I brought up lots of Clifford and Dr. Suess books, along with some of Coralyn's younger aged toys. I picked out a stuffed animal for each of the boys and made their beds. I couldn't get Coralyn's room ready since she was taking a nap, but in my mind I was figuring out how to arrange furniture, make room in the closet for more clothes, and anything else I would need to do so that Coralyn could share the room with the little girl (2 and 1/2).
I was all ready and excited and thinking it would be challenging and keep me very busy, but that we could do it, especially since the older boy would be in kindergarten during the day.
Then the baby kicked, as if saying, "Hey don't forget about me!" I realized that come December we wouldn't have a bed for our new addition! Well, I reasoned, she can sleep in our room for awhile. We can borrow a bassinet or cradle from someone, and the baby will be fine. That is the plan anyway, whether we have foster kids or not. But what happens when the baby outgrows the bassinet and needs a crib? We don't have room in Coralyn's room for two toddler beds and a crib. No matter how we arrange the furniture, it just won't work. Not to mention having a dresser big enough for clothes for THREE girls!
My heart sunk. We would have to say no. I hate saying no, especially when someone needs my help. Especially when innocent children are involved. I know that we can't help them all, but I sure would like to be able to! I know we can't go past our limits or else we aren't really do any good. But it still breaks my heart. So with sadness I called the agency this morning to let them know we had decided we just couldn't take these three precious kiddos. Call us again though! We will be able to say yes to others. So please keep calling.
And because I never know when the phone will ring, or when it does how that phone call might drastically change my life, I have decided that I don't really know what normal is anymore. I guess for today normal is loving on Lawrence and Coralyn, and taking care of Carson during the day. So for now, normal is good, very good.
Who knows what normal will be tomorrow? :)
Yesterday, I was kind of paranoid about Shadow's dad coming to our house. I even called the Liberty Police Patrol to ask them to drive by a couple of times throughout the day. I didn't spend much time at home in the morning anyway. Coralyn and I kept busy running errands, some of which I think I made up just to have something to do and keep my mind occupied.
Not that I didn't have lots to think about though. Around 8:30 yesterday morning I got a call asking if we would be willing/able to take in THREE new kiddos! "Um, how old are they?" is my first question, as I think about my family going from 3 to 6 in a matter of minutes! Hearing that the kiddos were 1, 2 and 1/2, and 5 and 1/2 made my heart do a little flip. I wasn't exactly sure we could handle that many little ones. But I sure wanted to talk to Lawrence before I made any decisions, and figure out a way we could open our home, and hearts, to these children.
I got some more background information and then headed to his school to discuss the possibility of adding THREE kids to our family, giving us a total of 4 kids ages 5 and under! He needed time to process and think through the decision clearly, so I left him to work on getting ready for the first day of school and headed home to get the rooms ready in case we did decide to foster these precious kiddos.
I changed the curtain to a monkey one we got specifically for younger kids, moved the bunk beds a bit, arranged the dresser and bookshelf so I could fit a pack n' play in the room that would be for the boys (ages 1 and 5 and 1/2). I brought up lots of Clifford and Dr. Suess books, along with some of Coralyn's younger aged toys. I picked out a stuffed animal for each of the boys and made their beds. I couldn't get Coralyn's room ready since she was taking a nap, but in my mind I was figuring out how to arrange furniture, make room in the closet for more clothes, and anything else I would need to do so that Coralyn could share the room with the little girl (2 and 1/2).
I was all ready and excited and thinking it would be challenging and keep me very busy, but that we could do it, especially since the older boy would be in kindergarten during the day.
Then the baby kicked, as if saying, "Hey don't forget about me!" I realized that come December we wouldn't have a bed for our new addition! Well, I reasoned, she can sleep in our room for awhile. We can borrow a bassinet or cradle from someone, and the baby will be fine. That is the plan anyway, whether we have foster kids or not. But what happens when the baby outgrows the bassinet and needs a crib? We don't have room in Coralyn's room for two toddler beds and a crib. No matter how we arrange the furniture, it just won't work. Not to mention having a dresser big enough for clothes for THREE girls!
My heart sunk. We would have to say no. I hate saying no, especially when someone needs my help. Especially when innocent children are involved. I know that we can't help them all, but I sure would like to be able to! I know we can't go past our limits or else we aren't really do any good. But it still breaks my heart. So with sadness I called the agency this morning to let them know we had decided we just couldn't take these three precious kiddos. Call us again though! We will be able to say yes to others. So please keep calling.
