A LampPost Flickering

Copy this note, ask your kid the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. Tag me back - I'd love to hear the answers. (Man, I learned a lot LOL) 1. What is something mom always says to you? Caleb: You may play on the computer. Gabe: You love me. Lily: I love you. Seth: God makes us be happy. 2. What makes mom happy? Caleb: This (then he gives me a kiss and hug.) Yep. He was right. Gabe: When I give you a hug. Lily: Kiss! Seth: Reading me a book. 3. What makes mom sad? Caleb: When Lily lies to you. Gabe: When I disobey you. Lily: I know. Jingle Bells, Monkey smells. (They were forbidden from singing this song...over and over and over. Seth: Doing wrong things. 4. How does your mom make you laugh? Caleb: I don't remember. (Gee, thanks. Pause for a moment while I hold my son down and tickle him.) Gabe: When you told me that joke. It was funny. The one that goes, "Why did the hamburger chase the cheese? Because it wanted to 'ketchup.'" Lily: Funny ...

I know this post is long overdue, but here it is. Just a little blush at being late. February is a big month for us around here. Nah, it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day, but everything to do with love. On February 13, we celebrated Lily's adoption three years ago. Three years! That means that we first saw her picture and fell in love with a chubby toddler across the world nearly four years ago! That was such a defining time of our lives. We still talk about it and relive the experience in our hearts and share excitedly with others about this miracle of adoption, the miracle that is Lily. You can read about her adoption here. But that's only the travel journal, and it doesn't fully chronicle the journey our hearts took, are still taking. No one who meets Lily leaves untouched. She is a remarkable child with a strong yet gentle heart; fiercely independent, yet trusting; longs to be nurtured, yet quick to nurture those around her. I love this child with my whole he...

E I G H T I can barely believe it. Where did those years fly off to? When we brought him home from the hospital, a week after his precarious birth--you can read about it here --he changed the dynamics of our entire family. Caleb became a brother. We became parents of multiple children. Going from one child--who is the center of both parents' attention and devotion--to two children was a big leap, one that was as miraculous as it was difficult. We wouldn't go back for anything in the world! Quick Gabe trivia: We didn't have a name picked out for him until he was several hours old. He was this close to being named Carter Robert, but he just didn't look like a Carter. Today we celebrate Gabe and thank God for his precious life. We've always lived just far enough away from family that it had been difficult to have family parties every year for everybody's birthdays. So even though we sure missed all the aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, we had a fun tim...