My Family

My Family
Summer 2015

Friday, August 31, 2012

tommy

There is a man in our neighborhood named Tommy.
He is a kind middle aged African American man who puts on his uniform for the local Publix grocery store and walks about 2 miles or so to work almost everyday.
We have seen him walking in cold and heat and rain and blazing sun.

And I do have to admit, on more than one occassion we have stopped to pick him up and take him to work or bring him home.

Tommy is a sweet man.  He is very friendly and conversational.

Lucas tends to ask Tommy a lot of questions.

But, our conversations have stayed "surfacy" at best.

Today, I was in a hurry to get Lucas to baseball practice.  Tommy was walking to work.  He was right at our driveway walking by. Lucas noticed him.
He said, "We should give Tommy a ride to work."
This is where I have to admit...I didn't think we had time.  Or maybe it was that I didn't want to make the time.  As we pulled out of the driveway, and headed out, I could NOT pass Tommy!!!!
We stopped!  We asked Tommy if he wanted a ride.

Lucas was excited.
And the line of questioning began for the next 5 minutes we spent together in the car.  Tommy started to share that he used to live in Florida and he moved here with his mom but he doesn't have a car.  He wants to get a car, but he doesn't have one.  Lucas asked him his age, and he is only a few years younger than me.  I thought he was much younger.  Then as we sat at a stoplight, Tommy, who usually is pretty cheerful, sort of stared off into space and shared that his ex was getting married today. (Lucas didn't quite catch that part of the story).  He said he doesn't like it here because all he does is go to work, come home, watch TV, go and work out, and get up the next day and do it again.  (He is a bagger at the store)  He also started talking about how he doesn't have any friends here.  There was saddness in Tommy today.  There was an unusual pensiveness to him.

He mentioned he doesn't have a church, but he would like to go to church.
Then Lucas came right out and asked him.
"Tommy, do you believe in Jesus?"
Tommy said, "yes".
Lucas was happy about that.
I began to see the opportunity God had laid out for us today.  And I almost missed it because I was in a hurry.  Tommy needs connection.

We invited him to come to church with us on Sunday if he wanted to.
He said he would check his schedule at work, but he might work on Sunday.
We are going to be pursuing Tommy and his desire to get back to church and reconnect with people.

After we dropped him off I told Lucas I was proud of him and how much he cares for Tommy.  And that we need to always ask ourselves, "What would Jesus say or do if he was riding in the car with us?"  This reminded me of a sermon Louie recently had regarding how we "walk" with Christ daily and moment by moment.  He is beside us walking.  In all things at all times.  It takes intentionality to remember that.  Why?  I have been a Christian for all of my conscious life, but I still need to be reminded to walk as if Christ is walking with me.  Right beside me. Really, physically present with me.  How does this change what I do or how I treat people?  Is there anyone not worthy of my time, effort, or even simply conversation?  How would Jesus see Tommy?  Then that is how I will see him. I think Jesus loves Tommy.  I think Jesus wants Tommy to know him at even a deeper level.  I think Jesus put Tommy into our lives so Lucas could be used by God to show Tommy he is loved and we will care for him.

So that's the story of Tommy so far.
Please pray together with us for Tommy--his sweet heart is obviously broken and lonely.  Pray we do what God calls us to do.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

"Give me my legs back"

Sometimes brothers play baseball.
Sometimes they shoot bow and arrow or bb guns together.
Sometimes they wrestle.
Today, my boys did all three and it was great to see them playing together.
It is definitely an advantage for an 8 year old boy to have a 17 year old brother with experience in all these areas.
Sometimes these things can be exceptionally entertaining at our house.
Just a few minutes ago, they were wrestling.  Lucas was being "The Hulk".  Isaac was messin' with him.  And being the Older brother, he was "on top".

At one point, Isaac grabbed Lucas by the legs and tried lifting him up.
Which, would be ok, if his legs were actually "attached".....
but, they slipped right off and Isaac ran off with them.

So what's a mom to do in this moment? Yell at Isaac?..."Give your brother his legs back?"

So add this to another list of "the things I never thought I would hear said in my house"....

"Give me my legs back!!!!!!"

Both Isaac and I looked at eachother and laughed, and then even though he was still yelling at Isaac, Lucas joined in the laughter as he took off running after his brother with no legs on!  I'm sorry but it was really funny! It did make Lucas mad at first, but he also laughed, so I don't think I'm too bad of a parent this time....

