It is never a good thing when........

A family is visiting a new church and the "little fellow" decides to act up during Wed. night worship. The father takes the child to "the restroom"....and a few short minutes later screams ring out throughout the sanctuary. Oh....it is just never a good thing. I hope we are allowed back...oh, I mean..."they" are allowed back...I am leaving out names to protect the innocent. :) Thanks a mill Clarky!!

Thanksgiving in Louisiana....

Well, Thanksgiving is officially over and the Christmas season has begun. We had a nice Thanksgiving in Louisiana with my parents. My brother and his family stopped by later that afternoon for a while, and Ali was able to spend the night with her cousin. I, as usual, ate WAY too much! The food seemed endless. Now I must try and watch the waistline until Christmas when I will turn around and do the same thing. Heehee!!!

My mom and dad already had their Christmas tree up so that the children could enjoy it. As you can see by the pictures...Clark spent most of his time by the tree. He LOVED it and couldn't get enough of it. It was so cute...I would tell him time and again not to touch the ornaments (which he would take off and rearrange)...and he just couldn't help himself. He could NOT keep his hands off. Finally I just quit trying and watched him closely so he wouldn't break any. He loved this tiny nativity set they had out. He would take the pieces for rides in his trucks. We were forever on the lookout for missing pieces. We even found him outside looking intently at their fence.........and he had stuck Mary in part of the fence and gotten her stuck. However, T.C. came and rescued her! In the pictures you will see Clark carrying around a breakable duck. Mom has these breakable ducks and cats that people have given her through the years and Clark just loves them for some reason. He is always carrying them around, rocking them, holding them, etc. He HAD to have them in the pictures!

We are tackling our Christmas decorating at the moment. It is taking WAY longer than ever before. While we lived in our little townhouse in Louisville, we didn't get out all of our decorations due to space. Add that to the fact that it is my FAVORITE time of the year and I can't keep myself from buying up MORE decorations...and my mom is forever giving us more cute things she finds as well. Long story short...we have boxes and boxes and boxes of decorations!! I love snowmen, so we also have TONS of those. Anyway, it is taking us a long time to figure out where everything is going to go. We actually need to get another tree to put upstairs for our extra ornaments. We already have 2 trees downstairs. (a little overboard, well perhaps) It will be fun...until it is time to pack it all up!! But, we will enjoy it while it lasts.

Let us hear how your Thanksgiving was!! Here are some pictures from Louisiana and also of Ali and Clark putting up his little tree in his room.

Thanksgiving

A turkey hat?

Thought I would mention a few cute things Clark has done lately. A couple of days ago I noticed Ali's bedroom door was closed and I knew that Clark had gone in there. I went through her bathroom and peeked in to find a photo shoot going on. Clark had his "view master" and a stool and was sitting in front of Ali's door. He was acting like he was taking pictures of Ali with his view master. He would tell her to sit this way or that way...have her hold a stuffed animal, etc. Then, when he was "finished" he would tell her "good job!" It was so funny. (do I take too many pictures, or what?)

We bought Clark a Thanksgiving set from Fisher Price. It has pilgrims, Indians, and a picnic table with food on top. It also came with a plastic turkey for the table that is hollow underneath. Well, I bought him a Thanksgiving book and sat down to try and explain our Thanksgiving....feeling pretty proud of myself that I made the effort...I turn around and find that he had put the turkey on an Indian as a hat. Well, guess he didn't quite get it.......maybe next year. :)

To give a little background on this one...every once in a while I will joke with Clark when he has done something like...oh say...called "MAMA" for the millionth time in a row. I will say "oh Clark..you are killing me"....so anyway, Ali had taken him outside the other day to jump on the trampoline and had forgotten to take his socks off. (they turn black) So, when he ran inside for something I caught him and told him to take his socks off before he went back out and without missing a beat he yanked the socks off and said "oh, you are killing me."

