This is what happens to the little brother when he falls asleep and his sister, then daddy and big brother get creative.  It was all done in love:0)

Alex with her bright pink cast.

It has now been signed by her whole class and friends from church.  3 weeks and we go back to have the arm x-rayed again. Please pray that she won't have to get another cast after that.  If she does, she won't be playing basketball this season:0(

Where does the time go?

I know it has been over a week since I posted.  I have gotten a few emails wondering what is going on. Thanks so much for caring.   All I can say is that life has been pretty hectic lately.  Last week, during Alex's strep illness, we found out that she was allergic to her medicine.    Not fun.  She is not one to sit around when she is sick, so adding this obstacle to it, was a lot to deal with:0)  We did survive, but I am praying that this is it for a while.   (at the time, I thought we were done with medical dramas)   Now on to the weekend...........  

We were able to go camping this weekend with friends. I know that does not sound like us at all. It was a first for both Gareth and I.  We borrowed a tent and sleeping bags and off we went. We really were clueless.  The first night, we froze.   By the second night, I figured the heater out along with bundling everyone in their own sleeping bags.  Gareth became an expert fire maker.  He became a little obsessive about it, but he sure kept us all warm.  We were able to go on our friends boat on Sunday. It was a BEAUTIFUL fall day.  We had such a great time and haven't been that relaxed in a long time. All of the kids were so well behaved and just had lots of fun!!  We ended up getting rained on on Monday, but we stuck it out and took the kids fishing in the rain.  Alex caught a cat fish all on her own. She was thrilled!!!  Now the amazing part, she caught it with a fractured arm.  Yes, you read that right. On Sunday, we went for a walk around the camp grounds and she fell. We thought maybe it was just sprained and she would survive.  She is such a trooper. You could tell it hurt her, but she rarely complained.  She was too worried about having fun and not missing out on anything.  Yesterday, (Tuesday)  I ended up taking her to the doctor because it was more swollen than it had been. The Dr. ordered x-rays.  They called later in the day to tell us that she has an appointment today to get it casted.  She fractured her radial bone right on the growth plate. It had to be casted, or as she grows, it will continue to bow/crack and it will be a mess.  

Today at the Dr. she was messing around. The doctor looked at her, looked at her x-ray, looked back at her and said, "if she was an adult, she would have been in here 2 hours after this happened. She must be in pain."   Well, that is our Alex.  She is one tough cookie:0)

She selected a BRIGHT pink cast and is sporting it beautifully.  Did anyone actually think that us city people could go out camping and not have any drama attached? (giggle, giggle)

Hopefully that will be all of the drama for now.  It has been a crazy week so far. Thanks to all that have helped out with the boys as I have been running her around to the different places. I really appreciate it!!!  My camera is charging and then I will share some pics of the weekend:0)

Now, let's see if we can get through Halloween.  Liam isn't too interested in his costume, (and skunk, so I can't really blame him) and he is a bit afraid of what he has seen so far. Callum is excited to be a fire fighter, and Alex is going to be a vet.  Should be lots of fun!!!!

and the sickness continues......

So Alex came in to us at 4:30 am to tell us that her throat was on fire and she would like to go to the doctor. Not a good sign.  It turns out that with a fever, she has strep. She is off of school until Thursday. Poor thing.  She slept most of the afternoon. Gareth took the boys out in hopes that they won't get it.   I also fell down the steps this morning rushing around, so I am going to be sporting some bruises. Luckily for everyone else, they are in places that you won't see:0)  Needless to say, Alex and I had a girls night tonight watching a movie.  Tomorrow we will just take it easy and pray that we are all well come Thursday.

I think that we have done our time in the sickness department this year and that this should be it!!!  Let's pray that is truly the case.

Happy 2nd Birthday Liam!!!!!

Yesterday was Liam's 2nd birthday.  I didn't post yesterday, one because I ran out of time, but two because I really was at a loss for words. I know it doesn't happen very often, but yesterday was one of those days.  

Two years ago, we had already been in our adoption process for 8 months. We had been matched with a little boy that fell through. I remember being so devastated.    2 weeks later, a call came in that a little boy had been born, and we were to be matched with him.  I remember praying to God that if this really was the boy that He had hand picked for us, please give us a sign.  Make the process proceed easily and get this little boy home to us.   