And because I never know when the phone will ring, or when it does how that phone call might drastically change my life, I have decided that I don't really know what normal is anymore. I guess for today normal is loving on Lawrence and Coralyn, and taking care of Carson during the day. So for now, normal is good, very good.
Who knows what normal will be tomorrow? :)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Empty
That is how my heart feels. Well, actually it feels quite full, and even overflowing at times, of emotion, but in a sense there is an empty space.
My house feels empty this morning too. Because we now have an empty bedroom. A bedroom that was full of Shadow yesterday now only contains remnants of his presence with us the past two weeks.
"Wait a second!" You are probably thinking to yourselves. "Didn't Sarah just blog about how wonderfully the party went and how Shadow responded so positively to all the people coming and supporting him?"
Yes, Yes, I did. But what a difference a few hours can make.
Almost as soon as I was done blogging about the successful birthday party, I got a call from Shadow's caseworker. She wanted to let me know that Shadow's dad had been picked up by the Buckner police for threatening his girlfriend with a knife. After being taken in by the police, Shadow's dad proceeded to threaten to slit anyone's throat who had a part in his son being "taken." To add to the drama, he confided that he knew our address and had planned on being at our church on Sunday morning. I thought these were empty threats at first, as I naively believed Shadow had no way of contacting his dad, let alone getting him this specific of information. Oh how wrong I was!
After catching my breath and trying to calm my pulsing heart, I went upstairs and told Shadow we should start cleaning and organizing his room. Thankfully, this was a pre-planned idea, as I would never have been able to just waltz in his room and just start going through his stuff since I was home alone with Shadow and Coralyn (who took an amazing 3 and a half hour nap that allowed me to get everything done that I needed to yesterday afternoon during the chaotic hours before Lawrence got home). I had promised I would help him make space in his room for all his new birthday stuff, so in we went to get the job done. What he didn't know was that I was on the look for a cell phone and anything else that might need to be confiscated.
I didn't think I would find anything, or at least I didn't want to. We had helped him unpack the first night he was in our home and didn't see anything noteworthy at that time, so I figured all was well. Again, how wrong I was! Not only did I find a cell phone (which he claimed didn't work, but I wasn't born yesterday and know that when you push a button and the screen comes on that the phone works). The phone went directly into my pocket, despite Shadow's pleas that it was broken and he just wanted to throw it away. Upon further searching, I mean "cleaning," I found about 5 lighters (he was expelled from school for having lighters and using them). They also went in my pocket. Next, I found what I thought was a box of matches, but when I opened it, I found used cigarettes and some other stuff I didn't recognize (found out later it was indeed drugs, which he has used in the past). Finally, I found a credit card that definitely didn't belong to Shadow, or anyone in his family based on the names I knew from his records. So with my pockets full, and Shadow's room much cleaner, I called the case worker to let her know what I had found.
I tried to use the phone to find text messages, and did. I was shaking too much to be of any good though, so I had to wait until Lawrence got home to do some further searching. Unfortunately, he had Back to School Night (where students and parents come to meet their teachers before school starts) and wouldn't be home until later than usual. As soon as he got home though, he was able to look through the phone and found text messages indicating that Shadow had indeed given his dad the exact address of our church. He had texted some other pretty specific information as well, making it clear that it was no longer safe for Shadow to be in our home.
After much prayer (and hair pulling) we decided that Shadow would have to leave our home immediately. Thankfully, God provided a foster home for him to stay at until Wednesday. At that point he will be moved yet again. I'm not sure if the police will be involved due to the drugs in his possession. All I know is that my heart breaks for this young boy who has grown up in a terrible environment. He doesn't seem to realize how dangerous his dad is or what kind of awful lifestyle he is living. How I pray that he will choose a different path!
I know Shadow was only in our home for two short weeks, but I pray those days make a difference in his life. I know that we followed God's lead and were supposed to have Shadow in our home, but I am saddened about how things turned out. I guess that is part of following after God, you don't know all the details. You just trust Him and take one step at a time. And we will keep on following Him, as we truly believe He has called us to foster parent and open our home, and hearts, to these children who so desperately need love.
Please pray for our continued safety as this situation works itself out, and please pray for Shadow as he transitions yet again. If anyone needs a miracle, he does!
And so as I get ready to go about my day, my heart is both extremely full, yet empty.
My house feels empty this morning too. Because we now have an empty bedroom. A bedroom that was full of Shadow yesterday now only contains remnants of his presence with us the past two weeks.
"Wait a second!" You are probably thinking to yourselves. "Didn't Sarah just blog about how wonderfully the party went and how Shadow responded so positively to all the people coming and supporting him?"
Yes, Yes, I did. But what a difference a few hours can make.
