A Thorn Among Roses

i have been super blessed with a man who not only loves and adores me, but thinks his daughters are all queens deserving of the most love a daddy can give.  in this family, and with other special needs families, there are days that make being fully engaged, well, let's just say difficult. poop, for instance...it's still an issue in our house.  with kids 20, 12, 10, and 7, you would think that we were well past the poop problems, but we are not.  ASD (autism spectrum disorder) is a beast when it comes to poop. and here's a little insight on me...i'm a gagger, meaning the harsh smell of poop or puke makes be puke.  but the amazing hot hubs, he's a beast on the clean up.  poop on the walls...he scrubs it.  poop pasted on the toilet...he cleans it up.  poop on the shower curtain...he washes it.  and he does it without being nasty.  (he doesn't like it...but he does it.) so, when people see our fam and think it's all amazingly perfect and cu...

play time around here to me often means a big fat mess of horses and princesses and dresses...but the girlies do love to play pretend. they work and work on making everything perfect for the for the drama... bring more stuff in... then move on to the next room for disaster to commence...or playtime, whichever you prefer to say.

brit, b's bmom, had jordan about 2 weeks ago now.  she's just a beaming momma...and brooke, well, she's a super proud sister.   but this little guy...he's so precious i can't hardly stand it!  being a faux grandma is awesome.  i get to spoil him and love on him and not have to do the ate night feedings.  i don't know why we don't do this always together! and a boy...well, it's all different.  with my 4 girls and no boys in sight, this little guy is getting so spoiled it's not even funny! it's already been so incredible to see brit parent jordan and be able to still have b and jordan bond as siblings too.  it's been a real gift...and i'm sure there's a lot more to come. did i tell you he was precious???

it's brooke's bday today... i can hardly believe that 7 years ago today we were in a labor/delivery room with brit...worried so much about brittany and at the same time, so incredibly excited to see the baby that we had waited so long for. brit was so young...we loved her so much and we just wanted everything to be okay for her.   i have to say, i specifically remember actually feeling the room was full of holy angels...there was this powerful sense of God's presence and peace and love.  we had tons of people on their knees for brit...and for that, i am so grateful.  bc that day, that moment, brooke was the witness of God's love to a number of people who had never felt that kind of love before. and then the little horse was born...and there was a sigh of relief that all was well.  i remember looking for ryan while i was holding brit as the nicu doctors took care of brooke's lungs. ryan was in the hallway outside the room, prostrate on the floor, sobbing.  he was...

b and j got to have a fab makeover in cinderella's bippity boppity boutique...super special to us, bc paige was one of the first girlies to get a makeover 4 years ago at the big pre-opening.  hard to believe that p is old enough to sit and giggle and grin while the little ones now get the makeovers! so we got us some princesses...full of makeup and tiara's and nail polish!!!  with some fab hair... and there were smiles abounding...especially from this one who FINALLY got to be "real princess" in her own eyes bc disney finally got a brown princess!  i mean, can money buy that stinking face???? and what princesses they are... i mean, jada is REALLY a princess...bc she can't even take the sunshine.  she whined and squealed and well, just look at the cringe on her face!   what a stinking princess...a very cute princess, for sure.

i hear a lot that ryan and i are just amazing people because we have adopted and have fostered children...the truth is that we are selfish in a lot of ways. when you want a child...you want a child. i mean, most of us think biologically out of the chute, but a child is a child. you have no more control over medical concerns or genetics or due dates whether you adopt of biologically birth a child... we wanted more children. we adopted. period. i hate to make it sound so simple, but, and i'm gonna throw out frigg in' hand grenade here, it was. now, the process wasn't, but the actual, "ok, let's have a child" thing was that simple. the biggest difference i've seen is that having kids biologically, well, let's just say you can't decide simply over a nice meal and bottle of wine... sure there are background checks and paperwork and financials, but if you want that child, you'll do it...and it's just different stuff than you do with a biolog...

soccer season is always well anticipated around here... then, the season actually starts and the attitude of the b-ster flares on the field and it gets interesting! brooke gets tired and just thinks she should be able to rest...so her shoulders start flaring up and the pout starts to set in. lucky for her, grandpa was able to cuddle her and calm her down. then it's off to the field to kick around and play some soccer. crazy kid. this year was jk's first year playing...i didn't know what to expect, honestly. jada is my "watch" girl...she's not much of a jump in and do it kinda girl...but apparently, soccer is her thing! she was sooo cute and soooo excited! her fav thing...the pink soccer shoes! in the beginning, all the kids were running in a big circle around the ball and jada was staring at the birds and the people on the sidelines, with a smile, i might add. i yell from the sideline..."jada, run towards the ball and try to kick it in the goal."...

in typical fashion, brooke did not disappoint. most kids would lose a tooth...sure, that's not a big deal. but the b-ster, well, she not only loses a tooth, but loses 2 in two days...while ryan and i are on vacation...oh, and did i mention it was her first 2 teeth? oh, and the tooth fairy apparently is fairly generous with her $1 per tooth donation...i can totally live with that...but the tooth fairy gave in! b lost one of her teeth on the school bus...bc she was totally showing it off to her friends...the teacher sure thought she did the right thing sending that tooth home with her. well, anyway, she's cute...a few front teeth missing on a kid {note: kid, not adult} are soooo cute. i love those smiles and the added lisp that comes along with missing some teeth. happy tooth fairy days...i think maybe i'll leave her a note and tell her i lost a tooth on the bus too and maybe i can make some extra cash for that new lens i want for the camera!

seriously? am i the only one NOT on the phone? it's lunch and there's not phones at the table...did you not get the memo? nope...you didn't? ok, well then i'll just take a pic then. {love b's eyes...she's chatting it up with nana}

{...with sincerest apologies to sponge bob} now that's a lot of bubbles being blown thru that screen!!

my girlies are sisters...so they fight ALL the time. {i swore at one point this week i was going to make them hold hands and sit on the couch until they could get along and not fight.} in spite of their love for each other, they get all "she did" and "she said" on each other and just can't stop. this picture gives me a glimpse into those small, infrequent moments of pure silence and delight that they have with each other. it's a concrete vision of them just taking time to enjoy each other and the splendor of things around them. Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

my idea of vacation=beach ryan's idea of vacation=golf the birds here at indian pass are amazing!  they are everywhere... the waves are absolutely amazing...the girls have spent hours "running" from the waves onto the beach. nana and sofie were playing peek a boo on the beach... paige found way too much humor in putting sofie's feet in the cool gulf water... i love this outfit on b!  i found it at a little boutique in port st. joe and it shouted 'brooke'. heading back to the cold north...very sad.

hard to believe that brooke was ever this small... and so still! {kids entry} b is 2 weeks old in this pic i took in the side yard in ryan's hands...you can see his thumb on the right side. this is the actual shot, no cropping, but sepia toned, which i love! {it's the opening photo in her baby scrapbook} and my adult entry.. one of the girlies i mentored while she was in hs...and i totally still talk with her an dlove her even more today. and she's more than beautiful. there are lots of fun faces to see, so head on over to iheartfaces ...