A Favor Please???

For about 5 months now I have been working on a video for our boys.  It is pictures to one song that we danced to everyday in honor of them.  In each picture we are holding our sign, Waiting for You.  I wanted to add some friends and family who have been on this amazing ride with us.  Our boys will know how much they were loved long before they came home.

So please send me a picture (to my phone) of you and your family holding a little sign that reads, Waiting for You.  The sign can be written in two year old handwriting and crazy drawings around it, just your sweet faces holding the sign.  That way our boys see who was all waiting.  I will also post the video when it is finished so you can see.

Thank you OH SO MUCH.  This will be so fantastic!  If you don't have my phone and need my email it is mannyleigh11@yahoo.com

Thank you again,

Amanda

Fort Myers.

Fort Myers was 90 everyday and beautiful.  Yes I said it.  90 everyday.  Now let's talk about calling this a vacation.  For some reason I always coorelate a vacation with relaxing...And this was anything but relaxing.  Sebastian was non-stop crazy.  He ran into the ocean, ate sand, threw sand, and pretty much did everything we asked him not to do.  I had to carry him anywhere that I needed him to go, because he would not follow.  He threw fits and dropped where ever he was and I had to conger up the strength to pick him up.  We had time out on the beach and he was in it about every 30 minutes.  If Cealy and her best buddy Aubrey would not pay attention to little man he would hit them on the head with a shovel...I kid you not.  The day Danny went golfing I thought about not taking them to beach and pool, because Sebastian was so difficult but I went anyway.  Sebastian ran everywhere you told him to stay away from, and there were moments where I cried behind my sunglasses.  I have to be real here, so if I post amazing pictures from an awesome vacation, I must also document the reality of a stubborn toddler. 

I was able to run the beach every morning.  It was a beautiful thing.  Danny wanted to golf one day and I wanted a 1/2 hour to work out every morning with the dolphins.  And boy did the dolphins show up.  It was amazing.  They were out every morning and when I came back to our condo we would go out in the pjs and dolphin watch. 

Cealy loves to play games, just like her Mama.  Except she has this amazing ability to be sweet during the game and I just can't understand it.  It is like she wants to be a good sport or something?  Every time she would win Candyland, she would say, "That's okay Mommy, you win too!"  And I would just stare at her and give her this big hug.  Such an awesome chick she is!!

Uncle Matt built something sandish everyday.  They were so good that people would come by and take a picture. 

Sebastian had sand everywhere and snacked on it all day.  I had to let go of any germ phobias.

To give the girls some time away from our sweet pumpkin, I would take him to the water below our spot on the beach.  Ahhh, he is such a cutie that I can't stand not to kiss him all day.  But rest assure he doesn't sit for longer than 2 minutes.

Cealy's favorite spot was the POOL!! She loves everything about swimming except putting her face in.  Yikes, that is a big part.

Are you kidding me?? This face just melts me.  So tired at dinner.

Best thing about eating outside and at Fort Myers is that you can let the kiddos run around until food comes!!

One of the morning runs when all the dolphins were jumping!

Baby Rosalie went with us of course.  And Cealy made sure there were no burns for her baby.

Jumping on the bed is a must!

Aunt Kristin and Uncle Matt bought kites.  They are about as fun as you get.  Kristin plays games with me all day.  She is so fun to be with, and such a good mother.  Aubrey is a delight to be around my kids are obsessed with her.  Sebastian calls her Bobrey.  And the only way I could get him to listen for a second would be to say, "You want to see Bobrey?"

Fit on the beach.  Kicking.  Throws cup in sand.

I had always assumed our boys would be with us on this trip.  I am trying to pray away my concerns.  I put it in God's hands and pray He is able to bring them home soon.  Each morning I ask Jesus to tell our boys were are coming. 

Picnics everyday.  We either sat down by the beach in these chairs or sat on the screened in porch overlooking the ocean.

 

 

 

 

 

*More to come-Off to unpack, not my favorite part...

Going to the Hard Places.

This could also mean having the hard or tough converstations.

"I have always wanted to adopt, but isn't it hard, I mean isn't there a lot of paperwork and traveling and hard to wait?"

And I answer: Yes.  I hope that if this is the only thing holding you back from adopting you call an agency tomorrow.  So you really want to live your life never going to the hard places?  Never traveling because you are scared to fly?  (That one is me by the way).  Not adopting, because all the paperwork scares you. 