Another funny he has done lately is say something is nasty. It is the way he says it. I think he heard us say it when he does something like burp at the table or whatever. I will tell him "that is nasty, say excuse me." So now he will say that when something happens. Timmy yawned in is face the other night (and yes, I admit he has TERRIBLE old doggy breath) and Clark told him "oh Timmy that is naaasty."

turkey hat

Holidays....they are approaching!

Is it just me...or can anyone else believe that Christmas is right around the corner? It just seems that every year seems to pass faster than the one before it. What about all the places putting out Christmas decorations earlier and earlier each year? Some were putting things out before Halloween! I mean, can we get through Thanksgiving first?

We do love to put our decorations out a little early as well. Our tradition is to decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am so excited this year. I just can't wait to see Clark's face when the tree lights go on. So many things we look forward to...baking cookies, explaining the Nativity, putting the ornaments on the tree, driving around looking at lights, Christmas music (love, love, love it!!), and so much more. It is my all time favorite time of year.

This year, of all years, we really want to bring our focus back on the true meaning of Christmas. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the commercialism of it all. What do we want, what can we buy, what is the "new thing" this year? We want to focus on the manger in Bethlehem so many years ago. When God sent his son, Jesus, to come into the world as a tiny babe. We want to focus on what Christ did for us so many years ago. To take our focus away from the world's view of Christmas, and return to the manager. We are so excited...will you join us on the journey? We will be blogging our holiday season. Leave us comments on what you do as a family to focus on Christ during Christmas. We are always looking for new ideas. One thing we have always done is have a birthday cake for Jesus. This year we are hosting Christmas at our home...so the children (along with our niece), will be baking the cake all by themselves. I found beautiful ornaments that say "Happy Birthday Jesus" that they will each get. We also bought Clark a Fisher Price Nativity set that he can play with. That way he doesn't have to be told to "not touch" like the others we have. This one he can touch, play with, and learn the story.

I can't wait to view this holiday season through the eyes of a child that has never before experienced anything like this. To truly have that sense of awe and wonder.

What are your holiday plans? We are spending Thanksgiving in Lake Charles with my family...another first for our son. Let us all focus on what we have to be thankful for. The list is endless, is it not? I take so much for granted. This Thanksgiving our cup runneth over. God poured his blessings upon us this year with the joining of our son into our family. We are so thankful for our almost 11 year old daughter, our little son, for each other, our health, home, our needs being met, oh how I could go on. We look forward to our first holiday with Clark home. We waited a long time to be able to say that!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Boys will be boys, right?

Boys will be boys, regardless if they are born in Ukraine or the good ole' USofA!! Isn't that right? As I am getting Clark dressed this morning, I begin to take off his pull-up and put on his underwear...he gets a HUGE grin on his face, grabs his "manly equipment" and starts making a peeing sound...pppppssssssssssssssssss!!!!! He was oh so very proud of himself for being funny. Meanwhile, I bite my cheek to not laugh and give him the motherly "that is not very polite" speech!! Hardy har har har......yep, gotta love boys!!

Four months ago today...our lives changed forever!!

Four months ago to the day...we loaded up the black Lincoln Navigator in Kiev and headed on a 4 hour journey that would change our lives forever. (I will mention that it WAS a 4 hour journey that should have been at least a 5 hour journey..heehee...remember that story?) On the afternoon of July 13th, we met a 3 1/2 year old little boy that we new nothing more about than his name, Ruslan...and he stole our hearts from the moment he was escorted into the room to us. He gave us a shy smile with his head tilted down...and here we are 4 months later and he is an active, talkative, and (trying at times) little one that has learned to receive love and give love in return. God, in his infinite wisdom, made the more than 2 year wait all worth it. We knew from that moment that God chose this child to be our son before the creation of the world. He brought me into this world to be his mother. How awesome is that? Maybe not flesh of my flesh, but nothing short of a miracle. A daughter and a son...oh how we have been blessed beyond measure.

Just thought I would post some more beach photos. We returned to the beach on Monday for a little stroll along the sea wall. Our kiddos can't get enough of that place!

beach

Ali's first 200........

