July "4th" MM-DD Reunion (on July 7th)

Last weekend, we headed to Falls of Rough, KY for the annual Mom-mom and Dad-dad reunion.  It was great to see part of the family and especially the little girls.  Olivia and Brenna loved being on the boat together, sharing.....

 goldfish and....

 kisses!

Two handsome men

 Brenna helping Dad-dad drive the boat

 Beautiful Olivia

 Adorable Brenna

 She would have stayed in the lake all day long!

 And yet another handsome face!

 Felicia getting some kisses from Momma

Mom-mom entertaining Felicia....or is it the other way around? 

Felicia and her daddy

 

 Brenna zooming cars to Uncle Ian

 Olivia waiting for a movie to begin

 The kids got really tired of watching tennis so Dad-dad set them up with a small dvd player to watch Shrek.

Cute cousins!

Home-made ice cream is a staple at these events and this year was no exception.  7 freezers of the best ice cream you've ever tasted awaited - peach, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, banana and I don't even know what else.  So many flavors and not enough time to eat them all but we gave it our best shot!

Thank you, Mom-mom and Dad-dad for a fun weekend!!

Summer Vacation

The day after school was out, we packed up and headed to Memphis to visit Olivia and her parents.  We had a blast and even though it was in the upper 90's, we braved the heat and had Olivia show us her zoo.  Memphis has a great zoo and we love going there!

Here she is introducing her favorite donkey:

 Love those curls!

 Ian and Dad at the farm

 Beautiful Girl

 Lindsay and Troy are blessed with some amazing neighbors who were so kind to let us enjoy their pool every day that we were there.  Thank you so much, Henry and Patsy!!!

I'm sure Olivia is telling Lucas what to do:

 No one loves the water more than Ian.  He loves to be thrown but with his added height, it's getting more and more difficult to launch him very far, so Tom decided to see if he wanted to go off the diving board.  Dumb question.  Of course he wanted to....as many times as Dad could lug him out of the water and onto and off of the board.  He LOVED it!!!

 Another amazing Memphis attraction is the Botanic Gardens.  I've only seen a smidgon of the gardens but they have several acres dedicated to children, called My Big Back Yard and it's awesome!  This is Lucas on the bridge from the tree house to the slide.

 One of my favorites is these boards that fit together like lincoln logs.

 An outdoor marimba

 Giant worm tunnels

 Several adorable themed play houses.  Olivia loved the doors.

 Chimes to bang on

 Who is that cool dude in the boat?

 Olivia wading in the "river"

 Jeremy also in the river

 Lucas' feeding fish and geese

 Another day in the pool....

 Olivia never goes to the pool without hairbows that match her swim suits!

Thank you Lindsay, Troy and Olivia for letting us crash and for spending time with us!

Falls of Rough

In April, we headed to Tom's folks for the weekend where the boys were in heaven!  The weather was perfect and Jeremy and Lucas traipsed all over the woods with Dad-dad in tow while Ian kept Mom-mom occupied (he adores her!)

Of course, we had to ride the Gator....

We got to go to church with Mom-mom and Dad-dad and finally meet a dear saint who prays for us daily and keeps up with us, although she had never met us.  What a blessing and testimony this woman is to us!

After Sunday dinner.....(the shirts had been tucked in long enough!)

Ian pointing out a boat on the lake to Mom-mom 

We are so thankful that our parents are more than willing to be grandparents all over again to these 3 boys and love them like the biological grandchildren!

Thank you Mom-mom and Dad-dad for a fun weekend!

Olivia visits Indiana

Backing way, way up........

In April, we were thrilled to have Olivia come and bring her mommy and daddy!  Since it was only a week before her birthday, we got to celebrate with her!

 Beautiful Birthday Girl

 Troy and Jeremy

 Olivia and Pops watching Mickey Mouse

 Opening birthday gifts

 Brenna going for a cousin kiss

Tried to get a family picture which was pretty much impossible

Ian Update

There is so much to say about Ian but I will try to condense it.  He continues to be pure joy in our lives!  Ian had a great school year thanks to his amazing teacher, para, therapists, etc.  He is learning to read (or possibly memorizing) words.  We all think he can read more than he lets on because he seems to know exactly where to put the curser to play games on the computer or watch monster truck videos.  He met or exceeded most of his IEP goals for the year.  He was able to be in a gait trainer or tricycle almost every day at school, which he loves and is so good for him.  His private PT has been working on trunk control for several months and he was able to sit in a regular chair with minimal assistance for a brief time during the school day.  Ian continues to learn his AAC device (or, "talker" as we call it) and recently blew Mom away when I took him for a private speech eval.  He finally has a great speech therapist who is teaching him to put sentences together instead of just "talking" with single words.  

