Thankful ...

Thankful for these turkeys ...

 

 

Thankful for a family day this week to explore the Shedd Aquarium ...

 

Thankful for a family day that also included a tour of the Jelly Belly warehouse ... resulting in Samuel transforming into Jelly Bean Joe on Thanksgiving ...

Thankful for this guy who was willing to stand in line with me to get two of a coveted Christmas item (our only "Black Friday" shopping) ... it was kind of like a date ...

 

Thankful for all that God has blessed us with!

Little Green Man ... Again

Two summers ago we did a road trip to St. Louis, and I posted about Lydia's friend - "Little Green Man".  These memories came back in a flood when Nora, this morning at the library, was trying to drag around their "Little Green Man".

Um, please keep "Little Green Man" where the library has purposefully placed him.

Yes, you, you little stinker with lovely hat hair.

Lydia - July 2011

 

I would have gotten a photo of Lydia with "Little Green Man" today, but she was too busy running around, chasing one of Samuel's friends with a puppet ... yes, in the library, which was probably driving "Little Green Man" crazy since his motto is, after all, "SLOW". 

this is how she rolls ...

Before I start, a quick Baby Gracie update - hurdles include learning to nurse and maintaining oxygen levels on her own.  For more updates (and super sweet photos of Amy holding Grace), hop over to Amy's blog ... praying Grace home, the commuting and the balancing time between the other littles at home must be exhausting!

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I was doing a little photo clean-up ... and couldn't help but smile when I came across these ... Lydia with her "buddies" late this summer.  She was obsessed with a turtle we "rescued" (although I'm sure the turtle would beg to differ on whether he was truly rescued or not) and a little toad ... oh dear.

On a side note, apparently she was really liking this star shirt at that time as these were two separate days ... the star shirt has since been replaced with the now favorite Superman shirt.

Seriously ... this is what she finds as we were taking inventory of cold weather gear ... an old Batman beanie cap ... sigh

We certainly do adore her ... and, I'm thankful that Super~Bat~Girl is at least wearing purple-toed socks.  Only the infamous HULK mask could complete this look!

Baby Grace {Prayer Request}

You may remember Amy from previous posts (she is our sweet cousin who took photos of our homecoming with Nora and family photos a few weeks after we were home – she loved on us in big ways).  Amy and her husband have a beautiful big family … I am enamored with big families.  And, Amy and John do the “big family gig” well. 

Last Friday, Amy delivered their eighth child, a sweet baby girl (their second girl … yep, six boys … two girls).  The delivery was not as planned, Miss Grace came a month early and was delivered via emergency c-section as Amy’s uterus had ruptured.  I won’t go into all of the details, you can read a bit more about their journey at Amy’s blog.  So thankful that Amy is recovering well, and Miss Grace shows improvements every day. 

I ask that you lift this family up in prayer as there are still unknowns.  Throughout this past week, God’s hand has been so evident in every detail ~ it has been a beautiful thing to watch this family continue to praise God and give him the glory throughout. 

Cannot wait to see this beautiful Mama hold her precious baby … prayerfully soon …

A Banana, Two Monkeys ... and a ???

My crew tonight ... Jack as a ... not quite sure ...
and his "hobo" friend ...

 

Two monkeys and a giant banana ...

October 31st, 2012 ...
One year ago today we were united as a family in the same geography ...

 

Thankful ...

 

Random Weekend Photos

This past weekend Jason and Jack had "guys" weekend up north.  Samuel, the girls and I kept busy ... 

Saturday morning trip to the Apple Orchard to buy apples and see the animals at the hobby farm ...

Saturday "lunch" at Cherry Berry so that Samuel could redeem his reading program reward ...

Sunday treat after church ... Dunkin' Donuts just opened up here ...

 

We also made and decorated cookies, checked out the "spooky" decorations in the neighborhood, worked on Samuel and Lydia's birthday invitations, made a zipline for stuffed animals to fly down the stairs and just hung out ... oddly I have no photos of these activies, seems my photos are largely food related. 

It was a good weekend, and Jason and Jack enjoyed their time away too ... and, apparently they "forgot" to take any photos ... I'm thinking that they didn't want any incriminating evidence as apparently what happens up north stays up north.  And, admittedly, it's probably better that way as I don't want to know ... boys!

Pumpkin Carvin' 2013

Another first for Nora ~ pumpkin carving and painting this past week.  And, I love that Samuel and Nora dressed for the occasion (purely coincidental).

