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Taking this crew to the pumpkin patch brought lots of smiles on Saturday…
Just so you know–my youngest is no longer cooperating for pictures. ALL of my children did this at his age because momma takes way too many pictures. But you have to admit–it’s still pretty cute:)
If you don’t have pumpkin farms in your parts…you must see this one. Burt’s. My favorite.
You grab a wheel barrow and the kids go nuts piling in their favorite pumpkins of all sizes.
Then you parade around trying to snap cute pictures of your littles all over the pumpkins–but you have to constantly tell them not to sit on them because we all know that’s a pumpkin farm rule:) I mean–that’s somebody else’s pumpkin. And then you get home and download the pictures–and you have to play around with them because the up close ones all have a orange tent from reflecting off their faces:) LOVE this old timey look with these two…
The boys…
And by girl…
Laying across the pumpkin is no better than sitting on one. It was just too tempting though!
Then we rode the hayride…my handsome boys…
Some hayrides are scary–but not Burt’s. You ride out in a decorated pasture–and then you stop to meet the BIG pumpkins. They tell the story of how being a pumpkin is like being a child of God:
Normal people go home after that kind of day. But the Youngs–we like to push the limits. Now after a day like that…if you really want to laugh–you take this crew to the corn maze…
Now if you are really crazy–you actually let a group like this LEAD you through a corn maze (do not try this one folks…you’ll be lost in this for hours!)
After getting lost for hours…with tiny ones who didn’t nap that day who decide they are scared of being lost in corn, you might even search the map they gave you at the entry for a help hotline…consider calling 9-11…think about just making a mad run THROUGH the corn husks until you eventually exit…AND then you eventually turn around because you decided listening for voices coming through will be easier than going deeper…and you are PERFECTLY fine not finishing and just coming out of the exit:)
NOT that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything;)…
Here’s to getting several really fun things checked off our Fall bucket list this weekend!!! So much fun!
On Friday, I took the kids to the King Center downtown…mixing it up a little bit–because you can do that when you are the teacher:). (When you are the teacher–you can also declare NO HOMEWORK…afternoons reserved for family basketball HORSE games and such too…we have a strict NO HOMEWORK policy at our house…one of the many advantages of homeschool I’ll say!) Here’s our little Friday field trip…
I was a little nervous about this–because with our community that we do life with…my older two seriously think that every family adopts, has siblings that all look different and this is just the way it is and probably has always been. Although we’ve talked to them here and there about American history–in school we’ve been doing ancient history. They (especially my oldest little guy) were in a bit of shock hearing how it truly was–especially in the South when their Nana and Papa were children. The King Center is truly set up well–and the way many of their things cater to children is so cool. (AND–it’s absolutely free to visit!)
And THEN…came a little short video playing out the fight for freedom for African Americans in our nation…
There were a few images in the video that were hard to see–and because of my littles ages I often shelter them from much–but those few images I felt I couldn’t exactly cover their eyes up in good conscience. Martin Luther King Jr.’s children saw so much worse IN PERSON…and they lost their father for the sake of freedom–my kids needed to see and understand that the freedoms we now have in order to be a transracial family came at a price.
Parker asked “Mom, are you telling me that people might have not liked us having a brother with brown skin back when Nana and Papa were little? THAT’S CRAZY!”
It is true. Things have changed–but being just 50 years ago–there are still things that need to change. Go into the smaller towns of South Georgia–hear the music stop when we walk into the grocery…while African Americans are completely welcome there–transracial families they aren’t so sure about…and you do get stares. We are so used to life in the city where transracial families are every where…very thankful for this normal for sure.
Parker and Laney got to pretend they were on a Freedom walk at the museum…
Then we headed over to the burial site and memorial…
We went to the church where Dr.King preached–and just sat taking it all in…
Standing there in the place where Martin Luther King Jr. preached at Ebenezar Baptist–this mom just had to smile. He had a dream that white kids and black kids would hold hands and being to see each other as brothers and sisters. You know he has to be smiling in heaven seeing actual brothers and sisters holding hands of all color–who can’t imagine life any other way…who judge one another by the content of their character rather than by the color of their skin–and who think the thought of anything different is absolutely crazy. He was preaching this as a DREAM–DREAMING BIG…wonder what he would have said if you told him in 50 years families with children of all colors would be coming through his church to learn about him and honor his life and fight for freedom. I think it’s really cool when you think about it!!!
