Shoes

The other night I asked Jay-R to go upstairs and get his shoes so we could all leave for the grocery store. He came downstairs in his Spiderman tennis shoes, the ones I bought him shortly after returning last year from the Philippines. I said, "Jay-R, I thought those hurt your feet?"

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "A little."

Me, "Are you sure you want to wear those? You don't have to. You can put another pair on."

Jay-R, "Okay. They hurt my feet."

So, I hand him a pair of blue tennis shoes by the front door. He puts them on.

Me, "Do those hurt your feet?"

He shrugs again. I do the toe check and sure enough, his toe is at the end of the shoe.

Me, "Jay-R, you don't have to wear shoes that are too small and hurt your feet. We will always make sure you have shoes that fit your feet. You need to let us know when your shoes are too small."

Jay-R "Thank you, Mommy." And he gives me a great big hug.



I got his school tennis shoes where he has plenty of toe wiggle room, and we were on our way.



He's been home with us almost a year. He has more toys than he can ever play with, more clothes than he will probably wear, and plenty of shoes that fit. Yet, the simple reassurance by me that he will always have shoes that fit, brought a big thank you and hug. When he was in the orphanage, I'm sure he wore whatever they gave him, that he never questioned it. I know they do the best they have with the donations they receive. The shoes they sent Jay-R home in are still 2 sizes too big...we will always keep them as a special keepsake. I guess it just never occurred to him that he should tell us that his shoes are too small.



These moments remind me of Jay-R's past and cause me to thank God for the blessing he is in our lives. Every child deserves a home...and shoes with wiggle room!

The Wedding of Mr. Q and Miss U

Jay-R's kindergarten class had a wedding today of Mr. Q and Miss U. All the boys were Mr. Q and all the girls were Miss U. Jay-R wore his barong which all the kids thought was really cool. One little boy told him, "You look like a rock star!" Jay-R walked down the aisle so slowly and so seriously...he was too cute as was his bride. (I have pictures of the two of them, but I don't like to post pictures of other people's children without their parents' permission so you'll just have to enjoy Mr. Q). I was a hostess and assisted with serving punch. The picture below cracks me up because the hole from Jay-R's missing teeth is filled with a white piece of his candy ring!

During the ceremony...as the vows were being read. Mr. Q vowed to take Miss U up, up, up in a hot air balloon...too cute! These kids will never forget that Q goes with U!

The Cute things kids say...

Today, I am home with the kids. Ashleigh is sick with the stomach flu, and school was cancelled due to snowy and slushy roads.

Here are some cute things Jay-R has said recently...

Last week, Jay-R had to have a kidney ultrasound due to some bladder/kidney concerns (don't worry, he's okay). During the ultrasound, as he was looking at the screen, he asked the techinician....
"Where's my Poptart?"

And today, Ate Ashleigh asked Jay-R, "Do you know why you don't have school today?"
He looked at her and said, "Yeh, because I have to stay home and babysit you and take care of you."

Kids say the cutest things!!!

Now, that Jay-R seems to be all over last week's kidney/bladder issues, we just need to get Ashleigh healthy! And some sunshine sans snow would be nice!

A Fun First

We took the kids bowling on Sunday for our first bowling outing as a family of 4. Jay-R has been really into the bowling on the Wii so we thought he should experience the real thing.

Getting ready to bowl his first time...
What!!!! He got a strike his first time! The ball rolled so slow down the alley but he did it! All that Wii bowling practice paid off!!! And thank goodness for bumper bowling...improved all of our scores!

And they all fall down!!!! What luck!

Smiles...

Things to smile about...

*A friend of mine visited the Philippines this past July and spent some time at White Cross Children's Home, Jay-R's orphanage. She took some gifts and a photo album of Jay-R since he has been home with us. I was finally able to see the pictures yesterday. Seeing the smiles on the face of the social worker who matched us with Jay-R as she flipped through the pictures made me smile and made me teary eyed. It made my heart happy that they were able to see how happy he is and how well he is doing!

*Kory's work is thinking that maybe his crew would function better on third shift instead of second shift. We are waiting for their final decision, but it is looking promising. This makes me hopeful which brings a smile!

*Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course we are taking at our church...love it, love it, love it! We strongly recommend it to everyone. It is a common sense, Biblical approach to finances. We have big financial goals which include adopting again, and we feel this course will help us reach our goals.

*Jay-R seems to be feeling a little better today than he did last night. And he takes his medicine without any protest...much different than Ashleigh ever was...she'll agree with me. She was the child in the commercial running away from the mom at the sight of the medicine bottle!

There are so many reasons to smile. Now, the snow falling outside...that's debatable!!!!

Changes (and snow) are coming....

This cute face was reduced to tears and a massive meltdown moment that lasted quite a while a few days ago. Daddy told him to do his homework, he didn't listen, and Daddy took away something he was playing with instead of doing his homework. This resulted in a major meltdown that left us wondering...what just happened here? It felt like post-Philippines just got home type of meltdown. Was the taking away of his toy related to adoption issues or was it merely a little boy trying to exert his independence in that he didn't feel like doing his homework at that moment? We find ourselves analyzing situations and wondering at times. But, the root cause does not affect the reaction from us. That kind of behavior is not acceptable. After a time-out battle and a lesson in forgiveness (his sincere "I'm sorry, Mommy" apologies, melt my heart), we were able to have an enjoyable evening. We also found ourselves wondering....could Jay-R sense that changes are coming?

Last week (this same day as above meltdown), we received news that Kory has been "bumped" to 2nd shift. He went from being top of the seniority to the bottom in less than a week due to people moving around to different jobs at his factory. Kory is extremely bummed by this. He is a very involved Daddy. He had planned on helping coach Ashleigh's soccer team with me. He loves to go to the kids' activities at school, attend all their sporting events, and simply spend time with them, and oh, with me, too! I will begin to play the role of single mom during the week. We have done this over the years but never with two children. Because Kory is also working most Saturdays, we will have only Sunday to spend as a family all day. I guess the kids and I will find lots of creative things to do. We are pretty disappointed about this change in our family life and routine. Kory is also involved in different things in our church and he knows the shift change will affect these things he enjoys, too. Ashleigh understands this, she's been through this before. We haven't really explained it to Jay-R except to tell him Daddy will be working at nights. Kory made the comment that Jay-R has gone the first 5 years of his life without any father type figure in his life, and now he feels likes Jay-R is going to be robbed of his Daddy time. I keep telling Kory this is only for a season and this too shall pass. And I quote Romans 8:28-"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose". We aren't thrilled about this, but we'll make it through it!!!

And as far as the snow in the weather forecast, not thrilled about that, either!!!!

Basketball

Jay-R is playing Upward Basketball at a local church. Upwards is a Christian based sports program. They have devotions with the coaches every practice. Each child gets equal playing time and is matched up with a child of equal playing ability. Sportsmanship and teamwork is emphasized. I know things don't always go like this in the "real world" of sports but for kindergarten, it is wonderful. We are very happy with the program so far. Jay-R is loving basketball. I think it holds a sense of familiarity to him since basketball is played in the Philippines. In fact, at Ate Ashleigh's first soccer practice he attended, he immediately began bouncing the soccer ball like a basketball. His biggest disadvantage...his height! He gets so excited when he makes a basket at practice but he has not made a basket at a game yet. But, he is loving it and having fun!