...am I??




Tuesday, August 28, 2012

All Tied up and other "fun" for today...

sooooo, today I left Lucas up in his room for a while after we were done with school.  
He was playing so nicely...and it was so quiet....
then I found him like this!!!!
(he really was alone the whole time)
but apparently a bad guy showed up while I was gone!

I have no idea how he really did this to himself---but was a funny sight.

Then, after I removed all of that tape...he told me to be the "bad guy" and tie him up again.  He was cracking up!  Really...there are times when a parent feels like maybe they want to do this to a crazy child, but this really wasn't one of those times..really, it was a game...really!!!


 he made me do it...he said "put some around my eyes"..."put some around my mouth"
again...really...just a game...lol
Although I do think Buddy the dog was a tad concerned...

Later when that event was over...
I took pictures of his "office" set up in our living room.
 and his handmade "Caution" tape.  Now here's the funny part.  He found some caution tape that someone had given him with the word in Spanish!!!  So he copied it ... Cuidado without knowing it was Spanish...So we have Spanish Caution tape at our house!

 Of course the police had it all under control!

 and Buddy the dog got some love...(sort of random, but cute)

Welcome to life at our house...

Sunday, August 26, 2012

warm milk and peanut butter crackers

This whole weekend really was a tad crazy and full for Lucas.  Yesterday baseball practice, a birthday party, swimming for 2 hours, out to dinner with dad and Isaac, and back to the party for a little while.  Today, back to church and all the amazingness of Passion Kids, seeing friends again, and then an amazing birthday party for a friend who just came home from China about 3 months ago.  A total blast but nonstop motion and activity.
Today food was a bit weird--cereal in the morning, a hotdog for lunch, a piece of cake and a McDonald's hamburger.  Really, for this boy, probably not enough food.  But, he didn't say he was hungry until of course it came to bedtime.

Now, bedtime has become a bit of a testing area again recently because we got lazy again.  We started laying down with him again after reading stories---argh!  I actually think it amounts to laziness and sleepiness on my part...and...do I have to admit I love to cuddle?  But, then at some point it becomes annoying because I fall asleep and have to wake up and go into my own bed--disrupting my sleep and also creating a dependence on having someone laying with him.  It also creates a problem for us ever leaving him at bedtime to go someplace.  He can't adjust to someone else putting him to bed very well.

So, we have pulled that plug "again"! Hopefully for the last time, but we will see...
Routine:
story or two
prayer
sleep (without anyone laying down)
check on him ocassionally just for security for him.

Tonight we had the "I can't sleep" and checking several times on him to make sure he was sleeping, etc.  Finally, after 20 minutes he said "I'm hungry".  I had 2 thoughts in that moment and choices as to how I was going to respond.  1.  Am I being manipulated?  and thus discipline this situation and say "no"?  or  2.  Listen, and feed the child. (think through his day and evening and realize food was a tad unbalanced today)

Now, I catch myself in these moments because:
1.  I have told him to tell me when he is hungry so we can avoid meltdowns
2.  He has told us that when he was "bad" in China they made him skip meals. (that makes me mad)
3.  I promised him that if he "ever" tells me he is hungry, I will feed him (if at all possible)

So,  again, in this moment I have to evaluate-- Am I being manipulated? or Is he really trying to tell me something?  He added to his hunger statement by saying he was feeling frustrated and feeling like he might get angry.  That actually is a huge step for him.  Identifying the hunger, irritation about falling asleep, and realizing he could escalate at any moment.

We had no fighting or tears tonight.  It wasn't a meltdown, but I felt like if I didn't listen to him, and follow through with my promise to feed him, that I would be creating a bigger problem than if he was truly manipulating me.

There are some things that I need to see from a different perspective than I used to.  I can't always walk around with suspicion that I'm being manipulated.  I want him to use his words and I want him to always be able to trust me/us that we will supply for him what he needs, especially food.  We have never had hoarding issues or hiding food issues, etc. with him which is a good thing and actually quite common with kids from orphanages.  But, the discipline he received by forcing him to skip meals makes me want to respond to his requests for food.

