Anatomy of a 1AM Wardrobe Drama (in case you were wondering)

It goes a little something like this:

"Moooooom, I'm hot."

Mom just about sleep walks into child's room and takes off child's long-sleeved, polar fleece pajamas she told dad not to put on her in the first place, but can't find a short sleeved pair of pajamas.

Mom proceeds to produce a number of very good, short-sleeved sleeping options, albeit not pajamas, all met with wails that they are not "nighttime clothes", they are (obviously, mom) "daytime clothes".

Mom kicks herself for ever defining the difference long ago when trying to convince her 3 year old not to wear pajamas to school. Tries briefly to explain why in this VERY instance it is ok to wear daytime clothes at night to hysterical child. Then, comes to her senses.

Dad arrives on the scene to produce some "shark shirt" he swears will magically stop the hysteria. It does indeed get the child to stop screaming about the shirt situation, but she moves to wailing about the fact that it's not a dress and now she has no pants on.

Mom goes back to bed not caring what the child wears to sleep, and proceeds to watch (on the video monitor*) Dad put the long-sleeved, polar fleeced pajamas that CAUSED this whole drama back on child who then rolls over, gets comfy and drifts back to sleep.

Mom is incredulous.....and WIDE awake.

At least she's cute when she wakes up! :)

*Yes, I still have a video monitor on my 4 year old. Why? It's a long story, but see what I'd be missing if I didn't!

Aw, Heck....

.....since I'm up at 1AM thanks to a 4 year old who had a wardrobe drama in the middle of the night (seriously, what's WITH girls?????), I have some time to finally post Easter pictures. I know you've all been so anxiously waiting! :)

Unfortunately, there isn't a good one among them, but you get the idea! Even Chloe who will mug for the camera at every opportunity wasn't cooperating.

Glorious Day

Easter is by far my favorite day of the year- especially the morning, and especially when the sun shines in a clear blue sky (like I anticipate today will be). If you have not heard this song by Casting Crowns, you simply must. While it is on their newest CD, it has become my new all-time favorite song.

The lyrics say it all for me.

Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises

One day when sin was as black as could be

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin

Dwelt among men, my example is He

Word became flesh and the light shined among us

His glory revealed

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He’s coming

Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain

One day they nailed Him to die on a tree

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree

And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer

One day the stone rolled away from the door

Then He arose, over death He had conquered

Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore

Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him

From rising again

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming

One day the skies with His glories will shine

Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing

My Savior, Jesus, is mine

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He’s coming

Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

HAPPY EASTER! May it be a glorious day for you and your family!

My Big, Fat Book Post- Part 2

Now, for a few of my other children's book favorites. Ones that when my kids pull them off the shelves I get excited!!! :) (You can find Part 1 of this post here.)

• How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and Illustrated by David Shannon (who you may remember from my last post as one of my all-time favorite illustrators!). I love all the pirate lingo, it's just plain fun to read.

• I Know A Rhino by Charles Fuge: Both my kids and I have this book memorized. This is a seriously charming story that I give all the time as a baby gift. This author has made some good money off of me!! :)
• Lemons Are Not Red by Laura Vaccaro Seeger: This is the simplest little bokk for learning colors, but with a completely unique twist that makes it easily the best learn-your-colors book out there.

• Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, Illustrated by Marc Brown (of Arthur fame): I don't generally love rhyming books, but this one works really well. I honestly can't explain why I love this book so much. I just do....and I obviously agree with the whole premise! :)
• I Ain't Gonna Paint No More By Karen Beaumont, Illustrated by David Catrow: This book is laugh-out-loud funny due in large part to the illustrations. I sing it to my kids, and when they get to the "Gonna paint my ....WHAT?!?!?!?" part, we all get a good laugh! You'd have to read it to appreciate it!

• Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser: OK, I told you I love Robin Preiss Glasser's illustrations. That's what drew me to this book initially. I don't generally like books written by celebrities, because they seem contrived. However, this is a wonderful exception. It is so charming. It's repeating text allows Chloe to "read" it with me, and we spend a LOT of extra time looking at all the details of the illustrations. I love the little surprise at the end too. It's a great book for girls!