Almost as soon as I was done blogging about the successful birthday party, I got a call from Shadow's caseworker. She wanted to let me know that Shadow's dad had been picked up by the Buckner police for threatening his girlfriend with a knife. After being taken in by the police, Shadow's dad proceeded to threaten to slit anyone's throat who had a part in his son being "taken." To add to the drama, he confided that he knew our address and had planned on being at our church on Sunday morning. I thought these were empty threats at first, as I naively believed Shadow had no way of contacting his dad, let alone getting him this specific of information. Oh how wrong I was!
After catching my breath and trying to calm my pulsing heart, I went upstairs and told Shadow we should start cleaning and organizing his room. Thankfully, this was a pre-planned idea, as I would never have been able to just waltz in his room and just start going through his stuff since I was home alone with Shadow and Coralyn (who took an amazing 3 and a half hour nap that allowed me to get everything done that I needed to yesterday afternoon during the chaotic hours before Lawrence got home). I had promised I would help him make space in his room for all his new birthday stuff, so in we went to get the job done. What he didn't know was that I was on the look for a cell phone and anything else that might need to be confiscated.
I didn't think I would find anything, or at least I didn't want to. We had helped him unpack the first night he was in our home and didn't see anything noteworthy at that time, so I figured all was well. Again, how wrong I was! Not only did I find a cell phone (which he claimed didn't work, but I wasn't born yesterday and know that when you push a button and the screen comes on that the phone works). The phone went directly into my pocket, despite Shadow's pleas that it was broken and he just wanted to throw it away. Upon further searching, I mean "cleaning," I found about 5 lighters (he was expelled from school for having lighters and using them). They also went in my pocket. Next, I found what I thought was a box of matches, but when I opened it, I found used cigarettes and some other stuff I didn't recognize (found out later it was indeed drugs, which he has used in the past). Finally, I found a credit card that definitely didn't belong to Shadow, or anyone in his family based on the names I knew from his records. So with my pockets full, and Shadow's room much cleaner, I called the case worker to let her know what I had found.
I tried to use the phone to find text messages, and did. I was shaking too much to be of any good though, so I had to wait until Lawrence got home to do some further searching. Unfortunately, he had Back to School Night (where students and parents come to meet their teachers before school starts) and wouldn't be home until later than usual. As soon as he got home though, he was able to look through the phone and found text messages indicating that Shadow had indeed given his dad the exact address of our church. He had texted some other pretty specific information as well, making it clear that it was no longer safe for Shadow to be in our home.
After much prayer (and hair pulling) we decided that Shadow would have to leave our home immediately. Thankfully, God provided a foster home for him to stay at until Wednesday. At that point he will be moved yet again. I'm not sure if the police will be involved due to the drugs in his possession. All I know is that my heart breaks for this young boy who has grown up in a terrible environment. He doesn't seem to realize how dangerous his dad is or what kind of awful lifestyle he is living. How I pray that he will choose a different path!
I know Shadow was only in our home for two short weeks, but I pray those days make a difference in his life. I know that we followed God's lead and were supposed to have Shadow in our home, but I am saddened about how things turned out. I guess that is part of following after God, you don't know all the details. You just trust Him and take one step at a time. And we will keep on following Him, as we truly believe He has called us to foster parent and open our home, and hearts, to these children who so desperately need love.
Please pray for our continued safety as this situation works itself out, and please pray for Shadow as he transitions yet again. If anyone needs a miracle, he does!
And so as I get ready to go about my day, my heart is both extremely full, yet empty.
Monday, August 15, 2011
P-A-R-T-Y!
The birthday party was a huge success, thanks to all our friends and family who came to support Shadow. We were blown away by their kindness and generosity (seriously, the kid came away loaded with toys, clothes, and tons of other cool stuff). And the best part of all was that I really think (or at least hope) Shadow saw all those people and realized that they truly care about him. He prayed out loud for the first time last night, and his words broke my heart:
"I want to thank You for all the people who came to the party and thank You for
all the cool stuff they gave me. Please bless them for giving me such great
presents. I don't really have anyone right now, so thank You for the party and
please bless them."
To be honest, I wasn't sure how the party was going to go. I didn't have very high hopes after some of our friends introduced themselves at church, and Shadow just sat there ho-hum and didn't really try to interact with them, even though they have a boy very near his age. However, God blew me away at the party -- not just in how Shadow played with the kids who came, but with how many people came and the generosity of their gifts!
