My Sweet Sweet Boy....

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we head to a specialist at the local children's hospital that will map out the "road to recovery" for my sweet sweet boy!! We got some preliminary results today from our CT scan...and well...it wasn't what we really wanted to hear...but it just made me PRAISE GOD ALL DAY EVEN MORE for the life of my precious son!! I've always wondered WHY....WHY did our adoption go so fast...WHY did it seem God wanted my sweet son home SO FAST!!?? Now we know... Please pray for the WISDOM of the drs tomorrow as we HEAR what they'll suggest for my son....After we meet with the specialist, I'll be sure to let yall in on WHATS going on!! Praising God, Praising God that MY SON IS HOME!! Praising God that he came home FAST...and that he can now HEAL!!!
(photos by my 9 year old daughter after getting back from Embassy while in Ethiopia....The best words I could have heard that day: " Your case is now COMPLETE!!" )

*Happy Wednesday to you all, kj

Happy Memorial Day 2011

We've had a low key long weekend at home and have LOVED it!! We gave in and bought our kids another one of those crazy water slides for the summer...We justified it by saying I needed MORE entertainment at home so I wouldn't be stuck at public pools all summer (plus the fact that we had a gift card given to us and it was on Memorial Day sale :)....So, all that equaled some crazy happy kids that had some super wet fun staying home all weekend:

LL mastered riding Georgie's bike this weekend too..she is so proud of herself...You can hardly get her off this thing now:
So....from TWO sisters:
and, TWO BROTHERS:
And, from my TWO adorable Ethiopian children....We pray you all had a wonderful, family filled Memorial Day weekend together...always remembering those that went before us while fighting for our country.

**and, now, a few parting shots since my Sweet Wes decided he LOVED the water too:
A close up of that face I love:

Documenting Wes's first wagon ride:

Oh, and I had to get a close up of LL's curls these days when wet....they are so cute:

Ok, so here is one last pic, i promise, cause I gotta get back to my babes, of this monster water thing that kept us entertained all weekend...and yes, my 2 year old LL mastered it in about ONE MINUTE flat...Have i told yall HOW coordinated she is????
That was our weekend in a nutshell....I'll be washing towels for the rest of my life :) Happy Monday to you all, kj

1 Million Hits...REALLY???

It is CRAZY to think that MY BLOG is getting ready to hit 1 Million hits!!! Who ARE YOU PEOPLE?? ha ha My blog has been around now for...hmmmm....about 3 years!! I can't BELIEVE I've been blogging that long!! Some of you are NEW around here...others have been following the ENTIRE 3 years!! We've added 2 more children and had 2 adoptions in the last couple of years....you've followed us along vacations, life changing mission trips, stitches, birthdays, happy times and even sad times!! For all these times...I THANK YOU!!
I always thought I'd blog through LL's adoption...but you never can foresee what God has planned....cause right around the corner was OUR PRECIOUS BABY BOY and the adventures getting him home!! I think we've all grown and changed a lot over the 3 years....my FAITH is so much stronger after this 3 year journey and I wouldn't trade a minute of it for ANYTHING!!! Praising God for every step in our journey!!

***So....how about a CELEBRATION for hitting 1 million hits!!?? I have EASY access to Ordinary Hero GEAR....so I'll give a tshirt of YOUR choice to MY 1 MILLION HIT!! And, how about a tshirt to the top 3....so if you hit 1 million, or 1,000,001, OR 1,000,002 YOU CAN WIN AN OH TSHIRT OF YOUR CHOICE TOO!! I wish I could make balloons fall...or have MORE to give away...but that's about ALL I HAVE THESE DAYS!! ha ha

***So, be sure to take a screen shot...or just a pic with your camera of my "Hit Counter" when or IF you hit the BIG NUMBERS!!! Send it to me...and I'll be sure to announce WHO WON!!!!!!

***So, my big sister, kelly (Mrs. Ordinary Hero) came by and brought my kids some of the new tshirts to show off:

I totally think they are SO CUTE:
Oh, wait...life isn't complete without Baby brother..they didn't come in his tiny size...but she's working on that one:
Oh, how i LOVE my 6 babes:
Everyone had to take a turn with Baby Brother...

