today.

7:00am

have i ever told you what a big part of this my husband is?

when people hear we have 5 youngish kids,

they often say, oh, i could never....

well, i don't.  we do.  we're a team & he does a lot.

almost every morning, he's long been up by now....

had devotions, answered e-mails, done any dishes, made lunches

& gotten these 2 ready for school. 

i get snuggles & hugs as i begin to get the littles ready for the day.

i'm thankful for our team.

8:30am

the 'babies' & i make our way downstairs for breakfast.

bianca usually has gotten fully dressed, grabbed some favorite toys that

she'll probably keep with her all day & daintily walks down the stairs.

 

clay is most concerned about getting to the food,

so is often still in PJs & is a blur down the stairs [every.morning] like this:

 i love their distinct personalities.

now?  breakfast time!

i asked them, would you like cereal?

clay responded, OSTED AKES, MAMA!

frosted flakes it is.

planning on continuing to 'live blog' our day for fun.

what are you up to today, friends?

10:37am

10:42am

11:27am

okay.  take 2 on the banana bread.

it's in the oven now.

babies are lying down for a nap.

i'll be back soon & actually be able to "talk."

11:29am

oh, first...this is too cute not to share.
bread watching turned to a rousing break-out session of
If You're Happy & You Know It.

[now, you should tell me something about you.]

[or where we should go on our next vacation.]

[or what you're getting your mom for mother's day.]

=)

12:47pm

ellie & i are heading out to hang these around town:

see what that is?!
it's a Listen to Your Mother poster.
[my name is there in the grey area!]
i am so excited about this.
so proud of my friend, stephanie, who is taking a leap of faith
and directing & producing this show about motherhood.
it's live, short readings from local writers.
if you're anywhere in the northwest indiana area, would love to have you there!
tickets can be purchased here.  it's the saturday night before mother's day.
i'm so grateful to be able to share my story & am looking forward
to how the other readers will inspire, entertain & challenge us, too.
[it will be available on-line later, too!]

5:13

whoa.  i didn't expect that to be so long.
but, i'm kinda used to that, i guess.
basically...ellie & i ran all over town getting all kinds of
stuff done.  bank, post office, grocery store, shops for posters,
pick the big girls up, bank again, grocery store again.
it was a fight to get something done for the adoption
[evidenced by the again statements above]
but we got it done.
i have a standard rule of no computer between 3-7pm though....
so i'll be back! 

7:46

whew.  kids are all in bed.
this picture sure is pretty,
but i will admit that bedtime was not.
that makes me sad.  i have idealistic notions
of beautiful, peaceful bedtimes.
some weeks it happens....some weeks it doesn't.
thankful for another chance tomorrow.

i just inhaled a piece of lemon curd cheesecake
that i ordered from a friend for easter.
she was doing it as a fundraiser for her son going on
a mission trip & i think i want to hire her to be our
in-house pastry chef.
[y.u.m.]

someone [kari, i think!] asked about the boys yesterday....hoping to hear
a happy update soon.  i am, too!
we're in a waiting phase.  literally nothing left to do
except wait for a court date.  of course we're ready for the
boys to [God-willing] be home, but i am [pretty] at peace with the timing.

one of the things that i've learned the most in the adoption process is
letting go of my own desires.  being quiet enough to hear His whispers.
sometimes they whisper to push, try this or to take action.
sometimes they whisper to wait, to be still, to trust our journey.
we are at a be still part right now.

i'm trusting that & looking forward to holding this boy's

sweet hand many, many more times to come in the future.

to be his mama.

8:10pm

ok, friends.  i have to wrap it up for the day.

thank you for visiting.  i really do love sharing some of our

life with you & hearing about yours.

you know what's especially awesome?  when you have your

e-mail address linked to your comment so i can reply

back to you when i can!  

i'm loving your vacation picks, but ya'll that are inviting

us near you realize that would probably be NINE of us, right?

i promise we're not nearly as quiet in person as it may appear on screen!

happy night!