Swimming in December

Well, after searching valley wide, we found an indoor swimming pool at a local hotel and decided to spend a day and night as a family just relaxing. We invited Aunt Laurie and the girls to join us for the swimming and dinner part and prepared for a night of fun!

The pool wasn't as heated as we would have liked. I think calling it 70 degrees may have been generous but all the same, we went in. COle would have nothing to do with it and chose to keep a towel swaddled around his shoulders and his feet in the spa instead. Lexi would only go in if held close to our heat emmitting bodies. Abby, as could be expected, swam until she was blue and shivering so hard that she was creating her own mini-waves. Celia is a fish. She really is an athletic child.

Anna and Celia played well together in the water. We all got in a few games of Marco Polo as well. We would periodically warm up in the spa and Aunt Laurie was quite a trooper with the kids in the cold pool.

That night we had brought our DVD player and rented a few movies from BLockBuster. Turns out the tv at the hotel wasn't compatible so that was a lost effort that cost us $14 in renting a movie to our room from the hotel. Grrrrr... the kids all ate gummy bears and licorice while snuggled in before the tv. It was really cute. Sleeping didn't go as well as everything else. We had made a bed on the floor out of blankets for Cole and Abby. Daddy and I were in a not-so-big full sized bed, and then Lexi and Celia in the other bed. First, Abby was moved to a make shift bed by the front door. Then Celia joined the ranks on the floor in a much nicer make shift bed. Lexi was queen having the only real bed all to herself. Daddy snored, Abby woke up with whimpering tears, and we even had the alarm pre-set to go off at midnight with the Mexican Cucarracha! So yes, we had fun. And YES, we are tired!

Next time, we ask what the pool temp is before settling on a reservation. And next time, we bring some sleeping bags. But I do hope that there will be a next time!

The Bikes

Cole, Lexi, and Abby all got bicycles for their Christmas gifts from us. Cole and LExi's bikes are 16" and Abby's is a 12". They are super cute with their little training wheels. COle was excited to sit on it but knowing how to make it go was a whole new thing. The tricycles always allowed him to use his feet to propel the trike like a Flinstone car instead of using the pedals. Lexi had figured out the trike pedals but it was hard for her to reach them consistantly.

Well Lexi figured out the bike right away. She opted for Cole's red bike rather than her purple one. Should have known that! Around and around the living room she went with pride beaming from her. As she tired she would periodically whine when stuck but all in all, it was super successful. Cole gave up.

Today was a new day. We put Cole on his bike and he stuck with it out in our street. And sure enough, it was a matter of time and he got it... for the most part! He still tries to pedal backword at times which leads to some frustration.

Watching the kids struggle just to pedal the right direction actually reminds me of how it is that I struggle with the tasks in my life. The laundry, the kids, the house, the cooking, the errands, the doctor appointments, etc. And then the realization that the kids have figured out to pedal now and they don't even know that pedaling was just the beginning of what it really takes to ride the bike. They will one day have to balance without the 2 extra wheels and navigate a world of traffic, hills, and bumps. Yet they are just working so hard right now to just pedal. What does that say for me and where I am? Am I just pedaling, not even knowing that a whole balancing act and navigation process is ahead? I am sure of it. I doubt it not for a minute. Every time we master one task in our lives, the Lord presents us with a new degree to the challenge, or a new challenge all together. I suppose that is the point- to keep being challenged and grow through those experiences. Just interesting to see it all through the blind eyes of a 2 and three year old. They are so happy with their success... which I suppose is where I need to be. Happy in mine.

Christmas

This Christmas has been truly crazy... always in the chaos there is a pause to reflect on the Lord's blessings of the year and to look at what God is doing in my life going into the new year. This pause has been so different than in years past.

Celia is here. She is the new light in our lives and though sometimes she is hard to truly understand, she brings so much joy and pleasure to each day. Her case plan has not changed and there is still no certainty of how long she will be here. All we can do is love her and pray each day for more days to hold her and hug her. It has been 4 months and 2 weeks now. She told us last night that it seems like so much longer. We have just done so much together and really have gotten to know and love one another. It is amazing how quickly a family can be bound.

And of course, there are Abby and Lexi. Visits with their bio dad have resumed for now, pending the court hearing toward the end of January. These new visits have come with big backlash and the children that I had refused to acknowledge as foster children, I am once again living with the awareness staring me in my face.

Africa. The lessons and awarenesses brought to me through my trip to Africa have forever changed me for the better. The trip brought me so much closer to the Lord and to doing what it is that God would have me do in my life. I have some friends in Africa now, bringing home their children, and I am just biting at the bit to hear all about it.

So to sum up the year as God would have me see it- Back to the Basics. Faith, Family, Friends. These are honestly all I need. I do not wish to attain more than that. I actually wish I could get rid of so much of this "stuff" that society has taught me to value. So many thought I was crazy when I recently shut off my cell phone. It was so liberating. We have given our time away... our time in the car. Our time running errands. Our time on the toilet. Honestly... you all know what I am talking about. Technology robs us of our ability to just be. It robs us of our time to just pray and ponder. Doing is so much better than having. I cleaned out our garage earlier this year and intend to do this throughout the house as time allows. Is it purposeful? Is it prudent? If not- let's find someone who thinks it is and let them have it. I don't need stuff. I need God and people. Not stuff.

ANyway, I know you all have had your awakenings this year as well and hope that when you look back upon this last year that you will see a new found excitement in your life with what you have learned, too.

For this next year, I am prioritizing two trips. I want to go on a trip with my grandma and hopefully my mom. I don't care where. It is something we have been wanting to do and the opportunity hasn't worked out as we had hoped. The other trip is to Africa. I love the kids there. I feel very connected to them. I want to go back and continue to grow in those relationships. Other than a simple love for them, I am not really sure why God has me feeling so pulled back. I do not understand why it can't just be a great memory from a past trip- but it isn't. I am saving up to go back and hope to take Jason and perhaps, Celia, too (she has to be adopted first). I wish to serve at the orphanage and just love on the kids.

As for my family, I am desperately praying for the girls' adoptions to go through. I would be honored to be their mom forever. I also am working to get more ME time at home. Wish me luck on this as I have never been good at carving that out!

Love to you all. God Bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS.