I need a hero.

Last week we went to an amusement park with Dad and Jee. We had a great day, overall, but there was one serious not-so-great episode. One part of the park is a water park, so we spent part of the day there. Ben and Dad enjoyed the slides, but the littles just wanted to hang out in the wading pool, which was completely packed.

It was super hot, so Will, Jee, and I were sitting in the shade while Kate played in a fountain, just feet from us. I was watching as she played, but at one point she walked behind a group of people, and I could no longer see her. I waited a few seconds for her to come back, but she didn't. Jee was closer, so she got up to spot her. I could see from Jee's face that she couldn't see her anywhere. I got up to help look, but after a minute of searching this very, very crowded pool, I started to get frantic.

I don't think I have ever been so terrified in my life. I was ready to have the lifeguard lock-down the front gate and go search under bathroom stall doors. Every horrible scenario ran through my head in about .5 seconds.

I had already observed how professional the lifeguards were, and had spotted the main lifeguard at her stand about an hour before. (When you have been a lifeguard, it is just habit to notice this stuff.) I ran over and got her, explaining that I had lost my 3 year old daughter. I described her completely, and said a prayer of thankfulness that I knew exactly what she was wearing, not to mention the fact that she was the only Chinese child I had seen in that particular area. Then I went back to my previous prayer which had been running non-stop in my head for about 4 minutes at this point, "Please, God, please, God, please, God..."

I stood there for another minute, praying and looking, when Will says, "There she is!"

"Where?!"

"On the other side!" Sure enough. There she was, dangling off the other side of the pool. She was in about 4 feet of water (she is not 4 feet tall), hanging onto the side. She wasn't upset in the least. She was just trying to go touch a rock that the boys had played on earlier. I'm still not sure how she even got over there.

Of course, when I got her in my arms, I gushed and tried to explain to her what had happened and how she mustn't wander off, but she had no idea she was lost in the first place. She thought I had been watching the whole time.

And then I grabbed Will, thanked him profusely, and told him he was my Superhero! He beamed, while Kate scowled because she didn't see what the big deal was. Will was extremely proud though, and reminded me several more times that he was my hero.

So the moral of the story is, lock them in the house and never let them out until they are 32.

OK. So that isn't the moral of the story, but it sure would be easier on my blood pressure and my sanity.

Ear tubes...again

You may recall that Kate NaNa got a spankin' new pair of ear tubes a few weeks ago. She did really well, but after the surgery, one of her ears started to bleed and the tube got clogged, despite the fact that we were using the drops as prescribed by Dr. M.

For the last two weeks we have continued to use the drops, in hopes that it would break up the clot.

It hasn't happened.

I am incredibly frustrated, and Kate is incredibly sick of having to lay on her side four times a day while I put drops in.

The doctor and I discussed our options and decided to give the drops a couple more weeks to let them work. He wasn't optimistic that anything would change, but it would give me some time to decide what to do next.

Because the next step is to either do nothing (he said he Eustachian tubes are working at the moment ~ i.e. no fluid in the ear) or go in and surgically remove the blocked tube and replace it.

I have no idea what to do. And I am tired. And frustrated. So would you all do me a huge favor? Would you pray for Kate NaNa and me? I am looking for clear direction here. As in, the tube gets un-clogged, or I see a billboard with instructions. (You laugh, but I actually got that once when I asked for it.)

I don't have a pretty bow to wrap up this post, but I will let you know how things go:)

I should have picked the zucchini.

A few days before we left for vacation, I had a list of things that needed to be done. One of those things was to clean up the garden. The weeds were taking over, and the zucchini needed to be picked. I ran out of sunlight, and that zucchini never got picked.


And then we were gone for ten days.

Yesterday morning I got up early to see what needed to be done. This is what I found.

Since that is all of them in a big pile, let me lay them out for you (minus one big'un in the above pic that I gave away.) The four on the right are normal sized zucchini. About the size of my hand. The three on the left, not so much.

I still don't think that picture did them justice. Let's see how big they are in relation to Ben's head.

Still not getting it? Here it is, next to my adult-sized leg.

It's the same size and shape as my calf, knee to ankle.

It weighs 3.6 pounds.

Never in my life have I seen a zucchini this big. And I have two of them (not counting the one I gave away), plus the other small ones. I have no idea what to do with them, or if it will even taste good. If you sliced it up, the slices would be the approximately diameter of lunch meat. I don't think vegetables are supposed to be this big.

Happy Father's Day, Tim

On Wednesday, while we were on vacation, my oldest son prayed and asked Jesus to come into his heart.
Today, Ben was so excited. He was literally hopping up and down with joy.
So, on Father's Day, my husband had the great privilege of baptizing Benjamin.
Happy Father's Day, Tim. Could you have asked for a better gift?

(As you can see, some of the kids were really excited. They were sitting on the floor, but they couldn't stand it and all crowded around for a better view:)

Sunday Snapshot: {Say Cheese (Touch)}

I have spent the entire week of vacation trying to get a decent shot of all three kids.

