A Thorn Among Roses

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... during the thanksgiving feast at school, brooke DID NOT tell her teacher, "those pilgrims really should be careful when using shells for spoons and such. they may appear empty, but there could be hermit crabs in them. trust me, i know this." a friends son, jeremy, DID NOT get an amazing and totally miraculous report this week from the doctor about his non-hodgkins lymphoma treatments... the tumors around heart and kidneys are no longer visible at all! we all shoud NOT totally praise god!!! jada DID NOT fall out of the chair eating lunch a the dining room table...and then say that she didn't. she also does NOT fall out of the chair at least 5 days a week. jada and i DID NOT make a starbucks run on wednesday morning in our jammies...and go inside. i DID NOT add low lights to paige's hair, as she requested, to only hear her say, "wow, my hair looks really dark now." wow...that's a shock, huh? so we DI...

ryan is a ball of energy...super happy, most of the time, and playful, like a kid every single second. he's never going to grow up...and that's perfectly fine with me, except when i'm totally grumpy and it gets on my nerves. {snicker} i grabbed a few totally off beat, random shots of him and they soooo describe the faces of ryan as i see them... "i am working and i can not hear anything going on outside of my head. if the house is on fire, physically move my body because i will not notice." "i have to go on a business trip...tomorrow...and i just found out. must plan gifts for the girls for my return." "this is me...take it or leave it." i gotta say, i love me some of those faces right now because he traveled last week and this week...and i need a little "this is me" face around here! happy thanksgiving you all!!! be blessed. _________________________________________ november is national adoption awareness month kids learn different...

a few fam photos from my photo shoot of, well, "us" on saturday. they all aren't perfect, but they are perfectly us...does that make sense??? a few tears and some "i don't want to's"...pretty normal! my bookend kiddos...and me! {ryan took the pic...i set it up, of course} and even a few of JUST sofia...with her hair in a pixie! did you catch that...hair!!! then ryan gave it a shot getting a shot of the girlies and me...you know, "the roses" in the "thorn among roses". he didn't do too bad...lighting wasn't the best, but hey, it's all of us girlies in a pic! any favs??? _____________________________________________ november is national adoption month are you or someone you know considering adoption and need some assistance finanacially...well, there are all kinds of places that exist that offer grants. go HERE and take a look. reese's rainbow is one of those totally amazing places...and they provide connections for ...

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this last week... brooke DID NOT tell the nice lady at the hospital registration who nicely asked if she had any brothers, "no, we only have girls in our house. did you know, boys have long hangy thingys between their legs. we don't have those. ok, well, daddy has a very long hangy thingy and that's ok, because he's a man, not a boy. we definitely don't like boys, though." paige and i DID NOT go see new moon on saturday for some special girl time. we DID NOT sneak in our own drinks...scandalous! i also DID NOT scream "shut up. you can not end a movie that way" our loud...really loud...at the end of the movie. paige DID NOT cower...but laugh really hard AT ME!!! brooke DID NOT eat half a bag of mini carrots for a "snack" on thursday night...when i told her that sneaking a whole bag of carrots would turn her and her poop orange, she DID NOT giggle and say, "awesome". hubs and i DID NOT g...

i started in a beth moore study a few weeks ago with some people i had never met....i mean, i blog with one of them, but had no idea who any of them are in "real life". {{oh, and in case you didn't know, god is flipping amazing.}} a number of peeps in our little study are part of adoptions...private, foster, international etc., but we had no idea where or how god would use that. let me introduce you to the hollis family...they are standing on faith. a great inspiration and reminder of how living in the midst of god's will can be a totally peaceful place to be...even in the uncertainty of it all. ok...i'm done talking...just go HERE are and read. i promise you, your life will be better. you will be changed. ...and there's a sweet little girl, darya, who desperately needs your help to raise enough funds to be adopted. spread the word...there are precious peas all over the world, with special needs, who need families...and remember, you don't have to ...

paige and sofia are definitely sisters...both know what they want, stand firm, love and smile a lot...and well, torment just a little too. so when paige wants to cuddle sofia, it's always a stand-off. sofia sees that paige wants her to cuddle...therefore, it's a game of "no way" and avoidance. enter...the phone. sofia loves paige's phone. and paige allows her to play with the phone only when paige gets to cuddle with her. the smiles start...and they both are happy. {paige gets sofia saying "josh"...which is super cute to watch and hear.} and then they cuddle...and i think it's super sweet and cute. both very smart players, if you ask me. and pretty darn cute too!!! Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek ____________________________________ national adoption awareness month ever wonder about what a family tree looks like when you've adopted? well, we just add "roots" if you will. our kids bmom's and bio fams are part of their lives a...

sometimes it's just way more fun to play in your food... i mean grilled cheese oranges, yogurt and pretzel sticks is kinda boring. kinda normal. my kids...they are NOT normal. we are NOT normal. so they constructed... and made super fun sandwiches that they created...the vampire cheese sandwich. and who could argue with the smiles and fun? i know...i'm the cool mom! {not really, but i totally pulled it off with this one!}

do you see it? brooke did...when we were glancing through shots i'd taken. there are two "rainbows" in a random shot i took of the sun through the trees in the front yard. reminds me that in spite of my selfishness, my desires, myself, god still is god...and he doesn't break his promises...he even sends a rainbow every now and then to remind me. even when i don't see the rainbow, it's still there...and so is he. so, thanks b!!! great catch...and an even better reminder for me.

she's just so darn cute...i def think this is my little autumn beauty! _______________________________________ november is national adoption awareness month isabella is an orphan, but there's a family who really wants to bring her home...and to raise the money required, they are selling 3000 bracelets. go and look around at orphaned no more and you will not only see some really fun and cute bracelets, but i promise, you will be blessed. their story is HERE .

every year, 20 million babies are born too soon, too small and very sick ― half a million of them in the united states. today, november 17, is when we fight. my little sofia was a preemie...3lbs 10oz when she was born. she had to fight for her life. and fight, she did. not all preemies are as fortunate...so today, we fight with wisdom and prayers and we offer funding for more research and more chances for more babies to make it. sofia is doing great...because of fabulously educated doctors, pre and postnatally and great NICU staff and facilities, among other things. her 17lb almost 2 yr old self is still fighting, and most of time, it's winning! why the prematurity campaign, well, HERE 's why...just in case that precious little face wasn't enough. thanks in advance...sof sends her kisses too!

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this last week... paige DID NOT get laughed at all week for her concussion head and "/" slice on her forehead from the softball collision last sunday. my mom DID NOT break out into laughter when she say her with her bandage on...and paige DID NOT say, "nana, you're the grandma. you are required to be nice and not laugh." i DID NOT have a recheck appt for my CPAP this week...and the sleep lab and neuro's office has NOT moved into the stress center. i DID NOT have to take b, jk and s to the appointment, that was NOT in the middle of nap time. i DID NOT have the nurses stop and say, "wow, you really have your hands full." i DID NOT reply, "i know that you mean, wow, your kids are crazy and i'm so glad it's not me." they DID NOT stare in shock that i said it, then laugh and then eventually nod. i DID NOT text hubs and say, "it's a good thing the dr office is in the stress center so ...