I BE TWO!

Luci turned two today! We are so blessed to have her here with us. Luci is our little Light. She's just what we needed.

Here are some photos--I don't have one yet of the adorable ladybug shoes that Kathy and Greg gave her, but that one's coming soon. (Thanks, K & G, I love those shoes almost as much as Luci does!)
Nana and Papa sent some cute clothes and Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. I made the dolls 17 years ago as a fund-raiser for a mission trip I went on and Mom very generously bought them to help. Now they belong to Luci, which is such a sweet circle of events. Luci loves the dolls but the wrapping paper seems more fun right now!

This is a doll house that a friend at church has outgrown. Rachel's mom blessed Luci with it, and she loves playing with it! Luci even finagled Daddy into playing with her.

JT's gift is a cute little doggy that barks. Worth some kisses!
Sit and Spin and spin and spin. We found some tiny crocs, too. (Crocs are funny little shoes that look kind of like those clogs from Holland.)
Happy baby and happy big brother and mommy.
I love my new light from Bryan!


Here are some photos of the house. John took the kids out there today while I went to a teacher's program and the Space and Rocket Center.
Front
Back

Side

I Tuck! (I'm Stuck!)

" I Tuck!" was the cry yesterday. I took the photo and then she climbed out to see herself in the camera. (I don't think she was really stuck.)
Trying to change a monkey's diaper is always quite a trick.

Pumpkins!

A family in one of the little towns out in the country sells pumpkins every year. They've been selling them every fall for years, and their children and grandchildren now take care of business. After JT's baptism, we headed out to celebrate and get a pumpkin or three. (John went back to work.)

Luci walked up to these pumpkins and tried to pick them up. She pronounced them "Heavy." We didn't know that she knew the word! How fun to learn what she knows by surprise.
Ahh! A pumpkin just my size!!
Bryan found one that suits him. Doggone it, there is my finger again. Bryan, you do know that you are going to have to carry that upstairs to the apartment by yourself, don't you?
JT and Luci wheeling our $7 worth of pumpkins to the van.

We Have A New Little Brother!

JT was baptized this afternoon! John had the honors of baptizing him--John has had that privilege for all of his children so far. Here JT is coming up a clean, new person. Can't you feel his excitement to be in the brotherhood of believers?
JT hugging Luci--what a happy boy!

JT, we are so proud of you for making this awesome decision to put on Jesus Christ in baptism, washing your sins away in the blood of the Lamb. We are eagerly awaiting the good works you will do in your life as you labor in Christ's family.

October 15

Nana and Papa, I love my cat shirt! Thank you!

Bryan as G.I. Joe, spying on J.T.

He's wearing John's old helmet and John's new BDU shirt (battle dress uniform), which is now called ACU (army combat uniform). I think Bryan needs a CBU (camouflage brick uniform). Note the twigs stuck in the helmet cover.

Painting

We went by the house today after JT's soccer game (which he WON! he wants you to know).I took photos of most of the rooms to show you the colors. The painting is not yet done, so keep that in mind as you look through these. Also, the electricity is not hooked up yet, so some of the rooms look a little dark. They look nice and sunny to me! I am used to living in the woods, and it was always dark in the house, even on sunny days. This house is nice and bright, a happy house. We are still out in the country (actually 5 miles further out than where we were), but not in the woods. I love this house! The kitchen, as viewed from the dining room. I love the cabinets!
The master bath (John likes it when I call him "Master") and the light above the whirlpool bathtub (hooray for the fancy tub!!).
Luci in her GREEN room. If it looks too green after we've lived in it for a while, I am going to sponge paint a lighter green or white on top of it to tone it down.
The living room, and Bryan and Luci. There will eventually be a deck out back, off of that little porch you see through the French doors.

JT wanted a shot of his really cool ceiling fan.
Bryan and Luci in Bryan's room--it is the same color as JT's room.
Dining room and the light fixture. I really like this fixture, and it only looks exspensive. The ceiling is white--the yellow color is just a reflection from the walls.
The cabinets above the computer desk and the pretty light fixture that hangs there.

Cabinets and Paint!

But first, some kids!

Luci loves to run and "get momma."
JT's team at Upwards Soccer. Ethan, James, JT, Gates (the red-head in front of JT), Reese and Shaler. I am not sure who the little guy behind Shaler is. They are a bunch of nice boys who play hard and win quite a bit. Upwards sports have a Christ-centered approach. The kids memorize Scriptures and have devotionals at half time. JT is really enjoying it, at least as much as the YMCA soccer programs we've done.
Finally, the inside of the house is starting to look like something you can live in! You can see the yellow paint that is in the main areas--they've just started here. The cabinets are beautiful! I love them! JT is showing off my new pantry. Behind him is the computer area and you can see the kitchen sink/bar seating area in front. Part of the kitchen and the dining room. Yes, it is yellow.
More kitchen. Yes, it is very yellow. Looks more yellow than I remembered picking out! I hope Luci's green room is the sweet shade I picked out and not a big surprise. They haven't gotten to it yet.


