Serious and Fun

I have been reflecting on a lot of things lately. Things that I can't go into a lot of detail on a public blog. What I can say is that it makes me all the more thankful for my kids and it makes me reflect on how precious life really is. It's not that I'm not thankful for my kids all the time, or that I don't realize the precious gift of life, but the things I've been reflecting on, drive it all home that much more. It's hard to explain. As I reflected internally today, we had fun as a family. WB is finished with the semester and has 3 weeks off from school. This will be a wonderful 3 weeks of family time (minus the time Mr. X and Doc are in school).

Doc is so my child. He looks not a thing like me but he is into spinning and hanging upside down. I wrote a couple weeks ago about us going on all the rides at the fair. Well, now this seems to be a regular occurrence. I remember being told all the time when I was a kid to get my feet out of the air because I would prop myself upside down on the couch. I just have to laugh when I see Doc do this. And at the same time, my heart hurts for the families that won't get to see their child do these things because their child was called to Heaven. These parents won't get the chance to recognize the similarities between them and their child.

We also had GQ's hair trimmed today. We didn't want to get rid of all the curl so we just had it trimmed up so it wasn't in his eyes. His cheeser. Gotta love the cheeser that comes out every time the camera is out.

Mr. X also had a hair cut. We went pretty short with him because he likes to be outside so much. His hair was getting so long and shaggy. It hadn't been cut in almost three months!

When we cut his hair this short, we noticed that he has a bald spot! I don't think we've had his hair this short in a really long time. We are pretty sure the bald spot is from when he hit his head at 4 years old. The ER doc said it probably could've used a staple but since he was already so traumatized, that they would let it be and it would be fine. He passed out a little while after hitting his head so had an ambulance ride, IV started, and a CT scan of his head! I was OK with not adding anything more to that visit.

Doc didn't get his hair cut but he didn't want to miss out on the photo op.

Following hair cuts, we took GQ to the store to use his gift card for his birthday. He picked out a new Thomas the train track set and a new train to go with it. The new train is named Bill. We added the new se tto the old set and the boys all played with it for awhile.

We also got GQ some "Big Boy" pants. We are going to delve into potty training so we had to get him some new undies. We got him Thomas and Mickey. We put them on him so he could try them out for a few minutes today and he seemed to like them OK (though he looks rather indifferent int he picture).

GQ also had a blast rolling around in the clean sheets that I was trying to fold this afternoon. This kid and blankets/towels/sheets. He's always wrapping himself in them, rolling in them, covering himself with them. He will even cover his head and walk around like you would if you were dressed as a ghost but without the eye holes! Doc will do it too but not to the extent that GQ does.

After bath, GQ ran around the house barking. I caught the picture as he was mid-bark.

Doc was quacking and GQ was barking.

It was suppose to be bedtime but we stopped for a good laugh when we caught Mr. X and GQ dancing. I love watching little kids dance.

As we went through the moments of the day, I can't help but think of the children without this opportunity and the parents that don't get to see their children grow up. How blessed we are that our children are here and healthy. Lately, I have also heard more and more stories about how orphans in other countries live. I feel adoption is such a beautiful thing and would love to adopt one day. WB isn't on the same page as me and that's OK. It's not for everyone. That said, I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want to adopt. It's not something WB feels strongly about nor something he feels led to do. I am not going to force it on him nor am I going to just ignore the plight of these children. In my heart, I feel that there is something I need to do for them, something God is calling me to do. I just haven't figured out what yet. I do believe that when the time is right, God will make it known to me and WB. I will not pretend to understand where WB is coming from but it's not something I want to force on him either. Please do not mistake him as a cold-hearted person that doesn't feel anything for these children. He does, he just doesn't feel like he should parent them. He has nothing against adoption but doesn't feel it's right for him. Maybe one day that will change, and maybe it won't. That is in God's hands, not mine. Anyways, back to where I was since I went off on a tangent there. I have been reading about the plight of some of these poor children. One of the places I have read some of the information is from Adeye. She has adopted 4 beautiful girls and has shared on her blog the plight of some of these children. Special needs children left in cribs day and night without any love shown to them. They are not held, they are not cuddled, they are not read to, they are not played with. They are severely malnourished nutritionally, developmentally, emotionally. Their lives are not valued. How can that be ignored?! How can a life be worth so little to people? Let's face it, nobody is perfect. These children were born with disabilities but that doesn't mean that they can't thrive if given love, attention, and a nurturing environment. These children are children of God just like you and me. It breaks my heart. One day I hope all children have the chance to do this....

Enjoy!