So, at 10:15pm...I got a glass of milk--warmed it in the microwave, put peanut butter on a few Ritz crackers and took them to him in his room.  I didn't want to make it into a meal.  But, a little protein, a few carbs and the 'magic milk'... and tada....
I didn't really think much more about it, but right after that he did fall asleep immediately.

When I went to lay down in my own bed, I reflected on his response to it.  He had such a sweet smile for me, hugs, kisses and then a tender memory.  Months ago when we were struggling with some sleep issues like this, I told him that my daddy used to give me warm milk to help me fall asleep--and since he is now "gone" this makes me think of him.  Well, tonight he remembered that story.  And he got the sweetest smile about my daddy.  A man he never met.  It was another connection for him to his grandpa.  And I could tell it brought sweetness and calmness and gentleness to his little soul tonight.  It was like my dad was helping us...
How could I deny that to him? but more importantly, Why would I deny that to him?
He's at a place where he is beginning to identify hunger, verbalize some of his feelings, and just be so stinkin' cute and loving at times.  My job is simple...
warm milk and peanut butter crackers.  I think I can do that.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

First Baseball Practice~

 Lucas had his first baseball (Tee Ball) practice today!  He was SOOO excited!  I think the timing is perfect for him.  He has a level of understanding now that should help him be very coachable.  He also knows just a little about the game.  But, he does have a lot to learn.  I smiled some proud momma smiles as I watched him today.  He really tried hard.  He is not very speedy with picking up the ball and tossing it back to the coach.  It's very apparent that at least 1/2 of the boys have done this before and Lucas has not.  I LOVE his enthusiasm though.
We realized just a few hours before practice that he didn't have a mitt.  So it literally was his first time really catching with a mitt.  Precious boy!  He kept flipping it over and upside down to catch.  The coach had several assitance there.  One of them took him aside and just tossed balls back and forth with him and had him practice throwing back.



 he needs to learn to move "toward" the ball...
 that's one dedicated ball player right there.

 oops

 After the practice was done, the coach had the boys run the bases.  He asked me if Lucas could "do" it...=)  I said, he will let you know what he can do...
And off he went.
 rounding third....



 and on to a second round of the bases....
 he was in his glory!

 That is a boy determined to play ball!!!
I am so pround of him.  Even as I write this I'm sort of grinning and shaking my head.  This boy has such determination.  And right now He Wants To Play Baseball!!!  He is going to do GREAT!
As some of the kids began to poop out after the second round around the bases, it almost looked to me like he would have done it again.  All this in hot Georgia sun and 87 degrees!!!  I love this boy and I have a lot to learn from him!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Some days are better than others

(written late last night--8/23)
Some days are better than others.
I would honestly say 90% of our days are good now.  A huge leap forward from even a year ago.
Control issues will always be there.  Sibling battles will remain.   Attachment issues (adoption lingo) will linger.   But, really, our boy has relaxed, has been identifing with our family, and has less problem with talking about his frustrations and joys.  Being able to communicate is HUGE!  And it doesn't go unnoticed around here.

However, I feel like it's only fair to post the reality we face with our boy sometimes.  Just like any kid he has his "good days" and his "not so good days".  Today we had some issues as we went to do school work.  I would call it one of the "not so good" days.
We have been doing school for 9 days now.  The difference between what we can do this year and last year at this time is HUGE.  I cannot imagine what this year is going to mean for his learning and development.  I wish he could see where he was last August and where he is now.
He still struggles with learning and gets mad and takes it out on me when it comes to challenging work.  Sometimes I feel like he thinks I'm going to punish him for not understanding.  Or he can't stand not having complete mastery of things. (control?) And the fact that he doesn't know something frustrates him beyond belief.
He then says he is not smart.  His head is full of lies--I'd really like to know if he has personally inserted those lies or if someone along the way filled his head with this garbage. Or if this just comes with the territory.  I feel like a mother bear when it comes to his thought life and Truth.
I want to claw someone's eyes out -- whoever told him he was not smart!  I try and try to pour Truth into his head.

Needless to say, today he got angry because he was afraid he wasn't going to understand something-so angry that at one point he thought it necessary to come up from behind me while I was in a chair and attempt to choke me right after he yelled in my face.
Yep! there's reality for you.  Never quite had that one before, but yep, it was a little disconcerting.  I reacted strongly and he ended up on the floor.  I didn't hurt him, but he was surprised. I was surprised at my reaction too.  Maybe not my best parenting moment.  Just confessing a little:
#1 We are still dealing with issues that may always remain a part of our boy--(but God is healing him over time which gives us hope)
#2  I make mistakes and don't always react like I "should" if he completely catches me off guard like that.  Most of the time I can think it through as things are progressing--ie.  "is he hungry?" , "is he afraid of something?" - usually I have my "wits about me.  This time it was MY Fear response.  Things I personally need to work through and I will explain in another post.

