Summer is here!

This is a post I started in June and never finished so I am going to finish it now!

The kids are home, it feels great...I love spending time with them!  The last day of school was May 25th, after a closing assembly in the morning we headed right to Timber Wolf YL camp in Michigan for the long weekend.  The week leading up to this I had gotten a nice cold and several stressful circumstances had happened that week, I felt pretty run down.  The beginning of the trip I let life get to me and did not handle it very well but by the end I could stop and appreciate the people we were with and the incredible environment we were in.  This will be something we do every year, the kids loved it!  Some of the highlights were:  Joy (Ben's sister) came with us, Joy, Jack, Kate and Lucy all did the zip line (I am even scared of that), Jack did the ropes course and drove a slick track race car, Lucy caught some fish, we all kayaked, we ate as a family 7 times and I didn't have to cook,serve or clean up any of it!

This week my excitement has mounted as I have the kids home with us I can see changes in them, positive ones.  Jack has become softer, Kate has felt rested, Lucy is growing confident in who she is and Sam well his cuteness meter is off the charts.  I feel like this is a result of our time together as a family and the amount of  time we can encourage them individually.  We actually have time and energy to do the things we always long to do through out the year.  I am talking about simple things like reading to them, all of them!  Playing games, watching movies and helping Ben date them individually.  I love summer break and I think I am going to love schooling them at home even more next year!

This is going to be another year of changes and major faith steps, we are looking forward to what's ahead but any confidence you see in me comes from the Lord.  Like I said we will be home schooling and as of May 5th we started the adoption process, eek this is so scary!  I feel like this is something we have talked about for so long, but now it's happening.  We wanted to start about a year ago and we over and over again felt like the Lord was telling us to wait till Sam was 2.  That was hard to swallow at times but now looking back I can see that it wasn't the right time and I appreciate the ways He has grown us since to prepare us.

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As I read and looked over the things I wrote I think I was just too chicken to post it since I said that we will be home schooling next year and adopting, those are just really big things for us.  I know I was putting pressure on myself to have answers for those that might ask me "why?" are we making those choices.  I still don't have all the answers but the Lord has built up more faith in me that we are walking in the right direction for our family.

So we are 2 1/2 months into the adoption process!  I am officially paperwork pregnant.  We are adopting through American World Adoption agency from Ethiopia.  I feel like God asked us to move forward in faith, each day I can see his vision for us more and more clearly.  We are of course only in the beginning stages and it will likely be 2 years before we meet our daughter or son.  So we will continue plugging away at paperwork and praying for the Lord's provision and guidance.

March-April

I finally remembered my blog log-in, kinda shows how long it's been since I have posted.

The last 2ish months have been filled with lots of great things, but also a few things that were sad and will stay with me for a long time.  Grandpa Roessler passed away in March and Grandpa Gautraud in April.  It's funny how teary eyed I can get when a memory is sparked.  I am thankful for the years I have had with them in my life!

If you know the Davis family you know that March through August we celebrate one birthday a month. We had a family birthday for Kate's 7th and a friend birthday for Lucy's 4th. Next Wednesday is Sam's 2nd birthday, firetrucks, Thomas the Train and super heroes here we come!

Lucy had 4 friends over and they made pizza and decorated cookies!

Joel and Kerry welcomed their daughter home in March, it has been so fun to share in their adoption experience.  We are very inspired by them.

My parents celebrated 33 years of marriage, we enjoyed a catered dinner from Pompilios and a night full of laughs at my parents house.  It was so wonderful of my mom to pull it all together.  My dad prayed over the food that night and it was so sweet to hear him choke up when he prays about his marriage, my mom or shows thanks for my grandparent's marriage.  I appreciate the genuine love he has for his family and the Lord. 

School is almost done and I am so excited, it's hard to continue to get up at 6:20 with great Joy, I am looking forward to May 25th!!!  In the last couple of weeks school has been far more manageable, due to a very simple schedule Ben implemented.  The kids know exactly what to do when they get home and our expectations.  Too bad I didn't figure that out a few years earlier.

     This is just a fun picture I found from one of those warm evenings in March.