We then spent the next 21 months in constant turmoil trying to get this beautiful little boy home to us.  We had to fight more of a fight than we ever thought possible. We watched him grow in pictures all the while questioning God and asking why He was allowing these obstacles to be thrown in our path. Did we hear Him wrong when we prayed?   There were many times, (months) where neither Gareth or I felt the Lord in this process. We prayed only to hear nothing.   There were also times when God put faithful people in our path and used them to show us the way.  He truly preformed miracles.  

I have come to learn that although the path wasn't easy, God never said it would be.  God had something greater in mind for us and that is why we had to wait. Timing is most important in God's time, not ours.  He waits until He can have all the glory.   We may never understand the waiting, but we have to know that when we are going through trials, it is the time to draw on what we know from God. Not base everything on our feelings at that moment.  That being said, I am a women, and that is hard to do:0)

All of that said, we woke Liam up yesterday singing to him.  He was clueless and didn't really care for the singing:0)   We took him to Chick-fil-A for breakfast.  Gareth had to work about 12 hours, so I had my parents come over for dinner and we had cake.  All in all, it was a such a fun and laid back day.

As I was putting him to bed, all I could think was how amazing this little boy is.  He has a beautiful smile. He is so very clever.  He loves to give hugs and he loves his cars and books.  

I could go on and on, but I am sure that you don't have all day:0)    As I was standing there watching him sleep, I just stood in awe of this little man.  God chose him just for us!! 

It is like he has always been here. The pain of the wait truly is gone. We are so in Love with him and now have this beautiful bundle of joy that keeps us on our toes and has us wrapped around his little finger. We are so truly blessed to have him as our son and can not wait to see what the Lord has prepared for him in years to come!!!

Happy Birthday Liam!!!!

A quick update!!

It seems as if I haven't posted in forever!!

Where do I begin?  Last Saturday we had our final soccer games.  We were all well enough to go, although Friday night I wasn't sure that we would be.  Gareth coached both teams and Callum's team went undefeated. Alex's team did well, but I am not sure their final win/loss count.

We were all well on Sunday and after church, we had a family day. We took the kids to a pumpkin patch.  We played in a hay pit, did a corn maze, went on a hay ride, saw animals and picked and painted pumpkins.  The kids were exhausted. We went straight back to church to start our Sunday night studies, so it was a long but fun day. 

Monday started normally.  Callum was feeling off Monday and Tuesday. He had a fever on and off. it is hard because you just never know how sick they really are.  All of my kids act perfectly well when they are running fevers.   On Thursday, I got a call from the nurse at school that Alex had a fever, so I had to go get her early.  On Thursday night, Gareth and I came down with it.  Now, Gareth and I have colds.  We are both completely congested.    We are getting ready to move in to our new sanctuary at church. This has been years in the making, and we are thrilled. Anyway, last night we had a sound check for the praise team(which I am on)  I don't know why I bothered to go. I could barely sing, and I certainly didn't help with what/where I could hear coming out of where.  My head was so clouded that all I could hear was myself:0)

I haven't gotten to see my dad lately as the last thing I want to do is make him more sick with our yucky germs. That has been hard. I try to take the kids over to my parent a few times a week to visit with him. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and we will all be healthy for the rest of the year.  This is too much so far this fall.   We want to be healthy and stay that way:0)

I am sure that I rambled and may not have made complete sense, but I did want to post something this week. Now it is off to get everyone ready to bed and an early night. Praying we are able to go to church tomorrow!!!

and the sickness continues....

I have all three kids home today.  Callum and Liam have now joined Alex.  I def. think that tomorrow will be a better day. It seems as if Liam is the one that is the worst today. He is sleeping at the moment.  I still haven't had a full meal yet, but the plus is I may lose a few pounds:0)    I didn't expect my household to get sick this early in to the school year. I just pray that Garth stays healthy. He is the only one that hasn't been effected yet!!

sick, sick, sick:0(

I know I haven't posted in a week.  Alex and I are now fighting this stomach bug going around. Not fun!!!  So far, the boys haven't gotten it. We pray that they won't. it has been yucky!!!!

sick, sick, sick:09