Judah Update: 8 months

Judah has been army crawling all over the place lately. So fun and now that we know the value of it, we put him on his tummy all the time. The kids are all impatient for him to start hands-and-knees crawling, but I'm in no hurry to get to the next milestone. It's all great!
At 8 mos, Judah has 7 teeth. His teething has been fast and furious. He drools, he chews on everything, and the next day he has a new tooth. Easy peasy. Never had a kid grow teeth with such ease.
Love this boy!

At six months, I started Judah on solids and he didn't go for it. We stopped for a month and then came back to it. Now he loves to eat.
Guess what he's been eating lately.

Tie Dye Fanatics

Any guesses what we were doing last night?

Update: Our church's fellowship was at the roller rink this month. We decided to dress in 70s style just for the fun of it. We made quite a scene (which we all loved) since no one else did anything like this.

The Parent Rap {Trust me, you need this today}

Adoption Journal: Giving Up My Fears

One big issue our older adoptees have is their difficulty communicating their needs or emotions. In Liberia, it wasn't safe to communicate needs or emotions or ask for help. So they learned not to. Unlearning that is a monumental task. 

I've had to deal with my big fears of their future if they don't grow in this area. I've spent much time worrying how they will communicate with a spouse, should they marry. I've recently realized that their spouses will just have to learn what we have: how to communicate with someone who doesn't. It has been sanctifying for us and it will be sanctifying for their spouses.

We were teasing Isaac the other night because he was obviously wanting something from Kyle but wasn't asking. I held him by the shoulder and had a huge smile on my face as I said: 

If it's God's will for you to marry, we'll be training your fiance in how to communicate with Isaac:

When he's mad, he won't tell you, but he'll act like this and you need to ask if he's mad.

When he wants something, he won't tell you, but he'll act like this and you need to ask what he wants.

When he's sad, he won't tell you, but he'll act like this and you need to ask what he's sad about. Etc, etc. You get the idea.

Pat Robertson says adopted children "grow up weird"

In a recent broadcast of The 700 Club, a woman sent in a question about a man who wouldn’t marry her because she has children who were adopted internationally. If they were her “own” biological children, he would have no problem, she said. But because they were adopted, he saw too much risk. 

Pat Robertson said the man “didn’t want to take on a United Nations,” and that, after all, you never know about adopted children; they might have brain damage and “grow up weird.”

The issue here isn’t just that Robertson is, with cruel and callous language, dismissing the Christian mandate to care for the widows and orphans in their distress. The issue is that his disregard is part of a larger worldview. The prosperity and power gospel Robertson has preached fits perfectly well with the kind of counsel he’s giving in recent years. Give China a pass on their murderous policies; we’ve got business interests there. Divorce your weak wife; she can’t do anything for you anymore. Those adopted kids might have brain damage; they’re “weird.” What matters is health and wealth and power. But that’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Read the rest here: Pat Robertson vs. The Spirit of Adoption

On a personal note:

What the author says about his statement lining up perfectly with the prosperity gospel is certainly true. If God only wants good things for us that make us happy, then adopting children who definitely will have issues isn't going to be on God's agenda. If, however, God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness, then He will be calling Christians all over the world to adopt these needy orphans and teaching these families what it really means to love unconditionally in the process. (Which He most certainly is.) Adoption has sanctified me more than anything else has. 

To God be the glory.

Is It Wrong to Judge?

Then vs. Than

Today is your lucky day! You have the special thrill of learning something far too many people don't understand. I'm going to solve for you the maddening conundrum of then and than.

Then - This has to do with the order of events.

First, I folded my paper napkin. Then, I put it in my lunchbox.

Than - This has to do with comparing things.

The Grammar Marm's hair bun is tighter than mine.

Now wasn't that easy? Easier than taking candy from a baby!

Parenting Guilt

I never knew there was so much guilt in parenting! When I run an errand with one of my children and don't take the others who want to go, I feel guilty. When I realize we don't have time to squeeze in a trip to the ice cream shop, I feel guilty. I know I shouldn't, but I do.

Recently I've been struggling with feeling like whatever the problem is, it all comes back to it being my fault. If I get frustrated because my children don't pick up after themselves, that's my fault because I haven't trained them to be consistent in this. If a certain non-talkative son isn't communicating with me, there's always something I could do more of or less of to improve the situation. I convince myself it's my fault. If another certain child misunderstands my directions yet again, it's because I didn't have them repeat back what I asked them to do. Again back to me. It must be my fault.

This type of thinking is just plain selfish.
It's self-centered.
It's not seeking God and praying for wisdom.
It's focusing on myself. Pitying myself.

If you find yourself caught in the deception of "it's all my fault", turn to God. Seek God's Word for wisdom. There has never been a time that I prayed to God for wisdom, that He hasn't given me creative solutions to the problem before me. Never. He is faithful.

Get your eyes off yourself and focus on the One who can solve your parenting issues.

Fun Baby Tricks