My Most Precious Gift from God!

2011-10-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

So it was a no-go on soccer for Connor. He wouldn't go out even for practice, clenched onto the fence. That's okay.. he'll get into whatever activity that he desires to excel at.

Speaking of activities, he loves playing like he knows martial arts. We were going for a walk tonight and he said, "Hey, Mommy.. watch my karate slices!" No, no... not karate CHOPS, karate SLICES. It was soooo adorable, I laughed sooo hard! I'm so proud of him and at the same time, he cracks me up continually!

2011-09-17T04:07:00.000-07:00

Connor starts soccer this week!!!! Soooo exciting! :) He's been excited about it for a while... before I got him signed up.. but it was wayyyy more exciting for me when I actually got him registered and he got assigned to a team... I was squeeling :) hehehe He gets all serious about it though; he'll say "I need to practice." haha I got his shin guards last night.. pee wee size.. so adorable! I wonder what color his team will be. 1st practice Tuesday night and I have to work.. also have to work the day of his 1st game but I'll make every single one that I'm not working on... :)

Connor took his 1st Communion!

2011-07-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

We are visiting my best friend, Chris, and her husband, Eric, in Connecticut... went to church with them today and they happened to be doing Communion in service this morning. Since Connor had asked Jesus into his heart in May, he took communion this morning. I explained it all to him as the pastor explained. He took it all pretty seriously :) I am so proud of my boy!! He's becoming quite the little man! And recently, my parents mentioned how they notice a difference in him over the past few months and I said it's likely because of his decision to live for Jesus... he's changed so much! He was such a good boy before, but now he's much more conscious of decisions he makes, how he treats people, the way he talks, acts... and he apologizes differently too... is more empathetic :)

You are awesome in this place, Mighty GOD

2011-05-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight as I put Connor down to bed, he asked Jesus into his heart! What a JOY & HONOR to bear witness to this amazing boy of mine asking Jesus to be his friend! He was very serious about it. I am at a loss of words to describe really how blessed I am to be his Mom, and how proud I am of him... especially in this moment! My prayer has always been that God would use me as his Mom to point his feet toward the cross, toward Jesus... to know Him! WOW! What an awesome night!

2011-05-07T18:01:00.000-07:00

My entire family when on vacation including Connor. They left early this morning... it was soooo sad seeing Connor leave. I HATED IT! I cried all the way to work... and when I got home. Not getting the time off to go with them... speechless. They all miss me being with them too.... it's so odd not being on vacation with the rest of the family. :( It's a long story behind this, but I'm less than 24 hours from the time they left and it doesn't feel good to be home. He's absolutely having fun, I know he is... but we've never been away from each other for this long before.. and I'm going to go ahead and say that we will never be apart for this long again. This boy of mine is amazing and words cannot describe the love I have for him, and how much I miss him... even though I talk to him on the phone, it's just not the same.

Prayers, Boogers, Brown and Smoquitos!

2011-04-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

Connor: 'Can I have some spider juice?'
Me: 'Huh? What's spider juice?'
((He was thinking....))
Finally he says 'Ya know... spider juice... apple spider...' ((read: CIDER)) hahahahaha :) I laughed soooo hard!!

I read the Easter story from the Bible this past weekend. When I read about how badly Jesus was treated, Connor commented with a scowl, "That's not nice!!"

I love Connor's prayers! Sometimes cute, sometimes serious... always honest & sincere. A few of his recent prayers: "Thank you, God, that we are people" and "Thank you, God, for taking my headache away." The second, he was thanking in advance, which is soooo amazing to hear :)

Connor: "Mommmyyyyy..."
Me: "Yeah?"
Connor: "I'm in here going poop, so don't come in here, it stinks.." (LOL hahahahaha)

Connor was picking his nose (haha): "C'mon, boogers! Come out of there! I don't want you in there.. you're all scratchy.." OMG! LOL!!

One night when it was a nice day, we went outside to jump on the trampoline, only the mosquitos were out and were starting to eat me up. Connor called them "smoquitos." hahaha... Spanglish right there... hehe

Last week, I was working on Sight Words with Connor and the word "pretty" came up, he said it and I said, "Hey.. pretty.. that's me!" He said, "Yeah!" A few words after that, the word "brown" came up and he said, "Hey.. brown.. that's me!" We both started laughing... he's really so proud of it. It was so cute that he commented like that :)

We pray before bedtime... Connor does most of the praying, then he'll say "Okay, your turn." :) So one night, his prayer was very short, then we said Good Night, I shut the light off and walked out of the room. Within a few minutes, I hear him say, "Mommy, I forgot to pray.." I said, "You did pray." He said, "Oh.." I said, "Want to pray more?" So I went back in, laid down next to him and he prayed this: "Thank you, God, for giving me good rest tonight and for giving me energy to play with Kaiden tomorrow. Amen." Kaiden is his new buddy in Nana's daycare... sooooo sweet!!

Easter - the real meaning

2011-04-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

So after I got home from work, I sat down and read the Easter story from the Bible to Connor. He listened intently... I've read it to him before but tonight, he listened with a serious face :)

When I got to the part about how badly Jesus was treated, being arrested, made to carry the cross and then being nailed to it... Connor said "That's not nice!!"

And then, oh his prayers! I love love love his prayers! They are sometimes cute, sometimes serious but always honest & sincere. Tonight he said, "Thank you, God, that we are people" and then "Thank you, God, for taking my headache away." Love that he is thanking Him in advance.. before the headache is gone, he believes in His power to make it better. :)

Watching him learn & absorb!

2011-03-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's been so absolutely amazing to see Connor learn God's Word, lessons in it, memory verses. I am blown away each time he recites back to me this weekly sunday school lesson and he applies it throughout the weeks and months following. Some of my favorites were when he told the story of Paul & Silas and how the jailbars "wiggled" and how he relays details of the story of the man who was paralyzed, and his friends carried him on a mat up onto the roof of the building Jesus was in, dug a hole in the roof and lowered him down so he could have the chance to meet Jesus. And further how Jesus told the man to "pick up your mat and walk, and he did!" He speaks about it all with such excitement and enthusiasm, it just impacts my heart... how blessed am I to be this child's Mommy? That God chose me, He chose him... and there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that Connor will choose Jesus to be his Lord & Savior one day :) It makes me melt beyond words to watch this boy learn, absorb & grow every day. Now, he's a typical rambunctious 4 year old boy, but his heart for God is so amazing already and I am blessed to be one of the many to water him and see him grow in his love for Jesus!

2011-02-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

For the past few months, Connor has confindently requested prayer for his "tummy mom" (what we call his birth mother, it makes sense to him) on a daily basis. It's so sweet of him, he is just embracing thinking about and praying for her regularly. It just blesses my heart so so much to see him gaze at me with a big smile as I pray for her. Those who have also adopted know the treasure in moments like these :)

Also, he continues to remain passionate for & thirsting for more of the Bible, reading together. It's just been awesome to see him grow and hunger for more of Jesus!

My boy is such a treasure!

2010-09-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

I had a rough day at work yesterday so when I went to lunch, I called my Mom as I always do. She put Connor on to talk and she went on to tell me about his day, watching Caillou, playing, riding bikes.. and so I said to him, "Connor, can you pray for me? I'm having a bad day." He said, "Yeah, we will pray when you get home tonight." I said, "No, can you pray now? Tell Nana." So he stays on the phone while saying to my Mom, "Nana, we need to pray for Mommy." I hear them praying and then Connor says, "AMEN!!" :) What a blessing my boy is!!

Also, seemingly since he turned 4yrs old, he has become very peaked & excited about God's Word, reading the Bible, telling me all about his Sunday School lessons & memory verses! It's so amazing for me to be his Mom and to see him grow & learn about the Lord and be excited about it! As I was in process to adopt, I remember reading an article from a magazine wherein a missionary talked about our goal as parents is to "point their feet toward Jesus." That is sooo true and it's been one of many prayers all along so to see him now .. sooo excited & passionate about God and prayer is indescribable & joyful for me!

Summer 2010

2010-09-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a very very very busy summer! Lots going on!

Connor just turned 4 years old last week! This summer he began 2 big things: swimming on his own, no arm wings (!) and going across the big-kid monkey bars completely on his own!! I am floored!! He seemingly does new things all the time, adds to his vocabulary continually, amazes me constantly... and I love him more each day! He's so sweet, but also tests me continually... but isn't that what kids do to their parents? Press the limits, see what they can get away with.. Psh! He's overall a good boy though. :) This summer, he revealed that his friend, Sara, "split up with him." HAHAHA! They're the same age, 3 weeks apart.. and have always been close buddies. So then just last week after having a playdate at her house, on our way home Connor says to me, "Yeah so me & Sara didn't split up." Guess it's an on again, off again relationship? hehehe... too funny! I'm telling you, he keeps me on my toes and laughing all the time, comes up with the funniest things!

I started my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing degree program this week. So far so good, lots of reading! Jumping back into school after 6 1/2 years is a little rough but it'll be fine. My sister is also in the same program as I am so we're going at it together.

2010-03-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Connor is such a busy boy, keeps me busy, keeps me & everyone else laughing hysterically all the time...

He loves to tell stories always... will replay things, retell them as they happened or as he thought they happened in some cases... he'll tell me about his dreams or nightmares. He expresses gret enthusiasm when telling stories, or telling about a certain situation that took place. He's overall.. very expressive, says exactly what he needs to say.

We just got a big trampoline once the snow melted so he's been having fun on that with his cousin & friends.

His love for God is amazing! He loves to share with me what he's been learning in Sunday School, gets so excited about it! His eyes light up! It's so great seeing & hearing his enthusiasm for Jesus Christ! He said to me the other night, "Mommy, Jesus says he wants me to be his buddy, one day I will be his buddy!" How simple & amazing is that statement? :) LOVE IT!!

He tells me all the time, "You're beautiful" or "You're cute." LOL He cracks me up! So funny!

He's joined in prayer time... he used to not want to, but now he does and I love every single prayer he prays. Typically it is something like, "Jesus, thank you for Mommy and thank you for our family. Bless my Mommy. In Jesus Name, Amen." Other variations exist... and they're just precious! He will oftentimes pick up on others' moods, things he may hear us talk about in passing.. and pray for those people or situations. Once he saw God answer a prayer directly, and he was so amazed and it was shortly after a Sunday School lesson about how God hears us when he pray to him. :)

This morning he was watching PBS Kids and I overheard Dinosaur Train : "That is dinosaur feces... what's feces? Feces is poops. All Dinosaurs poop, and the more you eat, the more you poop.." OMG!!! LOL hahahaha Way to encourage toddler to laugh at the word "poop" hahaha... because Connor was just giggling away LOL

A few weeks ago, I was sorting through pictures and came across many many pics of when Connor was little little.. like just home! :) So he & I sat down to look at them.. we giggled & smiled at them all.. seeing how little he was and how much he's grown.. and then found some of when we were in Guatemala! He goes, "This is when I was adopted in Guatemala!" :) Such a proud boy he is...

Recently, he went in his room and shut the door (so young for this, right? haha) because we lost the remote, hence cannot play his new Plant 51 DVD because we need the remote to switch over to the DVD player... *sigh* drama sometimes.. haha...

He wakes up some mornings telling me about what "The Bible tells us..." and "God tells us/God says.." What a blessing to hear this 1st thing in the morning.. then he gets up and says he wants to keep telling me more, and when I said I had to use the bathroom, he said, "Okay, you go pee and then I'll tell you more..." :)

Once, he came running up to me, held up his pinky, said, "Mommy! Pinky Swear!" I said, "What for?" He had no explanation, must've heard/seen it from an older kid. hahahaha so cute! :)

Another time, he was telling me a story, and he led to this: "Don't worry Mama, when I get your age, I will buy you a 'puter.."

Last month, I took Connor to ER after he was coughing soooo bad, wheezing.... while in the exam room he asked me, "Mommy, am I being very brave?" Awwwww!! :) YES! definitely!! He also added, "I hope I don't have to get a shot.."

2010-03-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

So it's been a good 6-7 months since I last posted/updated here. I know, such a slacker :P

A lot has happened... I have a new job. I am now back at the hospital I used to work at for 5 years, only on a different floor. It's been wonderful going back to acute care, from home care. Home care just was not for me, in the long run and I was just meant to move on at that time. So I've been back at the hospital since November. I love seeing everyone again, home care was so lonely & quiet... not what I'm used to. But I did learn A TON and gained alot of knowledge & experience in a vast array of demographics.

Connor is doing wonderfully! He's 3 1/2 years old now, learning alot, such a smart, sweet boy! There are so many of his quips & sayings that crack me up!! He cracks us all up! HAHA! :) He's always been my little water bug. We recently went on a weekend getaway to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH. And he is now an avid underwater swimmer with his cute goggles in place... sooo funny!! Of course, in the shallow.. not yet in the end he can't touch on, still wears arm wings but he was cracking me up swimming underwater, nose unplugged. HA!

Also, he recently wanted to write a letter & mail it to his closest friend, Sara. I tried soooo hard not to laugh.. it was sooo precious the things he wanted to tell her like "I want all your dreams to come true" and "I will wish upon star." Where does this kid get his material? haha! And so then he got a letter back from her in the mail. So funny!!