For now I think it is important to explain what followed for Lucas.
We worked it through in the moment.  He got his school work done and forgivness was given and taken.
Hours later Peter came home.
I never told Lucas he had to say anything to Peter about it.
But, as soon as Peter got home, Lucas said that he had something he needed to tell dad.
Now this is interesting to me.
He wanted to tell dad, even though we had worked through it and it was over.
He also knows dad is going to talk to him and instruct him and tell him he doesn't approve.
But, he also knows he needs to hear the instruction and also realize the forgiveness we afford him.  Dad's teaching is important even though he often bucks it.
He totally brought it up without any prompting.  And I hadn't said anything to Peter about it during the day.

Peter is so awesome in these moments, because he gives our boys full and complete life lessons.  Now this may not be PC, but he told Lucas
"We protect girls".
"We never ever ever hurt girls or hit them--ever"
"especially your mommy"
 "you will not be allowed to hurt my wife"
 Lucas knows these are the kinds of things Peter would say.
He knows after he goes through this process, hope lies on the other side of the conversation.  I think that is why he brings it up.  Even though we went through all the confession/forgiveness stuff in the moment, he needed to bring it to his "Father's" attention.


I cannot help but make a parallel to our Heavenly Father.
We often know we have messed up.
We've said or done things we regret.
We have caused pain to another and would love to just start over with a clear head.
We can attempt to "hide" from God, but really,
We know that He knows.  We know He has something to teach us in and through it.

As hard as it is to admit...
when we open our hearts to confession, and then 'listen' to what God has to say, we find healing and forgiveness.
The reality is we need to confess to be able to move forward.  As much as we like to think we don't need to confess or be forgiven, we do.  Stuff naws at us until we face it.  Confess to the people we have hurt but also confess to God.
God tells us:
"If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9
How freeing is that?  It's gone!

I've also been teaching him:
Eph. 6:1
"Children Obey your parents in the Lord for this is right"
He is trying to learn so many things and constantly battling something on his insides that makes him choose wrongly.  Don't we all?

The challenge lies in the "moment".
When all the garbage comes to the surface
and
self preservation attempts to win over logic.
When Fear reigns over Love.
When consequences outweigh wise choices.
What's a boy suppose to do?
I'm trying to teach him to
#1 identify his feeling in the moment (not always possible)
#2 step back and take a deep breath and count to 10--walk away if necessary for a few moments.
#3 identify what he is afraid of (being hungry, not being smart, jealousy, being left out of something, etc.)
#4 ocassionally we just use the distract and do something else/or something funny technique.  (but that is hard sometimes)

This is hard stuff.  Navigating these waters is a challenge.  How do I get through it? not well sometimes.  But, God shows many blessings through it too.  As simple as it sounds, I love our new little kitten.  First she is a "girl".  Second she is soft and sweet and licks my chin.  Third, her antics just make me smile. (she's walking all over my computer right now)--ever see the movie "UP"? that was my "squirrel" moment right there...

But, seriously
I'm learning a LOT right now from this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Consequences-Logic-Control-Attachment-Challenged/dp/0977704009
It was recommended by some other adoptive parents and at this point the things I have gleaned from it are very effective.
I'm a consequence girl...
And some things require consequences...but sometimes the list just gets longer and longer and lasts for days, that I wonder about it's effectiveness.
I use the Bible as a guide as well and am a firm believer in it.  '

I believe we have been called to Love Well.  
So hard in these moments.

When you are dealing with a wounded heart and a ton of "stress" responses, you have to approach things differently.  I have a lot to learn.

When it was all said and done...
at the end of the day
He apologized to Peter very sincerely for "hurting his wife"
I found it interesting that this was the thing he heard in the instruction from his dad.  The thing that made the most impact...you don't get to hurt somebody else's wife.
and
He looked me straight in the eye at bedtime and said,
 "mom"..."I'm really sorry I hurt you today" tears welled up.  It was very sincere
I apologized for what I did too.