Ali swam her first 200 this weekend...let me just say...she HATED it! She was so mad that her coach signed her up for a 200! It takes a lot of endurance to make it 200 (and she doesn't have a lot of that). But you know what, she finished it and we were proud of her...ok, so she was the last one in her heat...but SHE FINISHED IT! It was quite funny...on her last lap her coach finally started yelling "Ali, just finish." Ha!!! Me, now I would have sunk to the bottom after the first 25...ha!! However, she did well in the other events. Between today and yesterday, she swam in a total of 9 events. Her backstroke really improved today compared to yesterday (yesterday it was another one of those...she was just glad to finish sort of things). This was her first "REAL" swim meet. The summer league meets were much more relaxed...this was the real deal. It is all about your swim time at this point. In the end, your time gets compared to all the other kids in your age group. It is interesting to see where she lines up. She was pretty much right in the middle...so not too bad for her first real meet. But let me tell you....there are some majorly overzealous sideline parents. UGH! We would just stand around and listen to all the yelling and screaming...that was something else. One mother yesterday completely tore into her little girl (maybe about 8 years old) saying how "she had wasted her whole day at that swim meet and she didn't swim like she should have"..the poor little girl just kept telling her mom she was sorry. I thought it was quite sad. The mother just packed up their things and left the kid standing in the hall (because she was still trying to get her clothes on). Anyway, I don't think Ali has another meet until after the new year. One of the coaches is already asking us why Clark wasn't swimming yet. She wants me to bring him for a trial lesson soon...she doesn't know what she is getting into!! Heehee...he has no fear.

swim meet

Any grandchildren in my future?

We were in the car today and Clark was looking at a book (that happened to be one of Ali's when she was little)...he started to get a little rough with the book, so I began to explain that it was Ali's book and we wanted to save it for her children...then I said we would save his books for his children. Without a second thought, Ali informed me "I already told Dad...I AM NOT HAVING CHILDREN after watching Clark." Well...guess she told me.

Because the world needs poets...

In case you didn't see the previous post, we have a budding poet on the loose here in the Judd household. Rachel posted a couple of her pieces on Monday after her post on our beach soirée, but I'm going to promote Ali to her own post and her own label (poetry)...because she deserves it and because the world needs poets:

"Colors of God"
Colors are one of God's miracles,
We see them every day.
Do you wonder how they came to be?
Or if they're here to stay?

What if the world had no colors?
What if it was black and white?
If there were no colors in the world,
I would rather not have sight.

We need the reds and yellows
and greens and purples, too!
And blue and pink and orange
In every different hue.

God's gifts are grace and mercy,
and lots of others too.
One is the great gift of colors,
He gave to me and you!
by Ali Judd

---

"A Colonial Blacksmith"
One day I was walking home from school,
and looked into the shed;
I saw a busy blacksmith
A'hammering at some lead.

He stopped, looked up, and smiled
and then he said, "Good day!"
He started all his work again
A'chewing at some hay.

Blistered hands, a'workin' hard,
How I think they must be tired.
Big, black mustache, grease black hair,
Molten steel, he shows no fear.

He always goes to Sunday church,
and sits way in the back.
I look there and he smiles,
and politely lifts his hat.

When he prays he cries, "I'm a sinful man,
I sin every day."
He kneels to pray a prayer or two,
and wipes each tear away.

After church is over,
he walks around to me.
He gives me a nickel to buy some gum,
and happily walks away.

by Ali Judd

I never knew..........

I never knew I could be so excited over an inch......ONE WHOPPING INCH! But, I am! Clark had his monthly height/weight follow up with his pediatrician today. I was initially disappointed because he has not gained any weight since he came home in Aug. His weight today was the same it was last month... 26 1/2 lbs. However, our boy has grown a whole inch since we got home. The doctor was really excited about that, as was I. He is still only the average size of a 2 year old...she showed me his growth chart. So...he still has a lot of catching up to do. But, she said she is more concerned with the height issue than the weight. If he continues to grow...we might not have to have the test run checking his growth hormone. YIPPY! All in all things are going well. She said his incision is healing well, he finished up his antibiotics this morning!