I will add pictures in the next few days... :)

Good quote:

2009-08-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

"Feed the thing you want to live, Starve the thing you want to die." ~Beth Moore~

2009-07-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a close call, held onto my angels surrounding me on all sides, and at all times! I was approaching my 1st patient's home this morning, proceeded to turn left into their driveway and a truck behind me sped around me on the left (???) and hit my front left bumper with his passenger side rear tire. He spun a little, almost hit a mailbox and here I went sliding cleanly right into the driveway to which I was headed. I wasn't hurt at all, but he proceeded to continue to drive away without stopping! He finally stopped, turned around and came back to see that I ws okay. In the meantime, the patient's mom came out after hearing the collision, carrying the phone out to call the police. The guy got out of his truck to look at the damage. I proceeded to call the cops and he became frantic, "No, whatever you do, don't call the cops, please.. I'll pay for whatever damage to your car." I asked if he had a warrant out, he said he does. The patient's mom insisted, so did I. But he said, "I'll leave before they get here." I said we at least needed to switch insurance info and names, numbers... he wrote his full name & number down but said he couldn't find his insurance info so he left. I called dispatch and gave them the report of what happened, although I couldn't wait until they arrived because I was done seeing the patient and had others I needed to get moving onto. So in the afternoon, I went to the Sheriff's station to file the report and give them the guy's name & number. So basically it was a hit & run and the likelihood that the guy will fess up and admit he hit me is slim, I'm sure, being that he has some kind of warran out....

But the important thing is that I came out of it unharmed. No aches and pains, and praying none pop up... It was totally the hand of God holding onto my car easing it into the driveway without spinning! HOLY MOLY!! I don't know if the guy was under the influence of something or what, but he was quick to leave the scene and move on about his business. Thank GOD I'm okay... it could very well have been much worse. Who knows why He spared me... I know He's not done with me yet and I'm sure there's much more for me to do here on this Earth. Thank You, Lord!!!!!!!!!! Makes me appreciate each moment, to take a step back & re-evaluate things... and be thankful for the Lord's blessings in my life!

2009-06-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Connor's latest new word added to his vocabulary --- diarrhea! OMG!!! He keeps saying things taste like diarrhea!??? HUH?? Seriously? LOL I finally asked him, "How do you know what diarrhea tastes like, Connor?" No answer... haha... Oh goodness.. the things kids say...

I just melt..

2009-06-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

... to hear Connor sing songs he's learned like "B-I-N-G-O" and any variation of "3 little monkeys..." [jumping on the bed or swinging from the tree, or combine the two and switch 'em all around LOL].

... when Connor runs to be screaming, "MOMMYYYYYY!", hugs & kisses me!

... when he goes for a walk with my Mom & his daycare friends, walks past our house and when asked who loves him, he says "My Mommy." Awwwww!

... when he reads from repetition to read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" [hehe] Too funny!

... when I peek in on him fast asleep in his bed all curled up & comfy :)

... seeing him in the rear-view mirror sitting in his carseat. I remember his carseat being empty and dreaming of the day he'd be in it, now it's hard to really imagine him not there. I smile big when I see him sitting back there.

Riding his tricycle and swinging on swings...

2009-06-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

I guess I don't know exactly how long he's been doing this really well but I just notice it last night after dinner... we were playing outside and I'd taken his tricycle out for him to ride in the driveway. I watch him and he takes off on it, pedaling very well! He used to be able to just push the pedals around once then couldn't get them around numerous times to keep going, so at the time I went out & bought a Radio Flyer trike that has the extended handle on the back that allows me to steer for him & push. So my Mom now mentions to me, "Yeah he's been doing that for a while.." :D Soooo proud of him. Every achievement, big or small, make me swell with pride in him as he grows, discovers, learns, becomes more confident in his abilities & strengths. :)

Also, in the past few weeks, he's done better with catching on to pumping his legs to swing himself on the swings!! Ahhhhh!! It's so cute to watch him because he just has more & more assurance & confidence when we praise him & clap & encourage him to try new things, to be brave! :) Now after one good push, off he goes. And he's able to hold the chains on either side & jump his little booty up on the swing himself. HA! :)

In a way, it's sad because this all means he's getting bigger, older, more independent... but it's a good thing, really... cannot avoid him growing up and I do encourage his independent, bravery, courage... I just think every Mom gets a little sad inside on a small level as they see their kids grow up, realizing they're not babies anymore. I just treasure every moment, every day.. enjoy it & start the next day ready to see what else he has up his sleeve. :)

Last night at dinner [we went to our favorite place for fish], he was drinking his water... wanted lemon in his just like I have in mine so the waitress had brought a little dish with 4 slices in it so I put one slice in his & two in mine. The one left in the dish, he said he wanted to eat... Ok. So he picked it it, bit off pieces of it, sucked on it... then came the pucker face! Wooooo!! He puts it back in the dish & says, "That was not a good idea..." LOL!! hahahaha!!

He likes doggies now...

2009-06-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that Connor has progressively done much much better with dogs. When we were in Guatemala, his foster family said he had no fear of animals... soooo maybe there were no pets around?! Hmmm.... so he came home with this massive fear of dogs & cats. He'd freak right out, cry, scream, come running to me to pick him up away from them if they even got near him. Our good friends, the Parks', have a nice dog named Harper and Connor has never taken to him, nor has he gotten used to their cat coming near him. I continue to reassure him that they won't hurt him, he watches me pet them, etc. So in the past few months, he's really gotten more & more comfortable petting dogs & cats. We were at B&N storytime about a month ago and they had a dog there for a story about a dog. I told Connor he could go pet the dog, and he went right up there, pet her several times! WOW!! I was shocked!!! And happy that he's over that fear. He was so prouod of himself as I clapped frantically that he did such a good job petting the dog, explaining how soft she was and that she was a nice dog, just like Harper is. Then just a few days ago, I went to take him to get his haircut and our hairdresser [works out of her home] has a dog... again, Connor has always freaked out, has always kept his eye on her everywhere she went in the room even when he'd be sitting high up in the chair. So this time Zoe [the dog] came around and Connor sat right down on the floor, let Zoe come over to him and Zoe started licking Connor's face, giving kisses.. and Connor was giggling and then kisses Zoe back. Awwwwwww!!!! :D

FOUR WEEKS FROM TODAY!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

We'll be leaving for Massachusetts to visit family... with a weekend away to Connecticut over July 4th to visit my best friend & her husband!!!! :) I am sooooo excited... one, for a vacation, period... two, to visit family & friends! I haven't seen my Grandma & other relatives out there in like 6-7 yrs! My Grandpa passed away in that coarse of time.. my Grandma is healthy enough but she's 80 yrs old and not getting any younger so it'll be great to see her & everyone else there... everyone except my Grandma (because she came here to visit) have not met Connor and I've never met my cousin's daughter who is now Gavin's age. We have alot of visiting to do :)

My best friend, Chris, & her husband, Eric moved to Connecticut several years ago and they've been back to Michigan to visit for certain holidays & such but it'll be soooo great to go there to visit them & see where they live, etc :) I think we may have a bonfire over the 4th weekend?!

I cannot wait to leave, really.... it'll be a wonderful 2 weeks to spend relaxing, visiting, catching up, getting some good fresh seafood, Portuguese foods, Friendly's! There are lots of things out east that you just can't get here in Michigan. So it'll be a nice time away. :)

Explaining Missionaries to Connor :)

2009-05-29T18:58:00.000-07:00

It was so cute tonight. I proceeded to explain why we were going to this dinner at church tonight. He knew we were going to eat dinner at church, but not that the reason behind it was to support the AK Mission Team.

I said to Connor, "Do you know what a missionary is?"

He said he didn't.

I said, "They are people who love God & go places to preach God's Word, to tell people about Jesus, some people don't know Jesus."

He goes, "Oh! OK!" :) He went on to mention that he wants to "do that" [be a missionary] too. I told him that everyone who loves God is a missionary like in their own communities, schools, families... he said "Oh."

And when the slide show was going at the dinner, there were pics of me from the years I went with this team and he was attentive to watching it and then yelled & pointed, "THAT'S MY MOMMY!" hehehehe :) Too funny!

As proud as I am of him, he's also proud of his Mommy & not afraid to scream it to the world that I'm his Mommy... no one else's. LOL ;) In his sweetest, most serene moments.. he very softly says to me, "I love you, Mommy" or blows me kisses when I'm walking out of his room from putting him down for bedtime [this is on a good night LOL]. I love my boy!!!!!!!

Everything To Me

2009-05-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

I was just watching a documentary of sorts on MTV, stopped on it because it was a teenage girl who was on a visit back to Guatemala where she was born & adopted from. Her adoptive mom was with her as she had someone translate for them as they got to meet her birth siblings & birth mother! I was just in tears as I watched... her birth sister saw them off at the airport and just hugged her & cried so hard! I envision this visit of sorts, this journey that Connor & I will likely make one day... hopefully... I pray we are one day able to find his birth mother & brother and reconnect with them so he might have some sort of connection to where he was born, where he came from, answer any questions he might have that I may not be able to fully answer as he gets older. I would love for this to take place one day... :o) For him to come face to face with the woman who gave him life, who chose life for him.

When my Mom, nephew & I were in Guatemala City to bring Connor home... many times I'd thought to myself as we walked through the city [a few times] if we may have walked right past Connor's birth mom on the streets there and never known it... the song I'm about to mention talks about that... it's so personal for me...

A song that is amazing & wonderful & very close to my heart in this regard is called 'Everything To Me' by Mark Schultz, who is himself an adoptee and sings this song about his birth mom giving him life. I heard this song on the radio yesterday morning as I drove seeing my patients, prefaced by the radio hosts talking about how they saw Mark Schultz in concert recently and about how they adopted their 2 sons and they went to this concert as well. Tears just stream down my face every time I hear thi song... usually I don't sing along because I just listen... soak it in deep....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqqj35r8aUc&feature=related

I must have felt your tears
When they took me from your arms
I'm sure I must have heard you say goodbye
Lonely and afraid had you made a big mistake

Could an ocean even hold the tears you cried
But you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And you made the only choice you could that night

[Chorus]
You gave life to me
A brand new world to see
Like playing baseball in the yard with dad at night
Mom reading Goodnight Moon
And praying in my room
So if you worry if your choice was right
You gave me up but you gave everything to me

And if I saw you on the street
Would you know that it was me
And would your eyes be blue or green like mine
Would we share a warm embrace

Would you know me in your heart
Or would you smile and let me walk on by
Knowing you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And I hope that you'd be proud of who I am

[Chorus]

You gave life to me
A chance to find my dreams
And a chance to fall in love

You should have seen her shining face
On our wedding day
Oh is this the dream you had in mind

When you gave me up
You gave everything to me
And when I see you there
Watching from heaven's gates
Into your arms
I'm gonna run

And when you look in my eyes
You can see my whole life
See who I was
And who I've become

[Chorus]

Connor's friend

2009-05-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

Connor's closest friend is a little girl around the same age as he is. Sara is just 3 weeks older than he is and was also born in Guatemala. They have this bond that has lasted through bonks off the head, sharing snack, Sunday School class together, playdates, birthday parties, playground time, etc... it's too funny to watch them together. And, being that he's a boy... he adapts to Sara's toys like being all excited: "Das MY purse.." LOL Oh goodness.. well, maybe he's carrying her purse for her?? ;) He happily plays house with her, cooks meals, jumps on her bed... hehehe... When he bonked her off the head, she cried. And as I knelt down to have him apologize, her tears running down her cheeks: "He hit me." Connor looked at her, took her hand in his, rubbed it and said, after a second, "She's cute!" Oh what a smooth taker already...

He looks at pictures of her, says "SARA!" Also, Sara & her family have a precious dog, Harper. When Connor 1st came home and we'd go to Sara's house to play, Connor was terrified of not just Harper but all dogs & cats. Finally, the past few weeks Connor gradually became more comfortable around dogs. There was a dog named Piper @ B&N storytime last week and he did soooo good with her. I've always encouraged him & shown him by me petting the dogs that they're okay, they're nice & won't hurt him. So he finally went up to Piper to pet her and smiled, said how soft she was. I told Sara's Mom in church this week about Connor's new-found comfort with doggies! YAY!!! :)

**I'll upload the pictures of him w/ Piper soon**

Connor's intriguing conversations... :)

2009-05-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Me: Connor, how old are you?

Connor: Two!

Me: So how old am I?

Connor: Ten...

Me: And what do you want to be when you grow up?

Connor: Wanna go outside and pick up da poop! [[HUH???! LOL!]]

Oh and also this one..... hehehehe He was wearing a Boston Red Sox t-shirt yesterday [[GO RED SOX!]]

Me: Connor, what is that on your shirt.. what does it say?

Connor: Ummm.. don't know...

Me: It says 'Red Sox'

Connor: Ohhh.. whus dat... Red Sox..?

Me: It's a baseball team in Boston

Connor [very serious.. after a little pause, looking like he's pondering it all]: Oh, I'll have to remember that...

LOL hahahahaha Too cute!!

Oh how fast time seems to fly by..

2009-05-23T04:47:00.000-07:00

Connor went through a little phase of bedtime trouble... for like 4-5 days last week, every night he'd scream & fuss when it was time for bed. Oh what a frustrating time... he finally got past it and the past 2 nights, he's been going to bed with no fussing at all. YAYY!!! He's not had bedtime problems for a very veryyy long time.. probably since after he came home... we've always had the same routine, nothing's changed so I was baffled as to why he'd b throwing these all out meltdown fits?! So anyhow... he's back to his old self now. :)

He's talking up a storm, cracks me up what he comes up with... never ceases to amaze me. He never fails to remind someone or call them out when they say "a bad woid [word]" like "stupid": "Ooohhh you say a bad woid.. don't say it again." LOL He has amazing hearing ability when he wants to [rarely when I need him to listen intently to me]... he hears someone say things from the back of the van with the radio on... wow!! :o)

He's coming up quickly on being 3yrs old!!! OMG!!! Wow!!! He's grown so fast, it's like ya gotta just cherish & take in eveyr moment because the next day is a new day full of more moments to be enjoyed & experienced... I don't even want to think about it.. haha... he'll always be my baby. But he reminds me, "I not a baby, I'm a big boy." hehehe.. ;o)

He's given up on potty training for now.. he's kinda on & off with it. Seems at the most inopertune times, he says "Gotta go pee" like in the middle of a store that doesn't have a bathroom. I switched him back to diapers as he lost interest in going potty. He was in pull ups for a period of time while he was doing really well, but he'll 'get it' eventually. I'm not worried about it.

