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...

*Note: I'm very late in posting this, even though I started writing it last month. Just to avoid any confusion. Rob got today off from work! Woo Hoo! As a chaplain, he doesn't get the same kind of weekend days off as most, and many times, we find him working lots of days in a row without a full day of respite. Still, after our very difficult year where he was working four jobs at one time--and still not making ends meet--we feel so very blessed to have whittled it down to one good job. Thank-you, Lord. So, we decided to take the family to the USS Lexington, a carrier that is no longer operational and has been converted into a museum. We all loved it. Our intention was to go to the Texas State Aquarium, which is only blocks away from the Lexington, but when we parked the van, and the kids saw the Lexington up close, a 3-to-1 vote changed our plans. And the one nay-sayer had a quick change of heart once we made our way up the massive ramp to the ship's entrance. The day was W...

February is museum month here at Fasnacht Academy. Rob's Dad and step-mom sent the kids some Christmas money...a while ago, considering that it's February...and instead of getting the kids each more toys that they didn't need, we decided that we would look for a membership of sorts for them. We didn't know the area well enough to make a good choice, so we've been hanging on as we research. One of the memberships that we considered was to the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens. We were just there, remember? But we considered the number of months here in South Texas where it is unbearable to play outside in the middle of the day, so we ruled it out, even though we greatly enjoyed our visit and will go back. But, while we were there, we saw this sign: Oh, we're all about free. Yesterday, we hit the Museum of Science and History. Loved it. And Seth only broke one display, so it was a good day. We decided to get our yearly membership there. Thanks, Papaw Bob and Grandm...

Caleb and Gabe are playing basketball this winter with the Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR) department and the youth activities center. They were desperate for coaches, so despite our busy schedule, Rob was blessed to be able to coach their team. They love having Dad as coach (on most days!). I'm just happy that they are both on the same team so we only have to go to one game on Saturdays and one practice throughout the week! They are starting to understand some of the fundamentals of the game, and they both enjoy it greatly. Gabriel is so, so excited whenever anybody of his team scores, just as excited as if he himself shot the winning basket. What an encourager! I'd want him on my team just for that! And Caleb has a smile on his face the ENTIRE game! He loves being part of the action, even if he doesn't get that much ball time. Neither of them are the superstars of the team. And we're all okay with that. They are learning the meaning of teamwork and following in...

This time we visitied the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. Loved it! We met our new friends, who also homeschool, for an afternoon surrounded by God's beautiful handiwork, carefully cultivated into a delightful discovery of gardens and trails and observatories and habitats. First things first: picnic lunch. One of my favorite from the rose garden. Gorgeous! And so fragrant. The kids brought their journals, and I encouraged them to sketch or write about their discoveries. They stopped often to observe and sketch. The rose garden also inspired Gabe, and he took a moment to capture some of it's beauty. All of the kiddos, forced into a group pose by two camera-toting moms. This stone seat was covered with a colorful tile mosaic. Caleb and Seth peering over a two-story lookout tower. They were disappointed that Gator Lake had no 'gators. (And with the current Texas drought, not much lake either.) It is always such a joy to watch my children learn and make new ...