THEN…we decided to just make a day of it and go to the home he grew up in…
Last but not least–we went to the gift shop that helps keep all of these tours and museums FREE. (If you visit Atlanta ever–you must stop here…it is so inspirational!) We totally made up for the free part with a set of magnetic African American doll dress up kit, children’s books, bracelets and some of the little toys that kids played with in Martin’s childhood days. We are suckers when it comes to gift shops on field trips:).
THAT was our FRIDAY!
I still have to catch up from Saturday…an action packed day!!! We had 2 soccer games back to back–went to a pumpkin patch–went on a hayride–went to a corn maze…
And THEN…we drove to the airport (actually sped to the airport from North Georgia!) to see TETIANA come home with her forever family!!! MORE pics to come with that. BUT until then here is a pretty amazing pic to hold you over. They walked out–and I was holding the kids back to give them a moment…but Isaac got too excited and broke free! I love that he insisted on being the first one to greet her. It was a moment we’ll all never forget!
Here’s a sneak peak…(normally kids coming home are so nervous and timid at the airport because they no NO ONE waiting on them here…but this girl–she was praising the Lord and overcome with such emotion as she arrived…SUCH a sweet moment!)
Her forever family–(with 2 big brothers to look after her!)…
Oh, those pictures of Tatiana coming home and the joy and rejoicing on her face and then little Isaac running to meet her just made me weep. It made me think of my husband’s arrival in heaven that morning almost 3 years ago and the absolute joy he must have felt as his mother ran to meet him. Thank you for sharing these.
Do you know how good it felt to type that title? Blessed Be His Name. (A few of you who know my heart lately are already smiling reading this;). Three weeks ago tonight–was a tough night for this momma. Several dear friends who had lost little ones to miscarriage emailed me to send me a song that ministered to them–“Blessed Be His Name”. My heart felt those words–but they just weren’t able to sing them…or even type them again just yet. My momma heart hurt. But this sweet little baby of ours–she (totally convinced the baby was a she;)–has taught this mom much already in 3 weeks…
One–I don’t care if you (or anyone else) thinks I’m crazy. Nope. If you haven’t been here–you probably do think I’m crazy for struggling so–by all means…think I’m crazy. Truly, momma’s heart can’t think or worry about what others think. Nope. But if you want to walk with me toward Jesus in it…whatever your stuff might be…then keep reading:).
I have learned that in my heart–I know His plans are perfect…I know the hard stuff will be worth it. I have gotten to Skype with Princess T (the 16 year old Ukrainian teen we hosted this summer)…low and behold she will be home on SATURDAY with her forever parents. He gives and takes away…blessed be His name! Her life has been one of more and more being taken away–but He has given her parents again…and on Saturday she will step off the plane into a new life…she will be loved–looked after–poured into. HE HAS ALWAYS HAD A PLAN. He is good.
Last weekend, I went to my first baby/kid shower. (Baby + kid as it was for my most precious friend bringing home a baby and older ones from Ethiopia next month). I needed to get something for her sweet baby girl–so just 2 weeks after our miscarriage–I needed to go in and buy a sweet baby girl something for this sweet baby girl. Never has my heart fretted so before going shopping. Rich and I even talked about it before I went to Target. (When does your husband have to give you a pep talk to go to Target?!)
There’s a list of firsts that a momma has to get through after miscarrying. Most moms who have been here can tell you exactly where they were for each of these “firsts” although you don’t really talk about them…you just pray your way through them–tuck them in your heart–remember the way you felt–and it’s just part of the process. The first time you reached for coffee…or some thing you might not want to have or over have while expecting…and you realized it didn’t matter anymore. The first time you see a mom with a baby bump right where you might be. The first time you see a newborn. And the first time you shop for baby clothes…but it’s not for your baby. The firsts that are just part of the process–and you don’t even really know what they are even…until the moment is right in front of you and you feel that lump in your throat remembering what isn’t. It’s all part of the process of moving on, healing and for me–trusting His plans are greater than mine.
I grabbed my keys to run out on Sunday afternoon during rest time, and I jokingly told Rich that I wanted to pray that there would miraculously EITHER be a Chinese girl on the aisle or a newborn baby–and then we’d just KNOW how God wanted us to grow our family again (we totally plan to adopt and we’d love to have another little one the old fashioned way too). We both totally laughed–Rico Suave said, “Yeah right–God totally works like that Ang;).” You know, as I have said before–I totally walk by faith–and not saying God wouldn’t work like that BUT I also am not foolish enough to put my finger on a map and say “let’s move here” or flip the pages of the Bible and say “this is what He has for me”…so of course I was totally kidding. I do realize though that seeing a girl or baby would be different than something crazy like that–because we have to use our wisdom too…yet I did pray that the Lord would hold my hand through this first–because 2 weeks out…my heart needed it.