Gavin, my nephew... is 6 1/2 yrs old now, just getting done with Kindergarten and has done so well, has moved through very well, made alot of friends, gained more confidence in himself and joined team sports. He's now started little league and always wanting to play catch at home & practice hitting the ball around. He had his first game this past Thursday and was sooo neat to see him play. It's funny at this age because, for the most part, kids' minds wander off during the game, they don't pay attention to what's going on. He & several others stood in the outfield playing with the grass, Gav was biting his nails.. hahahaha... but once he was paying attention, he did well. He hit a nice line drive.... straight int his coach's gut!! Ahhhh!!! Everyone was dying laughing.. he just booked it to 1st base, giggling. :) The coached pitch to the kids... and yeah, he hit it right to him. Uh Oh! It was fun though!

Seems like just yesterday, my Mom, Gav & I were in Guatemala bringing him home.. he was so little, crawling around, creeping along furniture... fell fast asleep in my arms sitting in the lobby of the hotel as we met with his foster parents. I still think about & pray for them... although we don't hear back from them after attempting to correspond with them by mail. It's sad because I wish we could've kept in touch, heard back from them... but at least they have the pictures & letters I've sent to them. I'm sure it's hard for them to get out to mail things, pay for postage, etc. One day we'll go back to Guatemala when he's older & can travel around to see where he was born, his heritage, hopefully we can connect with his foster family and birth family. :)

2009-05-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Connor, being that he's 2, is Mr "I want to do it myself" so he wants to open the car door himself, get into his carseat & shut the door himself, then I buckle him in from the other side & off we go. So one day, we had this dialogue:

Me: "Connor, you're getting to be such a big boy."

Connor: "Thank you."

Me: "Thank you for what?"

Connor" "For saying I am a big boy."

Hahahaha!! LOL!! :)

2009-04-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Connor's getting so big... he's growing up way too fast and he's quick to remind me, "I not a baby, Mommy.. I'm a good boy." I continually review with him to be a good boy @ daycare after he went through a "mean streak" of hitting, throwing toys, pulling hair, etc... so now he says he's a "good boy" instead of a "big boy." When I point out that he is, in fact, a good boy, but he's also a big boy.. he says "Yeah!" like 'That's what I meant..' hahahaha :)

He continually amazes me, makes me laugh.. brings me almost to tears at times when he tests me... *sigh* LOL He told my Mom that "Mommy cries all day long.." Oh goodness... that is not true.. hahaha.. it's those moments of pure frustration when I put my head in my hands, at a loss at the very end of my patience... or so I think... LOL.... I've shut myself in the bathroom before and there he is outside the door knocking, saying, "You in der, Mommy?" Ohhhh... the fun times of being a Mom. But in all honesty, I love every minute of it... at the end of each moment, I believe & know that I am soooo soooo blessed to be his Mommy. After all, isn't that what kids are for.. to test, to see if you'll stick it out, hang in there? As they say [who is 'they', btw? haha], "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger." Oh YES indeed! :)

Also, my nephew Gavin was sick about a month ago during spring break... my Mom took the daycare on a field trip hiking. Gavin was kinda lagging behind, taking his time... my Mom told me that Connor knew Gavin wasn't feeling well so he walked back to Gavin, started rubbing his back and told him, "I will pray for you." Awwwwww!!!!! How awesome is that?? And the truth is... that very night at bedtime, and for several nights after that, he never missed a chance to pray for Gavin to get better, "Jesus, make Gavin all better. Amen." These moments are humbling & proud moments. :)

2009-03-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, so check out this new favorite food of Connor's: PICKLED BEETS!! [Which he calls "Pickled Bits" LOL] Whoa.... !?

Tonight, we were on our way home from doing grocery shopping and I sneezed but didn't cover my mouth. Connor says, "You should cover you mouth, Mommy" and he proceeded to demonstrate how it should be done... :) I was cracking up!!! At least he caught on & does it himself.. now he's turning my own teachings back onto me.. hahaha... like you taught me this, shouldn't you do it as well?

Here are some pics...

It's been a while...

2009-03-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

..... since I've updated my blog here. WOW! Two months! My bad...

So yeah. . . . Connor's doing well, getting big, talking a mile a minute 99% of the time (the 1% is when he's sleeping, and recently he began talking in his sleep so that 1% is dwindling haha). He tests me continually, but I love him SO much!! We have alot of fun! He has so many adorable phrases & quips... I crack up!

Tonight we were lying on the living room floor coloring and he was being very serious about it. All of a sudden, he looks over at my page then says, "Ohhh, you do a good job at coloring..." ;) hahaha.. too cute!! :o)

Some of his newest phraes: "What you doing?" and "Heyyy, wus doing on here?" and "Das yucky." and "Whu you doing.. you checking you email on da puter?" and "I wanna go to da movie show, Mommy." [he calls the movie theatre, the "movie show"]

He's now actively potty training, has been for the past few weeks. All of a sudden, one day he says to me, "Gotta go pee, Mommy... les go to da baf-room.. c'mon.." Now he's gone to just telling me, "Gotta go pee..." or "gotta go potty" LOL Too funny!! :o) We often to the pee dance, in celebration of him going pee or poop on the potty.. he cracks up :o) One day he was doing so well, barely wet his diaper so I showed him the "big boy underwear" I'd gotten for when he's not having accidents anymore... his eyes got as big as saucers! He was soooo excited to see the stripes, robots, dinosaurs on them! So I put them on him, aiming to keep my eyes straight on him at all times so I could cathc him before I saw him needing to go pee again, then put him on the potty... well, my quick little man just booked off into the other room [only takes a second] and he hollers at me from the other room, "I peed on da floor, Mommy..." Sure enough... so back into the diapers he went... but he's been pretty good about telling me when he has to go, retty regularly... so we'll see. I'm not one to push him so it was nice to see him initiate the need to go. Now he gets 1 M&M or Skittle for going pee and 2 for going... well... #2... haha :o) He loves that perk, let me tell ya. He caught on quickly and began saying "Gotta go pee, Mommy, so I can get a skittle..." LOL

I'm now a Mommy girl... evidently..

2009-01-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

So tonight when I was putting Connor down for bed, we did our normal routine... and I was just lovin' on him, kissing his sweet little cheeks... and I said, "Ohhh, you are my best boy!!" He giggled & said, "You are MY best boy..." and laughed. I said, "What?! I'm a girl, not a boy.." He started laughing & said back: "No, you a Mommy." (Awwwwww moment!) He kissed my nose... haha... then began chanting, "You a Mommy girl... a Mommmyyyyyyy girl... a Mommyyyyyy girl...." over & over... laughing his booty off.. I could barely breathe I was laughing sooooo HARD!!

What a whirlwind...

2009-01-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

We went on vacation in December to Disney World in Florida! We had a GREAT time! It was so so so nice to get away from it all.. enjoy being together (most all of the family), enjoy Disney. Although most of us were sick at one time or another during the trip, the kids did not get it... some kind of stomach bug, having us bowing to the porcelin throne. ICK! :/ But we all survived that and enjoyed our time there! Connor loved all of the shows, his favorite being "Lights, Motor, Action!" stunt show w/ cars, trucks, motorcycles, jet skis.. all with amazing stunts, flames, explosions, gun fights. Wooooo!! ALL at high speed & throughout the show, the -producer would show how they create things behind-the-scenes, which was neat! Connor was totally unimpressed & freaked out by the characters. He'd scale right up the front of me... yeah, so we avoided them. Maybe next time :) Our resort had a huge pool w/ a really cool dragon which had its tongue as the water slide. Gavin enjoyed that! Megan wound up going to a local Urgent Care center after she said she was coughin up blood... turns out from puking, she had pharyngitis, could barely talk. Well, I will post pics once I get a chance.... :)

Now we're settling back in to our routine. Things are going well. Myself w/ 2 other adoptive families are starting an adoption growth group @ church, we've called 'Forever Families'! YAY!!! It's so exciting!! Our 1st meeting is coming up next week.

Connor is still talking up a storm, getting into everything, has his 2-yr old moments of being ornry & obstinent but overall is such a sweet boy. :) He loves for me to make up silly songs & he laughs his head off. He says "Yes!" not "Yeah"?! (just a funny thing I've noticed) He asks for "my juicy juicy" LOL... and "choc-wait milk!" He got a Leapster handheld game for Christmas, so he calls that "my DS" and is allowed to play only on the weekends, although he has no concept of what or when the weekend is, so every day he says, "I play my DS on da weekend?" And I say, "Yep." He says excitedly, "OKAY!" And he moves on to something else, never thinking about it again until the next day... hahaha... He loves to go out & out... storytime, Target... says things like "We go to Target?" and "We go into Target? To shop?" or "We go to storytime? And have a snack deer [there]?" hahaha...

Connor "Lingo"

2008-12-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Oh My... do we ever roll on the the floor laughing...

Connor: "Christmas Farts.."
Us (me & my sister): "What?!"
Connor: "Christmas Farts, Mommy.."
Translation: *drum roll* "Christmas Crunch" ((The cereal, like Capt'n Crunch).. *sigh*

Sometimes it takes a few times to decipher what he's trying to REALLY say because if you translate incorrectly, he goes, "Nooooo..." LOL

Oh here's another one... he says, "Mmmm... dis is pity good, Uh Huh..." LOL
Translation: "This is pretty good." hehehehe Too funny...

Also he recently has become interested in telling stories.. most of which you can't really follow & some parts he repeats.. but it's so adorable!! He's catch his breath & go.. "And then....." and keep going... throws in the occasional, "Act-wee, I don't know..." and keep on a'goin... "And then..."

For the past few weeks, Connor been saying, "Coco Pana!" over & over & over again... this is one of the things that I kept thinking 'He must be making up his own Spanish words.' Well tonight came the translation! HAHAHAHAHA!! We were watching a movie on TV and a commercial/preview came on for --- KUNGFU PANDA!!! LOL!!!! That was it.. he kept saying "COCO PANA! COCO PANA!!!" LOL TOO FUNNY!!!!!!

"Frimagination Moovas have apples!" ((Imagination Movers on Disney Channel))

Connor was playing for a GI Joe guy at my Mom's house... it had a computer of some sort on its arm. He asked my sister, "Tia, whass dis?" pointing to it. She told him, "It's a communication device." He repeats after her, "A Moon-ee-cation Device??!" LOL

My Piano Man

2008-11-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

Each Sunday, we try getting to church with 5-10 minutes to spare before his Sunday School class opens. We go to walk through the Cafe, see if anyone's there we know, to talk, miander (sp?)... so this morning, there was a guy seated at the piano there in the Cafe and had begun playing. It's so beautiful!

So Connor hopped down from his chair, trotted right over there & just stood right next to the bench, staring as the guy played. The guy (an eldery dude) stopped playing, smiled down at Connor and asked, "Do you want to get up here & play too?" Connor responded, "Ya!" heheheheSo he sat on his guy's lap for the entire time until it was time to go to his class. The guy held Connor's hands & helped him play Chopsticks, etc. It was TOO CUTE!!!! Awwwwww... and Connor was being Mr Serious about it... hahaha... didn't take his eyes off the keys for a second. He got a round of applause whe he hopped down.

2008-11-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

Connor's vocabulary is bursting. . . WOW! He says things that just make me laugh sooo hard, to hear these words come out of this little 2yr old's mouth!? hahahaha... here are some recent ones:

"actually" ("ac-twee").. in his sentence, "Ac-twee, I don't know..."

"No Boo, Mommy... Noooo..." after chasing each other around the house, laughing, giggling... he's cool with doing the sneaking & Boo-ing, but not the one being "Boo'ed upon." hahaha! He still laughs though :)

Me: "So what did you learn in Sunday School today, Connor? Did you learn about all the things God made?"
Connor: "Yep!" he went to name a few: water, twees (trees), cars, trucks.... and then he goes, "And the.... Uhhhhh... ummmmm..." ((thinking...)) hahaha :)

He also loves to read books, for me to read to him.. for anyone to read to him, really. He loves "I Love You Because You're You" and "Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree" ((his all-time favorite, I'm pretty sure!)) and "Mi Amor Por Ti (My love for you)" and a Veggie Tales' book, "God Made You Special." It's sooo cute, Connor says "God may (made) ME spe-chal!!" hehe!! And he knows all the characters, points them out: "Larry the Coo Cummer" and "Bob the MayTo" and "Pa Gwape" (love when he says that one!) and "da Peas!" Too funny!!! :) He also loves doing sound effects like the race car/motorcycle... "Vroom, vroom" then there's the wonderful one where someone/something fell over something... he does this: "He went... ahhhhhhhhh, Boom." or "Ahhhhhhh, Pssshhh." HAHA! Oh goodness...

It's sooo interesting because he still responds to Spanish phrases & questions readily... like when he gives kisses, sometimes I say "Mas Besos!" and he gives me more kisses over & over again.

Also when we leave my parents' house, he often says, "No dat way, Mommy... no dat way..." As if I don't know where I'm going, right? hahaha

Today was quite a day. . .

2008-11-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

I did alot of cleaning today mostly sorting through Connor's closet where a ton of his clothes that he's outgrown have landed as he no longer wore them.. So I was hauling all of that out, looking at sizes as I went... and then I came across all of his clothes that he wore while in Guatemala for his pick up trip! Oh the emotions & tears came flooding back!! I stood there holding each one up & lying it in the pile of things he's outgrown, thinking about that trip, seeing him & holding him for the first time, his laugh (he still has it! hehe!), rocking him to sleep on the bed in the room, patting his back, then lying him in the crib, me crawling on the floor in front of the crib to go to the bathroom so as not to wake him up (HAHA!), swimming, our trip to Antigua... every outfit/piece of clothing was significant & I can remember him wearing them, playing with Gavin, crawling after me in the room. Then his outfit from our Embassy Day... wow.... all of these emotions just got me all choked up, thinking about talking to the guy at the window there, Connor getting antsy, the guy asking me all about his nursery at home. The sadness thinking about his foster family & birth family, how they likely think about Connor, wonder how he's doing. The unfortunate part is that I've written letters to & sent picture to his foster family & have never heard anything in response back from them.

