In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye I have gone from a high school student excitedly anticipating my wedding to the man of my dreams, to a college graduate, registered nurse, exciting travels with just David and I, to pregnant with our first princess, moved from our first home to our 2nd house we built, 2nd house sold and 3rd house remodeled while expecting our first handsome "little bird man," enjoying our 2 children and starting the process to adopt internationally from Vietnam, with a miracle sent from God (aka Carson), running through the house chasing little ones, feel God leading us to enlarge our family with another little princess, start our 2nd international adoption, travel around the world to bring our little girl home, in the midst of this adoption God tugs our hearts and minds so that we feel we are to spread the Gospel full-time in another country, travel to Costa Rica where God leads us in every step, selling unpaid car and house for sale, simplifying the things that we have and ridding what we don't need, Olivia's last summer before she begins homeshooling gone, Carson potty training, an aunt twice now of little Caysen Kirk and our precious Kaden and a little niece on the way and preparing our family to make the biggest move of our lives to another country.
Since I have last posted David and I celebrated our 10th anniversary, the most wonderful 10 years of my life. He is the man I prayed for and dreamed about. He is my best friend. He is who, at the the end of the day, loves me for who I am, no matter how messy the house, or if supper didnt get made because of the chaotic day with the kids. Piles of laundry do not bother him. He knows I do the best I can. He helps me. People have asked me, "How do you get everything? How do you have time to bake cookies and muffins? Do you ever sleep? When do you find the time for projects?" I don't. There is no "I" in the equation. He helps me. He bathes kids when I need him to. He folds laundry. He pays bills (when I ask him to); he doesn't mind, he just doesn't know when they have to be paid. He lets me sleep. Yes, he gets up with the kids on Saturdays. They do let him sleep in til usually 8:30. He is an early riser so he doesn't mind. He is my leader. I lean on him for everything and I do not know what I would do without him. I heard so many times from people when they found out I was going to marry so young, that it will never last, you will never make it past a couple years. Well, we have made it 10 and I pray the Lord blesses us with another 50+.

A Little Update on the little Raboins:

Leia- This past week she has started crawling, more of an army crawl. But it gets her where she needs to go. She can say "Dadda" and "Bye",and a whole lot of jabbering. She has discovered food, real food, not the yucky baby stuff. She refuses to eat baby food, but will enjoy anything that mommy will put in her mouth. She loves to play with her brothers and sister, and they eat it up. She is not so much a fan of ccar rides. Like a dog wags its tail, she flaps her arms and legs like a bird flapping through the wind; this is her way of showing you her happiness. She loves to snuggle with her Mommy. Easy-going she is. She is my baby princess.

Carson- We have tried at different times since this past Spring to try potty training. He was never interested. Well, last week was no different. But Mommy and Daddy refuse to buy anymore diaper. I am determined. Started last week and we are making some progress. Everyone who helps take care of him is now on board. He doesn't so so well with underpants on, but can seem to usually remember when he is bare bottom. Forget the potty chair. I decided while training Logan that is for the birds. Straight to the bog potty we go. He can even climb up and down himself. Way to go Carson!! M&Ms are the reward of choice. He is talking a little more. We seem to think he is just a bit lazy with his pronunciation. You have to make him look at you and watch your mouth then repeat things; seems to be helping. The pool has not been his favorite thing this year. But, now that it is end of summer, he will at least get in and smile instead of crying and whining. His imagination is really starting to develop. I will hear him playing with toys and making car crashing sounds or dinosaur growls. It is so cute. He is "my lil Brown boy" who has a smile that will follow you to your toes.