I got to Target, and I walked back to the baby section–and a beautiful expecting momma passed by me–and I thought I might run out of Target. But I didn’t:) I decided to stick to the registry, and I turned on aisle N7-and just as I turned a precious teenager in a red Target vest said, “Can I help you?” She was from China–and she had a repaired cleft palate. I just stood there smiling–politely said no–and if you don’t think I’m crazy–I’m quite sure she thought I was. After looking around for things on the check list–I kept looking over at this precious girl and couldn’t help but think about what God might have for our family…for a little girl out there…for our future. I then put the list away–and I headed right over to the little girl section and had the most fun picking out cute little things for a princess. I just had to smile how I really felt the Lord had gone before me even over this little shopping trip. I know His plans are good. And He has a perfect, beautiful one for our family.
This last month I have learned a bit more how precious life is–how precious my babies are–and how too many people get their panties all caught up in a wad over nothing. I was listening to someone expecting fret over the sex of their baby. And all I could do as I listened–was think back and hear the words of the radiologist telling me that my baby was measuring off–but that the heartbeat was strong. Right then, I knew I would love that baby with a strong heart beat with anything and everything…whether there were no legs…no hands…whatever…that baby had a heartbeat–and I was the momma…I would love big. Listening to someone fret over the sex of the baby they were carrying…oh–that made me sad. What I’d do to have that strong heartbeat back. No hands…no feet–that wouldn’t matter. My heart longed to love big. Oh the things we make up to fret over…
This week one of my sweet ones was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. Momma didn’t blink. He has a strong heart beat. He is healthy. This is one of the reasons I decided to homeschool…it was definitely what was best for one–and the other begged to join in…and I knew it’d be great for that one too. But oh my heart–it daily can struggle with the things of the world and what I “could be” doing. (Every homeschool mom has these thoughts I know!) BUT–it’s getting my panties all in a wad for the WRONG reasons..and thank the Lord just for a moment). I GET…I *GET*…to stay at home…homeschool and love my kids big. I get to see them grow right where they are…AND I get to see them grow in their faith together. For this season it is part of His plan—and it is so good. (Some think I’m crazy for this–but you already know what I think about what they think. Can’t think about what they think–cause I just have to look to Him, follow Him and love big. I GET TO! How amazing is that?)
We’ve been dreaming and praying lately about what the Lord might have for our family in the weeks, months and years ahead. All I can say is that I am married to the most brave, amazing, adventurous man…and I have a little girl in heaven to thank one day for the inspiration to how we are praying to grow. Her loss will be part of His perfect timing for others to be a part of this perfectly weaved plan–and although there is pain in it…I am amazed that I can already roll down the windows of my mini-van, let the air in and with one hand on the wheel–and the other raised high sing Blessed Be His Name. He really is good.
My most precious adoption momma friend in California Catherine Besk sent me a cd that has truly been ministering to my heart this past week. (Only in the adoption momma world do you have VBFFs in California that you met on your agency’s listserv and who fly to adoption momma retreats to encourage one another…seriously–amazing is this journey!) I wanted to share a Kari Jobe song that has truly blessed my soul as I surrender daily to Him…(Give it a sec and you can bypass the advertisement):
Okay–if you have been behind me at a red light this week or I’ve passed you with really loud music–my 4 littles either singing along or screaming for me to roll the windows down…my apologies;). I was a wild one in high school–I lost most of the wild–but the windows down and music up…that rolled over beautifully.
I feel like my blogs are usually thought out or make sense. Not sure if this one did at all as it was just me typing really fast…as we have a full day tomorrow (after a day full of testing and such today)–with the sole mission to just HAVE FUN. Reading and writing are being pushed aside tomorrow–because I’m the teacher we can do that:). I want to make sure more than reading and writing my kids are getting what it means to LIVE and to be fully alive…celebrating who He made us to be and how amazing and blessed we are to even be here…to bring glory to Him and to shine Him on the world. Oh if my kids get ANYTHING at all–let it be that!