I for one search my house for a little something called patience.  And I search.  When I am in a tizzy, I call for Ceal and say, "It is time to look for our friend, patience!! I can't find her! And I am in great need of her today."  And Cealy and I search.  We usually find her somewhere funny.  Reading the Word, you will find that God asked His disciples to wait.  YIKES!  I am so bad at that.  Everyone had to wait.  You learn a lot when you wait.  It is not easy, but He commands us to go to the hard places.

Not long ago I met 7 of my favorite people in Chicago for the weekend.  I lived with them in college and love our time together.  One of my besties had cancer in high school.  She kept talking about all these doctor appointments she had to go to lately.  Of course I ask, "Why are you going to the dr. so often?"  She answers: "I always have had to go.  I go for tests or blood work or some scary MRI."  Me: "What, how did I not know this?" -"Well you never asked.  No one did.  My family won't even talk about it with me.  I had cancer.  I conquered it.  I still have appointments that scare me to death but no one ever wants to talk about the hard stuff.  Everyone wants to know I beat it, and we cheer to that, but I have never been able to tell the hard and sad and downright frightening part of cancer." 

And my heart dropped.  I never asked.  I actually drove her to a couple of appointments in college but I never asked about what it was like for her.  I don't enjoy watching the commercials with children dying from starvation.  Not my favorite.  I don't enjoy watching St. Jude's commercials, because I get sick to my stomach so changing the channel is what is best?  I didn't ask my best friend about what it was like in the thick of cancer.  What it IS like for her to visit the doctor every 6 months for tests, always praying they see nothing.  Shame on me. 

I have to continue to go to the hard places.  I am traveling to pick up my sons.  I don't like to fly, in fact I am downright scared to fly anywhere.  I am the chick pressing that button when we hit a bump asking if I should assume the death position.  But I am going.  I am going to that hard place. 

Spring.

Sebastian and Ceal have been keeping me busy.  Sebastian doesn't sit ever.  Not ever.  He runs from one thing to the next and climbs everything.  He loves to hit and seems to love time out.  He smiles the whole way there and during.  I often get, "Mam, your son is standing in the cart," or "Mam, your son is climbing over the cart,"  and often times I do the polite wave and smug smile because how do you keep Houdini in the cart?  Somehow this child can suck his chub belly in enough to shimy out of any buckle.

Everything about him makes me smile.

You buy each kid a cup.  Cealy likes Dora and Sebastian likes throwing baseballs at my face so I got him a sports cup and what do you know?  They want eachothers'.

One of my girlfriends has a bounce house in her basement and doesn't mind having 10 kids running around her house.  I love this chick.

Cealy had one of her besties over Saturday and she is Sebastian's favorite too.  Ella plays and laughs with Sebastian the whole time.

 Cealy is a cleaner.  Love every second of it.  I told her she was getting more chores so we could support more children with Childfund and she has been a peach about cleaning up.  Her heart is amazing.  She always has 15 babies and is holding her baby's car seat while walking around, girl after my own heart.

My heart hurts when I think about our boys.  I just want them home.  It is hard.  It is hard talking about them, answering questions, and just looking at their pictures.  God asks us to go to the hard places.  He never promised following Him and His son would be easy.  And just when I want to cry, I get a text from a friend that says she is praying for our sweet boys.  Or I open their closet and see the clothes and toys that await them.  So many people love our precious boys.  Thank you.

Grandpa Steve having fun swinging.  Both of them could swing for hours and cry when I make them do something different.

Anytime we can eat on the porch we do!

Here is my go to!  Some crackers with peanut butter and jelly is the jam!!

Random Act of Kindness.

I wanted to do a random act of kindness.  Getting to know God and Jesus better has significantly changed my life, and I wanted to give that hope and happiness to someone else.  Plus, I should just call it a Selfish Act of Kindness, because I always feel better giving.

My little sister, cousin, and I decided to write down our favorite bible verse on post-its and attach a five dollar bill to it.  Then we went around to a couple difference places, and placed our little gift on window shields.  We handed some of them to an actual person.  But I am awkward, and never know what to say so I do better with cars...

Hope everyone had a beautiful Easter.  I sure missed my handsome sons...