Big things are happening for Ian this fall.  He will have surgery in September that will lengthen his hamstrings and will require casts on both legs for 6-8 weeks.  More on that as it draws near.  I don't even like to think about it now.  We are also hoping to get him a power wheelchair which would increase his independence exponentially.  However, that requires a different van with a ramp or lift.  Currently, we lift Ian into a car seat and load his chair in the back of the van, but that won't be possible with a power chair.  So, we're on the hunt for a bargain van that would accomodate Ian in his chair and the rest of us, too.

Tom and I were recently talking about wishing we could find Ian's biological mom and agreed that if we could, we would thank her.  He has taught us so much and we are so very thankful that God allowed us to bring him into our lives and our family!

Lucas update

Way back in March, I asked you to pray for our 2 week intensive attachment therapy with Lucas.  Our continuing therapy is now down to once a month and he is doing great!  The fierce armor of steel that he's built around his heart is beginning to crack and he's trying to believe that we are the real deal; we aren't going anywhere; he's not going anywhere; this is his forever home; we will keep him safe; we love him no matter what.  It has been and still is a roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs but the ups are more frequent now and the downs are fading.  He still has occasional violent meltdowns but they are more productive which is hard to explain but they result in a revealing comment about his past.  We believe he has repressed much of the pain so remembering it, as difficult as it is, helps him heal and helps us speak to that hurt.   
As a result of the intensive therapy, we made the decision to keep Lucas home for the remainder of the school year and provide school at home.  This proved to be a really good move and we both enjoyed the time together.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention here that our school, Cole Elementary has been amazing!  They have been supportive of the therapy, helpful during the weeks of home schooling, always loving and encouraging the boys.  We are so thankful for all of them, from the principal to the lunch ladies and maintenance guys to the teachers and aides and secretaries.  
Deep down, Lucas is very tender-hearted and loving.  He's very curious.  He's very busy all the time and has lots of energy.  He is obsessed with small objects (I never know what will show up in the washer if I forget to check pockets.)  He invents all kinds of things out of items intended for another purpose.  He loves to be outside and can get dirtier than any kid I've ever seen.  Not to mention, he's pretty darn cute!
God is stretching us in ways we never thought possible and teaching us so very much about His Gospel and grace in our lives through this little guy and we are so very thankful for him.  I just know that God is going to use him in big ways for His glory!

Jeremy Update and Prayer Request

I am beginning this series of updates with Jeremy because I have another request for prayer.  On Monday morning, I will begin a week of intensive therapy with Jeremy.  Tom isn't able to take another week off of work, so Jeremy and I will do it together and fill him in as much as possible.  He will join us for the follow-up sessions.  As a result of their past, Jeremy's issues are very different from Lucas' and although they are less disruptive, the wounds are just as deep.  Please pray that God will use this therapy in all of our lives to help us help him to over come the fears and hurt that come with abuse and neglect.  Also, please pray for his heart.  He is learning more and more and asking more and more about what Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection means for us.  Another concern is how Lucas will react to my being gone every day for a week.  We are praying that it won't be a set back for him.

Jeremy had a great school year (once again, thanks to our terrific school where everyone really cares about the kids and goes above and beyond to help them succeed!)  He improved in every area academically!

Jeremy is vey loving and continues to be a neat freak, straightening his room or bed without being asked, sweeping the garage floor and porch, vacuuming, etc.  He loves to play outside and ride his bike or help Dad, but also enjoys reading and doing puzzles, especially word searches.  His favorite indoor activity is Legos and especially builing them with big brother, Drew (who loves an excuse to play with Legos again.)

We are thankful that God brought him into our family and pray that He will soon bring him into His family!

Thank you in advance for praying for us this week!