Blessings to y’all this weekend! Praying that no matter where you are right now…that the Lord will see you through–and that you will be able to sing these words with your whole heart…
I understand your heart as we lost our first precious one 13 years ago. I still remember all the “firsts” and bursting into tears without warning. My precious one will always be in my heart and memory, and I have confidence that I will see my little one and have an eternity in heaven to spend with her. I do not claim to understand all of God’s ways, but I do have to trust that He works all things for our good. Blessings to you today.
Ia -September 21, 2012 - 10:15 am
I do not want to take away from your pain, your hopes and your dreams you share on this blog. I just want to tell you about my neighbors child years ago when she and my kids went to high school. She had dyslexia and was put in “resource class” for all of her school years. She became the valedictorian of her class:). Dyslexia is not a big handicap, just another little bump to overcome.
Kim -September 21, 2012 - 11:00 am
This post truly encouraged my heart. Thank you for being vulnerable and modeling faith and trust in all circumstances. We are currently waiting on news about the potential of twin girls from China (special needs). The road to children continues to be long, but so worth the pain to grow closer to God. Thanks for your blessing.
Stephanie W -September 21, 2012 - 11:47 am
I LOVE this post! Thank you for sharing your heart. Thank you for sharing your struggles. Thank you for sharing His glory!
I love you! I love you! Thank goodness we have the Lord to steady our hearts. This journey of adoption or life may not be how we planned it, but He moves mountains and makes miracles. He will carry us through. I can’t wait to look back in 10 years to see how He ended up shaping our families and what countries we’ve lived in. Thank you for sharing your heart and life with all of us!!
Covering you in prayers…….words just don’t seem to mean a whole lot.
I do however love that song Steady my Heart! Beautiful!
Just praying……
Aimee Wagner -September 22, 2012 - 1:04 pm
We too lost a little girl 6yrs ago at about 17 weeks along. Sometimes it actually takes my breath away that I can miss someome so desperately that I never even knew…. I too take comfort in knowing she is waiting for us in Heaven. I have been a Christian for a long time, but am ashamed to say I never longed for Heaven until we lost her. I think of her and miss her daily. Prayers for you, may peace that passes understanding surround you…
Aimee
Melanie -September 23, 2012 - 2:19 pm
Andrea – we sang this song by Matt Redman in church this morning. I thought of you.
We have two 3 year-olds, a 1st grader and a 2nd grader. I homeschool–so finding time to get it all done around the house is near to impossible…without HELP. I need my little ones to be aware when they pull things out–that they need to put them up…and really there is no better way to bring them awareness to this until they have responsibilities like chores. They quickly learn it’s so much easier to pick up the playroom when they put up things after they play with them. YET with ages still so young, we’re still working at this AND we have to make it fun.
We’ve tried “chore charts” where you put smiley removable stickers on each item after you have completed the task. We’ve done chores for seasons with no rewards–simply doing them because it’s good to obey your mommy and daddy. I came up with this fun little idea on one of my many visits to Hobby Lobby. It’s super easy, and I don’t have to remind each child what they need to do that day. I simply put the clothes pin on the “to do” side of their wooden tag—and walk away. It’s their job to see what they need to do that day, and it’s their job to move the clothes pin task to the “all done” side. They don’t have to come tell me they’ve completed it–and I don’t have to ask them. At the end of the day–I can look to see what is “all done” and go check to be sure it was done well. If it was done well, I simply place a “ticket” in their jar for each task completed and well done—and move the clothes pins for the next day back to “to do”…
You don’t need a chalkboard to do this at home. I already had one, and just wanted to make the peg board I bought at Hobby Lobby reachable for the kids so they could do this without my help. You could put your peg board at their height level on the wall–I just loved the idea of being able to move this in different parts of the house if our school room ended up not being the best place for it.
The chalkboard is from IKEA for just $10. The peg board is maybe $7 at Hobby Lobby–but you can get this any where…and at Hobby Lobby with their 40% coupon online. I spray painted both black (they were unfinished).
For the wooden tags–I bought a unfinished wooden door hanger for $0.99 each for each child. I painted each white–and with a black paint pen I wrote their name in the center–and “to do” on the left side–and “all done” on the right side…
(Sorry these pics are a bit out of focus! Momma needs a new set of glasses I’m afraid!)
I made age-appropriate tasks for each child. I also made 2 wooden tags for “tickets”–but only because my wooden peg had 6 begs and I was trying to balance it out:). You can choose not to “reward” your child with “tickets”, but mine think it’s fun.
The cute little ticket dispenser is available at Hobby Lobby on the birthday party aisle in the circus theme section.