Here are some pics of his pick up trip... our stay there... the adorable little onesie that said "Born in 2006" with a matching little hat, he wore this when we went to visit the Baby Room, to hang out with our BB buddies (played with Jett). The memories were so vivid & fresh as I went through all these clothes & shoes. Then the clincher... that got me sobbing even harder... the outfit he was wearing when I first met him & his foster family. Woooooo... deep breaths...

Then tonight, I made dinner for my family, they came over, had dinner, dessert, hung out... and.... I had my Dad convert Connor's crib into a toddler bed!!! He was sooooo excited when he was done, put the mattress back on, blanket, pillow & stuffed animals. He was jumping up & down, giggling!! AWWWWW!!! He didn't want to get down. When it was time for bed, he walked right in, climbed up there & I covered him up... we prayed & that was it, he went right to sleep! I was shocked kinda.. I'm soooo going to be the Mom crying when he goes off to college when I think back on all the years prior and he'll likely be so strong, like "C'mon, Mom, really.. it's okay, I'll still come home to visit, it's not forever..."

Connor's toward the end of being sick

2008-11-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

He was quite a miserable little 2yr old for the past few days. He has/had a contagious virus & he was just not a happy camper. My poor baby! :( He was just not himself.. he wasn't active like he normally is, was wanting to sit on the couch, not playing much, was irritable, crying, in pain, not eating or drinking much at all, moaning... He's finally starting to improve now. YAY! Praise the Lord!! Thanks to everyone who's been praying for him.

Here are some pictures from this afternoon after his nap. As you can see, he's getting back to his normal self. Haha! :) He was putting this bucket on his head and saying, "Where are you, Mommyyyyyyy??" I was cracking up!

On it goes..

"Where are youuu, Mommyyyy??"

Getting warmer.. warmer..

There you are!!! YAYYYY!!

Now we've got the entire rainbow covered...

2008-11-01T19:01:00.001-07:00

I messaged my spanish tutor (she used to be anyhow, she's so great!) about what Purple is in Spanish, being that I totally dropped the ball when Connor put me on the spot, knowing I missed purple in the naming of the colors. Whew.... so she messaged me back... it's "morado." So today, I was telling my Mom about how I failed to remember what purple was in Spanish & how Connor picked up on the fact that I'd totally eliminated it from the color naming.. so I told her it's "morado" and she said to Connor, "Connor, 'purple es morado!" He stopped, looked at her and said very seriously, "Purple eeeees.. es morado?" She said, "Yeah." He goes, "Okay!" HAHAHA! Too funny! As if he'd been waiting for someone to add purple to the list and now he knows. So there... hahaha :)

Espanol. . . .

2008-10-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Connor cracks me up... :) We routinely practice Spanish words & phrases. Well in the past few months, he's been very disinterested in hearing Spanish or speaking anything we've ever practiced (numbers, colors, phrases, etc.), so I don't make a big deal of it, nor do I pressure him to really say things we go over... just relaxed about it, when he feels like it then I continue with everything, when he's not in the mood there's no use in proceeding. So anyhow. . . tonight when I was getting him ready for bed & rocking him... I asked if he wanted to say his Spanish words. He was ALL ABOUT IT! hahaha :D I was laughing sooo hard because he was sooo focused & repeating every word! HAHAHA! I expanded to translating from Spanish to English too. For example: "Rojo es RED! Amarillo es YELLOW! Verde es GREEN" and so on... he did them all ((well, expect for purple because off the top of my head, I always forget the Spanish word for it... hahaha... )).... and he pointed out to me after "Azul es BLUE": "Mommy, stop... listen... Purple!" I go, "Sorry I don't know the Spanish word for purple, I'll work on that.." And every single time we went through the colors tonight, he'd say this again to me... a reminder?! hahaha... TOO FUNNY!

We also went over: "Te Llamo?" "Mi Llamo es Connor" ((he'd giggle))
And then I'd go, "Mi Llamo es Mami." He giggled again... hehe :) I was laughing soooo hard by the end of all of this! And then. . . to like something. . "Te Gusta la agua."

And of course, I was laughing so hard I had to call my Mom because he gets all amped about talking to Nana on the phone... she was dying laughing on the other end... and Connor holding the phone smiling from ear to ear & laughed at the end and said, "Ny-Ny, Nana... Lu You, Bye!" and hung up.

Trick or Treating.. well... just treating :)

2008-10-31T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mommy's little Monkey!! :) We had fun! the Black Spiderman is Gavin, my nephew :) Such cute boys!!

Connor "sayings"

2008-10-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Connor has a little friend named Miriam who was adopted from China. There are 3 of us adoptive families at church.. and anyhow.. Miriam is about 2.5yrs old and today was her 1st day in sunday school (same class as Connor - 2yr olds). Her mom said she did great! So when I went to pick Connor up, he was very mesmerized by Miriam, just stood face to face with her, appearing to be "gazing" into her eyes, it was soooo cute. And Miriam was saying, "Connor!" So this afternoon, I was telling Connor about how Miriam was born in China. He goes, "Mee-yum... China!" So my sister goes, "Where were you born, Connor?" He goes, "Outside!!" hahahahahaha Oh Lordie... hahaha... we have these conversations sometimes telling him about his story, how he was born in Guatemala ("Gwa-uh-maya" as he says it), etc... this was cracking us up so much that he said he was born "outside."

And so at bedtime tonight, he & I were talking about how God created everything (this is the current lesson in sunday school for him)... and we'll talk about it in the car, etc... so I go through & ask him "What did God say when he made ______" ((i.e., the stars, the trees, the water, Connor, Mommy, etc). Tonight I said to him, "What did God say when He made you?" He goes like this: "He say 'He-yo (hello), how you doing? Oh ok... it's good..." The things kids say. . . tooooo funny!!!!

Learning about God & the Bible

2008-10-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

It's truly an amazing experience as a Mom to teach Connor about God, Jesus & the Bible. And his Sunday School teachers do an amazing job as well at reinforcing it all in class. Today when I picked him up from Sunday School, he had made a craft (colored on a black sheet of paper with chalk and they pasted on the verse Genesis 1:1, "God created the heavens & the earth.") On our stroll to the car, I held up his picture and gushed to him about how great he did making it & how awesome it looks! **Mind you, he takes his sweet time walking** He giggled and repeated over & over again: "It's good." It dawned on me... the later part of the Creation passages where God says "It is very good" regarding the things he'd created each day. Connor kept going "It's good, it's good, it's good..." So I said to him, "Yes, Connor, that's right.. God did say that everything he made was very good!" I was cracking up! What a precious child! God amazes me!

More Connor Statements

2008-09-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my Mom told me about this situation:

She had gotten the baby (4-month old baby boy in daycare) in the double stroller, ready for a long walk. She was ready to put Connor in when he told her, "Go back inside, Nana." HAHAHA! She said, "No, Connor... we're ready to go for our walk, come on." He said, "No, Nana.. change my diaper." HAHAHA!! He sure enough was pooped! I was cracking up... we all were!! HAHA!!!

Then there's today... we (I should just say I) had a somewhat frustrating day. Connor being stubborn & the King of NO -- frustrates me sometimes. Then we got to the Pediatrician's office for his 2-yr well check appointment only to find out that we had no appointment today.. it's next week, which I amazingly scheduled on a day I work?! *sigh* So I rescheduled it for next month. Thank the Lord they had an opening because the receptionist originally made the idea of rescheduling a well check visit awfully bleek... that they're scheduling them wayyyy out (months from now). So YAY for getting it rescheduled okay!

Well when we left the Dr's office (remember this 2-yr old son who I love so so so much but is sometimes very stubborn?)... Connor bolted out the door into the parking lot the second I opened the door, and he proceeded to land on his knees in a huge puddle! Ahhhhhhh!! I can't help but look back & sigh... and move on... he's a boy... he's 2... but in the moment, he got in trouble for running into the parking lot, I was upset. He cried then got over it, smiling as he sat in his carseat ready to fall asleep. Everytime his eyes shut, I'd go, "Connor... Wake Up, No sleeping now.. gotta go home & have lunch, the go for nap." That was our day. But he had his nap.. YAY.. and now we're both doing better, had snack & ready to take on whatever else. :)

Sooooo funny!!

2008-09-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

I often say to Connor, "Oh you're my best boy" and "Oh you're my cutest boy"... he typically says nothing, goes on about whatever he's doing.

Tonight we were playing... and I said "Connor, you are my BEST boy!" His eye lit up, BIG smile and he said to me, "I ARE???!!" I said, "Yes, you are!" He said with excitement : "OKAY!"

Then he comes up to me, hands me a little cup (a toy), and said, "Here, Mommy.. Dink (drink) the mooka (milk)." So we went on pretending like he was serving me cup after cup of milk or juice or whatever he chose to give me each time, then he'd say, "More mooka, Mommy?" and he'd crawl under a chair, make a sound like he's filling it up. I was cracking up!!! Once I asked what kind of MOOKA it was, he said, "Weg-wer (regular) mooka..." So after like 6 cups of "mooka," I drank it then said to him, "Connor, no more milk, please, my tummy is full." He said, "Tummy full.. go night night." hahahaha! Oh my goodness! Too funny!!

Making a new friend

2008-09-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

We rode our bike up to a new playground in town after dinner today. Mom had told me abotu it, that it is brand new.. and just for Connor's size. So we went to check it out! It was so cute, just the right size for him. And when we got there, there was an adorable little girl playing there with her Grandma. She was almost 2 yrs old. When they left, Connor was waving & yelling "Bye! Bye! Bye!" over & over. Awwww!

Happy 6th Birthday, Gavin!!!

2008-09-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today Gavin turns 6!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! Connor & Gavin... are like brothers... it cracks us all up because they get along famously, Gavin tends to & helps Connor, watches over him, makes sure he's safe... and then there are times that Gavin gets sick of Connor chasing after him, following him, copying everything Gavin says & does, doing whatever Gavin does. hahaha! It's hilarious! Gavin will be like, "WHY does he have to follow me?" and "WHY won't he leave me alone?" We always explain that Connor looks up to him, he's his older cousin and he wants to be like him. A day passed and they're buds again. HAHA! Too funny!! Anyhow... BIG 6 year old today!!! YAYYYY!! LOVE YOU LOTS, Gav!!!! Love, Auntie & Connor

A Year Ago Today

2008-09-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

Connor came home forever! This day last year we were getting everything ready to leave for the airport, then hopping on that plane in Guatemala City... to finally make it home to Michigan with my baby boy late that night. He encountered a car seat for the first time and freaked out!! He calmed down after we stopped through drive-thru, gave him some Mickey D's french fries, and he was a happier little boy. We got home, dropped Nana & Gavin off at their house, met Papa & Tia for the first time. He didn't know what to think of all these new faces, but he transitioned well. When we woke up the next morning, he played in the toy room, crawled all over the house exploring (Yeah, he used to be a crawler.. you'd never know it now that he's a rambunctious, running 2yr old.. hehe), ate breakfast in his highchair. Connor is the joy of my life! He's taught me so much about myself... or maybe God has taught me through him, through being a Mommy. Either way.. WOW! It's been a whole year and it seemingly FLEW BY! This time was not without its frustrations, tears, sighs, wanting to scream, counting to ten... both of us. hahaha... but more so... FULL of love, joy, peace, rest for my soul when I rock him, hugs, kisses, I-Love-You-Mommy's, laughing, dancing, singing, learning, growing, running, riding bikes, playing on many playgrounds, bonks & bruises, bugs, puddle stomping, knee scraping, band-aid wearing, kissing all better, prayers, bedtime snuggles, discipline, consistency. . . all rolled into this life God has blessed me with! And there is so much more... day to day, God never ceases to amaze me through this son of mine. He keeps me on my toes. Whatever frustrations come in my day all melt away when I walk in to pick him up and he smiles BIG, runs to me, arms up high, "MOMMMMMYYY!" and hugs me, squeezes my neck, kisses me. And when he says "Me, Connor.. You, Mommy."

I may very well never be able to speak or write in words how much it means or what it's like to come home to my son. But maybe I'll give it a try one of these days... who knows when... I'll likely just sit down one day and start writing and that will be the 1st chapter, actually the 1st chapter has already occurred.. it's just a matter of grasping onto the words of it all & laying it all out there. I've always prayed that God would use this adoption, use my son Connor, use me, use what He's taught me.. to impact others, to change or soften just one person's heart about adoption, about being a single adoptive mother. God has done that.. I witnessed this event shortly after Connor came home. I never thought it would play out the way it did, but this person whose heart was apparently changed & softened.. was an unlikely person, but one who just needed to know where God's heart was on this whole adopting as a single person idea. In Matthew 19:14, "Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." and also.. James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress."

Agency's Online Anouncement of Connor's Arrival

2008-09-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is the picture and message listed in the Arrivals section published in the adoption agency's magazine & online page. It was in the magazine probably a good 2 months ago now, but I just checked today & noticed it's online now!

Connor, son of Sara, was born in Guatemala on August 25, 2006. He was welcomed home to Michigan on September 8, 2007.

Happy 1st GOTCHA Day, Connor!

2008-09-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here he is.. Mr. Connor fast asleep in Mommy's arms!