My silly girl as always:
LL found a tooth brush along the way:

the sisters:

And, she has an awesome new ADULT shirt too...this ISN'T ME...LOL:
This is my friend Angie modeling the new tshirt...why?? Well...cause she looks way better than I could in this cute shirt:
she's wearing an adult small ...fyi....if you want to order one...

***So, that's the scoop....my blog is hitting the BIG 1 million!! It's time to celebrate!! BE SURE TO EMAIL me IF YOU ARE THE LUCKY WINNERS!!! You can email the easiest these days at Kristi@ordinaryhero.org I get these emails faster than my other blog account, fyi!!!!!

happy Saturday to you all, kj

We are Back Home....

Well...we're back home and doing well....My sweet little buddy did as well as he could....I left for the hospital WAY early so we'd arrive WAY early and HOPEFULLY he'd be distracted by the NEW surroundings....He did well UNTIL the very end when we were ALMOST ready to be PUT UNDER..then he got just down right hungry and agitated....but FIRST before he was MAD at me...I took a few pics of him in his ADORABLE little gown....

He was certainly a little trooper....My little guy is a fighter and a survivor...and I'm just thankful to have this morning behind us.....BUT....He sure was told HOW CUTE HE WAS...by lots of nurses... :)

Once he was under...he was taken to get his CT scan done...It was a surreal moment seeing him placed in the machine so lifeless...And as this giant machine took images of him at one of the best children's hospital around...I was overcome with tears as I THOUGHT about HOW far he had come...HOW just in December I found him STARVED and barely alive...HOW fast our adoption went....and HOW I hugged a birth mom just a couple of weeks ago in a third world country and told her I would get him the BEST possible care I could.....that he would have the BEST possible life I could give him!! AND HERE HE WAS!!! And, all I could do was think of HER!! Praying she knows that HE WILL BE OK NOW......and that he is LOVED and CHERISHED beyond words.

My sweet little man rolled to his belly as he was coming to......I mean...do you get any cuter than this!!!!!??

Overall, everthing went well...He also got his body xrayed to see about his diagnosis of Rickets..and a huge PRAISE is that his Rickets is now GONE!! They did discover some other issues...but I'd consider them minor...all related to his severe malnutrition....We see a specialist on Wednesday that will read our ct scan and tell us what to expect in that area...When I know these details..I will let you all know!! Thank you so much for your prayers and sweet comments.....It means the world to know SO many people FROM across the world are praying for our little guy.... God has BIG plans for my sweet boy..and I'm just amazingly blessed to be able to be his Momma!! Happy Thursday to you all, kj

A Little Prayer Request...

I have a LITTLE prayer request for a certain LITTLE guy...Tomorrow morning my sweetest and most favorite little one year old is being "put to sleep" to have a CT scan done.....this is all part of some of his special needs that I've not blogged about yet...all things I knew as soon as I met him in december...
I'll blog more details when I know them..and what the road ahead looks for us...but for now....I'm MOST anxious about him being put to sleep (yes, this is my FIRST child ever to be put to sleep) and I'm super ANXIOUS that he can't EAT tomorrow morning...My sweet boy KNOWS and REMEMBERS hunger...so I'm so afraid that he'll be beyond consolable when I can't give him his morning bottle...... Please pray for him to have an unexplainable PEACE about not eating...a PEACE that only the LORD could give......
My sweet boy was PERFECTLY MADE...and we love him SO much... I'll keep you all posted..but for now...I'd so appreciate your prayers for a smooth morning TOMORROW!! This Momma loves to feed her baby boy.....Praying his little heart understands some how.....

Happy Wednesday to you all, kj

It's Summer Time Around here....

And one little adorable guy discovered that he LOVED splashing in the water....

Look at that face....I love me some LL:
Even when she sprays her baby brother in the face with the hose on purpose :).....


You are SO LOVED sweet boy....



Oh, the JOY of Summer!!! School is OFFICIALLY OUT!! Yayyyyyyyy!!!! Much more of this water play ahead of us this summer....Happy Tuesday to you all, kj