You can make your tickets worth whatever you want. So many tickets can be traded in for different things OR you could make them worth money–and then at the end of the week or month trade them in. We are doing this–and at the end of each month teaching them how to “save/give/spend” with what they’ve earned.
I give my kids more chores each day than I think they would normally want–simply because some times they want to do more to earn more. In the real world, there’s always opportunity to do what we need to do–and then room to do more if we want to go the extra mile. For younger children–say 3 year olds–you may want to reward weekly until they are old enough to really have patience to wait an entire month for their reward whatever it may be. We are just making chores more fun–because we try to make a lot of things fun…because fun is just more fun:).
ALSO–I got little jars with lids that clasp to hold their tickets. 4 jars fit perfectly in the chalk/eraser holder on our little chalkboard. I painted each child’s name on each jar.
NOW–keep in MIND that we are NOT perfect (we are actually far from it!)…and this is just a fun way to TRY to do chores;). I know some families are quite strict about this. We aren’t. If you do them–then you get tickets to exchange for money at the end of the month…with some money management taught alongside. If I don’t do something like this–then to be honest, I forget to ask them to do chores and I just feel overwhelmed to do it myself–and to be honest…much of what they do at their ages (like dusting or vacuuming) I might still have to do again. BUT then again–let’s be really honest…do I really dust??? Maybe once a month. SO–I figure with this system we are teaching good work ethic and how to contribute even if it isn’t perfect! At least it’s fun for them, and seeing them try definitely reminds me that I should try too;). LOL! My house is FAR from spotless…I so wish I was more like my older sister and could pull that off–but I always say my other ministry is a “livable messy house” making other moms who stop by feel better that it’s far from clean or perfect:) Who knows how long this will last or work–but it’s fun for now so worth the go!
Hope you have an amazing week!
Andrea
P.S. Just have to hollar a shout out THANK YOU to my most precious adoption momma friend Catherine Besk. I checked my mailbox today and was so ministered to by the sweetest gift. I tell ya what–the friends I’ve made via my blog, adoption, our agency, etc the last few years are just AMAZING. This journey has brought some of the dearest friends who truly stand beside you no matter what. I feel so blessed…so thankful…and truly felt the Lord loving on me today through another friend! Thank you Catherine. SO thankful how as moms we go there for and with each other. The comments I’ve received the last few weeks on my blog from moms who totally understand where this momma is…have truly ministered to my heart. THANK YOU. Love you all to pieces. You all are some of my sweetest blessings.
That’s a really cute idea! I don’t think there is anything wrong with rewarding children for working hard..I could see it as a problem if they don’t listen to you, and have discipline problems, but that’s another can of worms! My little one is 2 1/2 and I’ve been wondering of a fun way to help encourage her with chores. Although I think she really does a lot for her age! She helps me load the dryer, pour in the soap for the washing machine, is learning how to fold clothes, cleans the part of the counter she can reach, helps make beds. No she isn’t perfect at it, but it is very sweet to see her try and help me! I think I may start a reward system for her, and see how it goes. I also think it helps them learn to give to others, and tithe! She loves giving to the offering plate at church so I’m sure it would mean a lot to her to put her own money in there!
I was just going to send you an email the other day to see if you had a way of handling chores….funny…like you read my mind. We have struggled perpetually with chores at the Moody house…tried different ways and the bottom line is that I always run out of energy to keep up with it. This is really cute…and seems pretty easy…think we might give something similar a go. You are one smart and creative mama!
I linked to you on my blog today (link below). You’re under #4 of 12 Reasons Christians Should Blog, as, (you’ll get a kick out of this,) “the trendy mom in Atlanta willing to do the not-so-cool through homeschooling, simply because she thinks God called her to.” 🙂
We’re doing part-time homeschool for 4k, and you’re part of the encouragement causing us to consider kindergarden.
I have to give Martha credit for these–bought the packet at Michael’s 30% off this week–I think it came to just $5 for the entire packet of die cut mice, little doors and stickers–such a cute packet at a great price. You could of course make these yourself—or even find mice die cut free printables online–just print them off and double side tape them up.
I got the vinyl numbers on ebay, and they’ve been on our stairs for years. I love hearing little voices count as they go up the stairs:) A sweet memory I’ll always tuck away in my heart!
We just started a new chore system at our house–can’t wait to share it tomorrow because it’s working beautifully and the kids love it! It’s so cute and easy to do too!!!