Easter 2008
Yogi Bear Jellystone trip, July 2008 (warming up after swimming)

Gotcha Day is just that.. somewhat self-explanatory... the day I got Connor! The day I held him for the first time, hugged him, kissed him to pieces, fed him his bottle, rocked him to sleep, cried listening to the facilitator read his Foster Mother's letter to me, cried more to see her cry, knowing her heart was just aching seeing this baby boy leave her home, but never to leave her heart. She told me he'll always be part of their family. Their family will forever be a part of ours. I praise God for them, they took great care of & loved Connor as if he were their own. To this day, I know that he is a very well adjusted, attached & bonded child to myself as his Mommy and to the rest of the family (Nana, Papa, Tia, Tio, Gavin) because of the great foundation his foster family laid in his life & heart. To love a child like they loved Connor means to form this bond that will never be broken, to love them so much that they TRUST in being kept safe, fed, clothed, cuddled, sung to, rocked, bring toys out & play. To know that tomorrow he will wake up and be more loved than the day before.

Tonight was an honor for me. Every day with him is. But tonight, rocking him was amazing, so cute, so wonderful.. I talked to him about "One year ago..." what was happening at this time a year ago and that earlier in the day is when I saw him for the first time, held him, fed him his bottle.. then he fell asleep... he sat on my lap as I rocked him today, as I talked to him about all of this day's events a year ago... and just giggled, smiled BIG, laughed and kept saying "Yeah, Yeah.." :D And when I gasped in excitement, he did the sam with the most precious smile!! And then when I got done talking, he repeated, "Me Connor" and kept patting his chest. hehehehe!! And then I'd say to him, "Who am I?" He'd go, "Mommy!" And I'd smile and say "You - Connor, Me - Mommy." So he continued: "Me Connor (pointing to himself), Me Mommy (pointing to me)." Over & over again... and giggling... maybe he meant, "Mi Mami" like "My Mommy." ;) I LOVE THIS BOY!!!!

Gavin's 1st day of Kindergarten!

2008-09-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! I can hardly believe this day is here! Gavin, my nephew, will be 6yrs old the end of this month. Today was his 1st day of Kindergarten. Seems like just yesterday he was born & we were holding him, giving him his bottle, rocking him to sleep. We've all been gearing him up for Kindergarten. He's not been too sure about starting, has been through periods of being excited then sad then not wanting to start. Last night my Mom asked him if he was excited about going and he answered No. She asked why and he told her because he didn't want to leave her. He's so attached & close to everyone... of course, his Momy.. also very close to my parents, me & my brother & Connor. We all (except my Dad & brother who had to work) went along to bring him to school, see him off, bring him to his classroom, make sure he was okay. My Mom, sister & I were all on the verge of tears seeing him walk into his class waving. But he ended up doing really great! His class is about 30 kids. He knew exactly which table was his, where his cubby was for his lunch & backpack. He was one of the first ones to raise his hand in circle time to ask a question. Awwwwww! He spoke right up when the teacher asked if he brought his lunch. We're all so so proud of him! His best friend, Joe, also started today at the same school only a different teacher but his room is just next to Gavin's and it happened perfectly where Joe & his parents pulled in the parking lot right behind us so I think that helped Gavin calm down and not be so nervous, to see a familiar face & joke around w/ Joe right off the bat. Here are some pictures from this morning. My Mom & sister are bringing Gavin over after they pick him up from school this afternoon, we're all excited to hear how his first day went. He was looking "cool" with his black shorts w/ skulls on them.. and skull shoes.. and a lunch bag w/ flames & an orange skull. Very cool, dude! *thumbs up*

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY!!!!!

2008-08-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

OMG!!!! I can hardly believe he turns 2 yrs old today!!! We had his birthday party yesterday. He's still having the poops, but overall he felt fine yesterday. We had a few of his friends, Hannah & Sara (both Guate kiddos). The 3 of them are so so cute together and Sara's Dad noticed that Sara & Hannah says certain words alike & throw fits the same. hahaha... too funny! It was just a nice relaxing day to spend celebrating. I'll post pictures soon. :) Love you all!!!!!

Connor's 2nd Birthday Party

2008-08-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Soooo tired out after a BIG day! ((notice the frosting on his mouth... haha... he fell FAST asleep!))

Blowing out the candles
his friend, Sara:
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CAKE!
his friend, Hannah:
Our friends (L to R): Tina & Sara, Joni & Hannah
Riding his new Power Wheels 4-wheeler that he got from Nana & Papa! FUN!!!
Bubble Machine!
My precious BOY! He's getting so big!
Concentrating :)

It was alot of fun!! The kids had fun making crafts with colorful wooden sticks (like tongue depressors) & wooden shapes.. with glue! It was a nice small gathering of family & friends.

Connor's been sick

2008-08-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday -- This morning when he woke up, he was acting fine but when we left to go drop him off at Nana's house, he pointed to his tummy, said, "Belly hurt, Mommy." But I dropped him off, said to give him motrin and see how he did. I always call my Mom while I'm working around lunch time to see how he's doing. She said he was doing fine. And she never calls my cellphone unless it's an emergency or she's worried about him, and she's never had to call. So when my phone rang during my last visit of the day, I let it go to voicemail then checked on my way out to the car to hear her say that he woke up from nap early, moaning and when she went to pick him up, he was burning up HOT! She took his temp and it was 103 under his arm, which makes it actually 104!! My poor baby!!!! I rushed right there, and he was punky... his eyes droopy, still laying on my Mom's chair with her moaning. He wanted me. I rocked him, gave him Tylenol.. and he was still burning up! But he started to want to get up to play, walk around.. so I knew he was starting to feel better. He kept saying different things hurt like his legs, belly, head, arms... I bet he was aching.. like body aches from feeling under the weather. He couldn't comfortable while I was rocking him, was fidgeting & moaning. But he was still drinking & had wet diapers, although was breathing funny... like moaning when he breathed out, but I listened to his lungs and they were clear. . . did the full thing, he wasn't breathing fast or slow, no retractions. I just held him & cuddled him which is what he wanted.. until he was feeling a bit better. Please pray this passes, if it's a stomach bug or what?! But I took his blankies out of the crib because he loves to cover up, but being that he had a 104 temp... no way... I feel bad and I just want to take this all away, make him feel better....

Here's when I knew he was okay: he was standing in front of the fridge, shakin' his booty to the tunes of his Leapfrog Fridge Farm. I was just standing there watching him, trying not to laugh...

Friday morning -- We were up all night last night. Poor baby.. had diarrhea, liquid every 2-3 hours, moaning. Still with the fever overnight, I was alternating Tylenol & Motrin. He was just miserable and I didn't sleep much because I was sitting at the end of the couch watching him breathe. He slept on the couch most of the night, some of the night in my bed with me.

He & I both slept in until like 10:15 this morning, he woke up much better, no fever, said, "Eat Be-kfast." and has been smiling & laugh, back to his normal self! YAY!!! Although he didn't eat anything, but has still been drinking here & there. If he doesn't improve by this afternoon, I'll be getting him into the doctor. And so far no more diarrhea since like 5 this morning. Thanks for the prayer, girls! I love you all!!! *HUGS* Ya know... right after I posted, stinky stinky... more liquid poopies!!!

Friday, mid morning -- I called his Ped office, they were double booked all day today so I took him to ER. They did a XR of his abdomen, came back with just gas in his bowels & irritation from the diarrhea.. likely gastritis. So she put him on clear liquids for 2 days then follow up with his Ped on Monday. He's lively today, laughing & playing... hasn't had an diarrhea since before we left for ER this morning. They also gave me containers to collect stool specimens in. So he's on the mend, no fever anymore. Praying he gets past this yucky thing he has & feels better soon!

Saturday morning -- He's doing much better, although.. poor thing.. wants to eat & can only have clear liquids. He's been eating jell-o & popsicles (Yum!), drinking fluids... I try not to eat in front of him because he always wants bites of mine. :( No more diarrhea since last night before bedtime! YAY! Also, he's has 2 big wet diapers, one in the middle of the night, the other this morning.. WooHoooo!! No fever since yesterday morning! I attempted to collect the stool samples, but they wanted me to use a U-bag (urine bag) that had a sticky edge that you stick over their "area".. so they wanted me to put it over his butt and collect clean specimens that way... well I put it on him and he screamed bloody murder the entire time, I felt horrible!! But he left it on, then came the BIG POOP and it was everywhere... that is, everywhere except in that bag. The entire bag came right off with all the poop, so there was no way of collecting any. So this attempt to use this bag is a bust... and now he has no more poopies... so.. whatever... I understand it needs to be collected but ya know... I'm not willing to torture my child to put this horribly painful U-bag on his bottom when it's already red & very tender from liquid poopies for over 24 hrs. :(

Today we're going out to a back to school bash at a playground, and then also doing some back to school shopping for his cousins, Gavin & Ashleigh. So we have a busy day, but I'm holding off on bringing him into sunday school tomorrow, it's unlikely that the diarrhea will come back but ya never know, so I don't want to go sharin' the wealth of this bug he may have had.

2008-08-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Connor continually keeps me laughing & smiling! Here's one to giggle about... tonight he brought me one book after another, telling me, "Read the book, Mommy." One book is all animals, a simple board book. At this point, he's able to name about 75% of them without being reminded what the animal is. He's always gotten excited when I turn the page to the baby chicks. Well . . . tonight I turned the page and he says, "NUGGETS!" HAHAHAHA!!!! Oh goodness! I was cracking up!!!!

Also, my Mom said to me today, "It's amazing how much he's like you." :) He sure is . . . I've always been clumsy & accident-prone. He's soooo clumsy, accident-prone, always getting owies on a daily basis. I love to swim, and this little one is like a FISHIE! I have a happy-go-lucky cheerful personality... he is such a charmer, so friendly, loves to smile & laugh, sing & dance, loves to say Hi or Hello to people when we're out. :)

Connor's 2yr photo session

2008-08-14T04:24:00.000-07:00

There is an organization called Celebrating Adoption that consists of professional photographers volunteering their time & expertise to offer a photo session to adoptive families & their kids. I set up this session with a photographer in Indiana, where she lives which is just 30 minutes from us.. she said these sample pictures would be available on her blog today, so here I went to check tonight... here they are! Enjoy!!! :) I have to tell you... as the blog loaded and I saw these pictures, my eyes welled up with tears! Connor is just.... my little guy, my baby boy, my precious little guy... tears of pride, love, joy, peace.. just so so proud of him.. to see these pictures is like looking back in time to getting those beloved, cherished pictures from Guatemala, while he was there... and me here.. waiting. And now to be there with him having his pictures taken, to watch him respond so well... It all culminated to being like, 'WOW! Now I'm part of it.' Like it feels like he's always been here... and yet I feel part of his world now.. always have, but seeing these pictures made me speechless, in awe... she did such a GREAT job with him!

Love, Sara (and Connor)

**Hover over then Click on the "Celebrating Adoption" hyperlink to see the pictures**

What an Amazing Day!!

2008-08-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

First, thanks to everyone who was covering me in prayer for the pain I had in the back of my head. Yesterday, I woke up & had a few periodic twinges of the same pain then the pain was gone completely. I've not had any pain since yesterday morning! PRAISE THE LORD!!! I am soooo happy that's over! It was the strangest feeling and I was miserable. It made me think of the thorn in Paul's flesh (2 Corinthians 12), wherein Jesus desired to walk through the pain with him, not remove the pain immediately. Sometimes it takes us just giving it over to the One who offers to walk through pain with us, whatever the pain might be. Sometimes we just want the pain to be gone, to move right to it being over and not suffering. I have to admit, I've not always been the best about getting through painful moments without griping/complaining about it. This time, it didn't take long for me to reach out to my prayer warriors - my family & friends - to ask them to pray. I only took the Flexeril 2 nights, and prayed through it all.

Then, today we went to a Guatemalan Fiesta in Caledonia, MI. I'd gotten this email quite a while ago about this get together, but never decided on whether or not to go, if we could, if we had plans, etc. So a few days ago, I decided we'd go. It was an hour & a half drive, but turned out to be well worth the drive! We got there, Connor had fallen asleep 15 minutes before getting there.. I parked, got everything out of the car, then got Connor out. It was at a family's home who are also adoptive parents. We walked up, got our stuff put down.. and I turned back toward the house to see a friend from the Bethany boards, our adoption group online. They live about 2 hours NORTH of where this get together was.. and we live almost 2 hours south! Neither her nor I knew the other would be there today!! How awesome is THAT??!!!! WOW!!!! We'd never met in person, but we've developed friendships on this online forum wherein we're all adoptive parents of children from Guatemala, or are waiting in process to bring their children home! Never did it enter either of our minds that we'd both end up there today! It was such an awesome, amazing day!! We had lunch, the kids played, ran around, went swimming in the pool, played in the sandbox (the kids.. haha), whack the pinatas. It was an amazing thing to be in the presence of ALL adoptive parents of Guate kids... to see all the kids together. One little boy who was about 7 yrs old, walked past us and was yelling at his Mom, "Come on, Mom.. come see this baby! He looks just like me!" Awwww!!! How cute!!!! And so when he walked past us, his Mom motioned toward Connor, said, "Is this the baby?" He goes, "Nope." hahaha! Too funny! All of the kids were in age range from Connor's age up to teenagers. Some families also have bio kids, so that was cool too. Here are some pics from the day!!

Sue & Elijah w/ Connor & I

Connor having a go at the pinata!

The Yount Family (most of them anyway) :D

Elijah w/ his Dad hitting the pinata!

2008-08-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

I've been home sick the past 2 days, not sick, but with this pain in the back of my head on the left side. It's just thrown me for a loop! MAN! I saw the doctor on Tuesday, he gave me Flexeril to relax the muscle that he believes is strained/pulled... it attaches right in the spot where it hurts. It's this horrible throbbing pain that comes on periodically, bad pain! Connor's been hanging in there with me through it. I'm starting to feel a little better each day. I've just been feeling like I'm out of commission the past few days, unable to do much because that darn muscle just pulls & aches. This morning, Connor prayed over me, it was so cute! He always says his AMENs with such enthusiasm... prayers of children can also be heard, thank you very much. :)

YAYYYYYYYYYY!!!