This girl is fearless in so many respects (while at the same time having some unexplainable fears like the cracks in wood planking / playgrounds), she just dug into the bowl of pumpkin "guts"! 

Jason, Jack and Nora are going to have to be the designated "scoopers" every year (the rest of us are happy to let others take care of that step of pumpkin carving!).  

 

Utilizing a technique learned from the cousins last year while we were in China, love that the kiddos have the memories of their time with the Grandmas and their Uncle, Aunt and Cousins so vivid!

 

 

On pumpkin carving day the LilyKids received a package in the mail, super fun trick or treat bags from Elizabeth.  Love that she surprised the kiddos and love that she so accurately pegged each of their personalities!

 

And, that was pumpkin carving 2013.

 

One Year Together

It does not even seem possible that one year ago today we were meeting our daughter for the first time. 

I can hardly believe it myself.  I look at this little stinker, and it is so obvious that she was meant to be ours. 

I look at where she came from, and I see her fierce bravery, her love of adventure, her persistence (seeing a trend ... seems each of the LilyKids exhibits this trait to the extreme) ... her beauty.  

But the Lord said to Samuel, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Love my feisty girls (and my boys too)!

Every day we learn more about life through our children.  Through Nora we have learned a whole lot more about overcoming circumstances, about patience, about unconditional love.  Nora has blessed us in so many ways.

What an incredible gift.  One year together ... 

Twelve

Today my "baby" turns twelve ... I'm sort of in denial.  I mean this is it ... the last year before he is officially a teen, a teen!  (Although he has many teen tendencies already!)

So thankful to all be HERE together to celebrate Jack on his birthday (last year Jason and I were in China, anticipating the "arrival" of our sweet baby girl, no doubt though, Jack was loved on and celebrated in a big way last year and for that we will always be grateful).

We celebrated Jack's birthday with family yesterday. 

Hi.  I'm Heather.  And, I like themed birthday parties.  This is like the "twelve" (no pun intended) step program for me.  Jack confidently announced a couple of months ago that he did not want a theme this year.  

While inside I was cracking, I knew that my themed family parties for him may be a thing of the past, and I had to accept it.  He then decided on the type of cake he wanted and when asked what he wanted on it, he decided he wanted the UW-Madison W on it.  Cool (well, mostly cool since I am a Marquette grad and all).  Then he announced that he was going to wear a Wisconsin Badger tee and hat for his party.  Nice.  Kinda sounds like a theme to me!  And, since it sorta sounded like a theme I laid aside my Marquette roots and got the whole family in Badger red.

I wrote a bit about Jack here ... I am so proud to be his Mama ... no doubt that he has his moments (don't we all?) ... but, his kind heart, his smile, his persistence, his love of others trumps those moments.

Jack, you are a good kid, and we thank God every day for the gift you are to this family.  ~XO

Autumn Bliss {at the cemetery)

Sunday was pretty much a perfect day in my estimation ... crisp air ... but not too cold ... sun shining ... the smell of fallen leaves.  Autumn.  Bliss.  A perfect day for a family "hike" through the cemetery (the boys have been reminding us that we haven't had a picnic in the cemetery for a while so this was a compromise).  The boys brought a football that they tossed around as they "hiked", and the girls had a bag to gather chestnuts from one of the old chestnut trees.

When we were "shopping" for a plot (why can't there be a nicer word for that) while Owen was still full of life, walking through the cemetery was excruciating.  It was one of the hardest things we ever had to do.  I remember that day so vividly, a warm sunny day in May 2008.  We spent many Sundays at the cemetery in that initial year.  And, while it is still painfully obvious that a rung in our family ladder is missing here, we are thankful for the beauty that surrounds us and how we can celebrate life.

Looking at these pictures from Sunday, it caught me how others might it find it so odd that Lydia found a tombstone to sit on as she rested, that the backdrop of a game of catch and chestnut gathering is rows of grave stones, but look at the beauty. 

 

Crazy Boy - Jack may or may not have used the football as a weapon against the poor chestnut tree to get her to drop more chestnuts ... sigh ... boys ...

Hey Pinterest ... got the perfect chestnut craft for me?

 

Lydia was D.O.N.E. at this point ... that girl!

 

That's what He does, doesn't he? Makes beauty of ashes ... while the tears still fall, we are thankful.