The front of the house. On the right of the picture is the retaining wall and my finger. oops. Can you see JT peeking out his window? He's in the downstairs window on the right. You have to look hard.

Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival)

Tomorrow (Friday) begins the Mid-Autumn Festival, what we Americans usually call the Moon Festival. It is the marking of the first full moon during harvest time. Every time Luci and I see the moon, we blow kisses to it and I tell Luci that her China-momma is going to see that very same moon tonight, and perhaps catch her kisses. It is fanciful, and not really true, but I do imagine that her Chinese mother wonders just how her precious daughter is, and where she is, and is she happy? I pray, as Luci blows kisses, that her mother can somehow feel in her heart that her daughter (whom she loved enough to give her life, and to place her where she would be found quickly) is healthy and full of happiness and has everything a little girl could ever hope for.

We are going to have a special treat--a mooncake! Last Saturday, Yu told Kathy (a friend who just got her referral) and me a little about the Mid-Autumn Festival. I said something about maybe going to the Chinese market in Huntsville and getting a mooncake for Yu, and her face really lit up. So, naturally I delegated and John went to the Chinese market and found these moon cakes. Isn't this a beautiful package?! I was really astounded when John brought this home today. The box of 4 red-bean paste moon cakes (doesn't that make your mouth water?) was $12.99. The box looked more like a big book than a box of cake.

The individual cakes are in gorgeous metal boxes. I am going to have a hard time deciding which one we will keep. (I figure we will be happy sharing just one, not being big fans of red-bean paste.) I am going to get us a box of Moon Pies, too. That just seems more appropriate for our family. I'll get Yu a box of those, too, and let her come to her own conclusions.

Here is an interesting story from China Daily about Mooncakes. Thank you to the Rumor Queen for finding this, and prompting me to post about our own moon wishes. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2006-10/05/content_701794.htm

Guess What We Did on October First?

SWIM!!! It was 86* here today--plenty warm for a dip in the pool. The boys played for about 45 minutes, but Luci only lasted as long as it took to take this picture. Her comment: " 'S CODE!" (John and I were sensible and did the life guard duty from lounge chairs.)

Catching Up--One Year Later

This was taken in September, 2005, not long after we got home with Luci. Luci is on the left, holding on to the table. Maggie, Audrey's daughter (who is only 2 1/2 months older than Luci!) is on the right. Now look at these two girls--Luci on the left and Maggie on the right....Maggie is still bigger, but Luci has definitely closed the gap quite a bit. Audrey is in town this week with Maggie.
Luci, the fashion doll!
Hey! Who knocked on my cabinet??
Bottoms Up! Bryan holds up Luci and John holds up Maggie.
JT wants everyone to know that he made a goal today in his soccer game! Hooray, JT!

September

The last week has been tough, mostly for the lack of sleep that Momma gets. Which, in turn, affects everyone (John is nodding in agreement). The last HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association http://hslda.org ) magazine we got had an article by Mike Smith that stated several things of frustration for the homeschool mom: " 1. mom's scenery never changes, and this can be stressful. Dad typically goes to a whole new set of adult relationships and surroundings every day. 2. the whole world can see the results of mom's homeschooling, and moms feel the intense pressure of this fact. 3: moms need some time each week to regroup, to listen to themselves think, and just be alone for a while. During a typical homeschool day, mom probably hasn't talked to another adult at all. Meaningful adult communication meets a basic emotional need of our wives...."



Those are all so true. Add to that list very little sleep because Luci still does not sleep through the night--up twice most nights, and restless (almost night terrors at times) quite a bit of some nights plus trying to keep kids quiet because the lady downstairs can hear lots of what goes on up here. It's been very stressful, and I am so ready to be in our new house. I'll be able to let Luci fuss a bit more at night without worrying that she is waking John up (she'll have her own room on the other side of the house) or bothering the neighbors, and the boys can be noisier without me getting so upset.


John helped so much Saturday--he took the kids to do errands and then to JT's Upward Soccer game at church and I stayed home to sew. I had the best time working on curtain liners for the new house, and I made Luci and myself matching bags out of red, paisley quilting. They turned out so cute! I even added fuzzy pom-pom trim to them, and they are so girly. Luci loves hers, which makes making them even more enjoyable. Thanks for that time, John. It is rare and sweet!


Here is a photo update for the past two weeks. It's been difficult to find time to "do the blog" since it does take more time to upload the site and then the photos and text...much more time in comparison to checking email, or even another friend's blog.