2008-07-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

Connor went PEE on the potty this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY, Connor!!! He just turned 23 months old yesterday. After breakfast, I had taken his diaper off to put him in the bath tub. I turned around and when I turned back, there he was standing in the bathroom peeing on the floor! OH NO! I go, "Connor... no.... no pee pee on the floor..." HAHA! So I put him on the potty, he sat there, wasn't even sure he'd go pee on the potty but I always give it a try, can't hurt. So he sat there for a few minutes and then started pushing..?! Poop?? No.. he was workin' on peeing again! YAYYYY!!! He got up and sure enough! I was jumping up & down, clapping, dancing.. he laughed & was clapping too, proud of himself. So after his bath, he got a treat. Dum Dum pops are the best, and he doesn't ever get them... they were in the stash drawer of treats just for moments like this. GO, Connor!!! Hey, it's a start. He may not go on the potty consistently at first, but he'll get it. :)

Pictures

2008-07-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Connor is such a little climber! He loves the jungle gym, slide, climbing wall.. but not so much into swings right now. He'll sit & swing with me on my lap, but doesn't like to sit by himself and swing on any type of swing, baby swing or not. He used to love the swings when he was younger, but not so much anymore. Maybe more into the gross motor type things now like climbing & running. So here he is climbing the jungle gym...

...and then dropping down and hanging! AHHHH!! I didn't run over immediately like I used to, so I watched to see if he'd hollered for help. He giggled hanging there, then Gavin jumped down and grabbed him around the waist, lowered him down. Then Connor proceeded to want to drop down from hanging and land on his feet/butt on the ground. And sure enough, it wasn't too long before he had conquered the landing and was very proud of himself as Mommy franctically & excitedly clapped & cheered him on from the sidelines.

Here's my little swimmer!! Awwwwww!!

COUSINS! Gavin & Connor love doing everything together. Wait... I should say Connor loves doing everything with Gavin. At times, Gavin has had enough of Connor shadowing him everywhere he goes, wanting to do everything he does. Gavin has learned what it's like for a little one to look up to him, and to be a good example, which he is. :) He's so great with Connor, usually chooses a toy of his that he's "okay with him playing with." hehe! So they swim together all the time. Connor often will sit right down in this foot bath.. the thing you rinse your feet off in before going in. He splashes in it like it's bath time. :) So Gavin scooted down in right next to him and this is what we saw... sooooo adorable!

2008-07-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh.. one of the cutest stinkin' things! I put Connor down in the crib for bed tonight and have been leaving the door open, instead of shutting it with it cracked open a tad. It's actually made a world of difference! Wherein he used to scream for me when he woke up, now he simply says, "Mommyyy... Mommyyyy... Mommyyyy..." HEHE! And is much happier. Anyhow.. onto the cute part... I peeked in his room about 45 minutes after I laid him down to find him fast asleep, with a death grip on his play phone. HAHAHAHA!!! I sneaked around the corner into the living room to have a chuckle... because he just cracks me up! That was soooo cute! He has several different toys in the crib and taht has helped so when he's going to sleep or waking up, he just plays then calls for me. :) So tonight, he would not give up that phone for anything so I was like whatever, you can sleep with it. And sure enough, he did just that! Hugging that phone like a teddy bear. ;)

Little Prayers

2008-07-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Connor's bedtime routine has not changed from the day he was placed in my arms. We sing songs, read stories & pray, then kisses, hugs... and off to bed. :) A few nights ago, I said, "Connor, ready to pray?" He smiled, dropped his bottle, excited for me to pray with him. I showed him how to fold his hands... he took it from there :) He cocked his head back, staring at the ceiling... hehehehe... too cute! And off I went, word by word... and he copied each as I went along.... they typically go something like this:

Dear Jesus, thank you for my Mommy, thank you for my family - Nana, Papa, Tia, Gavin, Tio, Hannah. Thank you for the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, clouds... (variations of this, many different things) Thank you for giving me to Mommy. In Jesus' Name I pray, AMEN!

Let me reiterate the AMEN... hehehe... he shouts it at the end, unfolds his hands and waves his arms in the air, smiling! I love this growth I see in him. He's learning & growing in so many areas! It's so important for him to hear me pray, to talk to God.. then to see him SO excited to give it a try himself. WOW! He also has always loved music - listening, playing his toy piano, guitar, drums, tambourine. And so now he very much enjoys our worship time. The other day, he set his piano up on the coffee table in the living room, started JAMMIN' on it... I was sitting there so I stopped what I was doing and said, "Oh, sorry... must be worship time, huh?" He laughed, continued to jam on the piano and I started dancing & singing worship songs. We just had a blast!

FOUR new teeth!! WOW!!!!!!

2008-07-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right.... the two MOLARS on the top and two other teeth to the front of those.. made their way through! That seems quick, but I'm glad it's over... he's always so proud too. haha! I always go, "YAY, Connor, you have new teeth [teefers, in baby language.. hehe]!" He laughs and says, "Yeah!" I've gotta get some video clips of him dancing.. it's just too cute and hilarious! I love it when we boogie. :)

Awwwwwwwwwww

2008-07-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight when I went to pick Connor up, my sister said that when I called to let them know I was on my way, she told Connor, "Mommy will be here soon!" So when I walked in, he was perched on her lap and she laughed when I walked in, said, "When the door opened, he gasped." :) hehehe!!! Also she told me that once today, he was sitting there and all of a sudden started saying, "Mommyyyyyy... Mommyyyyyy..." and then "Working..." Awwwwww! My sweet little boy!! I always always look forward to walking in & seeing his face, kissing his cheeks, getting hugs... Oh what JOY!

Little Swimmer, WOW!!

2008-07-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the day at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Indiana. It was sooooo nice, soooo relaxing, fun, a BLAST!!! It was a family affair. So great!!! The rain came down like crazy for about an hour then it cleared up and got sunny, warm, ended up being a wonderful day to play outside, walk, have ice cream, swim, putt-putt. We swam for quite a few hours after lunch. Oh... so the BIG breakthrough today was... *drum roll* Connor is swimming on his OWN with ARM WINGS!!!! Oh my GOSH!! He just amazes & surprises me how outgoing & brave he is! All day in the pool with his Spiderman arm wings (handed down from Gavin, his cousin)... happy as can be! He & I swam from the shallow out into the deep end, he'd climb up the edge, run over, climb down the ladder, go up the stairs, over to the ladder, down the ladder, swim swim swim. He had very cute, wrinkly fingers & piggy toes after hours of swimming. hehe!! People were just shocked at this little bity guy swimming in arm wings. It was so funny! Also, he now says to me (whereas I've always said it to him), "Bless you" when I sneeze. SOOOO cute! And also... he says many different phrases like "I did it!" and "I got it!" and "Baby crying?" and "See ya, buddy!" hahahahaha!! I told him today when we were eatig lunch, "I am so blessed to be your Mommy, Connor." He smiled. ;)

HOLY MOLARS, Batman!!

2008-07-11T18:34:00.001-07:00

It's been a craaaaaazyyyy week here in our household lately.... Connor starting teething his molars!!! ICCCCKKKK!!!! HOLY MOLY!!!! It's been rounds & rounds of Motrin, teething drops... both which have worked miracles in his poor little mouth. My poor baby!!!! :( It makes me so sad... I know he has to go through it but it still stinks!!!! One day he started getting really fussy (more ornry than usual).. and was sticking his finger to the back of his throat! I said, "Connor, yucky, don't do that..." and he took his finger out & started crying. I said, "Oh, baby... do your teefers (Mommy code for "teeth" haha) hurt?" He said, "Yes" with a sad face & tears. Awwwwwww! Sure enough.. they're white areas on his gums there & look like they're givin' him fits. Grrr! So yeah.... that's the scoop from here. Molars are NO FUN!!! I can now say that with CERTAINTY!!

He continually amazes me

2008-07-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! Tonight we went swimming and he always wants to push away with his legs, kick his arms & legs to swim on his own. So I put the arm wings on him, blew them up and off he went! I stayed right with him, he screamed most of the time, but I think he was proud of himself. I sure was!! :) I don't think he even realized that he was paddling his legs underneath him... it was soooo cute!! He actually was deferred from getting in the pool for last few days because one day we were swimming and he got stung by a fruti fly or something and he just screamed & screamed, I had no idea that something had stung him until we got out and he had a red welt on his shoulder! Poor baby!!! :( So now, I think he's just a little more shy around the water because of that, but I'm sure he'll be fine as time goes on. He still gets in, but not as happily as before.

His latest things. . .

2008-07-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Connor cracks me up!!!! HAHAHA!! WOW!!!! Okay here are some of his latest antics....

He now responds to some questions with, "I don't know." LOL!!!! Like once my Mom asked him, "Where's PaPa?" He says. . . I don't know. ((Because he doesn't know)) hahahaha....

Also he loves loves LOVES Playhouse Disney. One show was on -- Little Einsteins and these shows are very interactive. A few days ago, he just started actually interacting & doing things along with the characters. It's so stinkin' CUTE when he does!!! This morning it was on and two parts of it just had me giggling... First, they were in their rocketship or whatever... and they said, "Okay put your hands way up high! Ready... GO! Off we go like a rocket! Blast Off!" Connor shot both arms up high, squatted down low and jumped up as if taking off in a rocketship, sound effects & all!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!! And then a part came on and Connor ran off into his playroom, came back carring his piano in the living room, I cleared a spot for him to set it down on the coffee table & away he went playign that piano like no other!!!!!! I look up and the Little Einsteins were playing notes on their piano!! TOO CUTE!!! I was dying laughing!!! I'm such a proud Mami of this baby boy!!!!

My Cool Little Dude! HEHE!

2008-07-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

He just never ceases to amaze me, make me smile, laugh, jump for joy, roll on the floor bustin' a gut... hahaha! I got these sunglasses out that I found in his stash. He loves them! hahahaha!! What a ham! He never misses an opportunity to entertain ;) SOOOOO cute!

And then.... . . . . this is what I & my family call one of Connor's "poop spots." hahaha!! They're exclusively his spots where he can stoop down behind and do his business, then come out slowly and announce: "POOP!" and pat his bottom. Or else... the other scenario that often takes place is when he's at my parents while I work, other kids in daycare run in to tell my Mom, "Connor STINKS!" haha!

Swimming & his newest phrase & words

2008-06-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

It was pretty hot out today so after dinner Connor & I went over to swim at my parents' house. He never minds the water in his eyes, mouth, face.. always just sputters, then keeps going. :) Tonight, he kept wanting me to give him a noodle (ya know, the floaty noddle things?), so finally I brought one over and he grabbed right onto it like an old pro! I let go of his legs and he just paddled his feet all on his own!!! He was just giggling & smiling away! :) He alwys wants to jump away from me, push his feet against me like he really wants to swim by himself... well he can't. I've tired a life jacket and he so doesn't want to have anything to do with THAT.. and then there's a baby-type float, which is fine but he screams in it!? Mostly I just hold him and we swim :) I've been holding him belly down, and move him along the surface of the water, he paddles his arms & legs. Does pretty well. Tonight it just floored me when he took right to the noodle! I think he watches the other kids use them, observes them and then figures, "I can do this!" hahaha!!!

And then his newest phrase: "Peez, Mommy..." and "Pity Peez, Mommy.." Awwwwwwwwwww!! How can you resist THAT?? How precious!!! Weeeellllll... he started this tonight with some coaching from Papa (my dad), he was wanting more M&Ms.. before bedtime... well he'd had like 5 or 6 M&Ms and he kept going, "Peez, Mommy... Pity peez, Mommy...?" Which leads to another --- "Can-ee" (Candy!) Oh Myyyy....

Megan passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! My sister, Megan, took her state board exam for nursing on Monday and found out she passed!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! ((As if I ever thought she wouldn't)) I'm sooooooooo proud of her! Ceeeeelebrate Good Timesssss, C'MON!!!! YEAHHH!!!!

Ft Wayne Zoo & the Red Sox hats!

2008-06-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

We went yesterday to Ft. Wayne for my & Megan's birthday. We went to the Ft Wayne Zoo, to lunch, had a cookout for dinner, out for ice cream, and my parents took the kids to the Childrens' Museum after dropping my brother, sister & I off at the mall there so we could shop without the kiddos running around. I finally found toddler-size Red Sox hats, so I got Connor 2 different ones. They are too cute!!!!! :) We had a very nice weekend for our birthday. It's been a tradition of sorts for my parents to take Gavin, my nephew, to shop for a birthday gift for his Mom (my sister, Megan), he colors in or signs the card, or my parents do (Love, Gavin it says inside). So this year, they continued that with Connor, got me a birthday gift and card from Connor to me. Awwww!!! He got me an angel ornament with the angel holding a baby and it says "Home is where my Mom is." and it's PINK! Sooo neat!!!! :)

His Lifelines Featured Picture

2008-06-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

We get Bethany's (my adoption agency) Lifelines magazine and every issue has a section in the back called Arrivals, wherein they feature pictures and 'blurbs' about children who have come home to their forever families from many countries. So Connor's picture and 'blurb' are in this issue that just arrived this week!! YAY!!!! It's so neat!! SOOOO amazing!!! :) It's just incredible to now see my son's picture in Lifelines... because for years, I'd read Lifelines and always flip through the arrivals section, look at pictures with tears in my eyes, knowing one day my own child would be on these very pages. And for the time to now be here is awesome! I'll scan the page in and post it soon.

Mommy & Connor's 1st trip to the Beach!!

2008-06-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

We planned to take a day-trip to Lake Michigan and I love South Haven so I planned on going there. Well, one friend who is in the process of adopting a little boy from Guatemala lives in Holland so we decided to go there, meet up with their family at the beach and make a day of it. It was SO SO much fun!! We had a very nice day of fun in the sun, and in the sand. The water was a little chilly, but Connor didn't mind too much. We went in the water a few times but then spent the in between time on the beach. Connor had fun running & playing in the sand and with the other kids. It was so great to meet another adoptive family, share stories, prayers, encouragement. They will SOON be bringing their son, Alex, home. Alex will be turning 1 yr old on July 20! PRAY with me that they get OUT of PGN soon soon soon, so Alex can come home to his family!