Sam seems to be the entertainment/ highlight of the house lately.  A line often said to him by Ben is "Sam, don't you know your still one."  Sam often does or says things that seem so mature.  Potty training is one of my favorite examples.  If you ask my thoughts on potty training a child I will tell you that I don't even try it until 3 yrs. old because my kids weren't interested until then.  At 3 it would take a week and we would be done, instead of begging my child to use the potty.  Well Sam has decided in the last month that he is ready.  He likes to climb up on the big potty by himself and poop, yes poop on command.  All my kids were petrified to poop and especially on the big potty.  For a couple of nights in the evenings he would need to poop and while he was on the potty he wanted me to flip through a Family Fun magazine so he could look at it, those are things that make me smile.
...Last night we were putting him in bed and he said "It's too hard to be Spider man...I tried it."  Ben asked,  "How do you be Spider man?"  He then turns his hand palm side up as if shooting a web, he then says "I tried it, I watched it"  He looked pretty discouraged about the whole situation, maybe another day he can figure out how to be Spider man.

This pic is from November but the look he gives is the very same Sam look I see most everyday.

Home for the day and 1&2

What a day.  Last night Sam was up vomiting till 3 am, I think it happened to be one of those lovely Chuckie Cheese germs that caused it.  Jack and Kate woke up with warm foreheads and stomach aches, it seemed like a good day to not go to school especially after Sam's night time performance.  It was such a good and challenging day.  I love to have my kids home it's awesome to see them learn how to play together.  They spent most of the morning playing legos, watching a show, playing trains and so on.  Of course having all four home adds a different challenge to the day which on my own I have not taken that challenge very well.  I spent the first part of my morning drinking my coffee and reading my Bible preparing for my day.  I have had a rough week with my kids no fault of their own but my problem I several times a day have caught myself becoming angry and feeling out of control.  I knew this is not where I wanted to stay, and I could see my kids reflecting my behavior in the midst of it.  So with the Lord sustaining me I was able to have a really great day with my kids and enjoy them as individuals and as a little team.  We took a walk together (with no crying), made dinner and watched Good Luck Charlie.  I was able to get them off to bed with only one meltdown which occurred due to my rash words, dang-it always my fault :)  But they are all sleeping now which makes for a great evening.

I wanted to finish what I stared last night which was to update what's new with each child.

Kate is drawing non-stop still.  She shows others love by drawing them pictures.  Often she is drawing mermaids and unicorns, they are always for someone with lots of thought put into each picture.  Kate is the dominating older sister but she is learning what it looks like to love and share with Lucy and Sam.  If Kate and Lucy are left alone they can get into an imagination world for hours.  I am so glad they have each other it is fun to watch them.  Kate is also very good at math, her teacher says that she understands math concepts before she is finished teaching them (that did not come from me). Kate is learning how to speed up her reading.  She still has to sound out words but is getting faster and faster the more she practices.  Kate and Joy (Ben's little sister) love to play spies when they are together, they run around the house dressed in black watching all of us.  Kate will be 7 soon, that is wild how quick those years have gone by!

Jack, wow this boy is becoming a little man over night.  Jack got glasses recently, which I think he looks really handsome in.  He does very well in school when he works hard.  Jack has a great capacity for memory work.  He still loves to spend late nights reading.  Riddles have been a new love.  The other night our friend Braylen was over and told Jack that he would buy him a $50 dollar Lego set if he could solve a riddle that no other adult he had talked to could figure out, Jack was not scared here it goes "Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet." Jack took about 2 seconds and said that's easy a lion that's what Samson told the Philistines.  Braylen and Ben's mouths hit the floor it was a great moment.  Jack is pretty excited to pick out those Legos!  Jack is a great brother to Sam it's so sweet to see him read books at night or watch them play together.  I've even caught Jack sleeping in Sam's crib before.  Sam really trusts Jack and Jack knows it.  I am enjoying this age so much, it's neat to have some really rich and meaningful talks with Jack about life.  I look forward to many more moments with him!

Wrapping up the summer

School has started and we have finally gotten used to the schedule and change.  I am really enjoying my time home with Lucy and Sam, it's easy for them to be neglected when the older ones are home.  It's funny after four kids and 9 years of marriage.  I feel like God is still teaching me so much about my role as a wife and mother. I think this next year will be a year of growth and time to reflect on what's next for our family.  Since I have taken very little time to document our summer I thought as always I will try to play catch up.