I looked him in the eye and said,
"I forgive you Lucas"
we prayed
and he went to sleep.

Some days are better than others.
the cool thing?
There is always tomorrow.
We can have a "do over" because of the Grace of God.  If we did not know Grace, we would not be able to offer it to Lucas.  Tomorrow we will wake living by this Truth!
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not by works so that no one can boast"  Eph. 2:8-9

I'm so glad I have nothing to do with Grace, because I cannot imagine how much work it would take to have it if I had to work for it.  Thank you Jesus for your Grace which is so free and all you have done to adopt us as sons and daughters of the King!  Thank you for lavishly loving us when we don't deserve it.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Lucas the Pirate!

Lucas the Pirate doing a Pirate Show!!
Hysterical...
let the pictures speak!





 by this point I'm practically rolling on the floor.  what a goofball...




"Thank you everyone" ...lucas the pirate....

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I Love CVS! and A "clean" house (ok one room, but hey)

So, last night I did a late run to CVS.  
I LOVE CVS!!
This is what I got for $1.50 
AND
they gave me $4.00 in ECB's (their "money") to spend again the next time I shop!
The reality is...God has provided. 
We at least we will have fresh breath, 
breakfast 
and nice smellin' guys, 
while we sit around and chew our gum!
hee hee

 So today?
I decided it was about time I clean this kitchen after about a month of craziness.
So here it is...ta da!!!

Ahh...but alas "pride"strikes again...
so I turned around...
to find why Lucas has been so "good" and "quiet" for the past few hours...
legos, firetrucks and other assorted emergency scenarios playing out in the hallway...



and then of course there is the kitten!  This is what she has been up to under my feet....
yep, that's a ball of string, now strung around chairs and through 3 rooms.  
(I went upstairs for 5 minutes)
She has some serious "knitting" talent! 


 Well, I guess the guests we have coming in just over an hour will have some entertainment!  And I need to set aside some Pride!  There ya go!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Head's Up--Flying legs...

You know how you look at your kids and have that moment where you think
"I think he grew overnight"
or
"It seems he is growing right before my eyes"

Well, that is Exactly what happened today at our house.
and it was much to the thanks of the UPS man!

Yep, the newest legs have arrived...and Lucas now measures about 1/2" taller with the new legs.
...and a happy boy willingly opened his "gift" from Shriner's Hospital.




 and just like you might try on a new pair of shoes....

 and just to be clear...bubble wrap was also entertaining

 both sets of legs side by side...


Now, what does a boy do first when he gets new legs?
He goes for a bike ride.

Then he requests going to the park.  So we did that too.
He climbed and played for a while and then we got on the swings.
He wanted an underdoggy.  So, I got behind him and pushed him and ran underneath him.
He swung very high and was giddy.
And then it happened...

One of the new legs went FLYING OFF....
No Joke!  Just flew right off his leg!
It was hysterical.  There were not many people there, but we were laughing so hard.  Then it happened 3-4 more times and we laughed and laughed.  The guy next to us just smiled while pushing his baby daughter in a swing.  Then finally asked "how are they suppose to stay on?"  Poor guy.  I wonder what story he told his wife when he got home???

Sometimes I think days like this happen just so I have something to blog about.

Oh and by the way it was also my birthday so it was added fun for that reason too.
We went out to dinner at a mexican restaurant and at the end of the meal, Lucas sucked up the remaining salsa with a straw...Blech!  But, funny!

I also got a super sweet video from my guys.  Peter said there were 47 things on it that they love about me.  It was so so cool.  It was one of the BEST birthday presents EVER!!! If I can figure out how to post it sometime soon I will.

another entertaining day brought to you from "Our House"!


Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Joy of Winning

Since I posted Teach Your Child How to Lose on August 1, I thought I should post a follow up.  It actually happened a few days later while we were playing Uno the last night before Oma and Opa left so it was August 3rd.  It was such perfect timing from the Lord.  We all sat down as a family to play our last few hands of Uno.  In the first round we went back and forth with people saying "Uno" but not getting to win.  But, then it happened....
LUCAS WON!!!!
So after all that learning and so much patience and so many "congratulations" to everyone else, he finally won a hand of Uno all on his own.