You know. One where their eyes are open.

Or where they aren't yawning.

Or moving.

Or just being plain silly.

One where everyone is looking at the camera.

And this is what I came up with.

And I had to say, "Cheese touch," to get it. (If you don't know what that means, ask your nearest Wimpy Kid fan.)

I don't know how you photographers out there do it. I'm exhausted.

Grandpa

This is Tim's grandpa.
Is this not the cutest man you've ever seen?

He's so sweet and kind, too, that he has set the bar high for his sons and grandsons.

Last week we got to spend a couple of days with him. (I'm too embarrassed to tell you how long it had been since we had made the trek to northern Ohio.) And Grandpa suggested we take the kids to the park. Despite the fact that he is 96, he likes to make sure everyone is having a good time.

(And they had one of those vomit inducing, death machines that I loved when I was a kid. It's hard to find those anymore.)

We had a really good time:) We love you, Great Pa-Pa!

One of the reasons I love summer...

Everything in this bowl came out of my garden. Strawberries, lettuce, and zucchini. I love it:)

Crazy

"Crazy" is Kate's current favorite word. She uses it all the time, to describe herself, her family, whatever. She likes to run around the house yelling, "Crazy lady!" and sometimes when she prays she says, "Thank you for being crazy." I think she is thanking God that she can be crazy and have fun, but I am really not positive.

A month or two ago I went and got a haircut. I had around 6 or 8 inches taken off, so it looked really different. Plus, my hair has a lot of wave and body to it. The kind that has a mind of its own, and no matter how often you tell it what to do, it just never listens. I would show you pictures, but it just isn't pretty. When it is long, the weight pulls it down, but when it's short it goes a little nuts. In my family we call it Pa-Pa hair because my grandfather had thick, wavy hair that was a little nuts, sticking out everywhere, when he woke up in the morning.

When Kate first saw me with the new 'do, I asked her if she liked it. Her response? "Don't you kiss me with that crazy hair."

The other day she told me, "I like your hair, but it is still crazy." And later, "Your hair looks like Mimi's. She has crazy hair too." Sorry, Mimi, but you know you have Pa-Pa hair too:)

"But I loved first grade!"

Ben finished school on Wednesday. I met Ben as he came off the bus with the words, "How is my favorite 2nd grader today?"

At which point Ben burst into tears. "But I loved first grade!" he cried. I held him and cuddled with him for a few minutes. His first grade year really has been wonderful. He made lots of good friends, took his reading and writing to the next level, and suddenly became a big kid right before my eyes.

I have mentioned his teacher before, but I feel the need to mention her again. She has repeatedly gone the extra mile for her students, making sure they were all challenged. Inspired, even. She encouraged all of Ben's crazy questions, his creativity, and even his comic book, entitled, Captain Poopypants. (What can I say? He's seven.)

She is one of the those teachers. You know the second you meet her that she cares so, so much about her students. We went to the end-of-the-year awards for his class. She had an award for every student that was unique and special. (Ben got the Growing Author award.) A couple of times she teared up as she talked about her students' accomplishments. She not only cared about their minds, but she also cared about their hearts.

Mrs. H, we love you, and will miss you terribly.

Any chance you would teach second grade next year?

Ear tubes? No problem.

It's early, Mama. It's still dark.

And I'm really not sure I like this hat. Or the idea of going with these people.

Maybe Daddy and I could play a funny game while we wait.

Yep, that Daddy always cheers me up.

But when it's all over, I want Mama to hold me. And then I will just sleep all the way home.

Once I am home, I am sure I will feel much better. Maybe I will watch TV or play with my brothers.

Yep, it's gonna be fine. These ear tubes are a breeze. I feel better already!

I won!

I am soooo excited:) I keep saying that over and over again, but it's true.

I just won a giveaway that I didn't even know I had entered.



A few weeks ago, Tonggumomma posted this beautiful Chinese lullaby, which my kids and I completely love. {Thanks, TM!} Then she asked for other songs that reminded us of adoption. I posted this song (it's the first one that plays), which Will and I listened to a lot as we waited to bring home our third tomato. (As an aside, we don't have a clue who sings this or what the title is. If you know, please let me know.) As we would listen, we would have all these conversations about whether tomato #3 was a boy or girl, how old, which province, and all of that.

By the way, it's not that we were leaving Ben out of the conversation, he just didn't really like that song and was always frustrated that I didn't play Istanbul instead. And, lest you think I didn't talk about this stuff with Ben, know that anytime I was frustrated with waiting and ready to give up on adoption, I was reminded by Ben to pray for our tomato #3. Every. Single. Night. Seriously.

(Is that a convoluted intro or what?)

Anyway, apparently my comment was an entry to a CD giveaway, and I won! See? I'm so excited:) It's also apparent that I ramble when excited...


**On another note, Kate NaNa (aka, Tomato #3) will be having her ear tube surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30. Say a prayer, if you don't mind:)