Father & Son

Isaac absolutely loves being with Kyle. He helps Kyle mow, cut down branches, take out the trash, and whatever other manly chores there are to be done. Isaac watched Kyle putting one of bunk beds together and then jumped to the other end and started screwing together the nuts and bolts. He was never asked to help; he just loves doing whatever Kyle is doing - and he's quite good at it!

Kyle taught Isaac how to joke around and "You're kidding??" has become a frequented phrase at our house.

We have always wanted to have a son named Isaac. Our Isaac could be no more perfect of a son if he had been born to us. He's such a perfect fit in our family.

Just Plain Fun

While I was supposed to be cleaning my bathroom, the babies were playing with the box fan in my room. (We were dreading calling the A/C man, but it turned out to be a $28 part that needed replacing. God is so good to us:) ) Anyway, I couldn't stop myself from showing the babies how to talk into the fan. "D a n i e l , come to the dark side. I am not your fah thuh. . ." It was so funny.

My Chloe Girl

Chloe has graduated from baths to showers. She's officially a big girl now! To show off her new grown-upness, she wore her hooded towel like a Mommy, and tucked the hood in, so you can't see the bunny head. Isn't she funny? She was so giddy in the shower!

Lydia's Lingo

Lydia is talking so much now! It's so fun to listen to her. When I get her up in the morning, we stand in front of the dresser mirror and smile at each other. I say, "Look it's Lydia and Mommy." She repeats: "Wedia and Mama."

Yesterday, I caught Misha (our cat) on my desk and I said, "Misha, that's my cup! Oh man, that's disgusting!" Lydia pointed her stubby finger in Misha's nose and said, "Misha, dat dusting!!"

She stared out the window this morning, pointing, and saying, "Swaining. Swaining, Mama." (It's raining.)

Every morning, Lydia wants seconds of her oatmeal. She asks for "more eyo," then nods her head up and down, up and down when I ask, "You want MORE?"

Each night, she gets a kiss from all her brothers and sisters, who love her like crazy. She smiles real big when I carry her to Daniel's crib. "Dadoo!," she says, and they give each other a big smack.

This little girl has us all wrapped around her little finger. She's so darn adorable!

Lydia put this mascara on all by herself!

It Runs in the Family

Three weeks ago, my mom "adopted" her good friend, Carmen, her 16-year old son, Jonathan, and their Maltese, Kilo. My mom, Nancy, met this precious Honduran immigrant, when she began housekeeping for the building where my mom worked. Nancy was very impressed with Carmen's strong work ethic. She worked hard and she was very punctual. Mom used to joke that you could set your watch by Carmen's arrival to work.

In August 2006, Carmen was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer. Stages III and IV are almost always fatal. This picture was taken before the chemo did its damage. When Carmen got so weak that she wasn't able to climb the stairs in her apartment, she and her son (and dog) moved in with Nancy and Don.

The chemo treatments took such a hard toll on her that she stopped taking them altogether. Her last treatment was May 21 and she was deathly sick for almost two weeks. Miraculously, she felt better upon arriving at her new home, and managed beautifully without any pain medication for two full weeks.

The whole family has lovingly adopted Carmen and Jonathan. Carmen and Jonathan plan to return to Honduras this summer so Jonathan can meet the grandparents he’s never known. This will be a heartbreaking event, as Carmen will not be able to return to the United States. We’ll all love on her for as long as God lets us. Praise Him that her next home will offer her a new body, no cancer, no pain, and no tears.

I Have A Lot of Help

According to most Americans, if you have more than 2 kids, you must have a nanny or some other kind of hired help. (If all my kids were babies, I'd definitely agree.) I'm learning more and more just what all my sweeties are capable of - and how much they love to help. When they are helping, they feel important. They feel like a valuable part of the family. I love seeing the pride in their eyes when they are helping me do something.

This particular day, I supervised while the big kids took the reins of one of my high-maintenence meals. (High maintenence for me means lots of chopping; the crock-pot does all the cooking.) They were so proud of themselves, and of course I praised them up and down for their stellar work. Everyday since, they've donned their aprons and asked to help.

Our New Names

While the babies were napping, Elena, Isaac and I were unbraiding Maya's hair. Doing black hair is a bonding experience, I'm learning. We've had really good talks each time I've done it.
Today, we were talking about when the kids first came home. We reviewed all the details of the homecoming. Then we got to talking about their names. I asked Isaac if he remembered what "Isaac" means. He said (correctly): It means laughing, because I'm always laughing. I said: That's right, you're Laughing Isaac. Maya said: I love to talk. I should be Talking Maya. A good fit for her.
Taking a huge risk, I asked: So, what should my name be? (While they were thinking, I was sweating, thinking my character flaws were about to be exposed.) They unanimously came up with Reading Mama. Whew!
I started thinking about why that would be at the top of their impressions of me. Hmmmm. I read to them over breakfast, during school time, generally right after I put the babies down for nap, and then I read my own books during my downtime. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that they'd come up with that.
A note of humor: they decided Lydia should be Happy Lydia because whenever she throws a fit, I ask: Can you be happy? and she nods and says "happy", while immediately drying up her tears. For some reason it's the magic word for stopping her in her tracks. I don't know why it works, but I'm thrilled to have discovered it. Perhaps "Fit-Throwing Lydia" would be more appropriate, but all her older siblings see her through rose-colored glasses.