And we are off again.........

We returned LATE Sat. night from Louisiana...and the kids and I leave again tomorrow morning for KY/IN. WEW! Still trying to get the laundry done and repack. Ok, so I haven't actually packed a single thing yet...had errands to run this morning, teach school, and get Clark to gymnastics. It is now 1:00 and not a single thing has yet to reach the suitcases. Yikes!

Ali has already informed me that she is just too excited to sleep tonight. We will see how that pans out! It will be so good to see friends and family that we haven't seen in so long.

This weekend was very difficult. It is never easy to try and say good-bye to someone that you loved so much. However, I just imagine my uncle dancing with the angels and not being in any pain...ever again. Our selfish side just still wants him here with us, yet we know he is in a much better place. Aside from the sadness, it was so wonderful to see members of my family that I had not seen in quite some time! Some had not met Clark...so he tried his best to not get caught and kissed by everyone that walked by him! Heehee! He was a mess and FULL of energy the entire time. We were a little nervous that he wouldn't make it through the funeral "with his quiet voice"...but he did...to our surprise. However, the graveside service was a little different. I do recall during one prayer a certain someone repeating over and over "what...what...what." (and I believe T.C. may have mentioned to that certain someone to "be nice"...and that certain someone said quite loudly.."you be nice"...ok, so that was kind of funny!!)

The theme in our house as of late is "BECAUSE I SAID SO." It seems our dear son has become quite fond of the word WHY! I mean...it gets repeated at least 100 times a day. I have gotten a little tired of explaining myself and have resulted to just saying "because Mama said so." Lame...I know! However, I just seem to run out of explanations!

Clark had his second gymnastics class today. There were more oooohhh's and aaaaaahhhh's from the teachers again this week. They can't believe how strong he is for being so little. They were working on cartwheels today and he just leaned over and went from standing to a handstand all by himself. Pretty incredible! We will never have any money at this rate.....everything will be going to swimming or gymnastics...we will be eating beans! Ha!

Well, I am off to begin packing! I will try and update while we are out of town. I am posting a few pictures from this weekend.

Shreveport

Baptism...and heaven...all in the same day!

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Numbers 6:24

One Samuel was baptized in Christ last night at church...while another Samuel rejoiced at Christ's feet last night in heaven. My mother's brother, my Uncle Sam, whom Samuel Clark was named after, went to be with Jesus yesterday morning. His health was not good and we all know he is at peace now...pain free and in the presence of Jesus! Pray for the family; he will be missed.

Like I mentioned, Clark was baptized last night. We didn't know what to expect...as he will just talk in church not realizing his voice carries. However, he surprised us and was quiet and didn't talk! He was a little curious when the pastor leaned him over the water and started pouring water over his head...he couldn't resist turning to look over his shoulder. But, it was beautiful and we have an awesome responsibility ahead of us...training him in God's truths. With God's guidance, we pray he will become a strong man of God.

We are off to Louisiana to be with my family and attend the funeral...we will return Sat. evening...laundry, repack...and leave again Tues. morning for Kentucky/Indiana! Shew!!!

Baptism

Clark's first movie and gymnastics class

Well, we decided to attempt to make it through Clark's first movie at the theater on Sat. We took the kids to see The Water Horse. It was a great movie, and Clark set mesmerized throughout the entire thing. They have little booster seats, which are great. He loved his popcorn..telling me "I like this." Heehee! The movie lasted 2 hours and he just sat right in his seat.

His language is really coming along. He has started referring to himself as "I" instead of me do this or that. He has really blossomed in his 5 months home. We just can't believe it. We were watching some video clips this weekend from Ukraine and couldn't believe how much he has changed since then.

Clark also started gymnastics this morning. He absolutely LOVED it. The teacher was quite impressed with how flexible he is. It is amazing, really. The boy can just about do the splits and is so strong. (T.C. thinks male gymnasts are shall we say feminine and isn't that thrilled with the lessons...hahaha) But I will say that he seems like a natural. The teacher said that he has the perfect body. He followed directions so well, even though he doesn't understand everything. He just seemed to follow right along.