We invited about 10-15 families, and I think almost every single one of them came. I'm not sure exactly how many people came, but I know Lawrence cooked 24 hamburgers and 40 hotdogs. We only had about 8 hotdogs at the end of the night! I'm really glad that the weather was so nice because I don't think everyone could have fit in our house! We ate in the backyard, and the kids ran around, played laddergolf, bags, jumped on the trampoline, played on the swingset, or hid in the empty frog-shaped sandbox. And after Shadow opened his gifts, there was a quick game of football!
Speaking of gifts, the kid was buried in presents! We brought them all from the coffee table to the trampoline, and I think the poor trampoline about gave way from the weight of the presents (not to mention all the kids sitting on the trampoline "helping" Shadow open his gifts)! People were so generous, and got him clothes (which he tried on immediately after everyone was gone), model cars (two of which he has already assembled this morning), monster trucks (which make really cool sounds -- a given since they're from my brother-in-law who always gives Coralyn presents that make obnoxious noises), drawing supplies (which he proudly showed us last night, especially emphasizing the erasable colored pencils), 2 footballs (1 of which got used immediately), a couple of frisbies, a hat, a basketball Wii game (which he has played for over an hour this morning), and I can't even remember what all else. Basically, the kid is now loaded with cool stuff! And we are blown away by how generous everyone was! They don't know Shadow from Adam, and yet they came to his party and brought him some really nice things. We are so grateful! Not just because he got nice presents (and we would never be able to afford to get him all that stuff), but because he saw what the love of Jesus looks like lived out by normal people. He saw that God does care about him, by means of all the people who came to his party. And maybe, just maybe, that heart of his is softening. I pray it is.
I know that one birthday party isn't going to undo 11 years of no birthday parties. Or that a couple weeks in our house isn't going to undo the 12 years he has had in the world, and all that he has learned there. But it's a start. A really good one! And it gives me the hope I need to carry on, to keep on going, to keep giving of myself even when I am exhausted and don't see much progress. It gives me hope that we can make a difference. Now I don't really know who was more blessed by the birthday party: Shadow or me?!
"I want to thank You for all the people who came to the party and thank You for
all the cool stuff they gave me. Please bless them for giving me such great
presents. I don't really have anyone right now, so thank You for the party and
please bless them."
To be honest, I wasn't sure how the party was going to go. I didn't have very high hopes after some of our friends introduced themselves at church, and Shadow just sat there ho-hum and didn't really try to interact with them, even though they have a boy very near his age. However, God blew me away at the party -- not just in how Shadow played with the kids who came, but with how many people came and the generosity of their gifts!
We invited about 10-15 families, and I think almost every single one of them came. I'm not sure exactly how many people came, but I know Lawrence cooked 24 hamburgers and 40 hotdogs. We only had about 8 hotdogs at the end of the night! I'm really glad that the weather was so nice because I don't think everyone could have fit in our house! We ate in the backyard, and the kids ran around, played laddergolf, bags, jumped on the trampoline, played on the swingset, or hid in the empty frog-shaped sandbox. And after Shadow opened his gifts, there was a quick game of football!
Speaking of gifts, the kid was buried in presents! We brought them all from the coffee table to the trampoline, and I think the poor trampoline about gave way from the weight of the presents (not to mention all the kids sitting on the trampoline "helping" Shadow open his gifts)! People were so generous, and got him clothes (which he tried on immediately after everyone was gone), model cars (two of which he has already assembled this morning), monster trucks (which make really cool sounds -- a given since they're from my brother-in-law who always gives Coralyn presents that make obnoxious noises), drawing supplies (which he proudly showed us last night, especially emphasizing the erasable colored pencils), 2 footballs (1 of which got used immediately), a couple of frisbies, a hat, a basketball Wii game (which he has played for over an hour this morning), and I can't even remember what all else. Basically, the kid is now loaded with cool stuff! And we are blown away by how generous everyone was! They don't know Shadow from Adam, and yet they came to his party and brought him some really nice things. We are so grateful! Not just because he got nice presents (and we would never be able to afford to get him all that stuff), but because he saw what the love of Jesus looks like lived out by normal people. He saw that God does care about him, by means of all the people who came to his party. And maybe, just maybe, that heart of his is softening. I pray it is.
I know that one birthday party isn't going to undo 11 years of no birthday parties. Or that a couple weeks in our house isn't going to undo the 12 years he has had in the world, and all that he has learned there. But it's a start. A really good one! And it gives me the hope I need to carry on, to keep on going, to keep giving of myself even when I am exhausted and don't see much progress. It gives me hope that we can make a difference. Now I don't really know who was more blessed by the birthday party: Shadow or me?!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Big 1-2!