We got to see the reproduction of Christopher Columbus' ship, the Nina (I don't know how to make the mark over the n). It is a fabulous ship, built by hand, without power tools. It was amazing to think that Columbus and his crew (and the Pinta and the Santa Maria) braved the open ocean. This is an incredibly small ship. The men all slept on deck and bailed out the hold every shift change (every four hours) with leather buckets. Here are JT, Bryan and Luci and some kid we couldn't get out of the photo--we'll call him cousin Bob.
Bryan is getting so grown up! Fourteen and ready to explore the world.
JT is on the right in this picture, and Nathan Riley is next to him. Nathan Riley is one of our favorite friends.
Casey Brooke, Nathan Riley's sister (and another favorite person!) is here with Luci. Luci had to sit exactly like Casey, it was so cute!
Luci is looking into the hold of the ship, seeing where Columbus might have kept water in barrels, livestock and firewood for cooking. It was very interesting, as you can tell. Luci loves to read the paper with Momma's glasses on. Good thing her teeny nose holds them on so well.
She also likes to do the crossword puzzle. Soon I'll have her doing it with a pen instead of that pencil.
Let me outta here! Luci does her version of chin-ups.

Update

Here's what has been happening at our house the last week:

John had an Army drill, then a trip with work, then an Army AT (I think that means "annual training") and he is home now. He's been gone for a total of a week. Luci did her great squealing welcome, letting John know he is still loved.

Bryan is no longer wearing the brace on his arm. He's considered healed! He is so happy!

JT got to meet the man who started Tang Soo Do martial arts in the USA. He is Grand Master Chin (pronounced Shin) from Korea. This man trained several famous people in Korea, including Chuck Norris, and when he came to the USA, he changed it some and called it Tang Soo Do. JT met him in Murfreesboro last weekend and got Master Chin's autograph on his (JT's) karate uniform. JT proclaimed that day "the best day of my life, so far!"

Luci has been talking up a storm. Last night she woke up in the middle of the night and asked for a hamburger and an apple. Of course, she sounded like the detective Clousseau in the Pink Panther movie, "am-boo-gare."

Susan got to get groceries by herself today. Hooray! That is a rare thing.

Of course there were lots of photos taken, but they are not on a disk yet. They will be posted soon.

Freedom!

Bryan got his cast off last Tuesday. The first thing he did? He took a shower and washed his hair, without a big plastic bag on his arm. He's supposed to wear a brace most of the time (exceptions: bathing, sleeping and swimming) until September 12. Here Bryan is showing me what it feels like to be without his cast--pure freedom! JT is in the innertube, and the arms at the bottom of the picture belong to Bradley, their friend and a distant cousin, as we found out in June.

This one was just too adorable to leave out! I've finally figured out how to get those pretty bows in Luci's hair.

Baby Speech

"Go Shibby!" That is "Go Swimming!" in Luci-ese.

Luci's speech has grown so much in the last month--her first sentence, "Me go," was a month ago and we waited for sentence number two for 3 whole weeks. Finally, last Saturday, she said another, then another, then another--Luci is well on her way using speech all the time (as opposed to sign language and babbling).

I just noticed today that she no longer uses the sign language that we all depended upon for communicating. Hooray for you, Luci!

I love this picture! The kids' personalities really shine through. Such hams, and such joy.

When, Oh When?

Imprisoned? Don't get me wrong, we do love this apartment, and are so thankful to be in this very nice place with a pool and nice neighbors and air conditioning, and I am so thankful that we are not in a little travel trailer of some sort behind the new house which was the original plan (have you seen RV yet? it's a must-see), but we are so ready to be outta here and into our house!

We are upstairs, which means someone is downstairs who listens to every footfall, door slam, boys' sword fight (quit that!), baby squeal. Even little Luci can shake the floors with her little Sumo-wrestling walk. Poor lady downstairs. I finally met her today, she is very nice, but I'm sure she's lying about us not being too noisy. It will be nice to let the boys be boys in the new house, to let Luci have her ride-on toys, to let the kids just play without having to worry about the neighbors.

We have learned not to stock up on things (Isn't there a Bible verse for that? A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Luke 12:15b) because there is just not room. So, when JT and I went to the commissary to get groceries today, I got just enough. Not a whole big freezer full, just enough.

We have learned not to holler at the kids about anything (well, I learned it--John already was pretty good at this)--supper's ready; leave your brother alone; yes, you do have to do your schoolwork!!

We've learned that having nice neighbors is nice. It's nice to have someone to wave to as you leave the apartment, and it's fun to see their kids riding their little toys.

We've learned that it is so nice to have a pool! Bryan learned that it is nice when the 13 year old neighbor girl (who is quite cute) says hello to him.

John learned that not doing the yardwork all summer is quite nice.

Luci has learned to climb stairs all by herself. And I've learned I should not rush her because then it takes twice as long to inspect every stair as she climbs.