Let me see...we are having Clark baptized at Hope Lutheran Church during the Wed. evening worship service this week. T.C. and I will begin the new members class that same night. It lasts about 10-12 weeks and afterwards we can join the church. It is a change for me...being a Southern Baptist since the womb...but after much prayer and consideration we feel like this is a good fit for our family.

The children and I will be flying up to Louisville next Tuesday morning. We will be in Louisville 3 days, then heading up to Indiana for 5 days. Ali is so excited to see all of her friends from Louisville again! I can't believe it has been a year since we moved. Clark will be meeting his cousins, Jackson and Sawyer, for the first time. I know the boys will have a great time together! I can't wait to watch them. He will also get to see his other set of grandparents...he has only seen them once...so I know he will enjoy it!!! (as will Ali..of course she is always ready to see them!) This will be Clark's first airplane trip since Ukraine...wonder what he will be thinking?

Here are a few pictures from gymnastics (they are terrible pictures due to them being taken through a window) and a few video clips. The picture of Clark in his car seat is hilarious...that is how he has been falling asleep in the car. He covers his eyes up!

gymnastics

Already making the girls cry...

Ok, so we were at the library for story time this morning and next thing I knew a little girl was running away from Clark crying. I turn around and see that he had decided to NOT play nice. He and the little girl were both playing with a tub of foam floor puzzle pieces. I guess he decided he would rather not share them and drags the bucket away from the little girl...hence the little girl running away crying. Guess we need to work on that....so after I get him buckled into his car seat headed home I give him the "we have to share and be nice speech." (meanwhile he is probably thinking...blah, blah, blah...right?

The pictures are from last night. T.C. was putting a shelf together for Ali's room and Clark was fascinated. He had to hand T.C. every single nail, screw, etc. until it was all finished up. It was quite cute!!

helping Papa

Simple pleasures....

It's the simple things in life that bring the most joy, am I right? We took the kids to Armand Bayou Nature Center this afternoon to take a little hike and look for critters in the ponds and bayou. Clark had never experienced anything like that before. He loved "hunting" for snakes...he would see a stick in the water and say "look, Mama." Heehee. We had a great time. The weather was perfect. We couldn't keep him focused enough on the trail to get him to keep up...he was picking up rocks, dirt, sticks, etc. Then he would yell at us to "WAIT!!!"

Our little man does in fact have giardia (intestinal parasite). We found out yesterday and he was put on a 3 day antibiotic. I assume he will have to be re-tested after the antibiotics are finished to make sure he is free and clear. Maybe this is contributing to his lack of weight gain.

Tonight we were tucking Clark in bed...T.C. had given kisses and had walked to the door...I was still sitting beside his bed...he looked at me and said "go out with Papa, I am sleepy." Ha...well, okie dokie then! It was priceless.

God gave me the sweetest moment last night. We had all piled into our living room for a movie night...the kids had chosen a movie and we were all settled in. I was in our recliner and everyone else was on the love seat...all the lights in the house were off, the only light was the light from the fireplace (I know, we actually lit another fire!). Anyway, I can't help but steal a glance of my 3 favorite people and catch the sweetest thing. Ali and Clark were snuggled up and head to head. Too precious. I was reminded of what an incredible gift we have been given in our amazing children, and how blessed I am to have a wonderful husband! God bestows his gifts, even when I don't deserve it!

Oh yes, we received the NEATEST adoption gift from my sister in law, Sarah! She took all of our blog entries during our adoption process in Ukraine (and the ones leading up to us actually leaving) and had a book made. She also put pictures from our trip and quotes, etc. mixed throughout. She also had both sets of grandparents, my brother and his wife, and she and her husband write letters to Clark and had them printed in the book as well. What a treasure. It is so wonderful...thanks Sarah!! What a fabulous book that Clark can look back upon and read all about his journey home.

