Nothing exciting.......

Well, I don't seem to post much lately...same old same old just isn't real exciting. The summer should bring a little more fun into our lives. We are READY for school to be out. Ali and I have the summer bug already. We will finish up the first week of June. Ali is excited about what her summer has in store. Her first week long camp, swimming on not one but two swim teams, music camp in Louisiana, hopefully a sewing day camp, etc. It will be full and hopefully very memorable for her. Clark will continue taking his little gymnastics class, and will have to tag along for everything on big sisters list! I am going to help out a friend since she works full time, and watch her children a couple of times a week during the summer. It just happens to be Ali's best friend and her brother...so they are SO excited about seeing so much of each other come June!

We met my parents half way between here and Lake Charles today for lunch. It is just over an a hour each way. We enjoyed seeing them. They are leaving on their vacation this coming Friday...so we wanted to give Mom her Mother's Day gift before they left. Speaking of Mother's Day...it will be my first one with Clark home...and his first to have someone to call Mama! I LOVE that. (and let me just add...he says it a lot...like a million times a day...haha)

Ali had a photo shoot with our cat, Happy the other day. We had the windows raised in front of her school desk and the cats just love the windows up. He jumped right in the window and spread out. She got some great shots of him being his typical lazy self.

I have been working on Clark's life book. What that is is a book that you make for adopted children that tells their life story...or at least everything that you know. It keeps the children from guessing about what happened to their birth parents, etc. and nothing is ever a secret. You write it in storybook form, so that you can read it to them. I am putting pictures in his. Well, I had a copy of the earliest picture we have of him...it is a terrible quality picture of a group of kids at a Christmas celebration. He is a small toddler. I pointed him out and he loved seeing it. He held the picture and looked at everyone else and looked up at me and said "Mama all gone?" He noticed I wasn't in the picture. It was so cute. I explained that he didn't live with us yet. We try to always be very open about everything. A few weeks ago T.C. was talking to him at bedtime about what it was like in the orphanage. He asked him if he got to sleep with a stuffed animal at bedtime. Clark said "oh no Papa, one toy behind door." He remembers that he had a little cubby/closet where he would put his shoes, jacket, and ONE red truck. Though he didn't get to leave the orphanage with it....he does still remember that detail.

I am reading "Bring up Boys" by Dr. James Dobson. It is so fantastic in explaining the differences in raising boys verses girls. It is great to actually read in print that we are not alone in this venture. Ha! A couple of months ago I begin to panic as these traits were coming more and more into light. But, I can breathe a little easier now knowing that boys are just different!! I mean...I knew it all along...duh, right...I just don't think I knew just how different it would be. But, with that said.......we wouldn't change a thing! He brings so much joy and laughter into our lives.

Clark will soon have a little wooden play structure to play on in our yard. I am so excited. Our neighbors are giving us an older one out of their yard. It was in the yard when they moved in...and they have no need for it. Clark will really love it. We may need to purchase new swings for it, but we sure can't complain about FREE! Woohoo! Their teenage boys are going to help get it into our yard in the next couple of weeks.

Here are a few random pictures.

being sillly, lazy cat, and early Mother's Day