Shadow's birthday was yesterday. He turned 12. On Sunday, he will have his first birthday party, ever! Even though the party isn't until this weekend, we wanted to make his actual birthday super special.
He's only been with us for one week, but we still had some good ideas of what to get him. Hot wheels, a basketball hoop and ball for his room, and Wii motorcycle game. Oh, and an alarm clock (but that's not as fun, just practical -- but very necessary once school starts next week and he'll be in charge of getting himself up on time). To start the day, we let Shadow sleep in as late as he wanted, which ended up being until about 10! When he finally got up, we did a rousing version of "Happy Birthday," singing in the most annoying, off-pitch voices we could muster (which wasn't too hard for me). When he flopped down on the couch, we suggested he might want to meander into the kitchen. He did, and saw his presents on the table. "Holy Moly!" was his immediate reaction, which made me feel really good inside because I figured he must feel special and that the day was off to a good start.
He opened his presents, and we even got a smile out of him as he did. Though we did have to "force" him to smile as he held up all his presents.
Then we finally got to eat breakfast: biscuits and gravy, per his request. I have only made biscuits and gravy about three times in my entire life, but they must have tasted good, because Shadow gobbled them down like there was no tomorrow.
Lawrence and him headed to the gym, and when they got back we went to McDonalds for lunch. Now if you know me, you know that required a whole lot of love on my part. I actually ordered my very first Happy Meal, for Coralyn. I actually had to ask for help! We ate and then had some fun at the Play Place. I'm not sure who played more: Coralyn or Shadow? :)
All afternoon Lawrence and Shadow hung out. It was Lawrence's last official day of summer, so Shadow was lucky to have him the whole entire day! They played laddergolf, shot some hoops, played on the Wii, and just had guy time. Later, we all went to the community center for a swim. I swear Shadow is half fish, as he wants to go swimming, every single day! I think he would live at the pool if we let him :)
We grabbed some school supplies from Wal-Mart and then had spaghetti for supper, once again Shadow's request. The cake will wait until Sunday when we have the big party. I am excited about the big event and looking forward to sharing this special memory with him. I am so thankful to all our friends and family who are coming to help make this a super day for Shadow. We couldn't do any of this without their support and prayers.
With that said, I will keep you posted on how the birthday party turns out. For now, I need to get some stuff done while both toddlers are asleep (Carson is back today! Coralyn was so excited to wake up to find her best buddy here this morning!).
He's only been with us for one week, but we still had some good ideas of what to get him. Hot wheels, a basketball hoop and ball for his room, and Wii motorcycle game. Oh, and an alarm clock (but that's not as fun, just practical -- but very necessary once school starts next week and he'll be in charge of getting himself up on time). To start the day, we let Shadow sleep in as late as he wanted, which ended up being until about 10! When he finally got up, we did a rousing version of "Happy Birthday," singing in the most annoying, off-pitch voices we could muster (which wasn't too hard for me). When he flopped down on the couch, we suggested he might want to meander into the kitchen. He did, and saw his presents on the table. "Holy Moly!" was his immediate reaction, which made me feel really good inside because I figured he must feel special and that the day was off to a good start.
He opened his presents, and we even got a smile out of him as he did. Though we did have to "force" him to smile as he held up all his presents.
Then we finally got to eat breakfast: biscuits and gravy, per his request. I have only made biscuits and gravy about three times in my entire life, but they must have tasted good, because Shadow gobbled them down like there was no tomorrow.
Lawrence and him headed to the gym, and when they got back we went to McDonalds for lunch. Now if you know me, you know that required a whole lot of love on my part. I actually ordered my very first Happy Meal, for Coralyn. I actually had to ask for help! We ate and then had some fun at the Play Place. I'm not sure who played more: Coralyn or Shadow? :)
All afternoon Lawrence and Shadow hung out. It was Lawrence's last official day of summer, so Shadow was lucky to have him the whole entire day! They played laddergolf, shot some hoops, played on the Wii, and just had guy time. Later, we all went to the community center for a swim. I swear Shadow is half fish, as he wants to go swimming, every single day! I think he would live at the pool if we let him :)
We grabbed some school supplies from Wal-Mart and then had spaghetti for supper, once again Shadow's request. The cake will wait until Sunday when we have the big party. I am excited about the big event and looking forward to sharing this special memory with him. I am so thankful to all our friends and family who are coming to help make this a super day for Shadow. We couldn't do any of this without their support and prayers.
With that said, I will keep you posted on how the birthday party turns out. For now, I need to get some stuff done while both toddlers are asleep (Carson is back today! Coralyn was so excited to wake up to find her best buddy here this morning!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)