Armand Bayou Nature Center

Definitely NOT a heavy weight!

Clark had his 4 year check up this week and tipped the scales at 27.4 lbs and is 35 3/4 inches tall. We were hoping for a little more weight gain. He is just now back up to where he was when he came home...back in Aug. He isn't on the growth chart yet..he is in a category all his own...down at the bottom. Ha! The doctor was a little concerned about the size issue and ordered a growth hormone test. The results came back yesterday and it was completely normal, praise God! He is just a small little guy. We are still awaiting the results from another test. He is being tested for Giardia. The other boy from his group that was adopted by another American couple tested positive a few weeks ago as did his younger sister from the same orphanage. The doctor thought it a good idea to test Clark...could be a reason for no weight gain. It is cleared up with antibiotics...we will be glad to hear the results.

Yesterday I pulled out the water table that Clark got for Christmas from his great grandmother. He had not seen it yet. He saw it through the window and had a fit before he even went outside. He loved it. (Ali did too..ha!!) They were SOAKED by the time I made them come inside. He had a MAJOR meltdown inside...I think the whole neighborhood heard him. He has had a rough couple of days with a bad temper and fits when he is told something he doesn't like. I am blaming it on all the vaccinations he had...at least it makes me feel better to blame something. We knew he had a temper, but he has really showed his stuff the last couple of days. (it is kind of like the terrible 2's at age 4...fun stuff!!)

water table

4 years ago today....

God brought our beautiful son into the world and protected him until we could bring him home. What a blessing he is to our lives!

Since today was his BIG day...his first birthday at home...and probably his first birthday ever celebrated...he got to choose lunch. At first it was chicken nuggets...then that was a no go...then he wanted pizza...then that was a no...then finally we told him that he HAD to choose one and he finally settled on pizza. We took him to a pizza buffet and he ate and ate and ate!! He ate 2 slices of pizza and veggies from the salad bar. He was a happy camper...the boy likes to eat!

After we returned home, he slept for 2 hours and 20 minutes (sure wish I could take a nap like that...any kind of nap really..heehee). Then it was time for the presents. He had been asking about them since he woke this morning. But, we wanted to wait for Poppy to arrive from Louisiana. Anyway, once he tore open all the gifts, he blew out the candles to the cake that big sister, Ali, made for him. She did a great job. He just wanted the icing off of his piece, however! (he just wanted to get down and PLAY)

He is still downstairs playing as I type this. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I am off to start taking down the Christmas trees. (we REALLY dread it)

Clark's 4th birthday

To kiss or not to kiss...that is the question!

And no I am not talking about T.C. and me....I am talking about our precious, darling little boy. His answer to that question is YES, definitely KISS! Our dilemma at the moment is trying to get him to not kiss everyone on the lips. Ask him for a kiss... and baby...you got...right smack dab on the lips. Tonight at church he sees his Sunday School teacher in the service and repeats "teacher, teacher, teacher." After the service he runs up to her...and you guessed...plants one right on the kisser!! I am sure she didn't know what to do...a kid she only knows from Sunday School (not to mention we have only been attending there for about 2 months) lays one on her. Oh yeah, and he is fighting the congestion crud like we have all been passing around the last month or so. So to his teacher I would say HAPPY NEW YEAR as she is now carrying around his crud too. I was a little embarrassed and could only come up with the clever line "he is quite the kisser, he kisses everyone on the lips." 'Cause you know she was thinking "yeah, no joke lady." So in the car we try and have a little discussion about only kissing his family on the lips...and here is how it went...

me: Clark, you need to only kiss Mama, Papa, Ali, and the rest of your family on the lips...everyone else you can kiss their cheek..ok...do you understand Mama?
Clark: Chicken Nuggets?
Ummmmmm...so as you see...that went well.