November Family Pictures

Call it a Clan,Call it a network,call it a tribe,call it a family.Whatever you call it,whoever you are,you need one. -Jane Howard

November 2009 We got together with my sister and brother and got our families pictures taken. It actually went well for the first official family picture for our Christmas cards and updates of the kids of us getting photos done, and the kids hung in there waiting for turns and enjoying being with their cousins. It seems like every year my fathers frames get changed out with a update of "grand kids"as we keep growing! We took a ton of pictures,so these are just a "few" of my favorites!

My Blog..WOW how behind am I?

"Other Things May Change Us,But We Start And End With Family"

~Anthony Brandt

Wow,I have not been online in a long time,and today had a moment to sit down, and actually log in and sadly enough saw the date of my last post and than saw that was behind already and had to close my eye and say a prayer that I may have time to catch up on life,on me,on the world and environment around me. Life threw us a curve ball with Bryce last year,we are still battling so many issues that I will have to slowly peel his "onion" apart as I update. But I still know deep in my heart, Bryce is in our homes because God placed him with us for a purpose. Unknown still, and yes days I want to run for the hills,and the family has been flipped,turned,taken into a rough storm and sad all because of a little child and the untold true to us last year and still things we are finding out now. All forgiven and all known in my heart that he would have died if we did not go back and get him,he would not have a home,and a family, and the opportunities of a lifetime he has with us.He now just has time to battle out,to heal his mind,heart and soul.With failure to thrive,RAD,developmental,physical,hormone problems, and my list could go on.. we love his smile,when he does decide to "turn on" the overwhelming hugs,loves,sweet voice,and the way that he can change the way your day or week has gone,just by 5 minutes of him finally giving you "Bryce". A deep breath as I slowly update my blog,as my family recovers from our tornado of a storm,and we hope that calm waters slowly come to our door and our family can FINALLY be somewhat "normal" as compared to what we have been dealing with on and off.

The love we all have shown,given,and expressed makes me proud,smile and know that m 2 bio kids YES have been through more than a child should and see and feel.. but I see what they are learning,how they are seeing the other side of the world and how lucky they are to have 2 Christian parent to be able to reach out,grab them and they may run to us at anytime. For Bryce not having anyone for so long,we all see what it does to a child,my 2 bios feel,see, and have to deal with it daily. So different than Aslynn as she was 6 months when we picked her up. Bryce just turned 2 on March 16th (we go by the birth certificate as he is still tiny, even though bone density test and dental show him at4, we will never go by that as he is smaller than Aslynn and fits in 3-6 clothes). Love,attachment,and family really does make a child grow,love,and form as a person,as a whole.. and we are experiencing it daily.We battle what Bryce we are getting today when the sun comes up in the morning,and some days its a blessing and a talkative boy that is full of life and actually will walk when he chooses to. And other days he wakes up shut off to the world,closing all doors, staring to the side,arms and fists in a ball and toes curls,and in a infant state,wont eat or drink. With therapy,love and time we know God will heal and he will show the world and people that doubted us we we were getting him, and even now that he is here for a divine reason, and he will change lives now and later and he will shock us all in the end.. I feel and know it as a mother.
May God bless you all and hope you are doing well. I hope to get on your blogs,see how you are doing,your children growing and doing amazing things. I wish the best for you all and hope to finally catch up as we are healing and now have peace in our hearts and trust in our Lord that life will actually be OK in the end. Our journey did not end when we brought our 2 loves home, and the 4 are growing together, I think that our journey is just beginning and I cant wait to see finally see LIFE and what IT has in store for us.

Emotionally and physically drained I cant wait to share our lives online and updates and hope that anyone that battles daily feelings,despair,unknown health of a adopted child,RAD,and attachment can take a moment to know there is someone else going through it also,it has helped me a lot to read emails and posts from others about their children. I am not alone,and that is good in a sense that I have a friend to listen and know what I am feeling that day.

Much love and hope posts soon..asap Leah get on the ball right? hugs hugs xoxo

November 20th and Christmas Music On The Radio?

!PUSH PAUSE ON MY MUSIC ON THE BOTTOM TO HEAR VIDEO!

Let It Snow,Let It Snow,Let it Snow!