Logan- He keeps me on my toes, so do the others, but him just a fraction more. He is all boy, and I love him to pieces. As rough as he appears to others, he has the sweetest heart. He hurts when you cry. It upsets him when others are upset. He will hold you, kiss you, and comfort you. He is considerate of others. He doesn't want you to be sad. He gives wonderful "squeezy" hugs. His sister slathers him with the biggest wet kisses on his cheek, and he just smiles and says, "She loves me." He is our fish. He is a great swimmer with floaties, will jump in, go under, and never flinch. So, this past weekend he thinks he can jump into the deep end of a pool with no floaties. Thank you Lord that his Daddy was already in the water close by. He decided after that he better not do that again. Growing, growing, growing. He is always hungry. Every 5 minutes he asks for a snack. He gives me a run for my money, but at the end of the day I still wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

Olivia- My first baby, and always one of my babies. She starts kindergarten in a week an half. I am going to be homeschooling her. I started working on her lesson plans and am excited to see if she will enjoy it. She is super excited about doing school at home. I could not stand the thought of leaving her in someone else's hands for 40 hours every week. I want to protect her, teach her, and guide her. But I will also be a strict teacher. I feel education is so important and should not be taken lightly. You never know where God will place you in this world, and you must be prepared spiritually, mentally, and physically. She is the best baby sitter I know. She cares so much for her sister. She carries her around, tend to her when she cries, feeds her bottles. She has even told me that she wants to learn how to change diapers. We had a little session last week, and she even begged to help with "poops." What can I say, she is also a little mother hen. We are working on adjusting that a bit. She is you poster child of a first born child. She is a nurturer. She cares for her siblings, watches over them, loves them, and worries about them at the young age of 5. She can say some of the most beautiful prayers to her Heavenly Father that is melts my heart.

I have so much more to say, but all for another day.

Where Does the Time Go

Olivia and Tera
Logan a.k.a "lil fish"
Thinking about it....
He has no fear
Just catching some rays
Kicking her little feet
Yes, my kids have been introduced to "Silly Bandz"
My Happy Firecrackers
Elmo must have her undivided attention
Leia is trying to play with Olivia
Leia and Logan...he is in seep thought
Olivia and Leia are having a Tea Party

I don't know where to begin. We have been home approximately 6 weeks, and Leia is doing wonderful. She is a bubbly, beautiful little baby girl. Her siblings are in love with her, as well as Mama and Daddy. I really thought we would have traveled to Taiwan sooner than we did, but we didn't. Which means there is not a long time span from when we went to Taiwan and when we leave to visit Costa Rica. I am excited about what this trip means and hopefully the answers we will find while we are there. But on the other hand, I am so sad that I will have to leave my oldest 3 children behind with their grandparents. Why do plane tickets have to be so much? I pray we are able to take them on the next trip, especially Olivia and Logan. The two of them are really having a hard time with the fact that we are going to be gone again, so soon. My poor babies....
I ask each of you who read this to please lift my family up in your prayers. We have our house for sale and the Yukon XL for sale. They are for sale for more than one reason. In case you haven't seen the additional blog, it is www.footprintsincostarica.blogspot.com. It explains a lot too. The goal, Lord-willing is to move to Costa Rica permanently to do evagelistic and missionary work. But also, we are trying to get our bills where it is not necessary for me to work, or at least only one day a week at most. We thought we had sold the Yukon, which would have helped tremendously, but at the moment the people haven't closed on their house and do not know when that will happen, so no sale. I want to be home with my children, not be so tired that I do not even comprehend how I am able to function as a human being. Like I said, many reasons for needing to sale things we have. We desire to have a simpler life.
We have spent this summer having fun outside in the pool. Logan is truly a little fish like his Daddy. Carson hates the water. It is mid-July, and we are finally able to get in the water without screaming. Olivia loves the water, but has not mastered being under water. Her blowing bubbles only lasts a few seconds, not enough to do much. Leia just chills in the pool and kicks her little legs around...not a care in the world.
On a funny note....the other day I was cooking supper and I had told Logan several times to not come into the kitchen. FYI, that is a rule in my house. I do not want anyone getting burned or hurt. One of the times he came into the kitchen he asked for some milk to drink, so I fixed him a glass of milk thinking he would take it to the dining room or to the other side of the bar. I got busy doing things in the kitchen and then noticed Logan walking from the living room with his milk cup. I called him to me and asked him why he had taken to milk to the living room, and he matter-of-factly stated, "You told me to get out of the kitchen, and I was drinking my milk." At the same time he informs me of this he is talking with his hands as well. I stood there in a speechless mommy moment. Because, that indeed, is what I said.
Olivia is so smart and intuitive. I have never said anything directly to her about working, money, selling car and house, or moving to Costa Rica. One night as she was praying, she told God, "Please help us to sale our house and car so we can move to Costa Rica to help the poor and tell them about Jesus. And so Mommy doesn't have to work anymore." Another reason I want those things to sell.
Carson and potty training do not go together. We made our second attempt at this last week. It was more successful this time. Then Daddy came home and put a diaper on him and i worked the next day, so there went all my tortuous work. When we return from Costa Rica that is my mission. All I can say about Carson right now is he has got to be the clumsiest 2 year old. I think his forhead screams to walls, "Smack me hard." He constantly walks around with a walnut sized knot that is a varying color of the bruise rainbow. He walks like a penguin, waddling his feet, and looking somewhere other than where he is going.
One more day of work and then Wednesday is fun day with the kids before we leave. I will have everything done, if I have to stay up all night tomorrow, so I can play with the kids all day. We plan on meeting David for lunch and doing what they think is fun. What they enjoy is usually the most simple things in life. All children desire is your time, your quality time. My children are ecstatic when we plan a "fun day." I shouldn't have to plan fun days. We should have a little something "fun" planned or not planned for everyday. Because, in the end "where does the time go?"