In June we celebrated Jack's 8th birthday.  His birthday marked a really sweet time full of great memories.  We watched a video Joel made of Jack's 1st year, it touched Jack to the point of tears to know that people love and care for him. It is one of our sweetest moments with Jack.

Ben created a surprise birthday scavenger hunt.  We had a outdoor movie and a fire, it was a great night.

After Jack's birthday Ben and I went to Bermuda together,  I really wanted to take time to write about that trip and some fun memories later.

On the 4th of July we attended the Forth Mitchell parade and celebrated my 31st birthday!

A soldier stop to give Jack one of his badges it was so touching.

Lucy covered her ears most of the time, those darn firetrucks.

Sam enjoyed all the candy thrown to him.

We ended the night at my parents house with fireworks.

Lemonade stands are usually the highlight of the summer but this year we only had one.  Lucy quickly got tired of the heat but Kate stayed out there for a long time.  Kate looked so darn cute. At one point she had a umbrella she was holding and a fan blowing on her, it was quite the setup. 

Sam and Jack became a tight little duo this summer, it's sweet to see the love they have for each other.

In August we went camping with Ben's side of the family, it was a wet night :)

 

August 21st 1st day of school!

Jack in 3rd grade.

Kate in 1st grade.

August 31st we celebrated our 9 year anniversary.  Ben came home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which he got a total deal on at the Secret Garden (I love that place).

We had a nice night out, we did pizza at Via Vite on the square, a wine tasting at Party source (very fun) and ended the night with Starbucks.  It was great to be together and just talk.

We ended our summer with a trip to Chicago over Labor Day weekend.  We attended a wedding for my cousin and stayed with my friend Nicole and her husband.  They babysat our kids, this was from their time with them.

Some other summer highlights include Joel and Kerry receiving their referral for a little girl from Ethiopia who is around Sam's age.  We are all looking forward to her coming home in the next year!

Dave and Meg having their second child Gordon.  He is so precious.

Micah and Andrea had their forth baby Paul.  Paul is currently still in Nicu.  We have spent a lot of time as a family praying for Paul, he is one very special guy and a true blessing to the family.

I look forward to this next year with so much anticipation to see God work in our lives and those around us!!

Happy Birthday Kate

Well it's been so long since I have been in the blog world.  I really wanted to write for each of my kids a birthday message with pictures and videos, I never seemed to get there so we're going to play catch up.

Kate's 6th birthday party

                                            Kate wanted to do crafts, we painted birdhouses.

                                                                          All done!

                                                                  Happy birthday Kate!

Dear Kate,

You are 6, wow I can't believe this has gone by so fast.  I very distinctly remember holding you and thinking you were so pretty, just like a girl should look.  You have been a joy to mother of course we have our moments that can be tough but I still take great joy in being your mother.  My favorite thing about you is your imagination.  Since you were very small and starting to talk you would be content along as you had any two items so that they could talk with one another.  You often would just play quietly and contently.  It's so fun when we get a sneak peak into your world you create. 

You also have a real love for anything art, I am excited to see how God will use this gift he has given you!  You are such a girl, no one had to teach you this, I am pretty sure you came into this world wearing a dress.  You love to dress up and I am not sure there will be a day that you will grow out of this :) .  God has created you for us, you teach us so much.  You have a very sweet and sensitive heart, often you will have your feelings hurt if you feel like we are laughing and it's about you.  This past fall you started kindergarten and you seem to be doing great.  It's so fun to see you hide God's word in your heart.  You are growing up to fast!  My prayer for you is that God will continue to reveal himself to you and that you will live a life that is full of His love!  I pray that my expectations for you would not supersede what God's plan is for you.  Lord I offer Kate with open hands to do and will as you please, thank you for allowing Ben and I to parent her.  Give us the wisdom and strength it takes to do it all with Grace. Amen 

      

                                         Some our favorite Kate pics of the last couple of years.

                               This is the same video twice, sorry...can't figure out how to remove it.