Ali has her first swim meet since summer this weekend. YES...both Sat. and Sun.!! It will be interesting to see how she has improved since then. Nona and Poppy are coming to watch her on Sunday, so she is excited about that.

I will explain the pictures....the other morning Clark put his boots on as soon as he got out of bed. He then decided to climb into our bed...boots and all...and he had put his shoes on his baby! Too funny. Then, the ones of him at bath time need some explanation. T.C. made the mistake one night when drying him off after bath, of saying "oh baby Russie...look how cute..." (on and on and on...because he was all wrapped up in his towel like a baby) WELL....Clark LOVED it so much that he demands we do that EVERY SINGLE night. As soon as I get him out of the tub...first thing out of his mouth "BABY...PAPA"!!! Translation..."where is Papa, I want him to do baby!" Ha!! (every night!!!) It is really pretty funny...he loves it. The poster is Ali's geography project. She had to draw a map from a country of her choice and tell about the country. She, of course, chose Ukraine. It came out very well.

boots in bed, baby Clark, and Ali's map

Just another day at the beach.....

Today was Clark's official first day of preschool. Ummm, ok...maybe we are just working on letters and colors...but it's a start. He knew his colors in Ukrainian, but is having to relearn them in English. He likes "doing school" like Ali. So it only took about 5 minutes or so, but you gotta start somewhere. Ha! We worked on the color red and the letter A. (he is clueless about the letters...but I think he gets the colors)

T.C. has been working CRAZY hours the past 2 weeks (due to being in mission control), so we headed to the beach for some relaxation this afternoon. The kids (including T.C.) built a huge sand castle and Clark loved helping tear it down before we left! He loves going to the beach, as does Ali. Ali was disappointed that we didn't hit the old fashioned ice cream parlor on The Strand!

Sat. we took them to Build a Bear to build a new bear. They both chose a cute dog! Clark thought that place was pretty fun! Ali has loved going for years now.

I thought I would include a couple of Ali's recent poems. She enjoys writing poetry...but she should really do it more often...she is actually pretty good at it! Enjoy.....

(T.C.: OK, I moved her poems here)

Build a Bear, first day of schooling, and Galveston

Tea party anyone?....Halloween....and cowboy boots!!!

What a combination...all in the course of a few days here in the Judd house Clark had a tea party for one of his stuffed animals, went trick or treating, and absolutely fell in LOVE with his cowboy boots. He had a doctors appointment today and actually wore shorts (yes, it is warm here!!), t-shirt, and cowboy boots. (black boots at that!) I probably used to think..."why would a parent let their child go out of the house like that?" But...now I am the one doing it. Ha! He even wore them with his pj's this morning. So, I honestly just didn't want the battle of trying to get them off of his feet.......so off to the doctor we went....boots and all. I remember with Ali every hair had to be in place with bows to match. Heehee!

The video is so cute of Clark having his tea party. I just came around the corner the other day and found that.

Well, another American first....TRICK OR TREATING!! I am sure he was a little confused at first, but he got the hang of it. We went with some friends from the neighborhood, and he tried to keep up with them...then he just quit trying and wanted to be carried. His little legs just couldn't make it. He loved it when the people were standing outside with their dogs dressed up! He would kiss them all...the dogs that is. (ick, but he did it) After trick or treating, Ali went to a fall festival with her friends that we trick or treated with. I didn't want Clark to be overwhelmed with Halloween...so I brought him home. She had a great time though.

Clark had a follow up appointment today with the surgeon. He said everything looks great with the exception of the redness. He said it should not be this red after a week and a half. He put him on antibiotics to be safe. Pray it heals just fine and that there isn't any infection. (you always hear about people getting staff infections from hospitals)

Oh yes, the picture of his "baby" on his potty chair is hilarious! I heard him in the bathroom this morning and that is what I found. He just looked at me and said "baby, potty!" Like...DUH, Mom!! Ha!

tea party and Halloween