(L to R): Carl, Kelly & Connor on her lap. Carl is Kelli & Aaron's (her hubby) son and they have a little girl named Nora. By the end of the day, Connor, Carl & Nora were chillin' together and we all went to eat dinner out together. Connor was tired and, of course, fell fast asleep on the way home then stayed sleeping through the night once we arrived home. He played hard all day!

1st Swim of the season!!

2008-06-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

After dinner, we got ready and went swimming for the first time this seaon at my parents' house, in the pool!! It was SO nice after a longggg, HOT day! It was so humid, sticky and warm.. it was wonderful to jump in (or ease in slowly.. haha) and get cooled off. A storm moved through, rained hard, wind blowing, for all of 10 mintes then it let up so we went right in. My nephew, Gavin, also came swimming with us. He's almost 6 yrs old and is swimming on his own, "No Arm wings, Auntie!" he told me. He's super excited about this fact.. doing so great. :)

Connor absolutely loves to swim! He barely fussed a bit when we first got in... the water was 76 degrees, so not too bad. Two seconds flat and he was just a-splashin', laughing, kicking his little legs. He always loves to try to jump out of my arms to "swim on his own." I can just imagine he'll be a quick learner when it comes to swimmning. Maybe we'll do swimming lessons.

Talking on the phone

2008-06-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Connor cracks me up... hahahaha! Oh my gosh! He does and says things that are just so cute, it makes me laugh :) Tonight on our walk, he was waving down the sewer drain, said "Bye Bye..." after I told him the froggies live down there. He loves throwing sticks and rocks down these drains and hearing them hit the bottom. :D And of course we can't forget waving at the doggies as we pass them. And the kitties ("Ki-Yee!" in Connor language, then there's "K-eye-Yee!" which is Kylie, a little girl who is in process of being adopted from Guatemala). Then when we got home, he was talking on his play flip cellphone that says Hello & Bye in Spanish... and he proceeded to jibber-jabber for a few minutes then yelled into the phone, "NANA! PAPA!" And then a quick "Bye" and shut the phone. I was almost rollin' on the floor laughing SO hard!! :D He loves to talk on the phone now... has for about a month or more. He's begun wanting to talk more & more.... longer and with more "conversation" goin' on. Whereas he used to just smile, nod his head in agreement (hehe) and kiss the phone.

Jungle Gym Climber

2008-06-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, let me start by reinforcing the FACT that Connor is a MONKEY climber!!! WHOA!!!!! But I never knew he'd go so far as to climb this!!!! The one down at the school is a little different... has the rungs going like squares instead of triangles.. I'm sure many of you could picture what I'm talking about... YOWZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is all boy.. and a fearless one at that, not afraid to get dirty... fusses very little when he trips or falls, gets right back up, brushes his little hands off and continues on whatever adventure he's on. We go every evening after dinner on a walk.. and usually to the school playground. Well, he follows Gavin (his cousin) everywhere to do everything! Gavin helps him with everything and Connor has become Mr. Daredevil!!! MAN!! He climbed up 4 rungs of this jungle gym thing BY HIMSELF!!!! I was shocked, I was laughing & clapping... hahaha... and then he proceeded to drop down between the rungs, hanging on to the bar, just hanging there giggling his little head off.. hahahahaha The one night I didn't take my camera!!! DANG!!!!

PlayDate!

2008-05-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

We got together with some friends for a playdate! YAY!! :) Connor is such a monkey, loves to climb! I was floored when he ventured up THIS! HAHAHA!

This is a cute series of pictures.. :)

... and OVER!

This is Connor with Sara. They're about 3 weeks apart in age. SO CUTE!

Hannah is the youngest of the three kids. They are so cute together!

Hannah: "Hang on, Connor! Here we go!"

Connor was mostly content to play by himself, without the girls... hahaha... but really they all played well together. He was just being a loner at times.
CUTE kiddos together :)

Pooped out on the car ride home. Awwwww...

Becoming more independent

2008-05-31T05:15:00.000-07:00

Just in the past few days, he's begun going down the slide by himself!!! YAYYYY!! It's just so amazing to watch him grow, gain more independence & confidence, to show more initiative. He's always been pretty assertive, knows when to show another kid he's nto happy with him or when he's just not going to take being pushed around. Then again, he's a toddler and he does his share of pushing, taking toys, screeching. He always says sorry when he's reminded to.. says "Saw-EE." He gives hugs & kisses to other kids.. and also pile-drives them, tackles them down, loves to wrestle. His cousin, Gavin, is his protector and helper. He takes him down the slide, shows him it's okay to go down the slide by himself, encourages him to try. It's so darn precious to watch te two of them together. At the same time, they're like brothers.. and fight like brothers at time s as well! hahaha!! Gavin will get frustrated when Connor stands smack in front of the TV during Gavin's favorite show or while he's playing video games. It's like Connor knows he's being an irritant. Then he screams as if to say, "No! I'm NOT moving!" Well he ends of BEING moved by Mommy or Nana. He used to sit right down next to Gavin on the floor to watch him play but oh no... not anymore... he's realized how standing in front of him gets Gavin going.. *sigh* Boys.

A new friend

2008-05-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

Connor made a new friend... Justin. Justin & Jessie are friends of ours who went to Guatemala on a mission trip and they fell in love with the people of Guatemala. They used to go to my church until they got married and moved to PA after Justin took a position as a youth pastor there. They haven't yet met Connor, so we went to dinner last night while they were home visiting Michigan, with another friend also there, Christina (she also went on the same mission trip and she too fell in love with Guatemala and the people there). I should say that Connor & I met Christina for dinner because Justin & Jessie caught dessert near the end, but it was still cool to all get together & see each other again.

At first Connor would just smile with his cuteness dimples at them, give them high fives, and laugh... but nothing more. Then all of a sudden, Justin had to go out to his car to get something so he stood next to the highchair and said, "Connor, wanna come with me?" and put his hands out to pick Connor up and Connor happily & excitedly went with him, then came back just as happy as can be. It was so cute!

Connor has become quite the social one... he typically waves, smiles and says "Buh-Bye" to people in passing in stores. Or "HI!" People giggle... it's too funny to watch!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

This morning, we went up-town in our small town to the Memorial Day Parade. I went to pick up Gavin and he rode his bike up there while Connor & I walked. ***Gavin's riding his bike with NO TRAINING WHEELS NOW!! YAY!!*** Gavin likes catching the candy they throw out for the kids. It's a nice time. So there are some pictures of the boys standing out there waiting for the parade. Also some from last night's bonfire we had at my parents' house, roasted marshmallows (burned many of them to flames.. haha.. always happens). It was alot fo fun just to chill by the fire. Makes me think of camping.

A friend of mine, Lora, is up in Michigan visiting. Her, her adorable daughter Hannah Kate, and her Mom were here today. Lora & I are both single Moms and met over 2 years ago on my agency's web forums where alot of adoptive families join together to share their journeys, struggles, tears, prayers, lives, and children with each other. So Lora & I had walked this adoption journey together (almost at the same spot in our processes nearly all the way). Now we finally met in person, got our kids together to play, go for a walk to the playground, and spent the day at my parents' house for a Memorial Day cookout and just hanging out. It was just awesome to finally get together!! :) We almost connected at the Dallas airport on our way home from Guatemala with Connor, but the connection was close, had only maybe 10 minutes to grab a quick bite to eat and jump on the plane after going through immigration/customs... yada, yada... so then tomorrow night we will meet again for dinner before her, Hannah Kate and her Mom, Bonnie, leave for the rest of their trip and then home to Texas.

Outing

2008-05-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

We went out to Kalamazoo with the whole family for lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant, which was SO good and really a cool place! :) Then off we went to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. It was such a wonderful day and we had beautiful, sunny weather! YAY!

Teething!!

2008-05-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh, teething.... yes yes... it's here again. Not the most fun thing in the world (for either of us, or anyone else for that matter)... he's cutting FOUR of them right now. One has poked through.. the #9 one I mentioned in a previous post. And 3 others are SO close, just under the gums for like a week now. Two of them are his "I" teeth on the top and 3rd one is on the left bottom. Because of the teething, he's loving the bottle again, which is fine. At first, before I realized he was teething again, I was frustrated because he was refusing the sippy cup at my parents' house, would take it for me at home.. *sigh* But then when he started teething, I just gave in.. simply because it's comforting for him and also it's something to chew while he's teething (other than his fingers, which is a readily accessible teether). Tylenol and Motrin are my friend (or his friend, both of us...) :D

2008-05-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Connor's newest thing.... just tonight... he started walking backwards!!!! HAHA!!! It was TOO funny, soooooooooo CUTE!!!! :)

Also, let me see.. oh! We were watching CMT and this is the first time I've seen him JAMMIN' away, like full on with CONSTANT clapping along with the music, head a-bobbin', arms waving.. hahahaha!!! From the day he came home, he's always love country music (go figure hehe) and loves to "dance" in his carseat while we drive along. He loves music, period... but country may very well be his favorite. :) I'll say "Te gusta el musica?" He says "Di, di!" (i.e., "Si, si!") and nods his head.

We went for a walk after dinner with my parents & Gavin. And right before we were ready to leave the park (One more time down the slide, Connor...), for some reason Connor wouldn't go down the slide by himself when he'd been doing it since we got there. So before I could get up there to take him down on my lap, Gavin was aready up there and smiled big, put Connor on his lap, hung onto him around the waist and down they came. It was the cutest, most precious thing! Awwwwww!! I soooo wished I'd had my camera with me...

Bath Time again??

2008-05-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

"Watch, Mommy... I can get in the tub all by myself!"

"I'm in!"

"Time to play.."

"Gotta do a dance.. this is so much fun!"

"I'm okay now, I'll just sit in here and play..."

Let's face it -- Connor LOVES bath time! He loves swimming, water in general.. splashing, playing.. yeah... so as you can see.... it's close to his very favorite spot ever! hahahaha!!! I ws cracking up!! Clothes, shoes.. everything.. and acting as if the bath tub were full and he were actually splashing and playing in actual water.... hehehehe :D

Another fascination with water -- the TOILET! Only he just does this at Nana & Papa's house because Mommy keeps the toilet lid shut at all times at home, but at their house, daycare kids don't shut the lid all the time... well Connor wanders his little self in the bathroom and has been known in the recent past to throw all kinds of things in the toilet. You always know he has been in there when someone (usually Nana) goes in to use the bathroom and just gets into the bathroom when she goes, "Oh NOOOO!" They've found things like toilet paper rolls, toys, chapstick, combs... in the toilet... all credit goes to Connor.

Tooth #9 / Walks, Puddles, etc

2008-05-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

Oh my Lord.... I thought this tooth would never pop through! It's on the bottom right, next to the 4 teeth he has on the bottom front. It just poked through yesterday and hasn't yet completely erupted out 100%. Who knows when his molars will decide to arrive... Yikes!!

His vocabulary continues to expand into two-word phrases, which is just adorable! I love hearing him say things, repeat things. A few new words and phrases: "Book" and "Read it." He usually would rather be read to than to play with toys... it just cracks me up. He copies every word I say (well, he tries to anyway). Every day or two, we review letters, numbers, animals, colors and miscellaneous objects like car, truck, tree. bike, etc. He usually gets really excited when I say, "Ready to do your numbers [followed by letter & colors]?" Usually it's during our walk after dinner. That is until he spots various sticks & rocks to throw into puddles as we walk by them.. oh and also into the drains near the sidewalk. It's so cute when he squats down and just chills there, throwing them each in. Although, I have to admit.. that some days, I'm so tired after work, I just want to walk an nto stop every 5 seconds.. but usually I let him go at it and then tell him it's time to move on to find a bigger puddle. ;)

A First for Connor

2008-05-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

This is actually hilarious to me! HAHAHAHA!!! I was getting Connor's diaper off, threw it in a bag.. all while standing right in front of the bath tub to put him in... when he PEED on the floor!!!!!!! Oh my gosh!!!! I was soooo funny!! I immediately picked him up and placed him in the tub. He had this shocked look on his face as if to say "What just happened? Why so hurried?!" So then I figured he may not be done going.. so I sat him on the potty chair, where he looked sad and pouted like he didn't want to sit there. So on to the bath.... hahaha.... I'm prett sure he might go pee in the tub, many kids do especially toddlers & babies because of the warm water being relaxing?! I don't know... anyhow... one of many comical moments in the life of Connor. :)

First Mother's Day!!!

2008-05-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

What a BIG day!!!! First of all, it's my FIRST Mother's Day after Connor coming home! YAYYYYYY!!!! It was such an amazing, wonderful day!! To add to the JOY, it was also Connor's dedication at church today! :) He did so great, although he's starting to teethe again.. he did wonderfully. It was so incredibly sweet when Pastor Philip reached for him, he said, "This is Connor.. he just came home from Guatemala!" Awwww!! He then asked me, "Does he speak Spanish?" To which I laughed and said that he does. :) Pastor Phil and his wife, Deanna, were so super excited about Connor coming home, to see pictures and hear about any updates during the process. Pastor grew up in Mexico City and still speaks Spanish. It was cute to see Connor when he met Pastor for the first time when he came home... his eyes just lit up. :)

It was such a wonderful day! All of my family were at the dedication this morning, which I was so happy to have them all there. It meant the world to me & Connor. :) Connor adores his Nana, Papa, Tia, Tio (times two - haha), and cousin Gavin! When I say any of their names, he starts looking for them. :)

I'm more than blessed, overflowing with love & joy in my heart & life! God has opened the floodgates in my life, to be perfectly honest. Before becoming a Mom, I never knew exactly what true love meant. God has used this joyful son of mine to teach me how to love and to be loved. I believe completely that God intended for my life's course to occur this way so that when I do meet the man I will marry (maybe I've already met him and don't know it yet, it's possible), I'll know. So many couples (including my parents, and my best friend and her husband) keep repeating over the years, "You'll just know..." To which I always thought and said, "But HOW will I just know??" They say, "I can't describe it, you just will.."