The flip side of teaching your child how to lose, is watching the utter and complete JOY on their faces when they DO win!!!  He was beside himself with giddy!  And it was so much fun to watch him receive all the congratulations from everyone else.  FINALLY!  

He learned:
Winning is fun!
Winning actually has more meaning when you've experienced/grief or loss.
We will love and support him either way-if he wins or he loses.
We will play the game again and he may win (or he may lose) but it's still fun!

Soon we start Fall Baseball here.  Lucas is so excited to be part of a baseball team.  I think he has a lot to learn about the game and even more about winning and losing.  But, I think he has learned some pretty significant things this summer about winning and losing through the simple game of Uno.  Who knew it could be such a big deal to play a card game?

Monday, August 6, 2012

Homemade Yogurt

yipeeee....I think I finally did it.
Round one...not so good--tried a Crock Pot recipe and it was runny like watery sour cream.  Edible..and tasted ok, but definitely NOT the consistency I liked.

So, after a little further research, I found GREAT success today!!!
Yeah!

So after a fail and after searching for what might work this is what I ended up with.


2 quarts whole milk--not homogenized--low temp pasteurized works best.  (I haven't tried it with other skim, etc yet--but stay tuned)
1/2 c. store bought yogurt with cultures MUST have live active cultures in it.  (or you can use leftovers from last recipe)
(this next step in heating seems to be what firms up the yogurt)
Bring milk to 185/200 degrees in pot on stove.  Keep it there for approximately 20 minutes (I read it can go to an hour--may make even thicker?).  Keep watching temp and stir gently so it doesn't scald or boil over.  I had a hard time maintaining the heat evenly throughout that time but it didn't seem to matter since I still got firm yogurt.
This is what I read about what is happening at this necessary stage:
from this site
http://www.thekitchn.com/better-homemade-yogurt-5-ways-125442
"Most yogurt recipes have you warm the milk to around 200°F before cooling it down and adding the yogurt culture. During this step, try holding the milk at 200°F for 20 minutes or longer. This allows some of the moisture in the milk to evaporate and concentrates the solids.
Cool pan to apx 112 to 115 in ice water in sink (5 minutes?)  Watch closely.  While cooling set oven to 115 on bake.  (if you don't have that setting on your oven, use an oven thermometer)
Add apx 1/2 c. to 1 c. of warm milk to yogurt and stir gently.  Then add to remaining milk.  Cover with lid, then wrap in thick towel. 
Gently set wrapped pan in oven and close door.  Turn Oven Off!  Let sit in CLOSED oven for 4 hours--or up to overnight(if you want it more "sour".    Don't move it much.  Keep it still.
Refrigerate.  Enjoy!


TADA....here it is--2 quarts of yogurt for about $2.00

 look look it's so thick it sits on my spoon!!!
and EASY!
Obviously this is a "plain" yogurt so it needs sweetener, fruit, etc.  It can also be used in place of sour cream in some recipes.  It should last up to 2 weeks in your fridge.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Praying with Lucas

Tonight as I was putting Lucas to bed he prayed.
I haven't heard a more earnest, long, Spirit-filled prayer from a child his age in a long time.

He went on and on about how Powerful God was and the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ.  If he said "Jesus Christ" once he must have said it 20 times.  He was thankful.  He prayed for the people of China.  He talked about God's Love and our love for Him.  There is more but I was praying with him and can't remember it all.  The Spirit was definitely leading his sweet soul.

I just love how the Lord leads children to pray.

At the end of the prayer he talked about how Jesus is our sheild like Captain America--then said "Jesus, You Are Captain America"...=) precious boy!

When he was done he got teary and sniffly.  I asked him what was wrong and if he was ok.  He said, "I'm just happy about Jesus".

When was the last time I teared up, simply because I was "Happy about Jesus"?  I love this boy!

Family Photos with Oma and Opa

 Oma and Opa left today...but before they did, Opa had his last Peach Feast!
I should have counted how many he ate while they were here, but I know it was well over 40....=)... in 2 1/2 weeks.
 Opa is just "peachy"...
 We decided to do a little photo shoot before they left....
This is me and Isaac and his friend Ferg who has been staying with us on and off and is becoming part of the "Fam"... just a little fun...



Oma and Opa and our boys...

 We will miss you...thanks for coming we LOVED having you here.  I know it took a lot of effort and energy to be here over 2 weeks, but we LOVED it!  We hope you come again soon...