Hoping I will have our new blog up and running before the weekend is over.

Gotcha Day for Mr. Caysen Kirk

Our best friends Lance and Leslie Kirk are proud parents of Mr. Caysen, Leia's little cousin. We are so happy for them. Leslie traveled to Caysen so she could start on his physical therapy for his neck. Lance will take the trek to Taiwan when they are have date with AIT. Until then, Lance has become a bachelor, poor thing. Leslie is where she is needed most right now, with her baby boy.
I know without a doubt that she will be a wonderful Christian mother. She loves unconditionally to everyone and nurtures like she has been a mother of twenty.
Leslie, Congratulations on one of the most special days of your life. I pray God will bless you with years to express your love and the love of Christ to Caysen. We love you!

Another Sneak Peek

Sneek Peak

Here is a photo of Leia that Rebecca just sent me. She does awesome work, and well she did have a beauty to work with.

Cherub Cheeks

What Is This

So, this was Leia's first experience with a spoon, cereal, and fruit. And as of yesterday she still has no clue what the stuff is for. She will not swallow any of it. Yesterday we recycled so many bites the food matter completely changed from its origianl form. I suppose she will decide to swallow when she wants to experience more than a bottle.

Hotter Than Taiwan

We left home and came back to a sauna. It is only June, and we have already hit the triple digits. I cannot believe it, but then all I have to do is walk outside in it. We have been in the water as much as possible, from the pool in the back to the sprinkler in the front.
Carson is not too keen on the pool this year. He prefers to sit on the deck and watch from afar. Then he gets really hot and thinks he wants to join us, but it is always short lived.
Leia is a bum in the pool. She always looks as if she hasn't a care in the world and kicks her feet around like a little mermaid.
Olivia begs everyday to go swimming. We are still trying to work with her on swimming. She will blow bubbles under water for oh.... about 5 seconds. I think she would do better if she couldn't stand up in the pool, but it is only a 42" tall pool. She does practice kicking while using her kick board, so we are making progress.
Logan is such a fish he could be dangerous. He jumps in with no fear. He is wearing only floaties this year. Yay for Logan.
And they all love the sprinkler. Take a look and see the smiles and hear the giggles and laughter through the pictures.

Welcome Home Leia

I was so suprised by my wonderful friends from church who threw an awesome Welcome Home Party honoring Leia. It was so fun. So many who were supporters of our adoption and helped us every step of the way were there to help us celebrate Leia's homecoming. Here is a glimpse of the fun we had and the star of the party. Thank you so much Heather and Laura.