As much love as God has pour into my through my family & friends, you just never know this kind of love that is indescribable until you've experience it for yourself. Now, I'm very sure that my love for Connor is different from that love I will have for my future husband... but I think it's an extension of it, maybe. And one day I know I'll meet that man and will assuredly "just know."

Sometimes Silly, Sometimes Sneaky

2008-05-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Some pictures of Connor being silly, sneaky, generally getting into things, trying things out..

This was just a few minutes ago... there he was in the bathroom quiet as can be.. and I ran in with the camera... had his little hand stuck in the TP roll! HAHA!! :)

Walking in Mommy's Slippers....

He managed to get his hand stuck in the baby wipe container! He was pretty unhappy that he wasn't able to then retrieve his hand from the container, but when I found him sitting quietly... I thought it was quite comical, until he started to fuss for me to help him.

Feet in the ring thingy... (too funny), he also put one on each arm and held them up proudly! :)

I thought this was cute & funny at the same time... here he is lying on top of his radio, just chillin' quietly. Imagine the old-school dudes jammin' with the boombox on their shoulders -- this is Connor's version. HAHA!

Classic Toddler move -- plate on the head :)

Disclaimer: I DID NOT TEACH HIM THIS! hahaha! Seriously. . .

2008-05-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

When I was giving Connor a bath tonight... low & behold, he started dunking his face underwater!! Oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!! I was cracking up and he'd pop right up and LAUGH SO HARD, giggle giggle... it was just soooo funny! He kept doing it, would slide on his belly then dunk under. HAHA! He's always loved the water whether it's swimming in the pool, taking a bath, or a combo of the two. hehe... ;) I'm just a by-stander, watching over him as he splashes and plays for a little while in the bathtub.. and wind up being SOAKED from head to knees, basically... SO MUCH FUN!

I've been trying to incorporate more Spanish phrases randomly into speaking with him. Like tonight it was, "Te gusta de agua, Connor?" (You like the water, Connor?) He said, very excitedly, "Di, Di!" (translation: Si! Si! -- YES YES!) Now that I think about it, I stinkin' said it wrong... should be "Te gusta la agua?" Ah well... will just correctly say it from now on. He completely understood though. Close enough. :) He mostly answers in English my questions I ask him in Spanish, which cracks me up.. I think it is so adorable!

Also, he's been working on pushing out TWO new teeth for what seems like forever!!! I saw tonight that the two of them I'd been seeing just underneath the gums... are still just barely underneath the gums and ready to poke through any day now. :( Poor baby! One on either side of the 4 bottom teeth.

Hilarious -- at home, for me -- he'll gladly say "AHHHH" when I ask him to so I can check out his teeth and feel around, but yeah, the second the Pediatrician pulls out the penlight and tongueblade to take a peek, he clams right up.. nope! Not budging for anything! Ped says that's normal, that toddler typically will open wide for their parent(s) but not for the doctor. Learn something new every day.

A Few things....

2008-05-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

First, please join me in prayer for my friends, Andy & Nicole, as they are in China right now picking up their precious little girl!!!!! Actually they've been there since April 30th, but today they flew out to Nanjing, the province where she lives in the orphanage! So this afternoon, they were finally holding their little girl in their arms forever! PRAISE THE LORD!! We've walked this journey of adoption together as they began their adoption at the same time I started mine, only of course I adopted from Guatemala and them frmo China. But we were in classes together at the agency and also go to the same church, so we've followed each other, prayed for each other & our children. It's so amazing to watch each others' journeys and share pictures. Their blog is absolutely amazing, they've updated it throughtout their travels to & within Bejing, posted pictures! Now... the pictures of their daughter is the next thing to look for. :)

And then Connor's new things.. where do I start? HAHA! Oh, one thing.. is that he loves to put his little feet inside MY shoes or slippers and plod around the house in them! HAHA! I about fall on the floor laughing.. and then he'll sometimes put them on his hands. Also, he's very very adjusted to his Sunday School class now. He's done increasingly better each Sunday. I have always talked to him as I sign him in, put his name tag on, on the walk down the hall to his room... so he really understands waht's happening and also that Mommy always comes back. Now I'll place him over the counter onto the floor and he goes about playing with the other kids quickly. He used to always cry for a minute or so... but the teachers always say he quieted down quickly. He loves the teenagers in his class that help out in there. They love holding him, so he takes right to that :) It's just such a JOY when I go pick him up and if he doesn't see me come in the room and I say his name, he turns around and FLIES toward me, "MOMMYYYY!" He's the light of my life! He pats me on the back, giving me hugs and kisses, says "Go Buh-Bye?" Then off we go. He's become more friendly, in general. He used to always smile at people in passing, but has begun to (in the past few weeks), smile, wave and say "Hi!" or after passing by them, "See ya!" What a ham!

Speaking of books. . . .

2008-05-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't snap a picture, but soooo should have!!! The other day, I found my adorable Connor sitting square on his potty chair... reading a book!! OH MY GOSH!!! I about died laughing!!! SOOOOO FUNNY!!! If only I had a camera around my neck 24/7 to snap pics of Curious Connor... :)

My Book Worm!

2008-04-30T16:14:00.001-07:00

below: Upside-down, of course.. how else would a toddler read a book? hehe :)

Thought I'd add some pics of Connor intently reading books... he absolutely loves to read and be read to. :)

He's learning so quickly!

2008-04-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Connor is so smart! He picks things up so quickly, even though you think he sometimes isn't listening... haha :) I've been working with him on his ABCs, number, colors and animals & their sounds. Some in both English & Spanish. Even at times, there a certain ones he'll translate automatically from Spanish to English when I say it in Spanish. Wow! :)

He routinely will repeat back to me every letter, number, color or animal.. most of the time. When he's not in the mood for it, he just won't... but it's so adorable to hear him repeat them all. Also, at times, he'll repeat back to me the next number or letter in sequence rather than the one I say.. hahaha! :) Here are some examples:

I say azul (blue in Spanish), he says blue (or boo, his version)

I say 8, he says 9.

I say 3, he says 4.

One that I absolutely love... he just did this yesterday. I was reading him his Bible, and when I turned the page, he started clapping his hands before I could even begin reading the verse on that page: "Clap your hands, all you people. Shout to God with joy." Psalm 47:1

20 MONTHS OLD!

2008-04-25T17:00:00.001-07:00

On my arms...

... or on my feet!

Yep! I'm a good climber!

Connor is 20 months old today! He's getting soooo big, he's so smart, inquisitive, curious, amazing, adventurous, daring. I'm so proud of him and love him more every day! :) Enjoy pics from today!

2008-04-24T17:51:00.000-07:00

It's been wonderful on my new job... nice getting home earlier to make dinner and leave later in the mornings so Connor can relax with me before dropping him off at my parents', get him dressed and ready to go before bringing him, less to bring with him.

He's Mr. Potty Lover right now! haha!! He just loves sitting on his potty chair and "pretending." Soon, I'll start potty training for real. He shows so much interested in it, pulls at his diaper, tells me when he goes poop and sometimes even before he goes. I think he'll do really well once I start working with him in a more real way instead of just sitting on the potty with his clothes on. haha! Funny thing is -- every time he's "done" on the potty, he reaches his hand down to the bottom of it as if to find out if there's anything in it?? haha! We'll have to work with him on NOT doing that when he goes for real in the potty... yucky!

Pictures from today

2008-04-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

After work, we spent time outside after dinner, for a walk then chillin' out. Connor is very interested in books, loves to be read to or will find him just sitting with a book, flipping the pages (upside-down of course, hehehe!). He also loveeeeesssss MUSIC ("musica!"), loves his play piano, guitar, drum, tambourine, mirakas. I was cracking up tonight when he was sitting so nicely jammin' on his little piano, and then flipping through a Veggie Tales book. See pictures :)

Adjustment to new job and the POTTY chair...

2008-04-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

So far, so good! Everything is going well in orientation to my new job! It's so nice being in a new arena of nursing. I think by the end of this week, I'll be out in the field with another nurse, training in the actual area of home care nursing. So that'll be great to just get in there and actually do hands-on training. The classroom has always been boring to me. haha!

It's been quite an adjustment for me to go from working 3 12hr shifts a week to 4-5 8hr shifts a week... it's just bizzare.. but I think this week will be better because I'm completely done at the hospital. That transition was a little rough for me, both physically exhausting (worked Saturday, off Sunday, then orientation M-Wed, worked Thursday then orientation Friday!) and emotionally to leave all of my co-workers I love so much at the hospital. Since starting orientation, I've been to the hospital cafeteria for the salad bar probably 3 out of the 4 days last week... haha... plus then I see my old buddies ;) It'll take time... making new friends at my new job but still not forgetting my old friends I'm still close to from the hospital. :)

It's been exactly a week and Connor has adjusted well to the change. Now we get more time every single day and it's just so nice! Especially now that the weather is nice!

In the past month, he's started showing interested in the potty chair and saying "BOOP" more & more... now I've started noticing that he'll tell me BOOP! and I'll go to check him and he's not... so I go "No poopies, Connor.." and so he'll go off and play, although really he's not gone to play at all, he'll come back and say BOOP again.. and sure enough, he pooped! hahaha! So he's obviously really telling me now that he has to go before he actually goes... and loves to sit on the potty chair fully clothes (adorable! and hey, it's a start), and also he'll sit on it absolutely every single time I'm in using the bathroom... he'll run in as soon as he realizes I'm in there, as if he's missing out on the potty time somehow... haha! :) Too FUNNY! He also gets very irritated that he has a diaper on... in the past week, always is pulling at it, trying to pull it down... so on one hand, I know that's a beginning sign that he's ready to START potty training, and on the other hand, I don't know how ready I am for my baby boy to go on the big boy potty! I'd be floored actually... because he's a boy! And boys are typically harder to train... maybe he's one of the exceptions, but I don't want to push it either.

2008-04-19T06:49:00.000-07:00

What a tiring week, from having a nasty sinus infection, Connor being a little under the weather, then orientation all week long. It's been great, but at the same time... orientation is orientation, which translates to being somewhat boring sitting in a room filling out paperwork, watching seemingly endless numbers of videos... but oh well... :) It's okay, just will be nice to get more into the clinical side of it and actually do something.

Other than that, all is well... not a whole lot going on today, just relaxing, getting things done and will need to go out to get some grocery shopping done later.

Today was my 1st day of orientation to my new job!

2008-04-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

OMG, you guys!!!! WOW!!!!! I am already sooooo happy after just my 1st day of paperwork day, orientation to my new job!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how God has blessed me with this job! Everything was perfect timing, the door opened just at the right moment and after today was totally inspired, empowered, fell in love with just the thought of being able to go into someone's own home to teach them, care for them, guide them toward a healthier, more independent life!!

The CEO of the company almost had me in tears as he explained what the company is all about -- relationships! And relationships with each other, employee satisfaction in turn translates and has proven to equal patient satisfaction!! WOW!!! He spoke about running a company where one of the top goals is to run it with integrity!!! I was just floored at this outlook on business management AND patient care AND employee satisfaction, after leaving an employer because I felt, frankly, as if I were being crapped on (sorry for the words as I put them)!

Anyhow.... I believe with all my heart & soul that this is where God wants me now, that working acute care in the hospital was where He desired me for a period of time as a stepping stone to move on to where I am starting now! All I could think of was several passages from His Word like Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus! And then Fear not, for I am with you, I will comfort you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand!!!! AMEN!!!! And then thinking about how Jesus, as he walked this earth.... touched people no one would touch, went places no one wanted to go... and as I embark on this new job, I realized awhile back that this was my calling.. to be a nurse.. that to touch people who were discarded in our community was my calling in acute care to begin with, but home care is my true calling... I believe I will come to realize the truth of this as the days & weeks go by.

I'm no one special, nothing to boast about myself because I am nothing without the grace of God's hand on me and I pray He uses me to minister a gentle touch and blessed words to my clients in their own homes, to walk in with the power of the Holy Spirit before me & within me... to make a difference for God in the area He's now called me.

I was humbled to tears on my drive home as I shut the radio off and just praised God for this blessing, because at this perfect moment... this job is what is best for Connor & I and for my family as a whole... for me to spend more time with Connor, have a more "normalize" daily routine instead of switching his bath night because I work every other... anyhow.. sorry for rambling... Just wanted to share what God has placed before me...

I believe God has brought me out of a bit of a spiritual dry spell today, which everyone goes through... today, He spoke to me again... ya know those times when you feel as if He's not speaking to you, you know He's there with you always, walking life with you, but that you cry out to Him to speak and you just don't hear it. I believe He nudged me this time... toward this change.. to launch me out of the dry spell to see Him standing there, hugging me with all His might saying "This is where I want to plant yourself now.. until I call you elsewhere."

Easter 2008 Pictures

2008-04-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

I had Mr Connor's pics done for Easter. It was a horrible experience and I'll never take him back where I took him, but the pictures altogether in the end came out cute! :) The photographer was just not good at all and was very rude, but either way... here are his adorable shots!

Home from work

2008-04-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

We're both sick... I started with a really bad sore throat last night, but Connor started with a croupy, hacking cough on Friday, was waking up all night long congested. :( My poor baby!! He seems to get better throughout the day once he's awake & playing, but still... then I worked yesterday and contemplated calling in to stay home with him but decided to try it... dropped him off at daycare (alternate from my Mom's since they were on vacation) and he screamedddd for me, which is not like him.. he's very adjustable, easy-going.. stays fine, but he just wasn't feeling well and wanted Mommy... I cried & prayed on my drive to work. So today I called in and am staying home with him. It'll be better this way.. he'll have me all to himself. Please pray we both feel better soon, but mainly him.