"When days or moments get you down,there is always that one glance at a truly happy child have a first time experience that will make you stop,smile, and know in your heart you made the right choice,even though the journey has been a difficult one" - Leah

You know the holiday season is arriving when...you flip through the radio and a Christmas song comes on. Bryce's first Christmas in the USA, so his first time listening to our great Christmas songs. When I glanced in the mirror of the car and saw him jamming out, I had to grab my camera and turn around to capture his reaction while stopped at a stop light..only me right? It was great to see some emotion in him,smiles and stimulation. (he also love Beatles music and had some great laughs and spirit when I play The Beatles for him,interesting what music can "awaken" in you). He is slowly growing,coming in and out of his "coma state". We pray daily that he can grow up and live a regular life, grow to his age and size, and can be a normal child. He has grown 2 inches since he came in August,we have taught him to sit up,crawl,hold things,he now is babbling, and started this past week repeating to the best his speech can pronounce, words you say to him, he is pulling himself up and holding onto things as he walks. Still a tiny little guy,failure to thrive,and sad enough in infant shoes still,not even a size one fits him, too big. BUT we keep trucking along and hope for the best with all the conditions,issues,etc we are dealing with, we keep hoping we will beat the odds and he will be able to be a "real boy" and fit in this crazy world around us. We have hope..faith..and either way, he is our son and we love him no matter what disabilities,problems or what he can or cant do. He is unconditionally loved by us all,and you can see him daily trying so hard to catch up,be like the other kids,you can see it in his eyes,and you cant wonder what is going through that mind of his. He has been through so much,and yes the bone density tests (2) and teeth test show him at almost 4 years old,just so malnourished and starved at the orphanage the doctors say,his growth and development stopped. He is the size and mental state of a 6-9 month old, but we are going to go by the age on his birth certificate which makes him 22 months old. He is too tiny to go by his real age the doctors tests have determined. It is funny in a way, I see him do things, have that look, etc that my 4 year old son has. If you just looked at his head, you can see his age and the mouth full of teeth. Its the tiny body,not walking and some words that are trying to come out it throw people off at first glance. BUT my little man will beat the odds and amaze everyone..I know it! If not, he is stuck hanging on Mama and chilling in a stroller, right? :) Much Love to Everyone that goes through times that were untold,unknown and still push through daily knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for your love and emails with your adoption shock stories and encouragement to go back to Ethiopia and get Bryce, and keep up spirits and hope during such difficult moments and days. Its nice to know there are people out there that can relate and give me advice. I appreciate you all..keep writing. Much Love,Leah

Thanksgiving with Logan

Thanksgiving lunch with Lo Lo

He took a picture of his shoe, I thought it was too cute

His "decorated out" Thanksgiving feather

Logan's preschool had a nice Thanksgiving lunch prepared outside in the wonderful sunny but breezy weather. We first attended chapel,than stood in line for is big "meal". It was so great to spend time with just Logan and I, I think it meant more to him just to get one on one time than showing me all the great Thanksgiving Day projects he made in class. I am so thankful for my 4 children and Jon, God has blessed me.

Baptismal

"Then Peter said unto them,Repent,and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,and ye shall receive the gift of the

Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38

On November 14th 2009 at CCV, Jon and I attended Nina and Scott's duel Baptismal. It was a very touching ceremony as husband and wife both got baptized together on a very chilly night :) We were very blessed as friends to be invited and enjoyed the evening with them, thank you guys.

ZOO DAY 11/08/09

~ZOO~

When the weather starts to cool down in Arizona,we hit the zoo! We had a great family day walking around the wildlife zoo with the kids and seeing the new exhibits. So much has been going on in our lives that we needed a break, get out of the house and get our minds away from stuff for a few hours. The babies fell asleep by the end of the day, it was a fun walk and nice to see the kids smile and enjoy being outside :)

Halloween 2009 BOO!

Halloween 2009

Sharon and the kids
Paris and Makenzie

The kids and I

Jon and I

Makenzie

Logan

The spooky kids

Dragon! Bryce

She was a witch,but my sister put cat whiskers and a nose on her and Aslynn was a kitty for the night!

The 2 babies first Halloween,and trunk or treat at Church of Joy. We had a great time with the kids as they played games to win candy,people had their cars decorated different themes and then the backs open and the kids got to get candy from the people passing it out. There was rows and rows of cars, and themes like Jackson dancing on stage,scary,friendly,all sorts of different cars with neat people dressed to match. The kids were so worn out by the time we hit the last row of cars, and they crashed to sleep in the car on the way home. It was fun and of course too much candy!

Lunch with Nina

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch"

Orson Welles

My first time taking the 2 babies to lunch alone without Jon,or at all come to think of it. They were really good, and its nice that Nina doesn't mind that I have 2 small ones :) Bryce and Aslynn had a good time, ate their snacks, Aslynn LOVED the ginger off Nina's Sushi plate, it was too cute. Plus,I have not had a chance to see Nina in along time,so we got to catch up!