• Casey at the Bat illustrated by Christopher Bing: Well, this is a classic with a twist, and I love it for all the reasons you love a classic. This is a book every baseball-loving boy should have!
• SuperHero ABC by Bob McLeod: Here is another author that has made a LOT of money off of me!!! I give this book as a gift all the time to Sawyer's friends. Great for learning ABCs, great for boys, fun to read. It is funny, sometimes gross (in a funny way, especially if you are a 6 year old boy), and the comic book style of artwork is super colorful and appealing!

• Batman: The Story of the Dark Knight by Ralph Cosentino: When my kids get "into" something, I always try to find books that they can read about what they are "into". That's how I discovered this really great, retro, comic book style book that tells the basic story of Batman. This was perfect when Sawyer was 4 because he could understand it (it isn't text heavy), but he still loves it. It introduces all of Batman's enemies and all the key parts of the Batman story without getting dark or scary. I've read a LOT and I mean a LOT) of various Superhero books, but this is the only one I'll keep for my grandkids.
• Weslandia by Paul Fleischman: I just love this story of a boy who doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, he loves to be himself. It is also a story of ingenuity, creativity, and a love of learning. This is a one-of-a-kind book!

• Too Many Cooks by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by Nate Wragg: OK, I also don't really like movie-themed books (although I often buy them to read to my kids before they see a movie- it helps them understand it....and I'm a sucker). However, the illustrations of this book combined with well-done rhyming text, and the introduction of lots of cooking-related vocabulary make this book a real winner!
• We All Went On Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania by Laurie Krebs: I love books that are fun for kids to read and also introduce another culture naturally. This is one of those books. It introduces numbers, African landscape, Swahili language, and African animals all very naturally in a simple rhyming story. I also love all the factual info at the end of the book about Africa, Swahili language, and the Maasai people for parents to read. then, when I am reading it to my kids, I can interject what I've learned!

Lastly, I will include two of my kid's absolute favorites:

• Knock, Knock: This book simply consists of a bunch of Knock, Knock jokes illustrated cleverly by the best children's book illustrators. That simple premise is what makes it so great. My kids ask for this book ALL THE TIME!!!
• Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague: A dog who gets sent to obedience school for being bad writes letters home to his owner telling (lying about) how awful they are treating him so that he can go home. The writing is funny when paired with the "truth" in the pictures. Sawyer really loves this book and asks me to read it to him all the time.

Ok, so there you go. My favorite children's books.

What are YOUR favorites? I clearly love to buy books......all I need is an excuse to go to the bookstore! :)

If you go to Am@zon to buy your books, please do use this link below, when you do, New Day Foster Home gets a percentage of your purchase back to help them serve orphans in China!

(Just to be clear, this is THEIR link....I don't get anything nor does this go through me in ANY way. They provided me the link, and I'm happy to provide it to you. With this link, New Day received $340 just in the month of December!!!!)

The other side of the waiting

It was one year ago today that I saw his face for the first time. I certainly wasn't expecting with one click of the mouse to have my breath taken away by a little orphan boy on the other side of the world. I remember the picture as if it "happened" to me, not as if I just saw it.

I remember that I looked at him, and then couldn't stop looking at him for a long, long time. I was just staring at him- like I knew him and was trying to "place" him in my mind. How did I recognize him? Where had I seen him before?

But, of course, I hadn't.

It's strange to have the sensation of knowing someone when you have never seen them before and certainly have never met them, you don't even know the first thing about him.

I didn't say a word to Scot.

A couple of short days later, I sat in the dark, long after everyone had gone to bed, and I found myself scouring the site for every picture and piece of information about him. And, I e-mailed the only contact I could find there asking about him. They couldn't help me, of course, but they told me his smile lights up the room.

I already knew that. It was lighting up the dark as I sat at my computer half a world away.

****************

It does not seem possible that a year has gone by. To me, it has felt in some ways like the blink of an eye. In other ways, it has seemed like an eternity.

I saw the most recent picture of him this week, and just started crying. I'm a crier in general, but I don't think I've ever cried just over a picture of him- from the sheer longing. He's getting to be such a big boy- a boy who needs a mama, a family so badly. And here we are, loving him already and wondering why it can't be us.

Yet, while I pray for it to be us, since seeing that picture I've started praying a new prayer: that he will be matched this month.

Please, I pray, let it be with us, God. But if you have a different plan, I trust it. I do. And I will when I don't. So if it isn't us, please place him this month with a family who will love him more than even we could.

Will you pray with us that he will be matched with his family this month? Please.

He has waited long enough.